Best Derailment Poems
At what point do you realize
it’s all moving in the same direction -
in a flowing pulse that cannot be dammed, that;
collective hearts do march in rhythmic time
to a common drumbeat tolling time
upon all roads with perils and parades?
it surely wasn’t yesterday,
too busy today --
who cares about tomorrow..
At what point do you realize,
as you course through the bloodstream of civilization
with civilized -- and at times -- uncivilized blood in your veins
that the road you travel
leading you home -- and often --away from home
diminishes to a vanishing point? ..is it more than just an optical illusion?
gone are yesterdays, oh well..
live for today --
I’ll think on it tomorrow..
At what point do you realize
that all roads taken; the dirt road, the high road,
the reclusive railroad
the crossroads crossed at moments of truth —
achievement, derailment, atonement
no matter the direction -- or misdirection,
all reach the same destination?
every lost yesterday
paves a rear view highway
but today, this time, today’s not lost on you
for you now realize
how quickly tomorrow’s milestones pass
Susan Ashley
February 11, 2019
Categories:
derailment, age, introspection, life, repetition,
Form:
Free verse
the only tree for a thousand miles
gave him welcome if temporary shade
a kaleidoscope of mockingbirds filling its branches
it was no longer possible to be blind
but very possible to be jailed
for being unaware of our surroundings
being that we are panphibians capable of TV
where apathy and turmoil don't mix
wracking our brains for the worst solution
every day since time began again
banding bending binding bonding bundling
mind turned upon itself like minds tend to do
a moth eaten panorama of agonies
everything still broken the breakers unpunished
our narrative not telling anyone anything new
long live the revolution in wisdom
that's my drooling occupational therapy grin
it's gotten me out of more than one derailment
feeling life as a prelude to a guillotine basket
or worse a juggernaut of ambition
now that will immediately inaugurate
a prison epidemic of eyeball rolling
can we escape seeing the unseen
or is it just a bigger cage
don't let the blighters
sell you your own real estate
or discoveries in hysteria research
from the Intergalactic Whats Next Council
acting in accord with the statistics
make it more aerodynamic
everything means something
a tool for every job
daily nightly I try to be less stupid
a simple formula designed for
the sweet gurgling idiot infant within
out cold but still in the game
now you got me laughing
momentarily dazed and surprised
prepare only for the eventual
because what remains tends to
influence what is to come
in a logic both apparent and subtle
not exactly free from ahem connotation
as most doors don't open themselves
meanwhile somewhere back in history
the Dog Clan had trouble finding women
with eight or ten ****
there that opened something up
from the spare parts bin
apparently his bulging eyeballs
were on full creme d'menthe death ray
the universal sense of alarm just went off
wailing it's not all brain chemistry
he spoke many tongues in faucet mode
the ramifications came tumbling out
but often heading in opposite directions
while the oppressive crows circled
where the Wizard parks his wagon
every home from Kansas to Atlantis
instituted a reign of madness
terror and ballroom dancing
Categories:
derailment, how i feel,
Form:
Free verse
An evanescent bouquet of skewed briars,
is how a tinsel laden tawdry essence wickedly unfolds ,
scuppered signpost to a fetid human compost,
faint light pendant on soul crushed quantum migrant,
who might chortle at vivid veil flimsy vacuum,
skirt recklessly around bogus symbols,
peer behind the squalid limp sodden hedge,
mock myopic moribund mist upon boundary busting dawn chimera,
sneer at synthetic spectrum elastic in its irritating tidal wave surfeit,
cerulean fabric‘s milky way escape plot,
in a perilous quest for that eternal tape loop mantra,
the synaptic heart of that vainglorious horizon,
self-knowledge under charcoal moon and silver cloud veneer,
or feral waste rapid fire contagion,
the indecisive day glow dither on the margins ,
of fly weight feeble frantic dash,
that velvet shadow treason daubed pettifog,
known as tangential wanton cobweb fester creed,
the mind a bloated ripple vortex numbing in its scope,
golden mirage but faux fur real concoction,
against the banal backdrop of complex-ridden superficial eddy,
from floral garland poseur stricken en train,
some vox pop indignation mere shrinking violet showcase waver,
the gleam-hued truth has this dastardly demonic derailment,
that I brush aside as spiteful oxalic sting repost,
that deceptive mint green forest of chameleon cant,
sly nuanced molten maple syrup hint,
from out of kilter tree pierce otherworld,
unseen yet bliss-edged virtual garden of firm conviction,
not just from isolated enigmatic individual script,
such as torrid turbulence or mindless scattered rim shot,
when conventions can be altered in exotic prose,
human zeitgeist has this far too often penchant,
for silkworm rapt effervescent double speak,
whilst plain unvarnished uplifting utterance,
resides within the deep crystal spring well,
of us torch aloft emerald earthling sages,
please augment the rock buttress stark phrase,
whose bluntness is a carrier pigeon of candor,
devoid of muted gray cloud blind waffle,
aromatic sprig to giant spasm of bold pluck,
quandary of human race at hearth,
frightened cliques, hidebound yes men who yen,
to swim the azure gulf of august freedom,
to the Eden where lucid tongues herald pristine witness.
