Best Saner Poems
Dr. Seuss: “How did it get to be so late so soon?”
I sat down to write,
but no thoughts would come.
Still thinking and thinking,
I said, “This is dumb!”
One look at the clock,
and what did I see?
I’d started at one
and now it was three!
The page of my tablet
showed white like the snow.
Where, my friends, where
did the precious time go?
I got myself up
and decided to clean,
but people kept calling -
You know what I mean?
My sister, my mother,
then old Uncle Fred.
I couldn’t believe it.
I thought he was dead!
I glanced at the clock.
It was already five.
The only GOOD thing:
Uncle Fred is alive!
I needed to go
to the gym and the store,
but I just couldn’t get
myself out the door.
The gym I postponed.
So what else is new?
I just had too much
of housework to do.
Outside was still day light.
I thought I’d get done
By seven at least
when still I’d see sun!
But once I got started,
I just couldn’t stop.
I vacuumed and scrubbed,
then danced with a mop!
I looked out the window.
The sky had grown black.
Saner folks now
would be hitting the sack!
Propped up on a pillow
I sat down again,
this time on my bed
with that old shoulder pain.
My poem wrote itself
by the light of the moon.
So how did it get to be
so late so soon?
For Brenda Chiri-Carroll's Funny How Fast Time Flies Poetry Contest
Note: There is no Uncle Fred!! Just some poetic license!
Categories:
saner, time,
Form:
Quatrain
I flip the history of Bojangles
On a cool Sunday evening
Los Angeles coming down
A flow of oboes breathing
Through the lung of the street
The hobo not stopping for air
Fingers moving in a dance
Across the strings of consciousness
Milking the music of his brain
Onto a breast
Of dilated ears.
Mr. Lopez, unsettled from his comfortable chair
Searching for something to tell
Against the neon of despair
Heard the dulcimer quelling hell
And saw himself standing bare
To the sheetless eyes
Of a man serenading Beethoven
Deaf as a statue
In the city's superfluous air.
Here is where humanity
Sings hope amidst the garden
Of hopelessness
That make direlict dreams
Tugging our divinity
Down to rags of nothingness.
Mr. Ayers, a quaver away
Juliard school in love aspiring
Suddenly there fallen
Amidst the glitter and glamor
Of non-existence
Peace, a basoon
Seducing a Los Angeles moon
Coy as a lover
In the tangle of wine memory
He plays against
The unkown sorrow of the world.
And here dedication
Drives us to distraction
Soon or late
Decomposing our minds
Into shards of glistening memories.
Discovery, today beholding yesterday
A bride for the first time
Amidst the silence of flowers
Cradling weeds and seeds of tomorrow.
Love without purpose
Can change the course
Of splintering history.
He plays, harmony
In where the traffic blares
Yellow light onto his gray matter
Splitting airs with sharp sounds
They echo
Not the common pit, nor
To a single Maestro blending
The mind's kaleidoscope
Before the other's saner wit
Along highways and wind tunnels
He brings to a sombre note
To ode all joys
Strugling repressed under
Human ambition
Ayers is my minstrel
Jarred by a nerve
Not wired for sleep.
Fortune smiles
From the frontier of friendhsips
Fondled by the music
Of love unfranchised
Awakes the lyre
To sing in the resurrection of desire.
Friendship is a sheltering tree
From life's base tragedies.
Categories:
saner, friendshiplove,
Form:
Free verse
from "The Waking" by Theodore Roethke:
"I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go."
Queasy anxiety, a fearful edginess of dread,
an old and omnipresent sense of doom
taint the times that random opportunity affords
to slip convention's chains, to openly proclaim
a saner point of view, a logical rejection
of muddy, inane thinking, of tradition-bound
adherence to stupidity's insistent songs
that perpetuate a myriad of wrongs.
Let there be no turning back; face the fears, be the change --
for diversity, humanity, acceptance, brotherhood,
and love. Explain, support, convince. Break the silence:
come out, come out, whoever and wherever you may be!
