Best Incrementally Poems
You've seen that look before,
so many times that you lost count
It's the look of hopelessness,
the look of despair
Vacant eyes that no longer care
Who let the emptiness in,
who stole their zest for life
Who squeezed the vitality out,
who removed their heart with a cold butcher's knife
Was this travesty done swift and surgically,
or perhaps it happened incrementally
Bit by bit,
drip by drip
Everything they every cared about
got clean ripped from their hands
Maybe they lost their kids
on a drunk driving holiday
Maybe lost the spouse,
when forgiving them was too hard a thing to pray
Maybe lost the house after losing the job
Whatever the reasons, former associates and friends shun them now,
because maybe they think that they're cursed with plain bad luck
Maybe having no family to speak of,
got them thinking life sucks
Down on their luck right now
would be a kind thing to say
But in their heart they know better,
for every sin committed, there's a pound of flesh to pay
So they wander around lifelessly
with that vacant look in their eye
Just wasting the time away until the day they die
Categories:
incrementally, depression, hurt, pain, sad,
Form:
Dramatic Verse
Wordless worries wander wearily working wayward,
Towards thoughts transgressing truth’s textured tide.
As always acknowledging agnosticism’s appeal,
Essence easily evaporates, exeunt Emile.
Very virtuous violent vowels vociferously validate,
Sanctimonious sessions some subtly sacrosanct.
Is it in incrementally immense ingenious imaginations,
Or ontology’s omniscience overcoming oceanic oratory?
Roughly rallying rage’s recessive righteousness,
Quickly quartered queens quietly quiver qualities quoi.
Under unctuous undeniably Umbrian utterances,
An astute and acute awareness as always arose.
Placing plausibly proverbial prevaricating predications,
Many morose morally myopic manly mighty men,
Eulogize everlasting ephemerally entertaining evocations.
Insinuating incredible implications, insomnia initiates,
Notably nullifying notoriously negligible nihilistic necessities.
Lies lay low, linking lofty linguistic lessons like laws,
Of optional opportunities oscillating on occult overtures
Until underlying unctions unify ubiquitous unknowns.
Joyless Joseph’s joyful Joy just jumped, just jumped!
Killing killjoy knuckle kosher korma koranic krap.
And announce another anonymous anodyne appointment?
(Empiricism’s emphatic emission, enter erotic Eloise).
Having Heidegger helps, hope’s homunculi hunting human.
Get gone ginger guesses, go grope Ginger’s grapes!
Immaculately ironic inquisitions instigate immediate impositions.
Once onto opaque ominous orbs, obey Oracles open orders.
Framing funny fractions, flaming far flung frivolous fictions,
Death defies dollar damnations, deliciously done devaluations.
Usually uncle umpire understands useful underlying ululations,
Also affirming apples avuncular altruistic assumptions.
Creeds crave caves, charms calm cause, come conquerors,
Be belligerently bad, betray birth’s beginning, balance budgets.
Entreating entirely empty, emphatically elusive, existential entelechy,
Is, importantly, incommensurably idiotic, inexplicably impractical indeed.
Categories:
incrementally, crazy, creation, imagination, ,
Form:
Alliteration
Earth is becoming something different, something more.
For millions of years proto-humans strode its bounties until
*****sapiens arrived. Once here, humans took millennia
incrementally building improving its lot in life. Step by step,
developing new ways of improving, one change building upon another.
Cooking food, better nutrition, better weapons for hunting and protection.
Hunter-gatherers working as teams for better outcomes,
feeding and enabling larger populations. Development of farming, enabling villages to take root.
More improvement, villages become towns then cities, city states to countries.
Communication develops, improves, writing, printing books for the masses, new ideas, morse code, telephones. The planet communicates.
Medicines, industrial revolution, humankind spans the globe.
Technology improving, quality of life improving, living longer.
Science, ever probing every aspect
pushing the boundaries of capabilities. Traveling further and faster, trains, automobiles, planes
Spacecraft. Computers, internet, global neural net, global mind, artificial intelligence, human cyborgs. The pace of change ever quickens.
