Best Exorbitant Poems
From among the poets who fired my imagination
whom shall I choose, can’t bring myself to pick
and place from dozens, just one above all the rest!
With all romantics in line, the one who has touched
my heart chords most, is none other than John Keats
In my eyes, he wears the mantle of a great poet
for the sheer beauty of his diction and the images
woven in the loom of his exorbitant fancy,
tumbling one on another!
Sad the scythe of Fate cut him down at the age of 25!
Had he survived the autumnal blasts and seen the beauty
of lovesome springs and sunny summers unfolding
none could have been commensurable to him in name or fame
When seasons change and summer loosens its fiery grip,
who cannot but welcome Keats’ Autumn,
the ‘Season of mist and mellow fruitfulness?
When I hear a lone bird singing in the far fringes of the woodlands
I strain my neck to see if it’s Keats’ Nightingale
staying unseen and ‘pouring forth its soul in such ecstasy’
Ode on a Grecian Urn lifted him to stellar fame
who saw, in the rustic scene painted on the Urn,
life in its fullness, but’ frozen in time’
where he identified beauty and truth as one
‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty’- his immortal line
keeps resounding and its echoes rippling in hearts many
Sad, like a rose whose petals were knocked down
from its stalk by the mighty wind’s powerful breath,
he fell, but stays deathless among the dead
emanating sweet fragrance in the surrounding air
and his ‘plaintive anthem’ never ‘fades’,
Jan.16.2023
~ Placed tenth~
Beloved Poets Poetry Contest
Sponsor- Regina McIntosh
A welcome sight the lights ahead - like misty globules on ink black foam
The billboard elicits a sense of foreboding - Welcome to the Midnight Bazaar
A lack luster moon adds to the mystery – nervously I enter to ask my way home
A familiar song plays in the somewhere, the name eludes me - how bizarre
Somberly dressed people scurry past- eyes focused on illuminated screens
Refusing contact, shoving past rudely as I ask where this place would be
One of them in riddles tells me - this is home - the place to be it seems
I wonder if the scales of reality have tipped in favor of insanity
A stall arouses my curiosity and I look as a butcher of sorts places
Bleeding hearts getting desired effect - starts a pushing jostling frenzy
Uninterested in the clowns on stilts with their painted morbid faces
Children walk with sullen looks - expressionless eyes that fail to see
Crowds clamor to buy sea food - how absurd - especially as a smell of decay prevails
Fresh produce on sale with dyed color bleeding and truffles of mud is there something amiss
A man wanders around with passports on offer - Buy yourself a Life - his sign displays
Relief at last - a stall with books and maps – here is my escape from this tainted Abyss
This God forsaken place is not where I wish to stay
And I must strive to leave it before the light of day
An exorbitant sum I pay eager to escape his cloying breath, his black toothed smile
A commotion at the far end - some sort of bidding - curiously I venture courage giving me wings
A sign proclaims ‘Souls For Sale’- in rage I scream ‘you cannot sell souls - This is so Vile ‘
Dark soulless eyes in chalk white faces – Bore right through me – Look right through me
I run screaming, falling, clawing the map that shows all roads lead back to this Hell - I scream
Waking myself - knowing the name of that song still in my head - Shaking from this macabre dream
Footnote:
This was not meant to be a pretty poem. It exaggerates the state of a world that has seemingly lost its focus and empathy. Let's not let this happen
Take a bit of Dean Kontz, Stephen King and the unnatural things going on with food enhancements and you have the stage set for a macabre nightmare!
A young gigolo called Timothy
Gave sex for an exorbitant fee
But his passionate style
Sure made all ladies smile…
(I’m hoping that he’s got room for me!)
02~13~17
Beauty of beauties! Butterfly!
Most exorbitant in glitters!
O, Divine blessing from above!
Rainbow of multiple colors
And symbol of love!
Beauty of beauties! Butterfly!
Beauty of beauties! Butterfly!
A universe, in you, I see,
With its vivacious forms and shapes;
Endless beauty in highest glee,
In you, like landscapes!
Beauty of beauties! Butterfly!
Beauty of beauties! Butterfly!
Herald of true transformation!
Envoy of great comfort and hope!
Tale of total liberation!
Zodiac in lope!
Beauty of beauties! Butterfly!
Beauty of beauties! Butterfly!
Image of joy and hopefulness!
Representing undying love!
To express pure auspiciousness,
You're flown like a dove!
Beauty of beauties! Butterfly!
Beauty of beauties! Butterfly!
Sing of souls and resurrection!
Endurance! Metamorphosis!
Conversion! Transfiguration!
Constance marvelous!
Beauty of beauties! Butterfly!
Beauty of beauties! Butterfly!
In a world of cares and worries,
You teach humanity calmness;
Eternally lasting mores
Amid mousiness!
