Best Defining Poems
Maddening thought to process such a word
Mad definition defining more than anger
Mad upset feeling fever flushed climatic danger
Mad mangled minor class offense verse major
Madly suggestive messages a madden proclaimer
Mad made digestive mental notes selective
Madder matters making moves motioning more
Minds mad capacities hijacking brains plane
Mad makers massive maze uncontained
Moistening our various vented veins change
Mad to be or not to be?
Crazy…
There are mornings when I’m doom and gloomy,
Other days I can wake up with joy,
But there’s one thing that I know for certain
No one feeling can define the boy!
Almost seventy-four I have critics
Those who judge never are that well versed
Most especially those on the sidelines,
God, those arm chair athletes are the worst!
Now if we should meet in the arena
And you’re beat up and sweaty like me,
Then your voice might be one worth a listen,
For your knowledge was bought with a fee!
I would rather have human connection
Than to try to find just happiness
To be vulnerable to the future
Give up shields spawned by man’s craziness.
One can’t block loss and not limit real gain
Or ban hatred and not limit love,
Let me give up my pride and stay open,
Prefer warmth to protection of glove.
Long Tooth
August 8, 2016
Red: A Definition
Primary and indispensable.
Intuitively felt as warm, never cold.
Romantic in its nature with body and depth.
Wafting sentience from a glass,
Willing drama to a bedroom.
Regaled as royalty by nature,
Often reduced by perception.
Best known and least understood.
Loyal, virtuous, the keeper of secrets,
The orator of life,
The measure of love.
We are all children held tight in the arms of time
As it passes we must learn to grow and then read the sign
Eventually time becomes master to us all
For one-day father time will be making his final call
Wrinkles come with wisdom we earn over the years
They glorify our laughter and they signify our tears
Time is the one thing that can break down the most vain
They say time has the ability to heal any pain
Time is forever it is as vast as the sky
You will never defeat time no matter how hard you try
Spend your life living and cherishing the time you have got
Because one day your time on earth will end, like it or not
These final words that I pen are the swish of my sword
Time is a living entity we all know as the Lord
For Brian's contest
Frayed
around
the edges
outlined by life
my portrait is etched by experience
Inspired by Brian Strands' Five and Twenty Contest
America is an idea
that "all men are created equal,"
before we cared to define "human", "created", or "equal."
America is freedom for our grandchildren
in a manner we will never understand.
It is the founding fathers who died for liberty.
It is the darker brothers who fought for justice from kitchens and pulpits.
It is the poor, the huddled masses,
And their children who have forgotten this.
It is green cards that become blue passports.
It is unlearning the language of our grandparents.
It is knowing how to pronounce Arkansas and Illinois
It is enjoying barbecues on somber national holidays.
It is unbridled enthusiasm.
It is unbridled arrogance.
It is rugged individualism;
It is passionate paternalism.
It is hellfire that scorches deserts.
It is a gust that has fanned flames.
It is a cool rain that puts out fires.
From sea to shining sea--
It is Manifest Destiny
from Louis and Clark to Wounded Knee.
It is Topaz, and McCarthy,
and hundreds of things we would rather forget.
It is D-day, and Neil Armstrong,
and thousands of things we forget to celebrate.
America is a dream that rings from the red hills of Georgia
to the curvaceous slopes of California
to New York Island.
It is patriotism;
it is progress.
It is the blind worship of our past.
It is red. It is blue.
It is red, white, and blue.
It is what half of us say it isn't.
I say it evolves constantly;
others say it was created in His image.
It is everything I hold dear;
it is everything that infuriates me.
It is the warmth that makes my eyes tear
when I hear the Star Spangled Banner
at football games,
on July 4th,
or on September 11th.
It is hope.
It is the promise of a better tomorrow.
It is what ever I am.
I, too, am America.
A Prophet is not one who can predict future acts.
He’s given the grace to see and relate the facts.
