Best Unsmiling Poems
Silent
is she whose
sharp mind
unraveled;
she died.
This woman,
friendly,
loved to gab
and laugh.
Unsmiling
in her
casket now. . .
her face
is strangely
beautiful.
May 13. 2019 for the 'Charlieku New Form' Poetry contest of charles messina
Poetry form description: The poem must be 15 lines long and the syllable count must be 23232,3232,323,23,3 Also, it must be 5 lines, 4 lines, 3 lines, 2 lines and 1 line.
Categories:
unsmiling, death,
Form:
Verse
A deserted old house stood off the county road a little way.
To keep apace of living I rushed by it almost every day.
For years I'd wanted to visit there to see what secrets it held,
And perhaps find out about the folks who in it had once dwelled.
Towering oaks stood erectly as if to guard the old place.
Clinging vines held weathered clapboards in precarious embrace.
I mused as I opened the latch on the sagging garden gate,
"Why was it forsaken and left in such a forlorn state?"
Floors squeaked and mice skittered as I sauntered down the hall.
Abruptly, something caught my eye on the faded papered wall.
'Twas a grim, unsmiling portrait of a Victorian family of eight.
I wondered who they were and I pondered about their fate.
Off the hall was the parlor where stood a brick-lined fireplace.
I could fancy the cheery flames glowing upon each happy face,
As they celebrated gala affairs or gathered for family prayers.
Alas, the old folks passed on - their children seeking other affairs.
What had been a vibrant, loving home was now a house in shambles,
Almost overtaken by massive oaks, shrubs and tangled brambles.
But my downcast mood was uplifted despite the engulfing gloom,
As I saw roses planted so very long ago now in magnificent bloom!
Categories:
unsmiling, family, house, nostalgia, old,
Form:
Rhyme
A wounded animal retreats to the scrub,
where anything worth saving lives.
It licks wounds inflicted by a wicked wind whipped world.
Filled with big stone faces unsmiling.
The wounded animal re-emerges with a perfected limp.
One eye missing, the one that viewed the cruelties.
Fur matted by fingerprints, uncaring.
Hunger and anger are its only remaining God.
In time, everything transforms.
The rotten freshens.
Eye sockets fill with colored stones.
Ugly will beatify.
The angry limp becomes an exotic floating blossom.
That only exiled Buddhas and black cherubs dare recognize.
Categories:
unsmiling, baptism,
Form:
Rhyme
She stands there in knickers,
A cap on her head,
Looking tomboyish, truant and tough
And a cigarette dangles
From unsmiling lips
To warn all she’s not taking their guff.
It’s a sepia snapshot,
The 20’s, I’d guess,
The photographer long in his grave,
But the girl is my grandmother
Though I’ll admit
It’s an image she’d choose not to save.
All the years that I knew her,
So quiet and prim,
Don’t quite match with the face in the frame.
That’s the reason I treasure
This photo of old,
‘Cause both Jennys were one and the same.
Categories:
unsmiling, grandmother, image,
Form:
Rhyme
Today was April Fool’s Day,
reminding me
of lighter times.
While listening to the news this morning,
I yearned for the traditional,
“Gotcha, April Fool.”
But all I heard,
reflected an unforeseen truth
from an unseen enemy.
No prank
or white lie could I detect,
from unsmiling faces.
The April Fool remained hidden
in pandemic’s shadow.
Categories:
unsmiling, angst, pain,
Form:
Free verse
Through tinted glass, I see cars have lined up outside, like a java-thirsty snake who waits to strike at the employee working the drive-through window.
I take a last dreg of coffee, then vacate the table for another caffeine addict to indulge in some dark-roast creation, while reaching into my purse for keys. Someone touches my shoulder and I turn.
Out of aromatic filled haze, her soft voice speaks into my ear, using my maiden name, which seems foreign to my own ears. It comes as a riddle, with question mark at the end, as if it were floating inside a bubble.
dust motes mingle with
the steam of French roast coffee....
someone drops a spoon
She slips into the empty place across from me, and I see familiar, but strikingly older, hazelnut eyes. They hold something unsettling, sad and seem peppered with weight. But she shows me a wan smile buried in a sea of nerves. She was an old friend, a good chum. How long has it been?