Beauty of beauties! Butterfly!
Beauty of beauties! Butterfly!
I so much yearn to be like you,
To live my life flawlessly here;
Flying... forgetting every woe,
Fearless; full of cheer!
Beauty of beauties! Butterfly!
29 December 2021
''B'' Forms, 10 Plus lines Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Constance La France
Waking up that day with a silent scream
while feeling a sense of dread,
having dreamt about a sanitary landfill
and the living dead,
And later driving on the parkway
to my small crowded cafe,
ordered some jumbo shrimp
which I more or less ate,
Looking around noticed some
people who acted legally drunk,
as I tried to act naturally trying
not to stare at the slovenly punks,
I kinda sorta finished my meal
and out loud said good grief,
payed the exorbitant price and
went to the bathroom for some relief,
And feeling pretty ugly like an albatross,
while in there applied a little lipstick gloss;
and while leaving felt like I committed some crime,
hoping next time I'll notice the proper bathroom sign,
Then drove home and
parked in my driveway,
waved at my resident alien
across the street way,
Walking in my house I
found missing my sock,
my passive aggressive husband
between a hard place and a rock,
Showing me an exact estimate
which he got for our roof,
I said I got the same difference
which he clearly misunderstood,
And finally before retiring,
listened to some soft rock,
holding onto my genuine imitation
of my now found once lost sock.
Reminiscence of My Childhood
By Franklin Price
12/1/2016
Reminiscence of my childhood
Looking back on younger days
When life was not so hectic
Mass media not the craze
No such things as cell phones
We had a party line
Speaking to an operator
To call a friend was fine
To look up information
An encyclopedia of course
And other books of reference
Library was the source
Checked out books of interest
Could not down-load on the phone
Novels read from page to page
The turning put me in the zone
Check out time was just two weeks
Returning late there was a fine
An exorbitant two cents a day
A large amount if it was mine
Computers filled more than a room
At least that's what I heard
Apple was a fruit to eat
Micro-soft was not a word
Of course there was no texting
Conversations face to face
Meeting at the local drive-in
For a burger was the place
Reminiscence is so wonderful
It always makes me smile
I'll post this poem on Face-book
In just a little while
Weapons and mass destruction
Traffic congestion
Infrastructure deterioration
Human experimentation
Child Abuse and Molestation
Church-State Separation
Toxic waste and unemployment
Exorbitant education
Police corruption and abuse
Alcoholism,Grey Goose
Can’t smoke indoors
Can’t smoke outdoors
Big Brothers mouth roars
“STOP the POLLUTION”
When it’s big businesses
That has the solution
To air pollution
It’s not the consumers
So stop spreading those rumors
Medicare and Medicaid Reform
Trying to set the norm
Compared to
Money Laundering
And the show that some
Perform
Media Bias
Would stop if we only had
More Zechariah's
Homelessness
In the U.S
It’s not a good reflection of America
Doing its best
Women fighting
For their equal rights
And racism lingering
Day and night
Change must be bold
And in Highlight
Oh the joys of an airport trolley
I try and push it oh what a folly
The wheels always have a life of their own
I’ve not got off the ground I just want to go home
I want it to go left but it goes off to the right
I give in to its stubbornness; I really don’t want a fight
At last I reach the check in I can leave the trolley behind
Farewell you metal monster you drove me out my mind
I queue up at the check in to get my boarding pass
Hope they don’t scrutinise my photo I really look an ass
No I’ve not got any liquids and I packed the bag myself
Oh damn I’ve left my travel sickness pills on the kitchen shelf
Now its through security oh how I do hate that
Remove your belts and boots, your scarf and your hat
Make sure you put your liquids in a plastic bag
Without my Oil of Olay I look a real old hag
In the departure lounge your pocket takes a hit
Have you seen the cost of a cuppa – it takes the mick a bit
You sit around for ages and hope that there is no delay
I just want to board the plane and go on holiday
Herded up like cattle when you hear the flight number call
I climb the aircraft steps carefully so I don’t take a fall
Squeeze into the aircraft seat and buckle up your belt
Hope the pilot knows their stuff and your last card’s not got dealt
Finally the plane takes off and you are in the air
Thirty minutes flight time for an exorbitant fare
Finally you land and you reach your destination
Time to relax and sit back and enjoy your vacation.
Jan Allison
30th April 2014
Exorbitant-
extortionist,
self-orient-
red-royalties with,
oil based rents...
Ten-tentacle dresses,
head-level-leftover-ness.
"Instead of shedz we're getting into the mess,"
the fled are those who made precautions press,
loftily next.
