Frumpy Poems | Examples

Ode to Petunia

Petunia is the plain little sister
who gets overlooked and passed over.

She’s not the pretty one,
always quiet and reserved,
not classy, fancy or graceful.
She takes backstage at every turn.

No games, no false pretenses.
She’s frumpy, floppy and flimsy.
Her scent is unrefined,
not confused with real perfumes.

She’s somewhat of an ugly duckling
but when the going gets tough,
we can’t help but admire
her tenacity when facing adversity.

Slow and steady wins the race.
She’s low maintenance, demure and bashful.
So reliable is her performance,
she’s been known to outshine competition.

Unpretentious and free from vanity
Yet, fact not known… surprise ~
petunia blooms are edible !



AP: Honorable Mention 2025

Blame it on Fraternization

     My little sister loved to fraternize
     So her newfound curves she just had to hide
         Sis wore frumpy clothes
         Nothing was exposed
     Now, why were those naughty boys’ grins so wide

Desperation

  
      Inspiration yields to desperation
        with each tick of the clock
      underarms damp as the back of your knees
        soiling even your frumpy frock... 

      Time is finite, you know it’s true
         though it seems it’s out to choke just you
      a thought races past, is it your last
         ~ an alarm goes off, the die is cast

dowdy drab doris

Doris was dowdy, drab, and draggle-tailed too
Forever frumpy, frightened, a failure, at age thirty-two
Jaundiced, juicy-gossipy, jealous, and July jailed
Slovenly, slithery, shipwrecked, her moment had sailed.

Wondering about Goats

nanny goats eat grass and leaves of trees
wild mountain goats stand on rocks with ease
tiny pygmy goats know how to climb up trees
frumpy milking goats give product away with ease
long-eared goats look as weird as bumblebees
wonder if army goats do pushups from their knees?

I used to be able to

I used to be able to run full steam all day with little sleep
Now I can barely walk unless I have a little cat nap
because I still am a fitful sleeper at night, up and down

I once ran around my yard with my dogs
Now arthritis in my ankles has me ambling, slowly
I dream of walking fast, which I also did once upon a time

My vision used to be better than twenty-twenty
Now I cannot read books or magazines unless they are big print
or I keep a magnifying glass close by my easy chair

Sitting around watching TV was the last thing I would do
until ten years ago when I tore my meniscus
Now I spend a lot of time eating potato chips in front of the boob tube

I used to be clever and funny and fun
I do not feel that way anymore
I feel dumpy and frumpy

Do what you can while you are young
Fifty five is a lot younger than seventy-three.
You might as well know it now.

Mirror Image

I saw the picture and it definitely is not the same
Is it someone new?
It’s not what I saw in the mirror as I got ready for public view.
The reflection tells me, “Ok, not too bad.”
I’m old, yes, frumpy, but no reason to be sad.
I see a youthful spirit, fluffy, but not too fat.
I think of my age and remind myself that
People change, no one stays exactly the same.
My outfit is not trendy, but not out of style.
Sorta classic, as I see it, in style for a while.

Later, I see event pics posted online.
Who is seated in my place 
And why is she so wide?
Her face is in profile;
It’s sagging and old.
It’s odd to think she’d be so bold
As to come out like that,
Wearing a top that doesn’t hide fat.
Her ponytail isn’t smooth,
And look at those chunky old lady shoes!
What was she thinking? 
Did she even try?
And suddenly I realize and let out a cry.
She’s sitting with my husband.
Who could she be?
And then I notice sadly, the she
That is me.
                        ~ Judy Bausch

feeling frumpy and grumpy

When she was young she was her own critic, bad.
She had a stormy face and tried to always be mad.
She thought her world was awful, and was determined to be sad
Now she is older, frumpy and grumpy, and in no way happy or glad.

