Best Downs Poems
Someone near and dear to me
Has a child with Downs Syndrome,
Who, more often than not
Is beyond difficult to control.
The little boy is six years old
But acts as if he’s two,
He can’t speak at all, just yells a lot
Throwing wild tantrums until he’s blue.
He likes throwing things around
As if everything’s a toy,
And has difficulty distinguishing
Between bad behavior and pure, ecstatic joy.
(And his mother is a nervous wreck,
always picking up after the boy).
His fingers are his eyes at times
As textures are his friends,
If he doesn’t like the way it feels
He won’t go there again.
And he likes to lay down on the ground
Balling up like a boulder,
Until someone comes to pick him up
While he gives them his cold shoulder.
It’s difficult to fully describe
All the nuances of this child,
The range of his emotions
From anger and sadness to his beautiful, blissful smile.
(And his mother is a nervous wreck,
walking many lonely miles).
They wonder about his future
And those around him always near,
And wonder how much happiness
Will follow him through the years.
Will he learn to play an instrument
Or dance and sing a song,
Is it possible he will marry someday
Will true love come along?
Will he find friends who will love him
And treat him sweet and kind,
Or only those who will shun him
And close him off like blinds.
(And his mother is a nervous wreck,
And losing her own mind.
His mother is a nervous wreck
And loves him
All the time).
© Terrell Martin, 02/26/2025
Life comes with moments of sadness
touched with moments of pain
but it also comes with moments of joy
I have loved, lived and breathe
the upsides and the downsides of life
I have sacrificed many things
indulged in the finer things
I gave love, received love, found love
and lost love
I have experienced the good and bad
in all that life has to offer
The ups and downs and turnarounds
You build up you get torn down only
to turn and start to rebuild again
Knowing in all this I was never alone
God always walks beside me
until the day he decides to call me home.
monchielle stanza
One-up-put-downs are nails:
What hubby puts up with
he usually puts down.
“Your lattice-lace curtains
make our windows look like clowns.”
One-up-put-downs are nails:
I remind him of lights -
Christmas lights on windows
put up in November.
“It’s March now, lights must go.”
One-up-put-downs are nails:
The star on the garage
has shone for three full years.
Awaiting some wise man
with ladder to appear.
One-up-put-downs are nails:
Wedding pics hung in place,
may come down due to strife
which hangs in the balance
between husband and wife.
written February 28, 2016
Some consider they pen perfect poems -
me, I just write about poop!
I'd win the No Bull Poetree prise butt speelling is knot my forty!
07/27/23
E R
S O
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A A
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A A
T C
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10/15/18
Written for: The One Word Wit Style Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Maureen McGreavy
Roller coasters can be scary
Up and down your always leery
Of the next drop that will come
Until the rides finally done
Just like our relationship
Full of frightening big dips
That come out of nowhere fast
Causing your heart a big blast
That is very frightening
Like a bolt of lightening
Flashed your heart and made it jump
Causing an unexpected lump
In your throat and you can't speak
You become fragile and weak
The way we feel sometimes when
The bumpy ride begins again
Making our emotions go
Up and down--we never know
How each days going to be
Up on top--joyful and happy
Or speeding down a fast track
That's pulling us further back
Maybe it will teeter totter
Back and forth until we're smarter
With the feelings that we have
Needing lots more good than bad
This ride of love is interesting
Each day it is always bringing
Two souls closer or apart
But we are strong and will
Keep us falling down that hill
We will pull ourselves right back
Onto a more stable track
Outrider early morn,
When training hours are borne,
They are the needed arm,
Sun, cold, wind, rain or storm,
Outrider in the sun,
Whose work is never done,
Where horses on the run,
Keep bettors having fun,
Outrider in the cold,
Ones with hearts so bold,
Their stories often told,
Of skillful ways they rode,
Outrider in the rain,
Sha'n't wait the weather wane,
Is there to help again,
When loose ones run insane,
Outrider in the wind,
An utmost needed friend,
May everywhere they wend,
Such godspeed be with them,
Outrider in the night,
No fear, no fame, less light,
Night racing at its height,
Make safe the riders plight,
Outrider by and by,
Whether wet or weather dry,
They heed the riders cry,
They're the best, we can't deny,
Many "Thanks" we horsemen reply.
At the beginning it is slow
Speeding up
Like the fastest fighter jet ever
Faster
Faster
Screaming
Twisting Turning
Flying Soaring
Endless ups and downs
Anticipation of an end
Finally the ends has come
Why don’t we give it another go
There are times when waking up is hard
Easier when you are near yet difficult if far
That's when I stay down like a fallen card
As though I am as stuck as a star.
Do you watch the moon while I see it shine?
