Best Opportunities Poems
Sitting reminiscing
About the subtle signs
Along one’s journey
The roads not traveled
The messages so hard to read
Reminders meant for the soul
Heart longings heard
And those that aren’t
Life passing by
Not taking time to play
Invitations postponed
Believing there’d always be another day
Friends taken for granted
So few opportunities fully grasped
Yet life there for the taking
The seeds of joy neglected
Quiet whispers of could have been
Once the sun goes down
Leaving all our regrets
On the water’s edge
Published in my photo/poetry book ~BY WATER'S EDGE~ 2019
AP: 2nd place 2023
It's a time to pack away your sad face,
And slow down the race,
To a walking pace.
It's time to remember the good life,
Put away your knife,
And do something nice.
It's time to play your part,
By showing you have a heart,
So, others won't depart.
It's time to hold off on the advice,
And with your cooking entice,
All but the mice.
It's time to be a good elf,
Not think of yourself,
And come down off the shelf.
It's time to spread some joy around your neighborhood,
Even with the local hood,
It could do you both some good.
My mama once told me that everywhere I go
There's an opportunity it flies in the air
Waiting for me to reach it
That was seven years ago
Seven years ago, I was ten years old
I was young enough that mama was my hero
I saw her death bed in the hospital
I was old enough to understand
She was fast asleep, IVs in her arm
February 21st, 2007, mama took her last breath,
And along with it, my opportunities
Six years ago,
I was still dealing with the pain
There was chaos at the dinner table
My father was shutting down
Hatred was our motive
Five years ago,
The pain was still immense
Got put up for adoption
Tears came down like rain
Depression hit my heart
Four years ago,
Phyllis came into play
Adopted seven out of ten
Her heart was kind
But I didn't seen it
Three years ago,
Placement was my life
Time flew by
It was only a year
Depression hit me harder
Two years ago,
Placement and depression became normal
February 21st, 2007,
Still can't find
The love from Phyllis
A year ago,
Fixing everything I could
Fighting through depression
Found the love from Phyllis
And now,
I can see these opportunities now
Just waiting for me to catch them
I can see mama everywhere I go
But I just can't be happy about it
Opportunities are everywhere
They can be at the tips of our fingers
It could be a job offer
But we've just need to find the correct ones
I've learned from my experience
And it’s my turn to grab
The correct ones
That will fit me.
Opportunities.
Testing times for the masses
Testing surprises? wrong passes
Friends on paper turned foes
WHO was there and knows
Sellouts in for the kill
Digital tracking at the till
Liberties lost, the new normal
Curfew and lockdown now formal
opportunities
mean leaving your comfort zone-
sometimes taking risks
Sandra M. Haight
~2nd Place~
Contest: Monoku 1 - Your Best
Sponsor: Silent One
Judged: 12/26/2017
~1st Place
Contest: Opportunities
Sponsor: Nayda Ivette Negron
Judged: 11/03/2016
Four things come not back:
the spoken word; the sped arrow;
time past; the neglected opportunity.
Omar Ibn Al-Halif, Aphorism
___________________
On a beautiful Fall day- I went for a café,
pushing open the shop door, I bumped into a man,
pardon me, I said shyly (for he was quite handsome).
On my table I placed my café, my journal and pen,
ready to write a poem or two or perhaps an observation.
Then the "handsome" man is asking, may I join you?
Until that moment, I had not considered him relevant.
Inside, I was quivering with possibilities!
This turn of events could be a worthwhile opportunity,
if I let things progress in a timely manner.
Each word he said spoke to my ravished heart-
Star bright eyes, rosy cheeks, ruby lips, stepping stone words.
Such a smooth talker that I was soon quite smitten.
Everything about him was desirable and pleasant to me, so
reaching into that adventurous side of my personality, I
engaged in this mating dance-
Nothing can be thrown away, especially when it comes to love.
Do you believe in windows of opportunity? I do. And,
in time we were talking head to head quietly, two
people like-minded meshing into one entity, touching hands.
In life sometimes love can burn for just a moment, and be
taken by the wind in the next-
You must never, ever neglect a serendipity opportunity.