where values at the centre of our being should blossom
Categories:
derailment, care, character, deep, emotions,
Form:
Free verse
In time we find light that was not so much a remembrance of character void,
or a psalm of the heterogeneous unlimited focus-
or stance of staving off the news,
in the leeway there is no set mountain,
or even the scuttled movement otherwise that allows the courteous to emote wisely,
topping out of something takes no drawbridge,
sleeping softly is no more calm than a stereo-graph printing interstellar onto a platform,
finally without the fives at nines going awry for our teller to debunk the checks we saw came late,
I hope for the favorite thing to be what doesn't unmake us-
but stays traveling down an endless moon at noon,
delicacy not,
rectitude forward-
yet always in knots,
as we know we speak the language of our derailment of pot.
Categories:
derailment, angel, animal, best friend,
Form:
Prose Poetry
My father waits at his table
for my delivery
a carton of cigarettes, some booze
to patch places of laceration
his health waning, piecemeal, like a trail of crumbs
dismantled independence
the coldest solitude of age
he lifts the cigarette carton I bring, crashes it to the table
"I told you regular smokes, not King size!"
flawed purchase on my part,
catching his smoky torch of rage
my father, no longer a full self of goodness
his prostate cancer, a derailment
our scripts dysfunctional that divide us
like broken cement
still, I shop for him, a life alone in a gray wasteland
my duty, a quest for inner peace
the familiar charity in my father drifts from him
like cigarette ash, up in smoke
I kiss his cheek before I go
unguarded moment
to heal battlefield wounds
to open barricades between us
the battered stumble of hope
Poem composed: January 23/2022
Categories:
derailment, anger, angst, animal, care,
Form:
Free verse
A Miss diagnosed tragic ailment,
Life strongly suggesting derailment,
Said, “Dis ease among men
Seems not all due to sin,
Let’s pray our death brings pain’s curtailment.”
Brian Johnston
August 22, 2015
Categories:
derailment, life,
Form:
Limerick
The serious Train De-railment in Ohio has led to toxic Phosgene and other toxins to be burned into the air. Phosgene known for use in World War 1 and killed at least 100,000. Now, wildlife, household pets, chicken, cattle and many fish are dying. Toxins are in the Ohio River that supplies drinking water to millions. This very serious situation is not getting the proper attention of the government or the main stream media
Update: Fema has said they will not help Ohio because houses were not destroyed!! Now, a man took a stick and stirred the stream water and every color imaginable surfaced from the toxins. On video. A parking lot of dead birds was found 350 miles away in Lexington KY. On video. The governor claims the DOD advised the burn of toxins from the train cars. Large plume still moving at 1mph toward West VA. I may need to write a blog about this. Very serious.