Humankind, on the cusp of change
so explosive the consequences of which are unfathomable.
Categories:
incrementally, art,
Form:
Prose Poetry
I just finished flipping the calendar to March
I keep a paper one hanging on my kitchen wall
despite everything being digital
I’m old school some would say
How is it each day I’m at work every minute I'm there
passes like an old woman with a walker running a marathon
while months and years fly by like fighter jets breaking the sound barrier
Life is like that ride at the amusement park shaped like a silo that spins
slowly at first, the velocity incrementally increasing
until the world becomes a blur
finding yourself pressed against the wall by an unseen force
unable to move a muscle without exerting extreme effort
My birthday is a little more than two months away
I don’t feel old or look anything like I imagined (and feared) I would
when I was in my early twenties and forty seemed like such an ancient age
I'm older than my parents were when they became grandparents
making my entrance into this world when they were only teenagers
in the early hours of that late May morning
I was a bit older though too young as well
when I took up the mantle of mother
When you have no hope you cling to anyone that pays attention
in order to feel you have any worth
that you matter to someone even if only for a few precious minutes
I’m reminded of men I’ve seen who are likely in their sixties
their silver hair, if they have any at all, blowing in the wind
as they race down the road behind the wheel
of a brand new expensive sports car they had aspired to own
since they were sixteen but can only now afford to buy
who will soon find themselves waking up to the fact
that some dreams left unfulfilled for too long grow stale
realizing it isn't the thrill it would have been back then
when women would have paid equal attention to both car and driver
each complimenting the other instead of such a stark contrast
reselling it a year or two later concluding it’s not worth the expense
investing those funds in a pre-paid funeral and life insurance
Categories:
incrementally, age, car, dream, grandparents,
Form:
Free verse
With "little" sins
Great falls begin.
Categories:
incrementally, addiction, betrayal, corruption, death,
Form:
Epigram
Black sludge coffee fills in where
the bone and sinew used to be
If I were sliced and diced, all you'd see
is black sludge
Even where the marrow is, the black coffee sludge
slowly moves into place like continents
transgressing.
Once cherubesque, were these full breasts-
The sludge moves slowly through my body
Incrementally, almost imperceptibly
changing what was once sublime-
Once a smile, not perfect but nice
now looks like ragged tombstones decaying
where once they stood polished and loved
And slowly the sludge moves through the blood
A perfect curve of spine, along side where
two snakes, full of muscle, lay on either side
now these famished snakes no longer recoil
starving- they are but sacks of skin.
Vicious pain at the base, where two hills
collide-
Now stand cr o d
o ke
Blood filling with the sludge, how did this happen?
Categories:
incrementally, age, fear,
Form:
Free verse
His passion for power weighs heavy
on his heart forging his decisions.
And he attacks sane politicians
leaking “fake news” out to depose him.
The whole world’s waiting for him to fall
yet none question his authority.
For thanks to Russian interference
he won the electoral college.
Pacified by his gulf courses and
costly toys He maintains his image.
Yet they can't disguise the fact he lives
in an extravagant gilded cage.
His will’s enforced with merciless might
squashing any signs of rebellion.
For he rules with a iron hard fist
unchecked by the glove of compassion.
Trust's a luxury he can't afford
it could cost him the price of office.
And truth is simply nonexistent
in his quiver of indulgent whims.
Time is the ultimate crucible
impeaching his credibility.
And changing him incrementally
until there’s nothing left but a clown.
He’s the alpha and the omega
war and terror are his to command.
And he is the harbinger of death
don't mistake him for anything less.
Categories:
incrementally, appreciation, bullying, character, culture,
Form:
Blank verse
Such Times are Here
51.
There be utter madness
That pervades the world today.
It's enough to cause a troubled soul
To just up and melt away.
Such times are here to try us all
Forcing one to seize the day
But to those of lesser fortitude...
Stand back...
You're getting in our way.
The End
Hope is Oft in Bold Dispute
52.
Hope is oft in bold dispute.
It bears a thousand scars.