Suffering

I crawled and stayed low as I could,
Wanted to be punished for being anything but good. No boundaries in place before I took a walk around the world complete in a block,
Never knew that being human meant being entitled to make mistakes and being a Christian meant worthy of asking forgiveness and sneaking a peak at the people you pass when you are walking isn't too much pride. I deserved everything I got that made me feel like , being a pathetic introvert just gave me the excuse to allow for my eccentricities. Flawed in more ways then one yet unable to pin point the most debilitating one, I chose being trapped in the body of some fat, frumpy whiter then white ill proportioned gal with an akward pigeon toed walk, unsure stare and a damaged heart left to stew in misery. I truly love harder then anyone I've seen...but I never say a w ok rd about it...just hope that someone feels it.

Rb

Freddy Farkle

Freddy Farkle, fumbling forecaster for Forestville,
friggin' fudged Friday forecast....fair?!
first florid felicitous, falling flurries followed,
froze flowers, foiled!
faraway farmhouse, furrowing farmland,
frigid fanny, furious, frustrated,
frumpy, frazzled!
furry forest friends furnished flannel frock,
finding Freddy's fails funny, frivolity,
fortunately frequent fallible forecasts
found Freddy flying faraway,
fallaciously forecasting for fermented folks!

F Having Fun

forever fragrant flowers
freshly frozen French fries
frosty frigid French pie
frightfully frumpy frogs
F is frolicking, having fun

frilly frisky Frankenstein
freezing frivolous frazzled fried flies
fruitful frustrated frankfurter finches
fragrant frizzled frocks
Frisking friendly fruity F

flirty fleeting fishes
flaky, flashing, flaming flashes
flawlessly flagging flip-flops
floundering in fleshy, flaxen, fluff
Flamboyant F, flavored fruitfully

Lena's Lament

      Heroines fought battles, overcame
      hardships to proclaim victory
      Lena's sedentary reel, same same 
      Pristine paged humdrum story


      Secure foundation led steadily wed
      Chores' blur bolstered home
      Wholesale whore for husband's bed
      Battle liberated life bemoan


      Pencil skirt vixens strut on television
      Bold shoulder pads deception
      Kids' Father ensured ample provision
      Fed a fortress family protection 


      Frumpy comfort hot oven soap opera
      Glazed gaps, glassed gorgeous
      Razzmatazz Rochelle dating a doctor 
      Lena's latent longing engorges


      

                   27th June
           Heaven for Heathens

Nature's Way

 
Blue bliss above shady shadows,
grand graceful tree where the leaves flutter fly;
crisp creeping and fragile frail,
precious prancing stuck to bramble branch !
Cling climb then gleeful glide,
frayed frumpy and soon decayed dead;
crushed crumpled then nascent nature !

____________________
May 15, 2023


Poetry/Verse/Allliterson/Nature's Way
Copyright Protected, ID 05-1547-568-15
All Rights Reserved, 2023, Constance La France

Written for the Standard contest, Alliterson
sponsor, Joseph May, Judged 05/29/2023

Third Place

Snail Overseer Is Sluggish Today

The snail overseer is sluggish today said the ant.
Mouse and rabbit laughed at the worker’s rant.
He’s the first person you’ve complained about today.
Three unhappy snails ran the other way.

See what I mean? The ant groused, all grumpy.
Our new snail overseer is sluggish, lazy and frumpy.
That’s what he can’t stand, the mouse said.
I know, rabbit agreed. Ants work until they are dead.

A Public Message To All Decent Democrats

We want all Democrats to behave
As though they truly and genuinely believe
In a True Democracy
Stop at once the nasty hypocrisy.

Oh! Let the republicans behave
Like they belong in frumpy old cans
Of lies, insurrections, nightmares, hooligans
And right-wing fans who crave and rave.

We want good and credible elections
Not biased and absurd selections
We want Real Democracy.

We want Justice, Freedom and Liberty
For all conscientious and legal voters
In power, we want truth tellers, not liars.

Copyright © October 2022, Hébert Logerie, All rights reserved
Hébert Logerie is the author of several collections of poetry.

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