Best Overseer Poems
The Master left to go away,
But, being wise and just,
He first called forth three servants and
Placed Talents in their trust.
According to their proven skills
He portioned out their share:
Five to the first, the second two
One to the last man there.
And once the Master went away
The man he gave the five
Invested what he had been lent
And made his Talents thrive.
The man who had been given two
Worked hard to earn yet more,
But he who had been given one
Hid his beneath the floor.
After a time the Master came
Returning from his task
And bid his servants come to Him
With but one thing to ask.
"With what I had entrusted you
Now give me your account."
The man to whom was given five
Had doubled his amount.
In turn, the man He'd given two
Had turned them into four.
The Master said, "Well done my sons,
Now I will give you more."
The last whose Talent had been hid
Rushed forth to plead his case.
"I have protected what you gave
Within a secret place."
The Master, disapproving, looked
Upon his share returned.
"What good can hidden Talents do?
They yield no profit earned."
That Talent then He gave to he
Whose faithfulness was proved,
And from the man who had but one
His little was removed.
The moral of this story then
If you have ears to hear
Is we are given portions of
Which we are overseer.
Don't let your talents waste unknown
Whether they're small or great.
Whatever talents you possess
Should even more create.
9.16.18
Contest: Parable of the Talents
Categories:
overseer, allegory, bible, spiritual,
Form:
Rhyme
Life according to John Lawless
Real Life
a childish attempt to gather leaves
on a windy day
looking out the window at the rain
wearing swim suit and goggles
standing in the mud – wondering
why you just couldn’t resist it
a yard sale of emotions
tarnished and tagged
Ah Life
Curator of the hearts mausoleum
Guardian of guilt’s abyss
Overseer of the asylums mind
Debunker of both truths and lies
Still Life
a childish attempt at growing old
looking out the window at the rain
gazing at the mud – wondering
why life couldn’t just leave you alone
10/29/2015
submitted to – Life according to…. – Poetry Contest
sponsor – Silent One
Categories:
overseer, life,
Form:
Free verse
Young, gentle and in bondage
This innocent bird flew towards the promised land
Her frame petite yet powerful
Her eggs beautifully nested when transported from Calcutta
The sight of the new turf welcoming
A dream of hope and fair go brewing deep within
Day and night she laboured for payments equating to peanuts
The breadth of whips ploughed her like a bull in the harsh fields of Nadi
Her eggs now fertile
A pretentious malnourished glow adorning her face
No snug mattress at night
No baby shower
The scorching sun and the liberal rain
Her only companions to clad her in celebration
Cooked, then drenched, then burnt…
She finally delivers a dead bundle of tears
Her tragedy apparently not so sensational
Urging her overseer to order her back to the fields in four days
The memories of the dead child
Not at all dead in her head
Cold and depressed she refuses to present herself
Maternity leave a term alien on the ‘girmit’ fields
Gathering courage from ‘Durga’, she dares to speak of rights
Perhaps the very last time she spoke
The overseer, insulted and beats her near death
Lying in the fields with broken limbs and essence
Her veil the only bandage
To cover her wounds.
Categories:
overseer, nostalgia,
Form:
Free verse
peregrine falcon
scout upon the citadel
pigeons kept in check
***
Categories:
overseer, appreciation, bird,
Form:
Haiku
1. Earth
The designated household steward
Formidable, resourceful, and replenishable
Overseer of life advancement
Protector of the realm
2. Air
The dynamic life giver
Atmospheric regulator and ventilator
Breathable qualities regenerative properties
Possessor of the realm
3. Water
The paramount mundane neccesitator
Aquatic shapeshifter's topographical improvements
Liquefied nutrient entities' sustainabilities
Provider of the realm
4. Fire
The maintenance of creation
Foundational builder massive molding
Keeper of the Flame
Prudential of the realm
Categories:
overseer, allusion, analogy, earth, fire,
Form:
Verse
Bishop of our souls, looked below.
His blood, a flow.
Life, gave it all —
so great our fall.
The great I Am entombed. Presumed
that mankind’s doomed!
Angels abide
by Jesus side.
Of scripture, death is terrified.
His eyes are wide
when Jesus wakes —
bides fire in lakes.*
7/18/2021
12 Lines in Rhyme
Sponsor: Joseph May
Rhymezone & HMS
*bides - waits for
1 Peter 2:25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd (Bishop) and Overseer of your souls.
Revelation 20:14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.
Bible Scriptures NIV
Categories:
overseer, christian,
Form:
Rhyme
I’m the whispering voice of legacies long sense past, the overseer
Of generations traveling with broken wings of tribal tradition,
A vanquished chieftain, whom sheds his sacred feathers, as tears
Shame upon the white man’s winds of manifest destiny.
