Best Effect Poems
When emotions are
a circle
of carefully
placed d
o
m
i
n
o
e
s,
exposed
like dandelions in a
b r e e z e,
empathy can be a challenge,
sensing things others struggle to see.
As each d
o
m
i
n
o
f
a
l
l
s
darkness
unfolds.
Illusive vultures perch
upon frail shoulders, their talons
digging deep into sensitive skin. Biting lips
from the pain, clenching fists, tongue restrains
from screaming. How it wishes to express things out loud,
but plagued by a jaded misunderstood mind, it feels like a rain
cloud unable to release drops of heavy burdens contained deep inside.
Sometimes
I wish I could c r y,
but selfish t e a r s
refuse to flow,
is this the definition of me now?
How real is this smile you see,
pretending in puddles
of premeditated positivity.
Like you,
struggling to find answers,
to so many complex questions -
in a
battle between
philosophies and prophecies.
Are we villains, heroes, victims or victimizers?
Have we touched more hearts, than we've broken?
I ponder what role will I play in my last performance,
which character will illustrate my story.
Yet none of us will ever know.
Gathering each f
a
l
l
e
n
d o m i n o
I secure them in a tired timber box.
for a moment my heart is safe, admiring,
dandelions bloom in my flourishing orchard.
Please do not touch
Just read the signs dotted around the gallery display
So you take a selfie ...
What harm can it do?
Your camera shutter
clicks
clicks
clicks
as you take selfish selfie pics
Teetering on your high heels
you topple backwards like a destructive domino
Art gallery display
C
R A
S
H
E
S
to the floor
Your picture won’t ever be placed in a photograph frame
But hey
You achieved your fifteen seconds of fame
You took a selfie -
How selfish!
Inspired by newspaper article where a selfie goes wrong and causes around $200k damage to artwork by British artist Simon Birch
I've never considered myself an arty or creative person and I went out of my comfort zone to write this free verse poem.
07-15-17
It is human nature to hate him whom you have injured. ~Tacitus
as children
we looked past the world’s artificial trappings
the ravelment of doctrines
and the glaring capitalistic displays
the only criteria was that we’re friends
growing up
the world we inhabited
shrank as we embraced
the rules of others
to fit in
adulthood
meant that we
overrode innate compassion for others
paramount concern
belonging to the right group
often at the expense of many others
leaving a particular religious group
would lead to shunning
even death
lost in this Troxler effect
we have ultimately lost the ability to discern human value
we’re set in our ways
our value compass
eventually deliquesced as it decomposed
like a corpse
how did we become so jaundiced in our outlook
it is obvious
we hate the ones we have wronged
forgiving ourselves is only path to redemption
14 June 2021
"The Circe Effect" (Part 1)
Circe, Goddess of magic, nymph, witch, bold enchantress
daughter of Helios, Sun God, her father, can you imagine? ...
let me paint you further, the tree of this wacked-out family canvas -
daughter of Perse, her mother, wild Oceanid Nymph, spawned not on landmass,
but in the vast deep blue deep.
Aeetes, her brother hung tight to his Fleece
and Pasiphaë, her sister, given in marriage to King Minos of Crete,
had a fling with a monstrous White Bull,
a gift from Poseidon, ain't that so sweet?
she bore a bastard child, the Monataur with a ring in his nose,
horns and hoofed feet.
Now there was a family of total dysfunction
and Circe, poor dear, betrayed for remaining herself,
remaining non-function
was banished to Aeaea for murdering her husband
the Prince of Colchis.
There on Aeaea, as revenge, Circe drew out her magic wand - not a sword,
transmuted her enemies, all those who offended her into wild beasts,
where they were left to circle her mansion and roam to eat swill as their feast.
Docile not dangerous, drugged and delerious,
these beasts never gored -
they were fawned on by all newcomers, who were simply just curious,
never bored.
These entranced beasts lured newcomers to our girl Circe
with a woof and purr.
Enter Circe, quite disturbed, in a logical kind of way.
“More pets for me!”, she thought, “they will never stray”.
These lonely, adventurous vagabonds who ventured into her lair,
well, she showered them with all her incantations, but they never heard
her words of Love ever there –
Circe would finally reveal who she truly was,
for you see by now all that pain, all that hurt
had converted our dear old Circe into a siren
otherworldly, deadly lethal, mysterious, re-birthed;
all that ventured into her Kingdom now were
captivated by her spells and
then promptly, with a wave of her wand,
transfigured forevermore
as creatures,
of her Elysian Fields interred.
