Best Catch 22 Poems
A paradox is an entryway~
one that disappears the moment you walk through it;
somehow, though, you still end up
on the other side.
It is a question answering itself
by refusing to answer~
a mirror that reflects
only the act of looking.
Call it truth wearing its coat inside out,
logic tying its own shoelaces together,
hiding meaning in the very place
it claims cannot exist.
And the strangest part:
the more you try to solve a paradox,
the more it solves you.
It’s an old story.
We were classmates, you and I,
And later became colleagues,
Working under the same roof.
We had more or less the same specialization.
Married in the same year.
Our children went to the same school.
So far so good!
Now the plot thickens, so to speak!
Once, if you remember,
The boss comes to you for help,
Specifically for helping his sibling
By doing her assignments,
Given to her by a (prestigious) university
Where you and I studied
And where I am a Tutor now—
A concurrent position held by me.
If I were you, I would say:
“Sorry, it’s unethical.”
Or, would tactfully excuse myself—
Maybe by telling a white lie.
Instead, you tell him a blatant lie:
“I’m not hot on the subject, I’m afraid.”
And you go further
And out of the way to add:
“But so and so is. He can help you, I’m sure.”
The boss comes to me straight,
And beating about the bush, tells me:
“Now that so and so is not hot on the subject…blah blah.
Now it is a Catch-22,
Which you have contrived:
If I say yes, I would be exposed
And if I say no, I would be in trouble—with the boss;
There would be no more bonhomie
Between the boss and the boy.
How clever you are!
Furious, I choose to say no—bluntly
And let me face the music.
But now I know that
You are a round character after all,
And an Iago at that.
I appreciate your motiveless malignity.
I shrug my shoulders and mutter:
“Let it be!”
Composed and posted on August 3, 2017
Knowing of evil and doing evil are two different things Knowledge applied with the right judgment is wisdom Cutting teeth on forbidden fruit is one thing transiently eating from the same tree Ignorance of the law is no excuse nor is the knowledge of the law It will not make you any wiser or add another day to your life wisdom of this world is foolishness to God catching men in their own craftiness be not wise in your own eyes no man can keep his own soul alive Hold that in mind as long as you can
When forever finally comes to town
Not sure I wanna be around
When it stands outside to
Knock upon my door
I’ll hide inside
Not make a sound
Turn out the lights
Get on the ground
Lay in the quiet
Shadow of the floor
And if forever’s not deterred
No worry, I’ll plan for the worst
I’ll wait it out
I’ll stock up every shelf
I’ll let forever
Knock all day
And hope it finally
Goes away
Don’t answer’s what
I’ll sit and tell myself
And if forever starts to pound
Hard on the door to knock it down
I’ll stack the furniture
Up high and deep
I’ll nail some boards
Ill brace, I’ll wedge
I’ll cross my heart
I’ll make a pledge!
That, “While forever’s there
I’ll never sleep”
For in the end I know I’ll win
I’ll never let forever in
Nor ever let it have
Its’ way with me
And I’ll not step
Outside again
Yes, can’t you see
I’m bound to win
Forever locked inside…
Is where I’ll be
There's no Kingdom of Heaven
Without the battle of Armageddon,
There's no salvation
Without the Crucifixion,
There's no concept of good
Without the presence of evil,
There's no yearning for Heaven
Without the threat of Hell,
There's no God
Without the devil,
There's no life
Without death!
A window pane shatters
Nobody makes a home run
Note:'spaces' is an imagism form .It has a title and three line ,the middle being blank and left to the readers imagination. I labelled it 'spaces' as the middle line is an unsaid poignant pause or image.
Gael Turnbull(1928-2004,a Scottish doctor-poet created the imagist Spaces form in his collection Briefly (1967) a two line poem with a larger than usual space
Turnbull called poems using his device ‘Spaces’, and noted of these ‘The visual “space” is,a pause or hesitation, even a temporary dislocation of attention’ .
A woman seeks all that leaves her distraught
In pursuit of extrinsic desires anew
From a dead end grave startled she wakes
Within her eyes fate appeared to be taut
Thoughts delivered warnings in queue
Though on occasion rare she’d have spaked
Along the village nimble she scurried
In the passenger seat of a surrey
Engaged in the act never was she caught
Many a men’s heart she had toiled
Indefinite tribulation it had brought
Often formulas had been foiled
‘Tis not what she had sought
Forsaken eminence to be spoiled
Well, there is a loophole right there.
And by golly gee there’s one here.
Easy to step into those cracks,
Losing balance and be all out of whack.
Step by step and baby ones at that,
Tiptoeing and being mighty slow.
But I bet you have all come to know,
A catch 22 has a knack.
Nothing is glued,
Too many corner stones,
How lewd!
Fragile are my bones.
Peeping through,
Seeing route 44’s for those catch 22’s.
®Registered: Ann Rich 2005
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1 / 13 / 2021.
catch-22....
contradictory rules may apply
within a series of seemly arbitrary regulations
catch-22....
absurd constraints will exist
within this paradoxical situation
catch-22....
a hidden clause does exist
within the very foundation
upon which we stood
catch-22....
used to be able to find
the existing loopholes
that once were thought
to exist within the levels
of our existence
catch-22....
now it seems as though
the exceptions to the rules
are all but none existent now
within this new realm of reality
that we find ourselves living in
catch-22....
Troubled time O Raheem,
Empty, each of my palm,
In truth, world nor its dream,
In falsehood there’s no Ram!
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Raheem was a saint poet of medieval time in India. This translation comes from one of his couplets; following is its transliteration:
ab raheem mushkil padi, gadhe dou kam;
sanche to jag nahin, juthe milen na ram.
Raheem beautifully essays the reality in this world. If one were to follow the path of truth, there is this world for him nor its dream. In falsehood, obviously one has to sacrifice the blessings of God-- Ram as Raheem puts it.
________________________________________________
Translations |09.01.14 |
Life is full of Catch-22s. You can and you can’t; You shall and you shan’t; You will and you won’t;
"You will be damned if you do, and you will be damned if you don’t”
~American evangelist Lorenzo Dow
Without the battle of Armageddon
there’s no Kingdom of Heaven,
There’s no salvation
without the Crucifixion,
There’s no concept of good
without the presence of evil,
No light of day
without the darkness of night,
No yearning for Heaven
without the threat of Hell,
There’s no God
without the devil,
There’s no life
without death.
~02/06/22
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~Sponsor: Kim Rodrigues.
Our sphere without love
how do we live life complete
seasons of duel droughts
Insanity in defense of insanity’s insanity.
©7/18/2023
a house divided.
mom and dad at war.
mom is to the right,
dad is to the left.
child stuck in-between...
is confused and
devastated.
bitter divorce,
all but certain.
who do I...
live with now?
mom or dad?
why choose?
why not...
both?
Date written: 07/03/2020