Best Embargo Poems
As the morning breeze springing sprightful fragrance
Stolen cleverly when he kissed the soft colourful petals
I woke up into a new fresh delightful daylight
To taste once more my honeyed life and my blossoming day.
From my flat laying lazily at level six
I was contented to watch the sunrise
He rose with all his fervor and might
And I wished him a happy day out.
The sighing wind called me to look down the streets
Where I saw people in masks treading hastily
Like ants rushing here and there in hurry
Never they wish nor smile to any other faces.
Stand alone in bunches they waited for their turn
In buses or cars which ever halted to pick
Like strange samurai soldiers flying to a war zone
Never they wish nor smile to any other faces.
Fearful glances and rushing little steps
Even the whisking dresses frightfully heard as sneezes
My heart cried and burned seeing those pity stances
Oh, dear little creatures, stop your playful bounces.
The mighty human race moving towards a comess
When like weird aliens, Covid trying to invade
But tomorrow we will rise from our burning ashes
To tame you and make you a story for our coming cradles.
Third Place in N-A re-run 7 Poetry Contest sponsored by John Hamilton
Whatever has passed me by, it's winged shadow
Cast a chill that lingers in my eyes
And strangely feels like losing, dying or missing
Something never chanced to materialise.
Gone in a blink and whirlwind embargo,
Candle extinguished at pinpoint of gutter;
Soft wax dripped petroleum blue at my feet,
Stuck to the floor with a cold tango stutter.
I placate my ruffled feathers with thoughts
And platitudes fired in a blind ricochet
That echoes a mockingly reasoned rebound:
"Ah, well, there will be another day."
Now I have a chasm to train and to feed,
My companion regret calls your faraway name;
And it sounds like a gunshot wrapped up in a wish
As I wish I had known you were feeling the same.
It was a woodcut in our high school history text, Unit 4 Beginnings of the
Modern World, that so disturbed,
from the Nuremburg Chronicles depicting the burning of the Jews, flat
perspective,
faces of the victims among flames, in no particular agony, not especially
Jewish,
during the Black Death 1/3 of Europe died 1347-1351 alone. Although
you die together you die alone.
Earlier that week, I had attended our 6th grade's performance of Fiddler on
the Roof, thinking
Coltrane should have recorded Matchmaker as a bookend to My
Favorite Things
but as the play darkened
with the town's absorption into the diaspora, democracy
yet unthought of and rule of law a fig leaf for authority
Jasper, who played Zero Mostel, delivered his line well to the effect
you're just doing your jobs while wrecking our lives.
Anyway, nothing like that is happening here, is it?
The gardener planting tomatoes, the gravedigger finding skulls,
there is so much life a little death won't matter.
Jasper
was a beautiful ham,
big as Zero.
A friend posed
this question: must all states be melting pots like the United States?
I said yes
not because they should but since
it's inevitable. Let labor flow like capital!
America was the last word of the play and brought a tear of pride to my
eye.
Immigration, exasperating argument re the Other.
How many's more than enough? 9 billion, a rational,
real number that exceeds or
we're convinced
is within the carrying capacity of the planet.
Climate change is the new Black Death.
I like the Amerindian body type and face mixed in with the European,
African.
The irrepressible economy rolls out reams of logs, ores of elements, bags
of ice, fields of rice.
Embargo. The moon stares, bare, full of interstellar space.
Better a cold shoulder than a visit from our military.
The crazy Nazis must have felt themselves extraordinarily compassionate
toward the mother, earth, the goddess, history, or some such
abstraction and, thus, acted on a fraction of all they did not know.
Selfless soldiers just doing their jobs guarding the border or,
on the other hand, collecting fagots for the burning of the Jews.
Cuba…Mamma Mia…like most of the Caribbean; part of the 1492 slam…
Slavery, sugar plantations… invasions, upheaval, independence…
Then the American kisses; with a slight twist…who initiated the ’disses’…?
Was it Blaine…is he insane…?
Was it Marti…the heart of the party…?
Or Teller…many say he was the real speller…
Or Estrada Palma…could he have been the calmer…?
Was it San Martin…any questions of his parting…?
Or was it Batista…is he the real twister…?
With his interwove of expansion…then stagnation and dissatisfaction…
Coupled with his increased economic regulation plan…
Was this the spike for the revolution…?
Enter Castro; was he the real maestro…his thoughts, his plans; communize the land…?
Centralize, non-democratize…ostracize, reorganize…
The politics…were they laden in tricks…?
The CIA; not here to stay… but what role did they play…?
When they realize the RAF size…what will they emphasize…?
With great plans to defeat…did they end in retreat…?
Now with Eisenhower…speculations of a great shower…
But after only months…fixation shift to ouster hunts…
Severed diplomatic relations…the new sensation…
Impositions of trade embargo…the ‘Fargo’ in my cargo…?
The ‘Bay of Pigs’…will you understand the gigs…?
The ‘Cuban Missile Crisis’…what was this Tri-fit…?
The military games…were these substances in flames…?
For a superpower war…or the everlasting scars…?
Of suppression, political persecution…migration, and interventions…
In Angola, and Ethiopia…from Nicaragua to North Africa…
To the Congo…to some say; ‘Jah Mek Yah’…?
Cooperation with Russia…was this the real crusher…?
The mid-eighties…the beginning of their ending gaiety’s…?
The dissolving of the Soviet Union…continuation of the country’s isolations…
Reduced rations…the new fashion…
Unpainted buildings…now the in-thing…
Old vehicles with limited repairs…any scares…?
Lack of electricity…did it colour the ethnicity…?
A country on the verge…is there a new urge…?
Tourist attraction…one logical concoction…
Amidst the flow…of system many Cubans know…
The US now attests…it is in the country’s interest…
Cuba has withstood the test…put the embargo to rest…?
Infiltrating Trump's embargo
An Imam reached Mar-a-Lago
But his Call to Prayer
Just floated on air
The Trumps worship at Wells Fargo
He followed a dream to Havana, Cuba –
amid communism and embargo.
A beautiful country this Cuba is,
and the women are soft on the eyes.
There are whores, yes,
there are whores aplenty,
but not like the ones in Gomorrah.
I’ve been there before,
and witnessed drag-Queens offering hand jobs.
A sad place this Gomorrah is,
and miserable people are those wanna-be’s.
He owns the streets, those streets the Spaniards trod,
where women break their necks when he goes by.
Eyes, like a lion’s, measured the prospects –
zooming in on the most vulnerable.
His feet paint his story deep in concrete Havana.
The rum washed out shame and caution from his steps,
but moderation keeps thoughts in check.
Those rapt minds in Gomorrah
forced tongues to lie regarding the plights of Havana.
This is his city, his Havana;
a place where life is regulated
and the unlikely steer clear of happening
In the catalogue of my heart’s library
A word I scribe, magical and unitary
In the garden of my emotional culinary
I plant , I nurture, I prune a topiary
In the bouquet of my life’s choicest flowers
One adorable,I place above all the towers
In the album of my sweetest memories
One ‘s too dear to me than the treasuries
In the atlas of maps of my mind
A solo destination fruitful I find
In the orchestra of my life’s tunes
An enchanting melody to me allures
In the fleet of ships with my decisions ‘cargo
One to me is fair and free from embargo
In the chandelier of my life’s surprises
One thrilling to me hypnotizes
In the pool of my dreams and desires
One realized, lit up the bonfires
In the blend of the aroma that mystifies
One fragrance stands out with poise
In the box of life’s tempting chocolates
One trust-worthy tastes and melts with grace
In the cemetery, when life ends,I am laid to rest
I wish, I pray that its me first and you be next!
©Copyright Anulaxmi Nayak, 2016
I could build a football team for the future,
I've played Football Manager on my computer,
I've built teams that are simply spectacular,
with lots of silverware I've managed to capture.
I started off as manager of Bath City,
and Bath City played with a pity!
but a pit was around them so I chose to believe,
and that pity team did win that pit league.
I then took Barnet from non-league to the championship,
I won leagues, cups and awards on that 10 year trip,
bottom of the Conference when I took the healm of that ship,
but then I quit Barnet because Barnet lack grip.
