Best Piggyback Poems
(Inveniam viam)
Far beyond these eerie things, where limits have no scales
Fish are replacing gills, with turbine aerated tails
Sea level’s losing all meaning, for the humpback whales
Ships piggyback them, harpoons syphon wind from their sails
Today I woke up early, lately I’ve let dreams flow
Into an abstract yonder, where visions often go
A wave came over me, up from my downy pillow
When tidal forces passed away, many moons ago
As the ocean waved goodbye, I called for an encore
Behaving like a poultice, the beach drew back old gore
You could’ve bowled me over, sent ripples to my core
Never again I’d sleep soundly, near this bloody shore
After a fretful lie-on, facing truths with each turn
My sundial running on empty, stars can’t always churn
Moribund in dimness, til an old spark can return
Reigniting glory days, (let supernovae burn)
Overhead the vacuum grows, just to make more space
Stretching my dysmorphia, to align with gods face
No one knows for certain, who enhanced his human race
Gave an artful hand, outsmarting evolution’s pace
As life spirals forward, in a world out of control
Entropy dismantles, stripping back our maker’s role
The poet in me keeps goofing, digging deeper holes
He’s a junkie rhymester, overdosing on this soul
So hail all billionaires, who never walk down my street
Flying above fake cripples, with power in their feet
Prodigies of bad and worse, scheming to make ends meet
Leaves an aftertaste of smugness, one that will repeat
As for those big questions, some take a straightforward twist
Two things I thought might go away, stubbornly exist
Not death or taxes, I’m already over that list
Each day I arise, how come lies and bullsh!t persist?
First there was oblivion, til I woke up and saw
Now fully awake, dead ahead looms a fatal flaw
But so long as I can dream, and able to guffaw
It only hurts when I laugh, Don’t you think? vents my jaw
By David Kavanagh
Hms
Not long ago our destinies aligned
and of all the people it had to be you
your fragrance in the wind is left behind
as you walked by as i held the door for you
we wined and dined and hoped to outshine
the glittering stars of the night
you came at me in the midnight and held my hand
with no constrains you took me away
hand in hand amongst the sleepless souls
Side by side through the half empty streets of mainz
our brilliance playful act of love felt so alive
Sitting down spacing out to thoughts and memories of you
uncertainty overshadows every dream of you
piggyback rides and lingering goodbyes
of the same mind tonight i hope we could be two
mesmerised by the sparks between our eyes
passionately yielding to this sensation you and i shared
with fastened lips and no words to spare
the essence of love was in the air in a surreal like dream
time stood still for you and me
Sitting down spacing out to thoughts and memories of you
uncertainty overshadows every dream of you
an unseen dramatic contraction
of what seemed to be a lasting attraction
Unanswerable questions are left in wander
Unquestionable answers are left to ponder
Words of love and poesy used to quickened you
bittersweet traces is all that I now leave you
Silence is all that remained that only a wonder can break
To enlighten your heart and brighten your smile like a summers day is my aim
Fat! As a kid
Well I remember fat!
I always thought I was fat because
My brother called me “Pig!”
Pigs are fat by nature
So I thought “by nature” I am a pig
At school I looked around the room
Saw I was the only pig
The rest were human
Humans (I thought) are slender even skinny
When extra milk was given out
Teacher never selected me
Pigs not being human should be left out so I thought
Pigs should probably be penned
In my mind I was surrounded by a white board fence my feet in mud
When the class sang songs I snorted
When I was 10 mother made me go to Sunday school
The Sunday school teacher a very good kind religious sort of man told us about
GREED
How greed was a sin
I read somewhere “Greedy as a pig”
Being greedy is a sin according to the good kind religious man
Well? GUILT set in
I carried guilt around piggyback for years and YEARS!
THEN
In high school it finally dawned
I wanted a girlfriend
Pigs were out humans were in!
I lost weight FIFTY pounds!
Got me a steady girlfriend
Then I found I really was a human
What a LOUSY thing to be!
Company stores taking most of the paycheck
Days were long and hard at the breaker
It beat being down there, rats were moving
No injuries today, good news
Body hurts, but the kids will be home from school
Stop and have a few before supper
They're growing so fast, soon the hugs will be gone
Shower in the cellar, she doesn't ask for much
Don't want all that tracked through the house
Daddy's home, their bright eyes shine
Got to take care of what matters most
It doesn't get any better, mom, give me a hug
Supper was great, need help with the dishes?
