Best Backbones Poems
Liberties subtle whisper, kicked up dust, his boots it lingers.
Glistening brow, hope pours by sweat drips, reflecting restless weathered fingers.
Foreshadowed looks a worried face, brave hearts strength, unnerved by grace,
Freedoms song his heart starts pounding, inspired backbones, by foot they race.
Our family’s values together they’ve protected, Integrities goodness they protect our land,
She too marched forward, a mothers love, by flags freedom, united we stand.
A Veteran’s life, we stand hearts open, respects gratitude to embrace we go,
A life we’ve dreamed by generations thriving, our gift wrapped freedom, in a big red bow.
Categories:
backbones, blessing, dream, freedom, independence
Form:
Rhyme
Writing for contests, is often a crapshoot!
Some may be teasers, and others no brainers.
Results often open a new can of worms,
though sponsors with backbones, will stick to their guns!
Plagued by the screams of dissatisfied rhymers
whose dreams of a win may have gone up in smoke!
But a poet's class act, is to take it in stride.
Don't be hung up, keep your eye on prize !
Wearing war-paint is a taint on the pride
Don't have a fit, ... be quick to decide
Stoked by the turn-on of writing excitement
We are caught in the cross-hairs of P. S. enchantment !!
Write with a zest that will stick to the ribs
Write for yourself, and find joy in the race
There is no disgrace if you handle with grace
Hold up your head, whether win, lose or place!
____________________________________
7/15/15 For the contest "Colloquialisms" sponsored by Laura Leiser
Categories:
backbones, word play, words, writing,
Form:
Free verse
How unfortified are favored mystics;
ripened men devoid of backbones,
ladies with bogus analogies,
others, their nuisances known.
Some put fools on pedestals,
without attention to outcome,
but things are much different
when dealing with intellectuals.
If recollection tallies,
them old folks always let us remember:
“Self-praise is no recommendation.”
We do as the good book bids us:
“Answer fools according to their follies.”
There are more charades than sound guidance.
The throng was never us to ensue,
so we reject the king’s meat.
Truth is, we are what we eat … and drink.
How warped is their integrity.
Let them cast the first stone;
I’m balanced high on clouds from cannabis,
while their brains swim in mugs of Ethanol.
The bloody republicans suffer
from lack of …
lack of everything
except delusion of grandeur,
and the rich men have a strong-hold on America’s carotid.
My sister, college professor, asked:
“Where is the people’s guardian?”
Her expression eagerly awaits reply.
While estimations differ,
time (unbowed) will render true chronicles,
but while we tarry for time’s revelation
we yielded to trepidation;
what nincompoops are in charge of the people’s care?
Categories:
backbones, politicalmen, integrity,
Form:
Lyric
The Government's behaviour firstly no longer defends our church
this mockery in itself shows a deep lack of good sense
or the simple sourced judgement to cast defiance
within this ruling class displayed
Openly liars vulgar hounds with misunderstandings of truthful agendas
as silver lining shines within their beady eyes split tongues brag
poisoned two left feet heading backwards chaos screams from injustice
Milking a treasury for all it's worth then rising the pension age
blindsided are the fools whom are unable to see past the sheriff of Nottingham
Bailing out banks without consent and giving the bankers bonuses
this our rainy day fund feathering someone's nest
We pay through the nose breathing in this capital suffering
creating slaves illegally burdened citizens are chained
dipping into pension funds the existence for this illegal action
hands out always taking never giving
Such corruption goes beyond unchallenged by lawmakers
beggars of the very purse strings
15 million flushed down the toilet for paper postal codes
billions worth of fish harvested out of our Irish sea
Gas and natural resources given away freely
our sovereignty has been removed bit by bit stolen innocence
under false ideas stealing our children's future legacy
leaders without backbones snakes pushing agendas
For free, taxpayer-funded abortions put on the table
in this bill signed with bloodshed to legalise
the killing of unborn babies in Ireland of all places
never thought I would live to see the day
Millions spent on a referendum called choice
incorrectly claiming murder as just
to be an important part of healthcare
our family focus has lost all sense of direction
Challenging the very structure in mum and dad
to begin with motherhood is the single strongest character
filled with loving compassion such are the rights removed basically damned
Every single word into the temple of our origin
death of democracy spilling the most innocent of blood
sacrificed for the sake of pride our nation has fallen
No longer united Irishmen and women a land divided
it is from these spoils of war that's killing our children's legacy
Categories:
backbones, abuse, christian, conflict, corruption,
Form:
Political Verse
Teeth for corn in yellow molars.
