Best Oration Poems
A crazy old man once told me,
“Heaven is made of the things you give away.”
It appeared he was next in line for heaven
as he had next to nothing left to give.
We shared a cup of coffee, conversation,
well not so much conversation
as a gentle walk through a magical forest.
His voice had not grown old or weary
of his quest to share his experience.
He stooped to pick up a napkin
discarded in haste, tucked it
in his pocket as we walked.
He shared his muffin,
spoke with a woman
pushing a shopping cart
through the Common.
She walked away smiling.
The muffin crumbs he left for the birds.
He nodded to the homeless,
waved to strangers, petted stray dogs,
offering all the brightness of his being,
warmth of his eyes,
quizzical wrinkle of his grin.
His rambling soliloquy
poked sticks at the universe,
offered hope to the ducklings…
yeah … the ducklings followed him
as if they knew that he knew.
As we approached the starting point
of both walk and oration he spoke
of the completed circle – not the
circumference - but the center,
said that the achievement was not
in amassing things to give away
but to offer freely those things
that you always have. Time, he said,
is huge, as is a smile, a word,
a shared muffin, a moment
in the passing of an eon.
He left me sitting on a park bench
sharing muffin crumbs
and smiling.
1/25/2017
submitted to – Random Acts of Kindness – Poetry Contest
Such a finely honed sword is this loneliness
Slicing through tenuous sinews of yesterday.
I search for obscure corridors of happiness
Knowing that somehow I forgot the way.
From gloomy clouds I harvest the sorrow
Dripping into the cupped hands of my heart.
For there is no optimistic promise of tomorrow
As I curse my ship and unintelligible chart.
How bitter sweet this gateaux of quiet solitude
I garnish it with sprinkles of immense silence.
For loneliness is but a mere shift of attitude
From peaceful design to destructive violence.
I gather the jigsaw pieces of empty conversation
Falling snippets swirling on the winds of sound.
A soliloquy of madness expressed in futile oration
In chilling isolation the laughter of my soul is bound.
I strain to catch the words swirling on the breeze
Yesterday was surely a symphony of chatter.
This finely honed sword cuts deeply with ease
And though I bleed... it surely doesn't matter.
Tongues of solar flare writhe in combat kiss
—flame-throwers unleashed
iron words h a m m e r e d in fire
ferrous words melt-morph into heart-welts
once under skin
hear the fevered air burn with cheers;
c a c k l e s of c r a c k l e s and h -i -s -s -s
bellies of tears full of fire; fire feeds on gasoline tears
fire-eaters’ —bellies full of flames
turn inside-out; fire-breathers shape-shift
from love doves to squawk hawks
bonfire of marital bliss consumed by wildfire
desolation burns holes in lacy i n* t i* m a* c y
ashes
fall
from
s o l o
cigarettes
—nuclear winter in summer
t h r o a t s of songbirds c h a r r e d
. . . silence
follows blaring —w h o o s h— of serpent fire
purification in cremation of all OratiOn sound
liability and liberation
animate to dissipate in snaky smoke of HeLL-wraiths
apathy clouds form they rain on red heat
smother a smolder mother a cease fire
ember-ice; scalds freezes t–h–a–w–s
whets flesh — and wets fire extinguished flower bed
ashes laid down
—passion’s quiet confetti paves a path—
w. a. i. t. s
— s l e e p w a l k s
… d r e a m s
The afternoon outlined. The sunny strokes
of a samurai blade on her body
revealing things the eyes feign see.
Tempted, wounded, the virgin parchment floats
between her skin and satin cloak.
Artist; afternoon, craving company
draws her inside-out so innocently,
on purpose leaves the yolk indwelling.
The painter in the corner moans,
he jealous of the afternoons artly
sensual oration.
Improving skin, bare olive tones
of subtle pastel, the moment partly lost
to the constellations.
words writen on paper
that would ring out louder
than any speech
Form:
A small desire like a spark, I do not know lit from where,
Frenzy of becoming an orator in me did flair;
I watched often, like blackbirds, seldom shutting my eye-lids,
Each speech of great orators, staying solid like lipids...!
It's time to perform - said well-wishers, relatives and friends,
Good-time was what all waited for anxieties to cleanse;
I was then a little boy just reaching adolescence,
Emotions and feelings had invaded my common-sense...!
There came, as though the final judgment, the appointed day,
I was ready, on our school stage, to perform my best way;
All applauded, as I entered the stage very happy,
Why this tremor? Why blankness of mind? Why heart goes flabby...?
Many laughed, howled and hooted; my kith and kin stood perplexed;
I left the dais, like a lunatic, humbled and vexed;
Pain of shame, like bark scorpion, my internals did sting,
Despair and frustration within, like eagles, did spread wing...!
I went dumbstruck and plunged into a cave of silence,
Knowing, my people left me to my inner violence;
That I come out, like a lion, courageous and robust,
Excel in performance, full of self-confidence and trust...!