Got some change in my pocket
Might be enough for some ice dream cones
Let's go kids, we'll take a walk
Stop by Grandma's house on the way
Piggyback ride for the little guy
No money left 'til payday
Got all we need. Grab a bucket
We'll pick some blueberries on the way home.
So nice. Almost a touch of Heaven
Just taking care of what mattered most.
Life in a small minig town. Family, friends, co-workers were what mattered
most. I'd trade it all for yesterday.
With the pandemic still taking lives…with our country so divided…
where half the people think wearing masks is fruitless and misguided…
What do we have to be thankful for in this year…2020?
If we look to the innocence of children…it turns out…there is plenty.
I love listening to children…they are innocent and bright…?After being thankful for they parents and their family their innocence takes flight.
It’s not surprising food is next…the things that feed their hungry bellies…
They are thankful for chicken nuggets, cookies, ice cream
and peanut butter sandwiches…made with jelly.
They are thankful for mermaids, for toilet paper, for rainbows…
for playgrounds with swings and slides.
They are thankful for the people who make shoes…
and relatives who give piggyback rides.
They are thankful for all the little things they see with their big eyes…
for ants and lizards and caterpillars…for bees and butterflies.
They are thankful for their house, for music…for TV and I-Pads…
One little boy listed Netflix first…and second was Mom and Dad.
Another little girl after being thankful for her parents…both her father and her mother
added, although she was praying for a puppy…she was thankful she got a little brother…
Yes the pandemic is still raging and our country is more divided than it ever was before
but there is still so much in this wonderful world for us to be thankful for….
Since 2020 has been so crazy…a ride so unpredictable…so bizarre…so wild
this year I’ll be giving thanks…as if I was a child.
I’ll close my eyes…I’ll fold my hands and even if it’s only for a little while
I’ll give thanks for all the little things this year that made me smile.
Yes, for a little while all the little things I will try to name…
With the hope that this Thanksgiving…everyone else can do the same.
How lovely, isn't
It, to have an 'off' switch, shotty wiring
And all,
And a presence lined up to ****?
They are always there
To cauterize the wounds of emotional castration
Without desire to examine
The blood pattern forensics,
Chalking the splatter up
To an affinity towards Jackson Polluck.
Tears are to the meek
As injury is to the bold,
Chastity is to pureness
As promiscuity is to curiosity.
And what
Supplemented activity relates to the character
Defect of an over-eager search for validation?
How surreal a menagerie constructed from
Syringes full of sunshine.
Currency crusted by blood in place of worth,
Hopeful scribbles of the pale and placid carrying
Small flecks of over packed bags under the eye
Can seem when sunlight filters through rose colored lenses;
How frighteningly apparent
Connect-the-dot freckles and
Spasms of the left cheek and
Teddy bear smiles and
Xylophone ribs and
Bits of skin ghosted from lips become
When refracted by a Narcissus pond—
How I m p o r t a n t,
How appropriate these sentiments:
Perfect companions for the rolled-up-carpet's journey
Of finding permanence along river bottom
Set into the silt and framed with waving algae:
A'voir, piggyback consistencies,
Meet oblivion in shreds
Blown out the back end of the skull
In the instant chapped lip worshiper meets collarbone shrine.
Such ready to leech services are no longer
A necessity
In the four hours of chemically enhanced rawness
Stuffed with bile and bruise and suck and lie
Hollowed of meaning,
Save for the proverbial cholesterol of hope clogged in pores.
But I awake in numbness,
Cold and invalid,
With my head pressed on Doubt's chest
And my fingers knotting in its own
Begging to be warm again.
PINNACLE
With a piggyback of hopes and dreams, I set forth to reach a peak.
Along bed of roses, rocks and tall sharp weeds, I harvested golden grains of progress. The days and nights rang a wake-up kiss on my head. They told me: "Move on, move on...Don't ever give up..."
There are rainy days on the way. A rain shower teased my climb halting me for awhile. Some so strong, I faltered - gained some wounds. Some directly stabbed my heart. And somehow, sometimes they even knocked my very soul. Although tough thunder tremors shook me, I fought hard to stand still continuing my climb.
Each height I step onto, I came to know moon and stars. Some of them began a war with me. Some of them a veil of fraud. But blessing, most have shed a continuing guiding light. Some hugged me. And wanted me to stay but some pushed and pressured me until I am all like a dripping sponge.
The potpourri situations brought me: a ladder closer to our God. His faithfulness and unfailing love a durable adhesive to my persistence and dreams.
A rainbow after each rain drew a promise of sun-kissed days. They melted the cold lonely years away. They permitted me a walk and run to heavenly meadows. Finally, I reached the pinnacle where grins a forever familiar tale.