I went to Ashton Gate because Lampard had just quit,
they were in League One and at the bottom of it,
the same league that I had just won when I was with Barnet,
who had unveiled a statute of me a week before I quit.
I couldn't sign players because of a transfer embargo,
which annoyed me because they were garbage you know,
was told 10 points from 5 games or you have to go,
won 4 drew 1 and from the relegation zone we rose.
The following season got promotion against the odds,
this really did prove that I was one of the Gods!
Won League 1 manager award for the 2nd time in 3 seasons,
but then it all went wrong for the following reasons,
it was my laptop, it could no longer be used,
I'd bought the wrong lead and the flippin' thing fused!
?Si el aspecto de dise?o que pertenece a la organización seleccionada Malenotti volvió su punto de pensar en hacer una moto completamente nueva matriz baratos chaquetas Belstaff chaqueta de ladiesThe se ha convertido en accesible para conseguir siempre impresionante y maravilloso ofrece un número cada vez mayor de moda , sobre todo en el presente 12 meses, un montón de la mayoría de las mujeres han mejorado sus abrigos voluminosos dentro de la chaqueta de cuero de la comadreja en invierno tan pronto como obtuvo su Belstaff entrenado para uso directo en la calle escudo de la bicicleta , con la esperanza de volver a aplicar protector de cuero nacional con frecuencia para mantener el agua - resistente podría quizás ser la verdad de que punto de venta , sin embargo conserva algo de trabajo con las opciones que se han ido antes de las variedades del sector y sin embargo la excelencia en el trabajo con los productos y soluciones podría inducir 1 a invertir en ellos, él comenzó a acumular una gran marca de moda Belstaff venta , despertó muy buena fascinación mientras que en los Estados Unidos de América
http://www.belstaffropa.com
?Si el aspecto de dise?o que pertenece a la organización seleccionada Malenotti volvió su punto de pensar en hacer una moto completamente nueva matriz baratos chaquetas Belstaff chaqueta de ladiesThe se ha convertido en accesible para conseguir siempre impresionante y maravilloso ofrece un número cada vez mayor de moda , sobre todo en el presente 12 meses, un montón de la mayoría de las mujeres han mejorado sus abrigos voluminosos dentro de la chaqueta de cuero de la comadreja en invierno tan pronto como obtuvo su Belstaff entrenado para uso directo en la calle escudo de la bicicleta , con la esperanza de volver a aplicar protector de cuero nacional con frecuencia para mantener el agua - resistente podría quizás ser la verdad de que punto de venta , sin embargo conserva algo de trabajo con las opciones que se han ido antes de las variedades del sector y sin embargo la excelencia en el trabajo con los productos y soluciones podría inducir 1 a invertir en ellos, él comenzó a acumular una gran marca de moda Belstaff venta , despertó muy buena fascinación mientras que en los Estados Unidos de América
http://www.belstaffropa.com
?Si el aspecto de dise?o que pertenece a la organización seleccionada Malenotti volvió su punto de pensar en hacer una moto completamente nueva matriz baratos chaquetas Belstaff chaqueta de ladiesThe se ha convertido en accesible para conseguir siempre impresionante y maravilloso ofrece un número cada vez mayor de moda , sobre todo en el presente 12 meses, un montón de la mayoría de las mujeres han mejorado sus abrigos voluminosos dentro de la chaqueta de cuero de la comadreja en invierno tan pronto como obtuvo su Belstaff entrenado para uso directo en la calle escudo de la bicicleta , con la esperanza de volver a aplicar protector de cuero nacional con frecuencia para mantener el agua - resistente podría quizás ser la verdad de que punto de venta , sin embargo conserva algo de trabajo con las opciones que se han ido antes de las variedades del sector y sin embargo la excelencia en el trabajo con los productos y soluciones podría inducir 1 a invertir en ellos, él comenzó a acumular una gran marca de moda Belstaff venta , despertó muy buena fascinación mientras que en los Estados Unidos de América
http://www.belstaffropa.com
tell them i’m gone
tell them i’m gone to change my name
give them any name
i’ll not give them another name
tell them i’ll not take my father’s name
