I didn’t feel like running today
Some days I don’t—but I do.
I’ve never finished a run thinking,“I’m sorry I did that.”
I always feel empowered, powerful and ready to deal.
I have blisters on two toes but that doesn’t matter.
Pain is an administrative problem—I just wrap them
with paper surgical tape and run.
I also buy these 1" Polyurethane foam sheets (from Amazon),
that I cut to fit my feet—stuffing them in my socks for padding
—as if I were a professional athlete.
We don’t flinch beneath the heat, cold or rain,
and we don’t prevaricate or complain.
While I believe that life, otherwise, is pretty much nonstop compromise,
I reserve a protected territory for self-respect—where I practice small acts
of discipline—which I can track.
.
.
Songs for this:
Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen
Somebody's Going to Get Into This House by Jane Wiedlin
If time was currency would we be rich
Could we become outrageously spendthrift
Should we be gladly generous of heart
Tossing our dosh away, alike a dart.
Would friends surround us, if they had no time
Their currency gone on fine food and wine
At first class restaurants, only the best
Enjoying life's luxuries to excess.
Expecting handouts, on us to depend
Knowing that we'd plenty of time to spend
With currency growing fast, day by day
False friends will never, ever go away.
Good friends will share with you what’er they have
There’s no wondering or thinking of that
For whatever reason one's down on luck
They'd share their currency, no ifs or buts.
they took me prisoner cause I looked different
I told them let me be for I was born here
my hands were tied and they laugh at me
why do you detain me I did nothing wrong
alone and battered in a cell no telephone
my wife alone with child calling relatives
asking if they have heard from me
while I was transported to make shift prison
they kept asking what country I was from
They said I was here illegally so I was sent
to south America and I did not know Spanish
lost and scared I walk toward a house
They looked at me with pity in their eyes
I asked if they spoke english and a young boy
answered and asked why I looked so lost
I asked if they had a phone the boy said yes
after some time my call got through
I heard my wife voice and began to cry
my family arranged my travel home
upon arriving my wife and friends were there
I took my passport and marine discharge
papers to immigration office to prove I was an
American citizen and requested reimbursement
for all my expenses (5,000) and lawyer fees
Take your complain to ICE they made the
mistake not us
Opposing evil with force will make you old
You will begin to open windows in the cold
And let the rain and snow into the rooms’ ease
You will uproot the flowers and damage the trees
And be transformed into evil as well
Be not swallowed up in the mad opaqueness of Hell
Through poverty and famine and other transformations
You have already made gold from nothing
Experience has made you King
You have even seen God with only one eye
Ignorance and incompetence have made you wise
If the Nile is dammed it will soon overflow
Overcoming blocks of deaf and mute stone
The flow will continue beyond where Nile boats glide
And river birds will always continue to fly
Blocks and obstacles will be overcome
Let your river rise and be welcome home
All i remember is her glaring kindness
Her wanting love and attention from any source
She had a beautiful toughness about her
That strengthened all around her
I did not know she had cancer
I wish i would have had the opportunity
to say some words of encouragement to her
but it was to late
Now I'm faced with my mortality again
"Hello aging, how've you been?".
I can at least say i have nothing but pleasant
Memories of her.
And that shall be enough till my day comes.
How would anyone deal with depressive loneliness
when even the dreariest thoughts allow great fear?
Hiding in that lonely world seems right for some,
having nothing is giving up everything even love;
choose joy or pain, dance alone or drink a beer:
see others indulge in happiness, refill your glass!
How useless is believing in miracles,
they only happen to the lucky ones;
anyone showing that hopeless mood
can't achieve any goal feeling brood!
I have often delt with loneliness overwhelmed by distress:
wasn't I smiling when all was quickly tumbling down,
keeping it to myself, laughing harder than a clown?
Don't hold anything inside, reach out and confide in others!
I envied anyone who had someone to live for, to laugh with?
Wasn't it too wrong to be denied the right to love and smile?