Clarity’s shattered warrior languishing within a river of
Crimson shoals, drowning beneath salvations suffering,
Wounded left at bending knees of mercy, abandon, with
Our archers crushed bow, and idle arrows of sorrow, upon
The battle field of ignorance and indifference.
Kindred leaves of humanities autumn,
Left torn and tossed asunder,
Tatters remnants, drifting loosely on the breeze
Of progress,
Built upon the ash pile of a nation’s people.
Many life flames flicker at the sacred fire beyond,
Hear the drumming’s roar; it is the beating heart,
The bleeding soul, crying out for revenge, but
Driven deeply is the spear of destiny, piercing
The righteous spirit, shattering it into a million
Pieces, that descends as raindrops of regret.
Treaties promises melt away as paper confetti,
Burnt embers offerings left as crisp fiery spray,
Floating in the deadened chill of winter’s forth
Coming.
Beneath the singed blankets of tribal markings,
Lie huddled the feeble of starvation, those whom
Desire to feed from the table of their ancient culture,
But these eloping breasts are drained dry.
Behold these starving cannot remember the flavor
Of her milks taste, nor the fragrance of her natural
Perfume, for they are the lost tribe of humanity,
People of the desert prairie, blown apart by the
Scorching winds of fate.
I’m the whispering voice of legacies long sense past, the overseer
Of generations traveling with broken wings of tribal tradition,
A vanquished chieftain, whom sheds his sacred feathers, as tears
Shame upon the white man’s winds of manifest destiny.
Harken my children and listen, for wind whisper walks amongst
You, and I’ll mend the bow, with prides honor, in faith’s devotion,
The ancient warrior shall ride again, against the flames of our
Sacred fire, and thus the weeping woman shall cry no more.
BY: CHERYL ANNA DUNN
Categories:
overseer, america, history, imagery, imagination,
Form:
Free verse
Ebony and Phonics
Talkin’ Jive, slippin’ inta the ethnic eccentricities
of survival, hip-hop, rap, the blues, Ebonics.
Ebonics, the melding of Ebony and Phonics
into a language that could be spoken
within hearing of the overseer. Genius
spoken here, clandestine communication
lines strung in plain view. News flashes,
who ran, who escaped, who was sent and
where, who was sold. Assumed “ignorance”
displaying pure brilliance before an unconscious
audience.
Ebonics, a language shaped by hardships and
prejudice, now reduced to phrases and a
chant-like mockery of its necessity and
protection.
Ebonics, a language that preserved a spirit,
nurtured a fierce independence, fed the
flames of rage and the hopes of love.
Ebonics, a tribute to a tenacious desire to
be free, not from the chains, but from
the bondage of the chains. Free to
communicate their deepest thoughts,
their hidden loves, their seething hates.
Ebonics, lost key to railroads underground,
doors no longer found, generations in
search of freedom’s sound.
John G. Lawless
8/16/2014
for Verlena S. Walker
Ebonics – Let’s do Some Slang contest
Categories:
overseer, language, slavery, prejudice,
Form:
Free verse
Sexy sensual silky smooth seductively smart Sebastian
Charismatic cool comet crashing creative chemical concoction
Over thinker overseer overwhelming
Revolving six shooter raw rhyme repeater
Purposeful and pondering the question of what's powerful
Intense somewhat intelligent always an irresistible individual
Oddball offspring enjoying an open water poetry philosophical odyssey
Categories:
overseer, character, me,
Form:
Acrostic
Dreaming of a pot of gold, you came to town
It was sprawling, this metropolis, you knew none around
Your earnings were scant and engagements, irregular
The overseer assured steady income in lieu of a favour
You succumbed to ward off uncertainties, and gradually sank deeper
You were born of impoverished stock, high up in the Himalayas
Your clean looks and youthful age were your kin’s panacea
Your home, the arid plains, where land is mostly barren
Starvation a reality, your innocent world was broken
When it comes to sacrifice, inevitably you are chosen
You were a country girl, pubescent and barely thirteen
Travelling to the big city with a distant kin
To serve an urban family with mop and pail
A drug laced cup of tea made you vulnerable to a cartel
You woke, imprisoned, in a dingy room of a highway brothel
Battered and beaten and raped to submission
You forgot the gods and your daily oblation
Your escort paid dearly for his betrayal and malice
Was it your homage to the gods or backstreet justice?
You languish now in jail, but the brothel still exists
You were in your second year, studying BA (Honours)
With a weakness for the life of the upper class
And the knowledge to achieve what you felt, you must
The initiation was debasing – no niceties, just frenzied lust
The payment was in cash –the first time wasn’t the last
You are not alone in your tainted existence
Women arriving at the metropolis in suburban trains
Working by day and exiting before the peak hour rush
Living in opulence, in times past – barely middle class
Very discreet, these devil women and financially flush
You conceived, a professional risk, and the baby you resolved to keep
Now nineteen and actively trafficking, his misdeeds make you weep
His latest catch, a tender ten year old, the same age you were shackled
Your flesh and blood, the son, you had mothered from the cradle!
