Best Wryly Poems
Nature smiles in Spring
Pulls at our heart string
as greenery's hued in greener tinge
Having had an everlasting effect
on those evergreen trees.
Nature frowns in Autumn
gets all bored, pale and blue in the fall
Almost seems to sigh drily, wryly
Looks dull and drab
except for the windy breeze.
And this very mother nature
in full-blown winter
gives all the cold shoulder
Reveals her cold-hearted side
Could'st turn into a cold-blooded murderer
Even her nature lovers get cold feet
Besides, the winter sun is cold comfort .
A time for a A-tishoo in your tissue
a time for the noisy sneeze
Oh! Beware her icy glare, in the cold war
as she coerces all to freeze!
Ah, in summer, nature boils and goes into a 'heated debate'
What with the burning sun and its scorching torment
Ah, she can be hot-tempered this mother nature
But let the sweltered ones bathe in the seven seas
and opt for sundaes instead of steaming teas.
And if you really wish to see
mother nature fuming in fury
Behold it in thunderstorm and hurricane
You crouched safely behind the window pane
For she might storm at you quite violently
Watch out! She could get real stormy
Better stay out of her way at such times please!
And hee hee I do hope yah like
my seasoned seasonal pun
It's fine here to have
some fair weather fun
And take mom Nature's pic as she says cheese!
Yet the point here, she's created as are all mothers
implying God, not she herself could have made all of these
And so like all God's creatures who have free will
she's fallible and perhaps at times free to do as she please.
(Though some bad weather conditions can be due to human pollution in repercussion.)
Categories:
wryly, muse, nature, seasons,
Form:
Tail-rhyme
"Poets are Us"
The blood dripped
off each piranha's
sharpened fang
acquiescing
compliant
with tragic complacency
keep it neat and clean
within the margins
no detours
stick like Teflon
to the poetic rules
virtuous and unsoiled
aa bb cc dd
pristine are us
sanctimonious sugared pus
we live for
accolades are us
Dorothy reads
Poets are us.
Smiles wryly,
laughs
(LadyLabyrinth / 2022)
"Happiness"/ Goldfrapp
https://youtu.be/mnHlGONToIc
"The downward slippery slope...."
(Anonymous)
"Un Coeur Simple", Gustave Flaubert, 1877
https://interlinearbooks.com/blog/our-sixth-interlinear-translation-un-coeur-simple-by-gustave-flaubert/
https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/simple-heart-un-coeur-simple-gustave-flaubert-1877
e-book
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1253/1253-h/1253-h.htm
"Flaubert's Parrot", Julian Barnes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaubert%27s_Parrot
https://www.supersummary.com/flauberts-parrot/summary
e-book
https://pdf.allbookshub.com/general/flaubert-parrot.pdf
Categories:
wryly, dark, humor, poets,
Form:
Free verse
One of two thieves
You can only be
One of two thieves
Better choose wisely
One of two thieves
One scorned and mocked Him
Which of two thieves…?
One had to love Him
Which of two thieves…?
One joined the loud crowd
Which of two thieves…?
Which one are you?
You saw His glory?
Which one are you?
Laughed at His story?
Which one are you?
Helped make Him feel worse?
Which one are you?
Malefactors
Only two were they
Malefactors
One condescending
Malefactors
One, oh, so humble
Malefactor,
Choose this day your side
You, criminal!
For sure are you one
You, criminal!
State what you have done
You criminal!
Do you Him deny?
You criminal!
Do you Him defy?
You, Criminal!
Must be guilty
Then say, why’d He die?
Must be guilty
Yet, you mock and sigh
Must be guilty
He died in your stead
Must be guilty
So praise Him instead
Must be guilty
Hands stained, oh, blood-red!
Yes, ‘tis true guilt
Will you then appeal?
Yes, it be guilt
Take for granted still?
Yes, ‘tis your guilt
But the Father’s will
Took away guilt
How will you repay?
Remain in guilt?
For dear life you’ll pray?
Or embrace guilt?
There are two thieves
But one loves so dearly
Of the two thieves
The other loathes— clearly
You are a thief
On borrowed life, merely,
Day-to-day you live…
Wryly, or merrily?
Did He life give,
That you might live freely?
Be grateful, thief…
Saved undeservingly
Categories:
wryly, appreciation, christian, forgiveness, god,
Form:
All of the wrongs we have done to each other,
We will overlook...
W's lawsuit against my church, because they will not permit him to smoke there,
My interminable and intolerable lateness,
J's calling me, 'pathetic',
MY frustration with W's 'INCORRECT' political opinions,
W's insults, via text message,
MY chauvinism about my religion...