(c) Olive Eloisa
2:07pm
October 01. 2012
Happy (dead) Mother's Day.
Here's a fistful of flowers for your final resting place.
Your demise was far swifter than your time.
I wasn't old enough to get to know you.
Just a few matted memories and some 8mm film clips
Your smile was sweet and wide.
You gave me a naked cowboy piggyback ride.
We had a cat named Blue and a smiling bulldog.
One day a kid split my lip with a tin can.
I opened the farmer's gate so they could escape,
For punishment, he gave me a dead corn snake necklace.
Black crows surrounded your bloody bed.
A little silver music box reminded me of your death.
Time graciously swept most of the rot from inside this head.
Compared with us, the kids today
Too little play and too much weigh.
Alone indoors they snack and sit
And buttons hit, while we stayed fit.
We'd quickly chores and homework do,
Then dash through doors to fun pursue,
To basketballs and arrows shoot,
To jump with ropes, and footballs boot.
We'd earthworms dig for fishing bait,
On scooters glide, and roller skate.
We'd hopscotch, seesaw, chase. and swing
And boomerangs and frisbees fling.
We'd tackle, dribble, leap, and throw.
We'd tunnel through and shovel snow.
In haystacks dive and wagons ride,
On ice and into bases slide.
We'd whittle wood and baskets weave
And pennies pitch and horseshoes heave.
We'd yank the strings so tops would spin,
When wrestling, try to shoulders pin.
We'd kindling fetch and firewood chop,
Inflate balloons to later pop,
Sink numbered balls in billiard halls,
And topple pins with bowling balls.
We'd weekly swim at downtown Y,
Our kites and model airplanes fly,
We'd darts and putts and marbles aim,
With lens or flint set twigs aflame.
We'd sneak beneath the sideshow tents,
Climb ropes and poles and chain link fence.
We'd hike and camp with scouting troops,
Rotate our hips in hula hoops.
We garden weeded, hosed, and tilled,
We'd soap box car and treehouse build,
At picnics joined the tug-of-war,
And barefoot romp when rain would pour.
We raced on stilts and pogo sticks,
Made pies of mud, our pets taught tricks,
Were paper, pin, and altar boys,
Ignored complaints of too much noise.
For caddie tips, we'd golf bags lug;
To jukebox records, jitterbug.
We'd carpets beat, played kick-the-can,
Collected rocks, and errands ran.
To school and back on foot we tread,
Down steepest hills and alleys sled,
Played pitch-and-catch in yard with Dad,
Pushed mower that no motor had.
We'd rake the leaves and chestnuts crack
And toddlers carry piggyback.
With feather pillows fight in bed,
Our cap guns fire, and fall down dead.
We'd wildly flail at punching bag
And batted balls and passes snag.
We'd zig and zag, avoiding tag,
Till tuckered out, we'd homeward drag.
No trophies or applause we'd get.
Our play was real, not internet.
To kids today, I this advise:
Get off your butts and exercise!
Cashed out, spun out, strung out
Ate up.... Malnourished, monkey riding piggyback
You fear you wont get your nickelbag
I fear you might get your children back
Numbing emotion swept up in crushed pill cyclones
Searching for elation through pupil dilation
who's that girl in the mirror?
You're behind the wheel...but who's gonna steer?
Second chances, interventions, and heartbreaks
we part ways...you wave bye---pipe in hand
Set sail on the fumes you inhale,
into an inebriated sunset, hell-bent
Scarred up, trail marks, trailer parks
Alleyway transactions, disease contractions...
Hand shake deals...see how this smack feels
SMACK! Down in a spiral of C.O.D. O.D.
pricetag on a fatality.........you payed for this reality
My eyes well up...stand in rainfall, no fear
no one will see the tears here.
No mourning your self-wrought slaughter...
Im here for your motherless daughter
I led her by the hand...away from a misery you called life
Hey, Peyton, remember the time
When the snow was melted along with the rime?
When the sun was mild and the weather sublime?
We went out on picnic away from the dust and the grime.
We all took our hampers with fruit and some lime,
(I brought along some candy, bought out for a dime).
Momma packed some sandwiches with bacon which was prime,
And some very fine chutney of rosemary and thyme.
While my cousins and mom played charades and mime,
Off we both went for the grassy knoll to climb.
Our laughter peeled, tinkling like wood chime,
You were the prince, I was your heim.
Peyton, I remember that it was close to lunchtime,
I rode piggyback for no reason or rhyme.
You slipped of a sudden as you stepped on some slime,
We tumbled and rolled down the slippery 'cline.
