From the sweat
flowing down the laborer’s brow,
the cuts and callouses
etched into their hands,
to the steely determination
engrained on their furrowed faces,
freedom was born and fed.
As such they should be given
the same respect and admiration,
as any beloved parent is due.
I need a fix and it is so strange
This addiction to poetry is a stain
Like a birthmark on my rainbow brain
Can't shake it off for it is engrained
I hear white word and it leopard leaps
Into violet verse singing screaming
It is my teal torture it is my purple peace
Poetry as affliction is a big part of me
Woe to pain in heart
Time ticks tremendously so
Torn apart from the start
Engrained with patterns
In my mind frame, discerning
What is evil or good…
Clear as water here
Murky rivers and lakes flow…childish fears draw near
Naught lasts forever
Life here is temporary
A lot of kindness…
In this world of woe
Portrayed on other’s paintings
History repeats.
We all have our gifts
Unique and understanding
My empathy vibes…….
Ascend, comprehend
I seek not my end, but send
Relief on my torn soul..
My whole nervous systems fried
There's a day I haven't cried
From the feelings I've bounced
all around--it's like you pounced
On a heart you suffocated
That can't be resuscitated
My life force is being drained
And your footprint is engrained
With tread marks of certain doom
You didn't leave me any room
To catch any of my breath
My hearts being squished to death
Along with the love I gave
Now its all just in the grave
You buried my love away
Stomping on it till the day
I no longer live any more
You hated me down to the core
From the start I don't know why
All these years was just a lie
My eyes sore
Redden in pains
Pupils dilated engrained
Blurred visions
Mind comprehends not bored
Should have been forgiven
I’m a witness to my mess
I am forgiven and yet
To my surprise I am
Light so soul shines
Energies lights so bright
1/25/2024
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2024©
Pouring out my heart, it’s devoid of all blood
Perhaps more knotted, resembling of redwood
Splinters and shavings, fall away with each thud
Can’t escape this logjam, only wish I could
Pouring out my heart, but it’s failing to bleed
I’m losing my grip, roots won’t let me proceed
Failing right now, to try express what I need
Asking friends to listen, then pay them no heed
Pouring out my heart, packs sawdust in a sack
Peep inside the hessian, can only see black
Empty now, that’s ok, voids always grow back
How come I’m still here, has Jesus cut me slack
Pouring out my heart, clots heavily engrained
Tied to dilemmas, escaping leaves me drained
Worse part of all, my collapse is unexplained
For better or worse, gravity’s not sustained
Pouring out my heart, there’s nothing’s left to pump
Felled to the ground, with the slightest little bump
Prostrate and broken, a fragmented tree stump
I’m resting come join me, make a chair we’ll slump
Pouring out my heart, through a duty of care
The fruits of my labor, look across and glare
I gaze beyond them, thinking life’s over there
Vines grow round my neck, help lift me off the chair
clothed in drama
a pentecost poetic
chiastic
three stanzas long
the Spirit outpoured
in the Day of the Lord
portents predicted&
prescribed
called out
not cast out
the
ultimate reality
sealed&consumated
an atoning sacrifice
saving mercies
grace given
an expectation
engrained
in penitence& prayer
a focus fixated
cause with effect
in awareness of worship
interlocked
in perspective
the faithful restored
fresh
with abundance
of spiritual joy
affirmed
in a unique reality
of
deliverance&due reward
where acacias abound
before the Lord's overflowing
waters of life
a reasoned restoration
seasoned
in the coming of His day
in the midst of His people
inescapable
irresistible
an inheritance
to claim&
enjoy
Loved beyond measure or boundary
That's my definition of you
So deeply engrained, so profoundly
It cannot be other than true
My mind likes to drift and consider
Just what it would be if it was
And should that day come to fruition
I'll be ready for you when it does
There are days that I forgot about.
Days that still astonish me.
All those little catastrophes.
Scribbles and capital letters.
There were days that are blank.
That were joyous and engrained.
Or wallowing.
Or maybe I was just on some vacation.
Setting the journal aside in frustration sometimes.
Or moments of writing that were compulsive.
I might still have that first page somewhere…
If I could just read that again…
I bet it was sunny.
But I simply forgot.
Fall on me little snowflake
Melt into my skin
Unique and variegated
I'll gladly let you in
And after you, sweet bluebird
Alight inside my heart
And never, ever leave it
I cannot bear to part
Engrained into my being
I love you more and more
With each day that passes
With you I want to soar
I long to taste your kisses
I dream that you would trace
The evidence of my devotion
Encircling its place
Though it can make no music
It reminds me you are near
My soul does play your soundtrack
But only you can hear
Omnipresent
The voice that had spoken arcane words amid thoughts has silently waned
What remain is a vestige of wisdom filled nuances now eternally engrained
My mother's face immortalized in timelessness graciously beckons in space
Heading toward uninterrupted journeys and to overjoyed celestial embrace
" For my mother Jessie"
Penned: 07/28/2022
6;16 p.m.
Zakynthos, Greece
We are not given the choice during our lifetime
Our path is already mapped out for each individual
As hard as we try to change our path
It is quite difficult or impossible to become
Someone else, it is engrained in our soul
A character of ill repute or a leader of a great nation
Where do each of us fit in?
Has the world ever known peace
I mean REAL peace
The answer to that is a resounding NO!
Not in my lifetime... not in anyone's lifetime
Why do nations have to struggle
To maintain an equilibrium necessary
To achieve this difficult goal
Is there something engrained in our sole?
YES!
Proper handshake
No string wrist
Your iconic mustache harboring
A giddy smile
That stretched from Oregon to Maine
Like your Harley once had
I should’ve stirred more conversations
My shyness stifling
The words I wished to speak
Tis why I write this
As words flow poorly
Unless my pen is to paper
Your angelic being left an essential impact on me
I long for you to see this from the afterlife
As a poem is the truest form of gratitude I can offer
Cancer’s viciousness peeled you away
With invisible speed
Like a spiraling tornado
Leaving in its void
A family searching for explanations
Only to be met with the evil head of grief
Your spirit carries on
Through vast memories I hold
Through countless lessons you engrained in me
Through a sensational life lived
When it is time to shake hands again
My wrist will be firm
Eye contact will be made
And a proper handshake given
Our forefathers have created
A great injudgement back then
The indigenous people of America
Have been robbed of their lands
Without compensation or reward
A terrible travesty of injustice has occurred
And no one is answering for it
To the degree that would be fair and honest
In this day and age I don't believe
This would have been permitted
But who knows what is possible today
The world hasn't really changed
Since the beginning of time
Peoples have been fighting wars over lands
And territories forever
Don't see that changing any time soon
It's engrained in our DNA
I surmise that what's done is done
And there's very little chance of anything
That will be done to change it
It's a sad blight on our history for which
We should all be thoroughly ashamed
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