Best Wagered Poems
On the streets of sin city, on the high roller's main drag,
Known as the Las Vegas Strip, a gentlemen phantom
Does stroll dressed in all black attire, striding forth with his golden Cain,
Flipping a silver chip into the air, and mocking at its power.
The devil's agent of deception is he, retaining a list of names
To collect upon, this gentlemen bandit of the forsaken.
He is here on the dark master’s behalf, ready to claim on
The I.O.U's signed by the greedy, and innocence fallen.
Quietly, moving amongst the crowded venues, he waits
Until his lord calls the name of the unlucky, to be reposed.
Dance do the neon lights, flashing towards pleasure dens of iniquity,
As ladies whom belong unto the night itself, offer their
Tokens of favor, for a working man's paycheck.
Black jacks twenty-one, cut those cards, and pass them out
The first timers dumb luck, will deliver him unto evil,
On this walkers dead man's list tonight.
Against the loaded dice, no soul is left unsanctified,
On the sacred green velvet altar, the wheel of fortune
Spins out of control, then hitting the baccarat tables
Wooden wall, someone screams snake eyes.
Then all is lost, faded are the dreams of illusion, melting away
Into the harsh desert soil, along the road side leading to sin city.
Beneath the arid sandy duns, lies the grave yard
Of the unknown unidentified, a missing persons
Smorgasbord of the rich and infamous, lying right
Beside, the unreported poor man corpse.
This is the Grim Reapers play ground, taunting
And tormenting, those begging for redemptions
Last chance to gain a reprieves pardon.
But when tapped by his golden cain of death,
Your life's essence has wagered it's last bet,
To the winner goes the spoils, and now you
Belong unto the devil.
People say what happens in Vegas stays
There, and rightly so will he agree, with his blackened
Heart and soul, for after all is this not
The capital of hell on earth, known as
Sin City, Las Vegas, Nevada.
The populations of the undead just added
Another’s names tally and the gentlemen
Dressed all in black, is sent a wandering
Again amongst the crowed streets, to claim
Another victim in the dark master’s wrath of
Vengeance.
BY: CHERYL ANNA DUNN
Categories:
wagered, adventure, america, evil, halloween,
Form:
Free verse
heaven ...
is my prison ...
that dreamy, white tangle of
percale where your
limbs and mine weave sweaty magic -
a moon-daubed canvas of
pyretic passion, public ...
no shut-door, drawn-curtain modesty to
confine or make sacred ...
the danger of chance discovery is
our brush, our pigments but
blood ... water ...
(pray, this haughty
consideration of both ... and each -
is not the nectar of veins
more binding?
yet, in all its giving of life,
water - the most earthly flow, abundant -
is exceedingly more precious ...
more crucial in dynamism
to all the Universe
than that which clots for
kings of kings of kings ...
and those who keep little lives in their
pocket, squeezing tears from
a passion's pains) ...
we watch the
strokes of our masterpiece
take shape ...
our fleshy doppelgangers echo us on
strategically beveled mirror ceiling panels ...
an exquisite debauchery - the
perfect pauses in your form
demanding the gaze ...
oh, to waste away like Erised in contemplation of
your provocative pieces and bits ...
torrid,, touchable temples that I build
myself for the spying eyes
we count on ...
wives, husbands, leches, learners -
a grand performance, ours ...
and ...
from the ashes of our
god, do we arise, (blood, tears and marrow) ...
our mortal senses gone, wagered in
feigned dignity or hope, these
buttresses will stand proud for the
sacrifices of character ... and kindnesses ...
or crumble in care for the chaste
as my illicit actress and I ...
burn.
Categories:
wagered, betrayal, lust, metaphor, passion,
Form:
Free verse
One afternoon fatigued I fell asleep
and dreamed of wings,
since then i have been migrating.
In my gamble of life
I have wagered my happiness,
and lost my path.
As a bird bid farewell to the leaves,
falling to the Autumn breeze.
Stretching its own wings
to a new shelter beyond the seas.
will it fare well among the trees?
or the nest be pestered by snakes.
Days passing by as a fluttering butterfly.
The wind was blowing in the wrong direction.
Heavy wings in rain, can they carry me home.
Counting the feathers from my broken wings.
By the swing of the reaper's scythe, someday
I will resign to my sweet eternal sleep in peace.
-Ravi
Categories:
wagered, farewell, fate, fear, moving
Form:
Free verse
There are times I thought I’d have to say
That my life was all but slipping away
When my heart and mind was numb and dead
When through my ruptured heart my soul bled.
I craved and desired for someone to hold
Someone to love, good sights to behold
Someone in whom to confide my desires deepest
A buddy, a friend, who would be my closest.
But then it dawned, that life aint fair
Nothing comes your way if you don’t dare
If you don’t decide and act with certainty
You maybe fighting up to eternity.
So gird yourself for the battle ahead
It’s better to fight and in doing so be dead
Than in your dotage have a wistful regret
That you wagered never and lost the bet.
For life’s a challenge that ought to be dared
You find your darkest soul gets bared
And you’ve got the guts to stand up and fight
And shine brighter than the brightest light.
If you’ve dared and lost and dared and won
My dear, that’s life and there’s the fun
For what’s the use in your darkest despair
You don’t fight the monster in its deepest lair?
So onward and forward just battle on
For the darkest night there’s always morn
And glory and greatness will be yours my son
If you stand up and fight, you fear nothing, no one.
Categories:
wagered, inspirationallife, heart, lost, heart,
Form:
Verse
" Milk & Bananas "
Hmmmmmmm~ Thought Tea ??
Does this blend require lemon a'plenty?
Or shall it find lime more then amenable?
Shall such cup as is drunk from thus be dainty?
Or should we drink from whichever we find tenable?
Har! Then say so meownself does now!
Preferences bein' whot whot's they are~
Meself should find more goodly some cow~
Nay! Nay! Now not whot's bellied to some bar!
Nor could be called the ear of some sow!
'Tis white & does float bananas so well~
Yet some oft sink 'gainst bottom o'bowl~
Circles do float & crunch fer a'while~
Me parrot so finds ways to beguile!
Must be fast so says me~
'Twere me breakfast 'twould be all a'done~
Nope do it seem whot's wagered or won~
Me damn bird 'as flown now flat free!
Into that bowl a great then kersplash!
Milk & bananas all over black beak~
'Tis now meownself 'as been fox'd thus well~
Whot mess to clean shall require a week!
Ok Ok like some fat cat then purred~~
Pour & hover & wave off damn bird~
Save me some you feath'ry thief~
Lest ye be marooned on yon lonely reef!
Ne'er e'er win this battle shall I~
'Gainst such creature of silvery sky~
SeaWolf
Categories:
wagered, adventure, me,
Form:
Rhyme
Time's flowing tributary; the future changes the past.
Our burial cortege concludes its course at the graveyard.
Falling leaves collapse, crafting new fates; feel the weight of dust.
Some are wagered in a pitcher with burnt bones and ash charred
We tread the twisting trails, yet in the end, all come this way.
The funeral site was bleak and hushed with death and decay.
Where death reigns and no one recalls who under earth lay.
I find peace in the abyss, grasp sky, and haze through the grave.
The woods are gray guiding the cars and assuaging the crave
Nothing appears in the night when it is too brief to save.
With outworn obelisk, only the moss knows the rent draft
You have rote recall for this wreath, yet no time in this yard.
Trusting that I would rest here, bereft of any rich ray.
Leaving behind all my hard-gained assets by a name waive.
1st Place contest winner
Written: February 22, 2023
Writing Challenge - G Words - Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Constance La France
This poem form is the Fragmented Rhyme invented and Conceived by Constance La France. It has 14 lines with indentation, and a rhyme scheme, as follows: ABABCCCDDDABCD
Categories:
wagered, allusion, anger, bereavement, death,
Form:
Rhyme
The roses were like black ice, dark as night.
They lived in a crystal vase were they
were fed their daily juice. My heart
shivered to see them, they were
toxic. Yet I noticed
there was one that was
still red. One with
a healthy
pulse. Its
green
leaves
vibrant.
Its cobra
sting intact. Just
one still with a heart.
An unmistakable
life strength. It was on this one
flower I wagered my money.
It was this one rose I knew who would
take the lead and all the rest would follow.
