Best Ticketed Poems


Premium Member Train of Thought

Am I dreaming 
or have I dreamt myself awake
I can’t seem to discern 
between real and fake
What’s right 
What’s wrong
which direction 
should I take
Am I reasonably responsible 
for the many mistakes I might make

Backward bouncy walking
Crazy ticketed talking
Following the run
in a pretty girls stocking
Unafraid of anything 
Willing to do what’s shocking
Sarcastically mocking 
Listening to head voices
My brain has lost it’s sane 
my body’s rocking

My mind skipping 
from Idea to Idea
You weren’t there a second ago go 
but now I see you
Wait a second 
I can see right through you
Black isn’t white
Yellow is now blue
Bending over
To take a boulder
out of my shoe
They were old yesterday
and now they’re new
But instead of one pair
I’m wearing out two

The room is shaking 
Momma’s in the kitchen 
Half baked
Pieces of everything
Tender flaked
The tiles under my feet
vibrate to the beat
Hey momma
“Trick or Treat?
Give me something good to eat”
Suddenly I’m covered by a sheet
on a cold stainless table
being processed like meat
sliding on a rail
Door closed
Fire burning
someone turning up the heat
Bell ringing, ringing, ringing 
WAKE UP, Wake up Rick
If only I could
That would be a cool trick!
I feel like I’m being beat with a stick
Shake, shake, shake
“wake up Rick its Eight, 
you’re going to be late.”
Get out of bed you fool. 
It’s time for school.”

Eyes open, “I‘m up, I’m up!”
But wait
You can’t hear me talk
Because I’m an unwound
broken old clock
no longer able to tick or tock
I only have hands
so I can’t even walk.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz





Things that make me go hmm. The second hand of clock or watch is actually the third hand. ;0)

At the Bus Depot

AT   THE   BUS   DEPOT

Faces and suitcases with little rumbling wheels.
The seat is hard and littered with yesterday’s paper.
How can these moving actors know how it feels 
To be old and no longer a ticketed escaper?
Faces fade past - abandoned at the end of the day,
And suitcases  are piled in a corner out of the way,
With little ceremony  thrown in the baggage space over the round 
Rumbling wheels of each escaping  Greyhound.
The seat next to every dark window is filled; and it
Is hard  to wave a cheery farewell to a stage unlit,
And littered with unfinished details.
With a regretful breath  I recall
Yesterday’s family get-togethers, kids’ parties and noise:
Paper roses, children’s games, plastic toys.
How can these  faces  care about fault or blame?
Moving   to every other city you can name,
Actors  waving  through  windows,  waving  and  no one seems to
Know how  to live alone.  It’s hard, it’s empty,
It feels like a dream gone bad, the black blues,
To be part of yesterday’s theatre reviews,
Old , unneeded, socially undesirable, unwaveable,
And  no longer  economically viable, without 
A ticketed  reason to exist here in the depot.
Escaper no more.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Written by Sydney Peck
Entered in Debbie  Guzzi’s  Contest   “Et Cetera”

Premium Member Shatterproof

the bottle bounced,
said shatterproof.
kids have to do it
more than once.
mom’s countenance 

shatterproof -
probably laughed
behind the scenes.
more likely created
creases, mad lines.

when our kids
don’t show up
on time -
when the watch
ticks slowly
fear growing…
anger ticking,
if relieved
by the doorknob
jiggling…

shatterproof,
no explosion,
just quiet,
sheer silence,
no glance,
no hello

when ya know
you’ve completely 
screwed up

shatterproof
at remembrance,
when your kids
likewise
turn the key
recklessly

if they’ve made it
home, you sigh
with relief,
with epitome,
with resignation,

knowing they’re stepping
into the whole wide world
…have you made them
shatterproof?

tears at times
…when ticketed
…heartbroken
…pregnant

We survive
We are alive
S H A T T E R P R O OF

6/24/2023


Dreams Are Just For Dreaming

I slip on through the smoke screens
hitting just a little too close
night vision is a bonus
to help me see right through
no different from what I discovered
some things will never change
and I leave you like I found you
with nothing rearranged

I once passed you on the road
your thumb out, hitchin a ride
I was carrying a heavy load
construction made a difficult drive
no places on the shoulder
no pull off posted by sign
I stop in the middle of the street
getting ticketed for my time

dreams are just for dreaming
made up of hazy fantasies
real life is for real living
not framing in a picture frame
you take what He hands down
place it with all the rest
you do with it what you can
hoping that you safely land

so I stand on solid ground
as the world spins round and round
it is my competitive nature
that won't let me back down
I once took my best shot
got a ribbon for second place
but I was in the running
I accept my trophy with grace
© Jo Bien  Create an image from this poem.

Hollow Poetry Critiques-Brutal and Wrong

Waking me in the wake of her brilliance
words spoken,written in convoluted high tones
ringing meaning esoteric and quite unknown
the craft was hyped in meteoric terms
shining bright, sending craven tremulous brain numb.



Harking, in glory she strode the road

on which no one else was allowed 

they lined up till she ticketed 

them for her rich comments

looking at the teeming crowd

I too went and pushed as a throng on.



She was allaying the fears of an unwary(me included)

do not worry if you do not know'tense agreement'

I am here and with you the manna heaven sent

I would 'salad';I would 'marinate'; I would'contemplate'

and  'I would ruiminate',for heck as sure I would,

your poem would come out shining from wood

wait till I am through with that ,sit there in suspense

as I put on spectacles English and thrash you hence

the poor bloke waited with breath baited

like a rabbit flagellating as a helpless bait.



After an hour, the wise lady looked up

gave a list of typos to the poor bloke as his corrective sup

and in the end she wrote

with ten spell mistakes of her own galore

this poem was all wrong and even the topic was

actually this guy should have come to me

and got the poem written by me

on a topic of my choice

and claimed this was his and will be

it was only then would I give a positive critique

as it stands it is a loser because this do-no-good 

pooh phah phah, is the author.



Now let me do the right thing

somebody close has died

yes,he did and they did not lie

I began a poem for lament

but that young bloke came like scent

I forgot the lament and wrote

a collaboration of ass cream whip and ah! in it sent.





Well the critique royale with her hyped and marketed skills is on to her next critiquing ticket.

Natural Born Tryptophan

You act so mellow melatonin,
pure relax and laid back
Motorcycling thru life
with your golden hair blowing

You speak so leather serotonin,
smooth and REM sleep inducing
Resting in your Laz-e-Boy ... ambience: quiet demure — 
disturbing the peace, you never got ticketed for

You’re a natural born Tryptophan
My eyes close
	        when your mouth open

I listen to you
when I wanna take a romantic daytime snooze
Dial your number
to go on a midnight lovers-only slumber cruise

You’re a natural born Tryptophan
The noise goes silent
	         when you start talking

Your voice is velvet magnesium,
sleepwalk, no talk it makes me wanna do
Whispering clean solar vocal energy,
beta waves of desire are streaming thru

Your audio is tranquil potassium,
serenity dressed in faded jeans
Muted decibel is your gift to the world,
speak low with love, my biker girl

You’re a natural born Tryptophan
My eyes close
	        when your mouth open

I listen to you
when I wanna afternoon delight dream
Dial your number
to ride on an evening erotic moonbeam

You’re a natural born Tryptophan
My heart beats silent
	         when you start talking

Your sensual speech pleasure my mind
                                    ... make it explode
You’re my favorite, exotic neurochemical


Premium Member True Story That Is Umbelievable

I can not imagine what this Officer in New York City was thinking at the time of this Parking Violation. You would think when an officer writes a  Parking Violation, he or she would interact with the Driver who is being ticketed. Well that is not the case in this incident. The Officer approached the vehicle and noticed the vehicle was parked in a No Parking Zone. He approached the vehicle from behind and wrote down the License Plate of the vehicle. The person inside the vehicle was silent, just sitting there. He didn't say a word. I wonder what the Officer was thinking when the ticketed person didn't give him an excuse, to try and  persuade the Officer not to give him the Citation. Well the Officer wrote the ticket and placed the ticket on his dashboard, and walked away, got into his Patrol Car and left.
 A day or two later the Officers Commanding Officer called him into his office. He asked him, " did you issue a ticket several days ago to a Mr Rappoid, for Illegal Parking at such and such a time?" The Officer said," let me check my notes." He checked his notes and said, "yes." The Commanding Officer asked him, "You didn't notice anything in particular with Mr Rappoid?" The Officer asks his Commander, "Why?" His Commander responded, with a loud and angry voice. "Well because at the time you gave Mr Rappoid the ticket Rigor Mortis had set in and he was sitting Up and he was dead!" "Your the first Officer I know, that has written a Parking Citation to a Dead man, sitting dead in his Vehicle!"

No Good Deed Unpunished

By Elton Camp

The words of Jesus, Chef Arnold tries to heed
By actions, the hungry, homeless ones to feed

Words alone to the needy, Jesus did condemn
For the hungry, words won’t do good for him

Fort Lauderdale proclaims such as a No! No!
To give them food must not continue to be so

However, Chef Arnold at ninety years old
Refuses to kowtow and to do as he’s told

Gourmet food the chef prepares free
But the cops just won’t let him be

The kind man ticketed for a law violation
Is a sight that has disgusted the entire nation

Such a lack of compassion is surely a shame
Rightly besmirches Fort Lauderdale’s name

(Google it and see for yourself)
© Elton Camp  Create an image from this poem.

Free Day

I sped past some and never stopped 
didn’t slow down or take a look 
others had me riding the clutch 
they gave less than all they took 

photo enforcement snapped a shot 
ticketed me by US mail 
saying if I didn’t pay the fine 
they would send my butt to jail 

the highway curved and I hit bumps 
couldn’t see around the turns 
dense, green trees and mountains tall 
on and on as my life churned 

tried to put it in perspective 
same old thoughts and vivid dreams 
a faceless man without a care 
who lived to edit plotted schemes 

when I look back on our red past 
short in nature, blue in hue 
you don’t miss what you didn’t have 
it all started and ended with you 

just because I don’t write more 
doesn’t mean I’ve less to say 
poems burn hot inside my brain 
for me to blog on a free day
© Jo Bien  Create an image from this poem.

