Tomorrow is the day – the day I dread.
The first of March. Declare the dividend.
I hate a scene but I, by nature’s quirk,
endure the drama, seated on the stage.
I never met a shareholder who said
‘I know you are the CEO. My friend,
we really do appreciate your work.’
Hostility is not so hard to gauge.
Today’s the day it all comes to a head.
A thousand profit-sniffers will attend.
Their eyes will flay me, glaring from the murk,
and though I do my damnedest to assuage
the fury, ‘carbon footprint’s tread’ –
it will not help me. Why do I pretend?
They want more money. Explanations irk.
Their unearned income is the war they wage.
Their eyes and exit signs pulsating red,
No Confidence the motion that they’ve penned,
malicious in the darkness where they lurk,
creators (or the symbols?) of our age.
Today's not one of my better days
Even I have 'em every so often
Believe me mine are rarer than most
Will be chuckling even in my coffin
Sure hope it doesn't freak someone out
And another kicks the bucket as well
A single coffin for the price of two
It sure would be cramped as hell
Don't mind sharing but just imagine
If this sweetie was from the opposite sex
Some hanky panky would likely ensue
Some real rockin' 'n rollin' by heck
Mourners would scatter pretty damn quick
As we try our damnedest to get out
Nobody's staying for the final word
Lowering us they'd play “Twist And Shout!”
What silly nonsense can you imagine
That this could actually take place
Certainly they'd give us a box of our own
Or at least place us face to face!
Needing again to find the
words to convey—where
did the need come from?
Unreliable thoughts that
birth the damnedest
feelings yet lack the
cognizance to see
reality—
it hurts to breathe
when all I can do is
exhale and anticipate
failures—
I'm tired of needing
Meaning.
I'm sick of
Falling Short.
Nigerians’ most feared President
And possible Hell-fire President
But rather My Bad Friend
I had to mourn his ***** end
For the Cameroonian Presence in Bakassi
He beautifully dismissed as a heresy:
A subject of panicking intricacy
On his dining table chewable delicacy…
Save that his sit- tight anxiety
Was the damnedest Impropriety?
The Masses’ wish for democracy breath- choking
The masses ready for it, flatly joking!
Prepared was he for thuggery all day
The worst of Buggery all the way
Himself proving Ogonis’ determined tormentor
With jammed ears for the emasculating mentor:
Morning and Night caressing a reverie
A lot like a harlot’s a final Nunnery…
The late Immovable Abacha
Was to prove a mi ting Archer.
brash …
you are
my petite paramour
the 'alternative' thang goin’ on
dyed, purple-red hair
perfectly-placed piercings and tats
(just enough to tantalize)
though nothing could befuddle the
exquisite frame you fill
the plump, darkened lips, like
juicy blackberries
coal-core Emerald eyes dancing above
do you really think
your knife so keen and cold?
I have felt the hilts of many broader blades
jagged-edged phrases that
were thrust far deeper than your
weak "goodbye"
and with considerably more forceful intent
but please
feel free to do your absolute damnedest
I know it's important to you
we've waltzed in
these roles before, you and I
you've worn this defiant skin with regularity
and I will allow you your venom, spattered
but before you pull the
knife from my dastardly pliable flesh
do not fail to finish the deed
and twist it, hard
I want to FEEL it this time
and lay in the warm blood of our passion
as you …
leave.
One day , as I was walking in the snow,
I noticed I'd begun to swelter so.
The snow won't stick together.
This is the damnedest weather.
What do you mean, white sands of Mexico?
02/16/2018
Contest: As I was walking in the snow
Sponsor: Kevin Shaw
The man in the middle
is given to fiddle, not wrestle
with questions regarding the Earth.
He'll dither and fuss, leave the answers to us,
never caring a jot what they're worth.
This man's in a bubble,
ignores all the trouble
afflicting his neighborhood, even his State,
he'll avoid disputes and strong disagreements,
and even the clearest of issues at stake.
Let him take a position one way or another,
there will come a day when he'll dither no more,
let's hope for the high road, his best of intentions,
when he'll do his damnedest to settle the score!
The man in the middle
is given to fiddle, not wrestle
with questions regarding the Earth.
He'll dither and fuss, leave the answers to others,
not caring a jot what they're worth.
This man's in a bubble,
ignores all the trouble
afflicting his neighborhood, even his State,
he'll avoid disputes and strong disagreements,
and even the clearest of issues at stake.
He'll take a position one way or the other,
there'll come a day when he'll dither no more,
no try now, just do, with the best of intentions,
when he'll do his damnedest to settle the score!
