Best Risk Poems
Spent a little time in a world so right
Thousands of words filled my night
Met a little filly, I would call my own
Casting my fears into the great unknown
I heard her unique beat, saw her dance
We started our own poetic romance
Two hearts, one voice, singing in unison
Sipping the same soup, we dived right in
She's a mover, a shaker.
A real risk taker
A diamond, an ace,
She rocks this place
Wonders never cease, she's the one
Many duets are sure to come
No drama, no games, she's insane
Her rap is better than Lil Wayne
She'll cuss like a sailor, rhyme like Seuss
She'll give you love and take your abuse
I found an angel, she found a friend
This connection is without an end
She's a mover, a shaker.
A real risk taker
A diamond, an ace,
She rocks this place
A hundred voices, a thousand choices
The bowl of soup fills, with all styles and skills.
Two peas in a pod, too alike to be odd
Sharing this with you, our soup is not stew
Casarah Nance
Tim Smith
06/03/2014
Take that risk
Enlighten and empower yourself
Never stop growing
Entertain, edify, and reach for that top shelf
The gold is yours
Be willing to broaden your mind
The answer is there within
Just take things one step at a time
Risking his life, he does not see the end.
Living his days as there were more to come.
Blind to the truth that's coming 'round the bend.
Recklessly thinking he has time to spend,
Wastes the good days, ensnared by demon rum.
Risking his life, he does not see the end.
Day after day in one another blend.
The wiles of drink have caused him to succumb.
Blind to the truth that's coming 'round the bend.
So many good men can't bad habits mend.
The wake up call won't come in time for some.
Risking his life, he does not see the end.
His friends all beg, he's too good at pretend.
He marches only to his lover's drum.
Blind to the truth that's coming 'round the bend.
His senses gone, he struggles in bedlam.
Nor notes the slowing of the pendulum.
Risking his life, he does not see the end.
Blind to the truth that's coming 'round the bend.
Eyes that shone bright green
stood out in the swamp at night
as crickets serenaded.
Surrounded by scents
in Everglades’ treasure trove,
the eyes slowly moved closer.
Our flashlight revealed
scales and teeth four inches long,
a twelve-foot creature nearing.
“We’re going to die,”
I thought as it dove below,
but our boat remained untouched.
*Entry for Linda’s “Treasure Trove” contest
by Carolyn Devonshire
the heart is always right
unless this time it’s wrong
and this time is not like all the others
this game he must not lose
too much at risk
no room for error
is it worth the risk
has he hit the point of no return
is it really worth the venture
if it’s a go
execution must be meticulous
indeed the stakes are high
this gamble must be calculated
pros and cons be tallied
well thought through in every detail
arsenal of charm and tactics
gone out on a limb
a joyride down a slippery slope
jeopardizing the crown
winner take all
in pursuit of the gauntlet
ripple effect of a backlash
a chain reaction
hanging in the balance
this sort of entanglement
not for the foolhardy
it’s no sitcom for buffoons
at the slightest hiccup
fallout could be disastrous
will he roll the dice
at what point does
temptation become obsession
and seriously cloud all judgment
precarious and unpredictable
impetuous and highly flammable
the repercussions for frivolity
the high cost of capricious reverie
its longterm aftermath
risky business
Published in my 24-page photo/anthology book ~CITYLIGHTS~ 2021
Read on air by invitation ~ August 13, 2021 'LATE NIGHT POETS'
AP: 3rd place 2025, Honorable Mention 2022
Submitted on August 2, 2021 for A BRIAN STRAND YOUR CHOICE POETRY contest sponsored by BRIAN STRAND - RANKED 1ST
waiting with open arms
for my ship to come to shore
whatever the future brings
AP: Honorable Mention 2023
It's lonely on a pedestal.
It's hard when failure is no option.
Everyone deserves a guardian angel.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
You put your name in a box with a million others not knowing what the prize will be.
A person mixes them around
And your name gets called.
You go onto the stage and wonder what the prizes will be.
The woman says choose door 1 or door 2.
You chose door 1 hoping it will be a car or a trip to Hawaii.
Door number 1 opens and you realize it is just a bunch of bikes.
You get down at first but then realize it was worth the risk.
For many people would love to get a chance at winning a prize even if they don’t win.
For life is about taking risks.
Some go our way and some don’t.
But at least we don’t wonder forever what will happen if we don’t.
For live is too short to wonder about what will happen.
So take the risk and it will be worth while no matter what happens.
When you are young do it all.
Every single thing you ever dreamed of doing.
Because when you are older
The inclination is there, but the knees are not.
The teeth are crumbling.
The back wants to sleep.
Seize your opportunities.
Let no one talk you out of them.
Limit yourself to no one.
Give yourself to no one.
Keep yourself young and free and do it all.
After that you can worry about love.
when infatuation soars
careful who you let in
guard your heart
and lock your doors
for heaven’s sake think twice
throw not caution to the wind
careful who comes close
lest they tear your life apart
AP: 2nd place 2021, 3rd place 2026
Roll the ball with utmost care
By the gutters if you dare!
Don't go slidding down the lane
Don't want to think of how much pain!
Of a lousy score beware!
Children At Risk
Every time I hear a child has been neglected
and vastly un protected.
Parents and caretakers have the most important
job of the world,
To raise and mold a boy or girl.
It breaks my heart.
We are tearing the children apart.
We have failed them with our stupidity, sicknesses,
Passiveness and crimes
These things have been done since the beginning of time
We are tearing the children apart
With our greed
Sickly and unnatural need
With our cruelty and abuse
Leading to deadly misuse
Of our positions
And screwed up missions
We’ve taken children from the Aborigines
Some of them biracial
Many progenies of Australia’s elite
Moved them to an island because it was discreet
It was out of sight out of mind.
People were being blind.
We’ve put children in England in orphanages
Because status quo said parents were causing damages
We’ve taken Indian children from reservations
To blend them into civilization.
We’ve enslaved Black children on plantations
Reasoning it is good for the nations
All this done by those in status quo
Because of reasoning we said so.
For the children facing starvation
In India, Africa, Somilia, Ethiopia
and other nations
Who have bombs
But no food and care for there little ones
There is the Tuskegee experiment, hole in the head
Where nothing was said
Indoctrination of the wrong kind
Interfering with a child’s mind.
falling leaf takes stand
what the hell! both sides showing
humane perspective?
Brian Johnston
November 19. 2015
“The Risk We Take”
Walking into the ocean
the sand
like time,
falls away
underneath
our feet,
it’s inevitable;
we fall
you and I inside,
into the great
unknown;
Walking into the ocean
the sand
like time,
falls away
underneath
our feet,
it’s inevitable,
it’s the risk
we take
(LadyLabyrinth / 2022)
When you lick dust in wet season
Wallow in the mud in dry season
Celebrate joyfully in funeral places
And get tormented by fellow humans
Then you see the risk of being human
When men in robes eat their own tails
Get amused of humanity of some people
And deny being a brother’s keeper and;
When they mock at vendors of white dove
Then you regret being a being human
When the mind that reasons apes
The tongue that tell the truth lies
The hand that builds destroys
And the ears that hear are blocked
Then being a human being is great risk
When human deeds are captured yonder
Where Spying and reporting are prohibited
Accountability narrated to a panel one judge
Where witnesses are persona non-grata
Then it is clear being human is a big risk