Best All In The Same Boat Poems
Dirty Hands
My white hands are dirty
Even if I don’t realize
My burdens light like my skin
I haven’t had the same trials
The house I live in
my manicured life
The things I don’t have to think about
While oppressed brothers deal with strife
Stolen lives, blood sweat and tears
Things haven’t changed enough
over far to many years
“Jump down turn around, pick a bail of cotton”
Innocent men hung from trees
We should beg for forgiveness
But it’s black men on their knees
Prison population permeated with colour
We haven’t looked out for one another
We have to rethink “Who is my brother?”
No child should be without their father
Each home should have a dad and mother
To many lives that are broken
A few black women
get a job as a token
but heaven forbid
If they’re ever outspoken
“Things are more equal”
You must be jokin
Is that some kind of White Privilege Puff you’re smokin?
Even though I’m aware
I’m not sure what to do
Still I know I can’t pretend things are equal for you
But am I truly able to face what is true
Old ways of thinking are starting to renew
I’m afraid of where we are heading to.
White power resurgence
Watch out for that person
standing next to you
Now they want to stop your vote
They say “We’re all in the same boat.”
So why do you feel fantom fingers around your throat
Your tunes are being sung backwards
While to many are left with a sour note.
More white washing
Coat upon coat.
To many are losing their hope.
We are all in the same boat
Just trying to stay afloat
Not drowning under the waves
That ripple and grow more each day
Life jackets can help us bounce
But something comes along to pounce
Dragging us down to the bottom
There's only so much we can fathom
Until we can't catch our breath
From the murky water depths
Of life that happens every day
From an anchor we just sway
Hoping to survive this fate
Of a weight that's much too great
Everyone is suffocating
We could use some incubating
So we can breath once again
Letting all this drowning end
clinging left or right
we are all in the same boat
taking on water
***
My thoughts wander as I wonder what I'm running for.
It's like I'm hunted cos I'm wanted for the chalk under juggernauts.
Now I ponder what I'm running from.
I took shelter against an atomic bomb.
I put distance between us like boggy swamps.
And worked resistance against urges when the horror taunts.
I grip the side of todays and tomorrows wants.
And let the world burn away when on fire watch.
I turn to gaze at the stars in the night sky and look away with desire in my bright eyes.
I stay aligned and balanced like earths globe.
With the moon and the planets with the sun burning slow
I come with passion for the past do I desert home
Do I deserve a future or do I turn rogue.
There's no sorrow for tomorrow when you watch it pass.
Forgot today in search of yesterday in the past.
My future looks like an image of a bleak scene.
I emerged from the sea still picturing a deep me.
My heart goes out to all the people that are never found.
Too much going on and feeling under pressure now.
It aint easy when surviving on this deadly ground either.
As we breath the air choking thank god we found sleepers.
Only demons there to keep us here keep us scared they're sincere.
Still considering my thoughts where I re compare.
Nightmares and dream scapes as I lie here this heat wave leaves me right here going crazy to see the change.
Trapped seeing these angles.
The tangled chap man of perception in chains where they dangle.
The manacled mans hands on pulse when he strangles throats.
Facing these battles I stand alone like a stranded ghost.
I move faster alone quick grab the rope slick catch an go.
All in the same boat now the ships mast broke.
No sails for gale winds that blow on the high seas tired trying hit that coast.
Thats my goal.
Deep in defiance when I fling that stone as reply to some social science you show signs that ya lean that low.
Ya best answer when I ring that phone. That's right man ya hear me bring that tone.
When I bring back soul ya knees flop like a bean bag dolls.
Man ya eave drop like a clique of crack hoes.
Like a dog tare the meat from the bone of bone idol spineless blokes if they fit that role.
I noticed that the grass was always greener on the other side, as I made my way to the 18th hole and practiced my drive.
As I zip lined across with the greatest of ease, I finally noticed for the first time the forest for the trees.
That evening I again had to face the music, with baton in hand I tried not to lose it.
If my cat really has nine lives, why is he still roadkill up on the drive?
I finally threw in the towel as my washing machine let out a hungry growl.
I'd finally become a basket case as I stood before the judge with a can of mace.
We were all in the same boat, trying not to resort to cannibalism and to stay afloat.
I bit off more than I could chew, realizing this after the eating contest as I hurled and puked.
Before they went down the skiing slope, I told them to break a leg like a mindless dope.
The other day I finally went out on a limb, all the while thanking God I am pretty slim.
Haste makes waste unless you procrastinate.
They told me to keep my chin up or the the wound like a volcano would erupt.
Once more I knocked on wood, reading the "doorbell out of order" sign where I stood.
My parents always told me I had a one track mind, as I walked along the railroad tracks and read the railroad station sign.
They started dropping like flies having ignored the no fly zone sign.
"YOU I Want To See"
If you did walk on water and actually stayed afloat!
If you did take every creature on earth
and put them all in the same boat!
If YOU did part the waters of the Red Sea evenly, then
YOU are the One I'd like to talk with, and
"YOU I Want to see!
If YOU took a world so dark and brought it to the Light,
if YOU were known for taking the blind and giving them new sight!
If YOU could touch a person and they were healed then instantly, then
YOU are the One I'd like to talk with, and
"YOU I Want To See!"
If YOU gave the Breath of Life to Man to become a living soul
If YOU can take one who's fragmented and then make them completely whole
If YOU decide what color of sunrise should greet our eyes daily, then
YOU are the One I'd like to talk with, and
"YOU I Want To See!"
If YOU made a Woman from A Man by just using his rib
If YOU chose to have YOUR Son born in a manger, instead of a crib
If YOU helped a man named Samson use an ass's jawbone easily, then
YOU are the One I'd like to talk with, and
"YOU I Want To See!"
If YOU start all of Life's day with the Rising Sun
If YOU ended all Life when the earth with water was overrun
If YOU bestow Grace and Favor and do so lovingly, then
YOU are the One I'd like to talk with, and
"YOU I Want To See!"
If YOU gave YOUR Only Begotten Son
who sacrificed His life for our sins
If the only way to truly know YOU
is to believe and come through Him
then I surrender all to YOU
down on bended knee
YOU are the One I'd like to talk with, and
"YOU I Want To See!"
My boat
A small boat moving through choppy water.
Prompt from "Grief" by Raymond Carver
Some sail in yachts
Some relax on cruise ships
Some transport fruit on cargo ships
Some are fishing in trawlers
Some refugees seek asylum
Some toil with nuclear reactors
Some wear military uniforms
Some honeymoon in new lands.
A few are in Boaty Mcboatface.
My little rowing boat has sprung a leak.
We are not all in the same boat
But we are on same sea.
30 June 2022
Sponsor Julia Ward
Contest Name SAILING
So young and newly married
Hanging on by the thread of love
Sometimes though in life we see
That thread isn't wound tight enough
Through the daily struggles
Most of them unseen
What happened to the newlywed
Where went all the dreams
Holding on
Barely holding on...
A father and husband out of work
A family living out of the car
Is this the American dream we've built
Is this now where we are
Cardboard serves a purpose
As a bed and a homemade sign
To keep the cold off of the floor
Hey brother can you spare a dime
Holding on
Barely holding on...
The doctors diagnosis
Doesn't give much hope for life
Just a simple six months ago
There was no thought of dying
Even less hope in your case
Just prolonging time
You could spend what little you have left
Or go ahead and say your goodbyes
Holding on
Barely holding on...
No matter your life's lot
The position that you hold
We're all in the same boat on the same stream
Trying to stay afloat
There are so many different scenarios
Which could haunt many a page
That in life continually follow us
Throughout all our days of
Holding on
Barely holding on...
The summer brings out a multitude of things
from blossoming trees to colourful flowers
onto music festivals,glastonbury showers
standing soaking dancing, but that all brings
A sense of bonding as we all in the same boat
some barely naked not possessing a coat
from Leeds to Bristol,London and France
hundreds of tents all ages will dance.
Not minding if it`s a field of soggy mudd
their taste in music blasting, that surely would
turn off the thoughts that may carry
uncomfortable attire, and happy as Larry.
I love Southwest Florida and I feel privileged to live here in Paradise. One of the
things I enjoy most about living here is being able to walk year round in beautiful
parks and nature preserves. One of my favorite places is Eco Park where it is so
lovely and peaceful. Whenever I hear a twig snap, or leaves rustling, I turn in
delightful anticipation of seeing something wonderful, a mother fox and her
kittens, a family of raccoons, or perhaps a beautiful bird...but the other day I
watched the news before my walk, and the program focused on the increasing
violence against women and children around the world. It so distressed me that
the solace and peace I sought on my walk for the first time completely eluded
me. At every rustle, my stomach leapt, at every sound, my body tensed, my heart
pounded, and finally I had to turn around and go home. I had lost my sense of
peace and security in life and I felt desolate.