Green-leaved ears entwined.
Stalks of husks for backbones.
Layers wrapped in rind.
Goblins out to play.
Scarecrows in the field.
Hands with teathered grasses.
Wheat that's left to yield.
Moonlit yellow haystacks.
Straw in crooked threads.
Monsters in behind them.
Ghouls without their heads.
Pumpkins thick with pulp.
Orange and wet and ripe.
Stripes in fatty circles.
Stems bent like a pipe.
Halloween is here again.
Man puts on his armour.
Time to plow the field.
The man we know as farmer.
Categories:
backbones, celebration, farm, children, halloween,
Form:
Quatrain
I killed the earth last night,
with my unregistered gun and I joined
rich men with toupees, and backbones
of little boys.
I killed the earth last night,
by bringing my .38 caliber to school.
Bang. Bang.
I killed the earth, and danced to the tune of
slam,
the bodies falling to the ground.
A little boy carrying a man’s weapon.
I killed the earth last night,
and I saw it coming but wanted five more minutes of peace.
I killed it by selling underage girls
while hiding it underneath cat calls from heckling men, or
by paying more attention to moderately priced sales for
televisions,
Ipads, and
Iphones
on Black Friday,
made from workers in China on a dollar fifty an hour wage.
I killed the earth last night,
and brought it home to mom as it slowly shriveled away.
She put it outside, saying the blood would get everywhere
and out here, no one would see it.
I killed the earth last
while us sheep bask in the bashful sun,
with a back drop of man aided acid rain, I blissfully
killed the earth.
I killed the earth today,
by deporting babies born in the state,
to save money while political leaders like
Donald Trump,
Vladimir Putin, and
Paul Ryan
bestow upon themselves millions of dollars
while us sheep bask in the sunlight.
I killed the earth last night,
by not allowing Syrian refugees into the country,
and I became a slave to the hallucination that genocide isn’t real.
I killed the earth last night with police brutality.
I killed Tamir Rice,
Michael Brown, and
Travon Martin.
I shot them because of the color of their skin,
and took a slap on the wrist and cried.
I killed the earth last night with nuclear bombs.
I shot down a plane last night,
was it an acquaintance or a friend?
I bombed a gas station last night,
only to gain money for myself,
while telling the sheep to do back-flips, telling them to
follow the other sheep basking in the sun.
Baa.
Baa.
Black sheep.
The black sheep will help us all.
But I killed the world last night.
I wish I never hit snooze.
12/11/2015
Elizabeth Marlo Cabrera
Categories:
backbones, america, conflict, culture, earth,
Form:
Blank verse
All for one
None for all
A house of cards that will
Bring about a great fall
Only a select few
Can spellbound the masses
Becoming Kings and Queens
With illegitimate claims to fame
We lift them up high
On a plinth made of our backbones
We the new third estate
Glorify them as demigods
Who conquered us all
With just a little bit of gloss
We are their slaves
Enthralled to them
We give them all
Unholy wolves
Swaddled in wool are they
Devouring all with their avaricious mind-set
We pay them tithe
Which they feel is rightly theirs
The public purse is for them alone
Everyone else must get by on their own
Just a few control the building blocks of society
An inbred top heavy hierarchy
That exert undue pressure downwards
Maiming those they lord over
Stymieing their advancement
A limited gene pool of ideas and talent
Hinders the legacy
That today passes to the future
A sure way for eventual extinction
A very sad prophecy
Selfishness and graft
Erode decency in society
Harassing the pillars of unity
Resentment thus festers
Those in the middle
Are full of hyperbole
Their spiel of being undervalued
Naught but insouciant drivel
They craftily forget
The power they wield
And the economic gains they do so
Hard to conceal
Society must benefit if we aim for equality
Those that contribute
Must see their labour bear fruit
All and sundry must get a slice
Of the overburdened public pie
Categories:
backbones, social, society,
Form:
Free verse
Millions of Species Going Extinct
Species loss is hundred times faster than in the past
Without good habitat half million species will not last,
27,159 species is the threaten tally
Includes half the plants and more if we dally.
