Best Gnaws Poems
Wellness and worry are by no means friends.
To be well, your mind of worry you must cleanse.
Living with worry, there’s a price to pay
worry will kill you if you let it stay.
If you want to enjoy physical health,
beware of worry it creeps up by stealth
then causes your nervous system to stress,
and in time, you’ll be a physical mess.
Worry also affects your mental health.
Its effects can creep up on you by stealth.
Worrying can lead to anxiety
which makes you withdraw from society.
Worry can steal your emotional health
Like a cat it moves in silence and stealth.
It gnaws on your joy, making you feel sad.
Before you know it, everything seems bad.
Worry can ruin spiritual health.
The crafty old lion stalks you in stealth.
He tempts you to doubt and distrust your God.
Before you know it, your life he has clawed.
Worry is a thief; he is after your health.
Give him a chance and he’ll steal your wealth.
When worry shows up, don't open the door.
Trust God instead, and feel your spirit soar.
Celebration of Wind and Fire
Celebrate the unseen face of God’s eternal Spirit
Embracing all before creating light;
Action word of the eternal dance
Hovering over the chaotic genesis of creation;
Leading exiles out of exile through empty seas with fiery pillars
Feeding wanderers hungry for heavenly bread at dawn;
A living shadow pushing away the shadow of separation
Planting salvation’s seed deep within the sanctuary of a young girl’s yes;
Wearing the face of a dove descending on the Word
Leading anointed redemption into the empty desert place of prayer;
Driving wind and flames arriving on a festival morning
When fearful souls stood up to speak the languages of the world gathered;
Raising up a new tower of adoration reaching Heaven’s ears
Uniting with eternal words no longer babbling;
A fire, that never burns, burns through dust of days long past and now
Still hovering, descending, overshadowing, and dancing;
A sacred nudge delighting in coincidence
Filling up the thirst that gnaws for serendipity in surprises;
Inspiration birthed by the invisible hand of holy mischief
Inviting ambivalent, wavering, steps to roads of rightness in quiet whispers;
Lowering mountains, preparing highways now made straight,
For pilgrim’s feet gathering flowers in wild wastelands;
Caressing, prodding, in moments of a-ha ever evolving -
Timeless mentor of universal innovation;
Handiwork of the restless holy leaping up in wild fire
When old hearts dream dreams and young eyes see visions;
Laughing, dancing divine whimsy pirouetting through stars and galaxies
Never the same when touched by the Spirit dancing.
12/2/19
Original Contest: Holy Spirit
Chantelle Anne Cooke
Within the creeping shadows,
do you think you can find me?
Before chaos implodes my soul ~
I’m lost amongst childhood
memories, pounded to ash and dust,
clouding my sight,
as silence stifles my screams.
Whilst rivulets of water collect
around cracked soles,
cold liquid rushes
with each word left unsaid,
rising as foreboding
talons scrape against the ballast
stones of despair.
Spiritual hunger gnaws at my insides,
pain filling a closing throat.
O Helios Flare,
burning the crystalline odyssey,
sailing through sinister sapphires ~
I let my muse
spill cues of clemency,
allowing the salt of stillness
to kiss the bronze bones
beneath my quivering skin.
As I taste the f e a r s ,
the trembling turmeric
of the sun I once loved ~
soaked in
t e a r s of the dragon,
for you and for me.
Yet will the green-eyed gales
ever know, ever feel,
the truth I have traced?
The caged nightmare
that bound my gossamer,
leaf-like wings,
taming me to a gruesome game
of bleeding blame and bruises,
as though I were fated
by the blaze of kismet ~
to be the chained dreamer,
drowning in darkness,
choking on unspoken sorrow,
suffocating on splitting stars,
oblivious to the opalescent
shimmers of moonlight
singing within these vain veins…
So tonight, in muted midnight,
I write ~ and I weave ~
swaying to sulfur-laced,
gustless breezes,
all whilst the choir of dead dreams
serenades abounded hopes,
departed in fractured equilibrium.
