Best Pretender Poems
He was so charming, but never a prince.
Sweet words he chose to mix and mince.
How could my mind have been so dense,
To let my heart rob me of common sense?
It's true, I fell for many of his smooth lines.
Love pricks like a fork with sharpened tines.
Wounds causing me to need a defender
From the one I call the great pretender.
Or am I the pretender?
Aren't we all great pretenders,
at one time or another?
I just found out that you are not a friend,
I try so much to show you affection,
instead you present me with dejection,
Sorrows and joy are difficult to blend,
I thought our mingling will have a good end,
Lies and malice have been your selection
coupled with theft leading to rejection,
Vices covered with smiles just to pretend.
Deadly intentions hidden from the eyes,
To control and rule others you aspire,
Your kindness and sweet words are in disguise,
Your evil thoughts and deeds put me on fire,
making some probes and problems to arise,
This quagmire and pain,I do not desire.
In less than 12 hours I will be starting a new job. The first job I've had other than working for myself doing remodeling for years. Ever since I fell off a roof breaking my hip in two places and hyper extending my right shoulder. I tell you this not because I want sympathy. A prayer might be nice though. Yes a prayer would be great. I tell you this because I am absolutely terrified. Afraid I'll fail. I won't be able to cut it. Yet I went through the entire application process and drug screen and every thing else involved. And it took until right now for the doubt and fear to set in. This writing is different than anything I've ever done and I doubt there's anything poetic about it.
But I needed to tell someone. And I hoped it could be you.
The Great Pretender
I pretend that I am strong
when weak is what I am.
I pretend I have no fear
when fear is all I know.
I pretend that I am laughing
when I only want to cry.
I pretend I'm having fun
when I wish there was someplace to hide.
I pretend that you don't know
when I can sense you do.
But still I don't pretend for me
I pretend so you don't feel bad for me.
I am the great pretender!
I don't want to be alone
but I don't want you in my pain.
I may need your help
but that doesn't make me want it.
I pretend I am proud and dignified
when both of those things left me long ago.
I pretend that I'm not broken
but I can't or maybe I won't hide it from me.
I am the great pretender!
I pretend everything is going to work out
and that I am holding it together.
I pretend that you can't see
But I don't believe it.
I pretend I'm not withdrawn
while I hide in the shadows.
I pretend that I'm not frightened
but I am. I am afraid.
I am the great pretender!
I pretend I know I can tell you anything
but I can't tell you everything.
Because what if I did?
What if I told you everything?
Then you would know
and you would be like me.
You would confuse what I told you with what you think you know and then. And then we'd both be pretending. And then maybe someday you would pretend better than me but then you would be the great pretender and I would be lost again. Left to only pretend I'm pretending.
No. I think it best if we just keep it real and let me go on pretending.
Because I am the great pretender.
ECH
“Say a prayer for the pretender.”
Often, I feel incongruent
Pieces of me just don’t seem to match
Others can find me difficult to put together
My smile can cover an internal sneer
I must admit that I often try to hide my anger
I don’t want you to see the hurt inside
Anxiety is the uncomfortable veil that I wear
I feel exposed although I’m fully clothed
A disquieting truth lies behind these closed doors
My denial is secured by denial
I pretend I’m not a pretender.
Preying not praying
Carnivore posing as plant
Death without warning
Entered in Carolyn Devonshire's " Praying Mantis" contest 5th place
pompous pretender
poses purposely pious
patiently preying
(note: Think of a praying manthis and some who wear clearical garb)
Here I am , standing all alone
Arms wide open , too weak to feel
Misty eyed and frozen to the bone
Please God tell me why this is real
It starts with an itch
One I can't scratch
Like the flip of a switch
Stuck here on this patch
Embracing the freak that I am
I'm the weirdo that you know
The Great Pretender
So welcome to the show
Can you see through me
See the poison that's inside
My broken conformity
See the evil that I hide
The beast that wants out
Can't chain him anymore
It's the sin I won't doubt
Tearing me from my core
My twisted self centred hate
You pretty painted king of clowns
You've chosen your fate
But I won't let you take me down .
B.L. Harvey 26-05-2012 posted 11-03-2015
Crookedly cunning,
Hurtful and sly;
Always a liar:
Risky to buy.