It brings texture to a folly
Who's premise seems bizarre.
But the path to sweet success
Is not without its manic curves
And hope is all you need in life
To get something you deserve.
The End
Folly of Choice
53.
With shopping carts their home to be
And accouterments of peculiar goals
To labor ever forward in make-believe.
Tis well to praise these tangled souls
Who slake till final breath a nobility
From piffling life's immoral shoals.
While plodding in step with their ability
Knowing well the loss of blessed rest
To countervail such ably won fragility.
And perched upon our mountain crest...
We sit bewildered by such earthy ties
As if choice was theirs to second best.
Thus every morning the sun will rise...
Incrementally ensuring a slow demise.
The End
54.
This too Shall Pass
'This too shall pass,'
The inscription read
To give a sovereign
Peace of mind.
Thus... can a peasant
Claim to piggyback
And so mitigate
Their daily grind?
But the happenstance
That afflicts the poor
Be doggedly persistent
Over time. So... I presume
'This too shall pass,'
Rings hollow... for those
We leave behind.
The End
Categories:
incrementally, anxiety, appreciation, character,
Form:
Rhyme
Life Of A Canine Named "Pooch”...
Equally Worthy As Mine
No explanation why,
the following unpleasant memory
shocked this systemofadown human vie
bur rent lee, suddenly, and oppressively
as if...a heavy object
fell from the sky
knocking render yours truly
into a crash test dummy
tail spinning vertigo,
where the soul of this guy
at this moment, when
the following misdeed
occurred well nigh
many werewolf full
moons ago, hence a sigh
leant echo with matthew scott
till he doth die!
Nonetheless, to my
dying day I cannot
forget, nor allow
un paw din nub bull sub woofing,
recollection, yet try as I might ow
(the psychological pain
still rubbed red
dully bone raw),
where ring around
the collar of
this paw - pow
whir fully, doggedly,
grudgingly, now
fines me to em bark
with a shrill bow wow
impossibly (even
incrementally) forgive
thy then girlfriend, now
spouse of approximately
deux dozen plus
years Oh my
DOG - "holy cow"
forsaking the beautiful
faithful, and loyal "purportedly
man's beast friend,"
and ideal chow
mate, upon venting still
smoldering grief
when said wife
egregiously, heartlessly, and
indiscriminately, (though not
deliberately) evoked strife
(cross) be still finds me gnashing,
where emotional grief rife
this closing November 19th, 2018
analogous to a serrated knife
tearing, stabbing, ripping,
and gnaw zee ate
ting lee wreck conning
this melon collie life
of mine, no more valuable,
than a unconditionally loving
creature "put down"
at the Chester County S.P.C.A.
leaving this aging puppy
with an indelible frown,
which sad recollection
unleashes sorrow every noun
and again, which
unrelenting hounding
agony, asper an non
healing wound tantamount
to unsolved killings
haunting ghost town.
Categories:
incrementally, absence, anger, best friend,
Form:
Dramatic Monologue
Elusive Ephemeral Ethereal Expansive: Timelessness
Analogous to mobius strip -
measured passage of existence
only took precedence
with *****sapiens ascendent
busting forth upon
the figurative pedestal
presiding over domain,
sans Earthly covenant
a bajillion ago,
where fits and starts
pitted proto humans
at no immediate advantage,
yet merely, thru
dint of accidental
happenstance ever so
imperceptibly amassed dominion
over every other species
as became evident
throughout the vast sweep of
anthropological
evolutionary incidental
plucky perturbations, provocations,
and/or pullulations arisen by
spontaneous circumstantial grant
ting quasi consciously
coalescing into brutish
deliberated focused intent,
where forethought
coopted indiscriminate
chance facilitating kent -
manifested rubber
baby buggy bumpers
activated, aggrandized, and
allotted destiny meant
to lurch incrementally
i.e. hierarchical designation
present day primate
predecessors practiced negligible
notched nimbleness orchestrated
(equal parts gall and genetic
giftedness), whatsapp operant
adaptation toward
survival rippled quiescent
lee minutely nudging overt salient
traits ineluctably
manifesting, outflanking,
and proffering
quintessential urgent
biological scrim quietly testing,
and wrestling, whence yen
(to secure rootedness)
zeroing what didst warrant
winning formula
to adapt adroit edge
pitted by dictates of nature
grappling iron
grip, viz literal hedge
fund and kickstarting toehold
upon tenuous ledge
(oft times succumbing to danger)
falling into abyss
of anonymity pledge
jing acquired innovative tool
such as a primitive sledge
hammer instinctively
resigning animal instinct
death be not proud not
before inculcating
survivalist tactical wedge.