Just as I am about suggest a plan, a date to meet for lunch, she's running late, and must hurry, and has started closing the gate again.
espresso ripples
with element of surprise ....
an old acquaintance
We walk out together, ... I open the door for her, while she carries two capped coffees, and starts to head across the lot. We say a quick goodbye, I take care not to spill her load, as I gently hug her goodbye. She walks away in a rush, climbing into faded red truck. An unsmiling tight-lipped man , reaches over to the inside latch to open the door, that seems to be missing a handle on the outside. I hear a harsh, husky voice ask "What took so long?",.. loud enough that a few people glance their way. She smiles weakly, and doesn't look back to say goodbye.
under old tires
leaves are crushed into small bits...
a whirlwind of dust
my cell phone vibrates
someone misses me from home ....
sun breaks through the clouds
_________________
11/2/15 For Contest: Creative Haibuns
Sponsor Charlotte Jade Puddifoot
Categories:
unsmiling, friendship, people, sad,
Form:
Haibun
At the local Walmart (some of us shop there)
a young woman was standing at the self-checkout
with a huge cart of groceries, sobbing her eyes
out. The store was crowded. No one
paid her any attention. I was passing on
my way out of the store, and I stopped.
She was distraught, her credit card, denied.
I asked how much -- happened to have cash
to pay her tab. She said, "You don't have to do that,"
and I said, " Oh Yes, I do." A Walmart employee
pitched in the few pennies I lacked, and I
left the store, marveling at the line of folks
that saw distress, and looked away.
Walmart, again, for a few purchases,
When it was time to pay, my wallet was left
on the seat of the car--a sometimes occurrence
in the absent-minded years. I asked the checker
to put my cart aside while I went to retrieve it.
She replied, "He wants to pay for you."
Turning around, "I faced a forty-something
behind me, and I said in astonishment,
"You don't have to do this." He, unsmiling,
serious-faced: "I know I don't have to do
this." "Hug!" I said, and put my arms
around him."You will get this back in spades,
you know. It's called Karma."
"Pay it forward..." he replied.
Random acts of kindness: Jesus
at the Walmart."
Categories:
unsmiling, jesus,
Form:
Blank verse
Night follows day in bitter hungry monotony,
as wane laughter dies upon parched lips,
and ignorant innocence is trampled underfoot
at every corner of the decadent deserted plain.
Homeless bulimic children unsmiling, subdued, thirsty
seek dilapidated dug-in shelters devoid of nourishing food.
Employment inexistent, as the rich grow richer,
the poor poorer. Death is not far away. Famine reigns.
This is today's nightmare as vultures fly above
ready to prey on dead children’s carcasses below.
But I am headstrong and will not give up.
For I'm sure someday there will be
a reckoning, a purge, where judgment triumphs.
Then as years roll by, we will return to till the land,
our laughter will increase, our food becomes abundant,
our minds will return to sanity.
And all my wishes will come true.
Love grows with humility and respect.
But that's another story, another age.
Categories:
unsmiling, angst, hope,
Form:
Free verse
In the middle of the universe I stand
Pencil and pad warming my palms
All around pictures hang like the solar system
And my heart fondly wants to reach far like the sun
I let pencil do its orbit around pad if only to aid my heart
And I add a touch of good where nonexistent
Lay a pillow of kindness where hardness reigns
Blow a wind of love in a needed direction
Firmly stand before injustice’s glowering eyes
Erase sadness from a dazed gaze
Draw a smile to unsmiling features
Pat a defeated look with victory
Pour out peace into war torn zones
Doodle sanity over inhuman acts
Put a microphone up for the voiceless
I look around and elsewhere see joy, laughter, serenity
Turn the other way and hands are tangled in a stroll
Perseverance hard at work, kids running around without a care
And I smile as I plant these on this pad
Knowing well these are just words
But hoping like sun they may reach beyond these situations
And be a balm of hope to someone out there
©GraceM Composition
Categories:
unsmiling, encouraging, hope, universe,
Form:
Free verse
Coronavirus
our air is fouled
so full of these deaths, and
cries of help and agony
all across the globe
there’s loud gray’s elegy, of
sun turning inducing death gray, leaving
more weeping, all weeping, for
the land is coronavirused!
and the day soured
with fleeting fire of disease, spreading
fear across the globe, many trembled
shivered and died, and our humour no more!
oh what a deadly gift
of this century
so sour and bitter, as
mankind dies by seconds
all glares
black, brown or white, as
death blooms on and on to the rooftop
and our fears sweep across the globe
this sun shines out death
and no respected of status, poor-rich alike
an unsmiling season of death we are
is it to blot out order and extinguish lights?
a state of war
mankind is in
war with an unkind disease
invading our space
but then
the hope, our hope
to stay at home
and to socially distance
our mankind
old rules to go
for us to survive this killing disease
and for nature to methodized
and social distancing to live
any hope
for mankind to survive
lots of hope, there is
earth heal thyself, we pray.
24/03/20
Categories:
unsmiling, death, health,
Form:
Free verse
SMILING FOR SMART
Arrogance of your silence, stinking attitude
Rotten breath from your mouth, saliva with virus
Beauty painted in ugliness of your expression
Your niceness is enveloped by naughtiness
If you could only smile your inner beauty will shine out
Unwelcoming gesture, mask of unfriendliness
Madness of unsmiling attitude hider all goodness
Kindness killed by unkindness of lack of positiveness
Love covered in lust, expressing bad and longing for laughter
Smiling uncovers your smartness in the presence of foolishness
Rejection of friends, family and fame due to fakeness
Smelling like a dog, biting the finger that feeds you
All you will ever need is in you and people but your attitude
Cacophony of bitterness clouds the benefits of smiles
Smiling is for smart, smiling is strength, smiling is sweet for your soul
Divided within, longing for the touch of comfort
Lost touch with inner happiness, horrific to smile
Blaming everybody for everything going wrong in him
Blaming everyone for everything going ugly in her life
Shake yourself; smile even when you are smelling inside, just smile
Even when you are frustration, forsaken, forbidden, smile
Even when you are in pain, pressure, persecution, smile anyway
Even when you don’t like them, or don’t laugh with them, just smile
Even if your lips have sores and it hurts to smile, yes-just smile
Even if you are in sorrow just smile, smiling is sweet for the soul
Smile speaks all languages and covers all fears and hurts, so smile
Categories:
unsmiling, art, smart, smile,
Form:
Acrostic
THE CRYING WILD CREATURES.
Nzongi Mwero.
Oh, we recall the bygone times,
The days of the golden past,
That chirping with our merry mates,
Flying around the parks,
Gone the joys of the nests,
That freedom restrained,
Coming at our will in parks,
But hindered and chained in the parks.
Oh, we feel painted at our hearts when we recall,
The scene in the parks unsmiling,
No glistering dew drops from the trees,
All big trees were cut down,
We can’t forget that lovely shape of the parks,
That endearing our faces.
Oh, life was real nice in the vernal shade,
Oh, we miss the sweet voices of our brothers in the parks,
Would that we had the strength to break the predators,
What a bad luck have we?
Can we pine for another park?
Brothers let us think of the weapons and tactics,
That we could escape from poachers and predators.
My friend Antelope- You can use your speed in retreating,
You Tortoise- Use your shield or bomb shelter,
My friend Chameleon- You can use the camouflage,
You Porcupine- Please use your swords or bayonets,
My friend Snake- Use your poisoned knife,
You Stunk- Please Use your tear gas or poison gas,
My friend Octopus- Use your smoke screen,
You Electric Eel- Please Use your electric shock,
Then my friend Gecko- You can Use your diversionary tactics,
And finally me Elephant I will Use my tusks.