No longer able to stay
afloat amongst raging riptides
of repressed trauma, I plummet
into the seas of tranquility,
hoping to emerge
b a p t i z e d by the
empathetic estuaries
flowing through heavens...
As days go by,
And the pain gets worse,
I long to ride,
In my hearse
That "Exit Sign"
Above the door,
Calls to me,
Like never before...
I'm not a coward,
I'm not a fool,
But living with pain
Breaks the rule...
I hold back,
in fear of God,
And, I guess,
that's kind of odd,
Yet constant pain,
Just gnaws away
Makes me wish
Today's my final day...
And effects on loved ones,
Escapes me not,
To make them sad
Not a desire I've got
But pounding, twisting
Endless agony
Makes me wonder
How much more for me
That "Exit Sign"
Above the door,
Entices me,
Promising no more
Writhing pain,
Pulsating misery,
So very tempting,
Believe you, me...
Homebound,
Largely bedridden
The meaning of my life,
Seems so well hidden
To die alone,
And in pain,
My destiny,
A life in vain.
The ambient glow of the fireplace becomes hypnotic.
Home alone, always, without true love to snuggle me.
Each of many pains of night makes my mind neurotic.
Pathetic it may seem for a young and beautiful girl.
Alone again after years of searching; life becomes a whirl.
Incessant longing gnaws away at self-control.
Night brings its darkness to the weariness of my soul.
Satan takes a grip upon my sanity; I am no longer whole.
Oh, that I could find true love and live a life of joy.
Forever, I live searching, only to be someone’s toy.
Night without you, my true love, is a lonely curse.
If only I could find you, whoever you are, wherever you are.
Grateful love, come; I beg you and quench my thirst.
Heaven is but a thought away…as is suicide.
Touch me with your warmth; Save me and let love abide.
Where is the dream that I dreamt as a child.
I never knew that the world could be so wild.
Today is just one step in eternity, but forever alone.
How can I face another day; I know not!
Over and over the thoughts circulate in my mind.
Utter self-destructions seeming the only solution.
Then, I fear the great and dreadful consequence.
To live eternity alone would be unbearable.
Reality visits at the break of dawn, briefly.
Underneath these fancy clothes lies a broken heart.
Each day takes me to a new horizon…until night.
Loneliness tortures me; at dark I am immobile.
Oh, the pains of night without true love destroy.
Vitality sinks into Satan’s sullen ship; sips sorrows.
Everything seems lost, but I pray for true love, tomorrow.
Copyright March 8, 2015
Written for Poetry Soup Member Contest: The Pain of Night
Sponsored by Tammy Reams
We are as similar as opposites can be
He's short and puny, I am gangly
He barks when he's happy, angry or sad
Yes, he's my dog and he makes me glad
He looks at me with reverent eyes
As I beg before the world, for a morsel of rice
He's happy even though, it's in a broken voice, I sing
To him I am nothing less than a King
I am dirty and unkempt, my clothes in tatters
When people turn away with disdain, my heart shatters
But he's blissfully unaware of my pathetic existence
To him I am more than just means of subsistence
He is my companion, my friend, my guide
Together we surf the storms and the rising tide
Of everyday life and together we survive
I think, it is for him that I stay alive
As the day winds down, our spoils we share
In a dirty corner of a dirty street; Our lair
We always eat together, never alone
He always gives me the meat, and gnaws on a bone
I talk to him about past's glory, and today's misery
The world laughs at me and calls me crazy
But he wags his tail as though understanding it all
And snuggles up to me and sleeps, when night falls
It’s a recurring thought –
Over and over again –
Reverberating in my head,
Bouncing back and forth,
Reeling up and down like a Yo-yo,
Like a boomerang that keeps coming back,
Like a song stuck in your head,
A thought that gnaws at your will to live,
Like an army of termites devouring
your soul making you hollow inside,
Like the waves of the sea
lapping its shores ceaselessly.
It’s a nagging thought
to just shut off everything,
Like turning off the light switch
and walking away;
A thought to strip off all my
worries and cares of the world,
Like a snake shedding its skin,
And just wandering away,
Leaving behind petty rivalry,
envy, jealousy, shallow ties,
The promises and perils of life,
And to step forth renewed, reborn,
into a new place with no identity,
no name, no past, no aspirations--
just living for the day
As I like, As I please,
With no vagaries of life,
No yearning for paradise.
Walking away folk free
unrestricted by time or space,
customs, creed or the rules of the law.
But this thought
Like an active volcano ever brewing
and rumbling but never erupting,
Like a seed sowed with care and nurturing
but never sprouting, never coming to fruition.
It just keeps kneading and churning
Forever bobbling in the doldrums
Performing boondoggle tasks
Bearing the burden of the world like Atlas,
Unable to sigh or sneeze,
Fearful that a sudden moment
The slightest shift might cause
an upheaval in someone’s life.
Ah, the woes of life!
Why thou linger willy-nilly in my vicinity?
Why thou not forsaketh me?
Go and befriend the dark, foreboding clouds
And burst down upon some distant shores.
Let some sun shine upon me,
Let love gather me in her warm embrace,
Bequeath to me days rife with joy
and mellow moonlit nights,
Let my path run some distance straight
and not twist or turn at whim,
Let there be spring in my seasons
instead of the cold and bare winter,
Let me rejoice in the day’s toil
And earn me the night’s repose –
It’s a recurring thought,
Over and over again,
Reverberating in my head...
Wait just a minute!
Didn’t we go over that already?
~09/10/15
"Inside My Head" contest by John lawless
You tend to say hurtful things,
acting like a soul possessed.
And try resurrecting fears
time has long ago repressed.
You can't relate to pity;
for bullies exploit the meek.
And it feels good to demean
those who turn the other cheek.
I see someone who's hurting;
using drugs to numb their pain.
And a sore loser in life;
treating winners with disdain.
The truth does not deter you;
whatever you do feels right.
But guilt gnaws at your insides;
and part of you dies each night.
You stand ready to attack;
pushing those who care away.
And start swinging at shadows;
striking out, day after day.
Beneath kohl sky, the war of words rattles
As fierce lightning of his voice, my thunderous replies
Pour a lethal elixir, its venom malignant
Demanding a power struggle between forces,
On one tearing night which assaults the senses:
How whipping air deepens a rugged course
Where darkness gathers heightened energy;
Vicious as the gnaws of a charged torrent.
I saunter out to clear an overcast mind,
Breathing in the rain, the moist vapor
While my fingers raise high in soulful appeal
Until a dot of a star enters into my body...
Gradually, the storm passes by, as if
Nothing on the byway stirs a gory hour;
That in pure clarity, I open the kitchen door
And maybe, through divine intervention,
He embraces me in the middle of his vulnerability.
Perfect Storm Contest ---for Craig Cornish
10/4/2017
Exhaustion drips its weary head
Shrouding me with desolate apparel
A forlorn wardrobe of melancholy blues
Colors of emotional peril.
Indifference holds my body still
Unconcerned with the cold
Distant journeys in my thoughts
Apathy strong in its hold.
Nonchalance a steady companion
Detaching me from reality
Unaroused by what’s in front of me
I’ve lost all sense of vitality.
Inattention stands unyielding
Unwilling to make way for diligence
Insensitivity plants a seed
Growing strong in its militance.
Numbness gnaws away at my spirit
Paralyzed from its greed
Dulled by life’s anesthesia
I lack the passion to be freed.
a scandalous secret gnaws
at the epicenter of my being
threatening to unearth
score pillars of dirt
upon which my world is built
gilded in reverence,
vaingloriously lauded
and parlayed to ascend sacred rungs
beyond the license of minions,
the legend grows
and grows
and grows
and though I know
my storied steeple,
as all things crooked,
will surely crumble someday,
I pray that it shall stay
erect
an irreverent crown;
a reaming tower of pisa
steeped in piety,
the envy of my faithful throng
preserved
to shatter the innocence of your delicate young…
~ Pablo
A Grisly Tapeworm
In Anger and in Hatred, a Tapeworm I see
Unless internally hosted, its Life will not be.
