Best Shackles Poems
Shackles of cynicism have displaced your heart,
the love that once transcended time is no more.
No wordsmith can bring beauty to an invisible emotion,
lost in translation to an ignorant uncultured mind.
As you searched for a definition of the tangible,
intangible feelings were ignored, even with eyes shut.
Funny, how three words cause a chemical imbalance,
but the euphoria is short lived when ego takes hold.
Promises to comfort, wipe away tears, anguish and pain,
come with no guarantee of satisfaction - no refund for regret.
Love does not say when the fire is burning to wage war,
it provides an opportunity to nourish peace and harmony.
Love does not say to be bitter and live with a grudge,
it asks for you to forgive, not to antagonise another's soul.
In a world lost to materialistic commercialism,
the skeptic doubts like a pessimistic detractor.
Love is not like money, that must be reciprocated with interest,
it is simply an undetectable phenomenon that graces us all.
To some a second hand emotion, but the language of love
still remains the most powerful feeling known to humanity.
One tongue that has no religion, race nor geographical boundary,
which only fails to blossom when limits are implanted.
Silent One
Written 28 February 2016
Re posted 30 May 2018
Categories:
shackles, analogy, love,
Form:
Free verse
I am in shackles, i am in pains
I am in dis array, i am confused
I am starved, i am hungry
I am sad even when i look happy
I am beautiful, ugly is the situation
I am age less but age is running out inside me
I need to be calm, hard ways are gone....
But guess , Even in my dismay i have realized that the race is not to the swift nor the battle for the strong, nor riches for the wise neither is knowledge for the men of understanding....
Yet! it is time and chance that happens to them all
So here i am it is my time do not stop me because now is my chance
Be alert! Be wise
Roseline olajide
Categories:
shackles, change, encouraging, freedom, history,
Form:
Dramatic Monologue
We played
Scrabble until the word Bali came up-
and you were gone.
That night
your pillow
smelled of ocean breezes, coconut and
heliconia.
When you came back-
I want to be free.
I built a body balloon
around you
and filled it with helium.
I let out the tether
and you went up and up
and up
to the jet stream.
I released the tether.
A man in a 747,
business class,
saw you float by.
I want her-
he wrote in his day planner.
Soon, you fell and fell
towards the African forest
and into a tree.
A leopard started to climb
up to you
but you dropped onto the back
of an elephant
who carried you
into a brightly lit
camp
with a table, tablecloth, candles, wine
and gold silverware-
Ah, there you are, my dear.
You ate and drank
and awoke
covered with golden shackles.
The leopard slept beneath you
snuffing as though in a dream.
Above you
a taunting helicline made of gold keys
lead back
to
our little room
under the eaves,
and the rain
and days filled
with nothing.
Categories:
shackles, freedom, loss, love,
Form:
Free verse
I imagine ...
a life of unhindered creativity...
which somehow I lost, and didn’t realize I did!
I lost my dream, and didn’t realize the dream was gone!
My life flowed like a meandering river not finding its way to the ocean,
although the ocean called her.
I was like a broken-winged bird, not able to soar any longer.
rain poured in grief, but the lonely bird lost its will.
I imagine a life with freedom, a freedom ...
breaking all the shackles, which chained me to a journey of little meanings,
from a life covered with moss which never got the illuminating sunlight.
I imagine a life beyond imagination ...
The sun tells me,
The moon tells me,
The blinking stars tell me ....
That life of utter creativity is in the horizon.
