Best Pack Of Cards Poems
I see three doors before me.
The one to the left is blue, a beautiful lupis blue
with ornate lacework in its center.
Parisian-esque, it looks likes an entrance to adventure
and inspires me with its sophistication.
I imagine inside the rooms beyond that door
exotic curios on shelves along the walls
or tables heaped with charming little treasures.
My muse’s curiosity is sparked!
The middle door I see is that of a welcoming house.
Beneath two large rectangles of decorative glass
hangs a straw wreath adorned with festive flowers.
A friendly-looking white lab sits in front of this door
and on each side of it on the old-fashioned porch
are two pots of pretty geraniums.
I imagine beyond this door friends and family
gathered around the kitchen table
finishing Mom’s delicious apple pie
and preparing to break open a pack of cards
or sit beside their fireplace, playing charades
or perhaps singing along to a guitar.
The part of me that longs for warmth of family
lingers at this door.
The last door I spy
much farther away and surrounded by trees
is a light green door blending in with nature,
unadorned and not as high as the first two doors.
Were it a bit smaller and round, it could almost be
the door to a hobbit’s cottage.
A bower of vines spreads around it
covering the brown bricks of the house,
and a short cobblestone pathway leads upward
to this simple but interesting door.
I know that if I open it and wander in,
solitude will surely greet me, a solitude so sweet
that when I shut the door behind me,
I’ll leave behind the stresses of my life.
I will have entered another world
where I can rest and meditate. . .
perchance to write.
I look back at the first door, imagining the thrill
of discovery. Its charming blue entices me.
Then I return my gaze to the second door
from which warmth and empathy exude.
I redirect my gaze to the third door. . .
Which do I want more?
New experiences? Intimacy? Peacefulness?
Creative inspiration could reside behind all three.
Which one do I choose?
Which one would YOU choose?
March 28, 2017
for the Doors Contest of Anthony Biaanco
Hattie L. Rogers
1844 – 1917
The playing cards of life are a stacked deck.
As soon as you begin to breathe
You begin to die and disintegrate.
All of the winners in life
Eventually end up the losers.
You enter this Big House with nothing.
Nothing but a cracked soul, a cursed heart
And that stacked deck of crooked playing cards.
Your destiny, my friends, lies in the dust.
So I figured early on, like King Solomon,
That there is no use; it is all futile and hopeless at best.
When I came to this sad realization
About life on this staggering planet,
I decided the only worthwhile meaning in living
Is in finding true happiness,
Even in the midst of hopeless despair.
Even in the midst of this mocking gaping graveyard
That lusts for flesh and blood
Like Odysseus’ giant with the one eye
Like a carnivorous Scylla, hiding high up in its dark perch,
Up there in the insidious shadows,
Awaiting another human meal at noontide.
So, what happiness did I find in my 73 years?
Years that seemed to fly by like a hummingbird in April.
I found ineffable joy
In the phenomenal nativity of my twin boys.
Found indescribable ecstasy
In the tender embrace of my loving husband,
Found incomparable elation
In the survival of my children and grandchildren.
Living descendants, you are always welcome to loiter at my grave.
Bring a pack of cards though.
I am always up for a new ante.
31 "You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. Dan 2:31-32 NIV
Daniel was the interpreter
of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
The King had forgotten it—
his troubled sleep so extreme.
God told Daniel what the king had dreamt;
even what his dream did mean.
Nebuchadnezzar was so delighted
that with Daniel he did convene.
Daniel told the king, “You dreamed of
a brilliant statue — Babylon’s the man’s head.
You are the king of this kingdom
that the Medes and Persians will soon shred.
For they are the chest and arms of silver;
the second kingdom yet to come.
Then there’s the belly and thighs—
the third kingdom of the foursome.
The belly made of brass
is much less superior to gold;
this kingdom’s called, Greece,
but even it will fold.”
“So what kingdom will follow
for that’s the very last?”
“It’s a kingdom of iron,” said Daniel;
Rome had to be the caste.
This kingdom of iron
forms the legs down to the feet;
the toes of iron, mixed with clay;
this kingdom, the four complete.