Categories:
incrementally, allegory, allusion, cousin, creation,
Form:
Free verse
Scrumptious, and
Usually
Perky, we have
Everybody
Raging about the
Carousel
At Disney
Land !!
If
Fun is
Required
After
Going
Into darkness, after
Leaving Scull
Island,
Steer
Toward your first
Instinct,
Continuing to
Explore
Xtra
Places of
Interest
All Locally en -
Larged purposefully and
Incrementally
Dressed for the
Occasion. The
Carousel
Is
Of
Utmost
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious - ness !!!
Categories:
incrementally, adventure, childhood, happiness, imagination
Form:
Name
I was at one thirty once,
Now I am at two fifteen,
Time has moved incrementally,
Like my weight and BMI,
Crept up gradually, in small bites,
Of cheesecakes and raspberries,
And sips of mellow liqueurs.
The jelly donuts, braised salmon,
And finely seasoned burgers,
All join me as I wait,
In a waiting room with a sink,
Purple gloves, widgets, screens,
An examination table lies covered,
In a sheet with paint imprints,
Of little hands and feet.
I used to be young once and healthy,
The sunshine was my companion,
And books my evening friends,
Awe and wonder nourishing,
My constant curiosity,
And my fingers told my age.
They would coax me to eat,
Hunger was what I felt at home.
My illnesses were events,
Spent with comic book heroes,
Adventures, between sore throats,
And cool fever poultices,
Sprained ankles, bruised knees,
Tended, nursed and healed,
By caring, loving parents.
I had parents once, orphaned,
I will meet them again,
In the realm of souls,
As guides of a past journey,
Who were close to my heart.
Sharing their love and wisdom,
Like bits of mirrors, reflecting,
Fractured images and decisions,
Guides disembarking earlier,
As I meander down alleys,
Meadows, climb hills, and walk,
In the valleys and boulevards,
Seeking, learning, loving,
Hating growing old and pudgy,
Yet embracing the grace of age.
I will grow old again, older than I am,
Older than I was, Like the sun,
Journeying through the sky,
While you mark the hours and days,
The seasons and years,
I live by my rising and my resting,
Through some pain clouded days,
In the beauty of existence,
Seeking and finding love,
Hidden like Moss, Mushrooms,
And Opals in sudden, unexpected places,
And vague unknowing hearts.
Finding and collecting memories,
Until my memories find me in you.
Categories:
incrementally, age, allegory, anxiety, appreciation,
Form:
Free verse
Incrementally corporeal essence, here
to fore i.e. figurative spear
tire of mine, doth elicit despair
daily appall, thus I air
part tickle laurel lei objection
able bane, cuz this tear
rubble flabbiness a glare
ring anatomical feature, I swear
shape shifted into a dare
ridge hubble unsightly
bulge ballooning mere
lee (just south of nada so clear
lee belly button), where
former wash board abdomen veer
hilly subsumed by displeasing scare
really hated love handles glare
ring paunches noticeable, especially
when belly bare
adduce sing the culprit bing
one or more daring
pharmacological prescription eliminating
debilitating panic attacks,
albeit re: fashioning
my metabolism, but
necessary medications giving
immeasurable un bull heaving
relief to this generally
skeptical person instilling
joyus rapture, where
psychological state jitterbugging
(a slight bit of hyperbole,
I tango with) kickstarting
long overdue ability
to experience living
shorn of paralyzing anxiety,
yes every now and again
isolated heated flare ups making
stellar appearance, asper
wren literal "NON
FAKE" pennilessness,
and a concomitant stress
inducing circumstance naming
management due to inspect
occupied apartment units
this next oncoming
week (October seventh -
thirteenth) inducing palpitating
heart, irritable bowel syndrome,
and non quitting
excessive (no pun intended -
heavy handed) perspiration,
but generally "speaking" quieting
torturous unbearable
woebegone raging
adrenaline hellishly riotous smiting
my body electric
condemning torturing
poisoning relentlessly (like
stinging scorpions) upending
many prime decades vice wrenching
yoking ambivalence nose zing
worthlessness toward
total mortal kombat!