Update 2/19/23. A resident from the area reported seeing no wildlife at all. Another person reported from outside the area, seeing toxic rain on the windshield. Just like I thought. The large toxic plume is traveling slowly 1 mph. It is reported to be heading Northeast. Please check your streams and stir water to see if colored toxins surface. Also, please look at wildlife. Both these things will indicate toxins in the area.
Update: 7/2/24: Since this poem, toxins reached my yard ...with the snow over 500 miles from where they deliberately burned the chemicals. It sickened my dog and I, completely changing my life. The soil at my home was tested and proven to have the toxins from the train derailment. Also , orange slime landed on my tree in the rain and tested positive for Benzene. I documented everything. I wrote many poems and blog posts too. My dog died just recently after suffering and fighting to live. I have now lost my home too. The Govt did a huge cover up after they had approved the burn of the chemical filled train cars. But recently Wisconsin researchers including weather experts came out with evidence the toxins reached 16 US states in the rain and snow. This has been the biggest chemical disaster in US history. A travesty for many.
acid rain will fall
toxic chemicals in air
silence now deadly
Heidi Sands
2/14/23
Categories:
derailment, angst, community,
Form:
Haiku
The well-trained heart
Enters the departing station
With measured steps,
Boards the best car
For the most comfortable
Ride possible,
So that the jerking engine
And tracks
Barely jolt it.
As it chugs along at an
Even pace until arriving in a
Timely manner --
Even good hearts get railroaded.
When we started our training
We were doomed from the start
Poorly engineered for at best a rough ride.
Misaligned rails coupled with
Excessive speed flung us off course;
We were stuck in our broken heart.
As we struggled to break free
(Windows of hope seem small)
I lost you in the ensuing melee
And was crushed.
I think you may have trampled over me
Just to get out and breathe again.
Now we're getting somewhere:
How can you ride again,
After such derailment?
Categories:
derailment, lost love,
Form:
Free verse
I envision no romantic, grease-splattered engineer
Overseeing the direction of my particular train.
It just follows the course of the tracks laid down
Within the fractal flow of nature’s symmetry.
It curiously transports me from one sad affair to another,
Depending on which Chiquita happens to be turning my head.
My destination has always been inclined to speculation.
I have lived one singular life, but died many lonely deaths along the way.
My travels through this landscape of consciousness and self-awareness
Have often brought me to untimely terminals, via various means of derailment.
There have been lethal infections, and numerous fatal diseases,
An airplane and a helicopter crash, a murder, a head-on collision,
A tragic skydiving mishap, many bad storms at sea,
A life sentence in a Kenyan prison, overdoses from unwise decisions.
I’ve driven off a cliff at dawn and had a cardiac arrest.
But after each deadly incident, I somehow awoke to a better world.
Wrought iron spikes hammered to a hard-driven finish
Hold the rails in place until that one comes loose on the curve.
When my train gets derailed, I just begin again, and yet again,
Recycling intentions, re-establishing severed connections.
Over the years, I’ve come to realize that the final death I'll face
Will only involve some little discomfort, perhaps just a deep, sweet ache.
I can lay to rest whatever fears my unfinished dreams may embrace,
And look forward to greeting a better world when next I awake.
As someone once said, you’ll not appreciate the full extent
Of life’s train wreck till you get far enough away from it.
Then you can take in the whole awe-inspiring picture and say,
Holy ghost and good goddam, that was surely one memorable trip.
Categories:
derailment, allegory, life,
Form:
Blank verse
I’ve been doing quite a bit of faking
acting as if my heart hasn’t been slowly breaking.
For so long, I’ve kept most of my feelings bottled within
except for what I’ve released with my paper and pen.
I’ve tried self examination to figure out what’s my ailment.
I’m like a train on the track, heading toward derailment.
Occasionally I can’t sleep for all the unspoken thoughts in my head.
I spend more time with a pen in my hand than my head on the bed.
Sometimes I feel so utterly alone,
with nothing or no one to call my very own.
