Best Outwitted Poems
Sisyphus. The Might.
Death now humiliated,
chained by mortal king,
will you remain with the dead ?
No. This is not yet your realm.
Sisyphus. The Craft.
Hades now outraged,
outwitted by mortal king,
do you yet deceive the dead ?
Yes. Such remains your realm.
Sisyphus. The Hill.
Zeus, now intercede,
chastise the mortal king,
will his eternity be spared ?
No. Such is not his reward.
Sisyphus. The Heft.
Might fades, craft fails,
contrite the mortal king,
is the futility to endure ?
Yes. Such is his reward.
Sisyphus. Now Fall.
19th July 2020
The cradle of three of the biggest faiths
Rocked by the claim one agenda stakes
Locked and loaded and ready for war
With righteous blessings for terror and gore
Sentiments civilities and landscapes pitted
All of human decency finally outwitted
I have a lovely daughter, who is a lovely mess,
for every rule you give her, she will have to test.
She’s always just inside the lines or balanced on the top.
She loves to challenge all the rules to see how they will flop.
My favorite of her hurdles was the school uniform,
and she was delighted to best this strict form of norm.
A uniform would be an insult to her fashion sense.
As her mother, I suspected the rules would soon be mince.
She wore exactly what they said: khakis, belt, white top.
You've probably guessed, though thusly dressed she did not stop.
Smiling like an actress in a play,
she wore a striped scarf with red beret.
Her belt was wide and trendy,
her shoes, black boots to knee.
A voguish olive blazer was her “coat.”
Stylishly outfitted
and with the rules outwitted,
the books she carried seemed a lighter tote...
The "book bag," after all, was a fabulous new purse!
and...
Her creative conformity sent the principal to the nurse.
There is something to be learned here, as I reflect on this bright girl.
Without the rules before them, there’d be no rebels in the world.
11/2/2018
ENOUGH WITH YOUR
IRRITATING RUMPUS
PANDEMONIUM GBUDU
GBANG!
ARE YOU THE ONLY ONE HERE?
"I AM MY ME"...AND SO WHAT?
ARE YOU THE FIRST OR THE
LAST,
TO HAVE ACHIEVED THAT
FEAT?
THE ONLY ONE CAPABLE AND
ABLE?
IF YOU CARE....
JOB DIED WHILE APPLE,
FRESH.
OOOOH GBUDU GBANG WHY?
WHEN WILL ALL THIS
COMMOTION STOP?
THE LASS WAS A TODDLER
WHEN YOU ENCOUNTERED
ANAANU
AND STILL HARK BACK
HULLABALOO.
DID WE NOT HAIL YOU WHEN
YOU OUTWITTED THE
OUTWITTER?
WHEN YOU UNWOVEN
ANANSE'S BYZANTINE WEB
AND UNDID HIS MYSTICAL
LOOMS, DID WE NOT PRAISE
YOUR WIT?
SO WHY THE HARK BACK
HULLABALOO?
I TELL YOU,WE ARE NOT TIRED
OF YOUR EXPLOITS
BUT OF THEIR STALE
CELEBRATIONS.
IF ONLY I COULD GET YOU
ENOUGH WATER TO SWALLOW
TO FILL THE NOISY THIRSTY
EMPTINESS OF UR LUMEN
THEN WE COULD HEAR THE
SWALLOW'S CHIRP.
FOR HE TOO I KNOW,HAS A
GREAT STORY TO TELL.
AND WHO KNOWS?
THE FEATHERED FELLOW
MIGHT PUT A FEATHER IN
YOUR CAP.
GBUDU GBANG!!!
Intellectual peer pressure
The faces change from smiles to sneers
from effusive praises to contemptible jeers.
A man whose wisdom has been seen for years
now forced to face his prideful peers.
A man whose intellect is simply beyond compare
those who read his works just stop and stare.
How can someone hold their own and debate such a man?
His thoughts and reasoning's are as well laid out plans.
His eloquence, his observations, are without any match
outwitted, his enemies, launch and scheme a hateful attack.
He knows their devotion, to unproven theories, is like a religion
He does not cower as he faces their vitriolic words of derision.
The odds are against him, hundreds to one, but he declares his faith in God!
Silence is deafening for a few moments, then one brave soul applauds.
The crowds turn against the two of them, in a heated hateful rage
Ignorance and prideful enmity, is clearly on display!
