Happy Earth Day, Mother Earth!
I have to say, for what it’s worth,
That you’ve seemed better in the past;
Things are getting grimmer, fast.
Lack of snow in ski resorts
Has hurt much more than winter sports,
With fire, now, a constant fear,
Especially when winds blow near.
While temperatures that fluctuate
Cause harm to crops and, as of late,
Between the times of floods and droughts,
Your advocates are having doubts
About sustainability;
Will future generations see
A way to help protect your lands
In ways that modern life demands?
We humans have our work to do
To fix the damage done to you,
But while we can, let’s pledge to try
So Earth Day hopes don’t up and die.
“Doo-doo, doo-doo,” we hear the beast coming.
Music gets under our skin. The worst of attacks,
narrated by the boat’s captain. Unsettling sink
of the USS Indianapolis. Just below the hull,
a giant life wanting to strike a blow. This boat
a smaller target. Getting chummy, stomachs
lurching. Baited by grimmer details. A solid blow
to the vessel. All hands on deck - only three.
“Doo-doo, doo-doo,” and oftentimes whimsical.
Who will survive? Aye! Aye! Not the captain!
The shark will save the other half for dinner.
You, who know, know what happens. Those
who don’t, be warned; watch, get an education!
It’s wonderful and rare to laugh
Or smile for two hours straight.
It happens when you get to see
A comic who’s first-rate.
Last night we joined the audience
At New York’s famed Town Hall,
Amid the crowd of fervent fans
Who follow Robyn Schall.
Her comedy is special
And to everyone appeals,
As the funny stories of her life
She jokingly reveals.
By interacting with the crowd,
All thrilled to thus engage,
She extends the warmest welcome,
Calling some up to the stage.
With a few well-chosen videos
Security* provides,
We are treated to an inner self
That Robyn never hides.
For full disclosure, Robyn is
The daughter of dear friends,
Yet seeing her perform
My fair and square self recommends.
We all need laughter as the world
Gets grimmer every day.
“The Robyn Schall Experience”
Makes all that go away.
*Security is what Robyn calls her brother
Richie, who helps with her shows.
I was a land that was steeper
I became an ocean that was deeper
The waves in me were silent
And the view around was grimmer
The Moon wasn't there
Everything looked gloomy and in despair
Where was that shine I used to have?
Or it wasn't a shine but a betrayal
When all is lost, something you get
It's a wonder, and now I don't regret
It's when you dived in
The tides became gushing
You pulled me out from there,
To the shore that was never far but so near
Was it you who found me or was it me who found you,
doesn't matter because we are together now
On the shore, we are standing now,
The sun is shining with colors of wow
The only thing I want till the end
is your side by my side and your hand in my hand
Don’t you know why Ted is slimmer?
His eyes no more with hopes glimmer:
Had long swum in pools with shimmer,
As long in frustration swimmer;
Ted would not bear Todd’s New Tipper
Plus dreams of making ‘A Shipper!’…
But one’s knowledge of life deeper,
One no more, in spirit, Sleeper,
Entrance one blocks against Creeper
And proves Goodwill Lover Keeper…
Now, you know why Ted is slimmer
And walrus moustache not trimmer:
Chances of making it dimmer,
One gets slimmer and face grimmer!
I am darkness,
I am night,
I am where many are lost without hope in sight,
I creep and seep,
filling the cracks in you,
with me.
Encroaching, slowly, in little ways,
pushing out the better days,
replacing every happy moment with misery,
with grimmer thoughts,
with procrastination,
lack of motivation,
and no will at all.
I change you,
mold you,
cast you in my die,
warp you,
twist you,
with doubt,
anxiety
and lies.
I don’t need to worry about haste,
No, no.
You won’t have the strength to fight
once you realize, you are mine,
because I work slowly,
as the thing I have more than you,
is time.
A monarch butterfly flew past.
I wondered if it was the last
‘Cause they are disappearing fast;
Our world will be much grimmer.
For climate change and pesticides,
Plus loss of habitats besides
Means we are taking giant strides
To make our days much dimmer.
These orange beauties did appear
Like clockwork every single year.
Their loss should make us shed a tear,
With hope, a measly glimmer.
