Life has become an amorphous mass,
Sans shape, sans structure.
And my mind is in total discombobulation.
I feel I am like a scrap yard.
My world has lost its tint and throb.
Defeated and decimated,
I long for an about-turn,
To reach back from whence I started
To get out of this quagmire
To restore all that slipped through my fingers,
In the tangled labyrinthine paths of life!
How I wish to curl unobtrusive,
Into the womb that bore me once,
To be reborn once more as my old self
To enjoy the peace and bliss, now alien!
As trees bared by the winter blasts,
Stay in wait for the spring to arrive,
I await a new life, fresh and new.
Before that, I must rip loose,
And peel away the covert mask
Sticking tight to my concealed face
Though it may cause me to bleed.
Exhale the soot of hatred,
Polluting my larynx and lungs,
The time is up for me to leave the stage.
But before I make the final bow
I should fit into a new cast,
And become a man again!!
Discombobulation
Reminiscences to go through.
Too confused whether to pursue
To cherish, discard or collect !
Which to honor, which to reject?
To stand optimist being strict !
Despair and credence in conflict.
Mind runs restless, brain dictates.
Heart yearns, intelligence hesitates.
Thought processes going jumbled.
Activities getting crumbled.
How to straighten distortion.
So much discombobulation.
Everything seeming to be disarranged !
How to assemble or manage !
Where to find my only console ?
How to attttain ultimate goal ?
One day she left her house, feeling out of sorts
as if some premonition spoke to her.
It said to just stay home; to not go out.
No logic in this, though, could she infer.
She ran her errands, then bought groceries.
To her car she went, exiting the store.
Discombobulation hit! Something wasn’t right.
That feeling now she just could not ignore.
A handsome man approached her as she neared her car.
It seemed as if that guy came out of nowhere.
She saw his knife, then felt its menace at her back.
She looked around; the parking lot was bare.
Discomfort and confusion turned into grave fear.
Like acid in her throat, great dread was rising.
Bound and gagged, how she wished she’d listened
to her instinct! Sadly, her fate was not surprising.
DISCOMBOBULATION
The clock on the bedside table
Says two forty-five in the morning..
Hours of precious sleep time yet
Until the day is dawning.
I shine the torch around the room;
The battery’s running low
And nothing feels familiar
In the flickering, eerie glow.
Somebody’s moved the wardrobe,
And whose is that nursing chair?
I’m sure, before I fell asleep,
That wasn’t standing there.
Perhaps I’m not awake at all
And this is just a dream.
Later on I’ll discover
That things are not what they seem.
But now I need the bathroom;
It’s a sign of getting old.
And so I push the covers back,
Shivering with the cold.
I hastily don my slippers
And, increasingly frustrated,
Try to locate the en-suite.
I’m discombobulated
Feeling my way by torchlight,
I need to get there fast.
Then suddenly, to my relief,
I find the door at last.
Gratefully I step inside
And firmly close the door.
And here I am, stark naked
In the hotel corridor
Publicly
advertising
he doesn't tickle
her fancy.
If that's no lie,
then why
seek him out
surreptitiously?
Her terms of endearment
flow like honey off her lips,
but what are they worth?
Does she mean anything she says?
Profound confusion
blowing like smoke
in his mind
expands into
a mushroom cloud.
He endlessly wonders
if her attraction is true.
Her mixed messages
traps him
hook line and sinker
in chin-stroking discombobulation.
She relishes dangling
her feminine wiles
to him like a carrot.
When he comes close
to nibble at her charms,
she p u l l s away.
How cruel?
She's a struck match
that goes out in the frigid cold.
He can't seem to make
heads or tails
of her words and deeds.
What sort of game
is she playing?
It's perplexing.
give me your aorta ~ and in exchange i will give you a nice pulse
said the kidney bean to a cabbage heart ~ as it openly convulsed
but the black eyed peas protested violently ~ acting with impulse
of course i needed a leek pretty bad ~ and suddenly felt repulsed
Dizzy mind is lost in a typhoon of confusion,
Inexplicable chaos is causing much delusion.
Scattered thoughts are echoing in disorientation.
Challenging the clarity, I'm struggling with comprehension,
Overwhelmed by the tangled web of perplexity,
Mind's labyrinth twists and turns in eerie complexity.
Bewilderment wraps its cloak around logical reasoning.
Overlapping emotions result in faith and hope weakening.
Bamboozled brain tries to fight for toxic clearance,
Unravelling pieces of a jigsaw puzzle to achieve coherence.
Lights keep flashing warning of upcoming turbulence,
An agitated stormy journey planned without due diligence.
Tormented by motions of disarray, I search for a remedy,
Identifying the source through mindfulness for serenity.
Organising and prioritising tasks to regain focus.
Navigating the fog to learn from mistakes that choke us.
What sorts a box -- an enigma,
of course, what else has sauce,
when it apprised of a stigma
it eyes wherefrom the source.
Taste, touch, ... senses play the fiddle
minus some chords, off-tunes,
wayward announces a riddle,
classic ... playing the blues.
Discombobulation, a word
that creates attention,
it's a doer, that is absurd,
a giver of mention,
need not be lengthy, quite disturbed,
more elementary,
there lies the mix, that's somewhat blurred,
most complimentary.