Without acknowledging that he might be right, they were both voted out!
But, forevermore in the back of their mind there is that lingering doubt...
John Derek Hamilton
February 16,2016
My mother taught me everything I Know
About the flower,
From azaleas to zinnias
And the heavenly golden hours;
Shortly after sun up when
We sense the world profound;
And later on when nearly gone, fading
Fast when stars come ‘round.
She sang and danced with daffodils
And smiled at the scent of a rose;
Gave thanks and praise for the One who made
Periwinkles, poppies and marigolds.
My mother sewed seeds that outwitted weeds
Leaving them withering away;
Of Love-in-a-Mist with her own sweet kiss
She planted on petals each day.
While waiting for gardenias, daisy’s
And lilacs to arise;
Together we watched as nature taught
Us to open our eyes.
To the mystery below the surface,
The roots deep in the ground;
Water, sky, air connected some-where
Beauty remains unbound.
My mother taught me everything I know
More true than weeping willows cry;
How color filled buds lift hearts and souls
With sorrowful, tear filled eyes.
And that living and dying are one and the same
As light is both wave and other;
On the edge of tomorrow where love knows no sorrow
And flowers bloom bright
With my mother.
There will be no secrets
Nowhere to hide
The left and right being outwitted
And little brother inside
The drones and data crawlers delve
Dreams and nightmares being ourselves
Compiled evidences mount concern
While mankind’s bridges burn
Our cyborg image never shown
Our accessories scent allured us
Hums of technology a pleasant moan
We breathed deep the aroma’s service
Bandwidth culture firmly in place
Everyman has no face
Ethnicity of avatar and clan of choice
Everyman selects a voice
The blind face themselves feeling
Something’s missing out of sight
Reaching for the cognitive ceiling
Surrendering for wrong and right
To machines constant drumming
The overfuture’s coming
Where there’s nothing left to do
And no difference from me to you
I was just walking down the street
when it hit me
a quick jab….followed
by a crushing right cross.
I staggered….stunned
by the suddenness of
a seemingly unprovoked attack.
Life, fate, Karma…WHAT!!!
I covered up, rolled, bobbed left,
feinted right, slid along the ropes
found the safety of the corner,
thanked Ali for the rope-a-dope.
I had forgotten the rules of life
“Protect yourself at all times”,
the bell will ring at sunrise
failure to answer the bell
will result in disqualification,
there is no standing eight count
you cannot be saved by the bell,
the bell will ring at sunset.
The sunrise bell summons me
to the center of the ring.
I touch gloves with life,
with fate, with Karma.
The dance begins slowly.
Slide smoothly but quickly,
stick, jab, counter, cover.
To date I have taken on all comers,
dealt with their strength,
outwitted and outlasted the cunning,
outpunched the punchers,
outpointed the pure boxers.
So I stand, battered, but triumphant
in the center of life, hands held high
awaiting another sunrise bell.
A wily, weathered, champion
challenging life, fate, Karma to
“HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT”
“FIRE AWAY”
John G. Lawless
6/19/2015
.
The wild wind’s whisper haz
touched the budding roses
giving them life
The gawp from the writer
before the readers
yep
wuz jaw dropping
Yep
I’ve seen other roses
budding
yet these which were before me
yep
tumid
and were an umber
sought by many uh poets
Yet
I
yep
I
have outwitted
the masters
*Les clins d'oeil de poete
glorious and tall i stood...
you could lie and say i was king
and still tell the truth
i defeated Attila the Hun
and outwitted Alexander the great
upstaged Julius Caesar.
i crawled through the dunes of Arabia
and splattered them with bandit blood
i took the lives of many
that my people may be safe another day
i fought bravely for my country
and now, Valhalla awaits.
*i know the history is incorrect, but its figurative.
Assaulted Peanuts
They rode across the Western Hills,
For the land of Middle Eyed Bong,
To raid the Salted Peanut Trees,
Of King Pod and his merry throng.
Who were they, this reckless band,
Dare to plunder with motley crew.
They knew not what their fate would be,
Angering the wrath, of Old Cashew.
Cashew is Sentinel of this land,
Most powerful Nut to crack.
Born and raised in the Pecan Mines,
Eyes of Steel and Walnut Black.
Renegade leader of this Gang,
Was Outlawed Percival Grimface,
Once a native of Middle Eye,
Until his assaulted Peanut disgrace.
