Best Rein In Poems
Where on Earth or far beyond do we poets go, you ask.
My thoughts willingly stretch my imagination with this task.
I would reply...in any direction our ink chooses to flow.
To the light of dawn or to dark telltale shadows of Poe
There are no boundaries that could rein in a poet's mind,
even if we have the mournful misfortune of going blind.
A poet is not harnessed by sight like a horse to a carriage.
From memory our vision serves us in a sort of marriage,
a bond without rings and vows that gives us wings to fly
among stars, or to realms a common man cannot descry.
To know sin's sorrow, we would walk through a fiery hell
if it would give us the insight that living could not quell.
Inspiration is our weapon, feathered arrows we shoot,
aiming for the rhyming words and chasing in hot pursuit.
Though our muse flees, and crumbled pages lie at our feet,
our mind struggles in unrest but will not concede defeat.
On ventured missions, traveling where our hearts will lead.
Among distant galaxies, where we collect poetic seed
to plant in fertile delta land or in sandy deserts on Earth,
cultivating cogent lines, to which our scribing gives birth.
Fathering or mothering verses from infancy to fruition.
Editing until at last, our brainchild is worthy of submission.
We see far beyond mundane realities of life and reason.
Writing from the heart, rebuking the penalty of treason.
We wind through mazes of each personal poetic anecdote.
Exposed is our nakedness in each lyrical line we ever wrote.
June 20, 2022
2022 Marathon Mile 4 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Mark Toney.
Categories:
rein in, perspective, poets,
Form:
Rhyme
Let us curry favor in dog star's
splendid laughing light
bring the crash of passion's waves
through two arms held tight.
I carry your wishes in love's
knapsack, strapped close
in tomorrow's hope
fashioned in new dawn's
golden charms.
Bring empathy in touch
understanding where
once was none, gone
in sorrow's parting.
Grant me true sight
unbridled, like a child's
reaching song..
your gleam in smile.
Rein in gallop of
heartbeat hooves
grant me sleep
so I may dream.
Categories:
rein in, heart, sleep, song, star,
Form:
Prose
Rein in those opportunities to criticize
Think of all the good things to be said
Remember to see through others’ eyes.
Or sometimes simply resort to sighs.
In disagreement, merely shake your head
Rein in those opportunities to criticize.
Be a bigger person, even if you must disguise
Displeasures weighing on you heavy as lead,
Remember to see through others’ eyes.
If you announce your woes, it’s seldom wise,
Sometimes they are better not to be read
Rein in those opportunities to criticize!
Is it that you get joy when someone cries?
How easily you could’ve another’s feelings fed
Remember to see through others’ eyes.
For being disagreeable you’ll win no prize,
Hatefulness and sharp words are best unsaid,
Remember to see through others’ eyes,
Rein in those opportunities to criticize.
Written December 5, 2022
#54 on Top 100 New Poems List
Poetry Soup
December 11, 2022
#50 on Top 100 New Poems List
Poetry Soup
December 12, 2022
Categories:
rein in, anti bullying, how i
Form:
Villanelle
I was born in a time
When the thrills of a thriller
Did move the bricks
Of the thickest of walls.
I grew in an era
When the dynasty of an empire
Did expand to farthest of lands.
I adapted to a phenomenon
When the existence of a legend
Did drown the fame of mortals.
A fame in immortality
Bearing the impenetrability
Of Achilles himself,
Destined to march
Through the walls of Troy.
I twisted to the strings
Of a guitar, twanging
Spontaneously in my head,
In moves of invisibility.
I was opportune to appear
In a time, when the conquest
Of one king, did crest
Long lasting tattoos
In the hearts of many.
I was fascinated in a time
When the life within a man
Did blossom young,
As he lived unaffected
By the fading of time.
I lingered in an era
When the voice of one man
Could unify the sections
In a complex world.
I flowed in his guidance,
Dined in his glory
As though I existed
In his peak of enthronement,
His conferment of Grammies.
Bedazzled by his flexibility,
I was blessed by his power
To rein in anointed glory,
Unending immortality.