680 backbones species are gone
So what did we do wrong?
Half the planet's land
Is now used in agriculture and for man.
We turned forests and grasslands into farms
Built cities that left plants and animals more harm.
Oceans are doing just as bad
A third of fish are gone and that is sad.
We dumped tons of metals, in land and sea
Polluted with solvents, sludge and debris.
Fossil fuels were too hot for some to stay alive
Changed the climate for some species to survive
Invasive species pushed out animals and plants
Economic fights reduced government grants.
Last bird specie was "dusky sparrow"
Now cousin "grasshopper sparrow" is imperiled.
But, if one bug has to go
Let it be the number one killer - the mosquito.
And remember if the honey bees disappear
They will be taking us with them it is very clear.
Categories:
backbones, animal, earth, environment, insect,
Form:
Rhyme
Muscles ache and backbones creak
New things bought become antique
Metals tarnish, plaster cracks
Paintings fade, their colour lacks
Rocks erode and woodcraft weathers
As does brick and hands and leather
So can't this work on poetry?
A problem for a bard trainee
I've read - I've learnt - my knowledge thin
My writing's young - how do I win?
Shift new to old - you'll never guess
To age my words - my verse distress
Change you to thou or thee or thy
Kick in wherefore instead of why
From shall to shalt and does to dost
And will to wilt to age adjust
Nay here and there but hither thither
Dally, tarry 'stead of dither
On some occasions add an "e"
Ye olde shoppe - example twee
Prithee sprinkle -eth or -est
To bringeth years I thinkest best
Methinks this mayst not spake the truth
Nor verily nor so forsooth
Perchance deceipt myself become
To transform words is rather rum
To scribe like quothed by Will Shakespeare
Tis most corrupt - a thin veneer
And so anon I stop this verse
Afore olde English gets much worse
Entry to contest "Old Jewelry or Just Old Things or Old, Old Poems"
Written 2nd November 2016 or hundreds of years ago?
Categories:
backbones, humor, humorous, language, poems,
Form:
Verse
Glorious God that grips and grabs the heart of great grandees
Who wangled on the walk-way of war and wastage
They truly troubled me and I trembled tremendously
But HE breaks their backbones bits by bits without blinking
Salute shrew sire for saving me from shackles of slavery
Darkness dig deep distracting and dragging me to death
Praise the potter who put past pest problems to rest
Father of faith fraternized freedom for fraudulent friends
Covering and cleansing concise minds; cutting corrupt cabals
Made me mode my life much more than male mugger ..
8-28-2020
Categories:
backbones, deep,
Form:
Alliteration
Alpha and Omega
The reality is that I love men.
They are perfect, just as they are.
Not always doing as they are supposed to do.
Not paying attention to fears that are false.
Strong backbones, fierce fighters for right,
and assailants to all wrong.
Fixing things, making things, creating.
God loved Adam,
and he was made in His own image.
What a glorious fact.
Woman, taken from the side of man,
to be close, loved and cared for.
What a precious gift.
The two become one.
A circle is complete.
A family is born.
Children the blessing.
For some if not all.
The greater gift,
the spiritual walk,
with each other,
through life,
and its ups and downs.
Depending on God in all things,
knowing that He is with you...
both.
