Best Willfulness Poems
2025 Poetry Marathon Mile 14 Contest
Sponsored by: Mark Toney
Contest Judged: 9/6/2025 12:49:00 PM
( 1st Place )
Written: September 04, 2025
They said the songbird
her wings twisted and torn
should quiet herself...
that the sky held no place
for the fragile or the worn.
Yet she kept a sky tucked inside her - a
place untouched by any hand.
At daylight she let her voice rise
and though her body stayed earthbound,
her song lifted past the edge of flight.
The wind slowed to listen,
branches bent nearer
and the horizon seemed to pause,
stirred by her willfulness .
Each note unlaced an old wound,
each chorus pushed against the walls
of a world that once turned her away.
Her feathers never mended,
yet her dream grew wide enough
to shelter every broken one who followed.
From her we understood:
reaching the sky
was never about wings at all.
"The amount of good luck coming your way depends on your willingness to act". Quote by Barbara Sher
______________________________________________________________
Whispers of disobedience float in the air.
A challenge beyond the conformity snare
An inability or refusal to shift or comply
However, awareness stirs—a probing stare.
Prejudice dances with arrogance—and defy
Forcefulness quality—firm fervor to untie.
Rebellion and lack of collaboration clash.
Invest in openness—it's time to stroll and fly.
Refusal and firmness oppose ceding or crash.
Willfulness, otherwise, is wisdom gained to dash.
Mastery gives way to mystery—humility to adore.
As the spirit discovers its own rhythm and flash.
When you act from the depths of your soul's core.
You sense a river flowing—a delight you can't ignore.
Award-winning is optional, as has been shown.
However, the drive to prevail is a factor to explore.
Vocation isn't from having a strong will alone.
It involves listening and finding your unique tone.
The dance of will and stubbornness—a path of dread
A delicate equilibrium, a magnificent finesse throne
So let your resolve lead you—push you ahead.
Listen for the hushed voice of willingness instead.
For in the rhythm of these two, a dance to adjoin
Therein is the beauty of growth—wisdom to be said.
Let us, therefore, accept both sides of the coin.
The determination and commitment to join.
In the dance of avarice and openness line.
We uncover our true glory, our inner enjoin.
In the vast symphony of life's grand design
Willpower and flexibility dance—intertwine.
Because it is at the junction of these two.
That we find our essence and its true sign.
1st place contest winner
"The summit cannot be seen",
what possibly can this mean?
There's always a certain goal;
vivid visions all should see
mere high bows to certainty.
Climbing for a brighter day,
will we likely lose our way?
This summit seems but a dream;
insights hit a sudden stop
finally finding the top.
Together hearts beat as one,
getting closer to the sun.
Truth in the heart, our best guide;
freed from fears of "I" and "mine",
ego takes a steep decline.
Blinded by sheer willfulness,
longings towards consciousness.
We will cling to what is dear;
our soaring spirit shall speak,
when we stagger up this peak.
Emerging through clouds on high,
new vistas to mount nearby.
Victory's a fleeting flame;
inner thoughts fade in thin air,
as one arrives, nothing's there.
25 lines rhyme 130 words
catalectic iambic tetrameter
Zen koan, Moshan monk phrase
"The summit cannot be seen"
from the Hidden Lamp book
*Image of A Good Night by Pixabay.
Bids Thee A Night of Good
O' fairest maiden, thy vaulted domain art free,
Doth fleeth from thy bonds of horizons hold,
Cast thyself, and claim your superb crown to be,
Thy willfulness causeth favor amidst the bold,
Luminescence shewn thee that thou hast donned,
Transcend and traipse be thine eternal realm,
Behold the arrested eyes blessed beyond,
Whence cometh a melody beseech thee a psalm,
Surrendereth my soul, albeit, attune suite to calm.
2022 February 26
*1st Place*
The Night Sky
~~Anna Marie Kaianah: Judged 2022 April 30
Why would I care enough
to open your recipe story?
Why don't I care enough
to pour you in to enrich mine?
I love your wild seasoned willingness,
can't say the same for our salty willfulness
to exchange our sweet belonging
for side-by-side sour longing.
for being karma's relentless instructions
when we could more peacefully
become simple incarnate
co-productions.
Prime cooking together
feeds my soul to yours,
organic compost
sublime breakfast
wild voiced beings
with choices
stir-flying nice.
Freedom from recipe's half-baked inwardness
evolves freedom toward half-fried out hypothesis.
Natural nutrients grow strong values
folding our stories with care.
We are each Earth looking back,
out,
in at Self's human identity
longing to return
from where we have never left.
Each bicamerolling lens,
frame,
each informating incarnating karmic string of DNA
revolving back through generations,
back to Prime Relationship
of species branching off
our multiculturing Tree of Life,
absorbing RNA crystal light sap
soaring back through space-time's
polynomial plasma fold
Zero-sum win-win ecologic Codex,
grace-fields of regenerating economic
Commons prehension,
being our becoming Earth-bound
climax community.
Each death of willfulness
a redemptive pledge of willingness
to share each breath,
each life,
Earth's Self-Care.
How is Gaia looking today?
What does Earth's emergent identity absorb through you?
Through us competing to consume?
Through us producing, learning, growing, singing, dancing,
working and playing,
laughing and crying together?
The shadows from his younger days shake his resolve,
and make a mockery of time 'til time be lost
to moments of bewilderment, ne'er to evolve,
they bounce and bluster errantly, much to his cost.
Shades and silences, outbursts of ungoverned rage,
cruelty breeds rancor, e'en in the meek at heart,
kept and restricted, like a creature in a cage,
no literature for him, gentility or art.
Dissimulation, trickery and guile he plies
as tools to engineer self-preservation,
he tells quaint versions of the truth, and bald-faced lies,
so to avoid the whip and recrimination.
Childhood is the birthplace of hope and mirth
not fear and perturbation for the budding soul,
a testament to love where supplicants may dwell;
not tyranny or willfulness, a wayward goal.
Shun darkness, disillusionment from God's green earth,
cast demons, evil thinkers to the depths of hell!
Last Modified: January 09, 2016 at 07:20 pm
© bickerstaffe - all rights reserved
Author Notes
...the first three verses: abab rhyming
the next two together: abcbac rhyming
a form used frequently by W.H. Auden
Certain men have risen to claim dominance over society,
Their actions attest to barren depths of indifference,
Caring not that those who are unable to fight back
Are trodden beneath the heavy boots of oppression;
Artistry, vision unrecognized by these ruthless men
Allowing the best of creation to fall unrealized;
Blindness reflected in the aperture of willfulness,
They fail to realize the key to their survival
Depends upon those they seek to trample.
Denying the nuance of eternal life,
Disbelieving warnings that their war-filled saga
Lacks the grace of God’s perfect blessing,
Their hubris knows no bounds,
Their proclivity for power overriding any doubt.
With no one possessing the temerity to question their authority
They flourish in shallow praise, unable to comprehend
They bring about their own self-inflicted death
As disease eats away the marrow of their existence.
Unmourned, unheeded they shall pass away
Forgotten, unremarkable as they die an ignoble death.
11/19/18
Biological copulation draws Easter egg,
fecund gooey glommed gametes
heralding zygote
(adroit bitcoin currency)
describing extemporaneous fusion
generate hormonal influx
juices kickstarting life manifold
natural occurrence pregnancy
quilts rudimentary secrete tapestry
until vicar wizard yields
zealous adorable biological concatenation,
derivative extrapolated filigreed
Gonads heft, induce jointly knotted linkedin
MineCraft nascent occurrence
presaging quintessential reproduction,
sharing third trimester,
umbilical venerated womb
yawping zee amazing baby,
credit deoxyribonucleic acid,
enigma fantastically grand
husband injected jetted klatch,
leaving microscopic nothings,
opportunistically pierced quarters,
readied shutterfly trap, uterus vibrantly welded
* * * * * * * * *
yoked zappa bun,
cooked definitive enchilada,
formula generations hardy
induced jimmied kin,
labored maternal newborn,
one pricked queue,
randiness spurred testes ubiquitously,
voyaged whimpering yelper
thence subjected to the royal treatment
whence reality inundates
the full term offspring
upon a lifelong journey
(initially as a foreigner sans in utero),
but willfulness viz life source
secures survivor against pinging peccadilloes
learning by trial and error to iron out kinks
as one among the human league
since the modus operandi to transcend
encumbrances triggers built in impetus
to traverse poet tent shill pitfalls
along the space/time continuum trajectory
which adversity only serves to net greater strength
since that instantaneous and spontaneous bitmap
encoded upon conception.
????**Hey there!**?? ??
Biological copulation draws Easter egg,
fecund gooey glommed gametes
heralding zygote
(adroit bitcoin currency)
describing extemporaneous fusion
generate hormonal influx
juices kickstarting life manifold
natural occurrence pregnancy quilts
rudimentary secrete tapestry
until vicar wizard yields
zealous adorable biological concatenation,
derivative extrapolated filigreed
Gonads heft, induce jointly knotted linkedin MineCraft
nascent occurrence
presaging quintessential reproduction, sharing third trimester,
umbilical venerated womb
yawping zee amazing baby, credit deoxyribonucleic acid,
enigma fantastically grand
husband injected jetted klatch, leaving microscopic nothings,
opportunistically pierced quarters, readied shutterfly trap,
uterus vibrantly welded
* * * * * * * * *
yoked zappa bun, cooked definitive enchilada,
formula generations hardy
induced jimmied kin, labored maternal newborn, one pricked queue,
randiness spurred testes ubiquitously, voyaged whimpering yelper
thence subjected to the royal treatment
whence reality inundates the full term offspring
upon a lifelong journey (initially as a foreigner sans in utero),
but willfulness viz life source secures survivor
against the pinging peccadilloes
learning by trial and error to iron out kinks
as one among the human league
since the modus operandi to transcend encumbrances
triggers built in impetus
to traverse poet tent shill pitfalls along
space/time continuum trajectory
which adversity only serves to net greater strength
since that instantaneous and spontaneous bitmap
encoded upon conception.
The shadows from his younger days shake his resolve,
and make a mockery of time 'til time be lost
to moments of bewilderment, ne'er to evolve,
they bounce and bluster errantly, much to his cost.
Shades and silences, outbursts of ungoverned rage,
cruelty breeds rancor, even in the meek at heart,
kept and restricted, like a creature in a cage,
no literature for him, gentility or art.
Dissimulation, trickery and guile he plies
as tools to engineer self-preservation,
he tells quaint versions of the truth, and bald-faced lies,
so to avoid the whip and recrimination.
Childhood is the birthplace of hope and mirth
not fear and perturbation for the budding soul,
a testament to love where supplicants may dwell;
not tyranny or willfulness, a wayward goal.
Shun darkness, disillusion, from God's green earth,
cast demons, evil thinkers to the depths of hell.
3 poems for contest entry
Failure to come to a Complete Stop
Auto battery.
Clicking.
Depleted energy.
Feeling grumpy, harried,
Impatiently jump-start Kia.
Leave Mom’s neighborhood.
Octagonal, purely quintessential red sign taunts.
Upping velocity, willfulness exacerbated, you zoom…
Yikes!
Extraneous white vehicle (undercover) trumpets sirens.
Realization quickens… Pegged!
Officer notes makeshift license knowingly.
Jail imbues hastily.
Gaining freedom – eight-thousand dollars cash.
Busted again.
-----------------------------------
When the Princess gets Agitated
Some things
test
our
preconceptions.
Some things
Try
Our
Patience.
Some things
TWIST
OUR
PANTIES!!
…
Sorry, time out, please.
-------------------------------
When Time Stands Still
Leaping in barefoot abandon
Soaring every which way from Sunday
Laughter effortlessly exhaling cool breezes.
Lounging on nature’s lush carpet
Silhouette illumined by carefree serenity
Lapping up rays and shining them back
Licorice sticks and crackers and brie
Sweet plumpness of kiwi and mango and peach
Licking ripe juices off contented grin
Long luscious showers in waterfall glory
Swirling delightfully playfully pure
Lingering loving caresses of freshness
Last blush of daylight’s electrical charge
Sunset yields gracefully generously kind
Lights flicker syntax where space enfolds meaning
Lay here beside me
Savor my dream
Let my enchantment touch yours
man-child used to being a shooting star
drinks always came for free at the cash bar
full to brim with urges and willfulness
left wondering alone in wilderness
not quite able to keep up with himself
loss and wanton desires ruin mental health
focus gone, became another lost boy
"Aw shucks" demeanor his major decoy
not understanding skill in scoring points
a lifetime of pleasure does not appoint
Johnny was after all his father's son
truly did not seek to hurt anyone
like so many others, gone way too soon
leaving the rubble of legend he'd strewn
...inspired by 'The Traveller' by W.H. Auden
The shadows from his younger days shake his resolve,
and make a mockery of time 'til time be lost
to moments of bewilderment, ne'er to evolve,
they bounce and bluster errantly, much to his cost.
Shades and silences, outbursts of ungoverned rage,
cruelty breeds rancor, e'en in the meek at heart,
kept and restricted, like a creature in a cage,
no literature for him, gentility or art.
Dissimulation, trickery and guile he plies
as tools to engineer his self-preservation,
he tells quaint versions of the truth, and bald-faced lies,
so's to avoid the whip and recrimination.
Childhood should be the nursery of hope and mirth,
not fear and perturbation, for the budding soul,
a testament to love, where supplicants may dwell;
not tyranny or willfulness, a wayward goal,
shun darkness, disillusionment from God's green earth,
cast demons, evildoers to the depths of hell!
What seems an impossible feat
of forte and noble resolve
to boldly face the bitter gale,
a smallish bird feathers the wind.
His wildly beating wings afford
what seems an impossible feat
of willfulness against his foe,
as he hunts for suitable prey.
He hovers so he can find his
preferred meal scuttling around in
what seems an impossible feat
to escape the eyes of the bird.
Such beauty in nature is rare
and one should be awed by the sight
of the kestrel’s stamina in
what seems an impossible feat.