I am sorry, dear Peyton, real sorry I 'm,
It was in fun, in those days of playtime.
I'd've done it again if there was another time,
For kid's to be prankish is never a crime!
(How's this for Mom's contest of Monorhyme?)
~25 May 2016~
Such Times are Here
51.
There be utter madness
That pervades the world today.
It's enough to cause a troubled soul
To just up and melt away.
Such times are here to try us all
Forcing one to seize the day
But to those of lesser fortitude...
Stand back...
You're getting in our way.
The End
Hope is Oft in Bold Dispute
52.
Hope is oft in bold dispute.
It bears a thousand scars.
It brings texture to a folly
Who's premise seems bizarre.
But the path to sweet success
Is not without its manic curves
And hope is all you need in life
To get something you deserve.
The End
Folly of Choice
53.
With shopping carts their home to be
And accouterments of peculiar goals
To labor ever forward in make-believe.
Tis well to praise these tangled souls
Who slake till final breath a nobility
From piffling life's immoral shoals.
While plodding in step with their ability
Knowing well the loss of blessed rest
To countervail such ably won fragility.
And perched upon our mountain crest...
We sit bewildered by such earthy ties
As if choice was theirs to second best.
Thus every morning the sun will rise...
Incrementally ensuring a slow demise.
The End
54.
This too Shall Pass
'This too shall pass,'
The inscription read
To give a sovereign
Peace of mind.
Thus... can a peasant
Claim to piggyback
And so mitigate
Their daily grind?
But the happenstance
That afflicts the poor
Be doggedly persistent
Over time. So... I presume
'This too shall pass,'
Rings hollow... for those
We leave behind.
The End
Based on my consulting this year’s almanac
June 30th being the best possible day for a BBQ out back
I sent out invitations to everyone, I didn’t hold back
There was the lumberjack, the nymphomaniac
The humpback, the hunchback and the hypochondriac
The kleptomaniac, the hemophiliac and the insomniac
No reason to leave out the egomaniac and the pyromaniac
Ooops and how could I almost forget our local amnesiac
I proposed a neighbourly exchange of paperback
I asked them all to contribute, call back or at least provide feedback
Eve of June 30th, gotta prepare my shack
Start to clean vigorously with ammoniac
Wash my floors and dust that miscellaneous bric-a-brac
To make room for guests, park my hatchback in the cul-de-sac
Find bowls for every possible sweet and snack
Think of various games including kayak and piggyback
Think I might serve some type of aphrodisiac
Put together a musical playlist of 60’s to 70’s flashback
Get all set for a promising night of banter and wisecrack
I think I’ve thought of everything and I’m right on track
O gotta go… I think I hear the doorbell- must be Jack
AP: Honorable Mention 2020
Years ago this meant something for us.
I didn't have much but managed the outing
Love being closer by was more than Frankie's
Next door offered a cool ambiance for our love to flourish. The breeze of the Atlantic and its beautiful waves beckoned us for a kiss.
And as the waves broke the serenity of the coast
They laid on the shore, a shinny bed for our lay
Beautiful, elegant and graceful woman. Mine.
Beaches, pools and whatnots were just places. Not more.
What mattered was our being together and closer.
What didn't matter was affection, cos we had it in abundance.
Breakup was far from consideration.
The thought boggled my mind to blue.
We had our own shade of red,
The heat of our love
Many times, eyes were red on you.
When covering glittered its usual shine.
With red-lip smiles I mocked these envious eyes
Cos secured in your heart, my love.
For ever.
The accident of breakup came too quickly.
I cannot believe I droves myself into this ditch under an early morning light.
I didn't think its effect will last beyond surgery neither. But alas.
As it turned out, something happened to love in that crush
And comeback was crippled with love, in one leg.
Now I limp with love, in one leg,looking for a piggyback.
Where are you my limping-love-valentine?
As life's energy swirls all around,
Peace settles in my breast,
Sitting quiet and still,
as turtles splash in and out of the water
nearby,
And a playful otter giggles,
waiting for a playmate to join in his fun.
The wind jogs around us all,
giving the downy hair of a cattail a
piggyback into the peaceful wood.
White cotton clouds make their way,
lazily across the sapphire sky,
Making sure not to disturb the
brilliant sun,
Who's rays transform the rippling water into
glittering diamonds before my eyes.
But before that beaming magician can perform
his magic again on the flat canvas before me,
The lonely otter splashes,
announcing his departure
and peaking his eyes in farewell.
As I too depart,
I smile,
Feeling at one with nature.