Best Life Society Poems
Naiveté wraps the child
until the chills slowly
begin to snuggle in,
smothering the illusions leaving
the residuals of sickness
and disappointment
that is man.
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Contest: Fallen
Sponsor: Nette Onclaud
Entrant: Rob Carmack
Written: 11.29.15
Word Count: 25
My person was the entire human race. As a child, I viewed adults as ethically advanced and emotionally stable. Thought of world as an Utopia – the best trip I ever had. From this disappointment, I was given the contrast to appreciate forgiveness and those I found that are advanced.
Everyone seems to lie today,
their empty words are made of clay.
They mold their oily words to please,
to make us kneel and feel at ease.
We sometimes lie because of fear,
we know the lies but we adhere,
and wear our lies like masks all day;
and smile to keep ourselves at bay.
Lies have many, many faces,
but they cover all their bases.
We're rabbits hiding in a hole,
forgetting that we have a soul.
Who can separate truth from lies?
and why do we all compromise?
Lies coil around our thoughts today,
like serpents keeping truth at bay.
Written for contest, "LIES"
Come, walk with me in this early dawn
while the darkness fades in solitude
As first light appears, and moon drifts on
we will drink in the quiet interlude
Wet blankets of fog will lift away
wearing soft slippers of slow retreat
We'll greet early risers starting the day
drink fresh brewed coffee, and stroll the streets
The beat, the strand of sidewalk noise
Gains timbre as the traffic mocks
Once more the world regards it's toys
Of cars, and horns, and ticking clocks
Before the bustling city quakes
Let's stroll before the monster wakes
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6/18/16
For Contest: Sounds of the Day
Sponsor: Nayda Ivette Negron
Calm eyes, steady hands, I join my palms and pray,
Where am I, who are you, Please make everything ok.
Two feet on the ground, thru dust and dirt I travel.
People, thoughts, Illusions, my existence to unravel.
So many forms of different speech, to each other we are one,
Feelings of spiritual goodness, under the same bright sun.
Cultural tools we carry, souls dance forward in time,
Connecting thru our goodness, detours evils relentless sublime.
Be careful what you give or better what you do,
A portrayal of one’s existence, a test signifying you.
Date: 09-22-2016
Upon a tattered pillow, day or night,
He sleeps through happy hours without a stir;
Tail wrapped around and paws tucked out of sight
Beneath a purring ball of gray-striped fur.
Well-fed, secure, and free from any care,
A king within the realm of simple ways,
He comes and goes at whim, with pompous air,
And eats and sleeps and plays away his days.
We toss upon our lavish king-sized bed
As nightmares echo worries of mankind-
We, harvesters of knowledge, amply fed,
Go starving for the food of peace of mind.
Sleep well, "dumb animal," sweet feline pet,
While "Homo-Sapiens" pays wisdom's debt.
Sandra M. Haight
~1st Place~
Contest: Mad As A Hornet - Sonnet
Sponsor: John Lawless
Judged:12/01/2015
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I am "Mad As A Hornet" because with all our super
intelligence and outstanding accomplishments, humans
have still not been able to achieve peace and tranquility
in this world.
A man of few words, my father taught by example.
The best thing he showed me
was to set my standards high
and to be my own judge -
always modest never defiant or arrogant.
If something needed doing
I should do it without expecting praise -
self-satisfaction being the ultimate goal.
He taught me to set my sights high
and to be my own boss
no matter the circumstances –
to be fiercely independent
not count on anyone.
I learned to go about my business and be self-sufficient.
I did not do well in teams – like a bull in a china shop
I had my objectives and went at them as a loner.
I never saw it exactly that way
but I did get good at it to a fault.
One day, it was a rude awakening when
it dawned on me how I was doing things for people
and they were consistently ungrateful.
I knew the problem couldn’t completely be with them
My so-called modesty had become self-fulfilling servitude.
It finally registered that if people didn’t have to ask,
they didn’t have to say ‘thanks’.
And that never mattered to me until
I realized that they were in fact not thankful
And THAT was a whole different ball game.
I literally spent days if not weeks
stubbornly trying to unlearn and reprogram myself.
Tried to get it through my skull that
if people ASK for something,
or at least ADMIT they would appreciate something,
that’s when they might actually appreciate it
How cheap can people be -
what a warped world we live in.
For me, it was a hard lesson in human nature -
I was actually an enabler encouraging people
to take me for granted.
People really do like games
even the ones who say they hate them.
Admittedly it was late in life I learned this lesson
And I admit I often still choose to do things
without getting people to actually ask.
But at least I’m cognizant of my ways.
And admittedly when I do pause
and play the ‘asking’ game, it does pay off.
But I’m so unbelievably stubborn I don’t always
want to pay the price for their gratitude
so to this day, if I feel something needs to be done
I’ll just get it done.
