Best Tighten Up Poems
STOP RIGHT THERE!!!
NOT SO FAST….
Just where do you think you are going??!!
Do you think you can just walk away!!
You have work to do.
Tighten up that Sonnet
Tidy up those rhymes
Feel the drumbeat of that meter
…the juxtaposed delight
….of sitting back and knowing
…..you finally got it……WRITE.
WIPE THAT SMIRK OFF YOUR FACE!!!
You know you love it.
The torture of the keyboard
words tumbling from the pen
the beginning
the middle
the all elusive end
DON’T GIVE ME THAT OLD SONG AND DANCE!!
Remember those first crumpled
unfinished
discarded
recovered
reworked
polished
failures
DON’T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE!!!
Have you forgotten that first poem??
The one you read to your dog?
in a whispered voice
as his tail wagged
and your voice
brushed his coat
with poetry.
YOU ARE A POET!!
Your words,
like butterfly wings,
gently alter
the currents
of the universe.
John G. Lawless
©7/15/2017
-
Tom sat fer-nent the table within a smoker's chair
A table pot of pra-tes and bacon quivers there
The cook an apron dirty wipes the grease and clears her throat
She cooks her husband dinner the children's and the goat's
He smokes his pipe asunder and prods and pokes its shoot
Burnt black his index finger tobacco by the root
Dear wife is it not ready for the pit I have to trot
the horse will soon be ready the timber and the shot
Dear man move to the table the butter there just melt
The pra-tes are King Edwards and tighten up your belt
Tis hot and floury flavour the bacon salty rich
Some milk would be a cooling or you will have a stitch
Dear child come home from school now those shoes a wearing bare
You scholar and a brother of fiddle and of flare
Before you have your pra-tes put turf upon the light
Where's dear dear sister Nancy be home before the night
And Annie did you eat yet asked he a million times
Not yet the lady calls out but yet she never dines
The kettle purring steadily in black and iron cast
A crook a blackened lever and tea for all at last
Hurry up now dear dear Annie the night shift I must go
Some bread some bacon sandwich the night for money sow
The sound of carts a coming and following the man
Oats and horse a chopping the collars and the ham
Goodbye now Cook and ready now depart and bid fair due
My jacket wet and dripping, tonight and on the crew
Carts a pulling coal blast the horses strain and tear
A fire man's instruction and all are quite aware
Black sandwich square the dusty air take soda made with fruit
I hope one day I'll get away and always wear a suit
The night is done and Annie come to greet me on the mat
Without you dear I'd not be here my life my joy my cap
(1940s- West of Ireland)
Ian foley- for the :Middle Of The Road Contest
(Continued from Part 1)
Transparent figures walk at a flirtatious pace
On world-class runways, with no expression on their face
Parading styles you can't afford in your possession
They are the ghostly models of the latest, greatest FASHION.
A millisecond blink, a click, some weird noise,
A virtual reality for all the girls and boys, and men and women,
From X-Box to the Web, from Lasik to Radiology -
At work, at school, at home,
Invade the blinks of the mind-boggling TECHNOLOGY.
Hard sharpened teeth are clutching at my feet
"You won't go far! You have deadlines to meet!
Go back to work, we hunger for your check.
Oh no, we don't really care that you broke your back."
The swollen lips repeat "You have a chance!
And all you need is years of education,
The right color of skin, and perfect credit-pay-back evidence.
We'll hire you if you're that certain kind,
Then close the firm and move so far you'll never find."
More faulty words are slipping from the tongues
"Don't worry, our brand won't hurt your lungs.
Enjoy yourself! (*at your own cost)"
You think you're cool, when sadly you are lost.
The "sharpened, swollen, slipping" are after you and me
They are the widely-opened mouth of the ECONOMY
Enormous brains stroll through historic halls
Preparing campaigns, false promises, ready for the brawls.
Deciding wars, neglecting harsh critiques
They are the brains of brainless POLITICS
A large behind sits comfy in its chair
It "covers" all, at all times, everywhere.
