Best Repaid Poems
Medicine Hat Appaloosa
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Remember free will too has been gifted,
with freedom allied to fate's fickle choice.
Tendered words uttered still..now uplifted,
God provides each one a life and a voice.
Ere life ebbs and scrimshaw scrolled hands beckon,
find strength in Medicine Hat horse's paint.
Flesh prized and spirit bold, yet to reckon,
respectful head bowed, pray it isn't too late.
Of sarcasm's sharp sword, one can ill afford,
cursed hubris' price which is never repaid.
The cost of soul's vows torn in broken chord,
word's sting or solemn praised tapestry made.
To cheat one's own heart with standard-less staff,
turned now to stone, to write lone epitaph.
Poet's note: The Medicine Hat Appaloosa is the poem.
Quoth TheRaven - 7 July 2019
* inspired by Silent One's contest
within each human soul a struggle lies-
the battle waged between one's mind and heart
relationships we're quick to analyze
when strong emotions rip our world apart
benevolence and kindness we extend
to those whose lot in life seems bleak and grey
(yet) malevolent and hurtful words we pen
'gainst enemies we feel must be repaid
there was a time before the fall of man
when all the world was nothing less than good
in Eden's gardens wisdom ruled the land-
the path to unity was understood
until mankind returns from whence it came
these conflicts will continue just the same
She sat beside the waterfall
where gushing thoughts cascade,
like tears that flowed along her cheeks,
her heart set to invade.
He left alone for pastures new.
A scribbled note in haste
he wrote then fled, as cowards do,
her heart a barren waste.
A lightning bolt out of the blue
that pierced her heart; she bled.
Much later on the ache still hurt;
her feeble wings unspread.
She dared not heed the tumbling sound
as water crashed on rocks.
How fit to let death end the pain!
She started down the walk.
But just before the water’s edge
a voice called out, “Be Ware!
The road you walk is treacherous;
for God’s sake, stand right there!”
He turned her round, and saw her face
spill tears upon her gown.
He whispered in her windswept hair
“One misstep and you’ll drown.”
“Please, let me go, you do not know
what burns here in my breast.
I need to douse these flames and find
my sweet eternal rest.”
She struggled then against his arms,
the longed for end so near,
and yet he held with all his might,
spoke words to still her fear.
And when all limp she leaned on him,
this man she did not know,
he soothed her as he said these words:
“I will not let you go.”
Drained of resolve she let him lead
from rock to lush verdure,
as reassurance kindled trust,
his hand was firm, secure.
They sat beneath a shady tree.
Engrossed, they talked at length,
and in the process she revealed
his presence gave her strength.
He held her hands, looked in her eyes,
his heart worn on his sleeve
as they agreed to meet again
before she had to leave.
She touched his face, with gentle grace,
leaned in to kiss his cheek;
her lips just trembled there a while
enough to make him weak.
“You’ve saved my life, and now I owe
the greatest debt to you.
When next we meet, after we greet,
I’ll give you what’s your due.”
He smiled into her upturned eyes
and said these simple words:
“I’ve been repaid with sweetest kiss
my heart and soul you’ve stirred.
We’ll meet again, and when we do
you will forget the past
for then, my dear, I’ll make a vow
of love that’s sure to last.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
(Paul Callus & Eileen Manassian ~ Sept 2019)
(A Callman Collaboration)
As we age we regret words of anger and spite
That were heard and remembered and can't be unsaid.
The remarks we thought clever or proved we were right
That resulted in losses of friendships instead.
All the heartbreaks that came from suspicion and doubt,
The betrayals and hurts we refuse to forgive,
The companions and love that our pride has cast out,
And the chances we missed that we'd like to relive.
All the pathways not taken and bridges uncrossed,
All the times had we acted, a difference made,
The potential delights that timidity lost,
And the kindness and debts that we never repaid.
All the secret dishonors we long to forget,
And the wrongs we inflicted in order to win.
For the strongest of sorrows are those of regret,
And the saddest remembrance is what might have been.
* * * * *
Or as Whittier phrased it, far finer and first:
"For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
the saddest are these: It might have been"
Creatures of feathers, fur and fins
gather ‘round to touch her heart.
Somehow their instincts assure them
she will strive to offer protection.
Wee winged one that fell from its nest
she cradles in loving hands,
feeding and nursing
till it can soar through life on its own.
Abandoned kittens and pups
find a temporary home with her,
until she can place them
with loving souls who nurture.
Baby dolphin stranded on a beach
receives prompt attention,
when she carries it
to those with healing talents.
Rewards are rightfully reaped
as she hears birds singing,
feels love in a kitten’s purr,
finds joy watching dolphins play.
Each act of kindness is repaid
a hundred times and more.
Leaving gentle impressions of hope,
one life to another..
*February 9, 2017
A poet's flowing poems uplift the souls
of men and sing of legends small and great,
of knights and lords, of fiefdoms, and of fate,
of kings, and pontiffs in ungodly roles!
Long, long ago, these popes, desiring control,
enjoined the knights to charge; and penetrate
their Christ's Jerusalem to decimate
the infidels and caliphs of dark Sheol!
When wanton rulers pillage and plunder, poets
write and sing of their great, immoral acts,
betrayals, carnage, and cabals; tho' it's
wiser to just ignore these damning facts,
let poets instead make them known, so it's
repaid by poetic justice's attacks.
smoke billowed from her boiling pot
a spell for ages she had sought
a special treat
for kids to eat
some pickled plums so teeth won't rot
but children laughed at what she made
to taste the swill they were afraid
the witch was sad
and got real mad
their taunts one day would be repaid
all hallows eve had come and went
a day the kids would soon resent
a curse was laid
the children paid
their treats turned into hard cement
they moaned and wept and some did cry
asking questions and pleading why
they were upset
with no regret
wishing that witch would surely die
now this is what I have been told
the days have passed and I am old
one girl returned
her lesson learned
and turned a heart to warm from cold
**it is never to late to say you are sorry*
Were not men strong
and women beautiful
Children adorable
and old men wise
Were not tyrants evil
and angels good
Dogs faithful
and prophets misunderstood
Were not the stars named
and world divided
Hearts claimed
as God decided
Were not the races proud
and thunder loud
Hearts broken
and the valued stolen
Was not the world wicked
and entrance, a ticket
Hopes shatered
and time a barrier
Were not words wasted
and defeat tasted
Dreams untrue
and offers with drew
Are not ledgends taken in time
and hero's made slaves to wine
Certian disasters
and life no longer mattered
Are not moments made
and powers magnificently displayed
Salvations delayed
while the guilty repaid
Were not inventions made so fast
and made obsolete in recent past
Invention oblivion
they were newly made but didn't last
And did not time travel slow
measured by faces that turned old
Death decays
as the trees of our generation sway
Were not we all given a choice
to listen to that still small voice
Discision made
ignorant or proud all that you
allowed
She could have hardened her heart to Love,
Her list of disappointments would have hardened lesser hearts,
Instead she cloaked herself with Love,
Enough to keep out the Coldest wind,
Seeing a time when love would Re-awaken her expectant heart.
In the spring she made sure Love's new growth,
Was not strangled by the weeds and vines.
In the Summer she shielded love from the harsh glare of the Sun,
Enjoying its company under her favorite tree.
In the Autumn she swept the leaves from the steps,
So, Love could stay mold free.
In the winter she kept her windows free of ice,
So, others could see Love dwelt there.
Now in her twilight years Love has repaid her with,
The offer of another equally Loving heart.
After The Kiss By Gustav Klimt
Tomorrow is not here today
My love, today is our last day. Let us lay
Together in the cool of night. For one last time
Let us kiss this wretched pain
Away. Time has been so cruel.
Cruel. So cruel.
Never I was meant for you,
never you were meant for I.
and although your skin is a darker shade
I still feel what I feel inside.
My heart has lost its beat
Because he will never look at me like you.
Nor she at you like me. If ever
I could lie or steal, I’d tell my heart right now
Of all the ways I wouldn’t miss you, but then
I’d steal away my only life. Because to go on feeling
what I feel for you is worse than losing you like this.
If we do this together, now
my dying breath would feel complete. But
If you leave me tomorrow, my dying breath
Would never end.
My darling,
There are far worse things than losing
Me. My treachery must be repaid.
How foolish to love a light skinned
girl and think it’d be ok. Go
On living with me in your mind, no one has to know
our truth. Your swollen belly isn’t his, but your love was
Never mine. I wish I would have known you first, but at least
You are my last. Let me hold you close in my mother’s fleece
And kiss you without remorse. Let us lay here
Star gazing in the warmth of one another,
I want to tell you all the secrets hiding in my mind
Let me confess to you who I am inside. and
Don’t cry for me tomorrow, when you see
My body swaying. All I ever wanted was to feel
what I feel now
And when I leave you tomorrow,
the kiss.
This. kiss.
*kiss* Is all I will Remember.
Their moment carried on a canvas. Through brush stroked love and textured fate.
Signed with gentle passion. Forever glossed in their shiny paint.
And on that tomorrow, two lovers never lived outside their painted chance.
They stayed embracing in a yellow fleece. With “the kiss”, upon her head.
His voice the hiss of serpents,
he acknowledged the pact unmade,
but now he was here to tell him
how the debt would be repaid.
"All your sons, and all their sons,"
the devil's eyes glowed red,
"will perish while still very young,
yes, all of them, cold and dead."
With that, the devil vanished,
not long after, Joseph died,
and Jack, now the eldest,
found his career on the rise.
He married a well-bred woman,
she made a beautiful bride,
but their first-born child, a son,
very quickly died.