(Lovejoy-Burton/ Dec 2017)
At long last
the woman in her rebelled!
Overcoming fear and shame
she spoke out
not in a whisper
but loud, clear; determined
to end the torment within,
the silence...the omerta`.
The first domino fell and
others followed suit.
There is strength in unity,
courage in numbers.
Riding the wave of change
#MeToo
Horrors, lies, cover-ups
exposed; untouchables
hit the ground from high perches.
Sexual abuse!
Sexual assault!
Sexual harassment!
Perpetrators cling to
consensual claims, innocence,
pleas for forgiveness.
Victims call for justice.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Contest: HASHTAGmetoo
Sponsor: Debbie Guzzi
© 16th December, 2017
A beautiful and warm sunny day
She is relaxing in her hammock
In her hand a glass of lemonade with ice cubes
Takes up an ice cube
holding it up against the sun
The sun shines through so beautifully
Cold drops dripping between her breast
Keeps the ice cube against the sun until it disappears
Around her belly button a small cooling pond
Looking up at the sun, smiling and thinking
there are still five months to King Winter will come
Oh how life is lovely in the sunshine and her hammock
17.07.2013
A-L Andresen :)
Cougar trouble
In 98 I was free again,
Thanks to wife stealing cousin Wayne.
At work the boss was an older chick,
Who moved on me, so very quick.
Though I had found other ladies great,
And was a dating several called mate,
Two ladies were there at work,
One married chick, who called me jerk.
It was hard to concentrate.
The Cougar kept me back one night,
Seduced me once, and it was nice.
Until I spoke of other girls,
Venom surfaced, plates were hurled,
What would be your advice.
Woman scorned, she did her best,
To move me on, till I had left,
No longer even Cougar blest.
Moved on to new horizons.
A History Of One Day Poetry Contest
Don Johnson
This is a message to children who lack sincerity in school. Hard work always gives easy success. Whatever hardwork we do during our school days, decides our future for entire life. Its not only about studies but the sincerity which is developed along with it.
This is a story of two brothers.
Who lived together forever.
Both enjoyed the dignity of a patrician.
Well bred with values and tradition.
Sharp contrast of a Strategician and a tactician.
JUXTAPOSITION OF HARDWORK DURING SCHOOL DAYS
Given his druthers, Veerang would skip studies,
Would escape to play snooker and pool with buddies.
A boaster, prodigal spender and his pathological lies.
Hard work during childhood is just about studies, he didn’t realize.
Krishnang, sincere and studious, positive and jovial.
Help to mom, a great company to sisters, extremely capable.
Topper in school, loved by all, he was just so amiable.
Yes, both grew together.
One believed in hard work, another preferred leisure.
JUXTAPOSITION OF HARDWORK DURING ADULT HOOD
With freedom comes responsibility.
It’s not only about us but our family’s and parent’s dignity.
Hard work during childhood decides our ability.
Yes, our capabilities and the possibilities
In a way our acceptability and applicability.
Krishnang, goes for holidaying across nations.
Veerang is still striving to boil the ocean
What an irony, hardwork now is a compulsion.
JUXTAPOSITION POETRY CONTEST
Sponsored by: Silent One
Date: 21st Nov; 2020
The rain outside my door
Its talk, a calming effect
Upon my restless spirit, implores
the need to reflect.
The rain, drenching the moors
Its pounding upon rocky crests
Like the clapping of hands, soars
Upon the senses, dissolving stress.
The rain inviting me outdoors
Its plead to leave the comfort of concepts
Exchanging the warmth of safe indoors
For the dramatic cold of clarity, intercepts.
The rain, cleansing a downpour
Its relentlessness stripping the walls erected
Around the damaged heart, explores
Upon new possibilities, wider directed.
The rain, beckoning a force
Its puddles upon my feet impress
With childlike laughter, a dance extorts
Revving the spirit, the genuine soul expressed.
By CarolineCécile
copyright © 02.06.10
Look at you in the mirror, brilliant journalist
You, the journalist who seeks my gaze,
You, the journalist who laughs without knowing us better,
Look at you in the mirror
You, the journalist who exercises your power over people,
You like to be heard, looked at,
But you don’t understand who we are, really
Look in the mirror, twice instead of once,
Instead of looking at the camera like a crocodile that devours us,
Like a lion, hunting fearful zebras and unbelievers,
Sure of your strength, it’s embarrassing, look in the mirror,
We are more sensitive than you. We suffer for your presence here.
