Unlike Alice in Wonderland
we've landed in a cartoon reality and
America seems now much like Gotham City.
Chaos and mayhem reign.
The criminals are running rampant.
Liars and deceivers rule the media.
We're inundated with fake news
that would have us believe all is okay.
But we live in fear wishing it was all a nightmare.
We wonder how it ever got this bad
but more importantly with bated breath
we await the coming of our hero.
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
He stalks his victims along the Seine
but only beneath a hushed full moon.
In the morning, thinking back
people report they heard
in the distance creepy moans of werewolves.
Meanwhile the elusive culprit still at large,
the moon pleads ignorance.
AP: 1st place 2026
"murder me"
she whispered ...
lips pressed to my nape -
soft-nipping skin
for her betrayal of husband and
family meant as much …
we both knew the sacrifices
and we accepted the cost that instant
then, and for the scandalous
time to come …
she was lost in me -
straddling, pressing … and I, lost in her
so rooted that I was becoming
her in flesh - in all senses …
nothing mattered anymore but
passion and its pyre
torching all in its torrid wake -
all that had mattered
'til then …
it was a horrid
thing for her to speak aloud -
to place in such dire phrasing
yet it was ALL I wanted -
all that I needed and cared
to hear … "murder me”
she whispered again, pressing down
"for I am nothing now ...
“but yours."
~ POETRY AGAINST POVERTY ~
( photographic art created copyright-free by the author with Gemini AI / Meta AI software )
Mental Illness is not a violation.
It's a human experience.
One many carry unspokenly.
The real harm is uncovered
How others respond:
The quick labels, the cold
Stares, the whispered verdicts.
A mind in toil needs support, not punishment,
Compassion, not condemnation.
Because the truth is straightforward:
The crime is in the person
Who sees the hurt and chooses to
Judge it.
Make me feel good
Make me a God
God in me
God is You
You are darkness
You are light
Light up the world
Light shines on rain
Rain creates floods
Rain creates
Creates food
Creates hope
Hope for water
Hope for mercy
Mercy on enemies
Mercy on our soul
Soul on ice
Soul poisoned
Poisoned blood
Poisoned mind
Mind controlled
Mind on freedom
Freedom doesn’t exist
Freedom is a daily struggle
Struggle for equality
Struggle for peace
Peace is colorful
Peace is wonderful
Wonderful gifts
Wonderful world
World of passion
World of crime
Crime of passion
Crime is wrong
Wrong directions
Wrong plan
Plan for safety
Plan for the future
Future blessings
Future prayers
Prayers for culture
Prayers for our children
Children in paradise
Children of the innocent
Innocent planet
Innocent life
Life needs purpose
Life needs support
Support
Purpose
Our Opossum Has a Strong Propensity for Crime
By Frank Daub
Discovered in a backyard nighttime check –
an opossum wandering behind our garden shed.
Pin-pointed face, squinting eyes.
It did not run -- to my surprise.
Only staring, lighted softly by the porchlight.
Little.
Sleek in a white-gray-tan-straight-fur-slicked-down way.
The streets around are not friendly to its kind.
This unfair truth made up my mind.
I should let the shed-bottom harbor it.
This would require: FEEDING.
I decided the feeding plan -- without data-based reference --
would be workable.
I tried every sort of natural vegetable.
Walnuts added when the berries nurtured
hordes of ants --
Not
the opossum.
The dietary effort proved it.
Our opossum has a strong propensity for crime.
Particular it is to nighttime
sneaking forays - for food of course.
(This assured the legality of it for me.)
Our opossum was not particular to dietary do’s and don’ts;
Being just inclined to FEEDING its necessary wants.
The animal had a penchant – not a preference --
an exceeding zest for anything edible.
Incredible.
My worst enemy could be,
could it be a flea?
What is the magical key?
Do I need to make a plea?
Let me sit and think as I drink some tea,
under this fall pretty red leaf tree.
My worst enemy could it be me?
No way or I would flee.
Now down on one knee,
I will ask thee.
My worst enemy could be,
oh please set me free.
Is it a huge crime?
Wish it was as simple a rhyme.
Can I buy it for a dime?
Would you believe it is time?
I need more time in each of my days,
my time runs together as a big maze.
Sometimes I only see a dark haze,
please send me more time without any delays
all stolen vehicles must be
parked in
unmarked caves many
yards away from any
kids playing with
match box gaso-
line wankers
With philosophy and poetry there are sleepless nights; and indeed acrimony.'
Not to mention..The many moany critic's
You see.? With the former calling.' It looks
Real fine..Yet the descriptive is difficult to
Rhyme.' So in as it were? In erud-i-tations academy i opted to go with the latter citation'
For as the ultimate life choice of how i'll
Work out my time..the shorter sentance i
Guess? Was the main factor..To mind,
How though In
Essence of it all.' how did i even get into the crime.?
With philosophy and poetry there are sleepless nights; and indeed acrimony.'
Not to mention..The many moany critic's
You see.? With the former calling.' It looks
Real fine..Yet the descriptive is difficult to
Rhyme.' So in as it were? In erud-i-tations academy i opted to go with the latter citation'
For as the ultimate life choice of how i'll
Work out my time..the lighter sentance i
Guess? Was the main factor..Though In
Essence of it all.' how did i even get into the crime.?
Fascination for the low life part of town
Down the street your head spins round
Don't be caught alone around here night
Bring a gun or you’ll get knifed
By a Gracemont Methhead low life
Don't be born into Okie society
Pay for love, the hate comes free
You’ll have enough money for the rest of your life
If you don’t marry some Latina tramp low life
Don't know exactly where I am
Woke up in my clothes again this morning
I must have sampled the Mexican clam
Didn’t wear a condom ignoring the doctor's warning
I’ve been here too long to be afraid anymore
Can't reach the bed so I sleep on the floor
You can get so stoned you think you can fly
But there is no way you’ll get high
In the Oklahoma low life
burn it.
Burn it.
BURN IT.
All of it,
Every single system,
Every single institution,
Every single building, built by the blood of Black hands.
Violence was a language they understood -
All too well,
So fire is the message we send back
Peace was never an option,
When war was a crime forged against us -
The very people who built their empire.
Blood shackled hands,
Tear stricken faces of the ancestors,
Each tear drop the glue of each cement brick,
Every building burnt - an act of justice,
Every building burnt - a form of reparations
Every system burnt, is justice served
Violence was the only answer -
To the oppressors acts of discrimination,
Of Black bodies strung, hung and burned,
Of every act of racism,
Of every Black person - murdered,
For the simple act of being Black in this world
Muddy paw prints, feathery tufts
Last night's adventures across my stuff
A cat whose wondering
Led to unknown murdering
A crime scene on my kitchen floor
A fluffy tail swishing out the door
Nobody is immune to it.
It happens when we least expect it.
Criminals have got their eye on you.
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
patriot
loyal, proud
honoring, praising, saluting
USA, soldier, criminal, miscreant
deceiving, dissembling, hustling
crooked, cagey
traitor
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