J's unpleasant, unfriendly criticism...
ALL these, we will overlook...
And give each other a good ribbing!
It was my birthday 3 days ago, and W buys me breakfast,
And J gives me a birthday gift,
And we all decide to like each other again --
That is, as long as I am willing to take
A proper beating at chess... THREE TIMES!
And it's all good!
All of the wrongs, we don't mention them.
Except, I squeeze W's shoulder, when I come up, and gently remind him
That we agreed to meet on Saturday...
(They called me today, impatient -- it's Friday -- to say, they are WAITING for me)
And "...oh, did I say SATURDAY?" W asks, wryly, and we all laugh,
And it's all good!
We have forgotten the arguments.
I ask for the family news, and it's all good!
You see, each of us knows,
You cannot replace ONE Friendship, with BEING RIGHT.
So, each of us silently admits to himself
That he was wrong,
And we smile, and it's all good!
And THAT'S the Kindness of Men.
Categories:
wryly, appreciation, birthday, conflict, forgiveness,
Form:
Free verse
how gloweth thine eye
in this sadness of sunlight…
where trees cease shaking
woodland rests with bated breath
wryly squirrels search for home
© Harry J Horsman 2023
Categories:
wryly, nature,
Form:
Tanka
Looks like rain, the old girl said,
As the sky broke stars and bled,
And the clouds all turned black with the swell;
The dingy streets were dim and grey,
The shadow people drained away,
And it seemed as though the town was going to hell.
Looks like rain, the people cried,
As the shop fronts closed and died
And the best days ground abruptly to a halt;
The fairground rides fell still,
And the view from up the hill
Was of streetlights suffocating in a vault.
Looks like rain, I wryly thought,
Just before the first onslaught
Of machinery oiled and primed for tearing down;
With the clanking chains and drilling
Someone made a quick-fire killing
By ripping out the heart from this old town.
Looks like rain, you sweetest child,
I know I muttered as I smiled,
And the oil-paint textures watered in your eyes;
Our own history set to burning
As the wheels they kept on turning,
In the hallowed name of progress I surmise.
Categories:
wryly, history, loss, sad, social,
Form:
Verse
Indian Summer
The poppy said "No",
The nasturtiums said "Wait"
The seedlings were jumping at the gate;
"We have to get through Winter first,"
The old oak spoke, and everyone burst.
The pansies nodded in assent,
With a great deal of sentiment.
He looked down sadly at his girth,
Smiling wryly with perfect mirth;
"Ten more years is all I am worth".
He glanced at the herbs tenderly wilting
And spoke as though his heart were melting
"We have to be patient and wait for Spring,
And there's the catch, it's a learning thing".
"I won't make promises I can't keep
And we all know Winter will put us to sleep".
Summer will rise again, in all it's glory,
And that for now, is the end of my story.
Categories:
wryly, children, funny, nature, seasons,
Form:
Personification
Married for eleven years
It began simply, with daily tears
It wasn’t always bad
Yet on most days I felt terribly sad
The good times were great
No indication of our eventual fate
Together we spawn two children
Early in life they knew the bail bondsman
He began to own me, to assert his control
Eerily I descend deeper into a hellhole
We were together, I was alone
So much fear, I keep my children near
What to do, where to go
Questions I pose but answers I don’t know
I’m so afraid
I realize, my trust I’ve mislaid
I have no skills, I don’t work
If I did, perhaps only a clerk
He uses this against me, wryly offering a smirk
I know I can change him
I love him
He tells me not to worry
He tells me he’s sorry
He is a tyrant
I shed tears
He plays upon my fears
He dominates
He controls
He possesses
He has stolen my voice
Until the day he gave me no choice
We stand, we argue
Then my tormented face is finally kissed by his clenched fist
Stunned, I stagger back
Looking up, searching the sky, asking why
Visible from heaven above
I now see a new sort of love
Loving myself will set me free
As if struck by a lightening bolt
His fist launches my revolt
I know I must go
Jess and Daniel, my helpless children
My love for you I will forever show
His assault is not my fault
A way of thinking I must halt
My children and I start anew, finding a new truth
Self-reliance is our fount of youth
Hands to my face, sobbing with no trace
I will survive and I can thrive
I have beaten the tyrant
Overcome my fears
Having shed far too many tears
Dependent on no one
I have prevailed
Tyrant, tears and fears
Categories:
wryly, abuse, conflict, freedom, love
Form:
Narrative
'No pain,no gain‘ Mum reminded us wryly.
