Best Tenfold Poems
Are we sacred souls
who shed our flimsy flesh
like slimy serpents
shed their skin?
Be observant,
but show no chagrin,
for in learning life’s lessons
we lessen our scars in the next.
It’s the game master’s pretext,
yet a disaster for those
who guard their granite heart
as if, by giving love away,
they might have less.
Perhaps it is best,
to toss love about in tenfold,
for souls only glimmer,
when they reflect light.
But it is dark inside now.
So…alas …
Goodnight.
I hardly noticed the first tiny crack,
through the deluge of tears I cried.
Perhaps too numb to feel the sting of pain
or the fissure exposing my wounded heart,
but in sorrow, I chose to ignore it
in the futile hope that it would heal itself.
Adversity seldom vanishes of its own accord.
The cause of my anxiety increased tenfold
as larger pieces of me fractured and snapped.
My fragility was as bare as my soul,
both unprotected and vulnerable.
Wounds no bandage could cover or conceal.
My exterior had become a brittle shell,
falling around me in sharp edged shards.
The obvious camouflaged the obscure.
I had to be brave if I was going to heal.
I wanted no Humpty Dumpty Canticle
sung by pitying voices on my behalf.
The wall I once climbed no longer held me up
but I had learned to restrain my weakness
and the need to lean upon it as a crutch.
I motioned for the King's men to mount
and continue along on their journey.
If I was to be rescued, I swore to do it myself.
Carefully, I gathered each shattered fragment,
every crushed dream that had been broken.
I nurtured my wounds until my lamenting heart
stopped bleeding as we hobbled our way home
to be made whole once more.
January 6, 2023
2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 24
Sponsored by Mark Toney
Break me into a thousand shards. I'll feel the pain
and make myself whole again, so once more you can
split me until my spirit has been torn to shreds
and I will call out your name; my blustery nemesis.
No longer will I avoid the misery you try to cause.
Burn me alive and I'll not scream for mercy, then
let me be forged into the crucible of deep agony...
into the most perfect instrument of my destiny.
If you dare throw me into the far reaches of despair,
do so and it is I who will accept what you impart
and return the darkness tenfold, nay...twenty!
Then it will be your soul crying out, "Break me!"
For my heart will eagerly jape at your affliction,
and grin as you struggle to free yourself from me.
Horrid, I may be called for this loathsome conduct.
Berate me and the rope of shame circles your neck.
Adoration grows tenfold, sublime serenity convenes
Above the starry skies I see legends meet
Cloaked in a whisper of a mist delighting the mind’s eye
Gently gliding towards my sight I draw a deep sigh
Contemplation of wispy memories long said
Succumbing to whimsical, perhaps unheeded shred
Great beauty insistent in its plight
Grips my very haphazard sight
Alas I cry but I look anew
Surrendering to wondrous view
Conjoining eves amid midsummer’s bathed conviviality
Intensely gorgeous plateaus encounter mystical assembly
Magnificent sceneries encompass still untouched milieu
Astonishment weathered by saturating the view
Stilled backdrops sprouting splendour inspired
Awed by intimate fervour the mind remains wired
When days have dawned and dusk has drawn
Pray hear me do not grow untimely forlorn
For the day may draw to a close but know
Another so splendid will surely grow
Remember to give a smile away
Before the day is through,
It costs not a single penny
But, you’ll feel richer for it, it’s true.
Remember to give someone
A little, though caring touch,
It may not seem a lot
But, the receiver will not think such.
Remember to give a little time
To someone young or old,
For soon you will be rewarded
With someone’s attention tenfold.
If you do remember
To do one of these kind deeds
Then your kindness will be seen
Like flowers flourishing among weeds.
Isn't it funny, the coward man is...
Calls himself the apex predator...
Yet scared as a puppy he'll wizz...
Without his hand held terminator...
We fight bulls and cry glory...
While we blind and maim...
To ensure our victory...
By crippling till lame...
Big cats and bears...
Detoothed and declawed...
For he who dares...
To pit dog to be mauled...
Standing with aim from afar...
In the distance his quarry stands proud...
Earths growing battle scar...
His fanfare to the cheering crowd...
If man was no coward...
He'd face this beast alone...
Moving ever forward...
With a dulcet tone...
He'd need no tool of death...
His awe would tenfold...
At the width and breadth...
Of the beauty that nature does hold...
Oh what cowards we are...
To feel superior if only...