Lacking integrity,
And a willingness to try:
This true chameleon,
An artful scallion;
Not likely to change,until he die.
--- Princefreakasso {Artist and Poet}
I am America’s greatest
living actor.
I commit to every role
so thoroughly and honestly
that you’ve never seen
me break character, never for
a moment have you lost
your suspension of disbelief.
which floor board creaks when
stepped upon on stage? I
can tell you. which corner
brings the best cast light? Easy.
I can see myself
through your eyes.
the instant you’ve heard
enough and beg for a
change in direction, I
am aware and comply
with your unspoken request.
when I’m not on stage
I’m studying your habits,
your moods, your
telegraphed motivations.
you tell me so much,
everything really. all that
is required is observation.
you’ve seen me watching
you, noting your movements,
taking mental snapshots of your
expressions, wondering why
you nod hello to her and
ignore him. why you smile
to him, and brusquely parade
past her.
my every waking moment
is totally and effortlessly
dedicated to mastering the
characters that shape our
every day lives.
hours pass without notice
when I’m noticing you.
the clock hands collapse
like a Salvador Dali painting,
tranquility pours over me,
quenches me all the while.
watching you entertains me.
you are the true star. you
are the complicated character.
you are the hero. you are
interesting, not I.
there lies within me
an indefatigable quest:
how to be more like you,
how to become you.
this vocation I ply for free,
never asking for a credit.
who am I?
I am the clerk at the
convenience store where you
get your morning coffee,
your next door neighbor,
the cop directing traffic up
ahead, the radio deejay
keeping you company in
the wee hours, the friendly
operator on the phone.
I am anyone whose
gaze meets yours.
you’ve known all along.
Think deep and mull over your every sin,
Look unto mind's mirror, critical, keen
To wash your every single evil clean,
Confess, your true self’s confidence to win.
You are the plaintiff, you are the witness,
The defence lawyer are you, and the judge,
Harm there's none to come clean and to confess,
Need there be none to feign, nor ever fudge.
O beware still of that old impostor
That pretends to be what he never is,
To mislead you, he being an actor
Will pose: child at times or parent to please.
Have you ever noticed his hidden guilt?
Not once has he donned robes of an adult.
Yet, if nothing works, just come back to me,
Forget the world; come to me just to be.
_______________________________________
A man is torn apart by the machinations of his ego. His conscience is nigh but crushed. And then he hears a voice from his lady love: Forget all this pursuit of becoming; come to me and just be. The sonnet allows itself an extra couplet.
Sonnets | 02.03.06, revised Feb 2023 |
The Hound dissed the Princess,
With a dour scowl.
He hid his little mistress,
Quickly to be avowed.
The inquest was listless,
with nothing much found.
Now the Bonnie Prince,
will wear a Kings Crown.
H.Elless
Poet
Oh, yes, I'm the great pretender,
pretending not living a lie;
while the truth is such, I pretend too much,
I'm trapped in that need till I die.
Oh, yes, I'm the great pretender,
pretending that I'm going well,
my days seem okay as I smile away,
but the nights are a tortured hell.
Too real is this feeling of make-believe,
too real when I feel what I cannot reveal.
Oh, yes, I'm the great pretender,
pretending that trust is skin-deep,
all ideals are dust, cosmetics a must,
although why can't I get to sleep
and why does my subconscious weep?
Oh, yes, I'm the great pretender,
pretending I'm able to love,
(the conscious agrees, while my language grieves)
I can't turn to heaven above,
for well it knows my velvet glove.
Too real is this feeling of make believe,
too real when I feel what I daren't reveal.
Oh, yes, I'm the great pretender,
pretending that I've not betrayed,
so on angels' wings, hope eternal springs,
though far inside me is not swayed,
and my beating heart's more afraid.
Oh, yes, I'm the great pretender,
pretending that I didn't cheat,
yet nails to the quick speak deep mental sick,
see the grave I'm so soon to meet,
with nothing but darkness to greet.
Too real is this feeling of make-believe,
too real when I feel what I'd fear to reveal.
Oh, yes, I'm the great pretender,
pretending to him I was true,
called him my soul-mate, in my cancerous state
the lung-tumour grew and spread through,
and my mirror said this is you.