What clicked, then, exactly, I still verily do not know,
Was it the resolve within that like flood of lava, flow?
My oration out-poured like a cloudburst, thunderously,
In this art, now, I shine like Sirius star, wondrously...!
31 May 2022
The Greatest Performance of My Life Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: JCB Brul
Marc Antony's funeral oration
Masterpiece of shrewd persuasion
Igniting sundry Romans' fierce desire
To douse 'noble Brutus' life with fire
Violence in the political party
A pebble thrown to defend oneself from a barrage of 100- stones
The bully then complains of abuse—might never makes right
will we unite?—I Am Anaya “All for one and one for all”
Bullied everyday was he, his peer would tell the news agent
He was different, a loner, weird, wore camouflage
And so, we tormented him
A lunch bench, a boy sequestered was “bullied every day”
Silent, defeated, sunken, he rarely spoke a word
Clean slate, passes a routine background check
A dietary aid prepping food in a nursing home
Nothing unusual nothing remarkable
Republican at heart for God knows what gave way, donates
to the loyal opposition a progressive bent
A bit addled and mixed up, can we see?
Unleashing his wrath a man filled with hurt with hate
In his own backyard, the tormented dons the guise of the tormentor
The assailed becomes the assailant
The unthinkable is done, perched upon a roof
four-hundred feet away just minutes into the oration
he aims then pulls the trigger
obscure and distressed Crooks alters history’s course
with a firearm at the ready as a duty and right
Father Crooks kept many, in a very pro-gun town
At the hands of a 20-year-old man who was
bullied by their own sons and daughters
Counselors, both father and mother
trained to help troubled minds, how ironic
Where were they as their son’s inner storm brewed?
A blind eye turned away what shame, what horror
Yet the world’s most salient story
I Pledge Allegiance
a solemn vow of obedience, from the earliest age of grievance,
when found deliverance, one people, united against tyranny and intolerance,
become the model of democracy and toleration
To The Flag
the symbol of once colonization come together in celebration,
a new unconquerable nation, a successful castration,
of oppression and dictation
Of The United States Of America
a conglomeration of peoples form one nation,
13 colonies a single relation, one voice, one oration,
tread on me, expect retaliation
And To The Republic
a democracy, its creation, the Constitution, its foundation,
agreeable to all in origination, fiercely guarded against demolition,
militarization, and impregnation, over all these years, still on station
For Which It Stands
the protector of all oppressed lands, the world over she lends a hand,
her signature, her blood, in foreign sand
One Nation
from sea to sea, whether rich or poor, some vocal, others, chose to ignore,
those who guard the shore, those who knock on heavens door,
one nation, esprit de corps
Under God
in a time when belief was strong, today, should not be wrong,
having been with us so very long, a few may sing a different song,
most will believe, as they have, all along
Indivisible
one, as a whole number, cannot be divided by any other,
many have tried under guise of brother, only to be denied by the mother
With Liberty And Justice For All
the means to end all oppression, infinitely wrong with transgression,
succession, regression, and repression along
Our Pledge of Allegiance
a pledge of a nation, a history profound, one indivisible number,
all it takes, to be no longer allowed
Sequestered from mundane oration
Until this spell from Earth’s rotation
Meanders from my frozen gaze.
Melting clouds in pastel plush,
Evanescent waning rays,
Recant my vision’s wanderlust.
Slivered shards of ruby hues,
Unflinching wisps of reddish blues,
Nuanced haze in wafting threads,
Supplanting twilight’s blushing gray.
Eventually dusk’s blanket spreads;
The trance is broke – I look away.
-28 Jun 2014-
(Rhyme aabcbc)
I’d extend an invitation
to all in the congregation
through this speech of inspiration
which is quite a compilation
yet I expect no adulation
and no gest of adoration
for in my own estimation
it’s a trifle occupation
clearing out the obfuscation
of a simple predication
o’er the course of this oration
through the rhyme of this dictation
See it’s a feebly built narration,
or an errant adaptation
sitting ‘top a weak foundation
grounded on some old quotation
writ in archaic notation
which seems to bear no strong relation
to the current held fixation
on the poorly built translation
which is more of a mutation
than an actual citation.
Now to give a brief summation
I will fight off the temptation
and my present inclination
to continue this vocation
and I’ll risk your irritation
with this act of abdication
and upset your expectation
by using this line instead
to add a bit of variation
as the only deviation
in my final recitation.
Now please stifle your elation
as I offer resignation
for I’m out of medication
and I fear the obligation
to interpret revelation
meant to spell out your salvation
is to my great consternation
causing meal regurgitation
and worse stomach ulceration
though at best the correlation
is just my imagination.