Shorten won't baffle, nor ruffle,
may muddle or addle,
there are trickery, kerfuffle --
but snooze in a cradle,
grounds content, shovel the gravel,
make it your battleground,
make confound this awkward puzzle
by day's end be profound.
Hope that it resolves this fluster,
that sets unease, evolves,
make it a game, a tongue twister,
keep watch till it dissolves,
It'll be a throwback, bewilder
if it grows, we'll keep track,
discombobulation, blister,
made it less from perplex.
Written: January 25, 2024
_______________________________________
Time eludes us as a cryptic puzzle.
This is our opportunity to seize it.
Spaces have a distinct sequence.
We must sustain our life pattern.
Shaken extremities.
It is scarce to start a fire with obsidian.
Still, it's worth lingering in the night.
Murmuring shards from an aloof past.
highlighted the impact
of our says a few weeks ago.
and the deep impact it can wield.
Yet, we must aim to define our souls
Let your voice billow amid a pool of views.
thence, it's crucial to stay vigilant.
even when progress is slow.
Life seems a scary puzzle conundrum.
But we must never lose our goals.
It may appear such a mundane day.
yet one day might alter everything.
Several ideas may whirl in the mind.
We are obliged to strive forward.
spreading our thoughts globally.
even amidst the perplexity.
or if our ideas are running dry.
It is crucial to bear in mind.
All us are crucial to a larger target.
Let us manage our time well.
Embrace each fleeting moment
in this state of discombobulation.
standing up in a class of fifty,
offering her answers, quite gently,
will the professor think she’s nifty,
or will he think of her differently,
she blushes, though she isn’t shifty,
discombobulation, incidentally,
answering, she mumbles – befuddled,
oh, no, her answers are muddled!
Walking home from class, gusts blow.
She feels her dress rise off her form,
Baring her rear, all red – she does glow,
Embarrassed as can be by the storm,
She hopes no one will see this show –
Oh, her cheeks do feel moderately warm,
Will anyone notice her mortification?
Her naked bottom brings quite a sensation.
when she reaches her destination, she finds,
not only was her bottom seen, but snapped,
by a sneaky camera, who always reminds –
those awkward moments, when unwrapped,
prompt the owner to turn shades of red in all kinds,
marking these days where there’s laughter to be kept,
so, at least, her embarrassment is a reflection,
often found in some comedian’s photo collection!
A poem is needed.
Shall I write a poem, have I succeeded?
First I have to take a walk.
Or should I talk?
Or is it a swim I should take?
Breast stroke I think, my mistake.
Have to pat my cat.
Oh it turned into a dog, fancy that,
So I swam down the street. Or did I hop ?
Must write that poem, cannot stop..
Will we rest a while?
Should I smile?
No I must go, it’s time for me to stay.
What will I do yesterday?
Is it tomorrow already?
Am I backstroking steady?
Can’t see behind.
So how will I unwind?
Do you know me?
I know who I used to be.
I wasn’t an elephant in the zoo.
Thinking forward I know what to do.
I have to try to write a cat.
No, it isn’t that.
Will you help me learn the alphabet.
Then I know what we can get.
A new cat from the vet.
I will ask the vets nurse.
To point me in the direction of a verse.
I keep seeing you in strange places.
My heart flutters, you grin at me.
I blush and I turn away.
You are too dangerous,
and you know you are!
Maybe next time
we will speak;
maybe
not!
Unseen is the dark sky midst the pitch darkness. Owls howl-hoot.
Vampire bats fly around. I sit, staring at the red moon.
What has happened to me? What brute has made my lute mute?
I'm mortified. Am I going to be crucified soon?
Anxiety, like charring wildfire, within me blazes.
Depression, like termites, is eating up my cells and veins.
Strains, like storms and gales, erase my inner spaces.
Why is this insomnia? Why are these brain fogs and pains?
I should get out of these, I thought. I should choose life, not death.
How merry are these birds, bees, butterflies, leaves, and flowers?
How, the divine, in each creature, like the breeze, spread its breath?
How could I ignore the blossoming of the cosmic powers?
Optimism, like clear streams, should flow within me flawlessly.
I should nourish the noble nurture of nature noiselessly.
DISCOMBOBULATION
The weather here is so confusing
Forecasters often getting it wrong
Mostly cold, yet sometimes warm
Always seems to look like a storm
And will be raining before too long
It’s not any climate of my choosing
Don’t bet on sun for fear of losing
I guess round here I don’t belong
A weather channel tries to inform
But overnight freezes are the norm
Winter wonderland not just a song
These surprises are never amusing
For some, it’s all about anticipation
But for me, it is discombobulation
I lay me down to sleep tonight…
after fulfilling tasks’ delight
conquering frenzy sprite
in motherly roles of disarray-height
while discombobulation attacks I did smite~~~~
Praying first along freedom height
greeting morn as sun rays ignite
to bask under health radiance bright
jogging along well-being sprite
then gardening, thanking God’s might…
While enjoying home chores on sight
cooking, washing, cleaning stain blight
feeding gusto’s bite appetite
teaching kids toward wisdom flight
from ignorance and deceit light…
With day’s accomplishment all right~~~
now I lay me down to sleep* tight.
*Psalm 4:8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
January 27, 2021
10th place, "No 1294" Poetry Writing Premiere Contest
Sponsored by Brian Strand; judged on 3/15/2024
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