Categories:
incrementally, 11th grade, 12th grade,
Form:
Free verse
Five score minus eight years ago
January eighteenth two thousand twenty one
father of civil rights movement
the revered Martin Luther King Junior honored
as benevolent demigod figure
to the oppressed African American population
without whose bold risks
and subsequent brutal assassination April fourth
ninety sixty eight at the hands
of a crazed gunman (James Earl Ray),
whereby all the King's men
and all the King's horses...,
still aghast at tragic event
while reverberations felt forty two years later,
where embedded white privilege
begets continued racial strife
analogous to uncorked raging tempest
saddling people of color to human bondage
(no matter ponying up excellent equestrians),
nevertheless wrought empowerment
advancing cherished dreams
of slaves recent descendents
allowing, enabling and providing
once attainable aspirations
only bestowed upon
the self anointed masters and early settlers of
the virginal North American contiguous land mass
yet…generations prior
to this prestigious public personality
Abolitionists pitted themselves
against the institution of slavery
incrementally raising awareness
regarding the abomination
forced servitude incurred on those shackled
thus setting the stage
for this grandson of A.D. Williams
a rural parsonage,
who ministered spiritual support
for the small congregation
(initially only thirteen members)
comprising attendants at
Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta Georgia
setting precedent for freedom
(at risk of life and limb) against scourge of
racial prejudice courtesy
of sharecropper grandparents
whose objection to racial segregation
based on an affront to the will of God,
whereby the young whip smart precocious lad,
(whose impact we now memorialize)
showed his true colorful promise
when a young student at
Liberal Crozer Theological Seminary
in Chester, Pennsylvania
where the yet uncrowned
eminent king came under the influence
of theologian Reinhold Niebuhr,
a classmate of his father's
at Morehouse College
who became a mentor by exposing
his protégée to liberal views of theology
Categories:
incrementally, 10th grade, 11th grade,
Form:
Free verse
Ice Cold Water Equals Ultimate Thirst Quencher...
Especially experiencing onset dehydration,
this opinion shared by former consumer,
he quaffed truckloads sugary and sports drinks
found mine once sculpted baby boomer body
undergoing gender reorientation, particularly
nondescript breasts incrementally found
busting (rivaling playboy bunny chest)
necessitated this garden variety
NON GMO gluten free husband
"papa," an endearment
addressed by the missus
puzzled when her
brassieres went missing
loathe to believe what sounded
like cock and bull story
embarrassed, yet finally
relented into pestiferous
inquisitiveness hen pecking wife,
she stood agape, after I dare bare
unclothed upper torso revealed
floppy, limp biscuit sagging
sorry excuse for bosom
hence necessitating yours truly
to resort as partial crossdresser,
yet never foreseeing
anatomical morphology transforming
(analogous to mushroom popping up
following bucketloads of rain)
thus went cold turkey,
(as attested by this gobbledygook)
to swear off high caloric non nutritious
popular beverages
(generating bajillions dollars),
and additionally
forced non chipper infowar
i.e. internal three ring circuits
uncivil insurrection
(less than seven years ago)
as weeks elapsed months
(this unplanned resolution
dated early two thousand nineteen),
discarded over the shoulder boulder holder
in tandem with exercise
few times per week
plying twenty pound dumbbells
a pronounced reduction
saved me big bucks
undergoing cosmetic surgery!
Categories:
incrementally, absence, allusion, courage, mirror,
Form:
Free verse