By day I may feel
down at heel
at night I might
be high as a kite
the ups and downs
which keep on giving
make life interesting
and worth living
the alternative will arrive
in the fullness of time
but as I'm still alive
I'll thrive
and make my way
as best I can
while this poor planet
is messed up by man
Putting my best foot forward
shoulder to the wheel
nose to the grindstone
my Achilles heel
while sticking my neck out
I soon found
as
with my eye on the ball
ear to the ground
when I put my back into it
not with tongue in cheek
but to keep my chin up
heard joints creak
the onset of old age memory loss
an early taste
for in the end I forgot to bend
at the knees and not the waist
each Cobblestone makes up the road
ouch from your very sharp high heel shoes
"Heel"
Another language speaks its truth
one’s truth is another’s war
Agamemnon and his achilles
to heel a virtue
to heal a cause
such an odyssey
styx and stones
Clytemnestra, silent
spartan subdued
a loss, a child
innocence stolen, spilt
on another’s alter for Troy
a loss, a sacrifice,
unfavourable weather
a familiar familial war
gods like mortals
mortals like gods
blood, not water spilt
the Odds,
two sides of a coin
another language speaks its truth
one’s truth is another’s war
Iphigénie
spared by Racine
l'orangerie du tribunal
de Versailles,
a muse
(LadyLabyrinth / 2023)
“Dans le fond des forêts votre image me suit.”
RACINE
(“Pursuit”/Sylvia Plath)
heel. (noun, verb, noun dated•informal slang)
heal. (verb)
I created a comic hero one time
A character that disappears in time
Becomes invisible when irate
Ravages everything, but not deliberate.
What if this character happens to everybody?
Perhaps you'll opt to be just your own body.
Some children asked me of the hero's name
He may appear as a villain, I said, under a schlepper name.
There’s some tie between ‘Steal’ and ‘Steel’:
One with a Heart of steel could steal;
A clear link of Sought Rice with price:
At shops we stop to price Rice
A clear connection between Twice
And The kept-in-a-cup White Dice
In ludo, dice may be thrown twice
A strong Bond between ‘Wheel and ‘Reel’
A Real really turns like a Wheel
Some knot tying ‘Heal’ and ‘Man’s Heel’
To walk A Blustered Heel has to heal.
All these connections are quite sure,
Except in reasoning we are poor.
She entered the room with high heels that clicked
Click Clack Click Click Slide Slide, they were rather slick!
We were all intimidated by their height by the way.
But I felt sorry for the wearer;
Who soon became a swearer
In the springtime when the carnival comes to town
On the dizzying tilt-a-whirl and fearsome Ferris wheel,
The haunting calliope in the musical merry-go-round
Calls to mind the adventures of a rakish teenage heel.
On the dizzying tilt-a-whirl and fearsome Ferris wheel,
She snuggles in, grabs my hand, head on my shoulder
Calls to mind the adventures of a rakish teenage heel
Back seat of my sedan in the parking lot, feeling bolder.
She snuggles in, grabs my hand, head on my shoulder
The haunting calliope in the musical merry-go-round
Back seat of my sedan in the parking lot, feeling bolder
In the springtime when the carnival comes to town.
In the springtime when the carnival comes to town
On the dizzying tilt-a-whirl and fearsome Ferris wheel,
The haunting calliope in the musical merry-go-round
Calls to mind the adventures of a rakish teenage heel.
SECOND PLACE WINNER
Reworked and Modified Pantoum
on May 9, 2021
for "Say It Again" Poetry Contest
sponsored by William Kekaula
FIRST PLACE WINNER
Submitted to "Your Choice" Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Briand Strand
March 12, 2021
"Sumthang" Hunny Part and Jinggle Dheeze
Wore masks and stood behind manager
"Big Beefy" Borscht, silent saying nothing
He introduced the as Sight and Sound
Identifying the by there boots.
In the introduction Danker Dinker Donk
Interupted walking in saying
"Ya'll don't like me" "Ya'll don't like me"
He said it seven times and seven
Times they ignored him, then the
Lights flickered and when they
Came back on Dewlittle was the only one standing
And Even Kelp Seaworthy was lying on the floor.
Flux Diakkin came out voweling revenge against both factions
Saying my daddy built this company with integrity
Involved. With respect to decentsy, ya'll mocking this man's legacy "
The secret to a good marriage is no secret at all
When she says “heel” like a good doggy, you crawl
Else no bone for you
Just a shoe to chew
Or just maybe you won't have to sleep in the hall
this boy -
he is mythology
he is the pomegranate sitting in persephone's
palm -
(looks can be deceiving)
this boy -
he is a mirror
can show medusa what heaven really is -
how pain really feels
but medusa never looks
this boy in the sun -
he is the smoking gun
in the death of icarus;
he is the crime scene in the middle of the ocean
this boy -
this boy is murder
he is cain holding a blade to abel's throat,
holding a mirror up to medusa,
force-feeding a pomegranate to persephone
this boy cuts the snakes off medusa's head
and makes snake-skin boots;
plucks the melted feathers from icarus'
cold hands and makes a throw pillow
this boy is murder when he wants to be;
this boy is murder when he needs to be
‘Eau De Cologne’ breaches his senses as he walks towards the lady,
Her attire befitting of a bygone age; tastefully blending in with-
Her elegance and sophistication. She keels over like a ship in –
A stormy sea, yet within a moment her face straight laced passes him by
Affords him the slightest of smiles, as he touches his cap to salute her.
© Harry J Horsman 2018
their expressed desire to be horses
ridden at high speeds
on romantic tours
Heel toe, heel toe
Joyfully I follow my muse
Sole slapping shiny black path
Heel toe, heel toe
I bounce on foot's ball
As the air wings below
Heel toe, heel toe
My arms stretch outward
Water bottle raised
Like a totem to the gods
I press my bulk
Into white space
Heel toe, heel toe
Woman at tai chi
Slap, slap. slapping
Shoulders, arms, thighs,
Exuding the confidence
Of her ancestors
I return her smile
Heel toe, heel toe
Child screaming, giggling
Daddy you got me
Feet lift, lift, lifting
Generations
Of parental care and pride
I say a silent prayer
Heel toe, heel toe
Lovers on bikes
Pedals circle, circle, circling
Embracing the space between
Up and down
Around and around
I stride mindfully
Until…
I hear
Spirit’s siren whisper
Time to return, return, return
Heel toe, heel toe, heel…
Water bottle hangs empty
I trudge clumsily, slowly
When…
Returned from journey’s beginnings
Deeply breathe, breathe, breathing
I step into the light
Of home’s grace
Thankful for beginnings and endings
September 9, 2016
I would love you
but the water sounds to us differently
I do laugh a lot and you cry secretely
I would love you
but you would climb every high and every small mountain
and I would just sit by the seaside or at least close to the fountain
You say that we don't have a puppy is a pity
And I turn my face to every single I see kitty
I am watching my steps, your eyes are fixed upon the sky
And we do not see the same things clearly that is why
I would love you
wildly
over heels head
But I am a very calm person and I use always flip flops- too bad
(like it but not exactly my fav- that one went to a contest somewhere then I can't post it here now ehh... WW)
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