Best Unsteadily Poems
i'm just getting started
unraveling the threads
of this tattered lonely soul
sewn so long ago
apparition's crooked hands
grapples the rusty needle
as she unsteadily threads the eye
...flashback to childhood years
where a mother ties the loop
of darkened threads
cleaved from her own spool
pierced by torment
of each aberrant stitch
i am sealed in the seams
bound, unable to break free
as i bleed through the confines
of my soul's weary cries
my blood spills crimson
through shadows cast
of harvest moon
as she rocks unsteady
upon the walls of mind
beneath the hum
of unsung lullabies
watching as i undo
each crooked thread
sewn by her hands
unable to baste
with death's bony hands
she pricks through my heart
with soulless glower
as i disenthrall
the last threads
i stitch her deep
within the weaves
of memories
and poetry
...i'm just getting started
September 18, 2019
Just getting started poetry contest
Sponsored by John Hamilton
New jacket, new bike.
Old man rode
Wobbling unsteadily
Straight into a pond,
Frustrating the ducks.
The unpredictable yaw of rolling seas,
as in life pummels us from side to side
randomly dictating its capricious ways
lacking logic the tossing grips us and seeks to take our lives
Death, like the ghost of Christmas past,
comes and expresses a tale of coldness and desolation
under the guise of light the dues it extracts from the living
accumulate like wrinkles on our faces the years pile on
The uncertainty of pandemics sends people into despair
mental frenzy engulfs societies
people wring their hands with worry
what happens if I get sick and lose my income?
At night I hear the sound of eighteen wheeler trucks rumbling
On the blacktop toward companies that make copious profits
past the foothills where coyotes cry nature's lament
exacerbating my approach to a precarious and worrisome future
Sometimes, I feel like a watermelon cut in half
exposed to the desert heat slowly drying up
or a taco at Christmas time or a paraplegic in a footrace
exposed in those places where I don’t belong
Leisure time for the working stiff is so elusive
yet now all I’ve got is time and plenty of it,
but there’s no leisure in it only worry
and does not give me needed rest
The yaws of life
seldom deviate from its variant course
but like ships at sea rising and falling in a tempest
our minds proceed at an ambiguous yet dangerous speed
With our hearts frozen in a delirium of past disappointments
they vanish the happy times into the ether of regrets
still we cling to those cherished happy time memories
when Life was more accepting of our youthful indiscretions
Our Ship of Life moves predictably toward an unknown horizon
unsteadily shaking us from side to side, up and down
like loose apples bobbing in an ocean
with our paths uncertain unfolding as we hold on.
Copyright © norberto franco cisneros
Age three, crisscross apple sauce, hands in your lap.
Age five, scooting a few inches, to let whole class in.
Age twenty-three, fresh out of college, a brand new teacher,
Criss-cross applesauce in the circle with your kindergarteners.
Age thirty-four, sitting on chair, in crisscross circle with kids.
Age forty-four, attempt at crisscross on floor, kids snickering.
Age fifty-five, on chair again, in crisscross circle with kids.
Age sixty-eight, on floor, crisscross for thirty minutes.
Legs fall asleep, can barely stand. Would kick myself if I could.
No idea this was going to happen. Standing unsteadily,
Both feet asleep. One of the third graders comes over and hugs me.
Thanks me for coming, and I cannot walk out the door yet.
Age does matter.
Watching you struggle,
With the demons you hold,
Ignoring the life’s lessons,
And all you’ve been told.
Shuffled and dank,
You appear out of sorts,
Unsteadily perched,
Rocking; back and forth.
Eyes of distain glaring about,
Moans of displeasure,
As if there was doubt.
Selfish, and subtle,
Ingesting such filth,
Silent surrender,
Of body; and will.
Fingernails blackened,
Skin ashen grey,
Unable to determine,
Night time or day.
No hope for the future,
No desire to soar,
Depleted ambition,
Nothing is more.
So sad how it started,
All in good fun,
Unshaven and dirty,
Remnants of,
My son.
The way you walk unsteadily,
But those wrinkled hands made dishes heavenly
Your words are straightforward, sometimes spicy
But it contains nectar with perfect quality
Tenacity of yours become an allurement
Upon the reflection of the ideal mother on earth
I grabbed your hand in the middle of our walk
I sustain half weight of yours when you said tired on your footsteps
We laughed off the humority of our different generations
The curve of your face overshadowing me by the figure of your son, my husband
What have I got sometimes beyond the things which I earn from my mom
You missed your grandchildren, you say
You missed the excitement in the middle of your living room which now is hollow
The curve of your face overshadowing me by the figure of your son, my husband
You said, every descendants of yours should be mature by their educations
"Do not repeat the failure of my times"
Economic problems snatched your opportunity
Your chance to gain the precious time in knowledge, you say
You said with the trembling lips
And eyes glazed with tears which almost spill
My heart melts
I held my bleary as well
Dear mother-in-law
Our lives would be much better
A promise will I hold till further
For the sake of your son, my husband
It was the worst division of life,
I was afraid and feeling lonely.
No one seemed to be friendly,
Even, I was entirely different from others.
I asked what the negative factor was,
Why I was a big jerk for others,
One after another, I had to face difficulties.
Heaven was there but no vacancy for me.
Daily routines did not stop for a while,
No time to think about expectations,
No time to wonder its severe consequences,
God was disappeared.
Mostly, I kept quiet and looked dull,
Thinking of my past failures
When I remembered,
How my life took a huge turn,
A thrill of terror went through my body.
I could see my life getting damaged,
And I found no ointment for it.
I was exhausted of it,
I was vanished.
My mind had already crossed its limitations,
There was a queue of failure thoughts.
I cried and begged:
To stop thinking, let me sleep for a while.
The day came, I was left alone,
Standing on my house roof
Nightly sky was deep and dreary.
Suddenly, a little star sparkled,
Sprinkled all over the sky
I felt as if it touched my heart.
The lost hope was seen inside the stolen heart,
That changed the whole mind.
If a little one could bright in the darker world,
Then why I was not like that?
My life took an another passage,
I am remembering the harder previous days,
When I was a struggler
Now I believe in unsteadily fate,
I believe in me.
The Big Ben bangs!
Reminding me its twelfth midnight
Packing my things
Preparing to go home
Car keys on hand
Off to go, outside..
I looked up to search the smile of moon
Seeking winking stars even if strewn
Disappointed, they have gone too soon
Along the driveway,
A sudden gust of wind
One by one - by - one bulbs turned little from blind
Whole ground now of silence and darkness cocoon
Leaves of trees began swaying without rhyme
Creaking and wailing sounds from somewhere
Creeping coldness start to travel on my spine
Gnawing hungry sounds, increasing - vibrating
Lightning and rumbling thunder in pairs
Scents of death arising - filling the chilled air
Then suddenly................................
My car moves unsteadily..
Something heavy above..
Nails digging in my car roof..
Shadows of winged grotesque creatures
To my screen shield a horrific peekaboo...
rattling me.
shocking me..
letting me scream....
I SCREAM..
SCREAM..!
SCREAM-AND-SCREAM!
yet, no one seems to answer..
Only my voice echoes back for me...
Things i can only do is to....
Close and blink my eyes
As I whispered a little pray'r:
"If this the start of a whole new world,
my God save me from this nightmare..."
by
olive_eloisa
2:44 am
April 11, 2014
CONTEST: DARK AND MYSTICAL
SPONSOR: SHADOW HAMILTON
3RD PLACE
I’m back in my childhood’s home
in its dank and dismal cellar
walking warily, unsteadily down
ancient
narrow
stairs.
The old-time wash machine with wringer
stands there in the center of the gloom
as I remember well it always used to.
Above me is the hanging bulb
with my late step-dad’s makeshift switch
which once I was electrocuted by (strange current went surging
from my fingers to the middle of my arm).
My eyes are just beginning to adjust.
But still it is so black.
Something’s in this room with me.
I sense, I do not see malignancy -
It’s omniscient; omnipresent
and pressing onto me.
A bat is fluttering eerily;
I know this, and yet I cannot see its wheeling frantic wings.
I make my way
so slowly to the bulb
suspended from the low and cobwebbed ceiling.
Reaching out I grasp the switch,
and a face appears suddenly before me.
Fear washes over my entire being. . .
Satan has me!
(This was, in fact, a nightmare, the worst I ever had. Nothing else ever came close!)
The unpredictable yaw of rolling seas,
as in life, pummels us from one side to the other
randomly dictating capricious ways
arbitrarily gripping our lives
Life, like the ghost of Christmas past,
comes at night, tells its tale and is gone
but the dues it extracts keep mounting
like wrinkles on our faces the years pile on
The uncertainty of pandemics sends people into despair
mental frenzy abounds,
they wring their hands and worry
what happens if I get sick and lose my job?
At night I hear the sound of eighteen wheeler trucks rumbling
toward companies that make copious profits
past the foothills where coyotes cry nature's lament
exacerbating my precarious and worrisome future
Sometimes, I feel like a piece of watermelon
exposed to the desert heat slowly drying up
or a taco at Christmas time or a paraplegic in a footrace
exposed in those places where I don’t belong
Leisure time when needed is so elusive
yet now all I’ve got is time and plenty of it,
but there’s no leisure in it only worry
and does not give me needed rest
The yaws of life
seldom deviate from its variant course
but like ships at sea rising and falling in a tempest
they proceed at full speed
Our Ship of Life moves predictably toward an unknown horizon
unsteadily shaking us from side to side, up and down
like loose apples bobbing in an ocean
with our paths of uncertainty unfolding as we hold on
With our hearts frozen in a delirium of past disappointments
they vanish the happy times into the ether of regrets
still we cling to those cherished memories
when Life was more accepting of our youthful indiscretions
maybe, but Life being what it is, we cling to the good feelings experienced
that we come to accept as the ebb and flow of life evolves
and pushes us toward a far horizon
one we shall never know.
