Freedom. Misused.
When such limits
Through entitlements, itself enables
Are broken through;
Common decency's. Man, the frenzied ape
Had kept from view.
Freedom. Abused.
When that, flag-waved
For its praise, a proud land's, as such
Now frowned on is;
Under God's blessing. A faith, treacherous
Had quelled whose hiss.
Laziness
(hand up or hand out)
Miracle Man
11/1/2024
Those always bathing in entitlements pool,
will awake each morning, lazy, and unclean.
Which brings back thoughts of older times and lye soap,
Neither is conducive to a good lather.
The real America is not divided into states of red and blue.
The real America is united stripes of red, white, and blue.
The real America is 50 states, and each one is a shining star.
Like an ever-winding river, she flows from sea to shining sea.
From high on the Great Divide, she descends, inspiring and serving.
Through canyons, valleys, and lakes; over hills, prairies, and swamps;
From mountains high, she watches the wanderers and the weary,
helping them to find an abode under the sun, a place of belonging,
a home of their very own. And she offers them hard work,
opportunity, and freedom, not entitlements and handouts.
The real America has already been greatly blessed by God.
Presently, my most humble request is that God will graciously
hear our humble cry to be saved from ourselves.
082224PS
Giving someone something for nothing
Worst idea in the history of man
Yesterday's safety net expanded to universal permanent entitlements
~ Sabotaging esprit de corps with 'Gimme-what-I've-got-coming'
environments
Gone are the days of the great empiring
Ravens wings now clipped at the tower
England lives on sense of entitlements
A great national pride is now destroyed
There will be days of reminiscences sadly
Britianish is now devoid of any character
Respect is no longer politically correct
It ancient rich history is now squandered
The bulldog fighting spirit forever tamed
Independence is sought like prodigal son
A nation no longer being united kingdom
Never again to bathe in past glories in GB
Lofty sorts tenement;
Residential entitlements;
Homeward bound ;
Lost in town,
Logistics Irving bound;
Summers call;
Legitimate hall;
Tournament crawl;
No mortgage though;
No rent termites eating bossa wood;
Lying on rough wet papered floor;
a homeless man lives alone and a cardboard boxed home!
8/30/21
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr © 2021
Beyond permission
and the endowment tree
The wind blows constant,
it calls to me
Freedom is born
past entitlements whim
The ends of infinity
—knotting within
(Dreamsleep: January, 2021)
Music is space between vibrations.
Dance is space between movements.
Beauty is space between arts.
Time is space between transformations.
Life is space between souls.
Stillness is space between thoughts.
Humanity is space between integrities.
Wisdom is space between trial and error.
Mistakes well learned
Ego is space between must-win and always-right.
No room for kindness or compassion
Freedom is space between choices.
Stop saying “I have no choice”
Uncertainty is space between transitions.
Broken crystal ball
Blame is space between irresponsibility.
Including self-blame
Unhappiness is space between entitlements.
World owes you nothing
Silence is space between turbulence.
Fiercely muted
Belief is space between dreams.
Cargo of fulfillment
All I ever wanted was to shine.
But I deemed my light by not saying what needed to be said
Not to my narcissistic mother and neglective father
Not to my toxic and untrustworthy friends
Not to my bully at school
Not to that teacher whom always underestimated me
Not to my emotionally unavailable ex boyfriend
Not to judgey church members
Not to a “bestie" who ghosts me
Not to my junkie uncle whom I have nightmares over every night
I needed to tell me the truth,
That nobody owes me a thing .
Just because my childhood was a mess ,
I wasn't entitled a great adulthood .
Drowning in self-pity would actually be my biggest betrayal
Now I’m sitting here in shambles hoping no one remembers that A+ girl from high school
I watch as life plays slideshows of my school mate's successes
And all I think about is how I just gave up on myself simple because I've been mistreated
And somehow think that mother Universe owes me for such a life.
If I could turn back the time, I would whisper to my younger self
“no to self pity, no to entitlements and no , nobody owes you a good life, you create it yourself”.
Ravage our monuments,
empowered dissidents.
Endless entitlements,
from spineless governments.
In this era unplanned,
by fathers of the land.
Divided we stand,
in moral wasteland.
I
You will not be flying very far for the rest of 2020
Say goodbye to globe-trotting entitlements
The airlines are flummoxed: they need you; you need plenty
Of leg room (Finally!) Six whole feet passengers!
II
Now, at work you may do with less than six feet
But you will not work as "normal." Remember Cal Coolidge?
He longed for "normalcy" in the 1920s (we, a century late)
Will say goodbye to NORMALITY, if I mind my English
III
Your eating habits will change; more of your own effort
The restaurants will be following stricter guidelines
Especially for transporting pizza & take-out. We may not adapt
But previous pandemics brought real repenting the second time!
** NOTE: The problems of asymptomatic, & generally atypical cases of infection, will challenge nations as to who get the vaccine, when, and HOW? Delivery will bedevil vulnerable folks getting meds on time, as with food, aid, etc., in the best of times. Scholars are saying "Normal routines are gone for good." (See NEW STATESMAN write 04/20 that says "Our civilization is now changed.")
***********************************************************
Relativism is the new absolutism, and CONDEMNATION of evils is being Forsaken. We are losing REVERENCE for God, and our sacred story must be Reawakened. I fear a generation enameled with a PREDILECTION bent on Entitlements. We are ENCOMPASSED with Entertainment and social media Engagements. We are too lost in a secular Wilderness to be concerned with UNEARTHTLINESS. Though curable, APATHY* is one disease that is far-reaching and Sleepy-eyed. CONSTERNATION causes acquiescence, but 'the few' will turn the Tide.
10292018PoSoupContest, 7 Lines, 7 Words: Rhyme, Lu Loo;
*Lamentation 1:12
****************************************************************
If my sinful scars were hidden
and I could away my selfishness
if I could look on others as my brother
wrest away entitlements...
If true love meant sacrifice
freely given without regrets
if I could marvel at creation
revel in sweet jasmine’s scents...
If I could flee life’s great temptations
follow in the narrow path
if stumbling blocks of fear and anger
were swept away into the past...
Then I could look into the mirror
see what I was truly meant to be
an image bearer borne from heaven
a reflection of His majesty...
For in so loving others as myself
a higher calling I will heed
and finding freedom in the giving
only then my spirit will be free.
Written on 10/24/2018
Oh yes indeed,
how entitled I am
to receive Social Security and Medicare;
of course for fifty odd years
governement saw no problem deducting
the coverage it now wants to cut;
and the senate and congress still have
their own entitlement trusts,
but let's build a wall at any cost
and provide rich and corporation tax cuts
claiming the economy is robust
while the poor and middle class are lost.
Republican majorities,
Let me know how it works out.
ENTITLED NOW FREE
Brought here some by own accords
Some by shackles and chains
What's the theme a new life for some slavery others
Miles and miles oceans bodies of waters
Come on in, come on in freedom
Free me from my entitlements
Help me replenish, set me free grant me
Liberty, grant me liberty for now
I AM FREE
09/03/18
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr.©2018
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.