The brilliant statue then is struck
as if with superhuman hands,
with a rock of destruction,
dispensed at God’s commands.
This kingdom of iron
forms the legs down to the feet.
the toes of iron, mixed with clay;
this kingdom, the four complete.
The brilliant statue then is struck—
as if with superhuman hands,
with a rock of destruction,
dispensed at God’s commands.
There’ll be no more earthly kingdoms
beyond the fourth, for sure;
God has predicted it—
no more kingdoms will endure.
Although Napoleon has tried it
and Adolf Hitler too,
Europe will not long be united,
but no-one’s told the Parliament of EU.
God has set up all the kingdoms
and deposed them all as well.
So what hope has man to dictate—
his pack of cards all fell?
God told us there’d be one last kingdom,
but that’s on the earth made new.
So when someone tells you differently,
He’s not read Daniel 2.
Featured in my book No. 3, "Poetry To Touch the Heart & Soul"
Copyright Maureen LeFanue 2009-2011
Hashtags polling
virtual war, viral
naija stand by
wait!
Fall they will,
like pack of cards
in the face of cash
Sandcastle disco!
Sing-song voice, rings hello
trained roll of the tongue
cultivated baritone
a pitch here and there, emoting
Back in chains
tongue under this blade lies
cool, feeling cool,
hugging the chains
listening to the Cool FM
What a way to be cool?
Mangling words
tangling slurs and extended 'r's
silent 't's revving
superiority screaming
welcome back
Voice picked out of the box
tailored, washed&Iron dried
even those whose fathers'
couldn't afford a tube
told stories of summer school
in harmattan
Gonna, wanna, perhaps fonna
from the mastery of their tongues
came out slightly, then wholly
half baked sausages
dropping with a dum!
announcing back in chain
Laugh, they laugh at 'my fellow widows'
her version of English mimicry worthy
strength of character makes a wife
not the slurred 'r's and dimmed 't's
Don't get it twisted
So the next time she comes
thinned out at her vitals
'nasal-ing, tangling& mangling' words
be patient to tell her to untie her knots
before cavorting you to sleep in peace
back in chain your fathers bled off their necks
Classic silent films
Redundant technicolour
Piano plays mood
Panther and snow leopard
Duelling with chess
Under a scintillating firmament
A dome of diamonds floating on infinity
Moonlight softly slicing the shadows
Illuminating their world of concentration
Alternating attrition
Pawn takes pawn
Bishop takes pawn
Rook takes pawn
Knight takes pawn
Who's winning?
The back rows don't care
The pawns always get slaughtered
Monochromatic menagerie
Colour falls victim to Darwin
Survival of the hueless
Polar bears, penguins, orcas
Denizens of the icy white
Magpie's musings
Cogitating a colourless cosmos
With polka dot dalmatians
And Rorschach fresian cows
And bar code zebras
Mezzotinted mother nature
Despite its wonderous beauty
Always has a few skunks
Jet and pearls for the rich
Coal and chalk for the poor
Obsidian and quartz for the wannabes
A nun and a priest
In theological debate
Reconciling scripture
With how the real world with real people really works
Playing dominos
To divine answers
To divine questions
Passing holy judgement
By chance and cunning
What's the alternative?
A pool table of eight balls?
A heartless (and diamondless) pack of cards?
It doesn't matter
To those who see
Truth as black and white
Food race!
Tuxedoed athletes!
Chequered flag drops!
Raisins and pearl onions
Caviar and rice
Faster!
Black pudding and chicken
Licorice and mash potato
Faster!
Black beans with cream
Oreos and mayonnaise
Finish line!
Hurray for the winners!
Bread and blackberry jam prizes!
Everyone else starves
Brightling and darkling
Eden's white vies Hade's black
Madness lies between
Written 16th February 2017
Entry to "the colours black and white" contest
Notes:
"Colour" is not a typo or a spelling mistake. It's how us Brits spell it.
"Divine" means "discover" as well as "about God"
Magpies are considered to be one of the most intelligent birds - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magpie
Mezzotint is a grey scale printing technique https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezzotint
Oh, queens, aces beside them and kings,
An' all the minions serve them and jacks.