Look in the mirror, journalist, arrogant crocodile,
We’re not zebras striped with stupidity.
Kite-Surfer prepares for his thrilling ride
With double-checked gear, wades into the tide
Observer sits noticing all that’s around
And sees the direction where’s Kite-Surfer’s bound
Like an outgoing message that’s waiting to send
Kite-Surfer is patient, then catches the wind
Observer sits calmly beachside near the trees
From safe distance he knows more than Kite-Surfer sees
Soon, he in the water takes off like a flash
But direction of winds can never long last
Change in conditions, The Observer sees
From breeze on his face and the movement of trees
Kite-Surfer in wetsuit, armored head to toe
Cannot know direction of the next blow
And so he must catch the wind swiftly by feel
Attachment to moment seems all that is real
But never is able to choose any course
Like a passenger on a wild unbridled horse
And if judgement falters, momentum is lost
He sinks to his neck, failure could be the cost
When he’s low in the water, his only ambition:
To capture the wind and continue that mission
Watching bold Kite-Surfer safe from the beach
The Observer surely knows much they could teach
Vantage point lets Observer see mistakes
That Kite-Surfer made before leaving long wakes
The one who sits beachside, safely observing
Is totally void of all longing or yearning
Not caring which direction the wind blows
He watches Kite-Surfer like someone he knows
If you find yourself sunk, at the end of your rope
And the sky seems to fail you, one should not lose hope
Instead change your view
As if you’re outside you
And witness your actions like you’re far away:
A perspective-shifting game we can play
Detaching your ego, dissolving all fear,
Put yourself out there instead of being here
Seeing bigger picture can make one clairvoyant
Like Observer helping Kite-Surfer stay buoyant
"The Circe Effect" (Part 2)
In solitary confinement, she remained all alone
in a big old mansion in the middle of a woodland zone
there she sat weaving on her loom all alone
on that Island of Aeaea, until that good sort, Odysseus
walked into her home.
Athena, sent Hermes to warn Odysseus “Beware Circe’s wizardry! Beware!”
and handed him a sharp sword with some Moly to imbibe,
“Protective powers! Added benefit!”, she prescribed -
with her final parting words, something to this effect,
“Odysseus, dear friend, Goddesses are not mortal, they are extremely treacherous in bed!”
Circe’s powers were far too strong and before very long
she had Odysseus
hooked on her magnificent wand.
He remained on her island for one year,
feasting, drinking wine, dancing merry with our Circe,
where he slumbered in a meadow full of flowers with her,
to avoid getting dirty.
Eventually it was time for Odysseus to continue on his quest
where Circe, our clever and dear girl,
gave him final directions to The Underworld
you know, that other dubious
place to rest.
(Lovejoy-Burton/ Dec 2017)
"Underworld Blues"/The Mechanisms
https://youtu.be/wkWkk7Di2YU
After reading a couple of poems about spelling and grammar, i questioned about the the correct use of affect vs. effect and had a bit of a play around with a few words.
Silent One ... this is for you. :-)
Started reading some poems about English spelling and grammar,
I brought up affect and effect which threw in a bit of a spanner.
Does anyone really understand the difference between the two?
I like to think I’ve got it but the truth is I don’t have a clue.
I set myself a mission to find out about these two words,
What I didn’t realise was, there is actually a third.
Affect is to change or cause an influence in a particular event,
Effect is when a change has occurred, so that answers that argument.
But as I investigate further, when S is added to effect it changes the entire meaning,
It means personal belongings, my head now hurts, oh why did I start intervening?
If there is one thing I remember
It is what life told
Just open your eyes
All that glisters may not be gold
So who is to blame and whose fault I hold
The halo effect, the one in disguise
Manifesting deception in front of thy eyes
Treat one different because of their look
Why read? Judge the cover of the book?
But you do read others because they don’t have the look
If you understand, how long has it took?
The halo effect, we magnify a trait
Condone the flaws, we magnify a trait
Attractiveness, is this what you mean?
All this talk, my perception a feign?
What I see, aint what it seem?
Huh, thanks for this, as well as that.
The halo effect, my mind was hacked.
C aution to the wind
O lder me and a younger you
U ndeniable attraction
G rasping the chance to explore
A nd never thinking about
R egrets or the age gap
E njoying all the dubious
F aces probably wondering
F or the life of them, what does he see in her?
E specially when we
C uddle and you kiss me in public
T angible expression of our love
Contest Name : Cougar Effect
Name : Wilma N. Neels
130620111350
6th Place