Do not let death be a hiding place for thieves,
Their mansions glimmer,their hands still foul of gold-
We want the money back, the people grieve.
They steal from the hungry,spin deceitful weaves,
Made poverty a product easily sold-
Do not let death be a hiding place for thieves.
Each tender lost,another dream bereaves,
A nation's trust auctioned,betrayed,resold-
We want the money back,the people grieve
The tombstone shines but cannot reprieve,
The curses of the poor,the stories untold-
Do not let death be a hiding place for thieves.
Let justice dig through soil and broken eaves,
Expose the empires' corruption controlled-
We want the money back,the people grieve
No grave absolves,no legacy deceives-
Return what you plundered,return what you stole!
Do not let death be a hiding place for thieves-
We want the money back,the people grieve
Good Sense Of Humour Blunts The Sharp Blades Of Reality Poetry
Contest //Sponsored by: Natasha L. Scragg
Contest Judged: 8/30/2025 4:27:00 AM
( 2nd Place )
Written: August 5, 2025
When life threw me a curveball,
I stumbled—then chuckled mid-fall.
Lumped knees, not pride, I wore like bent,
because sneering is something I've seen.
In chemo rooms and vestibules,
I frenzied dry jokes on aseptic walls.
Doctors simpered, nurses would beam—
a punch-line where the fear had been.
When agony thumped hard and sleep grew thin,
I let the silly light writhe in.
A meme, a whirl , a silly song—
made aching days feel less so long.
No, humour incurable or patch,
But it's the ally, not made to part.
It doesn't silence, hurt or truth,
but let me smirk with my aching tooth.
So here's my laugh, though life gushes beneath,
it's how I rise, not how I lament!
One More Cow, One More Sow
Another acre cultivated
By a shining plough
The farmer’s son takes off his hat
Wiping the sweat from his brow
Their productive loans are being called in
Lives changed at the financier’s whim
To survive, they’ll work for life and limb
Yet their malnourished bones are wearing thin
The processor purchases milk below cost
And no buyers for our fields of maize
It looks like all hope is now lost
It seems, rarely these days
That honest work ever pays
One More Cow, One More Sow
We are coming closer, acre by acre
Until we use our Starry Plough
Let’s grow a harvest from the soil
And struggle living from our toil
hardship chiseled in his features
silence laden by a troubled past
his thoughts kept to himself
behind an invisible wall of insulation
while his face speaks to me in whispers
of a history muddled with shady details
eyes reveal that regrets he's had a few
and dreams now seem out of reach
yet there's a part of him that refuses to give up
AP: 3rd place 2025
Steel bars whisper cold truths at night,
A jungle of killers, no room for fright.
Survival ain't luck, it's blood and bone,
Earn your name or die unknown.
Respect ain't given, it's taken in war,
A blade in the dark, a fist to the jaw.
Weakness is death, don’t flinch, don’t fold,
Only the ruthless make it old.
No second chances, no rewind, no grace,
One wrong move, they’ll rearrange your face.
Ain’t no nine lives, just one shot to last,
Make it count or fade fast.
The yard’s a battlefield, the rules are clear,
Stand your ground, show no fear.
If it goes down, handle your biz,
Ain’t no mercy where killers live.
Every step’s a test, every glance a threat,
A life of war, no time for regret.
You bang with the hardest, you earn your place,
Or get erased without a trace.
Chains don’t break, they only weigh,
A lifetime lost, but dues to pay.
You either rise or rot away,
In the penitentiary, where demons play.
"To make pearls out of grit
is to make sorrow and hardship a thing of beauty"
My government
Has not approved
Helping the poor.
Going down town
Ancient food chain
Menu price up.
Market items
Rotting all eyes
Left empty hands.
My eyes eating
Paint hamburger
Cramps my belly.
Each trial has purpose
Every hardship has mercy
Makes us grow each day.
