Best Negligible Poems
I promise you,
you are not alone
in your feelings—
the hollow ache
where they should be,
I feel it too—severed—
sundered from the mold,
a lotus flower wilting
in the dark.
Let grace root itself
in the negligible cracks—
let your light spill into the
fractures—
creating something
new and worthy.
My poor heart aches as my mind cogitates
upon the deep desires of my dark soul,
and searching for profound truths that can be
expressed in mystic subtle syllables.
Alas such thoughts come at the worst of times.
I dream of them, elusive to extreme.
I wake and these abstractions spiral up
into nothingness of infinity,
ethereal concepts lost into space,
misty spectral reveries, brown studies
of doubtful natures, devious musings
of negligible earthly happenings.
All lost, unattainable conceptions,
leaving me spiritless limp and listless,
a ramekin of moronic despair,
riding a foamy crest of frustration.
Until my looking glass is tinted rose,
the black clouds break and faith is reassured.
Then I shall take up my pen and paper
and scribble all my endless worthless thoughts.
Alas that holy day is still to be.
Negligible morsel of biomass
my fat belly, formerly abs
insignificant yet it occupies me
hourly while bored or hungry.
Fat is what? a picture
of despair, giving up caring
or man out of balance, other
side of the world's starving
mass, case of the soul's malnutrition
industrial agriculture, television
supermarkets, vacations, hydrocarbons
and the grid. Electricity, urban
traffic jams, photons at final
rest. Sugars synthesized, abundant
plastics to carry them home in.
Into your house and into your mirror.
Memorizing the periodic table
and learning the calculus makes one
no thinner. Walking the mountain
in heat and cold and rain, alone
or in fire crews should inhibit.
And a healthy fear of death. A laugh
a day at sex and pain and fate
which renews the biomass I hate.
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.
Summer or Winter
Kindness; costs negligible.'
Your rewarder never sleeps.
Two Aloha-shirted Hawaiians
of generous girth were strumming
their ukuleles
on a small stage in front of the hotel’s poolside bar
in the late afternoon,
rehearsing for the night’s performance.
It must have been the low season,
as both bar and pool were deserted.
and the singer, unburdened
by a leis-laden audience’s
Mai Tai-soaked expectations,
was going through a mele
as if trying it on for size,
his voice loose-limbed with an easy grace.
Wrapped in the ukuleles' lolling strains,
his falsetto notes tumbled out into an
uncongested airspace,
where no ceiling formed by small talk, disjointed laughter
or tinkling glasses impeded their progress,
so they unfurled their wings,
lifted themselves into the hibiscus-brushed breeze,
and climbed,
hopscotching and frolicking on their ascent,
skipping from Tiki torch to treetop to balcony.
Some straggled, loitered on windowsills.
Some, afraid of heights, fluttered back down
to rest on top of beach umbrellas
next to shadows of palm fronds.
Still others hang-glided out over the sand
and the lapis water,
lured by the marigold light.
So that, when they alighted on my
hotel room balcony ten floors above,
they were fragments,
excerpted by the intervening air
from the upflowing cascade into
a broken yet voluptuous murmur,
a soft, lilting South Seas benediction
floating around my head.
I’d just sat down in the balcony chair, alone,
my wife being inside the room busying herself
with the correct placement of luggage
after we’d checked in.
And so it was that I found myself looking out
at the beginnings of a sky-painting Maui sunset
accompanied by air that quietly sang.
Maybe it was my senses unwinding
after the bustle of the journey,
or maybe it was simply that I was caught unawares,
but the feeling of contentment,
the almost Zen-like awareness of the here and now,
that overcame me at that moment was something
no convergence of sights and sounds
has been able to reproduce in the 20 years since.
It was, to be sure, an experience I’d paid more than
a negligible amount of money for.
The irony is that it was the first time
I truly understood the simplicity of happiness.
Mahalo.
If I could rule the world I would have everything my way.
I would change how countries portion their food supplies.
Countries like America have a large surplus of food,
While other poorer countries deal with large scale starvation.
If I had it my way
Everyone would know world hunger is caused by the lack of proper
portioning.
In the meat industry, livestock companies invest most of the world's
agriculture
In negligible amounts of meat.
If I had it my way
Everyone would know the seeds and corn to feed livestock could feed starving
people
Around the world
If I had my way
Every human would have three healthy meals everyday,
With clean drinking water.
If I had it my way
I would listen to our early father, and abolish political parties
Which only further create division in America.
I would ensure that everyone knew that George Washington told us not to
create parties.
Because he knew Democrat and Republican division would divide the people.
If I had it my way
Every kid would have a proper education
And be taught free thought.
And wouldn’t have a rate placed upon them.
If I had it my way
Everyone would know that everyone is selfish
But the best way to combat that is to be selfishly selfless.
If I had it my way the world would subjectively
A better place.
The sky seems to be on fire,
Almost supernatural,
Burning magnesium bright.
Almost as if Armageddon is coming;
As if it's already here.
