Best Changing Face Poems
Autumn’s nakedness
becomes robed in virgin snow
footprints prove there’s life,
yet the secrets of springtime
in hibernation till birth.
Brian Strand Formal poetry contest
12/3/2022
Every time I look I see a different face,
As the media gathers pace,
In the influencing race.
No longer in the news business,
No longer bothering to clean up their mess,
No longer checking before going to press,
No longer thinking about mases to impress,
With no more mirrors in the place,
For the past to embrace,
It is now all about the modern face,
And it's influence on the race,
With few caring about the hardship investigative reporters face,
If they have too many facts to put in place.
It is only a matter of time before the media will have to face,
Up with a "we misjudged the mood of the public face",
With little chance of another "thanks for the award face",
With every chance of no "poker face",
As they will need a "change of heart face',
Before the music they have to face,
For undue influence on the outcome of the human race.
Oh how on earth did the media ,
Get such an idea,
That influencers would for them, be there,
When there were so many of us who could see what was living there,
That influencers are masters of what people want to hear,
And are more worried about how they look on air,
And how much money can be made from them being there,
Than how many facts they produce for us to hear.
I wonder how the media will respond to what is here,
How much influence I have to spare,
And how many new faces I will be shown this year.
The deepest cut those
striking at one’s very heart
verdant to golden
transformation of nature,
another’s death for a life
© Harry J Horsman 2013
my days have become a dream
as hope has flown away
leaving the sand
to slip through my fingers
while hiding in the shadow of the sun
in secret we met
in silence I wept
floating in eternal space
on a moonless night
I try to enjoy the peace by the lake
as hours pass through me
allowing my mind to drift with the tide
I see the sorrows of your changing face
only you can gaze into my hungry eyes
igniting the fire from within
as I wait for the miracle to come
judgement is severe
All things in the city are changing-the light, the screen, the face that adapts and smiles and frowns again, the displays which make all the words shine and dance in the dark, and the dust of old books buried in the back of the store room-all things created by humans ranging from technology to power, all things that were invented and improvised and molded again in the city-these things will always change, for they are materialized from humans' imaginations that are changing, they will never be the same, they will never last forever. Only the earth witnesses these changes, it becomes our eternal life partner.
---------------------------------------------------
Inspired by Thomas Wolfe's writing
"All things belonging to the earth will never change-the leaf, the blade, the flower, the wind that cries and sleeps and wakes again, the trees whose stiff arms clash and tremble in the dark, and the dust of lovers long since buried in the earth-all things proceeding from the earth to seasons, all things that lapse and change and come again upon the earth-these things will always be the same, for they come up from the earth that never changes, they go back into the earth that lasts forever. Only the earth endures, but it endures forever."
Not so many years ago
I revelled in rebellion,
Derided seniors
In sportsmobiles,
Comfortable bellies on
Wheels. Waistcoat
Fillers. Surreptitious
Pint spillers.
But now I sit and scoff
At youth and all its
Awkward agonising
Over lack of truth.
Merrily I mow the lawn
And curse because I
Can't get my wellies on.
And my wife orders me
To buy a larger pair.
And I cry 'No!' and
She groans and I ignore
Her as I turn the telly on
And I revel in my rebellion.
my days have become a dream
as hope has flown away
leaving the sand
to slip through my fingers
while hiding in the shadow of the sun
in secret we met
in silence I wept
floating in eternal space
on a moonless night
I try to enjoy the peace by the lake
as hours pass me by
allowing my mind to drift with the tide
I see the sorrows of your changing face
only you can gaze into my hungry eyes
igniting the fire from within
as I wait for the miracle to come
judgement is severe
The Changing Face of Europe
So we are the last true Europeans in the sea of changes
and conflicting religions as old certainties disappear and
we bewildered look at a world we don’t understand.
Israel is drowning in a demographic pool and their fight
to remain pure Jewish is doomed. Christianity is singing
its last hymn and churches in the future, if not razed to
the ground will be places for tourists to marvel over.
Empires and countries might rise and fall like the tide.
