The skull looks out with those cavernous eyes
My eye fell upon it this dark moonless night
What had it seen in the days when it roamed
Did it count this as home, arrive here at length
Day's sunrise no longer visits to bring it to life
What's passed before it now passes it by
Once counting for all it's now out of sight
What more can be said of these jaws clenching teeth
No lively tongue placed in that cheek turned to bone
Not a sight for the weak with no word left to say
And what of the rest of the skeleton crew
Who all did their best with what they had left
What separates them now from my contemplation
Is the flesh all that's weak... or is my spirit, too?
Unholy Hell
There is an incredible emptiness
that will not settle,
a holy loneliness blocking my way.
They tell me not to think so much,
not to worry,
but the heavy quiet of failure drowns out that vow.
Inside these walls, there is no sovereignty.
Just hands, reaching—
everyone wanting a piece of me.
Only music remains a cure,
a quiet place to go to ease the road,
to carry this bitter load.
I was a proud soul once.
Now, I am stripped to the nerve.
Left entirely alone to survive their quiet contempt.
I dream at night, and the nightmares come to call,
and I wake up to the morning sun
already shattered before the day even begins.
More work is what I get.
No time away to sift through the wreckage,
to find what is left of me.
Just the endless expectation of another’s payday.
Deep in my soul,
my mind cries out for reprieve
that my battered, bloody body will never get.
The void is deep.
The pain is real.
The days gone by are misery.
Tough as nails they reference me.
Deep inside only history.
Supreme Court examination of homeless budget item
Good is one crime
Is that what your saying?
Finish that sentence on your own.
Finding out what someone else cannot do?
All the financial crimes currently committed
By not taking part in another's process of speech and records
I hold no errors in law
Forfeit the matter of the document is not and is public
Without opinion
3524 characters left
These messages are being captured and archived in compliance with the Presidential Records Act or the Federal Records Act
Do you have a crush on someone recently? you pry,
Girl, you sound like Sherlock, but with less alibi.
I know, I know- but are you sure? Perfectly sure?
Yes, unlike your math skills, my answers are pure.
You're not lying? I read your poems- caught my eye…
Congrats on your reading skills, do you want a pie?
Did someone else write that, or was it you?
Honey, plagiarism requires brains- guess who has two?
So you admit it? How can you? you yell,
Relax, this isn’t Judge Judy, I won’t go to jail.
You write love poems based on famous ppl? Srsly?
Yes, and unlike your crushes, at least they notice me.
I doubt you can write so much without going through it,
Yet here you are gossiping, proving my wit.
You post so people can read too, right?
Well duh, unlike your diary, mine sees daylight.
You had a crush in the past, I know it for sure now,
Congrats, Miss Detective, take your awkward bow.
You say I roasted myself- well that may be true,
But trust me, my dear, I roast better than you.
We drift, unaware—
years merge into moments,
promises fall by the wayside, collect dust.
If we could backtrack every decision,
each fault line of our days,
would we discover we really lived
or just shuffled in place?
It’s been corrupted,
Even the learning systems in normality altered
The Innocence of examinations
Has swerved
Into Guilt of examinations
Exam malpractices everywhere!
Many students have sown the seed of levity
Which has grown into complacency
They, being carefree,
Are shamefully confident
They would cheat to the bull!
Assured their money could in qualms set them free.
Examiners have likewise injured the education routines of our country,
Even WAEC as a body
Of these –
In charge of its structures
They, like an engine that sucks tanks of oil,
So do they take bribes for scripts exchange
And manipulation of grades imputation.
Parents and guardians are fans of students and teachers:
Supporting their children,
And moderating tricks with teachers and examiners.
These exam malfeasances are done throughout:
From the class to external exams offices.