I do not get excited, I don't play w/the things.
A voice – “I'll take all, if you don't object”.
Diamonds, clubs, spades and beautiful hearts –
symbols of sway, eternal suits,
forced to being shuffled by infidel hands –
those fiery came from infernal loots.
And they are choosing the following trumps,
laying above the stifling suffering world
of the rest covered, beaten and slumped,
swinging round an' round in a devilish whirl.
An' the pack is being shuffled by the hands on an' on
'cause of friction they get vile gambling spark.
Devil's laughing at me in his own Babylon,
I'm not in his hands as one petty card.
Classic silent films
Redundant technicolour
Piano plays mood
Panther and snow leopard duelling with chess
Under a scintillating firmament
A dome of diamonds floating on infinity
Moonlight softly slicing the shadows
Illuminating their world of concentration
Alternating attrition
Pawn takes pawn
Bishop takes pawn
Rook takes pawn
Knight takes pawn
Who's winning?
The back rows don't care
The pawns always get slaughtered
Monochromatic menagerie
Colour falls victim to Darwin
Survival of the hueless
Polar bears, penguins, orcas
Denizens of the icy white
Magpie's musings
Cogitating a colourless cosmos
With polka dot dalmatians
And Rorschach fresian cows
And bar code zebras
Mezzotinted mother nature
Despite its wonderous beauty
Always has a few skunks
Jet and pearls for the rich
Coal and chalk for the poor
Obsidian and quartz for the wannabes
A nun and a priest in theological debate
Reconciling scripture with how the real world with real people really works
Playing dominos to divine answers to divine questions
Passing holy judgement by chance and cunning
What's the alternative?
A pool table of eight balls?
A heartless (and diamondless) pack of cards?
It doesn't matter to those who see truth as black and white
Food race! Tuxedoed athletes! Chequered flag drops!
Raisins and pearl onions! Caviar and rice! Faster!
Black pudding and chicken! Licorice and mash potato! Faster!
Black beans with cream! Oreos and mayonnaise! Finish line!
Hurray for the winners! Bread and blackberry jam prizes!
Everyone else starves
Brightling and darkling
Eden's white vies Hade's black
Madness lies between
Written 16th February 2017
Entry to the "best free verse" contest
Originally entered to "the colours black and white" contest
Remastered to reduce number of lines
Notes:
"Colour" is not a typo or a spelling mistake. It's how us Brits spell it.
"Divine" means "discover" as well as "about God"
Magpies are considered to be one of the most intelligent birds - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magpie
Mezzotint is a grey scale printing technique https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezzotint
>>>>Looking Back To Move Forward
When you are cowardly alive
After conceding an ignominious defeat
Your understanding of the craft of life mercilessly has been exposed
It is ripe time for you to learn the tricks played upon
No hell on earth to ignore the quality of the victorious
Adopt fast their art as you have to pay them with same coin
Aloofness will harm you more in the longer run.
Your judgment went awfully wrong
Though you are too stubborn to claim that you are learned
But as time trickles by and water flows away
Your pillar of arguments crumbles down like a pack of cards
Till date you have never understood
Half of it has been done by women what mankind so far has achieved
Miracles are there
As long as exist the laws of nature
But the excruciating appeal of your faith is not in them
As in the power of unparalleled spirit
And in the importance of sociopolitical dimensions of your creed.
Everything is for man and man is above all
In defense of him if your belief comes as hindrance
Then surely God faces a threat of existence.
[If somebody asks] how old are you?
[My answer should be] it may be 90, it may be 2
[Does it matter any] if I am true.
We are, in fact, grains for the birds
Seek our salvation in a pack of cards.
Make love [illicit?] to the queen of hearts.