Categories:
saner, education, fear, friendship, inspirational,
Form:
Free verse
May tranquility reign and grace your Thanksgiving board this year,
As you thank the Good Lord for all the blessings you hold dear!
I pray that it will be a time of good cheer and not a free-for-all,
As in the dysfunctional family described below, ending in a brawl!
Grandpa said grace that rambled on interminably while stomachs growl.
Grandma had heard enough of that and poked him with a warning scowl!
Pompous Uncle Blimp boasted about the democrats winning the election,
While saner heads steered the conversation in a more innocuous direction!
Ne'er-do-well Cousin Cletus who was recently released from prison,
Wailed about being falsely imprisoned saying the cannabis wasn't his'n!
Aunt Louise complained that she didn't get the turkey gizzard as was her due!
Dad was happily sozzled having consumed too much of his homemade brew!
Little Marvin slopped gravy on grandma's prized heirloom tablecloth!
Nana screeched about controlling your brats - she was most visibly wroth!
The kid howled and mommy hugged him saying, "It was not your fault!"
In the aftermath, little was said except an occasional, "Pass the salt!"
Elbows flew and the hapless turkey's carcass was stripped clean and bare!
Grandpa removed his teeth to take a snooze, fed up with the whole affair!
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
© All Rights Reserved
Categories:
saner, funny, holiday, thanksgiving, cousin,
Form:
Couplet
Adolf Hitler was the most evil of men
As evil as a human could be
Should've been hung by his you know whats
Before his killing spree
They say he was actually a human being
I certainly have my doubts
Wreaking havoc on a whole race of people
What was all that about
Perhaps he was the devil reincarnated
Or maybe Genghis Khan
Shouldn't make light of his murderous exploits
Purely just an evil man
Can't imagine it will ever happen again
The world's a lot saner now
Ya right! Guess I'm sounding a bit delusional
A lunatic out on the prowl
© Jack Ellison 2014
Categories:
saner, evil, holocaust,
Form:
Quatrain
Gullible sheep that flocked to the polls
Were wooed by promises of lofty goals
Hope they are happy
With leaders so sappy
Pray next election attracts saner souls
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
(© All Rights Reserved)
Fourth Place Win In Carolyn Devonshire's "Follower or Leader" Contest - June 2010
Categories:
saner, political
Form:
Limerick
Would you care to flirt with something volitile?
I know a fire that burns - hot and melting
In vivid undulating ripples of heat
That will steal the youth from your skin
And dry the tears hidden in your eyes...
And you will never even know you are burning.
How can you know the truth of it, pretty princess,
When defeated Nations cry bitterly for vengeance,
You do not hear, sitting in a cool, dark palace...
How can you know the cost of it, petty prince,
They are not your people crying out for peace.
Why do you keep insisting you are a gentleman...?
For honor's Lady you would sell her for a whore.
Kingdoms come - Kingdoms gone.
So, would you care to risk all on something volitile..?
Something hot and melting
Something bright and blinding in a cloudless sky
Waiting in the primal shadows you have created
And skims the edges of conciousness
Like the taste of a half remembered kiss
That means less than nothing.
While satisfaction gleams in obsidian eyes
And saner "friends" than you
Search endlessly for some God forsaken Mother Lode
Of heavy dreams wrapped in bright, green money...
Would you care to risk anything,
While you stay safe...?
They are not your children dying...
Would you care?
Would you...?
I know a fire that still burns.
Care to walk across those coals - with me...?
I care,
And so, I dare....
Do you...?
Categories:
saner, death, war, care, fire,
Form:
Dramatic Monologue
There've been times in my life
where I've just had to say,
"I must, give it all up,
for, it's that kind of day"!
I must, really say this
I really, just must;
if I didn't say it,
then, it wouldn't be, "just".
There's this crazy, old man
we'll just call him, "Doc";
who fills up blank pages
with, "poetical talk".
He's scribbled, and scrabbled
'til way, past bed-time,
trying to finish each poem
and, complete every rhyme.
If he hadn't done this
he'd surely gone, "mad",
his nonsensical nature
was, all that he had!
No hidden agenda
when first, he wrote down,
each poem of nonsense
to erase a childs' frown.
