Best Exacerbating Poems
I slipped on a teardrop
Landed in a tragedy
People with twisted minds
On random killing sprees
No legitimate reason
Fueled by ignorant hate
Politicians turning their heads
Letting guns proliferate
Unspeakable heinous acts
Leaving a trail of grief
Justifying murder
For a radicalized belief
But selling assault rifles
And other weapons of war
Doesn't make anyone safer
It only guarantees more
I slipped on a teardrop
Fell into a river of tears
With an endless armada of bodies
Exacerbating fear
an original poem by Daniel Turner
Categories:
exacerbating, america, anger, anxiety, hate,
Form:
Rhyme
The unpredictable yaw of rolling seas,
as in life pummels us from side to side
randomly dictating its capricious ways
lacking logic the tossing grips us and seeks to take our lives
Death, like the ghost of Christmas past,
comes and expresses a tale of coldness and desolation
under the guise of light the dues it extracts from the living
accumulate like wrinkles on our faces the years pile on
The uncertainty of pandemics sends people into despair
mental frenzy engulfs societies
people wring their hands with worry
what happens if I get sick and lose my income?
At night I hear the sound of eighteen wheeler trucks rumbling
On the blacktop toward companies that make copious profits
past the foothills where coyotes cry nature's lament
exacerbating my approach to a precarious and worrisome future
Sometimes, I feel like a watermelon cut in half
exposed to the desert heat slowly drying up
or a taco at Christmas time or a paraplegic in a footrace
exposed in those places where I don’t belong
Leisure time for the working stiff is so elusive
yet now all I’ve got is time and plenty of it,
but there’s no leisure in it only worry
and does not give me needed rest
The yaws of life
seldom deviate from its variant course
but like ships at sea rising and falling in a tempest
our minds proceed at an ambiguous yet dangerous speed
With our hearts frozen in a delirium of past disappointments
they vanish the happy times into the ether of regrets
still we cling to those cherished happy time memories
when Life was more accepting of our youthful indiscretions
Our Ship of Life moves predictably toward an unknown horizon
unsteadily shaking us from side to side, up and down
like loose apples bobbing in an ocean
with our paths uncertain unfolding as we hold on.
Copyright © norberto franco cisneros
Categories:
exacerbating, life, perspective,
Form:
Didactic
Pain so debilitating
draining me of life
It is constant
with no respite
Saps my energy
such pain within
Pain depletes joy
from my face
Leaves strain and hurt
etched on my frown
As slowly and surely
pain grinds me down
Even when I try to sleep
pain keeps me awake
for hours on end
This enemy within
taking over my life
is dragging me down
Pain at every turn
Pain so aging
so exhausting too
Oh dear what can I do
Walking to accommodate
but posture is poor
Exacerbating problem
on walking through my door
Oh please I am begging
no pain anymore
Unwelcome guest
you ring my bell
you truly are
a visitor from hell
I will not let you in
I will lock up my door
Written on 10th January 2019
written after a very painful period so feeling rather fragile
Contest A STRAND (1072)
Sponsor Brian Strand
FIRST PLACE
Categories:
exacerbating, emotions, health, pain,
Form:
Free verse
The unpredictable yaw of rolling seas,
as in life, pummels us from one side to the other
randomly dictating capricious ways
arbitrarily gripping our lives
Life, like the ghost of Christmas past,
comes at night, tells its tale and is gone
but the dues it extracts keep mounting
like wrinkles on our faces the years pile on
The uncertainty of pandemics sends people into despair
mental frenzy abounds,
they wring their hands and worry
what happens if I get sick and lose my job?