I was born in an empire
Governed by a king;
The king of pop,
A king in the world,
Father of offspring
As multiple as stars.
Electrified by a star,
There shall never be another;
Another motion slider,
Another shining star.
And though he passes on,
I shall live to declare
That I was born in a time
Ruled by a legend,
Guided by an immortal,
A world of Michael Jackson.
Categories:
rein in, death, epic
Form:
Ballad
A Good Clean Slam
Let us investigate the process!
HOW…..HOW…..shall we make
a MUD PIE……without getting dirty???
We shall polish up the words,
buff them to an acceptable finish,
weave them into an undecipherable web
of double entendre, tongue in cheek malapropisms,
drape it sensually in Freudian Slips,
conceal its intent in a Slamming Trojan Horse.
We shall protest – but not too much,
Shout – but not too loudly,
We shall rant – but briefly
stay within the confines of the PC Police lines.
How then shall I tame this rage,
this hard boiled anger?
Contain these tears of fear,
smooth the edges of my life
into a gentle, inoffensive, song?
Would you have me ride into battle
on a doe, carrying a feather?
Offer flowers to those who need cold steel?
Must I rein in my vitriolic vengeance,
curtail my caustic tongue,
creep – snake-like….hissing - balloon-like
spewing my venom in lost droplets,
burning an already scorched soul??
John G. Lawless
5/24/2014
For A Poet Destroyer
Slamming Season contest
Categories:
rein in, slam,
Form:
Free verse
06 February 2010
Dream of Sailing
By: Noel N. Villarosa
Never sailed on a three-masted sailboat
Where it bustles to find a smooth wave
Where the wind is its engine
And heels above at the wave’s commotion
Feel the quiver of disappearing in a trough
Then mightily emerging to open water
To stand atop the mast
And feels the strong wind to drown my breath
It fills me with gobsmacked
To sail past on the Seine river
Or ride to a replica of Argo
And sails in the famous canal of Athens
To smell the ocean mist
To rein in the wind for propulsion
And touch the boat sails as it moved downwind
Hear the recoil of bow wave along the hull
The beauty and grandeur of a sailboat
Only to picture, my dream is outlined
The anchor never lifted, the mast never stretched
Only a message in the bottle keeps floating on blue water with my dream of sailing
Honorable Mention to Carol Brown's If My Dream Could Come True: 3/18/2010
Categories:
rein in, adventure, dream, happiness,
Form:
Free verse
A girl was raped in a bus that night
By six men, all drunk, who had lost their minds
Ambrosia was the elixir of gods, it is said
But godlike men in this age aren’t born or made
Alcohol wrecks judgment, makes beasts out of men
Deeds under its influence have put us men to shame
Shops abound in our nation where alcohol is sold
The government till overflows when the weather turns cold
A corrupt force is tasked to uphold the country’s law
Incidents occurring on a daily basis expose this basic flaw
Fear of law is no deterrent for miscreants and crooks
The police prefer to look away; with them, they are in cahoots
But a girl still battles death today aided by a ventilator
Skewered with an iron rod that night, unending was her horror
Demonstrations against this shame were met with brutal force
Citizens showing solidarity were bludgeoned without remorse
The hand that wields the baton to protect civil society
Is now the hand that throttles free voice and liberty
Bad governance, we know is the bane of any nation
Bad policing and lawlessness is responsible for any country’s degeneration
Instead of upholding law and maintaining order
Law enforcers are subdued by their political masters
Whose lack of will to rein in the force given selfish political aspirations
Stems from a sense of indebtedness for furthering their ambitions
Burning state fuel at night they stalk and chase prey
Fleecing shady truckers and wheeler-dealers who operate in markets grey
This extortion by night on city road and state highway
Robs the state of much needed revenue and is an add-on to their pay
Similar incidents happen each day of the year and night
In night’s anonymous darkness or blatantly by daylight
With the force preoccupied in matters so vital
Who will protect our girls and control the crime spiral
The government of the day is callous to people’s concerns
Callous to a daughter’s fate on whom men on a bus took turns
Categories:
rein in, angst, daughter, men, night,
Form:
Narrative
COPLA 84 INVOCATION : This Bad Guy World
Unchecked Bad Guys will romp rampage
And turn World into warring ground :
Good Guys resist
At the height of summer advantage
Good Guys rein in secede no ground :
Soon comes the mist
Bad Guys bait entice fascinate
Give them the long swinging tight rope
To strangle in knots
Let not thoughts enmesh imbricate
In life and death struggles sans hope :
Bide time Yin rots
© T. Wignesan – Paris, 2014
Categories:
rein in, change, conflict, god,
Form:
Dramatic Monologue
”...things come in three…”
before I look to TV
my stomach sinks
at the idea already
perhaps more news
to darken my day
watch the tide grow
in stains of decay
another horizon
as Atlantis rising
can it be?