From Maine, to Oregon, to most southern tip of Texas
Sit one-half IRS and the other TAXES.
A sagging belly and a double chin,
A pair of dark circles and a droopy skin,
Decide to make a move and Go For It!
It's time to freshen up and tighten up a bit.
As they arrive at their first appointment
They're quickly greeted by awaiting disappointment
"You want to look younger? feel better? No, No, No!
Read through your policy, you fools, we are the HMO!"
*
On this, my friends, I'll go to sleep
I'm tired, time for counting sheep.
Just one more thing I'd like to add,
Last words just pondered in my head
The moral of the story is,
That if you want to live with ease,
Through all commotions, bring your sense of HUMOR
Just so that you, yourself, don't turn into an ugly tumor.
1999
© Copyright
I carry around a Phillips head
To tighten up any loose screws
An empty bag I keep in my hand
To collect all the marbles I lose
The elevator that I am riding in
Doesn't stop at all the floors
Happy with insanity
Who out there could ask for more
The toys that are in my attic
When they come out to play
Take my hand as we skip through Bizarro land
On any given day
Card games are entertaining
But they are always over so fast
When what I'm holding in my hand
Is not quite a full deck
Being four quarters short of a dollar
I will never strike it rich
Nor live in the nicest of places
Having a load that's short a few bricks
So if you come a knocking
And find nobody at home
I'm out on the streets of crazy
But believe me I'm never alone
I live in this cell with my self-hatred
How I was raised makes me feel so isolated
These are not my thoughts or feelings for that matter
But I still feel as if I’m an ugly house that will never flatter
Even if you were to fix me
I’d still have some screws loose
I’d rather you knock me down
And tighten up my noose
Because my personality is too obtuse….
For you to understand
Until then, I’ll wait in the gallows
Waving my right hand
Trying to find a way out
Because I can’t tie a noose like you can…
It’s depressing to think that I possess this body that I can’t stand
Everyone that I love and meet will never truly know who I am
Because the face that I show is a total scam
So, For the time being I’m stuck in this body
This mind...
This soul...
I’ll forever be tortured in this blood stained hell hole.
Listen up, you tin soldiers,
it’s time to grow some heavy metal skin
In this battle of the sexes,
the enemy is winning the war ...
And that burns my masculine soul to no end
Team testosterone is in retreat,
therefore, I implore my band of brothers
The prospect of imminent defeat
should make us fight that much harder
As one brave soldier of the enemy truthfully declared:
Love is a battlefield!
So I ask you right now, you miserable grunts,
are you prepared to yield?
Oh, what I wouldn’t give for one hundred of her kind —
Bravehearts, willing to battle any man
in combat, up close, hand to hand
Now I know some of you boys
ain’t seen war upfront and personal
Them little girls you’ve been dealing with,
ain’t nothing but lightweight ...
just a tease and a flirt
Easily defeated on the first date
A real woman would chew you up and spit you out,
pin your weak mind to the floor ... kick your butt out the house
That kinda woman wouldn’t take your crap,
no, you best believe not for one moment, son
She’d get right in your face,
and smack you up side your head with her love gun
What y’all raw, green thumb bucks need to understand,
this is a real war you’re in
And them tough-minded women they aim to win
So, listen up to Sgt. Apone here,
tighten up your boots, strap on your jocks
and test check your combat gear
The next sounds on the battlefield I better not hear:
“I’ll take care of that right away ...”
“whatever you say ...”
“yes, dear!”
In a world that’s changing quickly for the likes of you and me,
we can hardly keep up with the pace that passes endlessly.
I’m not talking ‘bout technology, computers seem to give,
I’m talking ‘bout society and that means the way we live.
I’m no example; I’ve had two wives and working on me third,
so marriage seems that it’s no more than just a fleeting word,
and if there is some hassle that means working through the heat,
it seemed much easier to turn my back and walk off down the street.
But the weighted scales of justice take their turn along the track,
and bring up what’s forgotten when they tighten up the slack.
There’s derision then division and a lifelong scar to heal,
then silly buggers just like me jump back upon the wheel.