Finally retiring down to sunny Tampa,
and moving into an old house,
noticed there was a bad termite problem
which I had to trouble shoot somehow,
my neighbor being into exotic pets,
suggested one that would help me the best,
paying him the exorbitant amount,
I took home my new exotic pet,
letting her wander around her new dwelling,
she quickly started sucking up the little pests,
and just like a vacuum cleaner,
even got all the pesky ants,
I thought this was a great investment,
not having to inhale any poisonous fumes,
as my new exotic pet,
followed me from room to room,
I decided to call her Annie,
because I'd become so fond of her,
she was just like an exterminator,
just a more furry one,
the only negative thing about her,
was her long Freddy Krueger like claws,
which I had to trim every other day,
because they'd start to curl,
and speaking of that,
she wasn't just a practical vacuum
with her long tubular snout,
when I'd take her for walks around the park,
she'd even defend me from an assailant,
beyond a shadow of a doubt.
I've seen anger
and power
morph into hate.
And nations crumble
under siege,
when religious zealots
free the beast within.
And the blood flows red,
as Death demands an
exorbitant toll
for the fallen soul's
passage into heaven.
The very wealthy
build their dynasties
by grinding the bones
of naive idealist
and the pious,
into the mortar
for their monuments
and crypts of stone.
The apocalypse,
a Martyr’s dream,
or reality’s
nightmare?
Your Honor, I Object
By Elton Camp
Lawyer Louie caters to a special clientele
Only those who are rich and guilty as hell
And, in exchange for his exorbitant fee,
Louie will make sure that they’re set free
He will use ever trick, but never go so far
That the ABA might take action to disbar
All of the prosecution’s witnesses he’ll try
To show they’re incompetent or telling a lie
When the District Attorney starts to close in,
Then Louie will “Your honor I object” begin
He objects to someone able to establish a fact
And from his client’s reputation dare detract
Louie finally found a judge as tough as nails
Who is determined to see that justice prevails
A man who, by such tactics cannot be fooled
Will speaks up and say, “Objection overruled”
Legal eagles or vultures?
Alimony and divorce
Wills
Your problem is in their best financial interest
Enduring power of Attorney
Representing you at a exorbitant fee
Stay away from them if you can!
Jan Allison
6th May 2016
O my tv's had a gray, gray screen
Since it blew up last June.
The radio plays no melody.
The piano's out of tune.
Alas! My ipod's ceased to work.
My laptop's gone kaput.
My car just died a violent death,
And now I am on foot.
When HBO plays great, my dears,
When car and gadgets run,
I'll pay thy exorbitant fees, my dears;
Then we'll all be having fun.
So fare thee well, my saviors dear.
I'll call thee in a while.
Take care of these, young fix-it men.
They're really worth a pile!
Robert Burns, Scottish poet, 1700's
entered in Julia Ward's A Light to Like Poetry Contest on June 25, 2017
'Twas the night before Christmas and I was still shopping
when I would much rather have been bar to bar hopping.
I juggled bags of presents that cost far too much dough.
The sidewalks were crowded and then it started to snow!
I scowled at a chubby fake Santa who kept ringing a bell.
'Twas another Christmas Eve straight from the annals of Hell.
I stopped for a coffee at Starbucks and got a leaky cup.
I've had just about enough of this mayhem. I'm fed up!
But I couldn't go home, not yet. I had more gifts to buy.
A guy bumped into me. My patience was in short supply,
so, I pushed him back and ducked inside a jewelry store.
He came after me with clenched fists, and ready for war!
A security guard leaped into action and threw him out
I stayed put for a while because I knew without a doubt
that man was waiting outside, and I wasn't ready to die.
I sang, "Oh, you better watch out, you better not cry..."
Since trapped for a while, I thought I'd get my wife a ring.
Emeralds or sapphires would do. She'd like a little bling.
The price was exorbitant, but I wasn't ready to leave.
How much worse could things get on this Christmas Eve?
A question I should've never asked, and I'll tell you why...
There's no Moana Dolls anywhere for my daughter. Sigh.
Santa was coming to town but beneath our tinseled tree
my kid would cry out, "Santa didn't leave Moana for me."
"Sorry," the saleslady said, "I'm afraid I sold the last one."
Tis the season to be jolly, but I'll be glad when it's done.
What's a dad to tell his kid about the flaw in Santa Claus?
I bought her a little puppy and named him Santa paws.
I walked down a slippery street with a dog on a leash.
What a sight I must've been; a grown man crying, 'SHEESH!'
But I was headed home and in need of a shot of whiskey
because Santa Paws was beginning to get a bit too frisky.
'Twas a wretched night before Christmas I'll never forget.
I waited too long to shop and paid the price with regret.
Santa's elves make his toys and reindeer pull his sleigh,
but next year I'll be doing my Christmas shopping on Ebay!
November 24, 2022 ~ The Night Before 3 Contest
Sponsored by Joseph May