We hold the card...
That makes the wild so lonely...
But what greatness we'd have...
To lower and humble ourselves...
At the mighty beasts grave...
Our grief would turn sand to salve...
We cowards that kill...
Abuse and defile and destroy...
And yet this earth will ever still...
Give life to all manner of girl and boy...
So cowards, it is time...
To stand tall and throw off...
The mantle without spine...
And say, today it's enough...
We cowards that were...
Shall kill no thing...
Resurrect and prosper...
All that is living ...
And cowards no more...
We of human race...
Shall love all score...
Of sentient trace...
True love can never be bought or sold
Keeping all its power around you tenfold
like a blanket warms you from the cold
Its magical color never gets old
In all its splendor we hope to uphold
All the wonders it unfolds
Bringing our hearts into one mold
Becoming security we can both hold
With so many treasures yet to be told
You can't fake it or make it
We should never forsake it
True love is always shown
Through time we both have known
Gold nuggets wash down the stream
Changing our lives like we have never seen
Love doesn't cost money
Should be filled with hope and all things sunny
Though it does require payment from our heart
To understand all the best parts
Leading to our true destiny
With wonderful memories of harmony
True love can never be bought or sold
It's a beautiful story that is so bold
Together sharing the same thrown
Making our story really our own
So we are never alone
A special place we have both grown
Angels are really beautiful things;
seven to ten foot tall beings.
While the human soul is spherical,
Angels have a human shape, and work miracles.
They do seem to have wings;
they’re heat wave looking things;
arising from their shoulders,
as a fire, appears to smolder!
They emanate such strong light;
no face you’ll see, their glow’s too bright.
If you hear them sing, then sing along;
you’ll really be amazed by Angel-song.
Miraculous Angels possess voices of liquid gold;
once you see one it’s like a miracle tenfold!
But patriot fire answered back tenfold,
blasting those two guns until they were down.
Rall knew things were dire, then decided to
attempt a break-out to the north of town.
Though Washington still held the high ground there,
and the patriots had taken the ville,
a horrific fire hit the Hessians,
a slew of soldiers were rapidly killed.
Those that tried to fight back found their weapons
didn't work that well, it was much too wet,
and even if they did, they were outnumbered,
so escaping would be a longshot bet.
Then Colonel Rall took two shots to his side,
wounds that would eventually prove to be mortal.
The Hessians, surrounded, threw down their arms
and surrendered, their defeat was now full.
Nine hundred Hessians, killed, wounded, or captured,
a lopsided route no one had expected,
on the American side only two fell,
and it was frost-bite that had left them dead!
They'd captured supplies, much needed just then,
and sent a message to all wavering,
the fight was not over, the army alive,
they could take on whatever Britain could bring.
Though Washington knew this wasn’t the end,
and just a prelude for what was to come,
quickly he moved, back over the river,
to prepare for his next move, on Princeton…
Slowly, I draw a deep breath before closing my eyes,
then picture I am floating on a white wispy cloud.
In my nebulous vision, I am not veiled in disguise,
for I've no need when riding high above the crowd.
Is there a touchstone on which my alignment is founded?
And is my mind too inundated with life's trivial details?
Sometimes I'm uncertain if my thoughts are grounded.
When traveling forward or backward, often serenity derails.
I debate myself over goals with serious contention,
and it's an ongoing battle, trying to decide... yes or no
to questions I don't want to answer. I need an intervention
about my dueling opinions. Neither of them will let it go.
Is it possible I can just continue gliding along above it all?
I'm not interested in chasing rainbows to find a pot of gold,
or losing what's important, if from this cloud I should fall.
If so, I'd enjoy blissful contentment every day, tenfold.
Of Friendship
For years I haven’t grown, but bid my time
For one day I know, in spring I’ll shine
In avenues unknown, but will unfold in my eyes
To bring about freedom, and with birds I’ll fly.
Today, I start my life welcoming the light
Reach out my hands for friends in sight
With smiles that touch another’s life
Sprinkling the day with my warm hands
Each day I live is worth my time
With words of comfort extended to everyone
Pat on the back, assuring things will be fine
Are returned tenfold, with trust that warms my heart
The little cheers are a crown on my head
A laurel of knowledge, a gift from above
Achieved through sacrifice, patience through time
A real knowledge, that friendship is a gold mine.
Do you know what mothers hold?
They held and hold they shape and mold.
From birth until our lives are old.