At night I hear the sound of eighteen wheeler trucks rumbling
toward companies that make copious profits
past the foothills where coyotes cry nature's lament
exacerbating my precarious and worrisome future
Sometimes, I feel like a piece of watermelon
exposed to the desert heat slowly drying up
or a taco at Christmas time or a paraplegic in a footrace
exposed in those places where I don’t belong
Leisure time when needed is so elusive
yet now all I’ve got is time and plenty of it,
but there’s no leisure in it only worry
and does not give me needed rest
The yaws of life
seldom deviate from its variant course
but like ships at sea rising and falling in a tempest
they proceed at full speed
Our Ship of Life moves predictably toward an unknown horizon
unsteadily shaking us from side to side, up and down
like loose apples bobbing in an ocean
with our paths of uncertainty unfolding as we hold on
With our hearts frozen in a delirium of past disappointments
they vanish the happy times into the ether of regrets
still we cling to those cherished memories
when Life was more accepting of our youthful indiscretions
maybe, but Life being what it is, we cling to the good feelings experienced
that we come to accept as the ebb and flow of life evolves
and pushes us toward a far horizon
one we shall never know.
Categories:
exacerbating, happiness, life, remember, truth,
Form:
Free verse
Drowning in self degradation
Deliberate affliction is exacerbating
Crystalline facade dulling senses
Normalcy, forgetting our consensus
Score, decennary years within
point, swirling under skin
Finality, deaths creeping in
Exodus, my last syringe
Categories:
exacerbating, addiction, conflict, death, depression,
Form:
Quatrain
ONCE I WAS STANDING
ON THE NORTH SHORE
WATCHING THIS INCOMING
HIDEOUS WHORE
NOW, LET ME MAKE CLEAR
IT WAS A FORTY FOOT SURF
THAT WHEN CRASHED ON THE BEACH
IT CREATED A BURST
IT LET LOOSE A ROAR
THAT SHATTERED A MILE
THE AQUA BLUE HEATHEN
FORCED ME TO SMILE
WHEN SHE RATTLED AND RUMBLED
AND SHOOK ALL AROUND US
THAT EXACERBATING WITCH
WAS TRYING TO DROWNED US
JUST LIKE HER NAME
SHE WAS GRUESOME AND MEAN
GHASTLY AND GHOSTLY
AND LURED IS SEEMED
ALMOST MACABRE
IN A STRANGE WAY
IF YOU CAN PICTURE
THE SURF ON THAT DAY
Categories:
exacerbating, fear, horror, ocean, perspective,
Form:
Narrative
Evil is what those devils will not conceal.
At Goliad, we tasted their bayonet steel.
The walls at the Alamo have been painted red.
Davy Crockett and some others have fallen dead.
Many civilians are fleeing to escape
to the Sabine River in a runaway scrape.
Rather than fight and face defeat,
Houston and his men are in retreat.
This has been exacerbating the people’s fears.
Houston’s army faces ridicule and jeers.
Sam said, “I will know when the time is right.
That is when we will turn around and fight.
We will surprise attack that devil Santa Anna.
He and his men will fall during siesta.”
The right time to attack is today.
We heard Vince’s Bridge has been burned away.
They are camped just outside of San Jacinto.
Men, just remember what they did at the Alamo.
We can catch those bastards while most are asleep.
With the bridge gone, the water is too deep.
We can surround them with no place to run.
With surprise on our side, they will become undone.
What is this I hear? The fighting is done?
We have just started and the battle is won?
We got word that Santa Anna is not dead.
With a sweet yellow rose, he was comfortably in bed.
Word is he was captured with a sweet thing named Emily.
Wearing only silk underwear, he was taken into custody.
Finally, those Mexicans have tasted defeat.
With Santa Anna in our hands, our victory is complete!
Categories:
exacerbating, history, sweet, men, sweet,
Form:
Rhyme
MAGIC BEANS
There was magic in those beans!!
Colors - reds, greens, blacks,
savory flavors, and sweetness,
sweetness to ease the uneasiness.
They became a sought after reward,
payment for being, for existing,
payment to an unknown need.
Age changed the beans.
The colors still held secret the
tantalizing rewards flavor.
The relief longer lasting
yet somehow still lacking
the joy of the originals.
There was still magic in those beans.
Dark Magic, Black Magic,
potions that brought less relief,
exacerbating the desire
for more of what caused the need –
for more.