At times I feel like I don’t even have one true friend,
except the books on my shelves, and my paper and pen
Categories:
derailment, introspection, life, on writing
Form:
Rhyme
The pale faced young damsel
By evening turned into a blushing bride
Her cheeks made red with rouge
And her lips glossed in cherry red
But the makeup artist, before
Seeing the magic of his deft touch
By some sudden mental derailment
In a bid at self immolation,
Set fire to himself
Badly burned by the inferno
He plunged into the waters below
One more attempt at suicide?
Or a frantic attempt to save himself,
From an act, he impulsively rushed into?
Yet another question remains
‘Can flames turn him to ashes?’
Or water, drown his resilience?
July. 15.2022
A Brian Strand Premiere Poetry Contest
Categories:
derailment, analogy, death, sky, sun,
Form:
Free verse
Update: The proof is here.
The Guardian Newspaper has the article today about the researchers who have now proven that the toxic chemicals from the E Palestine Train Derailment reached 16 States! They proved it with samples of snow and rain dispersal. I have been saying all along that I got sick from the snow and my dog too. My dog later died in a year from the toxin exposure.
Now it is reported in The Hill and ABC news. Breaking news.
Heidi
Categories:
derailment, truth,
Form:
Free verse
Watch me become a believer in what lies beneath this evil/
Give it all up to feed this ethereal fever/
Make it thrive so I can deliver
righteous anger towards the worlds behaviour/
Make it mine so I control the time, good luck with your lifeless saviours/
I’m slowly waking up from beneath the ashes/
Rising to my feet so I can defeat the masses/
Angered flames lick while I cast this/ spirit intertwined saliva combined with lethal gasses.
This is Chemical warfare with mental derailment/
Reached pinnacle lore /prepare to be nailed with my arrangement/
Of cursed verses developed over hurt words and misplaced notions/
No need for lotion, I’ll dry luck the world and flood these oceans.
I Destined these lessons with all
My intensions/
Confessing is the best thing, when you’re messing with a calibrated Menace / amalgamated and intense/
Investing in my essence, hence
Possessing in my presence/
This is the equivalence to my
Benevolence fusing with malevolence/
The inelegance is so venomous/
My intelligence is direct evidence/
That my essence is nothing but endless!
This isnt a mental illness we’re all living in/
This is a mental willingness that’s beginning to win/
Righteous Villainy isn’t so villainous as ignorance on the innocence / hippocratic bigotry/ What did you think you’d see /
Systematic bull hit bursting at the seams/
Whack plastic fallacies / diplomatically casted / latched and mentally seized.
Categories:
derailment, corruption, crazy, deep, evil,
Form:
Rhyme
* Just a note to mention that I posted a blog regarding the final results of testing for toxins from the Ohio Train Derailment that I have been writing about.
They found numerous chemicals including up to 20 dioxins in the soil here and matches to the chemicals that were on the train in the Ohio Derailment. More analysis is being done before it may be included in their news updates on the news.
I knew it had sickened me here with the snow March 1st and all the wildlife changes etc, but the amount of chemicals is shocking.
A lot to figure out now. Dioxins are the worst you can find and cannot be broken down or removed. My old realtor says the property cannot be sold as usual due to all the serious toxins.
The phenol benzene that was detected on my tree also causes stomach and esophagus issues, low red cell count, all that I have now.
The dioxins cause skin lesions and I am dealing with those with infection now too. The health issues go fast and what is happening in nature with the trees lately is so fast too.
I am working hard at lots of leads for this situation. Thank you to those bearing with it and supporting my poetry even when my muse is gone.
Categories:
derailment, angst,
Form:
Free verse
To call her tall voice again,
ouch! she drove me crazy
My addiction to lonely couches
Uttering I love in remarkable sense-
In vain,
She sunk deep in her thoughts
Drawing near the deep thoughts
Against spirits of abstain
Christened by the dreams.
Bitter woes came as assassin
Persuading with smile in style-
the end destined in hearts'
As the nos got drained,
In a derailment chained-
As the slain mercy felt done
vanishing like the demons.
Categories:
derailment, angst, anxiety, depression, desire,
Form:
Light Verse