Your agony was incomplete, now it had completed its cruel cycle
Hail lady of the night
With time, you’ve overcome both fear and fright
And blended the distinction between wrong and right
You’ve lost your vision, though you retain your sight
In a world shrouded in darkness where the sun still shines bright
Categories:
overseer, life, sad, social, world,
Form:
Narrative
The air on board was foul and putrid.
Chained together at the ankle in
coffles, evil dragged me and others
with scabbed lips on board.
Humiliated under the sun, we were
stripped naked and examined from
head to toe and put in quarters to
be raped.
My senses dulled from abuse, bouts
of hunger with nausea, constipation
and headaches made me sick.
The hallucinations from the forlorn
distance sent shivers down my spine
as lulling whispers of shackles
tormented me.
The anchor was set up, huge sails
caused the ship to fly amidst ominous
looming dark clouds.
Thunder rumbled like a hungry monster.
Cold breeze swept across the ship as i
lay numb from the pain for months.
Heavy cowhide descended on my
shrinking flesh and manacled limbs.
I grieved yesterday’s anguish as the
sacred zeal in my bosom glowed
preceding with my woes.
A raised wooden stage welcomed
me ashore.
Naked, exposed to the sun’s piercing
beam, bids were tallied carefully.
Negotiations were made, i now
belonged to “massa”.
Working the heat in the plantations
under harsh conditions, my back ached
and wounds from the whipping from the
overseer hurt – my fingers bled from
picking cotton.
Mentally subdued, i hid behind religion’s
soothing balm.
My mind was no longer my own, this body
belonged to “massa”.
I constantly pranced in the hallowed night,
lamenting a hopeless future for my child-
humming a languid song in hope that my
ancestors might hear my plight.
I raised my head to the sky, and envisioned
freedom’s caress under a constellation.
Categories:
overseer, black african american, slavery,
Form:
Ode
Dear God
By H2O the silent poet
I'm literally breaking up with you
I'm tired of asking you to take the wheel and Everytime you abandon me to my own will.
Just to be crashed like cande crash my soul cries out in
Silence but still no response ,if my idea of a toxic relationship is this one we share .
For your sake I'm facing disgrace
What happened to the grace you said is sufficient for me?
If they is a God
I'm tired of tearing in my pillows.
Everyday the devil is beating drums inside my head
I might as well just dance to the beat of his drum.
Hes promises sims to ease me even if its just temporary ??
I have always known you as the overseer
So how come you dont see me?
Down here !
I'm officially breaking up with you
I'm tired of living inside an ocean but
Yet I'm dying of thirst.i sea nothing but the ocean of pain
Your people are cry out to without any response,
You just site and watch as from up and above
So am making this officially I'm breaking up with you
My soul is slowly breaking down
As darkness envelops my soul
Pains is breaking my soul from deep down
As darkness is enveloping my soul
I'm drained in misery
I'm now a prey to the predator. As you just site just smile
My life has no essence without your presence
Dear God I'm officially taking the pills.
i might as well come back to meet you.
I don't have to wait to be killed before ending this hell
After all I'm still going to end up in hell.
Gods response 2
Categories:
overseer, character, growing up,
Form:
Rhyme
Golden sun rays warm the fields as greens fade
Hum speech breath revolve deep and silence lace
rustling reddish, tan, golden leaves astray
emerald green garden lawn looking up
gnarly old tree of deep raw umber shades
mid gold swaying canopy autumn leaves
highest out stretched bough grasp the fraying rope
overseer over the aged tire swing
In savor peace caught swaying sole pensile
An old somber tire swing rotting away
Espy hushed cries for human yielding wings
legs over tires edge on ardent warm days
12/17/2016
For the contest: Form B
Sponsored By; Broken Wings
Categories:
overseer, autumn, longing,
Form:
Blank verse
Perhaps we have loved before
in the Lupanar of Pompei
goddess of Priapus
the overseer
of the fertile garden
commanded me.
We perspired upon pillows
stuffed with reeds
feathers and straw
most unwitting lady
whispered to me
"You will be Priapus!"
Content within you
likeness of dedicated fruit
made love into real fruit
worn lascivious acts
woman of well-borne grapes
dark skinned lady enraged with lust.
Stars may rise and set
but the light within us has set
night becomes one long dream
I now desire for 1000 more kisses
dark goddess of Priapus
from where Romulus and Remus
suckled the milk of the she-wolf...
Categories:
overseer, beauty, desire, love, muse,
Form:
Free verse
BREAKING THE GLASS CEILING
Deborah,God annointed Judge&Prophetess
a matriarch,overseer of men,..no less;
Mary,at Jesus feet,studied...just as a man
in Christ there is no gender ban
Categories:
overseer, christian, spiritual, teacher, today,
Form:
Didactic