[Refrain]
We are for birds
We are for birds and bees
We are a pack of cards
Burst at the seams
We are old (..) I may be bold
Our stories are very well- told [prehistory, protohistory and antihistory]
In our shoes [Nike] pin balls rolled [ballet]
[Refrain]
We are for birds
We are for birds and bees
We are a pack of cards
Burst at the seams
[I must speak the truth]
In essence, we are a big fart [Cosmologists, beware]
A dwarf in a Mumbai City Mart [May be Manhattan, if you prefer]
A rectangle as the head of Bart
We eat our shorts and Springfield tart
[ You may order Plutonium wafers in nukesauce if you are smart]
And book rooms at (The Grand Del Mar)
Run our eyes on [motheaten] Marco's yellow chart
[Refrain]
We are for birds
We are for birds and bees
We are a pack of cards
Burst at the seams
So when we finish our dreams
we must go to the pips and pimps
We are gyrating wimps
Natural philosophy, Tims.
[Refrain]
We are for birds
We are for birds and bees
We are a pack of cards
Burst at the seams.
Our natural philosophy, Tims.
MY HERO!
I am helpless, cos am in my zero
To muster strength, my stamina won’t permit
Recharging my drive, yet not an impact
Trusting, it be done by skill
Nearly victimed me as the kill
Is there a route, to reach it by a pill?
My multiple efforts lay before me like a pack of cards
I dare not live, like am zero
I must connect a hero.
My hero! Alas am just a zero
A pinch of strength, can unleash my ego
Guiding my drive, can make an impact
A grinding file, sue will sharpen my skill
Me a victor, sure will vanquish my captors
O dear hero! I need you my mentor.
My hero! Never do for me a fight,
Sweat for me, to gain the might
My hero! Just spare me the kill
Who can tell? , yet I covet the skill
So to stand alone unchallenged.
My hero! I dare say to be a champion,
As the champion, I made you my hero
As life’s battle rages an onslaught
Be by me, my invincible hero
As I champion the path to my destiny
Oh! My hero! I love you.
Written 13/9/2008. 12:30am to 1:30am
Felix Joseph Osaeghemede (+2348037825027)
Lagos Nigeria .
“As life’s storm rages on to swallow up our soul, if we choose to look within we will find our
hero (Jesus) willing and ready to help)
Felix o.j
Like a disappearing act
I stumbled in this space
Hovering like a bird
Seeking that settlement
All attempts employed
Have proved herculean
The happiness I seek
Has proved illusory
It evades me
Cause I fall like pack of cards
The absurdity overshadows me
Lost like sand breathing fish
The way out I seek
Out of this nightmare
The power lies with the maker
Of all that dwells in the universe
One plea lies in my tongue
The zest to overcome all fears
Cause you are the master
Who wields all authority
A mad woman with shattered
hair, bridled with great fulfilled
ego and pride among all women.
A troubled soul in the midst of
Pestful heterogenous mouths.
Hanging here and there are her
beauties spreading like an Eagle's
wings in a flight to perfection.
Up and down are template of
confused children lost in horror.
The street is strict and stressed
every walls occupied by hustlers
every street, a ghotto of bustlers
Lagos laughs large locomotively
yet, the street is stoning every commoner.
Sweat on the street closes many nose
Hurrying legs and hands write before the sun
Hopes fall like pack of cards
every eyes busy and troubled with its
own problems and circumstances.
Lagos,
a naked woman who needs no clothes
but jumps here and there like a teenager
on a new shoe parading the street to be seen
her breast milk is made for every mouth to suck.
This is Lagos our mother
soiled with floating slums and stalls crammed
full of all races and tribes.
Many have stolen her virginity yet,
She never suffer them to ruin.
©John Chizoba Vincent
From_A_Pen_Refusing_Frustration
I am treated as though am a puppet
Controlled and programmed
To only do the mistresses bidding
My personality sent into obscurity
Like a tattered note devoid of rhythm
Always give sound to your voice
There is a reason you have it
When your dissatisfaction is hidden in silence
It becomes a satisfaction
Things get lorded over me
As though am a confused being
Devoid of my needs and want
At times I get treated like a slave boy
With the command button
On a remote pressed
Go and bring this
Go and drop that
Take these things away from here
Empty these things here
Like a pack of cards
I am distraught
What I am still doing around this space
I do not know
All your efforts under measured
Like a baby one gets spoken to
It’s not your fault
‘Because of my ignorance and negligence
I found myself in this situation
How I wish I did things right when I had the chance
Without having to pay a stiff price as this
At least I know it’s all but for a time
Because a bright light lies at the end of my tunnel
I just have to be tenacious in all I do
Because success does not come without strive.
