Best Goodwill Poems
All of the wrongs we have done to each other,
We will overlook...
W's lawsuit against my church, because they will not permit him to smoke there,
My interminable and intolerable lateness,
J's calling me, 'pathetic',
MY frustration with W's 'INCORRECT' political opinions,
W's insults, via text message,
MY chauvinism about my religion...
J's unpleasant, unfriendly criticism...
ALL these, we will overlook...
And give each other a good ribbing!
It was my birthday 3 days ago, and W buys me breakfast,
And J gives me a birthday gift,
And we all decide to like each other again --
That is, as long as I am willing to take
A proper beating at chess... THREE TIMES!
And it's all good!
All of the wrongs, we don't mention them.
Except, I squeeze W's shoulder, when I come up, and gently remind him
That we agreed to meet on Saturday...
(They called me today, impatient -- it's Friday -- to say, they are WAITING for me)
And "...oh, did I say SATURDAY?" W asks, wryly, and we all laugh,
And it's all good!
We have forgotten the arguments.
I ask for the family news, and it's all good!
You see, each of us knows,
You cannot replace ONE Friendship, with BEING RIGHT.
So, each of us silently admits to himself
That he was wrong,
And we smile, and it's all good!
And THAT'S the Kindness of Men.
Ambassador of goodwill
A smile is all you wield
A warrior without a sword
Who will protect you
From bullies of sorts and sizes
You pretend to wear an armor
And carry an invisible shield
But sometimes
The hurt is too much to hide
As arrows graze your heart
While vultures see vulnerability
Simple minded naiveté
Many commend you in silence
For you would do anything
To elicit a smile
To bring warmth to a heart
Still a smile is all you wield
Radiant from beauty within
AP: Honorable Mention 2020
Praise be to the tranquil home
Where care and amity abide
Like a well-worn book or favorite poem
In whose members we confide
And whose values are our guide
Ill-fated is the raging home
Where resentment and cruelty reign
Like an outcast always bound to roam
Doomed to empty constant pain
Where no glimmer of will remain
Blessed is our home within
Where resides a treasure glowing
Without temptation need or sin
Just eternal pure love glowing
And goodwill overflowing
Written 2/22/22
you have no idea
how much power
you wield
a word a smile
a minute of your time
enough to touch a soul
to shatter or heal a heart
be conscious of your strength
you have the capacity
to be superhero
or archvillain
let's make this world
a better place
there’s thirst for harmony
and need for healing
AP: 2nd place 2020, Front Page Pick 2020
God blesses me each day is a thrill
Overjoyed to learn sharpen skills
Onyx sky that once had a chill
Did change my life through Goodwill
Was at wits end as my pc died
I’m disadvantaged financially tied
Learned that help is a call away
Loving my Goodwill resources today
My good friend Cletus looked mighty spiffy in his new attire.
New suit, shoes, shirt and tie - he was ready to set the world afire
He asked me what I thought about his new duds but I hadn't the heart to say,
That I had donated his entire ensemble to Goodwill just the other day!
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
(c) 2014 All Rights Reserved
A springtime ritual at my house is to rid my closet of old clothes.
Including outdated suits, shirts, pants, shoes, all to dispose.
Goodwill appreciates my donations in their stores to display.
It warms my soul to see folks buying stuff who have little to pay.
A week or so later my wife and I were at a local cafe sipping our tea.
.
Said she, "That guy over there is wearin' a suit that looks familiar to me;
Ain't them the duds you donated to the Goodwill Store last week?"
That piqued my interest and I discreetly turned my head to peek.
"Yep, sure is" I retorted, "Same suit, tie, shoes and fedora lid!"
"I must say! He looks a helluva lot better in that git up than you did!"
(Written 4/24/2016)
Entry for Laura Loo's "Poem Written In April 2016" Contest
* *
Shape Up Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Brian Stand
Twilight dawning eyes open
as the heather bleat sings
Into the coming night's dream
Crickets ticking away in the long grass
swaying thoughts drunken sailor sails
time stands still for a moment peace
Falsely promises defaced
As meaningless flowers wither
Where inside silence hides the guiding truth
Behind a mask consumed
cowering away seeds
Crocodile tears
Planted inside another's hurt
falls guilty within the pain
that kisses the burning fire
Where everything is twisted ill to suit
Dressed up as something real
where caring becomes the least important gesture
It's here where the barriers fall shut
Sharing stops when condemning bites with hate filled ideas
Communication dies away were hidden agendas lay
A bridge over troubled waters
to cross this divide rocky desert winds howl
Storm in a teacup stirring
That someone created friction
for no good reason or another
clouds descend heavy laden
To feel good
about themselves
hurting another love
They become the stepping stone
unto pain inflicted grief
Reflections ripple casting shadows of doubt over
It’s Christmas every day at the Goodwill donation door
Where there’s so much Christmas to be given to the poor!
