Best Right Poems
I think no stimulus could be
as potent as the one to pee.
A feeling frequent and innate
is this - the urge to urinate.
It comes each day to everyone
at work, at play, or on the run.
It comes sometimes as home you drive,
and soon you're hoping to survive
the bursting of your inner dam
while sitting in a traffic jam.
Then down the street you drive distressed
with thighs together tightly pressed.
You wish so badly it would cease
and then you pray for sweet release.
And as you drive, you ache and ache
and curse that drink you had to take.
You want to speed, but big surprise -
a cop's behind you. Squeeze those thighs
to keep inside what wants to flow!
You do not dare to let it go.
Few impulses can so compare.
Oh, how you'd love a diaper there!
Then home at last, you do a dance.
You run while pulling down your pants.
And horror, if when once inside,
you find the bathroom occupied!
WEll, just be glad it's mountain dew
you're holding in, not number two!
I long to write a poem just right
Between the somber and the light
To tease the edges of a heart
To hook the reader from the start
Seduce them with a metered plea
A nuanced message: “follow me”
For I invite you to ascend
The peaks we’ll reach before the end.
To wander lost across the page
To tap the knowledge of the sage
To walk away wondering why
The answer is the endless sigh
Why poetry will never die
For words are fashioned without guilt
In whispering poetic lilt
That holds a hand, that tugs a heart
Bids you adieu as you depart
Rejoices in that gentle touch
That poems long for oh so much.
©5/24/2022
Standing before the microphone,
blank faces stare from cushioned chairs
Jewels sparkle, acting like they’re real,
while bow ties just seem sad…it happens
Marching to the beat of clicking heels,
unbuttoned vests as strange eclipsed spotlights
illumine smoke swirls in overhead rafters
flowing from my ember’d fingertips
And my hair is a mess…but it always is
and I don’t care…do you?
I’d clear my throat but that does no good,
gravel has taken up residence…it pays the rent
The room goes dim, the audience worries
Glares spark like steel on asphalt
I can see them clear, slowly fading in anxious doubt
My mind scratches some ink in dusty thoughts…
I love you, I love everything that is you
Need surpasses desire, and I need
My arms long to cling you, crushed against me,
breathing as one, harmonious breath…dusty thoughts…they come
The bass player plucks and that is my cue,
flicking my ashes I begin to read…poetry
and the audience smiles…I am a poet and poetry is cool,
Leonard Cohen was right
Loving you is easy as the heart sings into your heaven
Come kiss me sugar before the snow melts
Stunning visions before the mirrors a flame sparks
As two white doves in eternal faithfulness weld us together
Standing an adoring torch within a breathtaking ray of sunlight
Dreams that were answered, within soft tenderness beauty and love
Always when you enter number one smiles
Love's paradise ruby wine flows warm
I will forever find you interesting sweet dreams
as you make me forget everything that lies behind
Many moons searching distant horizons
Coming out slowly from the light my dear
As I stared into the stars thoughts within you entered
Brilliant beauty a miracle dawns new horizons
Darling captivating your precious light holds me
Each time seeing you is like I have known you a lifetime beyond anything
We travel down the starlit path only for eternity
Heaven's whisper creating our future and dreams
A Collaborated Poem
Anne-Lise Andresen and Liam Mc Daid
24.02.2016
(unrhymed couplets)
STOP RIGHT THERE!!!
NOT SO FAST….
Just where do you think you are going??!!
Do you think you can just walk away!!
You have work to do.
Tighten up that Sonnet
Tidy up those rhymes
Feel the drumbeat of that meter
…the juxtaposed delight
….of sitting back and knowing
…..you finally got it……WRITE.
WIPE THAT SMIRK OFF YOUR FACE!!!
You know you love it.
The torture of the keyboard
words tumbling from the pen
the beginning
the middle
the all elusive end
DON’T GIVE ME THAT OLD SONG AND DANCE!!
Remember those first crumpled
unfinished
discarded
recovered
reworked
polished
failures
DON’T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE!!!
Have you forgotten that first poem??
The one you read to your dog?
in a whispered voice
as his tail wagged
and your voice
brushed his coat
with poetry.
YOU ARE A POET!!
Your words,
like butterfly wings,
gently alter
the currents
of the universe.
John G. Lawless
©7/15/2017
The function of a human hand?