AP: Honorable Mention 2021
No thing is as it was to be thankful for, thankful none
To be that unthankful for the life we see
Seen or sought all store bought
Collecting venture every type
Fashion sensible inseams
Thankful for, thankful none who are giving
Paying back and paying front
Never paying forward to some
Ungrateful are the price tags that limit
A new arrival in style that fits best
Unthankful for, body image
Thankful for, thankful none
Who show off more than most have
In a world where care is rare to be found
Cold stares from every where unthankful for nights out
Inspections are as they go when value is through sight
Unthankful when the judgement is passed
As a cover of a book in dim light
Never reading past the surface to find thanks to give
Appreciation at a low without recognition
A simple thanks to goodbye, hello
I love you, you are forgiven
Thankful none those unthankful ones
Just a waste of time
Priceless is the value of freely being kind
Unthankful not for those thankful none who do not see quite yet
To be thankful for the preciousness of goodness that should be spread
Gaslighted: Abused and lied to
Script is flipped when I challenge you
Smoothed over with wink & back-pat
Now I know, there's a word for that
Body-shamed: Self made disgusting
Cruel words believed, soul so trusting
Belittled- whether thin or fat
Now I know, there's a word for that
Demagogues: Hateful, evil plots
Stir up the worst that mankind's got
Republican or Democrat
Now I know, there's a word for that
Whitesplained: Ignored, talked over- I'm
Made null, a lifetime redefined
(Being white), you know, and that's that
Now I know there's a word for that
Reading, learning, feels less alone
Others' lives are much like my own
And now we've had this lovely chat
You know, too- there's a word for that
Drum beats inside black bare hairy chests
Tradition hidden in treasure chests
Chess played on mother earth , sounds like home
Home grown sounds ringing throughout the neighborhood
Stomachs kneeling and praying for food
Fathers crossing boarder lines and going for good
Living life behind the calabash
Brothers behind bars
Mother's beauty behind scars
The sacred statue of mother Theresa caresses those in prisons
Prisons of the mind can never be unlocked
Smoke in the nearby village , culture is burning
Village heads lay their heads on village grief
The village thief steals at noon
And then the slave hunters
Lurking in expensive
Futures perishing like sinners in hell
Let me not breath the air that sinners inhale
I come from light
I am pain
I come from life
*STREETPO3TRY*
You follow the rat races,
Climbing ladders that never end,
Surrounded by faces,
But not one you could call friend,
You stare hungrily at your reflection,
Picking apart your every inch,
Believing beauty leads to connection,
But would it save you in a pinch?
You spend like there's no tomorrow,
Yet for the poor you've naught to spare,
But if it became your turn to borrow,
Would it shock you when none will care,
You trust blindly in your societies,
That if you do it all you will win,
But you end up drowning in anxieties,
From the emptiness you feel within.
Of a souls none are whole, all have holes.
Memories untold, lives unheard, Pains undiscovered, and sorrowful tolls.
Hidden and veiled, they persevere their closed hearts
We close the lid, fill it up each day until the glass cracks and our souls leak out.
Patched up fast, and we hide the cracks till we break again.
Endless cycle, permanently broken, and temporarily repaired.
Examples for history that no one learns.
Entrusted to the special, only to be betrayed and judged .
Maybe why no one trusts anymore.
The world fears each other's judgement.
Brother turns on brother, friend on friend.
Why must we judge what we don't understand?
We tear ourselves and everyone else around use apart.
To hate is to love, to love is to hate.
One cannot exist without the other.
A way of life we have created with fear of what we don't know.
Such a short time we are here before we say goodbye.
Time is never wasted it just flies.
As the years go by and time fades away,
Just like my pain and sorrow from yesterday.
Tomorrow comes and then again it goes like it did before.
I always pray for my ambition to develop into something more.
Sometimes I get lost inside my thoughts and dreams,
As I wake up I hope it is reality even though it’s impossible as it seems.
The moment of existence has no persistence, in time.
Remember time waits for no one so don’t get left behind.
So much time is wasted in things that have no worth,
Things that seem to take the place of what we know should be first.
Time is forever getting lost and it is invisible,
It has no enemies or friends, now that’s incredible.
There are so many lustful envies and ungrateful indecencies,
I believe that too much time make way for unwanted tragedies.
Our society has embraced violence that is excused by insanity.
I think this society should be judged by the lack of its humanity.
As the hands of time keep moving,
We people of this human race have to keep living and evolving.
He's an urban redneck
Likes his George and Madflex
He's country and what's next
Metropolis with crops
From barn to the city
Farming in the nitty-gritty
He's surrounded by concrete
Too many suburb plots
Sticking to dirt past
Agricultural for the future
He's certain who are unsure
Aware of hidden costs
Plowing his own stake
And modern, make no mistake
He's in tune to the horizon
Up until he drops off
A festered quelling of song
Tasting broths of ritualistic intent
Evermore
Nevermore
Can epiphany’s silent facade
Hold me down
Ever
Again
A war of hellos
Goodbyes
I miss you
“Please, come
Home”
The laughable oddity,
I’ve always been here.
They say home is where the heart is.
Yet, it soars thru Heaven’s misunderstandings.
With many peculiar eyes
Tearing in humbled curiosities
And placated heat strokes
Unable to fathom my reach for tomorrow’s message
Life lessons, tuition free,
Unto serenity
Unto serenity,
I awaken into a catharsis for the colors of song
Rather than the backhanded colors of skin
Because our finite heartbeats consist of one rhythm,
One skip
One shade
…
Yet, the time has come, for this heart
To muster up oxygenated infernos
Before I pave incipient paths
Less traveled
Warning
Warning
…
Warning
©Drake J. Eszes – 5/8/2014 (I of III)
“Now something…has kept me here too long. But, they can’t leave me, if I’m already gone.” –R.A.