Everyone has a place they are coming from
Don't goad the horse when it won't run.
I detect sorrow in your eyes
Because there were no alibis.
(chorus)
All the reasons why
You gave it your last try
The only way to forgive yourself
is to take the past off the shelf
It's worthwhile when you pause
Trace the roots, trace the cause
Find a peace under God's sky:
When you know the reasons why.
Our mind is a spectator, but we're also on the stage
We adlib the lines, when we can't find the page.
There's a gap between who we are and who we wish to be.
Who we are is how we deal with that discrepancy.
Some blame others for that gap
Some blame it on fortunes mishap
Some say they meant it all along
Convince themselves there's nothing wrong.
You can replay the movie in your mind
Facing facts can feel unkind
Still, tracing causes breaks the chain,
So you won't show that side again.
All the reasons why,
The thoughts we hide, the truths we deny.
And if your heart can heal again,
It starts with seeing where it’s been.
We’re all just travelers on our own
Kicking ourselves for what we should have known.
At least we have to try.
To find out the reasons why.
457.
Prayer Against Excuses
Oh Father God, deliver us from excuses
May we be committed to our promises
Oh Lord Jesus, save us who are like Adam
Grant us truth, not forbidden wisdom
Oh Holy Spirit, rescue us from denying our fault
Be our mover when truthfulness comes to a halt
This we ask in our Almighty God. Amen.
-12/21/2015
(Dumarao)
*Gideons Prayer Poems Against Life's Problems
The wickedness
of man
trumps the goodness
of God
What’s harder for
a child
to see their mother dead
or their father sob
The greater number
of a man’s errors
come disguised
as perfection
As excuses
sets sail
on the sea
— of perdition
(Dreamsleep: January, 2026)
Lame excuses don't cut it.
Takes more than flowers to impress me.
Man up ~ say you're sorry.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
Motive:
jealousy twisted into a desire for power,
Systems built from broken trust,
Superiority sourced by those who exude it,
Blood spilled from the hands of those who are black
Empires built from false prophecy
Lies cultivated from the weeds of projected self-hatred
Motive - the white man to appear as the superior race
Alibi:
The fragility of whiteness,
The acidic tears of the white woman,
The weaponisation of power by the white man,
The homemade, home-baked stereotypes - to divide
Propaganda pieced together with the glue of prejudiced policies -
Weaving deceit to narrate harmful ideologies of blackness
The portrayal of victimhood, for the picture of white innocence,
The abuse of power, to abuse black people
Alibi - racial killings masquerading as self-defence
The defence rests
Prosecutors sweat
The judge, blinded by bias
The jurors , all white
The verdict:
Not guilty -
By reason of fear of colour
Acquitted
Now freedom awaits -
For the white man, now he can do it again
Who are you
to stand in my way?
Step aside ~
I'm here ready to
claim my birthright.
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Who knew you were an ammunition,
A camouflage with a malice!
I'm still numb from the revelation
No matter how much I try
I'm afraid that I might risk walking the path
that killed all my dreams I'd reinforced spellbound by your lies!
I'm locked in your cellar
For the crime of conviction
In the castle you built
And called our home!
There's a door on your side
I know l'd never dare to knock
The door wrapped in Bougainvillea
Hiding behind them
The thorns of your sweet excuses!
I know I must avert
And disappear into the fog,
Hoping you'd then realise what a loss feels like!
But, my limbs are paralysed by the venom of trust
That sluggishly ran through my blood
Tormenting me all these years !
Now,
All I need is an escape
Is that too much to ask for?
A charley horse is killing me, so I am dragging my left foot
I cannot meet for lunch, for my face is full of dirty soot
I am limping a little thanks to a torn meniscus on my knee
You will have to have your church tea without little ole me
Arthritis is crippling my fingers, so I cannot do quilting you see
My eyes are doing poorly, so I cannot help with the spelling bee
Baked goods are not possible, my oven is on the blink.
I cannot bathe your baby; there is a cobra in my sink.
I cannot meet you that day; I have an appointment I know.
I despise giving you these excuses because I love you so.
Maybe I could meet you next September for some dinner.
I want to wait until then, in the hopes I might be thinner.
Do not blame me for all your failures,
Do not make excuses.
Don’t overlook others.
Those who blame others
Will never grasp lofty dreams!
You alone own your destiny,
Dreams cannot be reached by the hesitant.
You alone are responsible for everything,
For not finding a way out of difficulties.
If you don’t ponder on reaching your dreams,
Are others truly to blame for this?
When a person avoids responsibility,
Of course, they blame others.
Your excuses are cut deep into me,
Every word, a wound on my skin,
They bleed but do not kill,
They weep but do not cry,
I watch myself losing you,
Losing my grip, finger by finger,
With every lie from your mouth,
With every excuse,
They say destiny decides who live or die,
But you choose my death,
A living corpse,
A hollow soul,
They were your excuses,
They became my consequence,
You decided upon the words...
That became our end.
Strict parents taught her how to survive,
To navigate life with lies she loathed to tell.
She crafted a list, excuses for every misstep,
Because the truth felt like a risk she couldn’t take.
Sometimes, she wielded honesty—
A rare, deliberate shield against blame.
But since leaving home, she’s forgotten that art.
Her list, once a lifeline, now defends others’ absences.
“They must’ve had no choice,” she tells herself,
When someone she cherishes disappears without a word.
“They wanted to be there,” she assures,
When her first party in years
Ends with empty chairs where her friends should have been.
Excuses grow, stacking like pages in a book,
A fragile armor against the sting of abandonment.
Now, after daring to trust her heart,
She flips through her library of “what-ifs” and “maybes,”
Desperate to find an answer that fits her narrative.
A reason that soothes without truth,
That comforts without cutting deep.
The dusty pages offer no solace,
Only reflections of things that could have been.
Still, she clings to the search,
Afraid of what she might uncover
If she dares to stop looking.
Pardon me, is that your toe
I just had nowhere else to go
Excuse me, ma’am, I lost my footing
That’s why your dress is full of pudding
Oh, so sorry, you must be furious
I only touched you ‘cos I’m curious
Sir, I really forgot how tomatoes squirt
‘Til I saw the mess on your shirt
And please forgive me 1,000 times over
I thought you’d love my pit bull, Rover
Mama
Excuse
Smooth talker
Jurisdiction
Bamboozles school
Now he’s eighteen
Consequence
Jail
Time
Sometimes I wonder...
do the book characters wait
anticipating--
Till I keep reading...
do they feel abandoned, stuck
deep in dilemmas
Dependent on me--
like "Neverending Story"
(have you read/ seen that?)
They say we’ll get a hurricane,
that they’re calling hurricane Lee.
Probably later this week,
and it’s a category 9 at least.
Some are saying prayers, but I say:
Why’s God sending it here?
Someone must be sinning a LOT.
Hey, don’t look at me - I’m not.
You’d think that would affect our classes,
that maybe we’d get hazzard passes,
for assignments that are due,
but nope, it isn’t true.
“I don’t want to hear excuses,”
my chem professor said,
“the only acceptable excuse is,
that you’re dead.”
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