Strong self-regulation plays a role as the character named tenet
She stands on a human imperfection as being unequal
The silence which tries to wriggle in a surge of life
Successfully tickled her peace, her serenity
Try to wash away all the black and white under her consciousness
Private figure imprisoned her in mirage
She opens her eyes and tear down all the walls
Stand on the insecurity she found her self in hollow...
Drowning in a sea of fears...
The brutality of words rape her morality
They took those pictures of her and replaced her into a limbo
She lives unsteadily, she wished to be saved
Blindness was coming later along with the beautiful paradise but fake ...
This crisis did not stop ...
Shout through the empty space
She began to dissolve within her nature
For the implication of silence had rotten
Deep abyss creates her in bitter and sore....
She nuzzled her first born,
Until he ungainly stood.
Fresh birthed, dewy damp,
Rocking unsteadily, a new life.
The herd settled, calmed by mother instinct.
Then slowly moved down the rocky draw,
Hooves dance, tattooing the morning mist,
Shaking the night loose, dawns promise,
Roaming the lush verdant growth.
Singing the song of the herd, brethren of the wind.
And the little foal understood the song,
They heard his first call.
Joyfully hearing the whiny of a new life.
But it wasn’t always so, with master-men.
Confined to the plow and jig, consigned
To repetition, plodding nowhere
To stall and back as leaves fall
And blossom’s end in endless cycles.
But now they’re running free,
And they’re strong for the herd is many.
Manes and hooves, glistening forelocks sprint
Breaking morning’s silence.
Hush, they instinctively stop, shiver
And smell the man-masters approach.
Frightened, instinctively moving,
The herd’s survival depends on escape,
Fleet of foot, to run from the man-master smell.
Down the shallow draw the hooves pound,
And up the crest with nowhere to go.
Their stretched out lithe bodies
Momentarily outlined by the evening sun.
Over the edge they plunge
For freedom’s sake, thousand foot down.
Walking through the pedestrian of crowd
You were shackled by your own cloud
You went to a surprise party which never held for you
You are the list beyond the overview
You are not a harm person, not the nice one either
You are just one creature who deserve to live better
All that you want just one love
But still you forsaken by none love
Sometimes questions were left you in wonder
Where were those people who ever hold the past fever
People who used to be your wing man, but now acted like a new comer
Clustered in innocent mind, but well.. That's not a new bummer
You walked searching for a trace line
Head's down unsteadily lost your own shine
You see people, while people may not see you
You become a vague as wind which never be seen but blew
The stage is set, suns’ bright enough
And the rainbow colorful alright
The wind starts the humming, pines whistle along
And the birds sing out in unison
The party can begin now, a jamboree it is
And its gonna be natures style
The waters reflect the message, grass carry it along
It is a beehive of activity
The frogs croak throatily; desperately trying
To align their raspy vocals
The trees stagger unsteadily; trying as hard as
Possible to perfect their dance
The butterflies jump disorderly; beautifully determined
To choreograph their routine
The ants are tripping over each other again and again
Trying to organize their band
The skies are the audience, always changing moods
‘coz the party never gets underway
5...4...3...2......1..GO!
Get ready to release yourself from deep waters
Land on high grounds
Thrills surrounding your awed temptations
3...2...1..
You are ready to take your first flight!!!
To a wondrous
Space of wonders
Good morning to a space glimpse!
Luminous happiness sweltering
From a secure, sincere sunshine
Peeking from scarless sun
Careless of the background
Space of wonders
You'll be always remembered
In my photographing memory
Cherished as my own child
Remain mild...control the ship in a sprinkled space
Space of wonders
How could you mutter those
Floating inspirations?
Tripping on every verse
Keeping track of space life
Full of energy and renewal
The commotion from Earth
Has been on the duelist
It's inspired for awhile
Replaced with a remarkable universe
Space of wonders
How could you burn our hearts with threatening passion?
Hugging us in compassion
How could you mutter those
Floating aspirations?
Cherished as my own
favorite memory
Good morning to space life
Devious and uncontrollable
As slick as many criminals
Working as a one big team
To circulate around
The main sequence of trouble
Glisten as the star-filled sky
Along with warm, heartening rain
Good morning...
To you, oh glorious soul!
Your vision shown in space
Rolling in your circular face
Thrilling and tripping unsteadily
With an unstable way of living
Close the scene for a lightyear moment
Feel our diversity
Watch the stars roam about like syrup rubbing against a soft, puffy
pancake
Take your flight, you sunlit fairy
On a cloudless, scarlet sky
Shining as the sun
Swiftly diving down as a surfing dude
Open as the driven waves,
trusting the possible tasks
Put your task aside for now
Save it for leftovers
We are arriving in our zoo-like cage
Suitable for excitement and ominous worries
Welcome royal destiny!
Arriving on the doorstep of your front door
Along with a letter saying:
"Goodbye to midnight bliss!
Good morning to a kiss of gleaming space of wonder!"