Are there lights or is it darker
I have chills running through my spine
And you're straightening it with a thick marker.
Strange as can be that falling asleep is worst
Always staying awake until I see the sun has risen
My sleep patterns are reversed
My soul is in prison
Even when I try nothing seems to work
All I ever do is lay awake
While our memories lurk
In my dreams with multiple retakes.
Flowers bloom but always die
Beautiful until they fall to the ground
Their petals disintegrate as they lie
And they do it without making any sound
I just want to be loved for who I am
All of the negative simply makes me ill
Through every tear, I still swam
Because I still have plenty in life to fulfill.
Written and posted on May 2nd, 2016
By: Michelle Corbin
I was the youngest kid of eight
Halloween was never that great
Orange clown shoes were too big
An old purple horrendous witch's wig
My sisters tutu I that wouldn't use
My brothers cape smelled of doo doo
Superman pants that didn't latch
And that makeup covered eye patch
That Halloween I knocked on this door
The lady was laughing and kicked the floor
Her husband then came around to peek
Then laugh so hard his knees got weak
She said "Oh honey, let's give him the lot"
He agreed, only if I posed for a snapshot
She said "you stay right there, don't move"
I took off so fast, I lost my clown shoes
Those born into a family large will know whereof I speak.
Your chances of donning the newest clothes was very, very bleak!
Alas, hand-me-downs became a tradition at our humble house.
Being at the end of the clothes chain always made me grouse!
I had the dubious honor of wearing things that were always patched.
Color coordination was out of the question since nothing ever matched!
The fedoras I wore flopped down over my very ample ears.
I resembled a tiny Al Capone, embarrassing me to tears!
The pants I wore were wrapped around me once or twice.
"You'll grow into them", said Mom. "For now they will suffice!"
The sleeves of the jackets I wore came nearly to my knees,
Making it hard to find my hands to stifle an onrushing sneeze!
The shoes I wore were usually two sizes too long and wide.
I waddled like a wounded duck with every painful stride!
The neckties I wore were of big brother's dreadful taste.
Looped around my scrawny neck, they hung well below my waist!
Teenage years flew by, a reprieve from this predicament I could see.
The guys in Air Force recruiting posters looked mighty sharp to me!
I enlisted anticipating wearing a snappy suit of Air Force blue,
Only to be issued olive drab hand-me-downs from World War Two!
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
© All Rights Reserved
They say a life journey is full of ups and downs
They also say in life, you should start at the bottom and work your way up
I find this totally confusing and no help at all when I’m with you
My muddle is your bottoms in the middle, how can that be true
Plus your bottoms at the back, surely that’s all back to front you see
Now do you see my quandary, not only am I starting in the middle I’m also back to front
It’s no wonder I struggle understanding you, I don’t even though where to begin
Oh! the pleasure of life and it’s complexities and I even haven’t started to begin
Life is full of up's and downs,
Like a rollercoaster ride,
Times of joy and times of frowns,
Through which we must abide.
Sometimes we reach the highest peak,
And life appears so grand,
But then we plummet fast and bleak,
And just can't understand.
But just like on that rollercoaster,
We must hold tight and ride,
For after every dip there's a ascent,
And our spirits will soon revive.
So when life seems to be crashing down,
And we just can't seem to find,
The strength to pick ourselves back up,
Let hope and resilience be our guide.
For up's and downs will always come,
But how we choose to cope,
Will determine our happiness,
And help us thrive and cope.
The shuttering crimes inflicted on the mind
Always causes havoc
In the state of the soul
The sudden mystification
The conjuring realization to reality
The considerable paths of acquisitions
The zithering low downs
A recapitulation of phylogeny
On ontogeny
An endegenous factor of misconceptions
But yet the machenism remains unknown
To such its
A violation of expectations
And crushing laws of faith
A unique constellation of attributes
An ultimate sentimental eccentric altitude
Of constant agitation of the soul
Portraying the true catastrophes of the heart
Whom with such faults thus remain
A sole contender
Who fears no man but God himself....
You started out in life just like me
hanging around in hand-me-downs
from your family
Some were nice, like
your daddy's dimples when you smile
or your mama's almond shaped eyes
While others were unfortunate
like your grandma's testy temper
or your uncle Earl's ears
But not all of these
hand-me-downs
are permanent
Some you will hopefully
change out of and
replace as you get older...
Like others' unhealthy attitudes
unhelpful coping mechanisms
uneducated assumptions
about other people
or the world at large
Your perspective
how you choose to see the world
is as changeable as a pair
of cheap sunglasses
so if they ever
hinder your view- toss them out!
And get some new
glasses that fully fit
in a style that expresses
the person you truly want to
become