It transfers its brillance to the mountains
Turning the rock into pillars of flame,
Makinf them seem even more immovable,
Even more untouchable,
Grander, and more breathtakingly terrifying
Than ocean waves at night.
And if the scholars are right
And my time here is limited,
Almost to the point of being negligible
In the view of the mountains, the sea, and the sky;
If this could be that fabled 'any moment'
Then I am sure that I'll be fine.
This one perfect sunrise;
That one immaculate night on the beach;
Those Holy days, that come every summer;
There is nothing more or less
Than any one of these.
And as the sky starts to lose its color,
As the day starts fading gently into night,
I'll hold on to this one perfect moment;
This one second of blazing clarity,
When the world itself seemed more alive.
While I saw the news today,
They all mentioned "Mother's Day",
What was that to me, I asked?
Thank my mom for all my past?
Gosh! How awful was that I said?
Wondering the idea crossed, whosever's head?
What thank you and what gratitude?
Is that even possible, you smart little dude?
Into the world I came from her womb,
Right into her cozy arms, my largest room!
In her eyes, it was my face I first saw,
Seeing her smiley face, I first said "ma"
With every breath I took till date,
Standing beside me, she shaped my fate,
So far I took more than a zillion breaths,
Like an elastic band for me she has stretched...
I can only list food, clothes and tangible things,
Can I list love, affection, tears, sweat, blood and all her feelings?
So is this one day and a “Thank you” going to sum it all?
Never my dear friend, not at all!
I am only due to my mother,
A part of her, I am her daughter,
As long as I live, indebted I shall remain,
It is her blood that flows in my veins…
On this earth that I live each day,
For me every single day is mother’s day…
For what all can I say “Thank you”?
As the very next second I say “Ma I need you”
She is the one who is happy when I smile,
Those are her tears which flow, when I cry,
When I’m hurt, she bears the all pain,
Calming me, things to me she explains…
Thank you is small and a negligible word,
Only to be ignored, after being heard,
Summing my gratitude & love, A wish I have compiled,
That in my next birth, she agrees to have me again as her child……..
waterfall from skies compete with my thoughts
must be doing something else,
yet here I am,
Here. I am.
Again.
Why do I keep coming back here?!?
A mental shake,
as I chastise myself
I shouldn't be here, don't belong here anymore.
Most likely, I never did, just pushed myself in this place.
But I feel like a homing pigeon,
where this is the only place I know
that I can be and not be.
Where I can hide and expose myself at the same time.
With repercussions? Maybe.
I sit in my own corner and immerse myself
in the chatter, the laughter, and other matters
Nobody really notices me,
but that's ok.
I'm getting used to it.
I guess I keep coming back here
for that sense of familiarity, of a somewhat home,
for the memories.
Of myself in happier times,
of a chapter in my life that I have written
yet somehow botched up. Badly, so badly
that the words are all swimming in their own tears
Oozing ink, drowning.
But it shouldn't surprise me anymore?
This is me?
Of course I will always somehow manage to mess things up.
Some ways more than the others,
'my-esque' askewness
For some, that chapter in my life
is of course negligible. An erasable footnote perhaps?
It hurts, but we all have our own worlds,
where you may not be as important to others
as you thought, as you wanted to be.
There I went, pushing myself again,
only to be pushed away with a
thousand mile barrier of silence.
All along, being dust in that corner.
I gulp a bucket of tears,
because I will not deny it--
how much it hurts. Still.
But like what I say,
have to get used to it.
My hands are cold,
and I wipe snot from my nose,
a dainty trickle of snot, but snot nonetheless,
have had my snot-in-sheets phase,
so this is progress, that trickle.
1234, my clock says,
12345678910, I count to myself
collecting, breathing slowly
needles in my feet and shivering
Gosh, can I get any more pathetic?!
Yes, I have and I bet I will still be so.
No, this is not a pity-me thing,
more like a slap-myself thing
So I can look back, read this
and say to myself:
Others have it harder than you,
yet they stand,
I'm here sitting,
yet others stand.
...
the sky is still drumming the earth with water
and my eyes are threatening to do a duet. Again.
I chide myself, Enough now.
For my bags under my eyes are already so smooth, too deep
Too weathered and soaked for a year.
----> 'slap-myself thing', remember??
Remember.
There are only guys
to my surprise. I,
the token woman, up early
A.M. to the company of men,
breakfasting in the fast track
restaurant of choice-- me
and a million hamburgers
served, it's said. Two men
read scripture in tandem:
neither one the boss, occasionally
marking a passage with a pen
after a sip of coffee and a bite
of sausage, hot pancakes,
maybe. Wonder if they knew
520 calories on the menu,
300 on mine, coffee negligible,
so am I eligible for extra
blessing? The java's good, and
not to be rude, I memorize
nothing but an Egg
McMuffin.
Spring is in its prime again
each leaf beautiful
much is edible
birds and peepers are musical at dawn.
The days walk slowly
toward Utah and Italy.
My left nut hurts.
Joy overwrites death.
Well, well. You're well
alone in your brain
only a negligible fraction
escaping as words and actions.
