Best Persistence Poems

(A Paul Callus & Carolyn Devonshire collaboration)


Standing not far from the cliff’s edge 
the aging tree, solitary,
with gnarly roots clings to the rocks -
she shows resolve, tenacity.

        My younger days were easier;
    	as a tiny...

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Caustic memories dissolve on my tongue
Lingering tastes of battery acid and nicotine  
Cause me to choke on putrid saliva.  
Staring at melting walls, clocks tick in unison.  

Distorted birdsong hums outside of jagged windows 
Under the warped sun, an unrepentant landscape blurs....

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Caustic memories dissolve on my tongue
Lingering tastes of battery acid and nicotine  
Cause me to choke on putrid saliva.  
Staring at melting walls, clocks tick in unison.  

Distorted birdsong hums outside of jagged windows 
Under the warped sun, an unrepentant landscape blurs....

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There are I'm sure
people 
who 
will 
tell 
you 
to 
stop
    I'm also sure 
you will persist
  in your literary 
efforts 
Some may say 
its only poetry 
   but we know 
different - don't we friends?
Poetry can change a life...

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Generative Persistence

Give it a name; “generative presence”, “persistence” 
Emergent with life, feeling and a pulse
Send it on its way while clinging to the egg
Enable it from a distance to become of use
Keep yourself in a suggestive cocoon
State of fixation, enameled in stasis
Embedded in concrete reality...

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Inspired by the painting by Salvador Dali:
'The Persistence of Memory'

The endless eking out of time
Drains me of my verve
Trying to recall what once was mine
Is any sense of self conserved?
If I could summon just an ounce
Of the energy I need
This state of melancholy I would...

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Big white clock is bored
With the uniformity of time
Flowing unnoticeably every day
Always the same tedious way
The clock has been sitting there 
From the dawn of the time 
Meticulously marking steps of
Hours minutes, and seconds 
Till it could no longer bear
The meaningless existence
Of being a humdrum...

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The Persistence of a Memory of Apricot Shampoo
by Michael R. Burch

For all that I remembered, I forgot
her name, her face, the reason that we loved...
and yet I hold her close within my thought:
I feel the burnished weight of auburn hair
that fell across her face, the...

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Smitten by unrequited love,
rejection's rage grounds fledgling hearts.
And any chance of happiness
is lost before it even starts.

Denial comforts hopeful hearts
left in this vulnerable state.
For they cling tight to the false hope
that time might yet alter their fate.

Always waiting in the shadows;
they keep passion's flame concealed.
For...

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Love's persistence


Drip...Drip...Drip...as drops fall to the rocks below

Split...Split...Split... the rocks split open from the persistent flow

Try...Try...Try...I try to penetrate your heart of solid stone

Know...Know... Know...I know with persistence our love too can grow

Open...Open...Open...your heart cracked wide open for me

Now we know with love's persistence our...

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LOOK THERE.  NOTHING HERE.
CABINETS BARE.
BEARLY ATE.
STARE THROUGH SPACE.
CAN'T KEEP PACE.
NEIGHBOR FRIED CHICKEN.

FINGER LICKIN' 
DIRTY FINGERS.
NEED SOAP
CAN'T COPE

NEED SLEEP. NO SHEETS.
CAN'T KEEP.  COUNTING SHEEP.
ONE TWO THREE
MUST GET THERAPY.

AND FIND RESOURCES
BEFORE FROST HITS.

MUST PERSIST
I  EXIST....

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How strange it is to see clocks on the branches of trees.
Their appearance to be melting adds to the peculiarities.
High cliffs are in the background against a stagnant sea.
Does this scenario seem a bit strange to you or me?
That thing in the middle has long...

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Show persistence and resilience 
Be the one who never gives in 
Have courage and strength to survive 
Always look deep within
Believe that you can achieve
Just keep your chin up 
Be fierce with determination 
Continue to rise to the top...

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It never is too late to start
Pursuing what you dream.
Listen closely to your heart...
Allow your mind to stream.
Do not let status or age
Instill crisis within you.
Successfully turning the page?
Only if you decide to.

All of us when we are younger
Wish that we could be
A certain someone...

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Never give up
I am talking to you.
Never give up.

Wait! What! Say it again!
Yes, do not give up on the life-changing dreams with which you are busy.
Persuasion, persistence and endurance are the keys.
Self-confidence, self-determination and visualisation are the processes.

But, let go of bad habits.
Drop the negativity,...

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