Pod and Cashew received a snitch,
Of Percival’s imminent raid
and so, prepared their men elite,
The Special Peanut Brittle brigade.
Grimface had an informant,
A betrayer amongst his ranks,
Passed the word to King Pod’s Men,
Who were grateful and offered thanks.
The Brittle Brigade were fighting men,
No one could take them down,
May contain some traces of Nut,
Emblazoned above the Town.
The attack was planned for Midnight,
On the Thirty-Third of July.
A new Moon was clearly visible,
Under a cloudy dark blue sky.
On the edge of town, they did dismount,
To make ready for their swag,
In expectation of stealing Salties
and Take-away in a plastic bag.
The Peanut Trees were just to hand,
When Cashew shouted, GO MEN GO.
Percival walked into an ambush,
He was struck underneath, down below.
No match for King Pod’s Brittle Men,
Who had muscle and sling shot bricks.
Grimface and his Gang, outwitted,
Only Conkers and pointy sticks.
They never saw it coming,
No protection from Peanut shells,
Hastily retreating under fire,
Their pain and ear-piercing yells.
Those Renegades had been dispatched
Back from whence they came,
Never to return to Middle Eyed Bong,
In fear; of getting more, of the same.
If there’s a moral to this story,
Of which I seriously doubt,
Buy your own Salted Peanuts,
Else your villainy will find you out
Let me tell you about a bold and brave man
he no doubt took the Fatherland by storm
his mighty Afrika Corps never broke form
North Africa The Desert Fox made his stand
chorus
the Fox could never be caught
guts and glory is what he sought
The Field Marshall was loyal to the end
his honor we must defend
He was the Fuhrers favorite general
outwitted Mongomery at every turn
the Flak 88 made British armor burn
from Tripoli to Tobruk the Panzers roll
chorus
short on supplies victory after victory was won
in retreat this mans brilliance was shown
at Kasserine pass allied advance was blown
he fell ill before the job could be done
chorus
fought valiantly in the Normandy attack
now critically wounded in an air raid
falsely accused as traitor the ultimate price was paid
Speidel and Stauffenberg courage they lack
chorus
he's forever linked to the yellow stain
scam implicating for post war power
Field Marshall Rommel would never betray at zero hour
this man was loyal no matter the pride and pain
chorus(2)
Who names a traitor? I will name a heart,
For hearts alone forsake the sought-for good.
The Captain Will surveys his seaman’s chart
To plot a course to guide his ark of wood.
Yet he forgets each sailor is a man.
‘Gin mortal foes a man be brave and strong.
Whoso is valiant, bid him join the van
To prove his manhood in the battle throng.
Yet, what fears that combatant beset,
Who, standing lone and single in the ring,
Beholds the trident and ensnaring net
Of him that is the ocean tempest’s king?
Aye, some outwitted Neptune’s rocks and ire,
Yet perishèd. What man resists the siren’s lyre?>
"and, as treason begins in the heart, before it appears in overt-acts, so he accused you as a traitor on that account, and therefore insisted you should be put to death" Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels, Chapter VII
abecedarian
Angels announced a special birth:
“Be not afraid!” Born in Bethlehem,
Come and see the Christ child,
Desire of Nations born in David’s town.
Emmanuel means God came to earth,
Favored One, first born of Mary.
“Glory be to God in the highest”
Heaven come down to dwell with men.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
Judah’s Prince of Peace, He was and is...
King of Kings, all-knowing and kind
Lord of Lords, lauded and lavished
Months later by Magi who marched to His star.
Notwithstanding King Herod’s claim, they
Outwitted him and offered Christ presents -
Provisions which paid for passage -
Quick escape to Egypt from the
Retaliation of Herod’s rival schemes.
Some people, sheep with no Shepherd,
Totally reject this account as a theory.
Unbelieving souls and others deny Jesus’
Virgin birth, divesting Him of divinity,
Wonderful Counselor, Wellspring of faith.
X-mas excludes the Christ from Christmas,
Yeshua's miraculous birth, which the
Zeal of Zion’s God accomplished.
written 01 January 2016
ZZZ-001
contest: Writing Challenge 2019 Christmas poems
hostess: Dear Heart - Wiishkobi Ode.
set on lily pad
dragonfly cautiously flies
rapid long tongue snaps
3/10/2018