Best Escaping Poems
This Medusa had no power to turn us into stone
but when she ran aground over Poseidon's throne
his anger stirred, and into the sea the crew was flung.
On a raft urgently built of salvaged timbers we clung.
A hundred and more escaped before the frigate sunk
and after four days adrift, our number had shrunk.
With naught but salted sea to sate our massive thirst
I vowed not to give in. I swore I'd not be the first
to yield to temptation and drink myself to death
though feverish from the intensity of the sun's breath.
On the eighth day, hunger turned men into savages,
feasting on flesh in a moment of rapacious ravages.
Bloated bodies bobbled like apples off Africa's coast.
I contemplated my fate to become what I dreaded most-
being tossed off the raft, into a shark's clamping jaws.
To survive, no one had agreed to abide by man's laws.
I'll not forget the look of fear in the eyes of others,
sailors who once proudly called themselves 'brothers.'
Each of us clutched and clawed for an inch of the raft.
The feeble ones cackled as though they'd gone daft.
Arms and legs entangled among the living and dead,
as an alabaster corpse pillowed a sun-blistered head.
The demented swam away, flailing arms in roiling waves
until they perished in the depths of their turbid graves.
Alas the day, two weeks in, a ship sighted on the horizon.
Fifteen survivors with charred skin, lean and wizened
rescued from death's grip in a morbid human experience.
Men who'd given up on hoping for a timely deliverance,
their bodies emaciated, and their clothing, threadbare,
destined to relive the catastrophe in gruesome nightmare.
August 4th 2022
2022 Marathon mile 11 Contest
Sponsor: Mark Toney
NOTE: In June 1816, the French frigate Medusa, ran aground off the coast of Senegal. Because of a shortage of lifeboats, some 150 survivors embarked on a raft and were decimated by starvation during a 13-day ordeal, which descended into murder and cannibalism. Only a handful remained when they were rescued at sea.
Malevolent imploded uncontrollably,
twisting wildly maniacal posies
amid diabolically toasted brainstem,
angst uncompromisingly yanked tresses
purging stinging speech patterned rhymes
amuck iniquitous poetic verses hung
upside down to tormentingly dry,
facing other inimically knotted borders of
antagonistic galleries in deranged snapshots
razing warped poetical tapestries,
tripping on tunes of whiskey rushes' savoy truffles
and greenish tangerines whilst Led Zeppelin's
Sick Again danced upon reflective ceiling tiles,
time written sideways 'round alleged autonomy
hidden furthermost immune masked mirror images,
debauching Greek braille calligraphy's vindication
on walls of graffito scripted physicality
calling out 'tween hysterical compulsions,
naught one heeded the sounds of synapses
about ill-fated half moon's arresting arc,
synthetic doomsday's clocks aptly chimed
quarter to analytical cuckoo's nest repudiation,
still awaiting on serendipity to surrender
furthermost rabbit hole's curiouser rants,
relinquishing unwell-languaged compilations' sabotage - -
circumventing rhythmically subversive escaped detonation
Feeling the desolation, of smothering air
Hemmed in by crowds; the obliqueness of fear
Throng of the city and no sight of the sun
Incessant noise and the desire to just run.
And I drive.
Arterial routes clogged by metal and wheels
Schizophrenic drivers living others ideals
Neon and lights sizzling the sides of the streets
Marketing signage, greed’s consumer receipts.
And I drive.
White picket fences, roses, and manicured lawns
Ridiculous box housing, erected for ludicrous pawns
Playgrounds, big supermarkets, cafes and parks
Sprawling suburbia with its pools built by sharks.
And I drive
Warehouses dispensing the needs of the hordes
Industrious factories like cash castles of lords.
Sawmills busily feeding more desecration of land
Refuse collection sites completely sterile and bland.
And I drive.
Ten-acre barons on frivolous bundles of dirt
Escaping urbanity in the unproductive outskirts.
Postage stamp fields supporting ponies and kids
While toffee nose parents sit in ultra posh digs.
And I drive
Paddocks of cattle dispersed through productive farmland
Shiny new tractors with men toughened and tanned
Marshmallow hay bales pimple the face of the ground
Irrigators urinate on earth until drowned.
And I drive.
Magnificent mountains covered in beckoning trees
Clear running streams and whispering breeze
Wild flowers gently waving as robins flit all around
Radiant true colours and smoothing calm sounds.
And yes I am home.
The mind is the prison
Of a human being
Trapped in a cell
Called low self esteem
This is where
All the war begins
Locked in a world
Of mental sin
Discrimination
Isolation
Lost
Alone
The battle of the mind is a fierce war zone
Trying to escape thoughts in the mind
But they seem to be stucked on rewind
A prison of thoughts for eternity?
When will I escape this mental slavery?
But lord here I am
I give my thoughts to you
Cleanse me and make me free with my mind renewed
Escaping thoughts
Break away
I want to be free
A new mind
With new thoughts
A new life
A new me
Shadows darkest upon oblivions within hibernal hiding,
Decadent dining pleasures of pandemonium’s presiding...
Waiting is Hades Lord of delivering diabolic deception,
Enslaved souls are surrounding sacrificial seductions...
Falling Angels of abandonment amidst condemnation,
Suffering in silent sorrows are anguished and afflicted.
omniscient presence
light emanating his love
jesus saving me
_____________________________________
...this verse can be read backward...
Evil Escaping
Hiding hibernal within oblivions upon darkest shadows,
Presiding pandemonium’s of pleasures dinning decadent...
Diabolic deception delivering of Lord Hades is waiting,
Seductions sacrificial surrounding are souls enslaved...
Condemnation amidst abandonment of Angels falling,
Afflicted and anguished are sorrows silent in suffering.
presence omniscient
love his emanating light
me saving jesus
___________________________________
July.06.2020
My Faith Poetry
Sponsored by~ Regina Riddle
Placed 1'st...Thank You
Chased mercilessly
over well- worn tar
palpable loss pushes
a sable brush
dunked in dread
a furious deluge
of fear
oozes out
blackens every inch
of familiar landscape
what if’s
eat through
the still static blue horizon
making a meal
of unborn dreams
slaked only by
hastily grabbed
history
coupled with
ragged spirits
that desperately
haul hope north
safe haven
on strange soil
still dark hours
away
A single drop of water might be a source of solace.
Since what is unseen is destroyed, allow me to stay.
A magnificent ecstasy fantasy, a dreamlike palace
Dreary midwinter is no match for Elysium malice!
Hiding from prying eyes, a visit under a gloomy sky
A single drop of water might be a source of solace.
With mind two-way mirror, despite how lawless,
Souls glance at each other; let me for a while sway.
A magnificent ecstasy fantasy, a dreamlike palace
We're falling into the abyss, surrounded by darkness.
Yield to the crowds swirling cognitive waters bay.
A single drop of water might be a source of solace.
Come level my solace, lines contain no rare promise
Lazing in wilderness fields, Elysian meadows fly.
A magnificent ecstasy fantasy, a dreamlike palace
Receiving prizes while lying on the desolate display.
Refilling, ripping, and sowing occur after we pray.
A magnificent ecstasy fantasy, a dreamlike palace
A single drop of water might be a source of solace.
Written: February 07, 2023
Love defeats I’m not brave
I can’t wait anymore
And I wish to be slave
And I gift you my core.
In my longing, I’m blind
And I’m losing control
I will ask you to find
My desirable soul.
In your vanity wave
Will you hear my last cry?
And I stand near grave
But I don’t want to die.
Give me your endless rain
Give me eternal sun
I’m escaping from pain
I’m so jaded of run.
Never lose what I gave
I forgot that I’m proud
Love defeats I’m not brave
But I want to be loved.
One word
Like a black cat
Prowling on a starless night
Sneaks past my notice
Quiet and still and
Unobserved
Escaping from my well-intentioned lips
“Someday”
“We’ll have to get together”
“Yes, soon!”
“Write me when you get there”
“I will!”
“Don’t be a stranger”
“It’s been too long”
“Here’s my phone number”
“I’ll call – I promise...”
“Someday!”
Every emotion has an enemy
The enemy of joy is “if only I had done it differently…”
The enemy of peace is “what if something bad happens…”
The enemy of spontaneity is “when the time is right…”
The enemy of I love you is
“Someday”
I’m too tired to tell another story
About the pangs of reality
of my barricading delusions
and my spontaneous God given days
A long wait ;A fat fate
A nine day wonder that forever lay in yonder.
I’m bled out of verve ;high on adrenalin
I hated narcissism ,ignored individualism.
Am losing my creed hard as it seems,
No need for innuendos and cover ups
No gimmickry no false flags
I believe in theocracy,oneness of the most high.
I have been punched and bruised
Dead beaten and Ill stricken.
I've been a witness to sordid days
Happy years and bonfire nights
I once asked Santa for maiden
He told me " dude lets be serious"
I won't even bother Cupid
That naked winged baby wielding weapons
who even crowned him an angel ?
I've breached the rules
Threshed on everything with a head full of pain
Tried singing when broken
Only to realise my voice is even worse than my problems
In my fantasies I probed for honesty ,
Paraded with veracity.
But bliss is not a thing life guarantees
And I know this is how life in its entirety goes.
My imaginings are wilder,
Might soon catch a banshee
My nostalgias are inconsistent ,
And My health is really getting better
Will someday soon sky dive in Ghana
Or yet still rally on the Savannah
I sought levity in the midst of debacles
Only to find fury in endless spirals.
I stumbled on a prose
Lo! let me sip on its sweetened repose.
In my hands a pen a paper
so I can write away my woes.
recite it like a rhapsody or sing it like a hymn
As a form of consolation,An escape from reality.
"Penny for my thoughts?"...I'd offer them free of charge if they'd not escape.
~*~
5/21/14
Note: For Carolyn's "Birthday and Aging" Contest
3rd Place
raging waters trying to escape
falling over the edge
making it, into Canada, at last
9/3/2015 Michael Tor
i'll never forget
the way his words
fell across the page
his ciceronian elegance
the effulgence of my soul
amidst the threads
of darkest nights
spun as if through stars
we danced within the shadows
'neath the pearly moon
i remember the way
our muses spoke
mindful thoughts
in hidden speech
epistolary notes in whispers
romance upon the sheets
though i can't recall
.....his name
through all these
heartfelt writes
September 14, 2019
What's his name Contest
Sponsored by John Lawless
Escaping the Clouds
by Odin Roark
Entering one's Now…
How long the traverse.
Mountainous obstacles
Seem not of our creation,
Yet rock hard impasses appear
Where clear path seemed obvious,
Now impassible.
The best laid plans
Swirl amidst the winds of challenge,
Icing our tenacity,
Whiting-out our vision,
Deafening our ears to resolve.
Made to stop,
We seek refuge.
Cower we must,
Time's weather independent
Unaware love's thermal core
Knows but limited defense.
Suffering assumes the time.
We fearfully give it,
Granting indecision
Until we satiate.
Sentience abides.
Patience its virtue.
The conscious
Somehow realize a clearing,
Both path and atmosphere
Reveal survival routes.
Bad weather lifts.
We often know not why.
A path reveals itself,
Accompanied by fixed ropes of trust.
Having exited the overcast,
We embrace our trailhead,
Willingly remove extra weight
No longer needed upon our shoulders.
Stripping to our nakedness
We ready the entering of one's Now,
That place where past and future
Are but interference to being with the moment.
Escape from clouds,
The engulfment we mostly create within.
Please don't distort me with expectations!
I felt your orbit many years ago.
Your gravity filled me with temptations.
The moon in my sky, you made my heart slow.
My ocean was drawn towards your bright light.
I felt your orbit many years ago!
Still I remember how you lit my night.
Sadly for me I became lost in you.
My ocean was drawn towards your bright light.
Losing myself I didn't know what to do!
You in the distance up there in my sky.
Sadly for me, I became lost in you.
A bright light no warmth, I asked myself "Why?".
why, was I so attracted to your blue!
You in the distance up there in my sky.
The love I felt in the end wasn't true.
Why was I so attracted to your blue?
Your gravity filled me with temptations.
Please don't distort me with expectations!
For Shadow's contest
March 18th, 2015.