Beneath a sky of uncommitted rain,
I walk through streets where windows hold no names;
the city flickers like a dying vein
inside the wrist of midnight’s restless frame.
The moon hangs loose, a lantern without shore,
adrift upon the blackened tide of doubt;
each star appears a nail in Heaven’s door,
yet none can tell what waits beyond or out.
I am a suitcase left on some old train,
tagged by forgotten hands and foreign dust;
the years pass through me softly like cold rain
through roofs abandoned long ago to rust.
Sometimes existence feels a borrowed coat
stitched from the shadows of uncertain seams;
we button up our fragile human throat
and speak in currencies of borrowed dreams.
The mind becomes a forest after fire,
charcoal branches sketching broken prayer;
while somewhere underneath the buried mire,
small roots of meaning twist through ruined air.
And still we rise.
Like ships with cracked compasses glowing,
we cross the fog because the heart keeps rowing.
I want to believe in something-
There must be something more.
Faith lives beyond the labels,
In fragments I explore.
Right and wrong are currencies,
My conscience pays the toll.
I walk between belief and doubt
To nourish my own soul.
My sins are mine to carry,
No mortal hears my prayer.
But Thine and I move silently
Through time beyond despair.
I trace a path through darkness
Still something moves along.
Like Voyager, I journey
Where mystery makes me strong.
Accepting the “not knowing”
It is the way it’s meant to be.
That is my answer
Contentment with Thee.
Young man, you are rich with time -
you have a whole life ahead.
Young man, how I wish it were mine,
and I had your riches instead.
So, won't you, on this fine Spring Day,
spend a little of your time on me?
I don't take cash. I will take it as pay
if you tell me of being young and free.
Old man, you have the whole day,
you are surely rich with time.
Work and school have taken mine away.
How I wish your time was mine -
and with that, the young man swiftly left,
and that ended their debate.
Both of those fellows were feeling bereft -
with currencies exchanged at a different rate.
They say good boys finish last
But eventually all do finish
And then we begin to judge the past
And it's only goodness we relish
Finishing first should save you time
What for, for in it you should have learnt patience
Why seek only material in your prime
And feign learning stewardship and prudence
Go ahead and finish while we learn
Painstakingly gaining wisdom and counsel
More than money, life currencies we earn
Soon your caucus will be ousted by our council
Future events could be seen by seers
But future security is in the wisdom of the years
How soon I pray the mist clears
You lessen your haste for wealth that appears and disappears.
K. Muitherero
Giovanni didn't trust Michelangelo,
He'd heard that for guys he was hot.
But for minimum pay of a florin* a day,
He was willing to give it a shot.
As soon as they started the session,
Gio's senses said something was wrong.
Mickey couldn't decide how to pose him--
Wearing armor, a toga, a thong?
This went on for a while, and then with a smile
The master casually said to the dude,
"Please don't think me a jerk,
But to get this to work,
I must have you totally nude."
Avoiding eye contact, Gio peeked at his contract,
Then took a deep breath and replied,
"Si, but with the insistence that you keep your distance,
And another five florins besides."
And that's the way the story goes,
I've repeated it word for word,
How the most famous statue in all of the world,
The one that's called "David" occurred.
*Author's note: The florin, ducat, and lire were common currencies during Michelangelo's time. A florin, according to one source, was worth 2 crowns, approximately $26.00 today. I could not find the name of the model who posed for this sculpture nor how much he was paid. I doubt seriously if M. paid his models in florins, but I like the alliterations.
The history of fiat
Is chock full of breaches
Of centralized power
That pushes and reaches
Debasing our money
The looters and leeches
Gaslighting people
With Keynesian speeches
Where is our money
In fractional banks?
They lend out in bubbles
And give us no thanks
Restricting our freedoms
With raw overreaches
Yes, the history of fiat
Is brimming with breaches
But now we have freedom
From theft and abuse
A better money in Bitcoin
And the power to choose
The central bank must be trusted not to debase the currency, but the history of fiat currencies is full of breaches of that trust. Banks must be trusted to hold our money and transfer it electronically, but they lend it out in waves of credit bubbles with barely a fraction in reserve.
Satoshi Nakamoto
African youths on good moves
As they understand the situation which moves
Day and night for their benefits
and of others
No matter how they face more challenges
here and there.
They can still focus on some good points
Which concern peace in the world,
development of African economy,
African one currency
and Africa of free borders.
African youths on good moves
African mineral resources
Will be a big reserve to strengthen
the African new currency to stand
with other top world currencies.
Massive youngsters
will be the large productive labours
and consumers
in the continent regularly.
July 19/2023
Concrete cities of our converted land.
Currencies creeping along, Naira or rand.
This is Africa, should we take a stand?
Helping hands strip rich rocks into their bands.
Debtors demanding for repayment. How grand!
Is this not africa, being exploited by their demand?
Twisted talks just to redeem their brand.
Foolish facades of goodness spoken for our misbrand.
Africa's afro now gripped by a hairband.
The beauty of it all Reduced to nothing.
Patterns of pride are left puffing,
pacing and on their knees before assimilation
pushed them to conformity.
Conformity with the rest of the nation's.
The majority of their dim drab glows.
Just another place, that everyone knows.
The loss of togetherness.