Cultures too have their days before discarded as quaint
but useless for a new time’s need. But we are not totally
doomed, the new society, perhaps not as white skinned
as us, will hopefully adopt the ancient idea of democracy;
to predict the coming is impossible, but one thing will
always remain: Man’s hunger for freedom.
Sometimes I think where we end up in life…how high we go…how far…
can be symbolized not only by the family tree…but by the family car.
For me it started with my parents driving our family station wagon…it’s interior painted black….Where my initial dreams were fashioned…while riding in the back.
My first dreams consisted of a more egocentric point of view…
dreams made just for me…I hoped one day would come true.
Then one day my dreams became less conceptual….less fantasy…more real…
The day I went from riding in the back and got behind the wheel.
By now I was married driving a mini-van…with an interior painted black…
Wondering what my children were dreaming about while riding in the back.
I remember the moment they were born…how I closed my and wished they’d have a happy and healthy life…free from danger…free from heartache…free from sadness…free from strife.
And how I began to drive more carefully keeping my wife and children in my rearview…
my dreams now much more focused on helping their dreams to come true.
And from a place in the back of my heart and mind…a place no one else could see…
I dreamed of the life my children would be living and the people they would be.
Having much more driving experience…I knew what was best for them…at least that’s what I believed…until they got behind the wheel and my vision was replaced by the vision they conceived.
And I gladly shed my dreams for theirs…they transformed quite easily…because, looking back, that is exactly what my parents did for me.
I realized, as my parents realized, the dangers and sadness of life I can’t keep them from averting…and the best I can do when they’re sad is to stand beside them while they’re hurting.
As they continue driving…on their journey…as their own dreams they pursue…
I am happy to sit back, smile…realizing my original dream has come true.
That even though I can’t protect them form heartache, sadness and strife…
our children have been able to live a healthy and happy life.
For they know on whatever path their dreams may take them….
whenever the road ahead is painted black…
If they look in their rear view mirror
they’ll see me riding in the back.
So much has changed
in the past 50 years or so
one thing is the word shame
once a friend now our foe
Half a century ago it had a fear
a true fear of God was felt
among a generation back then
when one's heart would easily melt
Churchgoing then was popular
not to attend brought one shame
generally, most of the time did believe
it's all changed but who's to blame?
Today to believe in God and Christ
one's told you've gone completely mad
mankind thinks they know it all
such anti-God foolishness is so sad
Jesus said in the latter days this would come
Man would love self more than God
believers must keep hold of the faith
despite shame hold fast to your sword
Don't be ashamed of God's word
keep on believing no matter what
for God will reward your belief
defeating His enemy's deep dark plot
I saw this old couple holding hands as they walked into the store
I’ve seen them walking….holding hands…a hundred times before.
Since we kind of know each other…before they headed out
I asked if they would answer a question…something I was curious about.
“I’ve seen how you walk hand in hand.” I said
“I’ve seen how into each other’s eyes you stare.
I was wondering is there a secret to your love…
something, perhaps, you’d like to share.”
Although they took turns talking…and quickly their responses came…
I shall not distinguish their voices…because their message was the same.
We can think of nothing more magnificent…more beautiful…more sublime
than that feeling of elation when we fell in love for the very first time.
But from that moment we first fell in love…time continued flowing
and we continued changing as we continued growing….
The beauty of our love is that even as we’ve changed…
as all people and couples do…
we’ve been lucky because our love has changed and evolved too.
Which means…since we’re not the same people we were back then…
we get that feeling of falling in love for the first time…over and over again.
If falling in love for the first time is special…unique in it’s own way…
Imagine what it’s like falling in love for the first time…with the same person every day.
With that they gave each other a little kiss…then as they’d done a hundred times before…they held each other’s hand as they walked together out the door.
one of the wee folk
a munchkin
lands in my lap
stands on his nose
then takes a nap
he sighs
I reflect
he's aged a bit
last time, no nap
his face shone, sunlit
Two cars in every driveway
the '60's economic boom
In 2023, a screen or three
~ in every single room