Escape Clause Poems | Examples


List of Member Poems

Premium Member The Brutal Reality of Binary Willpower

binary self-will
I could never quite do it
leaving escape clause
in analogue equation
go with 1, just once, all-in

Escape Clause

Writing
is but
an escape
for the soul

Freeing 
our passions
making
— us whole

(Dreamsleep: November, 2024)

Fuel

I have been technically dead 
and technically alive.
Escape clause, minor glitch
in my truth-machine,
but a kind of life does occasionally permeate
my real life.

I like the click and clunk of a well-made 
flint ignition petroleum lighter.
‘Zippo’ light warms hands in a cold woods.
Sometimes I am the flint
sometimes the light - we all are I guess.

Before I was dead or alive
I recall signing a contract,
a ‘life’s purpose’ document
which I instantly forgot.
I still search Mind for reasons
still don’t know squat…..

but wait, I got here,
(arms akimbo, wagging my chin),
soon I’ll be leaving on a ghost train
and I’m gonna be upset,

because my much used ‘Zippo’ collection
is probably worthless.


Premium Member The Cape

The Cape

Superheroes, 
moms, dads, and those that we love, 
and we can not see... are flawed. 
They try hard to hide, their inequities... 
in order to give us the illusion 
of safety, and security, 
in a world that is unsafe, 
and very insecure. 

Red capes like the movies, 
blue capes like the marines, 
the color has little to do with the job. 
It is a career, 
that a parent signs up for, 
without knowing
there is no escape clause at all, 
no rip cord to pull, 
no final five-gallon tank of gas... 
to fill back up, 
no...
and only the hard ground
to land upon, 
when things fail. 

Sitting there, or laying there, 
on the soil, dirt, dust... of our lives. 
We wonder if there was more 
we could have done, 
or even more, we could do. 
But we are here, and then gone. 
We do not live forever in this life, 
it is the next... heaven, 
that things are as they should be. 
Here, things are exactly as they are 
and we need to know; 
the rules, we must follow
the lines, we must not cross... 
before teaching time is over, 
and we are grown, 
left to the whim of the wind.

Premium Member Comedians Tell Jokes, Fools Ridicule

It’s odd how people who think they are funny, 
Confuse humor with offensive ridicule.
Saying hurtful, empty and shallow comments,
Pretending it’s all April fool.

Not standing behind what they say, or
Taking the blame for the hurt they cause.
Saying “Hey I was only joking, they’re not even here.”
As though that’s a moral escape clause.

These folks that lack this empathy and care, 
Not understanding how hurtful their words are,
Don’t see how people simply endure their opinion,
Protecting personal and emotional scars.

They joke about folks more often than not,
When these folks aren’t even there.
Rather than put the effort into being good, they’re two faced,
About others they just don’t care.

They’re convinced they’re funny, clever and smart, 
Often saying things to feel superior.
Not admirable by being grand and noble, but
By mocking, pushing others to inferior.
 
Sadly one day these hurtful fiends will be forced to take heed,
And peer into the mirror of their soul.
There they will see where others have love in their heart, 
All they have is black hearted charcoal.

Premium Member A Deal With the Devil

Walter Baedeker is a hypochondriac.
His doctor says his ills are psychosomatic.
Walter reciprocates by calling him a quack.
The patient is healthy, but stays in bed.
He thinks he is sick, but it’s all in his head.
In a short period of time, he expects to be dead.

Up pops the devil by the name of Cadwallader.
The devil wants to make a deal with Walter.
This is a very unusual offer.
Cadwallader wants to make Mr. Baedeker immortal.
Also, Walter can be indestructible.
The former hypochondriac will feel no pain.
He can even survive being run over by a train.
To cross the River Styx, he has to pay a toll.
Walter gets immortality in exchange for his soul.
The man can avoid death no matter what the cause.
However, his contract contains an escape clause.

Do you want to know where things will go?
Next time it’s on television, watch the show.

Based on the Twilight Zone episode “Escape Clause”


The Silken Thread

The heart never quite knows when it will find love
We chose not where it flies, It leaps taking us where it will
It says this is where I belong, and we are helpless
Utterly helpless to resist when it is true and deep
It’s like a flame, an everlasting eternal flame
That ignites the soul and defies all rational reason
Common sense is for those who are in control
Love knows no control, it takes and devours and demands
There is no exit and certainly there is no escape clause
There are no cages or chains, but it owns your very soul
It owns every waking hour, your dreams and even more
It causes bliss, despair, turmoil, great desire and utter trust
It is all encompassing, and yet it rules with a silken thread
Nothing can destroy it, all angry words so quickly overlooked
Everything is forgiven if we truly love, for it reigns supreme
Not many experience this overwhelming giving of the heart
But it is worth the price for once given you are never alone
Two become one, and together sometimes creative even more.

Premium Member Has Anybody Seen the Enzymes Part Ii

Phosphorus sugar
It’s glowing in the water
Supporting all life

All will be coming from what we start now
That walks the earth and the ground which we plow

Continuing mission that cannot end
Getting from all we receive and we send

Core, mantle, crust, valleys, mountains, and seas
Gales, hurricanes, tornadoes, a slight breeze

Gold, platinum, diamonds, palladium
Coal, natural gas, and petroleum

Algebra, variables, equations
Trigonometry, sines, calculations

Axes,  X and Y, how steep is the slope?
Tomorrow and after, do we have hope?

Temperature, pressure, volume, changes
Atmosphere, stratosphere, domains, ranges

Cooperation, mutual trust, peace
Growing and living, we can’t let them cease

Government, politics, all of the laws
Contracts, obligations, no escape clause

Tilling, planting, for a very big crop
Abundance supply, I think we will stop

Phosphorus sugar
It’s glowing in the water
Supporting all life

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.

Get a Premium Membership
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace