Best Barely Poems
And I Barely Heard the Finch
How sweet your timid twitter,
Like a child pulling on its Mother’s dress,
And like the child, “Do you want to talk to me,
Do your little chirps mean more than seed?”
Free you fly through the dawning skies,
Problems far from your waking eyes;
Immigration, prejudice, have no place
In the world of sunshine on your face.
“Oh, you say, there are cats I must fear,”
And you avoid them. and many Jays,
Solemnly equipped with camouflage,
You let those big birds play.
And while flap-jawed feathers pick a fight
Around oval and hurricane restless seas,
Your Master calmly guides you where to go, and
You weather storms with ease.
And I barely heard the Finch.
Villanelle : Nations barely survive the turbulence of international events
Nations barely survive the turbulence of international events
Yet end up like interpersonal relations with other nations
Nations rise and fall yet some hardly ever merit compliments
What great Luxuor grandeur falls now to Egyptian peasants
The glory of five thousand years broken by Arab civilisations
Nations barely survive the turbulence of international évents
What great good from just Asoka’s illustrious achievements
Held Hindu sub-continent together through Muslim invasions
Nations rise and fall yet some hardly ever merit compliments
What great Aristotelian tutorship of Alexander’s managments
Kept the shores of Peloponnese free of Xerxes’s Zoroastrians
Nations barely survive the turbulence of international events
What great King Wen’s hexagrams and King Wu’s comments
Inform the sacrifices of Mao’s Long March peregrinations
Nations rise and fall yet some hardly ever merit compliments
Do nations come together only to blow asunder fundaments
Nations apart every life deserves equal rights and conditions
Nations barely survive the turbulence of international events
Nations rise and fall yet some hardly ever merit compliments
© T. Wignesan – Paris, 2014
Never expected to find you
So much I wanted to tell you
Actually boils down to a warm thank you
Your glowing smile I can still picture
Still remember your laughter
You seemed much older and wiser
In your eyes that deep piercing look
Revealed the wisdom of an old soul’s book
Maybe even the charm of an angel’s hook
Touching lives with your sprinkle of gold
We were so young, barely twelve years old
To this day, I remember through times of strife
How you had a lasting impact on my life
AP: Honorable Mention 2020
Raindrops pelting your window,
commiserate with your pain.
And mirroring trickle teardrops;
trickle slowly down the pane.
You left home; a naive girl
chasing love, barely eighteen.
And though he promised never,
he abruptly fled the scene.
Reality devastates
you: realizing your fate.
For your trust has been betrayed;
and love has morphed into hate.
Left all alone and pregnant;
you cannot conceal your shame.
And as your eyes fill with tears,
you know life won't be the same.
Your hands begin to tremble;
watching your life fall apart.
And anguish starts gnawing
at the insides of your heart.
In a fetal position;
you curl up and start to cry.
Listening to the raindrops;
falling from a sobbing sky.
Gabriel - my autistic nephew
speaks few word but has a loving face
He has a place in my heart
I try to talk with hm
Even taught him a few songs
A couple of tiby the Lemon Pipers
and one by Nat King Cole
Let poetry and music guide your days
and thinks of people like Gabe
who enrich our lives
grip tighter on my hand, please don't let me go, I can barely stand,
My legs wobble, My knees give way, but please say you'll stay,
explain to me why you must leave, because I'm really finding it hard to breath,
hold my hand and walk a while,
let's talk and let our hearts flow,
before our souls packs up and go,
I'm barely holding on since you've been gone,
fear is creeping in,
sorrow consumes my soul,
tears are flooding my lungs,
but I can never let you go.
Hand slowly releasing,
time for me to stand tall,
don't cry for me,
don't let go of your beautiful soul,
always let your beauty show,
all the talents you hold
don't let them slip away because
I can no longer stay.
Although she longed, prayed and hoped he wasn’t away
she still couldn’t stand the thought of him being no more
only having known each other for a few weeks
when love at first sight kicked in
they walked together holding hands like inseparable love birds,
talked about anything from life, to love,
and how they would never leave nor forget each other,
moved together in synchrony
and tried so many treats
and almost everything
from piggybacks to mouthy caresses
The rumors of his untimely demise sent her shriveling
from a beautiful rose to a wilting, wrinkled lily
she was eventually lost to the unbearable memories
of her prince charming’s death
Shortly after her passing away,
her prince's survival resurfaced
drowning the untrue rumors
when asked about her
all he could remember
were the images of a damsel
built on nothing else
but
sinking
sand….
Fantasy and dreams fade
As does the magic of ones youth
As we struggle the hardships of life
Hope seems to dangle over the edge of a bluff
We pray for the passing days to bring love, prosperity, and health into our lives
So few things bring joy as we see those we love ripped tragically from us
All that we have known crumbles
Like the foundation of the very house that shelters us
From the storms that we must endure in life
We reach out for something to hold only to find nothing within our grasp
Lonely for the touch of a lover lost
We search, never to find the answers we so desperately seek
Still we continue onward,
Clinging to hope,
Dreaming that one day we will be able to love
To believe in something or someone again
Copyright © 2009 Lena “Lolita” Townsend
In my most endearing reveries, I journey once more
where monoliths of stone rose from the rocky shore
reminiscing the joyful days we spent along the quay
as sunrise painted pastel hues over waves in the bay
We gazed at the blush on the horizon, both enchanted
It was though Chablis and rose' were being decanted
generously poured into the sea in front of our eyes
as dawn was birthed in morning's Eastern skies
Barely older than innocence, on love's fragile verge
Emotions were undisguised as passion began to surge
Hesitant touches, clumsy kisses, awakened fascination
That summer was so much more than a mere flirtation
Haunted by the memories of the towering Cornwall cliffs
my heart will always wonder about those "what ifs"
What if we'd not parted. What if we'd let love prevail
Magic and mystery linger, much like an Arthurian tale
Amazing days we shared, leaving footprints on the coast
But it wasn't just geography that held me so engrossed
but the beauty of a woman and the spell on me she wove
in our romantic morning trysts, along that sandy Cove
I have value memories of you when I was a KID.