A best friend is
A. One who spills your most intimate secret
B. One who helps you spend your money until you empty your pocket
C. One who is with you if you have budget
D. One who takes you to the baddest experiences you could not forget
E. All the choices are correct
A wife is
A. One who nags around when you came home late
B. One who always checks the contents of your wallet
C. One who supervises you while you wash your own plate
D. One who instructs you while you clean the toilet
E. All the choices are correct
A mother in law is
A. One who minds all your marital affairs
B. One who tells your wife to check on you always
C. One who always know the solution to your conjugal problems
D. One who tells you that your wife had a lot of handsome and rich boyfriends
E. All the choices are correct
*Just for fun*
February 8, 2023
The Multiple Choice Poem Poetry Contest (6th place)
Sponsored by: Suzanne Delaney
The soul withers from sobs within the heart
to die in dark sorrow that it has wrought
whispy shadows that refuse to depart
will claim the lonely realm by what was sought
ardor's passions an ornamental string
to dangle on the heart a shiny desire
words to lovers and the comfort they bring
to feed the yearnings their hearts admire
so smoothly bent the gates that were broken
they lay on the ground of tombstones and lies
hidden betrayal from the words spoken
as memories bring sadness that belies
nothing is left but a dark empty cold
and loneliness that will grow ever old
7/11/22
Listless images swirl up from tangled seaweed.
Instead of going home to study
a youth stayed on at a topless bar.
This reoccurring nightmare is a parody,
a Dahliesque floor show of every
melting, pants down moment.
Unschooled for future-shock, ill-equipped
for long forgotten questions;
scruffy owls hoot in an empty lecture hall
as a mind reacts with a jittery dread.
A lost post-graduate thesis rides on a city bus,
passengers sit on it as they come and go;
the manuscript is deeply buckled
with butt cheeks.
No time to revise the unprepared.
Dimples of anxiety indent a head trip.
Despondency envelopes.
At any moment,
eyes will open above a pool of sweat,
then blink stupidly
as they have done - often and repeatedly
for the last 45 years.
Listless images swirl up from tangled seaweed.
Instead of going home to study
a youth stayed on at a topless bar.
This reoccurring nightmare is a parody,
a Dahliesque floor show of every
melting, pants down moment.
Unschooled for future-shock, ill-equipped
for long forgotten questions;
scruffy owls hoot in an empty lecture hall
as a mind reacts with a jittery dread.
A lost post-graduate thesis rides on a city bus,
passengers sit on it as they come and go;
the manuscript is deeply buckled
with butt cheeks.
No time to revise the unprepared.
Dimples of anxiety indent a head trip.
Despondency envelopes.
At any moment,
eyes will open above a pool of sweat,
then blink stupidly
as they have done - often and repeatedly
for the last 45 years.
Add a in b
Multiply c with d
Divide e with g
Compare and contrast p
You will get t.
Note. You have mastered it.
From the window of my father’s car
Golden hairs upon my arm,
corn silks blowing in the wind,
Wave goodbye to summer.
Hair, now gold to silver grain
Receding now,
I’m leaving, once again.
A thumbing mind goes flipping past
Garages, stores, and street-lamps, fast
as ages mirrored in the storefronts
Move my life’s reflection through
each passing windows' glass
Lying on a beach I look at clouds
Hands held high, fingers pointing,
Watching through these sunlit tears
The close encounters I have had
With love.
5000 Years from the Now We Know
David J Walker
5000 years from
the now we know
Who will unearth our bones
For another final examination
As the scholar's flock
To the dig site
For their share of the
Trove of information
At best
They may only guess
At what were our expectations
With antiquated technologies
And 21-century information.
It’s a dreadful virus that has become an epidemic
Just like cankerworm, it has eaten our educational fabrics
Our educational system is anemic
But there is a remedy; together we all can fight against this social malady.
We need extreme energy; in other to restore examination sanity
We should resist corrupt practices, especially bribery
If we don’t fight against it then we’re doom, for anarchy and big calamity
There is a clarion call for us to save our academy
I implore all to resist corruption
Let’s try to mitigate if not eradicate this ill
Then examination malpractice will be a thing of a history.
Examination
The clock is ticking...
Sweat on my hands,
Making it difficult to write.
Nerves kick in...
Suddenly the ground starts shaking, l guess the answers won't come l forgot what l studied....
Eyes wander to the next table, what a pity! She too is stuck, l scratch my head hoping to find clues to solving this equation infront of me...
The clock is still ticking....like a time bomb.
It is now a guessing game, a race against time, home is calling.
The paper gets tougher.
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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.