Best Avoidance Poems
Sadness
Emotional pain—
A soulful melancholy
A sense of deep hurt . . .
Avoid when it’s possible . . .
An epiphany for change!
Gary Bateman, Copyright © All Rights Reserved
November 25, 2018 (Tanka)
Avoidance
I sleep to avoid my issues
I drink to achieve the same
I stay up all night
When no-one is around
So as not to face the next day
Every waking hour
A silent torture for me
It is dark and cold
Strangles me with despair and oppression
Trapped in a place I'd rather not be
No light at the end of the tunnel
Phone on silent so I don't have to speak
My mind jammed with troubles
Like a switchboard with wires
Everything looks so bleak
My bills are unopened
I can't bear to face
They say things will get better
But they don't they only get worse
I don't choose to feel so hopeless
I don't want to drink away my fears
The problems get worse
I am desperate to be in a better place
A place that I dream of
When my Angel allows
Walking on sand made of diamonds
Surrounded by peace
Caressed by silence not tortured
Because this silence I want to keep
No one needs complications in their life
Merely living is a puzzling ordeal,
Presenting more than enough strife
Or at least that’s how I feel.
I try to avoid conflict whenever possible
Going out of my way to please,
But then, I encounter the implausible
Those who cannot be appeased.
So, I use the only weapon at my disposal
Where I learned it, I do not know,
I turn away and walk the other direction
When I’ve nowhere else to go.
Written September 7, 2022
[a tip of the hat to Mike Gentile,
who regularly uses this pattern.]
be no example
each lived day
of what not to be
The swell that permeates my days -
Even when attempting to
Stand up on the surfboard
Concentrating, with purpose to forget -
Is you.
You're always in front of my face
And behind my back
And everywhere in between
Not telling me what I need to hear,
Now: go, go, go!
So why are you here?
I thought, for just a moment, we were both
On the same line. Just behind the wave
That would propel us wherever
The surf pushed us
In balance and focused with a
Powerful momentum -
Directed and above it all.
But now I'm at the breaking point
And clumsy as a clown
Being tossed about like I'm nothing
But hapless debris
Taking in too much --
Far too much to even think straight
Bounced around
Going under
Beyond humbled
Humiliated.
(And it's so hard to breathe.)
And where did you go?
You're not even here anymore.
You're gone.
A void...
Yet your always in front of my face
And behind my back
And everywhere in between
Not telling me what I need to hear -
And refusing to wind down.
This.Illusion.Of.Separation.Is.Created.By.The.Mind.To.Avoid.Insanity.Yet.Believing.In.
This.Illusion.Of.Separation.Is.Pure.Insanity. Past the veil is a pure reality that is filled with abundance and unity. It contains the most effortless existence. However.We.Would.Rather.Complicate.Our.Lives.And.Live.In.Dysfunction.
As I drift off to sleep
I’m about to reach
My one safe place
My haven of dreams
This imperfect escapism is perfect for me
My only sanctuary
My dreams create the real me
Who I am inside
My real identity
Unlike my conscious being
Where my fears and anxieties
Are all at once tormenting me
I wish my dreams could follow me
Into a new awakening
Destroying this self hate I am suffering
And change the dark path I keep following
So for now I will keep within reach
My haven of dreams
As again I drift off to sleep
To my one safe place
My haven of dreams
I see him
relentlessly busy
running in every which direction
scattered to the winds
anything to evade
the constant chatter of his mind
AP: 2nd place 2022, Honorable Mention 2025
As i looked deep into her clear eyes
And was rewarded with an enticing smile
And my heart tightened with anticipation
And i felt the snare entrapping my soul
In a whirlwind of emotions and feelings
Anticipated drama in subsequent fights
Embraces of romantic love and conquest
My heart double tracking in fear of hurt
My mind enticing it to try again
My reason screaming run for the hills
I had to try and pull away urgently
While i still owned my betraying heart
I close my eyes as her knife pushes through me
For if I could see what she was doing, I could never forgive her.
Avoidance is my game.
It is not a result of shame or blame
Only my name,
That keeps me away
From you.
Avoidance is my dance.
So we can change our stance, twirl, and prance
And from the side sneak a breathtaking
Glance.
Avoidance is my treat.
Succulent and delicious and sweet
Perfection of perfection,
That is what makes me
Elite.
Avoidance is my pride.
My joy, my happiness, oh how many times have I lied?
There are rules, I must not tell,
Only abide.
Avoidance is my downfall.
I twist and turn and crawl
To your feet, I only stall
What is in store for me after all.
Avoidance.
And when it comes to an end,
The game, the dance, the hatred,
All feigned to hide truth,
I bet life on death and all sacred above,
That we two children,
Are undeniably,
In love.
This is a rap for all yo' gangsters,
Who wish to learn how to prevent cancer
If you see a complete change in mole,
Don't think it's all for a LOL
If you have some lumps and bumps,
Don't take it as a result of stress from that ol' Donald Trumps
If you are receiving alot of pain,
Font just ignore it and throw your life down the drain
"AVOIDANCE"
when you decide the
day and night fuel
every sexual desire
in your body, the females
are endless.
as a youngster there
is no fear in losing sleep.
the females hold smiles
you know will tear your
@$%&in life apart.
but you never care.
when you decide the
day and night fuel
every need to save your
insanity, the females
become very few.
you know then, one
reaction to the smile can
alter your life yet again.
only this time, you fight
just to get a night of
decent sleep.
the joys of being young
lie in being old and for the
moment, it's one beautiful
unbeatable struggle.
By: Chicano Eddie
9-28-2016
I really need my Dell computer
can’t live without a cell phone
to my ear
Anything to keep
me from being by myself,
alone
or from anyone growing too dear.
I commute to work at 8 am
I swear at the other cars
I seclude myself behind office walls
and wait all day to hit the bars
I have the latest model SUV
201 channels on my TV
don’t want anybody to talk to me,
I wear headphones at the gym
I got CD’s that line the walls
Voice mail to take my calls
a shopping service to hit the malls
I hug the tree and send others out on a limb.
I don’t want to be alone
Might have to ask myself some questions
I don’t want to answer why
Know if I took the time to ask myself
I know, sure as hell
I’d lie.
I can’t spare a single moment
not even to watch the setting sun,
Can’t smell the budding flowers
or embrace the thundershowers
I instinctively stay on the run
I need a new stereo system
need to blare loud music or
listen to books on disc
I need to crowd my life with merchandise
cause idle time all by myself
poses too much risk
I’ll exchange banter with the best of you
As I swill drink after drink at the bar
I laugh and joke and make suggestive remarks
But they don’t get me very far
Cause I don’t really know myself
And I don’t really want to know you
I just want to surround myself
with too much of nothing to do.
I really need my Dell computer
Can’t live without a cell phone
to my ear
Anything to keep
me from being by myself
alone
and facing what I fear.
Opportunity presented itself
I closed my eyes
Learning seemed hard
I closed my eyes
I pushed open a door to my new start
I closed my eyes
Nothing worked out
I closed my eyes
Facing my reality
I closed my eyes
Losing the worth for which I strived
Every waking moment my heart cried
However hard I tried
I couldn't close my eyes.