”...don’t scare us…”
why, so we can care.less?
and if you don’t think
I’m pro.human
then it’s you
that should come
to the shoreline
hear the innocent
die in the ocean
watch a child cry
from convenience
stores that supply
dried food in a bag
”...here kid…”
have a mc.nugget
moms busy
and so is dad…
we’re working
like we’ve never had
because we don’t
and you won’t either
because there is
no hope for better
so swallow our
rant and our shant
with more want
because the world
is going to sh!t…..
.....
stop it.
unacceptable vent
smells of a slick I cant
oil that soils more
then a gaping vent
designed to crush
our will and intent
fight back…
explore unknowns
rethink the world
how we live
how we ‘own’
rethink
how we learn…
”...grow something…”
for a heal.thy.body
reinvent the weheal
rein in the ‘repent’
learn to value smart
a heart unspent
rethink…
everything.
< 3
Categories:
rein in, dedication, education, faith, family,
Form:
Where once you stood
I glance across the room to where once you stood,
busy with the evening meal, intent on the rhythms
of preparation, glass of wine close at hand;
Barber’s haunting andante unfolds in my head,
the oboe’s sad note counterpoint to my happiness.
You would look up, smiling, and catch me gazing at
your graceful form: slender legs, the gentle curve of
breast and hip, the arch of your eyebrows.
I hold these memories close to me,
they are my anchors that berth me in hope.
The irrepressible Miss distracts me from my reverie,
with demand to play, to enter her madcap world,
full of laughter, flying limbs, and innocence.
But always there is you, full of contradiction,
with promises and loving words, and yet false.
You speak. “Trust me” you say often, and in time
I do; a blind leap of faith into opportunity,
far from the safety of solitude. “Go slowly”,
you say, and I rein in my joyful enthusiasm,
puzzled and unsure how but obedient and willing.
“Trust me” you say, but where is your trust or,
better still, your determination to see things through,
to hold uncertainty inside and enter into the chaos
of compromise, the tension of priorities stretched
and changed, with all the anxiety that brings.
Once you stood there, on a threshold between
independence and life fulfilled, but drew back, retreated
into the safety of work, and in time into aloneness,
save for that young Miss, a joy for anyone,
and the comforting rituals of each day.
I puzzle still. Was it sudden realisation of
the gulf of age, or lack of that fiery spark
that makes another irresistible, or some forbidden
fear that blurs father and partner; or was
it simple motherhood, that provided reason enough.
I glance again at where once you stood
and miss the electric bond of presence, the anticipation
of two souls, two futures, two paths that
yet entwine, separate but one, point and counterpoint;
an elegant argument for life.