They scold, they mend, they wash and fold
They care for all within the fold.
Her worth beyond a world of gold.
Forever blessed, by mother’s hold.
She gives and sacrifice unfolds;
Selflessly she serves tenfold.
The needs of mine before her own
No book can tell the stories told
Of how our mothers make us whole.
Eternal wealth, a mom bestows.
Forever blessed, by mother’s hold.
A Mother mirrors Mary’s role;
A humble girl turned marigold.
A vibrant gift, a beautiful soul
Since mother’s touch is manifold.
In diverse ways it lifts, upholds
Though pierced of heart, she onward rolls.
Forever blessed, by mother’s hold.
On life’s rebound mere months ago
caught head to toe in throes of woe
the youngest in my fam’ly crew
with insight to my rescue flew
she wrote me in, the caring mite
as member of a friendship site
From every place under the sun
new friends I gathered by the ton
the world itself got shrunk in size
merged lands and seas and mounts and skies
awed by the vast, new cyberspace
my throes of woe took second place
Good friends I raked in by tenfold
discarded some, if truth be told
a few I merely string along
the rest held dear in friendship strong
a wholesome blended potpourri
my cyber-spatial fam'ly tree
My best friend must remain unnamed
in his own world a man of fame
with ease he glided into mine
this angel of the human kind
who decades long has shared his life
with one he proudly calls “my wife”
Then Cyber-Cupid after drinks
with glint in eye played me a jinx
it hiccuped once, aimed arrow straight
I stepped aside but way too late
the arrow struck with practiced ease
pierced center-heart and bucked my knees
My cyber-love slid in my heart
distance despite, no inch apart
through emails sweet, fine poetry
we formed a bond unholy be
by gentle eyes, soft hazel-brown
turned inside-out and upside-down
The pastime which had woe replaced
ate hours at unwieldy pace
once-daily chats became our creed
though soon to two, then three increased
my loved one’s with me of like mind
(quite oft in chats we pen same lines)
My conscience pricks: he can’t be mine
though fine he’s loved by one as fine
in tri-love games there’s naught to gain
except but cause the good wife pain
in state of flux I chant my plight:
succumb or let my love take flight?
As Catherine Lacey once said “If you’re raised with an angry man in your house, there will always be an angry man in your house.”
Which I always thought was true.
But when you’re raised with an angry father and an even angrier mother, what does that make you?
I may not have been dealt the best cards.
Growing up in verbal warfare took a toll.
Everything you told me I wasn’t, I worked to be tenfold.
My story may have started with you, but you won’t have a chance to see how it ends.
Thank you for showing to me that relationships should never take a piece of my heart with it to mend.
So I left the angry man back at that house, to ensure it was the last time.
The last time of letting the angry man inside.
I may have been raised by you, but this is where the cycle ends.
Swearing to never sell myself short of true, wholehearted love again.
The angry man will never be back in this house, I know that for a fact.
The best thing I ever did was pack my bags and never look back.
Leave before the cold settles in and the blizzards make you stumble off your path.
Sometimes cutting ties is the only way to keep your soul intact.
Water can be thicker than blood.
Family can be the people you choose.
Care for the tender parts of you and it will take care of you too.
Angry men may have raised you, but you’re a clear example to see.
You can become the people who hurt you or you can break the cycle and be everything they said you’d never be.
Blissful, stunning, BEAUTIFUL is my dream- where I am lost in a green
rainforest, d r i p p i n g , and lush. Sultry with mist and haze, and
echoing is a tiger's roar hidden. For a moment it silences the BIRDS
and then, they resume their rambling beautiful s o n g
tenfold. A purple butterfly drifts by and I push aside wet magnificent leaves
hypnotised by the amazing foliage. I see that on my arm are many vines
twining. In the BREATHLESS hush, my long t a n g l e d hair is billowing
as I travel on s e a r c h i n g in my wondrous steamy journey
knowing, that the rainforest's curious creatures are watching me, oh
incredible is a BLUE hissing snake and an amazing little orange frog
nourishing itself on a w e t ravaged leave. My mind is alive with thoughts,
glorious and astounding. Words are creeping with rapture, to my dripping pen.
________________________________
March 10, 2016
Submitted to the contest,
Second Place Only Contest III,
sponsor, Laura Loo
First Place
For the contest, Breathtaking,
sponsor, John Hamilton
(Judged March 12, 2016)
Second Place