Her inner universe is chaotic.
Nobody gets how deeply misunderstood she feels.
The world cold and callous.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 2nd place 2026
Callous is the earth
That swallows the sunlight whole
Painfully aware
Contest Title: JUST TWO IN ONE SPREE Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Nette Onclaud
Date: Tuesday, October 28, 2025
Title: Memory of Youth
Unit 1
the old gravel road
left her in a cloud of dust
broken hearted and crying
so long ago, still...
I remember my stone heart
and callous actions of youth
Unit 2
young love cast aside
bitter memories still walk
the recesses of my mind
If I could atone
I would make it right for her
she deserved a better friend
callous the call of
---the LIVE persons lives to die
flesh so body yet
spirit soul lives on
forever decay and rot
flesh disintegrates
flesh so body yet
---the persons lives to so die
callous the call of
12/12/23
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2023©
Do not believe all that’s told
All that glitters is not gold
It might look glittery, shiny, and bright
But deep inside there is no light
I saw this woman, she looked pretty and nice
When I got to know her she was cold as ice
In seconds she went from goddess to vigilante
Choosing black is safer than gold can be
She was fire when I first saw her
Burned when I touched her, I shouldn’t have bothered
After all that’s happened hope is dainty
For not looking out for myself I really hate me
When you put all your hope and trust in one
They break it apart and it is all gone
All you have is broken pieces
Looking at it your mind reminiscences
Thinking back on mistakes you made
Do you wish that it would fade?
In your heart, it is stuck forever
Will you put your trust in one? Oh I would never
There aren’t bad people in this world
Just moral people who have a grudge they hold
There is truth waiting to be told
All that glitters is not gold
The world is a callous place,
Indifferent to our strife,
It cares not for our pain or grace,
As we navigate this life.
If we should stumble and fall,
And cry out in despair,
The world will turn a deaf ear,
And pretend we’re not even there.
If we should bleed upon the ground,
The world will drink it without a sound,
Our pain and suffering go unseen,
As if we aren’t even here.
It doesn’t care that we’re cut,
Or that we’re wounded deep,
It marches on, relentless,
Without a moment to weep.
So we soldier on, alone,
In this unforgiving place,
Knowing that the world won’t care,
If we disappear without a trace.
She had a callous patch a few years ago
Bruised and beaten, as some of you know.
Her husband was a rounder, traveling to and fro.
Rough and mean, rugged, but incredibly slow.
She finally flicked him off her big toe as the empowered sometimes do.
Kicked him under the rug with her left foot and shoe.
Like a callous on a winter’s day.
She simply extracted him and ran quickly away.
He told people that she was the callous one.
They laughed at his ignorance, in secret made fun.
But to his face, they kept their callous thoughts clean.
Because he was incredibly slow, vile, and mean.
No trespassing! You with the straw hat you need to go
You’ve a startled face that laughs as you scratch your belly
Recycle man and your thirty-nine-gallon bag in tow
There’s nothing to salvage here, only rubbish I throw
It’s my property which you invade, you’re in my alley
No trespassing! You with the straw hat you need to go
You're an eyesore to behold, I told you long ago
But words mean nothing, man of rubbish so smelly
Recycle man and your thirty-nine-gallon bag in tow
My hands shake, I pray that you don’t come by tomorrow
I’ve seen you eat out of the can, this isn’t a deli
No trespassing! You with the straw hat you need to go
A penny a dime a quarter, it's chump change you borrow
What can these empties buy what is your tally?
Recycle man and your thirty-nine-gallon bag in tow
Haunting dreams in which you appear, it irks me so
I’ll set a trap for you, a poisoned biscuit and jelly
No trespassing! You with the straw hat you need to go
Recycle man and your thirty-nine-gallon bag in tow
Heart shall spark.
Outside ocean's bounds
Full darkness
Our hearts linked
Daylight on the windy bay
I'll be where you are
Written: January 20, 2022
with my much malice
foot came up with a callous
from walking in palace
kayak did straddle
when I did fall from my saddle
broke my plastic paddle
had become sedate
after I did find my fate
empty was my plate.
I am an ordinary person
I also get outraged and do destruction
I am not a God
this is the reason
I do anything without a thought
I also feel jealous
and spell the words
which are very near to callous
Yes I do overthink
as I want to understand
the consequence of everything
I do fall I do cry
but I never stop
to work hard and try
I will never quit
and certainly write with the pen of my success
that I did it
age is like a vehicle
worn wheels wielding dark dribbles
taunted track melting moans
trained tyres whooshing gaunt glow
time pumps felon fuel
motive cum time, drooling duel
voluptuous velocity greets effort
youthhood yearning punctured pawn
age is also a staff
callous cedar fashioned by halves
time being a seething saw
chopping base, holder to earth draws
the keener the staff is rent
the closer man is to death.
'20:05:16:11:30
Note: of airy age.
eerie odds awed
puncturing pulpy pores
sassy spell spurned
leering lanky lurch
felon fate features
fuming strained seizures
airy alakazam hatched
taunting tampered trance
draped dribble's prank
smothered smirk starved
porous platter parked
moaning meagre marks
wielded twain wedged
callous camouflage's crest.
'20:05:15:18:46
Note: Of plagued personality.
feeble flesh feigned
rusty reels' reign
hoity hankers bled
porous pruning led
furious feast fetched
blind blitzkrieg belched
gaunt gifts gored
punctured pills pored
nocturnal nature bored
taunted trees moaned
callous crest cloned
damping drooling drone
eerie ends etched
callous catastrophe clenched.
'20:04:06:20:38
Note: Of wanky war.
bounty bodies blush
under taunted touch
felon flesh foster
tuning tactic trigger
puking pulsing bullets
seeped'n saucy triceps
callous capillaries cremated
fiery feelings hoisted
fostering foil funeral
embalmed zeal oozes
eerie ******** fuming
at tarred ****
passion scaled peaks -
smeared smothered spree.
'20:02:05:19:21
Note: A picture prompt.
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