The Gauntlet
Step where I have stepped,
tread where I have trod,
weep what I have wept
and crawl where I have clawed.
Then, and only then,
may you judge what I've selected -
only then have you earned my yen,
to abandon the gashes I've collected.
Retreat not, then, I dare you,
hovel not in your early barrow.
Shelter not to make it through,
hide not from
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Categories:
gauntlet, death, death of a
Form: Rhyme
Gauntlet Of Time
Gauntlet Of Time
Calling me forward
taking me back
Promising nothing
stepping over the cracks
A doorway awaits
threshold of pain
Whose entrance is crumbling
—to cross heaven gained
(Villanova University: December, 2023)
Over The Rainbow
No difference between
good and bad
when eyes
are caught between
What matters most
and matters least
the treasure
—sight unseen
(Villanova University: December, 2023)
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Categories:
gauntlet, time,
Form: Rhyme
Running the Gauntlet
~Running the Gauntlet ~
Simplistic in its structure…
Nearly amateurish…
Unpolished attempt…
Superficial…
Facile…
Without subtlety…
Nonsensical…
Journalistic attempt at prose…
Lack of complexity…
Unimaginative…
The underlying message is vacuous…
Unsophisticated…
Puerile attempt…
Your submission is not appropriate at this time…
Not for us…
Not the right fit…
Not quite right for this publication…
We invite you to submit more…
Do you have any other work we could consider…
Your style is unique…
Our interest is
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Categories:
gauntlet, poetry,
Form: Free verse
Devils Gauntlet
Darkness was descending in a crawled dread,
entering evening’s creepy gloom by that fence
vile and sharp as evil silhouettes of greed’s luv..
In the narrow guarded gates, a Halloween alibi
living open, is a walking workforce all powerful
sporting eyes, bloodied, from searing naked souls…
Gamblers risk the chains always snapping
Ankles bound clank with
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Categories:
gauntlet, america,
Form: Acrostic
Time's Gauntlet
Searching for ideas
necessary to our existence
from legends
We challenge
the future
—with voices from the past
(Rock Springs Wyoming: September, 2021)
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Categories:
gauntlet, time,
Form: Free verse
Jacob's Gauntlet
Crawling the serrated knife’s edge
Oh, how the straight path to dreams winds
Driving the lender’s car towards mirages retreating
Tires still dry, one interview to the next
Eaten a lot of oysters, no pearl yet
Another day with the serial assailant of obligations
Home, the abyss of borrowed things,
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Categories:
gauntlet, depression, growing up, life,
Form: Free verse
Throwing Down the Gauntlet
Crossing the burning barriers,
you take a fatal jump.
Brazenly, but giving little away.
Long shadows of ethnic clouds
were eroding the sun. Feeling the
wet lips you rub you sweaty
palms in vain.
Haunted, you would like to
kill the ghosts. You pull a silken
cord. A silver urn upturns the
ashes of your past.
Each truth walks without legs.
You are still incomplete. The
self-portrait will
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Categories:
gauntlet, art,
Form: ABC
An Old Man Slams the Slams - Throws Down the Gauntlet To the Punk Man
slam it to me punk you think you’re so cool
this bald headed old fart will take you to school
you think you’re the first generation to revolt
if you read a history book you’d know that’s a joke
yes that’s a joke
go ahead punk – take a poke
hell i was sitting down in a war protest strike
while guardsmen
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Categories:
gauntlet, introspectionme, write, old, slam,
Form: Free verse