So I’m taking a vacation
to a tropical location
lost in wild vegetation
where I’ll watch in adoration
those grass skirts in their gyration
and sip drinks of fermentation
to avoid the dehydration
that always comes by deprivation
or by over-conservation.
If it’s any consolation,
after lots of vaccination
I’ll pursue my destination
through a week of navigation
on a vessel of flotation
as my mode of transportation
and forego all aviation.
So I plead, dear congregation
understand my situation
‘spite my freedom from taxation,
just suppress your indignation
toward my dreams of recreation
though I have no explanation
save this current presentation.
And though there is no valuation
for true acts of consecration,
after much consideration
if you’d show your dedication
with a generous donation,
I could use the insulation.
Amen.
The truth may not be
what it seems,
when wry words
penetrate innocent
minds and classic
flora
like sweet hemlock,
waits with a secret agenda.
“A labyrinth of schizophrenic
evil of a mind
about to begin”
Take the Pyramids of Egypt
a wondrous sight for all,
who cares about the mayhem
aimless spirits forever to waul
In the throes of womanhood
Delilah! She didn’t really care,
betrayed the local superstar
skillfully removing his hair.
Oration to fool all nations
many lifetimes of deceit,
sacred music tuned into tears
gullible folk a joy to cheat!
Children abused constantly
each atrocity fuels the seed,
for are they not the lambs of God
That condones this very deed?
Young men, emulator of “Hollywood”
Off to war as God-fearing men.
Someone knew Iraq’s secret
deep within valley, hill and fen?
For a hundred years the baron
introduced a most healthful threat,
wrapped around golden Virginian
to help the national debt!
Speech impaired by amber waters
lifelong snares within the hop,
mountains moved to accompany it
so to appease them on the Kop!
Beware you all upon this planet
the greatest threat well down the track,
industrial revolution
empathy disguised a whole new tack..!
© Harry J Horsman 2010
Reciting prayers,
Body splayed across the floor,
Reaching for heaven.
Knees gnarled and bent,
Mouth calloused from oration,
Hands clasped tightly shut.
Passionless faith is,
Just ceaseless recitation,
Magic doomed to fade.
SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL & UPLIFTING – PRAISE, WORSHIP, & PRAYER
There is no reason to be down and out.
The sun still shines in the sky when raindrops.
Smile now because this is your time to pop.
We really want to hear your thoughts about…
Life love joy rapture pleasure thrills bliss blessed
There is cause to be irrefutable.
You know the heights of life uplift others.
Happiness esteems and solidifies.
Each time you strive, you find that the world thrives.
Uplift life elevate mind and inspire…
There is purpose to take on; therefore,
Give heart to another and cheer to the
dishearten. Raise spirits to encourage
deification of our creator through praise.
Mother Earth is our celestial orbit.
Peace seekers we are in spirit and truth.
Love and harmony is for all dwellers.
Let us join on native topography.
Hold hands sing from the voice of the patriot
Scale the endless strife of diversity
To meander in our conflicting journeys
So that our life is a religious hub,
Which brings forth faith in the omnipotent.
The crux of our essence edifies soul.
Elucidation is magnetic force
Mesmerizing all the people involved.
We shout in our synagogues worship
Via life force, which is cognizance.
Oration heard from the heights of trouble.
Just a closer walk with God was words voiced.
A proclamation so great, tears came forth.
I know the Lord exclaimed the choir from the
balcony while others were praying in
the aisles. Oh Lord have mercy on me.
There was no doubt that salvation was there.
The expression was that the Holy Ghost
had entered. Utterance of faith is with
all. An enduring completed through the
works of God. How were the burdens taken
to a place of repost? The Lord keeps me
safe and warm. Through veneration and
extol, prayer; praise; and worship heartens all.
_________________________________|
PENNED JUNE 28, 2014!
Written for a those who seek a greater determination....
LOVE THEM ALIVE...
I write with hot passionate streams rushing down my cheeks.
Have you taken out time however minuscule
To contemplate the Romeo and Juliet that set your life's stage
You ever paused to ponder the mystery of parenthood?
Genesis says man with woman leaves father’s house to become one flesh
Leaving youthfulness and peers with their vigour and fervour
They become a two that is one, a mumsy and pupman
Worst for some these have become the privation of every actual or potential good.
Have you not deemed it fit to applaud the sacrifice of parenting?
Picture your father pacing up and down a hospital pathway
Unaware of unbuttoned shirts and the in-theatre curses of his Juliet
While you kick to and fro, insisting to see our mother earth
Until our stubborn immortality bows in humility to ancient mortality
We still forget our gratias to the duo that cared and catered
Do avoid a pool of tears like mine nay you won't forgive yourself
If the only place and time you say Mum I love you, or Dad I love you is in a funeral oration
What should be our best gift to our parents?
What should be the apex of our gratitude to the organism of our existence?
In and out of season, let's never delay to say
Mummy I love you, daddy I love you!