Castaway :-
Long day…longer it gets…
with no hand at a distance,
grey skies, with glimpses of clouds
that traverse together, like a bound existence.
far off, in the sultry fields
a raw sight, of a damsel,
a women…or a helpless maiden
hardly could anyone tell.
dry eyes, with a wry smile,
and a piece of black drape,
it was all, that she wore..
to hide her visage, from people’s gape..
thin frame, and ghastly feet,
copper-like rough strands,
but face, with a rare angelic cut,
wearing paleness, she walked, in a trance..
barely there, but starkly felt,
from within a distance, of her feet
her riches…that she firmly held,
some rags…and a piece of paper…old but neat.
Wandering, in those, smothered lands…
She trailed on…over miles of sights...
a faith, in someone, and the words he spoke,
kept her going…through days and nights…
as the fiery sun, with the glistening moon,
And the melting snow of the glaciers,
Months came…and passed…like a blink
And our lady was seen…lesser and lesser...
Winter ushered, with its full vigor,
Painting those parched lands, with its charm,
Untainted and pure it looked, as a sacred hymn,
Sung by a preacher, like a soulful psalm.
One such misty morn, as it was to be…
Blades of grass…still fresh with dews,
Wrapped in the pall, of countless blossoms,
There she lay, cold and stiff, in the morning hues…
Aged enough, when the day was,
Folks came…with melancholy on minds,
Someone saw, a thing, subtly hidden…
A letter it was, one of her riches, of good ol‘times.
It smelled of nothing, but selfless love,
That she bore, in her bosom, for her man,
Who promised, taking her along, upon his return,
The fateful letter, said it all, in a leaf’s span…
Tears weren’t enough, to mourn her loss,
All who came, knew it too well,
She came with nothing, but left with a lot,
Her memoirs, too poignant, stayed like a witch’s spell.
Buried she was, in heart of the earth,
As a dead log, that rots in the backyard,
Harsh a message, her death did foster,
That, people truly ‘fall’, in love, like a pack of cards…
As Mother Nature, has always had it,
Another long day, came to an end,
The world went on swiftly, on all its fours,
Camouflaging itself, with a blissful ignorance...
It’s Simply Magic
It’s just a little bit of magic, to enlighten your world;
It’s just another illusion, to fool the boys and girls.
It’s just another magic hat trick, with a rabbit inside;
It’s just another cut the woman in half trick, where nobody dies.
Because it’s magic, that’s all it is,
It’s simply magic, that’s all it is,
It’s simply magic, that’s all it is,
It’s simply another confidence trick.
Yeah, because it’s magic, that’s all it is,
It’s simply magic, that’s all it is,
It’s simply magic, that’s all it is,
It’s simply another confidence trick.
So if you want a magician, to fool the kids,
Then just give him a call and he will come and use magic.
With a pack of cards, or China’s Great Wall,
He’ll show you the impossible.
Because it’s magic, that’s all it is,
It’s simply magic, that’s all it is,
It’s simply magic, that’s all it is,
It’s simply another confidence trick.
Yeah, because it’s magic, that’s all it is,
It’s simply magic, that’s all it is,
It’s simply magic, that’s all it is,
It’s simply another confidence trick.
I think you’ll like it, not a little but a lot.
He tries his best, to put on a good show.
His bag of magic tricks, hide the secrets he’s got hidden
And how he does it, nobody knows.
Because it’s magic, that’s all it is,
It’s simply magic, that’s all it is,
It’s simply magic, that’s all it is,
It’s simply another confidence trick.
Because it’s magic, that’s all it is,
It’s simply magic, that’s all it is,
It’s simply magic, that’s all it is,
It’s simply another confidence trick.
(C)2013 Aa Harvey. All Rights Reserved.