Now I don’t know the answer to the problems of the world, but what I do know is
that what humanity is currently doing isn’t working. It doesn’t take a great genius
to see this. Everywhere we look around the world we can see that what we are
doing isn’t working, and Denial ain’t a river in Egypt folks. What I also know is
that Scientists have mapped the human genome and have found that each and
every last one of us on this earth can trace our origins back roughly forty
thousand years or so to a tribe in eastern Africa. That’s right, every single last
one of us all came from the same place. We all have the same base of origin.
We’re all made of the exact same stuff. We all may look different but we’re really
not. We are the family of mankind. Humanity is all in the same boat, and if some
of us are sinking, all of us are sinking.
Continued
these words may only be debris.
blown by the malstrom of my mind.
empty metaphors carried on the sea of obscurity.
fishing for fragile sentences to explain the thunder and the rain.
but are we not all in the same boat,
trying to scrape the facade
man has so cruelly painted.
our egotistical lies that we nourish.
find roots in fertile soil of our fears.
flourish and flower and become our reality.
THE TRAGEDY OF SONG
She sings in such hushed vocal tones one second,
then she shatters glass in an attack of tragic beauty the next.
The truths and traumas of life seem so real and painful when her voice glides over them,
after all, isn’t this the life that you and I and her live?
We are all in the same boat on this rough ocean at the mercy of the gale.
If we have faith in ourselves we will reach the shore.
Well, like you and me, she has got there and now she sings about the battle to get there and then to live your life when you do.
So Alanis Morrissette's Ironic becomes less a cliche, as my plane crashes down, I think...
In this time of quarantine,
One does not know
Whether you are being forgotten
Or you’re suffering all alone.
You miss going outside,
To Escape from your worries.
You miss seeing your classmates,
That cheered and entertained you daily.
You miss shopping at large stores,
splurging and rewarding yourself.
You miss visiting restaurants,
An opportunity to enjoy company as well as scrumptious meals.
You may not get the chance to physically meet the people who lighten up your mood,
You may not acknowledge attempts made by friends and family to socialise with you,
You may push people away thinking your alone,
But you’re not.
Everyone you love, is a phone call away.
Just because you are distanced from them, doesn’t make you alone.
We are all quarantined to our homes,
All of us have similar daily challenges in adjusting with the situation.
But we’re all in the same boat,
So we may think we’re alone but we’re not alone.
WE’RE NEVER ALONE.
Don’t you worry dear friend,
You can apply for a leave,
The ERP supports that to the end,
In fact that’s what HR believes;
Casual, On-Duty or Vacation,
No you can’t combine them all,
Three days maximum for any occasion,
Next day; attend your duty call;
You get twelve days General Holidays,
And two more restricted by choice,
If you happen to miss your stays,
You dare not raise your voice;
All leaves to be approved by line manager,
In twelve hour advance of the day,
Missing the deadline is a danger,
You lose a day’s pay;
Sometimes you punch, yet ERP shows absent,
You guess you don’t know why,
You reason with HR with logic and substance,
Just hoping that you were not camera-shy;
You spot an issue and check with others,
For you wish not to be alone,
We are all in the same boat brother,
So mass signatures to HR and phone;
Strange are the ways of ERP,
Can never make how it works,
Twenty one days in AR at month end,
And you curse the faceless jerk;
Faith can move mountains
Love conquers all
Words resonating with truth
Two simple lines
That says everything we need to know
If we choose to heed them
Some of us try and fail miserably
Some don't try
None are free from sin
Nobody is perfect in this imperfect world
We have made for ourselves
From the beginning, God gave us freedom of choice
We goofed it (Big Time)
Selfishness and greed can overpower faith and love
Putting obstacles in the way of everything that is said and done
Devastating as Covid-19 war is something had to happen
To make people realise that things had gone too far
The virus is an invisible enemy attacking all Countries and cultures
We are all in the same boat together
Without language, religious, colour divisions being an issue
All working together as a team
To rid us all of the anxiety and despair that this pandemic is causing worldwide
God's way of shaking a finger at the world in disapproval
The same way any caring father would do
If his family had not listened to him