Categories:
backbones, anniversary, atheist, childhood, divorce,
Form:
Free verse
I saw them,
there were so many
young and old
sick and broken
a sea of black bodies
hunched over
and shuffling through
a thick dense fog
of worry and bewilderment
their heads bobbed in unison
wafting and dipping
a learned behavior of survival
unable to carry anything with them
but the truth
their value had been reduced
to the degree of sweat
dripping from their brow
their faces were creased
like old church
folding sweat fans
many had backs and arms
burned and sliced
drizzling with the infection
of indifference
their legs were puffed and swollen
and skin stretched tightly around
ready to burst
their eyes darting nervously
as they stumbled forward
slow steps
the fog
smelled of damp bitter earth
it clung
to their sweat-soaked skin
their calloused feet
trudged over a muddy marsh
of body and blood
of brothers before them
each step echoed horrific screams
of last breaths taken
trapped forever in death
in the stillness
of that humid
hunted night
I saw them all
dislocated backbones
rising
cracking and jointing
they plodded onward
to a stoic
melodic murmur
marching towards
a brutal
deliberate fate
the muffled sounds
heard
as skin shivering
words
that
sorrowed my heart
a simple faint whisper
of
“Why do they hate?”
Categories:
backbones, america, black african american,
Form:
Free verse
Homeland, do spread a net in the hungry child’s eyes.
Fishes grab with backbones the seaweeds in the swampy coloured lake.
Homeland, have no mercy on us, show your utmost hate.
It’s so easy to reserve in regret ...
For global hardship we will justify the time, in which
You have not been changed,-
Just we turned into the globally dangerous beasts.
The time does not move.
Probably water has leaked in its feet,
Make us see the spring,
But...
We were cold.
Homeland, do colour the street with fresh blood
Paint bloody circles on the streets.
As if the suns.
Categories:
backbones, life,
Form:
Prose Poetry
Born from slaved backbones of our forefathers and mothers
We have risen, Liberated, freed from encroachment
Apprised through noble heritage, an abundance of history
Mother Africa gave birth, infused life,
rocked the Cradle to all humanity.
Kidnapped for trade of ivory, diamonds, and gold
ancestor’s identities stolen, flogged savagely, and sold
Incarcerated in chains of hate, taken away from the motherland
Violated, stripped and slogged, shipped off to other lands.
Now we discriminate amongst ourselves, hate ourselves, forgot ourselves with colourism and ethnic divide
I’m Black, not black I’m Brown, I’m Redskin, no I’m Lightskin…
Does it matter? I’m tired.
Is it not the Kingdom of Africa, from which we all became?
Enlighten me here, trace our lineage back
Historically, Are we not the same?
Black woman our DNA is welded from the racial suffering of slaved Black women before us
oppression of our own black identity by skin tone does nothing to empower our culture.
Every single one of us like our history of aristocracy
abundantly rich tones of black, browns and golds,
radiant hues of melanin
A creation so exquisite, there’s no denying, we’re phenomenal beings
We are the Aurelian Of Mother Africa — Nubian queens
we shine, we glow, we bling.
Let’s stand together united
empowered through the spectrum of our BLACKSKIN!
Written by Kiki Ray
Categories:
backbones, africa, color, culture, discrimination,
Form:
Free verse
Some children growing up in towns,
Wear sallow faces, sullen frowns.
Streetwise urchins, Jack the lads,
Reminiscent of their dads.
Guttersnipes roam nine to five,
Scrounging food banks to survive.
Toerags daily flout the rules,
Playing truant from rundown schools.
Destitutions plain to see,
With children trapped in poverty.
Urban dwellings, tumbldown,
In the poorest parts of town.
Suburban children lives are fine,
Where peevish youngsters often whine.
For pocket money, mobile phones,
Sadly lacking strong backbones.
Little lords and lady muck,
Born with silver spoons to suck.
Dolly daydreams, demand, designer dresses,
Constantly combing cioffured tresses.
Horrid Hooray Henries, haughty asses,
Pretend to be from upper classes.
Riding lessons, will, in due course,
See little madams gain their own horse.
Suburban life is plain to see,
Where children live in luxury.
Upmarket homes maintained with care,
The sweet smell of success, everywhere.
But the beating heart of any town,
Are children neither up nor down.
These children work hard to succeed,
While helping those who are in need.
Down to earth, no airs or graces,
Pleasant smiles upon their faces.
They live in solid stone abodes,
Down narrow streets and cobbled roads.
No leafy lanes for these progenies,
That are the blossoms on their family trees.
10/ 8/ 2019.
,
Categories:
backbones, children, environment, life,
Form:
Couplet