Best Task Poems
The old screen door still welcomes me, a familiar song I've heard before..
But oddly now, it's out of tune. It has a wail of some despair
After this,...who'll pass this way?
Will they use the rug and wipe their feet, erase away the grime or sleet?
Or will they even care?
I feel my pulse and lungs collide, then take a breath and step inside
I've been asked to come, to clear the house
To organize, and set it right…
But it all seems wrong….
To trespass on the throne of life
that was softly lived, behind a gate where thirsty roses bloom and wait…
I hesitate….
to disturb the lace on drop-leaf tables…
Disgrace the quiet of the gloom
To open drawers, snoop and sort, ….a pruning,
of the good, the used, from worn and torn
My hands are able, but my heart declines..
what isn’t mine, to toss, to find, to mark, and label…
She had lived alone, the last to go,
one somber dawn, in the old brownstone.
Without a hint her time was near
But silently, without fanfare, death tiptoed in and closed the door,
beyond the path that brought me here
Echoes of her old straw broom
swept years away from every room
The dust motes in the window light
now spark and light each memory…
Soft treadle sounds from sewing hems, are recalled by the August wind,
that rattle windows, shaking blooms, in this waning afternoon
There are questions I would like to ask,
but I can’t recall just what they were
No matter now….with no one here
I must keep focused on my task…
Keep sorting, tagging, tossing, clearing…
How strange it is, how odd it seems,
the last thing found, brown paper bound
was tucked away, and gently loved.
Her china cup, her favorite one, so lovely in my hand,
would last beyond her grave, intact
Long shadows have closed the afternoon.
A letting go, and a fading sun
My task is done. And I must go
I'll keep the cup, and hold it close
It's a witness to a world unknown
Some fragile things are never gone
Work, work, work,
Never a task we shirk
From dusk till dawn
From dawn till dusk
In God we place our trust.
Smile, smile, smile
As we tarry awhile
With cheerful smile
we heal a heart
that wounds have torn apart.
Kind and thoughtful
Never mean or hurtful
for tomorrow our turn may come
It's now or never, to help another
As we plod and keep on the run.
It never fails
our gentle touch
to warm a heart anew
Little words that leave our lips
are like balm upon a bruise.
A nurse's day begins with love
but when sunset comes and our day is done
We hope that God will say
A job well done my dearest ones
But tomorrow, we'll start anew.
"Simple Task"
Live and let live, cause never any harm.
Not only is this right, herein lies our charm.
For there is no good in bullying and bossing;
As it reflects on us, self respect we're tossing.
A little bit of consideration goes a very long way,
Yet, it costs us nothing to dispense and/or display.
Remember, what we give, will also be returned.
If we harm others' hearts, we can expect our own burned.
If we think before we speak, carefully review
Our words before unleashed, given their debut,
We can spare the hearts of others any needless pain
And our own we spare the unpleasantness of disdain.
Live and let live, treat others as we want to be
And the peacefulness obtained along with harmony,
Will make our life a joy in which we can bask
Simply because we carried out a very Simple Task.
Written by Artsieladie/Sharon Donnelly
©2018-06-06 01:26:00 (EDT)
All rights reserved.
Often, I fall to the ground in anguish and burst into tears,
not for lack of strength, but to ask for forgiveness;
seldom, I venture down a narrow and unlit road,
fearing the assailant is waiting for my innocent blood!
I call upon the Lord of infinite kindness and mercy
to keep those bad-willed men off my treacherous trail;
how I want to scrutinize the awesome universe
and name a few planets with careful observance!
And although I am unable to spot and discovered any,
with the naked eye: I seek them more than the Holy Grail!
Often, I question with disbelief how fate makes me broach,
affecting my emotions and destabilizing them to incur
dread when the heavy tread of footsteps approach;
are they those of a ghost or is someone at the door?
Not all men are evil and can boast of a massive wealth,
being rich is the privilege of the few, others only dream of it;
I've been assigned a formidable task which requires no stealth:
to make most of this existence, not indulging in excessive guilt!
AVOIDING CRUEL TASK BY CANDLELIGHT - DH
her shadow quivers.
(the hemisphere of
a potted plant cool -
a divisive mind.)
she stands in the soil.
she cannot move
for she’s been caught.
her breath catches,
her fingers wrought.
cucumber
at her desk
burns in hell -
pinches
the flame
stark
1/18/2019
Diminished Hexaverse
Sponsor - Charles Messina
*American saying: cool as a cucumber can mean calm but also cold
**stark - rigid as in death, harsh, blunt, strong, absolute
"Your task is not to seek love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. " Quote by Rumi
Seek not the right person
Seek to be made right within
Travel to your soul's depths
See what is wrong, repair
Stay long, search, take deep breaths
Seek not the right person
Pray for help in being right
Search your soul, then love comes
If you love at all times
True love will overcome
Seek not the right person
Learn to give of yourself
Freely share worldly goods
Love others as you should
Stay away from falsehoods
Seek not the right person
Learn to build souls up
Reach down fill empty cups
With kind words each day
Let us all be grownups
Seek not the right person
But right within your soul
Not self-righteous and proud
We can be wonderful
A heart just ploughed and sowed
Wishes, dreams, hopes, joys, ideas and loves
Do not waste them or scoff them or throw them away
Allow them to find a safe place in your heart for an instrumental reason.
Revere them, listen to them, appreciate and respect them by nurturing them.
Believe in them as you believe in the changing seasons,
Believe in them as you believe in the goodness of children.
Hold your hopes and dreams in the forefront of your determinations so you
Can live the most fulfilling life plan you could ever envision to live on earth
Believe with child-like faith that you will do and be and have what you seek.
Let your, dreams, hopes, joys and loves work their magic while you slumber.
The joys and delights your soul craves to feel spiritually complete are recognized instantly and happily as absolute truth by your soul-mind.
Your most sacred task on earth is to listen to your heart.
Believe in your hopes, dreams, and goals. When you honor them, they will make you feel spiritually whole, loved, and at peace with yourself and others.
The ability to honor yourself, your ideas, and your dreams
will lead you toward that mystical magical nirvana path of love and peace.
All is within your grasp, if you listen to your heart and believe.
Wishes, dreams, hopes, joys, ideas and loves.
God brings them to you.
Your only task is to believe.
Honor your heart.
Believe.
A true angel removes your mask
Seems to be her task
Digs into your belief system some more
Asks how you gained your values, core
I am a creature of habits old
A product of my experiences untold
A book easily read
Raised on biases instead
Can't write about Christmas or New Years Day, Written just for Paula's
Or Easter or Kwanzaa or any other Holiday. Contest :)
I've written too much about war, about love,
and depression and sex both deserve a shove.
I guess that I could just swallow my pride,
And sneak in a write about suicide'
But Paula don't want these kinds of idolitry,
She wants us to write a poem about poetry.
How do you write about what you never said,
Or the way that words rattle around in your head?
Or how hard those words are to make a pen fashion,
Or how when they're written they seem to lose passion?
O Poem, what can I write about you?
I think until my thinker turns blue,
I come to the end of a poem about poetry,
But it won't rhyme.
He never believed in love at first sight!
Spurious hogwash, or so he thought.
Yet he felt a magnetic fascination,
Seeing her alone, sipping a cool exotic drink,
Dressed impeccably in local folklore attire.
He was deeply attracted for she was
The most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
He felt stirred by emotions supernal,
Like a bee sucking nectar from every glamorous bloom.
Nature unparalleled had a way to provoke him.
Drinking at the bar, what was supposed to be
One for the road, his next air flight.
It was not to be. He cancelled his trip home.
Back at the bar she was not to be seen.
Ah luckless love, what devious tricks it plays
On most poor mortals! Had she not smiled at him?
Pierced his heart, provoked intoxication of love?
In his exalted admiration of her, he vowed:
He would never leave until she's found.
Multi-task Joe is in the know
With a Type A personality.
Brilliant of mind, he’s the kind
To do things simultaneously.
He does not fail to read e-mail,
With laptop devoted and humming.
His cell phone scowled as he dialed
With the freight train fiercely coming.
Eating a snack, he crossed the track,
While for details he was asking.
Now, his coffin doubles for folks with troubles,
Sitting on his casket basking.
In a way, he is still multi-tasking!
Lockdown over, I had to head to school
my pupils waiting to learn the golden rule
I got ready and put on that mask
following the health protocols is a must
How would I each word articulate?
and those whole lessons explicate!
***
Principals in their towers have their say
and teachers, Skills For Life, have to convey
So eager to see my pupils and join the classroom
no time to spend with colleagues in the teachers room
Just virtual wishes.. Love and hugs
and the joy of all the social media tags.
***
I looked weird, in need of a breathing space
with that mask and my glasses, nothing remained of my face!
High time I proceeded with the warming up
avoiding to preach or give a negative heads up
A perplexed look in my pupils eyes I could see
a strong desire to build in them a motivational esprit
***
Nothing has changed, me doing all the talking
in day dreams they seemed to be sinking
My voice in the void echoed, "am I speaking Chinese?
I'm afraid, these are but the English language abcs!"
'If you can't turn the page, burn the book'. "Would you please paraphrase?
not all at once, please, one at a time as always!"
***
"Sorry teacher, we didn't bring our textbooks"
I was maddened but they got nothing from my looks
"Teacher, isn't burning books wrong and bad?!"
I felt deeply disappointed but could nothing add!
I see you've been learning English off by heart!
and with revision you've torn your minds apart!
***
We are wise and curious, teacher! glued to our smart phones
learning from Peaky Blinders.. Breaking Bad.. and Game of Thrones!
I thanked God I was wearing that shielding mask
I could resist my rage and carry off the teaching task.
To my pen, a deep gratitude for such a relief
such a consuming task could make funny and brief.
To Thee, with all my heart I pray, my Lord, an enormous favor to ask
Let us on earh, the common good to seek - make it be- our main task!
(c) Demetrios Trifiatis
04 June 2016
Scanning piece by piece,
Fitting each one carefully
Then my puzzle's done
I look to the Heaven’s for our Father to come I am now living in a realm between
Heaven and hell below my feet I hear the growling of the beast his minions hackling
clawing at me at first I am wondering why the others sleep soundly in their coffins
and I am but awake then the great spirit speaks you are to protect the land of the
dead, In these coffins rest the souls of the Almighty The devil will send many to
disturb their slumber Here is the weapon that you will use to fight them Use it well
God has a special place for you Raven I smile and nod eager to fulfill His duty There
is a greater peace within me now I am not afraid I clutch the gun tightly and make
ready to aim days go by and I have yet to see a demon at first I assumed this task
would somehow be easier when I was to see a demon pull the trigger and send him
back to hell They must be toying with me Maybe they’re waiting to see how long it
takes me To crack to give up and join them They can’t have me I am a servant of
God I’m Better than this I sit down on a giant rock elevating me above the tombs
Being here is weighing on my heart I have no one to talk to there’s no warmth to be
felt I can’t even sleep for there is no need for it anymore what am I to do to keep
my sanity when I am the only one living among the dead and I’m not even alive In
the distance I start to see what looks like a formation of bats flying around madly
and then a sudden chill crawls up my spine I stand up tall upon the edge of the
jagged rock feeling as if something is about to happen
Contest: Living Among the Dead pg1of 2 continued
By: Virginia Frayer