Writing a message, making a bed,
Opening a jar, dialing a phone,
Putting on pantyhose,
Touching the face of a child,
Or a lover.
And in its absence?
Yawning space and phantom pain,
And an oddly-shaped bandage
At the end of Angie’s arm.
PFC Hernandez, home in El Paso,
Watches her family watching her,
Writing awkwardly with her left hand,
Brushing her black wavy hair,
Watching Dr. Phil
Wearing an old gray-green T-shirt
Bearing the faded words
“Proud to be a Marine.”
Gasping and choking,
She wakes from thick, dusty dreams
Of shimmering, endless sand,
Unfamiliar words
Echoing hollow with hatred,
And the feared but half expected
Roar of fiery amber heat,
Breaking the angry stillness,
Searing through the night
And Angela’s right hand.
As a poet
you have the right
to remain silent.
If you give up that right.
Anything you say
can and will be used
in the court of public opinion.
You have the right to use
a computer keyboards.
If you cannot afford one,
a pen with a piece of paper
will be provided for you.
You have the right to speak like an Attorney,
to take your readers on a trip or a journey.
Giving them a feeling of anticipation.
Using words out of context or connotation,
or use long words like conversation.
You have the right to give feelings a voice,
to express yourself in every
kind and category of poetry,
or muster a musical group
like the one called Floetry.
You have the right, to recite, day or night
to speak out loud! in front of a crowd!
To make yourself heard!
With the freedom of the spoken word!
To stand and proclaim, to entertain,
Or choose the words to describe your pain!
You, have the right to complain.
Know that for you, no subject is taboo.
Only season your words with grace,
as you may have to eat them,
if they are thrown back in your face.
I stood on a hill and screamed for peace...
Lost in the noise were friends that teased...
A mask that hides what's wrong and right...
Too many stones thrown that blinded my sight...
Wolves that prowled with a sheeps face and a devils soul...
Crept slowly in the dark where the truth was never told...
My cape is wrinkled and torn and bloodied from the day...
A battle well fought where being right lost its way...
Then left with a heart with blood still there to drain...
No need to ask the question, I'd do it all over again...
I don't write stories, I don't write make believe... I write what's in Me.... Michael
"The Right Eye Removed"
intuition guides a feline mind
to feel vain glorious
in the poetry of dreams
stretching limits of awareness
velvet pawed
a burnt orange
bittersweet marmalade coat
delicious to kiss
the point between
the ears that listen for signs
mink stole he wears
himself striped around my neck
finding new ways
to purr through his dark night
into the mystery of
his opaque opalus opallios world
his left analytical
glistening topaz
prehistoric amber
shines like glass
black iris blooming
in a pool of honey
questioning ideas
that run through his
greyhound strides
the right eye removed
bone white phantom oculus
poached out by a thief
with a pad, pen and
surgically precise knife
drugged on strong catnip
the discarded damaged marble
thrown in a bin overnight
he works his way around
this bad romance
feels the colours of light
he is sensually sincere
licking necks and ears
and the other's eyes
twin forest jade stones
the foreign ponds
of something new
holding tight
this kamikaze pilot
flying across high rise cupboards
treasure boxes to plunder
tricky to navigate
he is immersed in a new life
the changing colours
of a small heart
with big dreams
romancing streams of
rainbow koi seen in his mind
he is a Japanese ninja warrior
a good luck token
protector of Moonlight
and ground zero
the bed…that he has claimed,
all his
and he is loved
perfection in
the damage of
the war zone delivered
to him at birth
he is free to wonder
and he wanders
this brave and distinguished hunter
preying with delight
he bows on all fours
he stops still
and in the reflection
that is left
I look at him
and I see
we are two
of one mind
searching
for the same
all along
am I her’s,
or is she mine
am I his
or is he mine
it no longer matters
old souls
we belong
in this time
(LadyLabyrinth / 2021)
Opallios. Greek.
“to see a change in colour”
Opalus. Latin.
“precious jewel”
She is always right and he is never wrong,
Neither willing to concede and the anger rolls right along.
Finding each others faults as they fuel this awful flame,
Both claiming victory when neither will accept the blame.
With clinched jaws and fingers pointing,
Their words so damning, so hurtful, and so taunting.
Then it reaches its fiery crescendo,
Then neither one knows what to do or how to let go.
What had happened, it wasn’t always like this,
They used to hold hands and share a frequent kiss.