From egg it starts Life, ‘fore an adult worm
Fed on Host’s blood, it gains a portly form.
While finer or fatter, greedy Worm gnaws,
The wretched Host, pale and thin he grows.
Then the anaemic Host, too ill to live a day
Falls in the dark pit, where there’s no ray!
*
The same story is true of a Man with Hate
Hate soon embraced, is an iniquitous mate.
So, I avidly learned , my temper to narrow
Perspective being that it eats man’s marrow.
To nurture it in Heart, Hate will grow so big
And wiggle one’s Dignity; like a tail of a pig!
For, Anger grows so fat that Man is in sorrow
By eating all his vim to leave a man hollow!
*
To internalise Hate is to eat a sharp blade
That curves from inside while fast you fade.
It spins some mortal blow in its incisive poise
That fates and finishes by its hushed noise:
The structure curves in, trusses cut and gone
He falls on the floor with not a single bone!
*
Hearken ye therefore, Hate begets dearth
Piety Mad Haters who know no inner mirth!
For, to lavish in Love, denigrating foolish Hate
Bestows inner Peace or sense of pure sate.
Gimme not filthy wealth, gimme not lucre
I’m a happy man giving Love and Succour!!
JM
31st Oct’ 2013
Jealousy a destructive emotion
Serves no-one well
Brings out the worst in human nature
Dragging mind and heart to a dark hell
Slowly diminishes the human spirit
Gnaws at ones soul
Creating confusion and paranoia
No longer balanced or whole
Insecurity and disappointment
Lead to this negativity
Not at peace or happy with one’s self
Feelings of inadequacy
Please believe in yourself
Never doubt your worth
You are no less
Than any other on this earth!
Panes of dirty glass conceal the past
where futures were tied to land and soil.
And pa fingers a hand full of dirt
reflecting on years of pain and toil.
A rusty sun bronzes a foil star
ma hung in the window for good luck.
And a small candle awaits a match
to defend against the dark when struck.
Hunger gnaws at our empty stomachs,
everything we plant is doomed to die.
And yet, ma slips me and pa a smile,
showing us where her loyalties lie.
Looking up to a burnt almond sky,
she searches for clouds other than dust.
And scans for life in neighboring homes
long ago left to decay and rust.
Abandoning a dream lost to time,
ma loses hope and accepts defeat.
And I can see the pain in pa's eyes,
the trickling tears mocking his conceit.
California calls in shades of green,
with lush pastures and clear mountain streams.
And common sense says that we must move
far from this dust bowl of dying dreams.
(Quatrain)
9/23/2017
What it is, this pain that kills my joints
This strange duvet of darkness while
I try to brush my teeth
What it is, the distance to my wheelchair
seems to have increased
in this small room
What it is, this self-inflicted isolation
This fear of seeing people
and of losing them
Swimming in a dark damp pool
Hearing people talking yet
Can't see them, here's the fool
That wants to dance but stays in bed
Splendid colours hurt instead
What is not the wish to block
While at the same time all is gone
And nothing stays in harmony
They speak and I hear their concern
It does not concern me, still it gnaws
My consciousness, my shame, my guilt
I better not be here, they better
off without me
Don't worry, I'm only showing you
The me I am when I'm depressed
But everyone is not going through
The same, we're different: at best
We share the overwhelming sadness
That has no words enough to describe
What it is. But this is what it always is:
Don't leave us please, for even at the
point of our deepest rejection of you,
it really is a cry to stay!
How contradictory we are
This is for me, it is for every person who
Is right now in dire need.....
Here are my hugging arms 'round you
Until you're back on your two feet.