February 18, 2021
Third Place
Inspired by "Imagine A Freedom Beyond Imagination" Premiere Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Mystic Rose Rose
Categories:
shackles, imagination, life,
Form:
Lyric
I look all round me and I’m engulfed by shame
I see people chanting freedom
But they have nothing tangible to show they are free
Because their freedom’s trail is unknown to them
Shackles of apartheid still tight on their wrist
Check the net and go through the list
See the names that exist in our midst
Because the apartheid segregation policy still exist
Kaffir used to humiliate black men
And Negros to disgrace a black men
In our minds we think freedom
Yet our attitude shows how tight the shackles of apartheid are
Our history is colorful
Decorated with blood of heroes and heroines
Who fought for the emancipation of non racial society
In black and white names of black and whites are recorded
They are recorded for the benefit of everyone in the land
To remind us the importance of unity
To embrace miscellaneous colors molded us to a rainbow nation
Who can turn a blind eye on the colorful history of South Africa
Who can claim an individual victory to the journey traveled
From apartheid era to become a nonracial society
We broke free from the shackles of apartheid
Why then adorn ourselves with shackles of shame
Every time you call your brother with derogatory word
The shackles of apartheid shine like a diamond necklace
And the artisan smile, for you pursue his evil art of segregation
Africa is my home and Africans are my brothers.
Categories:
shackles, africa,
Form:
SHACKLES
The loneliness wraps around me
Shackles me with its weight
My blood runs cold within me
I fight to stay afloat
The black dark clouds, they chase me
And try to take my soul
The tears flow freely from me
And I feel I lose control
In all the worlds emotions
This is the hardest one
For me to shake each morning
When I feel I want be done
The hours of night do leave me
And early morning calls
Memories they do haunt me
And my world sits still for all
The being that is in me
Is crying to be found
The feelings of denial
They hang onto their ground
The snakes of darkness strike me
And fill me with their fire
Their poison seeps within me
And makes my body cry
The sun outside is sleeping
In my half of the world
And deep within me stays there
I never hear it call.
One day Ill go and find it
Wherever it may be
In this world or the next one
Ill feel it shine on me
The emotions that are in me
They rage and ramp and fall
They crush my being beneath me
And never know your call
That dark black hole is yonder
Is lonely just like me
We may find peace together
And earth can blanket me
Oh god, this lonely rotten heart
It feels intensively
So much pain it harbours there
Why can’t I just be free
I want to be away from here
And step outside of me
If only that were possible
Just like a break at sea
Its alright now, I’m calming
I know what this does mean
I know that deep inside of me
I’ve lived a thousand beings
Another life, if I should leave
Is just another dream
Another wasted life to me
To live emotionally.
Categories:
shackles, depression, lost love, sadme,
Form:
Free verse
Have you pondered why the world still bleeds red
Despite how we see a need for a change?
"Wise" men will say; 'You want to change the world?
To succeed, change the evil in yourself'
So we strive to perfect our reflection;
Make peace within war-torn relationships;
Smile a happy smile day after day. Why?
Because they tell us to; say it's "normal"
And so they have our balls gripped in a vice
Of societal shackles and stasis.
Encumbered by the weight of our own lives
So as to keep the power within theirs.
This isn't an equal society.
This isn't an equal democracy.
This life is an unjust imprisonment
Of human heart and mind; body and soul.
Categories:
shackles, abuse, anger, angst, freedom,
Form:
Iambic Pentameter
Falling stars and broken dreams
Surround the corners of my mind
Torn pages seem so unkind
Rebuilding over, just to rewind
Always learning, life defined
But life isn't what it seems
Many ropes tie and bind
Dreams shine like moon beams
Categories:
shackles, allusion, conflict, confusion, desire,
Form:
Triolet
My mind is a jungle
And I'm trying to tackle this shackles
A soul more superior than any dictator
Superior enough to leave hate
In the soul of man
I'm walking
And I know you can hear me walking
I'm walking
And I can see you watching
Fascinated only by my impeccable visage
Of Power and Liberation
Awakening the need for you
To admire all that's Supreme and Powerful
Do you hear me now...
Categories:
shackles, beauty, courage, freedom, i
Form:
Alliteration
Apart from all the silence,
And never-ending tolerance;
Together with a vague shout,
And without any creeping doubt;
In feeling all the spiky nudges,
Taking my energy like sponges.