'No lemon no melon' Dad quipped adding pith to the bitter- sweet maxim.
So there we stood, Sis and I, incarcerated by our own parents and ordered to repaper the entire kitchen.
Just desserts in their view for the impromptu deed which had triggered such sanctions.
I refer of course to the unfortunate episode of the tomato ketchup food fight!
The gargantuan task would easily take us till noon so my gym class would have to wait.
Anna had planned a romantic kayak along the river with her new beau Bob.
Her face flushed redder and redder with florid frustration.
This was definitely not on our radar for a Saturday morning's entertainment!
Mum and Dad rubbed more salt into the wound:
‘Try your level best to do a good job of it you two. We’re heading off to the beach’ for a picnic.
It was exhausting but good strong tea was our hourly reviver and Abba playing in the background provided an acoustic pick-me-up; Mamma Mia, what a morning!
’Tattarrattat. Somebody was at the front door.
‘Just called by to see if I could help out‘ said Bob: What a hero!
The whole episode was a real eye opener for us and we learnt a new
life tenet that day that ‘As you make your bed, so you must lie on it!’
03/10/18
‘Palindromes contest’ Sponsored by: Joseph May
( I have used two phrasal palindromes : 'no lemon no melon' and ''my gym')
Categories:
wryly, growing up,
Form:
Free verse
When soft zephyrs are stirring arbor leaves
Words may be overheard whispered from trees.
Leaned against a trunk, my ears on alert,
This ranger heard soft words from a filbert.
A long-limbed water oak, leaning half bent,
Wryly some cross-cultural humor lent:
“An ancient Sawtooth oak nearby is king
His wide girth makes him The Lord of the Rings.”
Wanda the willow was awash in woes,
Dripping with languid leaves down to her toes,
Wondering if she would live some morrow
With strong upright arms as a saguaro.
A stately stout chestnut amidst the grove
Is the President tree where children rove.
One, draped on a limb, attention to gain
Fell; our President said, “I feel your pain!”
A gnarly bald cypress with knobby knees
Said, "When I tumble down, promise me please
My fallen large trunk you will boldly seize
And shape it a ship's bow to sail the seas."
A maudlin Mulberry preached and raved
Saying, “A fallen log cannot be saved.”
Yet Salty dogs yelled, “Shiver me timbers!”
On caravels of north wood, once limber.
An adjacent Scotch pine needled me too,
“Pine nuts are better than ice cream for you.”
Feeling that his advice was out of bounds
I arose to resume my forest rounds.
Categories:
wryly, children, humor, nonsense, silly,
Form:
Rhyme
It is the latest news that even claimed attention there in London...
A video clip somewhere in the city, the central part being redly encircled...
Drawing attention to the running digital display of a statement...
Of an Opposition leader to be imprisoned after a court judgement...
In a followup video received, we have the same politician in the flesh...
Fully coated, smiling wryly, face sombre and eyes rather distressed..
He spoke calmly and elaborated clearly the circumtances...
That has brought him into the present situation of being handed a jail sentence...
His was a call to arms of sorts from one brave politician...
Sounds like he is an unique one in a million...
Someone like Lim Kit Siang or the famous Karpal Singh...
History will vouch for their persistent and righteous stand...
Going headlong and butting the establishment...
When in truth they could choose to be in the pro government camp...
And be honored right up to Tan Sris or any other honorary titles...
And if Malaysian history is to fairly chronicled...
Men like these are men highly principled...
Here for their brethen, the community and the nation...
But their titanic and drawn out struggle for basic principles..
Is enspoused clearly in Bersih 5 and its objectives...
Listen friends, and do listen well, replay again if you must...
Think and decide, evaluate and then take sides...
For we can choose to be right, or we can take flight...
Now we are still free to be spoilt for choice...
Listen and decide, will you stand by your decisive choice...???
Categories:
wryly, anxiety, community, inspiration,
Form:
Free verse
I ask you, “Where might we go:
A land to, or a land fro;
Let the land like a river flow.
Leave yourself behind, and dare,
Dare to know Thoreau.”
Ahh, how the day is
The simplest of all revolutions.
The sun, bright - cannot be missed--
Once departed without ever departing; now
Obvious after lunar-evolution.
The plotting and seeking,
Groping and the hoping:
Blindly in the night
Seeing that which is apart from sight.
But now.
Now, we must depart
To meet our journey…
*Sigh*
See how the sun has risen to set.