The sun projects my shadow
imperfect parody thus lack
being copy of grimmer flow
will be to say that soul is black
Sails upon waters of shimmer
Blood red vibrance glowing dimmer
Twisted fate of Sanity increasingly slimmer
Lost Voice left alone to quietly simmer
Memories of faded emotions turning grimmer
Tears forever feed the flow of river
Sultry seduction of body ravished lay still of quiver
Icy words of truth yet spoken to deliver
Wraths of lusts stolen from the giver
Last words of love accompanying darkness of shiver
January 06, 2021
Last Love Letter
Contest entry submit
My parties have become pretty lean
Ever since onset of Covid nineteen
No more passing around fine liquor
drinking alone, in a hall of mirrors
A new reality from behind thin veils
Masks and gloves, my themed masquerade
Radio on ‘Move Closer’ gives me shivers
smooching alone, in a hall of mirrors
I’m a one man band, on my record player
Listening to the sole voice, of Leo Sayer
Drowning in misery, a beached orca killer
singing drunkenly, in a hall of mirrors
Switch on the TV, looking for distraction
Silent movie on, some guy named Chaplin
Enough charades, echoes growing dimmer
talking to myself, in a hall of mirrors.
Something catches the corner of my eye
A headline in a newspaper, lying nearby
Vaccine found, life’s suddenly less grimmer
Praying on my knees, to broken mirrors.
PARTY FOLK Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Julia Ward
28/12/2020
sleeping white
snow beauty
the drugs
and dreams
becoming
one
grimmer tales
told so tells
giambattista
flax and apple
poisoning
as seen
through
the eyes
not
of doc
but
dopey
O! Afterthought, Thou art a stern Taskmaster!
Thy Glare’s as gentle, as is Sun on Snow!
O! Heart! Would She have stayed, if I had asked her?
Admittedly, there’s no grimmer disaster,
Than sudden fury rupturing House and Row!
O! Afterthought, Thou art a stern Taskmaster!
Amid the clods and falling dust and plaster,
Will we know we are reaping what we Sow?
O! Heart! Would She have stayed, if I had asked her?
Aimed at my Heart: she ran faster, and faster!
(The storm outstripped, no matter where she’d go.)
O! Afterthought, Thou art a stern Taskmaster!
Dim hope! I pulled her under an alabaster
Fountain, round which the dusky funnel did flow,
O! Heart! Would She have stayed, if I had asked her?
When all had passed, still was the oleaster…
But she lay still, felled by a mighty blow!
O! Afterthought, Thou art a stern Taskmaster!
O! Heart! Would She have stayed, if I had asked her?
Sometimes you can hide yourself in a mirror
Not everything’s revealed within its glimmer
What you see is only your outer reflection
You’re only looking at lights reverse deflection
Your eye’s look forward but only see back
It’s truly an optical mirage, a reflective façade
Sometimes there are lies in the reflection
Walls that are built to provide you protection
Like makeup used to cover flaws and cracks
Hiding blemishes and limiting the attacks
Paradoxes of light, a brightness that is dimmer
Illuminating the truth, obscuring the grimmer
Sometimes the truth is only seen as fraud
When your outer skin hides what is inside
Mirrors are unique as they capture misdirection
Curved paths of light are only retinal projections
Images presented to the world may never lack
But they may not represent a faithful track
Sometimes a reflection is defined by the shimmers
Of the underlying image like candlelight that flickers
Giving up truths behind the lies seen by refraction
In a mirror’s view when you are open to inspection
Less defined by vision compared to the abstract
Of what is promised to your soul through God’s contract
Wait till next year is a common baseball cry
Disappointment abounds, as the fans say goodbye
Not every year's a winner
This one was even grimmer
Maybe next year we won't need another alibi
(Marilyn Monroe speaks.)
River of No Return
A desert is a bitter place.
There's something cruel in endless space:
it strips away the human scale.
I fear these winds that scour and chase
the vortices, and sting my face.
Good looks are fine, but all too frail -
ask Monty. Once you've lost your place,
you feel as if you've lost the race,
you're not what you're supposed to be.
I envy his consumption rate.
The one man in this battle-born state
in grimmer shape than even me.
Yes, Huston's the paternal kind,
but something's left him colourblind:
director's name on empty chair.
He's hollow, going through the motions,
painted ship on painted ocean:
you touch him, but he isn't there.
I married Miller on a whim.
If I could land a man like him,
I figured, I must be someone.
A man above me, older, smarter:
I didn't want a Jewish martyr.
Why lock the safe? The money's gone.
I come without a guarantee.
Men fool themselves - they don't need me.
I nixed on Arthur, fixed on Clark.
I've reached some kind of plateau now.
I'm sure of everything ... but how
to find my way back in the dark.
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