People now ungenerous,
As Africa's silky strands replace her natural beauty.
Languages, currencies, religions and flags
Capitals, origins and sorts of tags
Seas, rivers, landmarks and sites of history
Symbols, letters, colors of memory
Pictures of every nation as family
Orders and sects of homily
Cultures and traditions of pride and simplicity
Nurtures and inspires longer than mortality
Your world is not round but flat
Sleeping with peace and honor on the mat
Shapes and sizes of countries so fascinating
Your world on a map, your life in a story not stat
-- stirring and oscillating
To call Bitcoins lowly rated,
Buffet was called old and dated.
Crypto lost its kingdom,
Buffet won back wisdom,
What was to be has now fated.
Greed never pays, nor will,
Nor yet triumphs evil,
No cake can swap with daily bread.
_________________________________
Happenings |02.11.2022| Limerick
Poet’s note: Crypto currencies, all the lot, were like communism that promised power to people through decentralization. But it led to power in the hands of a few unfit people. Unregulated money matters lead to unethical practices. ‘What was to be has now fated’ as this ditty says— a lesson for those who plunged into Crypto currencies like blind. But there is no easy money. It is never ‘different this time’, a warning before laughing all the way to bank. No thinking is old-fashioned when it comes to money.
Naira
Naira
OGUNLABI OLAJIDE YUSUF - NativePen
TIME OF THOUGHT- 12:45am
DATE OF THOUGHT-8/05)2019
Naira
Oh Naira !!
Gone are the days of your radiant gleam
Now a tattered fabric, torn at the seam.
Most sought after Naira is now in her gone glory
Oh, Naira, once mighty and bold, In your story, a somber tale is told.
Beggars on streets, disdain in their eyes,
A currency weakened, to everyone's surprise.
Oh! who is gonna rescue her?
Like a rag, her eight borns surfers in your weakened grip
The foreign currencies are now loved more than before
Anyone to rescue Naira out there?
A plea echoes, as your value takes a dip.
The way forward is toning down our excessive love for foreign currencies
A world of varieties
To be developed
And to be chosen at random
The materialistic world flourishes
The commercial activities activate
The youngsters herald the changes
The currencies flow in and out
In a world of varieties
Everyone is pursuing the materialistic world iof varieties
And so money is the only target for hardworks and ambitions
To buy and possess abundantly
Varirties
In this world of varieties
Currencies
temples grace the cambodian sky
residents on a street talk to their gods
rice sold in the marketplace
a road along a single river
residents on a street talk to their gods
conversations streaming the air
a road along a single river
currents of lives ever-flow
conversations streaming the air
histories to always bear
currents of lives ever-flow
coins passed hand-to-hand
histories to always bear
stories of an ancient land
coins passed hand-to-hand
temples grace the cambodian sky
The city- Battenberg, Cambodia
Wealth sings in my domain, you conjure the Arab kings of old
your brag of a fat account in a bank with my portrait
is laughed by the mouse stealing from my wasted hay
nature’s balance fights me just for you to have stipends
you try to run the way I do, I’ve left you b’cos I now fly
you display your newly acquired peacock, in my backyard is a muster
a new Mall you have, your speakers taunt towards my direction
my store is permanently dark from the fullness of its resources
my garage, the next century’s prototype for your building to feel sandy
media interviews, social trends, increasing has been your meds
and in every of my birthday, a Yacht joins in the give away
the strata is never full, there’s always a head ahead
don’t compete with any part of the chain or you lose your leg
life is nothing, so I live in the pool of extreme modesty
tempt my guts and you’ll see I’m the host of all currencies.
HOWLING DRAGONS
PATROLLED THE SKIES.
IN SEARCH OF BEINGS
WHO RECENTLY DIED.
A BLINDING LIGHT
BEAMED UPON.
ONE MINUTE THEIR THERE
THE NEXT MINUTE GONE.
UNGODLY STENCH
OF ROTTING FLESH.
FILLED THE SKIES,
EVEN ONES BREATH.
LIVING IN DARKNESS
ELECTRICITY'S GONE.
ONE THING FOR SURE
IS THAT EVERYTHING'S WRONG.
CURRENCIES WORTHLESS
THEY BARTER OR TRADE.
THAT IS HOW,
THEIR MEALS ARE MADE.
VEGGIES AND SPICES,
EXTREMELY RARE.
YET NINE OUT OF TEN,
PEOPLE DON'T CARE.
PEOPLE ARE DESPERATE
AND LIFE IS IN DIRE.
PROTESTERS RUN,
THROUGH THE STREETS WHILE ON FIRE.
THE NEW WORLD GOVERNMENT
VACCINED THEM ALL.
I STAND HERE HELPLESS
WATCHING THEM FALL.
VOMIT AND BILE
COVER THE STREETS.
HOMELESS AND CHILDREN
WITH NO SHOES ON THERE FEET.
RANTING AND RAVING
THEY'RE LOSING THEIR MINDS.
ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT
AND ALL OF THE TIME.
THIS IS GROUND ZERO.
THE END OF THE LINE.
FOR ONE AND ALL,
JUST A MATTER OF TIME.
CONDITIONED FOOLS
THEY WERE LED TO BELIEVE.
I DON'T THINK THEY REALIZE
THEY WERE DECEIVED.
04012020
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.