no more father than i’m my own
i do not create
i’m not responsible
i have no ownership over my makings
so i’ll take this name i’ve got
for the moment
tell them
and i’ll go short-changed to be cast again
yes
tell them i’ll go and change my name
not have my name changed
and come out again unchanged
tell them again i’ll not take my father’s name
yes
tell them that
tell them i’ve gone to change my name
my very own name
and yet keep the name i’ve gone to change
yes
tell them that
tell them when i’m there
i’ll see why josephus broke the essenic law
why marx the mighty essene changed his name
and note
why the ribonucleic-acid embargo in between
why the dna father-son short supply
i am a cell lodged in the molecular-memory-millennia
i’m the agent of growth and decay
i see the cells strung out in an embryonic fantasy riddle
while intercourse was still permissible
i proclaim
i propound
in my genes the spermatic stimulation
the evolutionary process
the woman the link-breaker
keeps it all going longer and longer
until i stand and transmit
until we reach out into the micro-wave length
listen in on ourselves
in the multi-macro-cosmic network :
the tv stations
the electronic transmitters
the nether-world subliminal messages
all shall interlock
and we remain tuned in
sitting bolt-tight-up
in our nudging squeezing cells
no more afearing nor doing
no more no less that is
than sucking a python diet
we’ll do without rousing sex-play
courtship nor foreplay
or even sans monetary excuse
we’ll do it for ourcells
in ourcells
by ourcells
then i’ll not have to go away
nor will you have to tell them
‘he thinks he’s gone to change his name
his only name
and quite probably not take his father’s name’
rendes-moi mon nom unique
Copyright ©: T. Wignesan, 1965 - London from the collection : tell them i’m gone. Paris : 1983. (rev. 2012)
Love, an atom,
destroys our life.
Love, a poison,
carries our death.
Love, a storm,
uproots our peace.
Yet I am ready
to die for love.
What a tragedy,
I die for love!
------------------
Spanish Version
Amor
Amor, un atomo,
Destruye nuestra vida.
Amor, un veneno,
nos conduce a la muerte.
Amor, una tormenta,
Desarraiga nuestra paz.
Sin embargo estoy listo
para morir por amor.
Que tragedia,
Morir por amor
Translator: Alma Lorena Lopez Velazquez
I spent my adolescence writing lots of teenage angst
through poetry, and stuck with it, despite it being pants.
I’ve been to Open Mic nights, and risen through the ranks.
I don’t get heckled quite so much, and even get some thanks.
I’ve had some poems published, and felt my work improve.
It’s given me some confidence when I’m not in the groove.
I watch a brand-new poet. The first time that they’ve tried.
I clap, although I’m jealous, and thinking deep inside -
Oh crikey, not another better poet on the scene.
How come even novices are better than I’ve been.
I don’t want competition from someone just seventeen.
Oh crikey, not another better poet on the scene.
Everyone’s much cleverer, and wittier than me -
I’m slipping down the rankings. I’m in the bottom three.
I wish there was a talent freeze and some kind of embargo.
I wish I had a better rhyme than using Avocado!
Oh crikey, not another novice poet doing well.
It must be genes or talent. It’s such a living hell!
Poets used to start quite poor, get better bit by bit.
I hate all bleeding poets now. I wish they were more sh..
Papa-rot-sea
Downtown at the Uptown/
the class clown/
runnin’ on fumes of toxic clutter/
muttered /
shuttered /
buttered the breath\of/
her breathless/depthlessness\
deep down inside/
she’s shallow/
but a hard act to follow/
lots and lots\of/ wallow to swallow/
call me callow/
call me cad/
she called me the Cab Calloway\of/the Holloway Motel/
She was retro like that/
And\ I/ as always/was future/imperfect.
Click.
In reckless/ fecklessness/
\w/
imported impunity/
her whole damn community/
immuned\ from/immunity\
was up in arms/
and down on uppers/
was ground round/
and ready to tweak/
from that freaky sneak peek\@/ the speakeasy/beneath the peak of Pico/
to the shores of the Skeletal Keys/
in the rear of the Key Club/near Largo/
she’s a walking embargo/
Smile babe or vomit/
You wanna be a comet/
we need the cargo/
This ain’t trigonometry
Don’t just stand there/
Feed the economy.
Click. Click. Click.