The man in the middle
is given to fiddle, not wrestle
with questions regarding the Earth.
He'll dither and fuss, leave the answers to us,
never caring a jot what they're worth.
This man's in a bubble,
ignores all the trouble
afflicting his neighborhood, even his State,
he'll avoid disputes and strong disagreements,
and even the clearest of issues at stake.
Let him take a position one way or another,
there will come a day when he'll dither no more,
let's hope for the high road, his best of intentions,
when he'll do his damnedest to settle the score.
In spite of all the terrible things
That continue to happen all around the world
It's still the most amazing place to be
Undoubtedly there are some who would vehemently disagree
But from my humble perspective, this is how I feel
It's always been a matter of how we look at things
There's no denying that uncontrollable evil exists
In the hearts of some men who gain power by force
This is certainly by far the least praiseworthy of all human traits
But I'm sure deep down in MOST people's hearts
Lies goodness trying it's damnedest to survive
Believe it or not, I still have faith in the human condition
And that the souls of all good men and women everywhere
Will eventually win out in some glorious future time
Amen!
© Jack Ellison 2014
I just want to dream a little more,
before the sun dries up this stream of thought;
before my tongue begins to search for words
faded by the choke of night.
The sky screams in the hands of a harsh turn,
neither of us wants our darkness unveiled.
Yet,
I wish the light would swallow me up as well.
Instead,
the broken slumber of day creeps into my bed,
and shakes my tomb.
I watch it stumble through the blinds,
sloshing, lazily polished, and promising.
Like it always does.
And I try my damnedest to pull my eyes away
from the hope that is stitched to my shadow,
but no matter how hard I writhe in this place,
I cannot escape the artificiality of this world
that I can’t seem to wake up from.
-James Kelley 2014, All rights reserved.
Today's not one of my better days
Even I have 'em every so often
Believe me mine are rarer than most
Will be chuckling even in my coffin
Sure hope it doesn't freak someone out
And another kicks the bucket as well
A couple of funerals for the price of one
Coffin would be cramped as hell
Don't mind sharing but just imagine
If this dude was from the opposite sex
Some hanky panky would likely ensue
Some real rockin' 'n rollin' by heck
Mourners would scatter pretty damn quick
As they try their damnedest to get out
Nobody's staying for the final word
Lowering us, they'd play “Twist And Shout!”
What silly nonsense, can you imagine
That this could actually take place
Certainly they'd give us a box of our own
Or at least not put us face to face!
© Jack Ellison 2013
nowhere in the neon lights
does it say hold on for dear life
we grab the bridle and dig our heels in
bouncing up and down as it kicks and spins
we sit in the diner--it's near midnight
you can see the damnedest sights
we stir our coffee trying not to stare
at what's in here or hiding out there
we can never quite let go
holding on till hell freezes over
witticism only takes you so far
miles roll fast when you're in your car
the bitter tolls and burdens of sins
the fences we build that keep us in
begging to be misunderstood
as we turn our backs and leave for good
(This is a fictional poem)
People reap what they sew for the things they do.
I've reaped what I sewed for what I did to you.
Every time I hit you, it brought you to tears.
I've paid for those beatings I gave you over the years.
When I had a stroke a few months ago, it paralyzed me for life.
I've been a horrible husband and I don't deserve to have you for a wife.
You are amazing because you've decided to stay and take care of me.
You've made your decision but most people do not agree.
I feel remorse because of what I've done before.
I don't deserve your kindness, you should walk out the door.
While I was an evil monster, you still stuck to your vows.
I'm going to do my damnedest to make it up to you somehow.
Midnight screams
Wildflower dreams
Of John, her true beloved
And of Vince, her man
They raped her again
Midnight surprise
A starlit sunrise
Wildflower sleeps
While Mother Rose weeps
For all her child's desert years
Self-abuse and twilight tears
Hey hey Thanksgiving is today
I wonder what He would say
I have no food but I have tea
So I give praises joyfully
I give thanks (of course!) for John
Whose broken dream still lingers on
Thank you too to Vince Yarrow
He shot through my heart like Cupid's arrow
Happy joyful singing fair
Psychic dreams and long long hair
Satan tried not once but twice
Did his damnedest to entice
The maidens down by the river ran
Each believing John was her man
Every fair young lady doing all she can
It is an enigma because he didn't return
He swore he'd prefer to burn
For his misdeeds and his biggest sin
Believing that he was a god therein
He went to the mountains, drank from the fountains
I understand why he ran away
He has no fear of judgment day
But broken promises and broken hearts
Is why he had to depart
Will he return? You never know
But I can feel him, he is the greatest show
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