And, Doc always did this
manipulate, "clues"...
..so that , all of his poems
were merely geared, to amuse.
He loved to let nonsense
be the order of the day,
and, with every poem
we all smiled, the same way.
His only intention
was to set our minds, "free",
his style, just did it
so, poetically.
With his own tongue, in cheek
we knew we'd been had,
and his poems rhymed perfectly
proving he was no, "fad"!
The volumes of topics
that Doc's written of,
included all that could be
written.....below, and above.
He's written of magic,
puzzles, and games...
..with, strange little creatures,
with, strange little, "names".
The, crazier his story,
the saner he'd feel,
and, the more that we heard
convinced us they were, "real"!
His poems, were genius
as he weaved us, a tale;
with, nonsensical rhymes
that did so, without..."fail".
"Old Doc", has quit writing
he's up in heaven,
this year, his birthday'd ...
make him, a hundred, and seven!
He's given advice,
taught what we must do,
he said, "Be who you are...
..no-one's youer, than....you!"
He's maybe still writing
in, heaven....you see,
that'd be just like him
as, that's who he must, be!
That, silly old doctor...
..as silly, as a goose;
we all loved his poems,
for, we loved Dr. Seuss!
Categories:
saner, childhood, family, children, funny,
Form:
Ode
Now I don't have a decent job
Or expensive, flashy car
Somedays I don't brush my teeth
Or brush my beehive hair
Get my bra's from bargain bins
My coat's a hand-me-down
I try to act all grown up but
Let's face it, I'm a clown
I've got a filthy accent and
Sometimes I pick my nose
Somedays I don't change my socks
There's jam between my toes
I'm not a morning person
Til I dunk my head in coffee
I'm often unaffectionate
And then a little needy
I hate it that my ribs poke out
And my front teeth aint straight
I hate it I depend so much
On destiny and fate
I'm not the kinda girl you could
Take home to meet your mum
I live in jeans and hoodies
She'd think I was a bum
I don't need you to tell me
There's more perfect girls than me
I'm showing you the truths
Even though they're plain to see
Despite my imperfections
I'm sure there'll never be
Someone who is saner and
Could love you more than me
Categories:
saner, funny, hate,
Form:
Rhyme
When did a lie become
an alternative truth?
And, is this the lesson
we wish to teach your youth?
Your reality is,
your country's full of hate.
And selling your soul won't
make America great.
Saner minds must prevail,
your nation’s under stress.
And dropping your morals
only adds to your mess.
Bigots are at the helm,
steering your country's course.
And immigrant dreamers
get deported by force.
Trump is a psychopath,
a serious defect.
And, it's time to rethink
letting him rule, unchecked.
A narcissistic fool
is now running the show.
And you must vote him out
or you’ll sink to his low.
(Quatrain)
11/30/2017
Categories:
saner, america, angst, corruption, how
Form:
Quatrain
(I'm Virgo sun/Taurus moon, both earth signs)
My sun and moon in earth means I require
a stable and terrestrial atmosphere.
As constant as the seasons, I adhere
to courses set; I rarely veer or tire;
I’m self-composed and seldom prone to ire,
for salt of earth has soundness I revere.
And if into a cloud I disappear,
my feet grow roots, and ground is their desire.
Of fire, air and water I have little.
Oh yes, I love to venture into water,
but saner is the land, where I belong.
I cannot fathom those who speak in riddle;
they are of the air, but I’m Earth’s daughter.
Though passion’s flame may burn me, I stay strong.
For Leonora Galinta's Poem with a Theme: Zodiac Sign
For nette onclaud's Contest:
Zodiac Zones
Categories:
saner,
Form:
Italian Sonnet
Terrified moments are frozen in time
another Black Friday inks history
as fear gripped innocence wrenching
it ripped it from their astonished eyes
Then lights turned off on a Tower
normally filled with life and love,
Mothers wailed as Fathers filled
with anger petrifying their hearts
Now knowing a magnitude of loss, grief,
The Country of Love weeps for what was,
steadfast, noble yet still abrim with hope
candles and flowers stop missiles of hate
So vast is this outpouring of love
the whole planet shines in tribute,
with ribbons of blue white and red
streaming unto the heavens above
we have cried with you, and for you
we've said prayers of protection,
I Daydream of peaceful saner days
when humanity can be in solidarity.