Everyone has a duty to perform his defensive way,
To deal with poachers and predators,
But still human beings have more brains,
They know how to trap us,
We plead those with good hearted to protect us.
Parks are our shelters,
Rivers are our shelters,
Oceans and lakes are our shelters,
Trees are our shelters,
The land is our shelters.
Oh, we beg you do not harm us,
You live on land- You live on land,
You drink water from the rivers –We live and drink that water,
You get medicine from trees- We live and eat those trees,
You collect foreign money from the parks- We live in the parks,
You use oceans and lakes to travel –We live in those waters.
Oh, we are all world creatures,
Why are you killing us for meat?
Why are you destroying the parks?
Why are you contaminating the waters?
Why are you cutting down trees?
Why are you burning the land we live?
Why are you hunting us for more money?
And already you are getting foreign money due to us,
Please stop hunting us or destroying our shelters.
Categories:
unsmiling, anger,
Form:
Free verse
Traveling with a purpose by One who went before us,
to do this in order to obtain our Royal Priesthood. Enter
Heaven's gate.
The quest is to penetrate the hardness of hearts, to
light up unsmiling faces... requiring daring along with
certain times of solitude.
Set the course to destroy Satan's evil schemes.
Use the Word of God, His truth as your sword.
Categories:
unsmiling, blessing, christian, courage, freedom,
Form:
Free verse
Ode To Survival
As I sit here in this still cemetery facing nomadic west,
Under these ancient oaks with deep green leaves descending,
I see the ghostly dead before me rising up as star zephyrs,
The men and women that once spoke a multitude of living words,
Once strolled a lifetime of miles with quiet footsteps unheard,
Through effulgent gardens of copper rose and mountain laurel.
They come now with feet of dust upon the mossy tombstones,
Human beings from the old times now vanished like the grass,
They that spoke of the stories of success, survival and tragedy,
They that woke at eternal sunrise to once again stare into a mirror,
To once again see an aging face with ageless eyes staring back,
These past human beings, opening and closing a thousand grunting doors.
These blinking apparitions, caressing and embracing a well of heartbeats.
Where they once sat and talked on summer afternoons remains unknown.
Where they found accepting love on dizzy evenings remains uncertain.
Now they exit the cemetery gate waving condolences to the fearful living.
They whisper prayers and invocations to the cedars and the lilting lilacs;
Whisper entreaties and supplications never recited before, never heard before,
Now they lumber by me with frozen knowing grins and nodding fingers.
I recognize their unsmiling faces from old linen postcards in sifting time.
I now continue to sit here in this still cemetery facing nomadic west.
Under these ancient oaks with boughs of deep green leaves descending.
Categories:
unsmiling, death, life,
Form:
Free verse
I found an old photograph by the lake-
A young woman with dark hair, gray face,
leaning against a painted wall.
Unsmiling, beautiful. In full white,
with nothing exposed beneath delicate layers
of lace.
I wondered if she'd lived near, or if somewhere else,
how many miles?
I wondered how she'd laughed,
who she'd loved,
how she'd died.
Why didn't they smile often for pictures back then?
I wondered, if it'd been the custom,
would she've had a reason to smile?
I wonder if she ever felt the hard pang of regret.
How loud it screams,
how noticeable the most useless things get.
And did she ever think to blame herself?
Or was she wiser, her face a mask
for knowledge, that indifference is sometimes best.
If she were alive, and walking past me on the street,
this would all mean nothing.
But her gray nothing arouses something in me.
I can't help but wonder,
If she ever felt lost, did she find her way?
And afraid, did she face her fear in the end?
I imagine if she could witness me,
there holding her picture,
she might herself, feel something of wonder.
And maybe at some place in time where she waits,
her mountains would've grown smaller.
The times she cried,
closer to nothing than something.
I imagine if she could tell me anything,
she might not tell me anything at all,
Herself knowing the light
at the end of every dark road,
the length that gives it meaning,
the darkness that intensifies the light.
Categories:
unsmiling, time, me, dark, dark,
Form:
Rhyme