Best Ladders Poems
With elan springing forth from young age
Enthusiastic to take centre stage
All his wits he was able to gather
And proceed to the foot of the ladder
Effervescent – a smile on his face –
No misgivings, of doubt not a trace
Rung by rung clinging on to elation
Reaching up to a dream destination
Fortune favours the daring, the brave
Saw the trophy on which to engrave
Both his name and a feat well accomplished
Punching air, feeling great and established,
Yet in triumph he made one mistake:
Not perceiving the hiss of a snake.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
© 17th May 2019
Braids and Ladders
There was once a very selfish wife,
Who allowed her husband to risk his life,
Collecting Rapunzel climbing over
A witch’s wall,
Until one night the witch caught him!
How dare you, how did you have
The gall!
She promised not to hurt a hair on
His head,
But made him a promise that she
Would instead,
Collect their first born,
Which she duly did one morn!
Rapunzel, she called the little girl,
Who grew into a true sight to
Be seen,
So the witch locked her in a tower
Where not a solitary being,
Could enter, for there was no door
Just a window way up high
And a very high tower pointed towards
The sky.
Rapunzel had very long blonde
Braids,
And up these braids climbed this horrible
Old witch.
Rapunzel to pass the time would sing,
And one day a prince passed, heard
A song and watched the witch cling
To long braids which reached the ground,
After she had
Whispered Rapunzel let down your hair,
Which someone from high up did with
Great flair!
One night the prince said the same,
And without a care,
Rapunzel let down her hair,
Up climbed the prince , Rapunzel
Was startled, and he, taken aback,
At such beauty, he immediately fell in love,
Proposed, Rapunzel accepted for
She instantly loved him back.
One day Rapunzel said to the witch,
You are much heavier than the prince,
You evil girl, she said, you are deceitful
And took her to a desert to weep and
Where she would never see people!
The witch tied Rapunzel’s braids
By the window and when the prince
Called for Rapunzel to let down her hair,
He climbed up the braids, which he didn’t
Know were now a snare!
The witch pushed him, he fell into a
Bush with many a thorn,
And was blinded.
He lost interest in life and wandered through
The forest, he was lost in mourn,
Finally reached the desert and heard
A familiar voice in song,
Ran towards it Rapunzel recognized
The prince and shed many a tear,
One of which, to the witches’ greatest fear,
Fell on his eyes and delighted
He could again see,
Together they took flee,
To the Prince’s kingdom, where Rapunzel, the
Fair beauty and the Prince married,
Not a moment wasted or tarried!
Foot Note
RAPUNZEL IS A SALAD VEGETABLE
Keeping your mind,
healthy and open
and taking that big step
through the opportunity door;
you’ll find going up,
the career ladder, easy.
It’s not always easy,
to keep and open mind.
Going straight up
the ladder, opens
many possibilities; open doors
lay at the top, of the steps.
You may not be taking steps;
the climb up so many floors, is not easy.
The illusive door
of the human mind,
is hard to keep open.
Mind locks itself up.
Go ahead, limb on up,
take those steps;
many opportunities will open
and it will be easy,
for your mind,
to open its own door.
When elevators close their doors
and they glide slowly up;
as you get off, mind
your first foot step.
You’ll find it very easy,
any door to open.
The world is full of, open
opportunity doors.
You’ll find an easy
path, as you gradually rise up.
No one wants to go, back a step;
that thought alone, can open any clam shelled mind.
Secure files open, with a code, quite easily.
Through many a doorway; you’ll advance your steps.
Climbing success’s ladder upwards; is simply an act, of the mind.
"A Game of Snakes and Ladders"
It’s like a game,
a game of
Snakes
and Ladders,
some spend their lives
climbing ladders
up the corporate sticks
sliding all the way
back down on their sore
sweet and sorry revelations
soap boxes thrown and burnt
like needles lost in hay
we all become
redundant at some point
on some slippery soaped-up stage
greeted by the Dickinson himself
holding all the horses’ reins...
“She parked Silver Lady by The Road's side,
placed the keys in Her pocket
Her hands were warm Her eyes were cold
She smiled a tight smile
You know, full of passion, full of ire -
Her heart was an inferno,
inside her was a Wicker Man
Her heart was burning up, on fire
Ferociously She slammed the car door
and walked into the Woods ...”
(LadyLabyrinth / 2023)
“We slowly drove – He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility –
Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity – “
Ivy-covered sheepskin, firmly in hand
the confident graduate, square-jawed and tan
Pulled offers from prestigious start-ups all over the land
a year later he played lead guitar, hat in hand
He, ever-grateful to his folks for those music lessons
They, bleary-eyed from all the therapy sessions
Yet Patience will out, and Time always tells
Perhaps by thirty-five he'll own an oil well
What devils inside me insisted
The weak shall be lead by the strong
A labour of love, torn and twisted
Oh! How can a life go so wrong
As I lie here, consumed by the silence
And the sound of your breath on the wind
While the rain pours, with sickening violence
Each teardrop as proof that I've sinned
A potion to end all the heartache
Lies cooking right there on a spoon
Drawn deep in the heart of a needle
Then flows like the blood of the moon
A love lies below, in the distance
The cruel light of dawn then awakes
Where emptiness holds no resistance
In a world filled with ladders and snakes
Sweet Jesus! I'm down on my knees
With barely the clothes on my back
Blinded by loss and disease
Blaming you Lord, for all that I lack
The screams of the angels they smother
The torment felt deep in my soul
This body lies crippled and broken
Subdued by the weight of its toll
Oh God if you hear me at all
Please forgive and forget my mistakes
Each step I take clouded by lies
In a world filled with ladders and snakes
How long, on the edge, can I live
An end is in sight, if I hurry
No sins nor no time to forgive
No hardship, no strife, nor no worry
Oh! Why is a picture so perfect
Only ever for others to make
While I live in the shadow of darkness
In a world filled with ladders and snakes
An ode to addiction...
Sanity is threatened by this game banaL
Not for the faint of heart - it has its own agendA
An endless nightmare can be yours once you are snareD
Knowledge is useless when your luck has dieD
Everlasting. Trenchant; It will drain away your last drop of hopE
Survived since ancient times in India - hardly right or faiR
Squares, endless squares, lead slowly, but surely to madnesS
Ever climbed a ladder
To see what’s on top ?.
To fix something up
To see what’s what ?
Expending so much energy
As you make your climb
Using up resources
Using up your time ?.
Not sure why you’re climbing
What’s there when you arrive
You’ve been told when you get there
“You’ll know that you’re alive”.
You finally hit the roof
And survey what you see
Because you have arrived
To the top of that tree.
“It’s not what I thought”
I can hear you say
“Did I climb the right ladder
Why do I feel betrayed ?”
The key to climbing ladders
What makes you gratified
Is not “which ladder should I climb”,
The answer is in the “why ?”.
I believe that we are,
We are the ladders for them
to reach where they need,
and where there's joy.
What pains a lot,
they see us as nothing
although we are the pillars,
the basis of the world
and i believe that without us,
they can't really afford to achieve
what they need.
It's us who vote for them to live,
and it's our sweat
that help them to feed
though they think that we are nothing.
Many ladders
prayers
silences
tears
overjoyed
at movement
silences
Tuesdays
battered...
joyful
Tuesday
Snakes And Ladders
It’s raining out what shall we do?
Let’s play a game just me and you,
Turn off the tele I’ve found a game or two
AAH snakes and ladders that will do,
This is a game we haven’t played in a while
Last time I played I was only a child,
The boards setup which colour do you want to be?
You can go red, I want to be green,
Start at the bottom on number one
We’re gonna have a good half hour of fun,
This isn't a game you can play fast
You can go first I’ll go last,
Here’s the dice throw double to start
To get a double is really hard,
First throw you got double three
I knew you’d start before me,
My first throw aint as lucky as you
I only threw a three and a two,
Oi no cheating you got to play fair
You got to go down the snakes and up the stairs,
Finally got a double on my tenth go
And you’re already on number forty four,
Can’t believe it another snake head
Why can’t I land on a ladder instead?
This aint right I only went for a pee
And you’ve jumped to number seventy,
I’ve thrown another double do I get an extra go?
What’s the rules I don’t really know?
You’re on ninety seven you only need three more
Unlucky you scored a four,
I’m up the ladder right behind you
My turn to throw.....yes four and two,
Ladies and gentlemen we have a winner
I am a Pro not a beginner..........
A serpent disturbed in the grass
Slithered up the hose of a lass
But quick as a flash
It made its last dash
A victim of Isle of Man gas
Different lengths
Different breadths.
Surfing sometimes
Hard at times.
Pausing
Dossing.
Stretch
Etch.
Then teachers like ladders,
They let the children climbing up,
Holding ladders in care until finish,
Now teachers like lifts,
They let the children get in and vanish!
The fall of sixty-three, I envisioned myself
"Miss Sorghum" of our Hancock County Fair.
I aced the talent phase on piano
but needed practice crossing a makeshift stage in heels.
Destiny roared, that fatal afternoon,
my clever escort list'ning for the judge's voice,
grabbed my hand for our debut.
I stumbled and felt my gown unzip.
Throwing his jacket 'round my waist and shoulders,
I escaped with my prince
to a storage room and a most peculiar plight -
Ladder against the wall, a toddler up five steps.
Revealing my gaping rear, I reached for chubby legs
Outstretched across the rungs, I screamed.
Twisting, turning, he came headlong down my back
as mom returned to see my escort catch the lad.
Guessing her son had torn my dress triggered her frown
but the full story sparked a smile upon her face.
And even now, ladders move me to laughter
as I recall - the fall my zipper broke.
-----------------------------------------------------------
May 1, 2019
original written September 2013
edited on May 1, 2019 to remove the rhyme and meter, cut to 20 lines.
Probably not literally free verse; but definitely unrhymed now.
You might enjoy the original version, The Fall My Zipper Broke at
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/the_fall_my_zipper_broke_505070
contest: Craig Cornish, Smile at the Foot of a Ladder