Have you ever wondered that/
Tobacco can affect your mental health/
Think about your life/
Before you lit that first cigarette or cigar/
Did you ever get in trouble/
Did you have any drama/
Did you fight with your lover or soul mate/
Were you ever rude or a hate warrior/
Did your heart turn black after that first cigarette/
Tobacco affected my own mental health/
What happened to me/
Could happen to you/
And, it could be worse/
Tobacco is a harmful substance/
It's like a drug/
It does crazy things to your mind/
You might think it relaxes you/
But, it actually does more harm than good/
You get cancer from Tobacco, too/
Tobacco adds to your mental health issues/
Tobacco means more trips to doctors/
You snuff out your divine light/
By using Tobacco, it's a mind altering substance/
Make your divine light pure, always shining bright/
By saying no to Tobacco/
Never mess up your mind, keep your mind, that light, pure/
God don't want you to put poison in your body/
Tobacco is poison/
Say no..../
Be pure.../
Keep your divine light pure/
When you get a FISA Warrant/
For electronic surveillance/
From psychic spies with/
Mind Control with psionic/
And radionic technology/
They first attack you with/
Voice to skull technology/
Which is voices in your head/
Their first objective is to make you/
Appear as a schizophrenic/
Medications will only amplify/
The effects of that technology/
You know you're not schizophrenic/
You know you're a victim/
Of that program because/
You somehow got a FISA Warrant/
For this electronic surveillance/
Nobody will ever believe you/
The voices can drive you mad/
There's nothing you can do/
Because those spies/
Are that sadistic/
Your destruction is their objective/
Nothing you can do about it/
Just stand your ground/
Strength and Patience/
Will get you through it/
It infinge on your rights/
Against the torture prevention act/
This may be the/
Land of the free/
But this stuff exists/
And it's beyond sadistic/
We started off with being/
A human stuck in a tiny box/
Like a caged animal/
Day by day, we lose our senses/
To be poked and prodded/
Day and night for amusement/
This is a game to them/
Looking into the cage/
To rile the beast within/
The expected become unexpected/
The situation becomes dire/
Crying in desperation/
Remember, it's a human being/
Locked away in isolation/
Treated like garbage/
No Gods hears the cries/
From within the walls/
Trapped like a caged animal/
Is today a new year in any way?
Thirty first and first look too much the same.
The snows that the sky and cold winds still spray,
Are still making me feel cold without blame.
Hardship bought me no coat on a cold day.
Homelessness is what they falsely proclaim.
But there, in their closets coats beg to leave.
My back pleads for a reprieve from cold's siege.
In shadows deep, where silence lay,
A moment came and stole the day.
A choice I made, with a very heavy heart,
Unraveled dreams oh it tore me apart.
I watched the light fade infront of my eyes,
As questions swirled, like quiet lies.
“Why did this happen?” travelled loud,
In a world once bright, now covered in clouds.
The pain was sharp, like a cold winter's chill,
Each breath a weight, a bitter thrill.
I wandered lost, through nights so long,
A tune that played, a haunting song.
But in that dark, a flicker began to glow,
A seed of hope, in sorrow sow......
I searched for meaning, grasped the thread,
In every tear, a path was led.
Then came the dawn, with gentle grace,
Revealing truths I had to face.
The trials shaped me, lost my soul,
In brokenness, I found my whole.
Through every storm, I tried to stand,
With purpose clear, a guiding hand.
For in the struggle strength i found,
And in the silence, wisdom's sound.
Now when the shadows creep and crawl,
I rise again, I will not fall.
Each hardship met with open heart,
For every ending is a new start.
Yes
It's rungs
May be covered in rust
But commit to the climb
To learn how to trust
Yes
You'll fall
Again and again
Caught by the arms
Of a very old friend
Yes
You'll be put
Back at the start
A journey to the place
Where you're never apart
Yes
Your hands
Will be battered and bruised
Take solace in a fate
You surely didn't choose
Yes
This climb
Has no real end
But neither does the truth
For which we ascend
they line the streets like forgotten bones,
clothes clinging thin, skin and bones,
as hollow as an unanswered prayer—
they die on corners, in alleys, out there
with eyes full of shadows no one dares see.
the city walks by with pockets stuffed deep,
suits and stares, faces blank as receipts,
and the doctors, their hands are slick with fees,
and hospitals open their jaws wide,
for those who can't pay, there's nowhere to hide.
the mercy we sing, the grace we sell—
it’s bartered in back rooms, lives ring the bell,
and the world, it watches, it shrugs, it sighs,
"what’s another soul in a thousand lives?"
this is a place for the lucky and bold,
where compassion is cold, money is gold,
and the streets are paved with stories untold.
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