Then something bad happened, almost overnight,
Seems now they cannot speak to each other without it turning into a fight.
Little things started escalating and devouring their heart,
With no common grounds for reasoning maybe it would be best if they should part.
She said I’ll take our children and go stay for awhile with mom and dad,
Then it finally hit him he was about to lose the best thing he ever had.
It finally happened like someone turned on a light,
He said I’ve been a fool and I never again want us to fight.
He said I had a vision of living in this cold dark and lonely home alone.
And I didn’t like the picture, you’re the only love I’ve ever known.
Now they both got refocused and once more it is a home filled with love,
And now neither will let a push become a shove.
“You must love your neighbor as yourself.”
Matthew wrote those words in the Bible to tell
the world how God expects everyone to be.
No mask worn by a viper can conceal a snake
from the eyes of God, for he sees everything.
Don't accuse me of preaching damnation in fire,
because I don't believe in the flames of a hell.
Jesus was a preacher and I'm proud to walk in his way,
witnessing to those interested and filled with desire
to learn his Father's message and what he had to say.
Humans dare not judge each other. It's not their right.
Only God can read the hearts of men and he alone
is the rightful judge of those who do good and bad.
Those who think they are clever, pretending to be good
may be wolves dressed as sheep, hiding in plain sight.
They smile, pat you on the back, seemingly humble,
then bite your hand and lick the flesh from your bone.
The Apostles argued among themselves, they grumbled
which of them would be greater in wielding his power.
Jesus was saddened by their attitude but gently he spoke,
"This is not the way among you; but whoever wants
to become great among you must be your minister,
and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.” *
Contentiousness and egotism are enemies of humility
so look deep within and seek a spiritual brotherhood
with those crossing your path. We all have the ability
to walk in truth and light, making all things right.
*Matthew 20: 26-27
To me, she could've said anything
I wanted so badly to hear her say,
"I love you and I'm gonna try."
But all she said is "I just can't stay."
She looked away, I stared her down.
I needed to see her eyes.
She looked at me and that's when I knew...
THIS IS THE DAY MY MOTHER DIES.
She died right there before me.
I watched her fade away.
Her eyes were glossing over
as I begged her "PLEASE, JUST STAY!"
She said goodbye and drove away.
I've learned to deal with loss.
But, now she says "I'm coming back!"
She doesn't know the cost.
To me she's dead, she can't come back.
She'll have to remember the day
that she died right there before me
when she said she couldn't stay.
A woman’s decision to choose should
Never have been a matter for the courts
A woman knows, for her, what is best to do
When facing the realities of last resorts.
No pregnancy is possible without a p**is
Will the courts now make a ruling on its use?
Or simply remove the woman’s freedoms,
While letting the man continue to abuse?
Sadly, now, some woman cannot determine
Something that will affect their whole life
Because a few “men of renown” who lied
To gain position, are now promoting strife.
The decision to abolish Roe vs Wade
Must not stand; it is morally reprehensible,
What happens now to the unwanted children?
Obviously, the courts are not very sensible!
Collection of cells trumping living tragedies
Unwanted children who will struggle to exist,
While women’s rights are trampled in mud
Pro-life and pro-choice cannot even co-exist.
Written June 27, 2022
#45 on Best New Poems List
Poetry Soup
July 20, 2022
it like you care
i mean if you keep on
keeping on
i might whined-up thinking you
love me or something
I mean kissing and dance
getting those second glances
and the notes on my phone
I might whined-up thinking
you love me.
sometimes I think about
the way you might preseve me
and than I wonder if
I should look at you the same way
smelling your hair
acting like you care
it makes me wonder
asking myself what spell am I under
You got me thinking you
love me
The sun sinks slow when dreaded dark overflows
giving mere mortals moments to reflect
all that passes in the day these moments take away
and each influence intrinsically inspect
we have known of old the conflict we are told
is the battle between bad and good
what is right, what is wrong, we must make morals strong
gain empathy, love, and brotherhood
if we could just see with our eyes set free,
only hear when wind whispers silent songs
there might be a better you, maybe a kinder me
in the wisdom of these quiet sing-alongs
a mother bird feeds her babies and I hear the words
rhythmic refrains ringing peace into my heart
'His eye is on the sparrows’,and more of you He knows
comfort “every little thing is gonna be all right’ emparts
Turn down the power.. if just for an hour...
sit still and hear nature sing