September- 21- 2014
Categories:
wagered, hope, rose,
Form:
Etheree
Many people have seen him
But no one knows his name
That easy-walking white haired man
Whose made his claim to fame
One day in a casino
He wagered up a bet
And put a hundred dollar bill
On seven in roulette
He won on number seven
And he built himself a stack
Then he went to play some cards
And he won playing black-jack
A drunkard fool most his life
Now sober twenty years
He hasn't had a single drink
At least, that's what he swears
He's been from place to place
And he's made his claim to fame
He's a solitaire aficionado man
Still, no one knows his name
Bring A Character To Life Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Richard Lamoureux
9-4-2019
Categories:
wagered, humor,
Form:
Rhyme
Poor Prince Hal, just wanted a pal, a friend
Someone to drink and laugh with til the end
Pawning all his hopes on white lies so far
Spending all his coins at Quickly's bar
Playing pranks on Falstaff to pass the time
Jolly as the youth, but well past his prime
Wagered then lost in the field, all bets found
Til death do they part and in friendship bound
But a king has no need for washed up knights
Against his own will, the young prince now fights
And Hal then forsakes his friend John the Clown
As King Henry, he now takes up the crown
--
My ode to Henry IV by Shakespeare
Categories:
wagered, betrayal, friendship,
Form:
Couplet
Lazy hips/sugar lips
Dancing beneath these stars
Hazy faces/spaced out places
Still chasing the same daydreams
Dandelion fingertips/let me take a sip
The bets are wagered,the lines drawn
But we fall against the odds/take no regard
Categories:
wagered, age, inspiration, longing, travel,
Form:
Free verse
losing at some game
produces very little shame
no one else to blame
pride quite easy to reclaim
nothing ventured nothing gained
big or little stakes
wagers may keep minds awake
or make weak souls shake
don't bet what shouldn't be lost
keep in mind that final cost
losing in a war
involves relatively more
lost for evermore
may be people you adore
wagered in deadly gore
bet all of one's mind
on what remains undefined
life a non-stop grind
of intensely out of line
dancing with wild emotion
keep the odds in scope
know when it's time to say nope
don’t ante last hope
when on that slippery slope
full of angles and false tropes
Categories:
wagered, fate, loss, lost, perspective,
Form:
Tanka
Memorable moments mystified by gilted pardons,
Iridescent solicitude.
Exclusiveness of me and you.
Purge uncertainties born historically of mislaid intent.
Time presently misspent.
Risked future wagered,
Unbelievable carelessness.
Could one ever surrender fate?
Retrospectively regretful.
Oblivious to your affection,
Anticipated rejection,
Trecharous resurrection.
Should have known better...
Radiance nothing more than a shimmer,
Basking in your aura of indifference,
Admittance to thine self,
Radiance only existed in sight of mine.
Capitulation of souls into feign eternity of sentiment.
No desire to allow our beings to grow for the horizons to follow.
That was our definition.
Somewhat a fool I admit.
Unnecessary pretence.
Insolence pasted across your face.
Incessant disdain,
Safeguarded me of all my aches and my pains.
Indestructible walls,
Higher than before,
Shield my broken heart and shattered dreams .
Buried in expired devotion.
No windows for light to shine through.
No escape,
No sign of a door.
Time to let the healing begin.
No where to go.
Sit tight sugar,
My lesson has been learned.
Nothing more humbling than failing to win.
Categories:
wagered, break up,
Form:
Some men screamed in shock,
Some men demurred fiercely,
Some wagered lots of bucks,
Some resented me dearly...
But dead I'd rather be
If the truth I cannot tell
I choose to face without trepidancy
These attacking crimson bells...
What is this truth I am haunted for
Like mad dogs in mad streets?
That the blind see what you do not,
A darkness so complete...
But them who claim sight dispute,
They claim me to be insane,
How I dare impute
Comprehension to those maimed?
But I hold fast to my assertion,
I dare not give it up,
I closed my eyes for a session,
And felt my belief was strong..
For even when they were closed,
I could just as much see
Dark visions of hope
While you saw blood and steel.
But I do no blame you,
You spoke what you saw,
I spoke what I went through
With my eyes above the world...
Categories:
wagered, allegory, confidence, visionary,
Form:
Verse
Hear the flames crackle
Fall on your sword
Live like a Jackal
Die like a dog
The lion is weary
Hyenas dart and bite
Their laughing is eerie
He'll lose his last fight.
The vultures are circling
Eyes that see far
Their shadow is on you
Wherever you are.
Betrayal was easy
You were attracted to strife
You gambled with demons
And wagered my life
Now dust claims your legend
You can't make it whole
May hell give you welcome
for you the bell tolls
So hear the flames crackle
No lion saves you now
Live like a Jackal
Die like a dog
Categories:
wagered, abuse, anger, betrayal, dog,
Form:
Lyric
Lonely Hearts
By Lola
We wasted time
For days and days
We let it flow
We waste away
We’re broken toys
With plastic hearts
We search the space
A place to start
Frozen in time
Our hands are held
We’re despatate kids
Our kingdoms fell
To crumble down
She never knew
What we had lost
I’ve fallen through
The sun wont rise
Nocturnal minds
While mine will sleep
Her echoes chime
The noise is loud
Redemption lost
We wagered souls
We knew the cost
So hold me close
My friend and I
Cause lonely hearts
Still beat in time
Categories:
wagered, absence, abuse, addiction, beauty,
Form:
Lyric