I am by your side and all’s fair.
I truly love you and I dare:
From my lips to your honey smile,
Along with baggage in a pile,
I take thee being so excited;
I contemplate you quite delighted.
My words are feeble as my ankles.
My adoration comes in bundles.
You whisper sweetness in my mind;
You are too lovely and too kind.
I wish for dreams to become real,
Ponder to rip fantasy’s seal…
Alas, you are departing in slow pace;
Yet, I could not see your angelic face.
Perhaps another soporific path
Would get me to enjoy your divine laugh.
Maybe a daydream will suffice,
For me to kiss you at least twice.
My lashes gently touch each other,
Hoping this romance would get further.
The squares in jelly water interchange,
With shades in an eerie, blue-grey range,
I am trapped in the open space of fear,
Solution: I long for you just near.
However this subconscious game may end,
Through all the hallways of my inner blend,
Along comes hesitation and the dance
Of passing to the next level of chance.
This road of forbidden wishes cradles
The vanity of my nothingness veils.
I am so liberated from my rage,
But chained, a priori, to this worldly stage.
You are projection and my camouflage;
Forever my shackles, prisoner and judge.
Although you are with me when I’m awake,
Leave you in dreams I have to, for my sake.
Categories:
shackles, allegory, introspection, loveme, me,
Form:
Rhyme
First breath, deep
Stomach rises to the throat
Exhale, go
Down the beaten trail
Focused energy manifests
Deep in the mind’s core
Iron chains, make strides fail
Mile one, mile two, mile three
Bloody, bitter drips
Ridges on the lip
A reminder to inhale
Forest capillaries
Whip, wind, and intertwine
Eventually reaching all vesicles
Travel the path of highest energy
See not the mountainous hills
But the horizon above
Follow its beauty to knowing
Legs, arms, head, create synergy
Shackles of time weigh
On the collar of the shirt, sweat drips
Each filled with screams of pain
Falling, causing astringency
If not now, then when
Cast off the casted shackles
Your time is now.
Categories:
shackles, freedom, growth, inspirational,
Form:
Carpe Diem
The people are free
Free to think
Free to live
Free to follow their dreams
Yet the young minds are forced
To follow the dictates of their ancestors
Moral policing gains new heights
The fledgling thoughts get stifled
Emotions are burnt
At the stake of societal pressures
Young nubile bodies turn to zombies
Will there be an end to this terrorism of judgment
When will this murder of thoughts cease?
Categories:
shackles, sad
Form:
Free verse
Think outside the box
Shed your shackles, chains and locks
Break through all the rocks
Stones will drag you down
To the depths until you drown
An albatrossed clown
Free your soul and mind
Be in one day at a time
And you will unwind
Categories:
shackles, allegory, allusion, analogy, image,
Form:
Haiku
Blinded by desensitisation
So used to what is not and what is so good
Yet so detached from what is real or illusion
Makes you follow a false idol
Perpetuate the confusion
The fools pinnacle of culture
Where the unicorn becomes a vulture
By selling lies in schools
Indoctrinating elitist rules
Making us all fools
Rich for the picking
Slaves for life without even realising
Born into bondage
Forever the consumer
Forever the worker
Forever the slave
The shackles of culture.
Categories:
shackles, visionary
Form:
It binds firmly
Leaving no room to ramble
Of an unsweet taste it is
Yet in naivety we hasten to taste of it
Until the flesh of our tender hearts
Are scarred by its unrelenting grip
The memories forever tattooed on our souls
But then it becomes too late
Wriggling out becomes an utmost impossibility
A thought of breaking through is arrant nonsense
So we writhe in pain
Waiting for soothe to come
Endless the pain may seem
But only after a while, yea! a while
It unbinds itself
And gradually it does
Leaving room for the bruised flesh to heal
The scars however are indelible
A reminiscent of the shackles of love.
Categories:
shackles, love
Form:
Lyric