Every leaf that's coming out
is out. Including the self
to the west and south
a golem, mandragon, an elf.
Aaron was stacking
the last of last year's
firewood. He found
a spotted salamander--
Ambystoma maculatum--
Big mouth--hidden
under the final log
with a worm and centipede for a meal.
I exclaimed Rare species!
but it's common, fossorial
lives in moist woods
under cemetery stones and memorials.
Eats earthworms,
snails, slugs
insect larvae
and adult beetles.
I see little humans playing around
I fly through the clouds to and fro
I fly on the top, to search for prey
I pounce on a rabbit on the go
Extremely high altitudes, I fly on
Everything below looks negligible
Today my leap was higher than ever
To touch the stars, see if it’s possible
My flight can’t feel the pressure today
What happened to the gravity? Where am I?
Everything looks different, lighter I feel
A strong bird I am, but have the urge to cry
A round sphere I see, blue and green
A little further away, is a small whitish thing
On the other side I see, rings around a sphere
No other birds, no sound, nor a blink
I thought I could touch the stars in the sky
Perhaps I went wrong, I can’t see any star
Instead the sun is bigger, shining crudely on me
I’m lost but I recall, there’s a planet called Mars
I fly towards it, to see if life exists
I’m gonna do something even humans haven’t yet
When I reach the planet, I alone will rule
Not that I don’t now, but then I’ll be King
And show all the humans, my regime…
---
by Apoorva Patrikar
for the contest Deep Space Odyssey
sponsored by Nathan
1.
observing the ardent eagerness of the wind
it is clearly understood
that nascent pollens are overflowing
the niche of her heart
in response to the signals of the river
she keeps on ringing
all long the month of earth-quakes
the bench of the rail-station
wants to hug her
the medicine-counter of the ***-end of the day
beckons her with the hand to come nearer
in the assembly-hall for musical demonstration
adorned with ash-trays
going on the rehearsal of her dancing and singing
she also distributes some life
to the meticulous dressing
of the magnolia
2.
let the swimming pool be fully absorbed
with its dark-room
when the feather of your fore-finger
becomes green
the merchant of venice
will leave his business of photo-coping machine
to start walking directly
in search of new earnings
evening sets in
on the boiler of the delta
putting on yellow-dress comes
the water-vessel of the paper-balloon
there is no singing bird
shivering with cold
in the fold of the dear bed-sheet
it is possible that the boldness of the metro-railway
may give some wood of tamarisk
on the expanded palms
yet oh the western page of night
do tell today
why so much tamed polythene
are here in our cohabitation
3.
after so many days
published in the wind
painted in wings
the recent heart’s desire
of the doors and windows
they have rolled up their fairy-tales
from the ignorant drawing-room that wanted
to set her mind to the hill slanting downward
they did not want to know
how much rheumatism is there
in the hands and legs of the bark
to whom is delegated
the control of the mason-made bus-journey
sleep hugs the eye-lids of the rivers
though there is no postage-stamp
within the reaching-point
then what magic is there
in the hill slanting downward
why the wall does not learn
how to swim like a fish
truly it is he from whom
those negligible moments of man-ism
itch for blue candle-stand
This day has resulted to something I have to confess.
I am greatly and deeply in Love with you.
My soul ponders anytime I just think of you.
Your face has increased the number of chambers my heart has.
I long to be your groom,, while you be my Bride.
Your beauty have I known right from time past,
and admired ever since I saw you.
I will feel so Jealous if you commit yourself to some one else.
And your time, shared grossly with another,
even if that person is your family.
Come to my empire of Love,
which flows with wonders of happiness and peace.
Give me the chance to prove to you,
that Love actually takes two to manifest.
come into my arms which are wide open
and feel the passionate warmth of my embrace.
Just as in all the books of Love.
My kisses overflow with the deepest passion of everlasting desires.
Desires not of lust,, nor of unquenching taste.
But that of fullness,, completeness and fulfillment.
I may be using too many big words here.
or using figurative expressions in this sincere letter of mine.
or even trying to make it look like a poem.
But all in all, I just want to say one thing.
I LOVE YOU LIKE I HAVE NEVER LOVED BEFORE
This is a special letter, coming from a special person
To another special person, on a special timing.
I really want to be that special person in your life
The one who will be your everything.
Your man, your soul mate, your dream
Your desires, your passion, your life.
Your present, your future, your hope,
Your love, your happiness, your peace.
Your laughter, your inspiration, your joy.
I want to be there for you always even when I am not there.
I want to store my name and soul in your heart
So that wherever you are ,there I will be also.
After God, I want you to be next in my Life.
I want you to want me and love me like I do.
I want our feelings to be complementary to each other.
All my wants and needs sum up to one thing.
I want to have your love.
Just give me the chance to be your man
To be your one and only.
To be everything you had ever wanted
I don’t know how else to say this
And this is becoming too plenty to be real.
And not even a million scriptures
with a million pages each are enough
for me to express a negligible amount
of how I need you and feel towards you;
even if this is too voluminous to remember,
Just remember one thing sweet heart,
And that is………..
I LOVE YOU BABY.