Where the wreaths and trees pile up in a monument to excess
Next to trophies, fine china, and bourgeois marks of success
For which I once longed in vain, and for the owners I’d defensively grown disdain,
Now in my care, I don’t even want them – they should’ve been thrown away.
When I sort through these leftovers of such accomplished lives,
I can only think of how uninformed I was to wish these shining trophies, wreaths, and trees were mine.
It’s a cruel joke . . . I once loved Christmas day for the hope it offered that my wishes would be filled one day.
I once longed for just one trophy or tree of beauty, but the shining ornaments and marks of success now given away
Remind me only of a coniferous shrub that resembled a small Christmas tree
Sawed down and taken with great guilt and fear from an unsuspecting landlord by my young mother on Christmas eve
For the sake of hanging one ornament made by me
But now all these coveted trees and adornments that were once deemed a necessity are too heavy to keep.
But nobody wants to be the one to throw them away
So they hand, dump, and throw them my way.
But I can only resent all these wreaths and trees and trophies I surely would’ve dreamed of as a child
Because they have now become nothing to me but an addition to another unreasonable pile.
Goodwill Ambassador Gershon
Kind, joyful poet, my assertion
Never tries to lampoon or deride
His poetry leaves us happy inside
4/25/2020
As this COVID-19 pandemic rages all around us, how encouraged I am when poets, like Gershon and others, use their gift of poetry to build up one another.
I'm stuck on this sidewalk alone
I can't contact god with no phone
Confusing religion
No carrier pigeon
Why doesn't god send down a drone?
More and more
its like a big-box-store
with what had been worn
(whether tattered or torn)
never given to the poor.
There's only rising prices
more and more.
While the making of beautiful
paintings or hours spent doing
needlecraft is tossed on piles
in frames
as detritus with no names
anymore.
Dust covered glassware
competes with sofa springs
for space on the floor
as other days bring fresh donations
of creations
to discard
more and more.
Goodwill comes with pain.
Brotherhood trumps the jealousy
of personal loss
when valor sacrifices gain.
a quadro written Jan. 17, 2017
Does it make you sad too that Republicans say
That no man is my 'brother' who won't make me right, (1)
That diversities' bona fides died.
Parties punish a member who won't smoke their 'joint, '
It seems all that they care about's winning the fight,
Not their fault if your conscience gets fried.
World of politics now is a loyalty test,
And debate on the merits becoming passé
For the devil one knows has to win.
Give the devil his due, listening's a lost art,
It seems compromise shouts you're the ponce of the day
For 'both parties to win now's a sin!
So where did we go wrong? One place, Nixon's disgrace!
For the party of Lincoln an act to explain,
(After that public trust, a lost cause) .
And then Kennedy died, Camelot crucified,
'Great society' born on the wave of that pain,
'Brother love' was attempted though laws.
Man's distrust, no concern, it was too much, too soon,
Though the pen may win scrimmage, at last, the sword wins,
For no logic can conquer the heart.
It's utopian plan, write a law, change the man,
Human fate sits uneasy on needles and pins,
For real peace needs goodwill from the start. (2)
I am not saying here that I'm sure that you're wrong,
But I do want in goodwill to caution us all,
Clear in scripture, to love men, serves God.
Yes, to honor your family's part of that task,
But the service of others is how you stand tall,
Independence suggests you're a fraud.
Long Tooth
April 28, 2018
Poet's notes:
(1) Politics is supposed to include "horsetrading! " It is a venerable
tradition in this country and essential for governing to work as it
should. Those, of either party, who demand that their members
follow the parties' desires and not those of the member's
constituents are a new kind of modern day terrorist and have more
in common with the Taliban than with American ideals.
(2) When Republicans announced (without shame)their intention to
sabotage every Obama (Democratic)piece of legislation in principle
(even if they liked it), they committed an act of treason against our
country and democratic ideals in my opinion. May God and the
nation forgive both parties for such crimes and try to deal with the
thinking that brings on such egregious evil so that we might move
forward together!