After two bites of the cherry there is a certain wary mood,
and when a woman steps up with a smile I’m pretty bloody clued
as to what intentions she might have - not like a friend Henry
who recently got married to a perilous divorcee.
I know she doesn’t like me much, but she really don’t like men,
and with the attitude she’s got I wondered why she wed again,
but Henry is the type of bloke who just likes to tag along,
so I bet in their marriage she’s the one who’s bloody strong.
I’m in the hospital and visiting my good mate Henry now.
He’s been beaten to a pulp and I’m about to tell you how.
We were dining in a hotel; Henry and his wife and me,
when we saw this fellow stagger and as drunk as he could be.
Henry made a comment then, that put him in a tricky place,
when he noticed how his woman kept on looking at his face,
so he asked her if she knew him and she answered “Yes I do.
He is my ex husband - now believe me this is true”.
“Since I left him seven years ago he’s been drinking every night”,
then Henry made this statement with its power to incite,
“That’s remarkable” said Henry; then things went awful wrong,
“I can’t believe that anyone could celebrate that long.”
The Ice Frozen Box, I Like To Call My Heart
8/04/10
By: Sami LaRose
In times of evaporation, the heart fades away
Looking for a newer and brighter day.
He strolls alongside Park Avenue
Then he see’s something he would never expect.
A big bullet right through his cheats!
He falls to the floor and aches in pain
He did not expect to end it this way
But this is merely only the puncher wound to the heart.
The other was much deeper and darker, (and made him fall apart)
But this one stings just as bad.
No matter what they say,
She knew she shouldn’t of taken her heart out to play these silly games
So she takes her bleeding heart, ever
So carefully, and places it in a box for all of eternity.
It shall forever lie in the ice frozen box.
Keep her heart as cold as her soul
And whenever it hearts up from love,
The iron shackles around the chamber
Shall tighten up, and bring it down.
So you see it’s better to keep yourself
Isolated and depressed
Then alive and happy
Because only one of those ends badly.
Somebody came up with this great, fancy idea,
which in time turned into an unstoppable mania;
I was called prince...I had some blue blood in me,
but not living in a castle and considered true royalty!
I profoundly thought to myself, " Can't I live
in that magical world of make-believe?"
On the way to school, I saw a sharp outfit somehow tight
that the Merchant of Venice wore to seduce his sweetheart.
Rushing into that small shop, I asked the salesperson with elegant flair,
" Can I try this costume on? expecting a positive answer.
She looked and me and uncertainty sparked on her middle-aged face,
" The pants is a bit too big for you, little prince...but we can add lace
to tighten up your small waste!"upon hearing that, I became frantic and began to dance.
Everyone at the Halloween Party admired my royal costume...a costume fit for a prince!
Written by Andrew Crisci
for Russell Sivey's contest,
" Halloween Fun "
As life becomes harder and harder to make ends meet in these troubled days,
Harder to stretch what little we have, and so unsure of tomorrow like being stuck in a maze.
As we tighten up our belt hoping this is just a passing phase,
And clinging to happier thoughts and memories before these troubled days.
Every trip to the store seems to cost us more and more,
It’s like being in a game show trying to choose which door.
The governments solution was to send us a stimulus check to ease their guilty mind,
Instead of freezing prices to keep us from slipping farther and farther behind.
From a little over a dollar a gallon for gas to now more than four dollars a gallon they have lost all control,
These elected officials swore an oath but won’t up hold their role.
Like a tiny snowball that has caused an avalanche down a hill,
So has the price of gas and it’s our economy this monster is trying to kill.
Kickbacks and payoffs have taken their toll upon us,
It’s time they be held accountable it’s time we kick up a fuss.
Things can be made right if we say we’ve had enough,
Of crooked politicians and other government officials who have made our lives so rough.
Nixon once froze prices and held this wolf at bay,
So why can’t they at least now do that till they can figure out a better way?
Shivers on the damp leaves
as cars are speeding by
reflect not in the windows
l try to work out why.