Premium Member The Seed and the Soul

Is the soul to a human 
What the seed is to
A dandelion - a vessel 
Of the continuum?

Both are readied for winging;
One swept, unknowing, clinging
Upon the vagaries of zephyrs,
One ticketed to sail the ethers. 

The seed carries an embryo where’er blown
Prepared by its mother to grow where sown.
The soul by the Father sown, without misconception, 
May be redeemed at will from any misdirection.

The seed may rise a weed or wine
As chance may take upon to dine,
If in lawn or vineyard find,
To its fated end resigned. 

The soul may be proscribed or saved
As promised by the One who paved
The Way; choose or deny finality 
And thereby spend eternity.

Copyright Paul Thomson 2021

Rubbing Elbows On the Table

Rubbing elbows on the table                                                                                                                                      Etiquette a ticketed fable                                                                                                                                                                           in hands of Neanderthal                                                                                                                                                             Blowing wind a meander squall                                                                                                                                           rocking the boat don’t knock                                                                                                                                                     unless you tried it, squawk                                                                                                                                                                      All hawking and mighty                                                                                                                                                             and the cloth was all tidy                                                                                                                                                        The weapon of choice, a spoon                                                                                                                                        Nothing like a vulture, you buffoon                                                                                                                                      My elbow is on the table, you pig                                                                                                                                       while you are at it straighten your wig
© John Beam  Create an image from this poem.

Premium Member Red

RED States/Blue States
Finances: RED or Black?
Cincinnati REDS
Boston RED Socks
Chicago White Socks
Detroit RED Wings
RED Blood Cells
White Blood Cells
RED Tape
RED Cars
RED Socks

I have stories of two friends who loaned me their
RED Car in the early 70s. One was an Impala, and the
other a Volks Wagon. No, I did not get pulled over or
ticketed for speeding. I will not say more than that.

There are RED States and Blue States identifying
whether it is a Democratic or Republican State.
I will avoid politics and not say more than that.

If I'm recalling correctly, in the late 70s-early 80s,
there was a professional baseball team known as the Big RED
Machine. I think that they won at least one world series back
then. If you like baseball or live in Cincinnati, you know what
I'm talking about.  So, I need not say more than that.

I cannot believe that I actually decided to wear RED Socks.
They were a birthday gift to me from a younger sister-in-law.
My first reaction was, "Really. Are you kidding me?". I said
to my wife, "Why would she think that I would ever wear RED
Socks?" However, I do not know what possessed me to do it,
but one day I decided to wear them. They felt great, and at 73,
I have learned to be more daring than ever. So, those RED
socks have become one of my favorite pairs of socks.

Time and space do not allow me to speak of RED October,
RED Moons, or the former Washington RED Skins and a host
of other RED things. So, for now, that is all I will say about RED.

080323PS

Love Letter From the Soul Xlvii

From F to A,

Stale 
a begotten breeze 
life begs and begins 
her drain 
of time

pile upon pile
unfiltered
polluting the helpless bog

weeds, weeding out the weeds
chocking out our roots
as we bend to the bust 
in the hurt

release 
release of the pain
perpetrated
and stolen 

inside our dignity
derailed upon our destiny
ticketed on a train 
straight to hell

that is not our train 
nor our destiny

ours is in the eye of a lover
opalescent 
beaming to ride 
amongst the skies
wrapped up in asanawa
living in the need

tight is the bond 
that binds our chapters
allowing us to breathe



here I sit reading your every word
waiting for time's release 
when feelings on my skin 
begin to burn
every letter, in your pretty name
© Ts Poetry  Create an image from this poem.

The Hard Way

I pray each and every day
From GOD I try not to stray
Through this week things have gone so bad
Lost a beloved uncle, which is so sad
Said a proper goodbye and buried a good man
But things in my own family have hit the fan
My son messed up, getting involved with the cops
Something I had no control over and could not stop
He was suppose to come straight home from school
Not getting himself ticketed, nor being a fool
Now I’m the bad guy, his excuses I do not buy
I know deep down inside he’s telling a lie
He won’t admit what he did
Is mad at me for the truth I have not hid
My husband and I have not been together on this as one
I feel I am a prisoner, being held with a gun
Right now I’m in so much pain
Feeling that my efforts are all in vain
Not allowing his wrongs, to make my mind spin
Doing my best to not let the Devil win
One day he’ll realize I only have his best interests at heart
Until then I won’t give up, I have to continue to do my part
To not allow him to stray
Even if I have to do it the hard way.

Premium Member Preferring Stars

Dating, in many ways, 
is sort of like driving – 
one comes to an intersection...
there is a red and green, 
caution yellow for Slow
Down!~ Do you have a 
license?-- Frankly, at my
my age, I better like those
often ticketed and well
traveled...myself, no-longer
feeling time nor patience to
teach~ not willing to trust
my heart to modern GPS,
still preferring the twinkles
of stars....

Get a Premium Membership
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace