Best Reversal Poems
His hands clasped tightly, one in mine, one in mother's. Days of baby steps made us nod in encouragement -- we let go. Daddy took his first balanced steps post crash. A memory of joy, watching him walk again.
dad's first leap of hope
puddles of joy held my breath--
gleaming roles reversed
June 30, 2020
A MEMORY Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Line Gauthier
~Winner: 1st Place
Categories:
reversal, father daughter, memory,
Form:
Haibun
My garden work was once pure joy
when shared with my girl and boy.
The toil was slight.
Now that I do the job alone
it truly tires me to the bone,
an old age plight.
By: Joyce Johnson
For Dr. Mehta's "Tail Rhyme" Contest
Categories:
reversal, nostalgia,
Form:
Tail-rhyme
Am I wrong to ponder
Just how inconsiderate we are
From where we used to be
Today we think we're stars
Trust me we're no twinkle
In anybodies eyes,
frankly
Internally we should despise
Simply look how we treat the innocent
When they'll never produce our whatever
Meaning means that
Inhumane, as humans sever
Lets just close our eyes
Whilst role reversal plays
When a Gorilla tells you what to do
Do you have the balls to say nae
Will this ever happen
What humans dreams becomes
I truly hope their dreams come true
Evolutions succumb
Categories:
reversal, abuse, angst, animal, betrayal,
Form:
Rhyme
Amidst the chaos and conventions
The political ads with evil intentions
The truth was twisted and left to die
Watch the rich man laugh and the poor man cry
We had conservatives in our youth
Who had some connection to the truth
Power and greed, corruption and deceit
Have taken the battle into the street
Represent the people, they no longer can
losing connection to the common man
He's still conservative but he no longer buys
Assaults on the White House with innuendo and lies
He fears that the truth may never be found
Lost in the minds of leaders unsound
To win at the polls regardless of cost
Even if the country is lost
To rebuild a nation with the economy broken
Cannot be cured by lies that are spoken
Better ideals and integrity sought
The truth will bring a reversal of thought.
The actual twisting of the truth by Lyin' Ryan at the RNC
was an embarrassment to any American.
Categories:
reversal, political, truth, integrity,
Form:
Couplet
I knelt down and did up her zipper -
Mum struggles with her sight you see
She kissed me gently on the top of my head
and said
‘things I did for you as a child ...
now you do for me’
12th April
The above happened yesterday - I am on massive emotional roller coaster with mum at the moment 3 amazing days and today she’s not so good and I’m struggling with the emotions
Categories:
reversal, care, emotions, mother daughter,
Form:
Free verse
Many years ago I lost a friend...
memories of her will never end !
All the times we spent together
are now etched in my mind forever !
It wasn't perfect all the time...
yet our relationship was prime !
Mother and daughter through the years,
wiping away each other's tears !
Celebrating when times were good...
getting together whenever we could,
for shopping sprees and lunches too.
Through all those times our closeness grew !
From the cradle she mothered me;
it was impossible then to see
that Mother Nature had a plan
to change things from how they began !
In her final days roles were changed
for the future was prearranged !
Now Mom relied upon my care...
it was time for me to do my share.
Mom became a child again
and I took on the role of "Mother Hen" !
It wasn't easy playing the part
but the love was from heart to heart !
Categories:
reversal, caregiving, heart, heart,
Form:
Rhyme
You
Got to know
Love
Lord
Categories:
reversal, faith,
Form:
Free verse
Over and over again, I am losing track.
Opportunities wasted with tears, sweat and blood,
chances blown into smithereens, a breached contract
like explosives ready and done but all went dud
A table once bountiful, every dish and ware,
aroma of extravagance, hard to resist,
array of choices from platter after platter,
the sky’s the limit until it ceased to exist
Deafening silence vacated the entire hall.
Everything were been raided and swept out empty.
Surprising predicament,ricocheted dodge ball,
so fast to anticipate, such velocity.
Everything is accounted for a certain price,
nowhere else to take cover from fate’s divine reach,
like mortgage, all due with collateral excise,
sucking up to its last drop, a gluttony leech
Life goes insanely inside out and upside down,
risking all in, a gamble of uncertainty.
Time’s the enemy, it runs out as we’re all bound
To death, the end credits reeling with apathy
If I am given power to turn back clock’s hand,
undoing the past is my paramount mission,
apprehend mistakes for myself to reprimand,
the reversal of fortune based on a delusion.
Categories:
reversal, dedication, goodbye, repetition, today,
Form:
Elegy
It lies in wait of Allah’s time the time that
Neither advances nor declines the
Time to shroud sour faces
And graceful
Ones,
The poor and the rich the brainy and the
Slow, the knight and the servant
We shall all disappear
One by one
Leaving
Behind our deeds heavy or light to survive
Smolder, smear or judge, whether
The time karma was
Grasped
We’ll turn into thousands of useless Worms
And nonexistent beings so let’s
Put Aside craving for the
Worldly life
Craving
To possess or still climb up and to the noble
Work lets HUMBLY bow far from all
Acts of sabotage let’s give
Living and leave
Giving
Whilst twisted sour faces rightly pay tribute
Prepared for the one and only true
Abode Gone forever full
Of joie de vivre
And
What then is life if not a place Filled with
Separations forsaken, oh, Allah! The
Spirited quitting Man firmly
Sticks to the fleeting
Upsetting.
Categories:
reversal, africa, allah, death, life,
Form:
Teeth sans groundnut
See now reversal of fate-
Groundnut sans teeth.
Categories:
reversal, philosophy, , fate,
Form:
Haiku
The Omnipotent Hand knows what is best;
Man sees himself and nature at blind spot.
Now in a sine graph we are at the crest.
Yes, a turning point is what we have got!
The Hand constructed a clean house for us,
But we cook what we eat in the fireplace.
The scented air turns into greenhouse gas,
Increasing the temperature in the space.
The Hand let the rain fall and river flow,
But we give them artificial flavors:
Rain gets an acid, river a shadow.
Sickening soft drinks have various colors.
The Hand gave us the land to tread upon,
But we make the wheels to send us away.
And we bite the dust; diseases have won.
We choose to die and not to walk a day.
The Omnipotent Hand showed us the sign
To bend the trend and take full reversal,
Like searching for the grapes, the source of wine.
Unless we go back, all shall be fatal.
(c) 2012 by Sherwin
Balbuena
Categories:
reversal, philosophy, river,
Form:
Rhyme
What if god made made men to have babies?
How would our history have changed?
What if terrorists were Heroes and police were enemies?
What if the Sun & Moon traded places
How would it affect our time of day?
So what if Satan was worshipped with praise and God was the Ultimate sin?
What if Coreta Scott King led the million man march rather than Martin?
What if our past was our future were we destined to fail?
What if South America was the mother land what would that make Africa?
It's just a Role Reversal
What if our four founding father were Muslim men?
What if our US Constitution was written by Native Indians?
What if we went by philosopy and not by religion?
What if killing was the Ultimate justice of the land?
What if the first person to touch the moon was an animal?
What if we were animal pets and we had tolearn from them
What if the US was in poverty and Africa was in power?
What if living was the ultimate death and dying was the ultimate life?
It's justa reversal of roles Just think about it
for a while...
What If?
Categories:
reversal, life, mystery, god, god,
Form:
Dramatic Monologue
Maybe a role reversal would be in order
And us guys could take it or leave it
Whatta mind-blowing experience that would be
The ladies simply couldn't conceive it
Exciting? You ain't just whistling Dixie
There's a stirring deep down in my loins
Sexual in nature maybe my jockeys are too tight
Sometimes I let out a few oinks
Sure would be great to see how that works out
To turn the tables on the ladies
I'd say, “I have a bad headache, maybe December
Right now I'm baking some pastries”
Can you just imagine the look on their faces
They'd start to grovel and whimper
“It's already August, not too long to wait
Before you know it, it'll be winter!”
See, my dear sweeties! How do you like it
To be at the other end of the dial
Can't tell you how much fun that would be
I'd never be able to wipe off the smile
Categories:
reversal, smile,
Form:
Rhyme
If teachers were students,
They would certainly be prudent.
When they would get a teacher free class,
They would certainly be seriously studious.
None to dictate and lecture the class,
Would let them hit the books obviating usual fuss.
If their freedom limit is even infinite,
Classroom is “Pin drop silence”, that’s definite!
Even when Half Yearly is finished,
Their wish for studying wouldn’t be diminished.
Trousers from the waist, head with oil base,
Big spectacles covering the whole face;
Would they miss a single instruction?
Even a single note because of the Annual Function!
If they committed a mistake, though once in a blue moon;
Even imagining doing it again would make them swoon.
But if we go deep down these perfect souls,
Down their memory lane, there must be some hole.
Now let’s come back to the tangible world,
Where the real students are completely unfurled;
Let’s hope the above conditions be true
Otherwise how can we show what we can do?
Wishes are wishes, “sky is sunny blue”
Could you suggest how to put it through?
Categories:
reversal, childhood, funny, parody, school
Form:
Couplet
Fortune’s Reversal
Today is Labor Day 2005 –
A day of loving & compassionate labors
As I gather up clothes to help them survive,
to bring hope to the hearts of my neighbors
--savagely displaced
loves they can’t replace
homes & jobs erased
& tears roll down their face—
They look to the world, call out to all nations
Overwhelmed with grief & rampant despairing
They have no outlet to vent their frustrations
They feel their God is no longer caring
--lives underwater
no one could stop her
still gone the laughter
many months after—
There was no taming this furious shrew
As she destroyed and uprooted lives
Katrina was murderous all the way through
& did not care who or what would survive
--hugely impersonal
a raging dispersal
no dress-rehearsal
fortune’s reversal--
Categories:
reversal, natural disasters, confusion,
Form:
Epitaph