Oh, yes, I'm the great pretender,
pretending I've nothing to hide,
but if everyone knew what would I then do,
with my nakedness certified,
my reality opened wide?
Too real is this feeling of make-believe,
too real when I feel what I'd dread to reveal.
Oh, yes, I'm the great pretender,
pretending that all will be right,
and on such a prayer, my core is laid bare,
for ever, each day and each night,
for ever, each day and each night.
(With thanks and respect to that great group, The Platters)
the notorious hotel...
monument to the greed of men,
it is a breathing stone-hewn titan -
looming over her, threatening pomposity,
selfishness threaded with egyptian cotton,
the cold stares of people from the upper leagues of life...
yet the young street girl enters anyway, defiant,
stilted and out of place in her cheap summer dress -
the breath of success sucks her in,
money-scented sussurations kissing her plebian cheekbones...
taken by the hand she glides up velvet stairs,
half-drowning as she soars past fish tanks bubbling to the ceilings,
past effervescent marble arches...
the rich flit by her, swan-like, with noses tilted heaven-ward
emitting the subtle reek of idle hedonism...
breathless, restive, she perches in a gilt chair,
bitten fingernails tapping ivory tablecloth,
waiters descend like falcons swooping in for the kill -
'tea or coffee, madam, scones with devonshire cream madam,
your soul on a silver platter madam...'
who is this madam, she muses,
checking her reflection in the silver teapot,
who is this woman wearing my skin,
a pretender to the crown of the landed -
distracted, melancholy, she crumbles her fruit cake,
swallows the strawberry sorbet in icy gulps...
distractedly she notes the taste of gunmetal -
her cappuccino is sprinkled with gold dust...
caged in by gilded illusion her lungs labour,
claustrophobia gripes though the roofs soar up to touch God's soles...
she is not welcome here,
she feels doomed, somehow, unworthy -
a goldfish floundering with the sharks...
jumping to her feet she flees, kitten heels clattering on mosaic floors -
out the door, panting, flushed,
into air that smells of exhaust, of seaspray and sweat and natural things
relieved she slows, straightens her spine, sniffs the wind -
a smile flirts with her lips as she strolls away into the anonymous night,
the little lamb who escaped from the slaughterhouse
You pretend to LOVE me, wen u whisper soft sounds that echo through my mind. Turning them into sweet unforgettable memories, praying there's enough space to hold them. You pretend to KISS me, wen u kno ur mouth matches mine,creating a wave of excitement a pleasurable feeling ur soft lush lips intake my breath swallowing my air. You pretend to HUG me, wen ur arms are wrapped around me, ur warm sensations draw me close, hearing ur heart beat race, pounding steadily against mine. You pretend to CARE for me, wen u say you'll always be there no matter wat. That caring for me is wat u do best. Caring is treating me wit the utmost respect n honoring the way I feel. You pretend to be a MAN, wen u tell me,"BABY,I GOT THIS" making me think everything is fine . Working hard to support ur FAMILY, never was an issue, u always did wat u had too. You pretend to be my HUSBAND, wen from the moment we said "I DO", WE took an oath, to always LOVE, HONOR n CHERISH one another till death do us part. PARA SIEMPRE UNA DIA is tatted in my heart. You pretend to be all the things I ever DREAMED, wen am weak, u were strong, wen I was dwn u picked me up, wen I didn't want to smile, u were my laughter, wen I felt empty inside, u filled my heart wit JOY. You pretended to b all the above, in reality I must face the facts, that everything u ever did or said were nothing more than ur LIES, ur LOVE, KISSES, HUGS, how u told me u CARED, an illusion to keep me near. You played me once again n like a FOOL I went along, dancing, singing to all OUR songs. Praying the music wouldn't stop, holding u tight within my grasp, to feel I'm holding nothing more than jus a memory of my past. DEAD DREAMS are the only thing left n u were no more than THE GREAT PRETENDER...
There is a high block,
A bending vanity,
As I splurge in the cellular
Dysfunction of the disapproved.
Assemble me, my parts swift up
Like a robotic tendency,
And I cast asleep
The sorrow of my disposition.
I am a channel,
A bolted up medium
And I can swallow little a ghoul more
Than the intake of my discharge.
Sip me down,
I, supple dilettante,
In the shrew confuse
Of remedy’s dawn.
August 2015