But how the public loved him,
the White House was Camelot,
but Satan hadn't forgotten,
and guided Oswald's shot.
Next in line was Bobby,
and he soon, too, was slain,
now Edward became paranoid,
though justified, ashamed.
Edward wasn't pleased with God,
the curse of his surname,
he knew someone would kill him,
if only for the fame.
And, one day, those fateful words
slipped through his lips as well,
the devil appeared as a gent,
and with a pact to sell.
Now, Edward was not evil,
but perhaps a little weak,
vehemently he refused, at first,
but Satan continued to speak.
The devil knew his weak spots,
affirmed he'd soon be dead,
then offered an alternative,
made up of hope and dread.
"You will live a long and worthwhile life,
and your children will live, too,
but in exchange for these gifts,
there are two things you must do:
You must find a young and innocent girl
and give her soul to me.
You, alone, must take her life,
but you'll escape scot-free.
The other thing you must give me
is your most passionate dream,
that is, to become president,"
the devil's smile obscene.
Well, Chappaquiddick happened,
and he got off scot-free,
I think he tried to be the best,
most honorable he could be.
But Satan keeps his promises,
and John-John's plane went down,
and now the pact is finished,
for there's no more left around.
©Danielle White
no end to this neverending sentence...just a sour note and a few mad quotes from the afterlife
afterlife? more like ants in the afterbirth...once a mighty warrior now a worm...i slither and i squirm...
no fire and no heat just chained to this seat...forced to view the victims of violence from this man of misery
with eyes and ears open...not even a blink...with every scarred soul the lower i sink
the movie begins and the theater is dark...and i'm not alone...i can hear other dead dogs bark
these innocent faces turn insane just in seconds...i can feel their disease...turning blessings to curses
a sad symphony and a choir of chaos keep spewing their venomous verses
i once was the greatest but now i'm the worst
i just can't breaK FREE from these shackles and chains...i hear the word NEVER into eternity
the echoes of screams they just come back from the screen
now the skeletal masses are laughing at me
i ask for forgiveness 1000 times a day but my tormentors just laugh..."NOT A CHANCE"
graves of ghosts empty and they all come to me to thank me in person for just being me
no uniformed ugliness just brutality beasts...they all take their turn from the
a to the z
i cry out to God and he says, "IT'S TOO LATE"
i talk to the devil and he says, "you'll be free any day"
vengeance was mine now i'm getting slain...for all of my sins and my murderous ways
for attrocities all...from the small to the large...i turned good men to monsters and massacred love
i turned peaceful neighborhoods into ghetto battlefields
i broke apart happy families as they cried,moaned,and squealed
more than six million got sent to their makers with lead sleeping pills
i lived the devils deal...now repaid with revenge...i'm sad,seedy and sour...still no suicide syringe
like blasphemy on a binge i tore hideous holes in the fabric of time
yes to my children of darkness i made the demonic seem divine...i even claimed to turn water into wine
now truth and terror has me thirsty for some kind of a release
from this concentration camp i NEVER can leave
please just one tear from heaven can put me at ease
What's happened here?
I asked,
I asked again...
and where to reclaim.
For I've lost something precious (so dear to me)
and someone or something's to blame
and will I be repaid in heaven's name?
To be sure, I'll find peace in justice, heh
justice in life..
heh!
Where to place it..
God, demon, mankind, or you?
Oh, such a shame to know
the fault could be all mine too...
swirled in murky shallows
can't fix it, can't face it
can never forget it
it is an injustice,
after all...
So dear friends, convince me
whim of justice, just isn't so
so I decided finally to
just let it go...
First it was seizures
And then I was blind
Sight was returned
And then I was fine.
Then came the cancer
But I was not afraid
Just a little annoying
Then life was repaid.
A life threatening event
The doctors said no way
In my determined mind
I said I’m here to stay.
A cat has nine lives
I think humans do too
I’ve used three of mine
Four more I am due.
By Dana Redricks
"For while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened [often weighed down, oppressed], not that we want to be unclothed [separated by death from the body], but to be clothed, so that what is mortal [the body] will be swallowed up by life [after the resurrection]. Now He who has made us and prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the [Holy] Spirit as a pledge [a guarantee, a down payment on the fulfillment of His promise]. So then, being always filled with good courage and confident hope, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight [living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises]— we are [as I was saying] of good courage and confident hope, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore, whether we are at home [on earth] or away from home [and with Him], it is our [constant] ambition to be pleasing to Him. For we [believers will be called to account and] must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be repaid for what has been done in the body, whether good or bad [that is, each will be held responsible for his actions, purposes, goals, motives—the use or misuse of his time, opportunities and abilities].
Therefore, since we know the fear of the Lord [and understand the importance of obedience and worship], we persuade people [to be reconciled to Him]. But we are plainly known to God [He knows everything about us]; and I hope that we are plainly known also in your consciences [your God-given discernment]." 2 Corinthians 5:4-11