The older I got, the less I remembered you still LIVED.
You had a name, but you never had a FACE.
In my mind you had a life, but you never had a PLACE.
I grew up thinking you thought, knowing me was FORBIDDEN.
Not realizing why your face, from me was constantly HIDDEN.
I didn’t quite UNDERSTAND,
until I started becoming a MAN.
I remembered being a young TEEN,
when finally your face could be SEEN.
At first I thought it was a DREAM,
And this could not be REAL!
When I heard his name PAIN,
is what I instantly did FEEL.
So I closed my EYES,
For I was uncertain, did I really want this moment to live, or just to DIE.
At first I was angry and CONFUSE,
still debating and trying to CHOOSE!
I knew not what to SAY.
I asked him where have he been all my life? At that moment he turned his face
AWAY.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, like he was counting to TEN.
I took a deeper breath then I decided to ask him AGAIN.
He looked at me then SAID,
with one hand on my shoulder, the other on my HEAD.
He said he has done many things wrong in his LIFE!
then paused, but now I’m trying to do RIGHT.
My first response was to say nothing at ALL.
Then I realized, we all sin and fallen short, yes it’s true, we all FALL.
Then I gave this man a HUG.
After all these years from him, I had finally felt his LOVE!
He looked at me with a special look of amazement and SURPRISE!
As we gazed into each other EYES.
As we conversed to each other about our LIVES,
I began to realize he was actually just like ME!
Many of the unknown were becoming less of a MYSTERY!
In one day we caught up with the lost of time of the PAST.
With all the jokes, we filled the air with LAUGHS.
Slowly but surely, he began to erase a lifetime of WRATH!
As we journeyed down this new PATH,
Who knows what was planned in our lives for TOMORROW?
All I knew and cared about was that my long lost brother was no longer LOST.
The void in my heart for him was no longer HOLLOW.
But never did I imagine in a million LIFES
He would consider taking his own life! Rather than living to FIGHT!
They had been having problems for quite some time
but the outside world never seemed to notice,
Their once everlasting love had crossed a dangerous line
yet the outside world never seemed to notice.
They would get involved in heated arguements behind closed doors
they would put one another down by calling the other demeaning names,
They both knew that the love they once shared was there no more
the time had come for them to end the tiresome game.
At one time they thought they could actually be able to work things out
just for the sake of their two kids,
But in all actuality there was no way of ever working things out
they were doing more harm they good towards the kids.
They would always be affectionate toward one another
whenever they would be around family and friends,
No one ever noticed that the seemingly happy couple of having problems
no one ever picked up on the fact that it was all just pretend.
Behind the smile that she always managed to wear
was just a mask for the tears that she tried to hide,
She did not want any one to be aware
that her and her husband was just barely getting by.
He has noticed that she has lost that sparkle in her eyes
they have grown so hollow and so cold,
He has accepted the fact that no matter how hard he tries
she will never be the same woman that he used to know.
They have been just barely getting by
and the realization is that everything is just about over,
The time has come for them to both open up their eyes
and accept the fact that their love is finally over.
Barely Getting By
Lately we barely seem to be getting by
And my lovely wife keeps asking me why
Pennies saved were earned here and there
But bills are sky high piled up everywhere.
For us to keep spending am apprehensive
Because everything has become so expensive
Should I look away and keep both eyes shut
Or maybe start finding some corners to cut.
We are down to our last kernel on corncob
So we both decided to call Charles Schwab
And Doug Schaefer, a financial consultant
Who was of good cheer and never repugnant.
Instead of us literally, listlessly lollygagging
Watching dip in balance as it started sagging
By the time I have become ninety years old
We will be living out in the unscrupulous cold.
So Doug fine friend what is it that you propose
We cut up credit cards and stop buying clothes
But by all of this we are now quite annoyed
Having to give what we had most enjoyed.
Started cutting back so goals we could fulfil
Then went ahead and paid off our every bill
Even though things to bone may be bare
Are covered by dental, visual and health care.
How many more like us have there been?
Sounds like good excuse to start growing thin
And we just dropped last thing that we can
By discontinuing her pathetic diet plan.
If about budget are dumber than a door knob
We insist you start seeing Charles Schwab
Even if mighty marine or on a ship do swab
Motto is, "With you in mind, will do a good job."
You should definitely get a lot of laughs out
of this one. Strictly between you and me of course.
James Thomas Horn
Retired Veteran and Poet
erotic red!
colored
partially unclad
barely a reveal
a pole dancer
standing provocatively
exposes the mold
dances the wall
on the lap of the paint
peeled raw to the grain
she tugs at your groin
rattles your pallet
revs the engine of your pristine thoughts
shoves your brain into the ground
erotic read!
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...
It's lonely out here
I wish I could sleep
I often think there's no one else I can talk to
I appreciate that
I can say anything to you
I used to care about the format of writing
I thought it was just needful
To write with pen and paper
Like how the toilet paper can be hung rightly..
Or wrong
I think about it a lot
Toilet paper
If you do one thing for me you make me strong
Maybe too much
I mostly bluster
But I have good instincts
And I'm cute
So things tend to go my way
Tell me life is long
But tell me when you tell me
We'll be together forever!