I'm walking in the wet rain
uncertain that you care
Autumns pain is dragging
and snow is in the air.
I'm staring through a window
the truth is getting near
I'm sitting on a park bench
the place that leads nowhere.
l hear the same old music
l cant believe it's there
convince myself to go back
l doubt she really cares.
l tighten up my buttons
and pull down on my hat
l doubt she even misses me
the dead road that we're at.
You question every moment
what love is all about
and what tomorrows meaning
just pocketful of doubt.
you question ever moment
just pocketful of doubt.
I know that I can be a little moody with my temper it shows that I have a short fuse
But just seeing how you are makes me wish I could be more like you
Because when we are around friends
I tend to tighten up and realize the way I am
Oh- Sometimes it’s just difficult to be me
Cause no one understand my personality
And I know I do not desever the kind of sweet love
You always give me
And I know you Know that trusting just don’t come so easy for me
Oh And I just wish that I could be more like you
So relaxed, laid back,
So unafraid of just being you
Just seeing how you are
Makes me understand that you understand
And I see you have the keys to my heart
I can feel the moisture progressing on the top of my forehead
Little light creases start to form here on my chin
I'm looking at you and I can see that you are lovely
Beyond your red rose colored eraser, and your tented yellow streaks
Lies a handsome texture of a newly grown tree wrapped around carved graphite
Your incandescent sensation is intense
My grey eyes are no match to the glow that flows off your wonderful carving
You are so beautiful I can't even imagine how I could write with you
Behind all that beauty I can see that you are terrified
Terrified that I might abandon you, after your jagged edges fall to the floor
Your point will be no more
Possibly terrified I would use you to you were numb
I can't imagine how I could do this to you
But it needs to be done
This is your destiny
This is your end
I must write with you
As I gaze at you slowly, with suspicion out of my grey colored pupil
I see no reaction, no movement, no emotion
Do you even care?
But then I hear you scream
Let me go
Oh' please
Oh' please just let me dream
You try to wiggle from my grip
But I just tighten up
My hands are trembling
You're incredibly to strong
My hands set free
You hop towards the door, but I run faster
Closing in on you more and more
You look back just to take a glimpse of this nightmare
Now looking forward, you are getting closer to the door
Gotcha I yelled
Please you begin to plead
But I won't let you go, no not anymore
You were close to your escape, but this isn't your fate
the rig sails on
the captain at the wheel
steel billowed crosswinds
and Willie's gruff twang
come back...maybe not flip-flop
rigs riggin' is sailin', movin'
waving goodbye to yesterday
I'm a stowaway into today
ahead is clear horizon
aft is crewed distant past
the ropes taut, creaking
and diseal's low rumble below
port is where we're headed
starboard is starry shafts
stern relentlessly unappeasable
riding the waves bowed
someday I'll tighten up
swigging the anchor line
laying roots off of route one
but at present, rig's tackin'
we're decked out directly
hauling freight, liners for
what in life we're lackin'
so, harden up to the wind
crestin' hill, descendin' trough
this rollercoaster ride of life
keeps sailin' on to skyline
just the mate 'n' the captain
© Goode Guy 2011-05-20
1 come back / flip-flop
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_CB_slang
2. swigging
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautical_terms#S
3. harden up
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautical_terms#H
How dim and doomed my mind is
When I try to explain my disorder to own self and others,
Just as much as I hope to tighten up the loose balls
And invite the dead into my home, I can’t.
I can’t do anything much except what I can’t explain to you.
It tells me aggressively like I’ve been deaf since I ever gave in to thinking, to the world
“Stay away from me!” it says, “leave me lonely in my soul for my want,
Incline your poisonous superficies to eliminate me, this is who I am!”
Can’t you tell? My caring and love crucifies me with no patience,
It reminds the crying kid sat underneath the brain protector how anxiety forgets she lives,
Sat there lonely with scars, bleeding eyes and forgets life
How this has become the daily course of the grand part…
I can’t explain to you how I feel nor to me,
My undying memories behold the theme of my confused situation
And all I know is I will be fine trying to be okay.