There was no bean stalk,
no Golden Goose,
only the lie of the magic beans
feeding the fear of a lonesome child
too soon challenged
to become a grown-up.
John G. Lawless
1/6/2015
For PD’s Magic Beans – Poetry Contest
Categories:
exacerbating, abuse, addiction, childhood,
Form:
Free verse
Stricken souls gasp amid rapt tension
And surreal panic as the world spirals
Under throes of exacerbating fire;
Trapped between numinous brawls.
A virulent pandemic subsides
As near-nukes its pedestal take;
Stubborn fear every limb guides
Amid unceasing numbing awe.
Shall life outlast such brutal fury:
As invisible realms arsenals dumb
Blandish upon this bleeding plane;
Upon this rage-pillaged stratum?
Not when viral variants surge
And spikes inoculations defy;
Not when troops against troops vow
And warheads against warheads vie.
Categories:
exacerbating, anger, anxiety, betrayal, christian,
Form:
Elegy
Fresh home from therapy,
and resonate with zeal
tush air cerebral cogs a turn'n
analogous to and pinion wheel
hence attempt made to bare soul,
sans thru poetry re: veal
ling avidity, asper barreling neurological
daily kos loaded truck full
heading toward figurative
lifelong landfill deposits
on weekly psycho
logical session I unseal
manipulating bothersome issues
controlled via bot size thumbwheel,
which grave undertaking i.e.
professional counseling allows,
enables, and provides opportunistic
gradual process at selfheal
ling oft times necessitates
reviewing silent Virgina reel
comprising the story
of earlier life piecemeal
akin to a slapdash montage
chronicling existential ordeal,
now referencing adenoids
(removal first mention within
poetic endeavor, when young boy)
loosely linkedin with nasopharyngeal
pseudo oral palate
highway tucking each meal
across miniature bridgework,
ma late mum meekly
acceded to doctors orders,
said operation sub
sequently deemed unnecessary
affecting negligible decreasing nasality
predicated on split (bifid
or bifurcated uvula), viz laryngeal
utterances finds me speculating
speculating now, whether taking kneel
ling pose possibly coo dove
wrought divine intercession
giving me super powers ideal
for fighting off being bullied
gloating this instant imagining
bringing beastie boys to heel
actual reality visit my kid self,
a most convenient scapegoat
socially withdraw puny size lad
internalizing hateful barbs glom
ming up significant emotional gearwheel
inferiority complex predominating
supplemented with cumulative
anger, a potent feel
ling exacerbating anxiety prone disposition
courtesy chromosomal
(pop'n mom genes) art of the deal.
Categories:
exacerbating, 10th grade, 11th grade,
Form:
Enclosed Rhyme
I can see you crystal clear, now that the wind has died down
The unnerving preferential treatment, called silence
Has got my mind all up in a raucous, It’s gnawing at my heart down to the bone,
It breaks me in two, maimed my sense to fight, to live, to strive,…
Have a normal life, if any (without you), be perfect,
??
Guess perfection doesn’t cover it all; it doesn’t have any success stories,
They all just crash down and disappear,
Like a rainbow after a showered day, our love disappeared,
I only got a glimpse of a future, I wanted, something that I needed
But it all was gone way too soon,
Now our love is like a tattered piece of cloth dancing in the wind,
?
These pieces cuts so deep, each time I try to pick up what little is left of my soul,
I guess our love was a ticking time bomb, triggered by each and every touch,
The chemistry our love breathes breaks with each and every burning love,
Each spark exacerbating the ever diminishing lit fuse on my heart,
Love is a dangerous game you get to close,
You burn
Categories:
exacerbating, absence, beautiful, bullying, crush,
Form:
Ballad
All of him is exacerbating,
Feelings, lies and pain.
All by him is exaggerated,
frustration or a strain.
Fussy and particular,
Nothing ever good enough.
Weak, lazy and exhausted,
Everything just too tough.
Vein, and big-headed,
Enamoured with himself for sure,
On top of all he got,
He always wanted more!
~Written in 2002 when I was thirteen.~
Categories:
exacerbating, angst, brother, childhood
Form:
Invited to Vote for Hillary
There was a gorgeous, great finale'
When we went to the Hillary rally
To debate' rules they had adherence
She had Top Secret Security Clearance.
Occasionally we heard Bernie mumble
Repeat words and on some stumble
And very last thing that we did recall
Yelled in speeches like in a shower stall.
News columnists would do an exclusive
On Bernie's throat that he was abusive
Tried to appear as some figure towering
With exacerbating voice over empowering.
At convention served communion water and wine
And Methuselah was the last man in line
As everyone had become much more happier
Because Hillary soon would be voting for her.
You could also call this:
"INVITED TO VOTE FOR HILLARY."
Jim Horn
Categories:
exacerbating, allegory, analogy,
Form:
Couplet
Internalized emotions wrought
quotidian psychological oppression
retrospective reflection courtesy
20/20 hindsight reveals absolute zero
positive development of body, mind, and spirit
extreme agitation compromised
maturation, education, and socialization
every year since being
born free and clear of obvious defects
minus alien aberration, Russian collusion...,
nor deplorable crooked Hillary accusation
and submucous cleft palate
inducing severe nasality
fraught with arduous speaking difficulty
coping, fraternizing, integrating
within ordinary circumstances
alienated, defied, horrified,
mortified, scared, zapped
yours truly, albeit analogous
experiencing ferocious, hellacious, torturous...
suffering predicated on suppressing
and/or repressing moderate slights
inflicted upon withdrawn younger self,
who lacked adroit, deft, heft...
coping with typical situations
subsequently aggravating,
exacerbating, jinxing...
to cultivate, generate,
liberate locked potential
hypothesized, premised, yoked
infantile grievous inconsolable crying
unsolved behavioral mystery
venting only for my "mommy dearest"
would utter (this from hearsay)
exhibiting extreme aversion
if other than thee birth mother
comforted, cradled, cocooned...,
an extremely reticent individual
buckling as strapping bullies
relentlessly belted jibed, taunted...
said teasing begat intimidation
(oft times mentioned other poems)
scrawny kid (me) cowed, fawned, irked,
nonetheless I remained passive against
blistering, hectoring, teasing,
which apothegm turning other cheek
avoided getting smashed pumpkin face
courtesy subservient stance
devotional acquiescence help me dog pose
prayer temporarily answered
harboring entire being
ten thousand feet beneath
avast sea of dejection
time and again repeated
alas crass harassment
absorbed into nucleus of every cell
anchored barnacle encrusted tenuous pride
in short shrift
brewing, abjection, dejection, humiliation...
"NOT FAKE" misery
inducing suicidal ideation
spurring serious delineation
allowing, enabling, proffering
permanent salvation uber vacation
among livingsocial years later overlaid
earthshaking fault finding
misbehavior gifted from
those I called mother and father.
Categories:
exacerbating, 10th grade, 11th grade,
Form:
Epic
During
your
twirling
soliloquy
&
throbbing
zeal
for
endless
dalliance
beckon
me
will
come
again
&
again
to
your
eyrie
on
rainy days
on
frosty darks
exacerbating
flames
of
queasy
symptoms
wren
winnows
mesquite
ambiance
magnifies
relish
crave
&
devotee
shake
leaves
nodding
piano
&
softer
cuddle
drums
memorabilia
weary
in
perky
straits
Written: November 18, 2022
A Brian Strand Premiere Choice Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Brian Strand
NOTE:THIS IS AN OPEN(organic) FORM VERSE using spaces&breaks without grammatical symbols ,the ' open' relies upon 'the one breath limitation' & so inherently requires the 'reader' (reciter) to input and responds thus making this enigmatic form a two way interplay & interpretatIon unique to the moment& changing according to mood is inherently variable.
Categories:
exacerbating, analogy, appreciation, beauty, cute
Form:
Other