Keeping it real this
morning, writing of the 60’s --
Bandstand, cookies-and-cream,
hot-dogs and home-runs --
M&M Boys, swinging for the crown!
No brow-burner~ a basic poem
without the fancy footwork of Astaire
and Rogers; no dangling metaphors
Like Hand-jive with knives, sanguinary
Greaser-floors --
Poetry is not written to be read
More like, lived to be written --
And then by those natures so inclined
who survive, in verse form to the rest
of us unwashed, spoon-fed.
All nature has a voice —
But apparently not for singing:
Mine left class ears' sorely ringing.
Some are far better at dancing —
However, not I: my fancy footwork
Made the instructor painfully sigh.
Others are better with words for writing —
My composition made the teacher cry, though
It was supposed to be a comedy —
Today I will attempt archery – Hey, where’s
Everyone running off too!?
We twist between songs
Footwork elegant and sharp
Roses in your hand
song
musical, a cappella
jamming, appealing, refraining
chorus, melody, choreography, waltz
whirling, jiving, bebopping
footwork, movement
dance
while i was passing by
in aisle five
i overheard
“get help”
she happened to glance at me
and by 6:03
i happened to think
what if she said
“get well”
and i don’t know who
and i wasn’t there
but i know
when i’ve heard it before
if it wasn’t condescendingly
had one pound of empathy
i would’ve been
more likely
we all have days
that get swept in the haze
of just trying to stay alive
2 steps forward, 1 step back
but it feels like rewinding 5
after drawing a circle or two
you wish you didn’t need to be doing footwork your whole life
it’s like a birthday balloon
in a crowded room
it’s all up in the air
the balloon falls down
you look around
and wonder if you all have circles there
in the clouds
but with the crowd
sometimes you hear in the way they speak
the toughened clay
they molded that day
to prevent from appearing weak
you feel the way it sounded
they’re trying to keep it grounded
you see the smoothness of their rock
because they’re silently wearing the erosion
it took for them
to become that soft
Everybody makes boobies,
Put our big feet in it,
Just some clumsy footwork
And we find ourselves in a pit.
Everybody makes boobies,
Everybody makes mistakes,
When shooting our life’s film,
There is bound to be out-takes.
Dasher
cyber
cruiser
Dancer
fancy
footwork
Prancer
haughty
naughty
Vixen
magic
trickster
Comet
pleasure
streaker
Cupid
cheerful
cherub
Donner
raucous
rock star
Blitzen
bolt of
lightning
Rudolph
bulbous
red nose
Olive
other
excess
Dashing to the Registry
With my bride to be, to be.
Under blue skies with blue shoes.
Wedding bands and promises,
Held tight, till later…
I do
Fanciful footwork and fireworks
The most glorious country wedding.
Marquees and marvellous speeches,
Swirling and twirling with fabulous friends.
My love – my true love…
I do
Called to a photoshoot,
Practiced in shadows and in light
A new bride – but just for the show of it.
The venue, the dream.
For others to see…
I do
Singing and dancing on stage.
Directors calling and orchestra playing.
The rehearsals and the movements.
Creating something from nothing.
For enjoyment of life itself…
I do
(I do, I do, I do, I do, I do)
Under soaring osprey’s gaze
And the gathering silver eye
I take my bride to the edge of the view
For more wedding party vows.
Paella and beers, close family, and friends.
We dance into the night,
By the light of the moon...
I do
ball
bouncy, inflated,
chasing, juggling, throwing,
footwork, kick, imprisonment, shackle
dangling, yanking, dragging,
tethered, unbroken
chain
Submitted for...
Dazzling Dizzy Diamante Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Caren Krutsinger
Date created: 08/07/2022
they buzzed, I slapped
bob and weave, cover up
cook out “rope-a-dope”
three beers, no one cares
you spot ‘em, I’ll swat ‘em
fire pit footwork
bug fogger, super power
last gasp for bugs
also killed the flowers
8/20/2021
A Buggy Tanka Contest Poetry Contest
Swings and hides in the kangaroo court.
The bulldog drops him with one report.
He struggles and fights to stay on his feet.
His fancy footwork skips every beat.
Bob and weave, stick and move.
He floats like a kangaroo with no groove.
Pathetic and weak and nothing original.
He hides in the bush like an aboriginal.
Come on sparky, show me something new.
Are you tired of the bulldog beating you black and blue?
A kick in the rear is what you need.
Your sorry punches are lacking speed.
You think you’re cool with your big mouth.
True north is where I am. You’re going south.
You’ve got no power to your punch.
This Bulldog eats Kangaroos for lunch.
Aerial dribs and drabs, a sidewalk canvas
As a toddler chases bubbles her mother blows
from confectionary soap,
Fluttering fluidity in spring air
Child's laugh, a mosaic of innocence, discovery and glee
Her run after each globe, unsteady, twisted gravity
Her footwork shifts in warfare wobble, no sinkhole falling
Her reach to pop each bubble, circus kerfuffle, giddy,
giggles that swing like a trapeze artist,
while a mother retrieves
unexpected memory
shards of recovery
that coat a guarded self
Neverland jester, a child's guileless glow,
routing air baubles
unconstrained by space,
untethered from fear,
avoiding a fall off the planet
to limited mobility
For sometimes life's march
doesn't start on time
Poem revised: April 19, 2021
Any biblical character does effective footwork giving hopeful inspiration just keeping life mobile, noting obvious prayers quickly raises spirits that use various ways eXceptionally, yielding zealots.
2020 February 08
Sparring With Pain
Written: by Tom Wright
10-21-2016
Entering each day’s fight I’ve total disdain,
The fighter I face uses the moniker, pain,
I hook and jab endeavoring to stay on top.
His presence I may slow but rarely can stop.
I’ve tried to drug him but that didn’t work,
So I’ve reached a conclusion that’s quite sage.
It hasn’t been ring savvy, grit, or footwork,
Pain unmasked revealed my true foe was Age.
Things will fit better
if you first bother
to measure.
Follow through
on what you ask
God to do.
I do not blame
God who has
blessed you with
a brain, insight, and a will
to make it plain.
Progress
Requires care
A little footwork.
A little "Elbow Grease".
Should always
accompany
your prayers.
If your creator
seems distant
he is waiting
for you to put
some "motion"
behind your
E-motions..
Go and become
a steward
of your own
blessings.
What you ask
God to put
into motion,
"claim"
You know, all that
"faith “and no work....
and you…
Not budging,
while waiting on
"change".!
Well: let that be the reason
For things staying the same.!
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