To those who are blind,
he appears most unkind,
And is susceptible to all kinds of attacks.
Defining a Man ( A Letter to my Daughter )
What is a man in these modern day attitudes and parlances of our times
harder now, I think to define a man than maybe it was
but then maybe not, considering how much we all have learned
Rather it should be easier for a man to define himself, as a man, in these days, than it
was in the past, but this seems not to be the case.
Ever it seems, men, cling to the ideas of “The Macho Man” ( which if you think about it is
so Gay.. trying to prove to everyone that you are not Gay, by being a “Man”….. how gay is
that ? )
Any “Man” that conforms to a stereotype, or the stereotypically accepted view of what a
man is “Is not” a man
But a mere shadow of one
Who by acceptance has agreed in his own conscience “not” to think past or beyond
a cultural definition of what he is
And therefore has not explored to any depth the idea of maleness and all its qualities of
personality
They have, to say, accepted a definition of themselves which is a blanket and an easy
excuse to explain what they are and how they behave.
I can count the number of men I have met in my life on the fingers of two hands
but I have encountered an innumerable group of brainless masculine gender defined people
in their thousands….
Firstly a man is or has the courage, “not” to define himself by stereotype
he becomes a wolf instead of a sheep and so to some degree an outcast. ( and so many sheep
call themselves wolves that it is laughable considering their obeisance to acceptance )
A man, does not use self-centred egoism as an excuse for truth or a replacement for truth
He will contend with any rationale that challenges his idea or view of his life or world
until it can or has proved itself to be better than his own
In which case it becomes his own rationale.
A man does not, by the use of any force, verbal, physical, emotional or mental, make any
person submit to his will, in order to prove that he is right. ( erroneously or not )
A man will use his physical strength to defend, not attack.
Love is real and true, especially when it finds you...
You better know just what to do.
Love is a gift from God.
Try it trust me it is not hard.
Not a second thought.
It is like a webbed trap now you caught
Love comes once in a blue moon.
I really hope it comes to you soon.
You should appreciate it's eternal blessing.
Love brings you total happiness.
There is no time to second guess.
Love is life’s reward a worthy quest.
Real love is all that you dream.
So never settle for anything
Being in love is a serious thing.
It is defined by understanding and communication.
Like a verb it is compelled by action.
I might bring smiles to fill your days,
To keep you in my heart to God I pray.
As I say these words to fill your heart.
I love you so much I hope we never will grow apart.
Smart phone - we groan without this digital backbone
Laptop - work from home nonstop
Wi-Fi - faster internet connectivity to live hi-fi
5G - advanced communication technology
GPS location - reach any destination
Artificial intelligence - computer brain takes precedence
Zoom - conduct a worldwide meeting from your room
Robot - human proxy hotshot
Virtual reality - simulated artificiality
Social media - connect with friends and share your idea
4th March 2022
For Simon Rogerson's "Let's explore digital technology" contest
The word Abstinence is an abortion waiting to happen.
The word Prudence is a psychopath waiting to kill.
The word Temperance is an abusive husband waiting to strike.
The word Justice is a murderer waiting to be proven not guilty.
The word Courage is a rape victim waiting out of fear for saying anything.
The word Faith is an Atheist waiting to be born.
The word Hope is a cancer victim waiting for their nonexistent transplant.
The word Charity is a hungry child waiting for the food that will never come.
The word Smile is child waiting at the end of a noose.
The word Clarity is a crazed lunatic waiting for a nonexistent cure.
The word Sanity is the mind waiting to shatter.
There are many words in this world that have meanings that have been altered.
But they don’t always have to be that way.
The word Love is a root and a thorn by which a rose comes to blossom.
The word Give is an abandoned child receiving a new family.
The word Life is a sick child being given the medicine needed to survive.
The word Happiness is a mother giving birth to their first child.
The word Kindness is a stranger giving a homeless man some bread.
The word Goodness is a person giving their body to be an organ donor.
The word Strength is a person with one leg becoming a martial arts champion.
The word Determination is a paraplegic getting a gold metal in the Olympics.
The word Perseverance is a person with one arm winning a gymnastics competition.
There are many words in the world and so many of them are black
But if we remain strong and live life we can find all of the ones that are white.
Sun-kissed sand seeping warm softness through loose fingers
Gritty bits of sea worn shells clinging to sweaty palms
Endless stretches of churning salty skirts, swirling soft sand offerings
Timeless routine unless confined to an hour glass; then time defined and depleting
I will stay here, one more day, in this moment with you
Billowing wind toying with chimes dangling from a hook outside the window
Weather-worn strings attempt constant purchase on their prized pipes
Hollow tubes and smooth wood dance as if marionettes
Called to action without self-will; blown and battered sporadically to purpose of
sweet note
I will stay here, one more day, in this moment with you
Fragrant formed wax with wick in need of trimming
Sagging brittle edges from last burning yearn for more pliable state
Called to illumination and guardian of the very flame that diminishes
Beauty invoked by warm flickers as shadows dance; knowing that soon it will only
smolder
I will stay here, one more day, in this moment with you
Precious kisses on soft skin and caresses on tiny fingers
Confused pleas of tears and unformed words when communication is elusive
Nurtured as if a fragile rare flower, coaxing to bloom and thrive
Rooted and reaching for the sky; so soon to spread limbs, absorbing and obscuring
the sun
I will stay here, one more day, in this moment with you
Heady thoughts of desperate need, wanting skin and souls to touch and mingle
Uncharted and unrehearsed voyages across deep waters and over daunting cliffs
Strengthened or broken by attempts to fly; stretching wings in unison to keep aloft
Long sought destination reached, realizing now that the journey’s purpose was to
find you
I will stay here, one more day, in this moment with you
Love is the leavening of life,
Old man caring for his old wife.
Vital component of worthwhile living,
Every true love is also forgiving.
For Skat's contest
An Old Copper Vase – A First View
a rustic object
with
a worn-weathered look
symbolizing
both
an artistic beauty
and
a metaphorical grandeur
when filled
with a few
red or yellow roses
it resonates
a certain emotion
and
it presents
and
it paints
an indelible
image and memory
that
cannot be forgotten
this is made
all the more
compelling
by
its rough-rustic nature
and
its physical view
from afar
which is
at once—
defining and dominating
and is
captivating and absolute.
Gary Bateman, Copyright © All Rights Reserved
September 30, 2018 (Imagism)
It was so nice to be part of this big celebration
held at the Hilton Garden Inn, Staten Island;
roughly, I think, more than three hundred people
were in attendance to celebrate and congratulate
those deserving honorees of Project Hospitality.
This year, too, marks its 25th years of service
since its foundation to many Staten Islanders;
those speeches and presentations made so far,
made me think the work of quintessentially
humanitarian aids to people who are poor.
It’s like a magnet of interest for people like me,
being a disciple, a man of God in my ministry
caring for both: bodies and souls of the people
crying for peace, justice, and sharing of wealth
especially those who hunger for food and shelter.
I met some friends, fellow priests, and parishioners
who came to witness and be part of this event;
there’s emotional tugging that went along with it,
tracing back the past clothed with memorable insights
a wealth of faith and accomplishments to be kept.
Msgr Vincent Bartley, a friend and confrere in the ministry,
was indeed an inspiring example and a true priest to everyone;
his never-ending commitment to the poor and abandoned
reflected God’s love to peoples of different colors.
He’s part of history, a living icon of service to humanity,
with his years of experience in Africa as a missionary –
was a triumph of blessings that continues to abound
an evidence in his life, a gift that could be triumphant.
He received a long standing ovation after he’d done his role,
with that thunderous applause from people in attendance
a moving experience, a sign of God’s love for him
with his dedication to serve the church across cultures.