_____________________________
October 22, 2016
Quote with Acrostic
For the contest, Opportunities
sponsor, Nayda Ivette Negron
First Place
A liberal mind for love
seeks Earth's nurturing nest origins
astoundingly opportune for producing healthy ego-nutritional eggs.
A conservative risk taker,
faced with ego's opportunity
to fly away from mortal risk
to autonomous long-term, or at least short-term, self survival
or fight to WinEgo/LoseEco-Other pyric victory,
thereby sees ego's Win/Win in-between opportunity
to produce future cooperative eco-eggs
of self/other-perpetuating identity,
A narrower, conserving, view
of Earth's universal health opportunities
and a widening interdependent liberal love potential.
We might become both
ego and eco healthier,
more left non-insula nature embodied
and right amygdala co-passionate spirit soaring
to imagine
and support both physical/metaphysical views,
held most lovingly together
as WinWin eco/ego-centering integrity,
symbiotic nonfight/nonflight opportunity
for cooperatively mentored solidarity
in health/wealth mutual service
Negotiations BiLateral
and/or internally BiCameral;
Conscious
and/or UnConscious;
ReConscious memory
and/or PreConscious imagination.
EXPIRATION DATES - 20190122
We’ve all got inspiration dates,
But we can only guess at when.
From first breath ‘til the end,
Our lives were pre-measured by the Fates.
That doesn’t mean we can’t shorten our time
By taking risks with unhealthy lifestyles.
The Grim Reaper sadly grants no extra miles;
Life’s not a game played with overtime.
So what shall we do with the time we’ve got,
With whatever granted amount?
What shall we do to make it count?
Will our light be a nano- or a gigawatt?
All those loved-ones who share our houses-
We don’t know how long they’ve got to live!
What would you do if you did outlive
All you’re friends, children, and spouses?
Would you dwell on everything left unsaid,
Endlessly numbering your every regret.
“I wish I would have” your stone’s epithet,
Your expiration date expired, finally dead.
There’s no Marley’s ghost to give you warning.
To avoid so many pointless sorrows,
Treat all you love like they had no tomorrows.
Change your ways; start yesterday morning!
Hers was a complete change of personality, moods, and friends
Her joyful happy self, turned rapidly sarcastic, mean, and secretive
Her eating habits changed; she did not need food any more.
Stopped eating with the family, painted her room black.
Threw her flute into the garbage. She had outgrown it.
Scoffed that she had ever been a cheerleader, calling them names.
Her friends stopped coming. She made new ones, they were in and out.
None stayed long. Just a few minutes.
Her family saw glimpses of her unhappiness as she ran in and out
Of her room, slamming doors, playing music, not doing her homework.
Her A’s and B’s nosedived into D’s and F’s, and she laughed about it.
Rapid distrust toward her siblings. Name-calling, which had never happened.
Stopped going to school until it was nigh onto impossible to keep up.
Sneaked out of the house at night; they never knew where she would be.
Left in cars with people she did not know. Parents blamed her friends.
It was their fault, not hers. She was their princess. She was perfect.
Secrecy became the norm. Her laughter became loud and ugly.
Her prettiness was gone; her hair was dingy. She stopped wearing deodorant.
Grandparents wondered where she was at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
They were given many lies from parents and her siblings. Everyone covering.
Not my child! They said when the possible truths were pointed out.
That does not happen in our neighborhood.
We are not that kind of parent.
Our child would never be an alcoholic or a drug addict.
The entire family circled the wagons,
refusing to join neighborhood barbeques.
The children were taught that the people at church
were do-gooders, and look-downers.
The children were taught that the neighbors
they once adored were now the enemy.
They were protecting the princess,
who seldom came home, sneaking in and out,
When they were asleep. Not in our family! They said. Not in our family!
The do-gooders and down-lookers were prominent at her funeral.
They had raised children also who had been lured into
the terrifying swallow-up world of drugs and alcohol.
They had so many stories; horrifying real life stories
they had never shared even though they had innumerable
opportunities at church functions and bar-b-ques.
Chance, choice and circumstances can create,
new opportunities in life, to change our fate.
Some challenges camouflage opportunities ahead,
give a thought, don't discarded them and shred.
Take different view of situations and think over,
could be golden opportunity, may not return ever.
Spot and seize opportunities, they are success keys,
don't let them wait, act fast, no time to sit at ease.
Sometimes hidden opportunities pretend like threats,
they come and they go, missed ones leave regrets.
Life itself is an opportunity, to strive for the best,
try to fulfill your dreams, with vigour and zest.
Nov 2, 2016.
Opportunities - Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Nayda Ivette Negron
Enfeebled by suffering, my steps refused to abide my call
Tears streamed down when opportunity gently walked into my life
Should I or should I not accept the responsibility that breathed close by?
I laid aside my self pity, doused out the agony with pain killers
And put on my armour of fortitude
Smilingly I went forth with my two stalwarts
As Alexander may have with his army against Poros
In a fierce battle of wits we won a magnificent love cup trophy
Like a towering sterling chalice we held on to its proud handles
The dopamine effect kept us beaming on the podium
As shutterbugs kept us showered in their limelight
November 3, 2016
For Nayda Ivette Negron
Life is a journey that is anything but turnkey
Full of many doors that we must open
As we find our way through another day
There are so many doors to choose from
Before all the opportunities
Will just flee or get by me
So we have to try to always reach for the sky
Turning all of life's opportunities on high
We have to let some pass us by
For every new door that opens
We need to test the waters
As they come ashore
We must not ignore what makes us soar
Before the next door closes
We need not worry or get in a hurry
About all the doors that are so blurry
For every new door that brings opportunity
Should allow us to foresee
Which are key for us to agree
Moving forward before the next door closes
We have to let go of those doors
That brings the doubt without clout
That turns our world all about
Making us want to shout
Why we figure out
Why we all stumble and fumble
Surely these are the doors that we must close
Because everybody knows it all makes us grow
Into the person, we have come to know
So take it nice and slow
And just find the right flow
Life is what you make it
So don't fake it
Or break it
But rather
Make it your own
Concealed within each obstacle
Lay opportunities.
Recognizing them, oft times,
Require thinking outside the box;
It seems that opportunity rarely knocks
At an opportune time,
And seldom knocks but once;
Burned into my memory
Are cases when opportunity stood banging,
And I answered not the door.
I've found,
That life rarely rewards you beyond your effort.
Tom
Rights and Opportunities
By Franklin Price
8/27/2016
Rights and opportunities
Intertwined in many ways
Rights, Constitution given
It's opportunity that pays
The Constitution's Bill of rights
And Amendments added to
Disclose the Federal rights we have
No one can take from you
The Constitution also defines
How the government proceeds
To take the best of care of us
Satisfy our wants and needs
The dumpster has been opened
The Constitution's in the air
Congress doesn't want to catch it
Might show that they still care
Keep the people wondering
Where this country's going now
The money that the rich provide
Overrides their Constitution vow
Don't care about the people
House and Senate upper class
The royalty of our country
See crowns in the looking glass
We have the opportunity
To vote their asses out
It is our government after all
What this country's all about.
Opportunities when recognized
Can make for better days
To recognize them's nothing
To take action is what pays
A beautiful lifestyle guarantee:
All these wonderful gifts for free!
Read about indiscretions,
In the latest ads they've got running:
All the secret alliances you could be planning.
High-class, back door man's agency stands here;
Nobody gets through the front entrance easily:
maids, s and some high-class s.
Bureacracy assures a business fee for the license:
He operates as long as the city hall makes money.
While the business community removes
Ladies of the night in ripped, fishnet stockings
That their mothers wouldn't approve of.
Forget the dealers and their offerings of ;
Enslavement to the streets is an opportunistic game.
These white collars workers insist on discrimination;
As long as they go around with their golddigging wives;
They are the ones to make the exception.
We don't talk about their little indiscretions;
As long as 'don't ask, don't tell' replaces the question.
"Put on your ripped fishnet stockings, my love!
As long as we're in this posh hotel room, nobody cares
About dry brown toast from the local bar!"
And room service that requires a tip on the table
Much larger than his precious, cheap fifty cents.
Think about going there for an interview?
Put on your best fake happy face;
Don't look like a living, walking disgrace!
Think about what the price of making money is.
Call that a career opportunity?
Private escort agency?
Girls arrive desperately;
Underage, possibly?
Call that a career possibility?