Categories:
rein in, absence, break up, goodbye,
Form:
Blank verse
An abused destiny waits in the balance on man kind’s mighty road
A starving societal bliss sets to leave during the apocalypse
The oracle web creates a forced outcry for many to die
Forbidden amour leaves the prestige yearning for a clash
The high pitch sonic is frayed as the forbidden love takes to the grave
Groups of enemies forge as alliances rein in freedom
The love graces a mindful presence as a downfall is in store
The impending dog fight continues as free take their own destiny
Scattered ashes take refuge over the burning starlight
Survival of this quarrel ready to take flight
Hope comes commanding true hearts as one
Protection is laid and the colossus ogre is slain
Restored fate and humanity takes rise
One last sacred strategy is planned
The indomitable fortress is zapped back to a far off land
Categories:
rein in, adventure, allusion, courage, crazy,
Form:
Rhyme
Pardon me, but I'm new to this Land
I was told to rein in my tongue
Or I'd be called racist and tossed in the can
Pardon me, but I'm new to this Land
I was told in public places not to pray
Unless I'm Muslim, Buddhist or stray* *homeless or
schizophrenic
Pardon me, but I'm new to this Land
I was told the policeman's not my friend
Though I saw one a murderer apprehend
Pardon me, but I'm new to this Land
I was told that I'd never need work
Uncle Sam will pay me all work to shirk
Pardon me, I'm new to this Land
But there is one thing I now understand ~
Why its citizens mock a flag once-so-grand
Categories:
rein in, america, confusion, satire, society,
Form:
Rhyme
My life was plagued in darkness
And melancholy was its fodder,
The end not far from sight
My heart bowed to Him
To seek His help, and help did come
In the form of a friend of my youth
Now become a crystal ball gazer
Who took me in her control.
By turning on the magical power
Of the fortune teller that she was,
My friend did unveil the storm deadly
That raged over my past and present
One I loathed the second in ruins
Making me worth a walking corpse.
A warrior's promise to deny
The raging hurricane another victory
She vowed to erase my woes present
And rein in serenity to my life.
Neither deaf to the passion in her words
Nor a disbeliever in my crystal gazer's art
I'd found wings to fly to her magic song,
Was it my rupture with solitude know never will I,
So be it, but let be it known loud and fair
That spared for life I was from despair
Studded like I was a bosom friend in its heart.
Categories:
rein in, fantasy, freedom, future, life,
Form:
Free verse
As a child, darkness
Stirred my heart, fear
Walked stubbornly
Across my thoughts, silencing
The tenderness that was
My mother’s love, the safety
Found in her heart, shelter
From harm, from the dark
As a woman, insecurity
Had a free rein in my thoughts,
Silencing the confidence, the faith
That might have encouraged
My belief in myself, my belief
In everyone else – but the fear
Haunted my feelings, my sensitivity
With its raging panic, it’s worry
The anxiety that brought such shame
As I grew older, the fear of
Losing – plagued me
I couldn’t let go of them,
The ones I love, the family
Who gave me so much joy
Love that will always be a light
Shining through the dark,
Whispering faith into my heart,
Erasing the loneliness, the doubt
That darkens my hopes,
Colors my prayers in shadows
But when death came, despite the fears
Grief accompanying the depths of pain…
I knew that the only fear that remained
Was the fear of never seeing them again
That is the reason I always pray
For Jesus to save those who remain
Because, above all else – whatever fears
Have darkened my thoughts – the only
Fear that is worthwhile…
Is the fear of God who I seek day and night
Matthew 10:28 (KJV) - And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Categories:
rein in, christian, faith, fear, god,
Form:
Free verse
No No No it says
a little momento of a soul
with which I imagine I identify
I can see her there
crouched in the stall
armed with her key
scratching deep without restraint
blowing away the cloud
of the chalky wall
which sloughs off like snow
I can see her there
trying to rein in her eyes
the recent memory of numbers
and words
falling away like the skin
of the wall, in the stall
on the eighth floor of the study hall
I can see her there
clawing with fervor
hoping to share the damage
the frustration that singes
her chest, the regret
that shreds with the papers
in her fist, her best try
No, No, No
I imagine her slipping
away from a foothold
watching the flood waters rush in
and consuming the wall
her tower, reduced to sand
A witness to the aftermath
I know her-
this resounding no
is a way of life
and I, a college student
am not prepared
for my exam tomorrow
Oh no...no...no
Categories:
rein in, depression, education, sad,
Form:
Free verse