Showing humanity at its very worst
and at its utmost horrifying,
this act of barbaric monsters
has stoked the fires of Justice
Erase them from the pages of our age
it should be as if they never were,
like the Nazi's they should be hunted
the Federation of fellow man shall rise.
Love will always conquer hate filled minds
tomorrow faces a thousand ways to evil,
let compassion and common decency
win the day, lets again know a gentler time
In the long grass, fear is only a concept
and humankind no longer knows only greed,
In these days to Love your neighbour
will just be, I'm just a dreamer maybe
The City of Light is illuminating the world
with Grace and Fortitude their shield,
and by their side the sword of the justice
is rising ready to strike so they can RIP.
Categories:
saner, evil, hope, international, love,
Form:
Free verse
Of the House? Really????
Paul Ryan? Speaker of the House?
he's just John Boehner 3
Did McCarthy, really get scared off?
smells fishy, can't you see?
Something really doesn't jibe
we all know that it's true
May as well forget the wall
illegals welcomed through
Amnesty, he'll push for it
been on his mind for years
He's looking way far up the road
towards "nomination" cheers
Another "yes man" budget fudge
he'll twist and turn like Boehner
"Snow" LIVs with big forked tongue
bright Americans are much saner
We head towards doom, can't let this go
he'll be a RHINO leader
Subversive till we all are one
then lead us to the feeder......
Pete Yuhas
Categories:
saner, america, leadership, patriotic, political,
Form:
Rhyme
When I was a boy I’d hike through the woods
that were living out back of my neighborhood.
I’d go down to the stream and catch a trout
and marvel at nature that was all about.
When I got thirsty I’d go to this pool
and drink the water so clean and cool.
One day I went back there to get a taste
and it was polluted with industrial waste.
Chorus: This is my planet and this is my earth
this is the trust I was given at birth.
All of the water, the earth and the air,
is in my custody, is in my care.
When I was a young man I went off to war
to kill my brothers on a foreign shore.
I didn’t hate them, don’t know if they hated me...
(we were doing the business of the powers that be.)
We fought in a jungle that was lush and green,
made by God and so serene—
but it was where the enemy would hide
so we killed it too with an herbicide.
Chorus
I became a consumer, used all that I could
of the earth and ore, the water and wood.
In the name of commerce, in the name of trade
I plundered the earth like a renegade.
The factories smoked till they hid the stars,
the rivers stank and the earth was scared.
I held my conscience, ripped up by the roots,
there was sap on my hands and crud on my boots.
Chorus
My thoughts were like trash clogged in a drain
and regret ran thru me like an acid rain.
So I took a hike to the back my mind
when I was younger, in saner times.
I dipped my mind back in my memory pool
where the waters ran so clean and cool.
I became, once again that wide-eyed child
who had sworn his love for all natures wilds.
Chorus
Categories:
saner, environment,
Form:
Couplet
Could I capture time?
Seasoned beyond my hands
While consciousness raved
Traumatized before graves
Till second breath was mine.
Twilight trumpet sound
Two were as gifts long lost
I perked from waking
Yet craved sober thinking
Grace and mercy were found.
Each dawn electric
Unconquerable fears
I had to dissolve
Oh, I've tasted being loved
My views were eclectic.
Dew, rest, and food
With harmony, I learned,
Fuels awakening
And passions nurturing
Those elevate one's mood.
Ella Fitzgerald's
Quiet voice in volume-
Her heaven sent songs,
Inspired all along
Sits snug in time's annals.
If I could I would
Summon more power
Quite with quietude
I'd carve myself anew
With blessings from our God.
And yet, I'm alive
Saner than yesteryear
Reflections' my friend
Showing foes with pretense
Shall we see eye to eye.
*
Categories:
saner,
Form:
Tanka