Come so far without movement
Tell me: does it regress?
Or is it perhaps, progress.
Disregard my laughter;
For who is the fool?
The fool, or he who follows..
The room takes shape
Darkness illuminates
Like light cracking drapes,
Bare or not, it stimulates..
A stairwell brings inquisition,
Beckoning steps toward the next
And the next and the rest!
Ah yes, the rest,
As many interpretations as a note.
II
See the equations before you,
Like onions-- keep your eyes peeled.
Wryly dancing around thy head.
Stall you tears; fears be shed
Forget the illusion
And any a delusion.
Logic and feeling rotate to portray
This sage's mental ballet.
Voodoo of the mental juju,
With "x2 +y2 = 1" as the tutu.
Confidence in that knowledge
Shall blend solemn passage
For the minute hand is spinning,
The hour hand a'twirling
Let us make haste for:
There was never any
Now will there ever exist
Any time to lay to waste!
Approach the stairs,
Harken that specter-stare!
Alas, in the dark; notice be absolved.
Yonder face far from sight's resolve
Dare to describe it!
A head with shade as pigment
Dark & rich like the night
Translucent in sight.
Eyes leer like pearl
(Allow peace to unfurl)
A face serving witness:
Purely as a pittance
Dread not the shade;
Light astounds from dark's fade
Virgil kept Dante from Oblivion
With true, epic passion
Do not think that face: death
Quotidian rhythm is life's breath.
Leave that Specter
Come, follow your mentor.
See how he fades;
And you nearly bowed, scathed.
Now ascend the stairs,
To who knows where...
Go, before the clock begins
And forsake no secular reins
Buy the ticket. Take the ride.
Quite simply, It seems
Sunken jewels always gleam
Depart into the unknown
No need for any asylum
Categories:
wryly, absence, adventure, imagery, imagination,
Form:
Rhyme
They're once in a lifetime
These moments of joy
The first time you rattle
That colourful new toy
Your first day at school
With the rest of the kids
Your hair all slicked down
Bad smells Mom got rid
The ultimate joy
Of your first tender kiss
The shock when she tells you
Her period she missed
A puff from a cigarette
Makes you dizzy and ill
The beer in the closet
I remember it still
The joy of first child
The smell of their skin
The softness of touch
Their sweet tiny grin
Your first big promotion
The raise that you get
The first time you notice
A grey hair NO NOT YET!
Middle age then follows
With a sickening thud
It's all over now
Your life is pure crud
The sixties are next
And retirement awaits
Where did it go
You're in a hell of a state
Then someone says wryly
You've had a good life
'Whatcha crabbing about?'
But it still cuts like a knife
These tender sweet moments
You experience through time
You'll remember them fondly
And treasure the climb
So hold on to them tightly
They won't come again
They're once in a lifetime
They're to treasure my friend
© Jack Ellison 2012
Categories:
wryly, life, love, sweet, hair,
Form:
Quatrain
A few meters from me is a man
on the breadline; secluded; a beggar—
with his cluttered suit and long parched hair—
add to that a greasy hand
beseeching silvers from the people
wryly staring at him
(at the life he didn’t choose) as they pass by;
but no one seemed to mind.
At the other flank of the street is a soul—
murdered; guillotined; a victim—
amid her blood-smeared gown
she has been sauntering back and forth:
pleading for justice
(and perhaps searching for her head);
but how could people help out,
they couldn’t notice her.
Above me is a bird—
homeless; ravenous; a sufferer
of men’s egotistical doings.
Now he has nowhere to go—
no trees to put up a nest;
(and possibly, no bird of the same feather);
and a breeze of infected air—
all because no one seemed to care.
As the day turned into night—
uplifted; inspired; a noble man I became,
by these enormous stories I witnessed
that only few are able to see.
Categories:
wryly, life, people, satire, urban,
Form:
Narrative
You are my sacramental palace, O queen,
Domicile where my love have been
Waiting. Would I guess your name,
My dame, I will call you mine-
If you lovingly could be keen
To call me yours. I have seen
And looked love in the blinking eye,
You! My sacramental tarbanacle, dry
Of complaint, soft like an infant's palm,
Tender tendril of yam sprouting, sly
So gracious that I gasp wryly, 'why?'
Sagacious serpent gliding so high.
To capture my soul and wean it
Of hate. You career my heart beat
Not with clinical vessel so slow.
But with your voice smoothly knit
In sequence of all of its heat
A spectacle of a marveled kindred spirit.
Categories:
wryly, love,
Form:
Rhyme