Was I kept from many wishes staring at stars and not wish on one?
Who believes that we are chosen by fate to be marthyrs from birth?
Nothing can erase grief
Or speed up the healing process,
But, writing about it can keep you aware
As you go through it,
And offer some solace
As you wait for time
To do the rest.
I’ve come to the end
I’ve come to the end
I’m sorry to say,
I’m not strong enough
To fight through every day.
You may think me selfish
That I don’t give a damn,
I tried really hard
To be not who I am.
The pain- too intense
A plan was made,
To relieve myself
And stop this facade.
I’m sorry my will
Was not strong enough,
The tears I held back
Caused this mental flood.
The pain too intense now
I can no longer cope,
The thoughts of my family
No longer give me hope.
I’m sorry to do this
And cause you this pain
I’m most sorry to my son,
Who I won’t see again.
I had no one left
No one reached out to me,
I was too scared to ask
And too scared what they would see
If you know someone is suffering
Reach out and show you care,
Because there may be a time
They are no longer there.
The darkness,
I will not dwell,
and the pain shall ebb.
Withered in its wake,
indelible of mind.
Intervals by chance,
a surety in life.
Grief,
the toll of it's permanence.
Do not judge others
Deal yourself first before men
Mirror yourself then.
The blue-skinned elf pirate did not fit in
We tried to chase her off again and again
She had a certain power that was a win-win.
Along with her magical pirate queen twin.
Sometimes I tripped and fell on my soft bubbly chin
When I tried to scare her and her green-skinned elf twin.
Blue-skinned elf thought it was hilarious and gave me a grin.
Which put me in a bad mood, said my cousin Sir Finn.
Dealing With Storms
The lightning outside is
Far away and harmless
Like fireworks in the night
I safely watch from home
And chuckle with delight
The lightning outside is
Moving ever closer
I sense malignance now
Lurking behind thunder
Sweat breaks upon my brow
The lightning outside is
Inside my city’s walls
Flashes bright and blinding
No longer firecrackers
It’s jarring and grinding
The lightning outside is
Just outside my front porch
Challenging to ignore
It rocks my foundation
So, I opened the door
When we’re dealing with healing,
It’s very revealing
To show how we’re feeling because
As time keeps on drifting
And cells may be shifting,
Our mood might be lifting its claws.
Acceptance and practice
To deal with what whacked us
Can help to distract us and pause
All the negative notions
(Of which there are oceans)
To hopeful emotions. Applause!
“The universe is transformation; life is opinion.”
~~Marcus Aurelius~~
Marcus Aurelius was the last of the five, good Roman
emperors. His reign was one of great tranquility….he
has symbolized the….“Golden Age of the Roman Empire”
……..for many generations in the West!
you may not like it
this is the way the world is
let the good times roll
acceptance is your gift
changing the unchangeable
is grief and madness
life is your journey
transformation is to know
that you do not know
our minds just run us
answers are the booby prize
serve others with joy
12/5/2022
*Acknowledgement to Elena Eagle*
for notifying me of spelling error that
was in the title.
Correction made at 7:45 am 12/5/2022
Sincere apologies to all M
I struggle every day with trying to find myself,
And when I think I got it figured out,
My head begins to cloud with doubt
Pushing the negative feelings aside
Trying to be sunshine and daisies,
This life has enough storm clouds already
Keeping the faith,
Even when the rocks come tumbling down
Putting on my bravest face,
Somewhere in there I know everything is going to be ok
We all break,
We all bend
We all fall to the depths,
Just to come back again
We all ask why?
We all cry
We all know there’s hope left to survive
It's that moment when people ask if you’re ok,
But you fight with your insides,
Afraid you’ll break
You want to say no,
But you don’t want to feel like you’re going on and on
You don’t want your glass to be half-empty
You want yours to stay full
You sometimes play the cards as the weakest link,
But you know there will come a day,
When you get dealt the better hand
Till then you try to keep your head held high,
Knowing you got friends and family by your side~
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.