I came to walk and sit beside a gentle babbling brook.
Every nook and cranny deserves a closer prod and look.
It was uncanny where secrets hid unseen from the naked eye.
Until a gentle nudge uncovered treasures waiting nearby.
I probed to look far beyond the smooth stone faces.
Into the spaces between the cobbles, into their hidden places.
For canny people know that gold is found where fractures part.
They follow the cracks that lead onward to a broken heart.
So, by hook or by crook, every crack deserves its chance.
Every flaw needs far more than a quick sideways glance.
For gold dust never gathers in the nook of a perfect thing.
It waits until brokenness, finds its voice, and learns to sing.
The crannies and cracks let the daylight gleam through.
They ask to not be hidden away, nor discarded from view.
With patient hands, each fracture is traced with gold—
Until the cracked and broken become precious and bold.
"I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning how to sail my ship." — Louisa May Alcott.
The rain and sleet mingle together.
Wayward winds weigh me down,
Wetting my poor old clothes thoroughly.
I walk alone through deep pools,
How can I not be shivering in the storm?
The wraithlike winds increase the wetness of my face,
Water seeps down my tattered clothes.
I curse the closed shops and unsheltered houses.
How can I survive this miserable downpour?
Dark Cimmerian clouds cover the whole city.
The forces of weather mingle thoroughly.
I find no respite in such a mingle of a cyclone.
Let thunder wreak havoc in the hurricane,
I’ll find my strength by hook or by crook.
I’ve learned there is a shelter I’ll find,
A change of clothes, a purge of soul:
A mingle of hope, survival, and resilience
That somehow will cleanse my heart and teach it love.
Placed 1
Have you ever seen the satanic snake?
A fierce cheetah hunting with no mistake
A bloodthirsty wolf in the black sheep's clothes
How would it be if you find all in close?
Richard the third, the most villainous Duke
Known as a treacherous and selfish kook
Holds the status of the Duke of Gloucester
A saboteur, schemes as an imposter
Possess an ugly build with a hunchback
Hides his flaws as a professional flack
Feels menial for his deformity
Handles things with extreme enormity
A power monger and it's very clear
Cares not even to kill his near and dear
Strategically waits for chance and grabs
With his honeyed words, he always backstabs
By hook or by crook, wants to seize the throne
Cheats Lady Anne with his convincing tone
Spreads rumours to showcase the heirs unfit
Executes those who thwart with his outwit
When the battle at Bosworth in full swing
Stanley takes a U-turn and quits the ring
Unhorsed Richard cries out losing the source
'A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse"
A ruthless tyrant with no repentance
For him, there isn't any moral sentence
The Bard's 'wicked uncle' gets the title role
Invites the crowds' interest on the whole
Speaking of Christmas dinner
and not to be overlooked
some say it's a winner
when your goose is cooked
but now let's talk turkey
and by hook or by crook
let me set things straight
it's gobble-gobbledegook
Lovely Penelope Pussycat
hung around at the local laundromat
till Pepé Le Pew got a good look
and decided to snatch her by hook or by crook
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
When you plan something spur of the moment,
At first you feel proud and in charge,
But the longer you think,
It will end in a blink;
Then the doubts stumble in and loom large.
I need time to mull over my choices,
Possibilities I can assess,
Weighing good points and bad,
What will make me feel glad
And eliminate what might cause stress.
Sometimes, though, I can’t make a decision
And the plans do not ever get made,
So perhaps if I pounce
I might get to renounce
Hesitations that make me afraid.
If the scale tips one way or another,
Either method can end up with doubt,
But at least if you book,
Then by hook or by crook,
An adventure you won’t do without.
Joyful rainy night, rhythmic outside of the solo mind,
Drunkard glass on the table of grey-eyed stars and
I’m looking for the rising poetry to row moonlight
The moon on the dark candle fire, a moth flying to the
Death of splendid sadness, colorful the timely life
Invites the expiration date of the cycling breath line
Line by line, slowly I realize that the empty stomach
Human lives in one problem but in full of this machine
Thousands of problems alert dogmas in earthly rhyme
Rhymes produce some truths within mighty-power
Is the power truth or truth the power?- who knows
But, all-mighty always becomes truth on this earth
So, what the truth is- no need to know its inside fact
Be mighty by hook or by crook to sell “I’m Truth” tact
31.08.2020 Chattogram
***Note***
What’s the truth of life, belief, death- I do not know
But since the birth of my understanding I’ve got that mighty is the truth!
Almighty is the truth because of all undefeatable power! OR
Truth is all-mighty though sometimes beatable on the earth!
I am that lone wolf
Coming by with that look
My inner mind in a shelf
That horrid stare I took
I must save myself
By hook or by crook
I am that one alien
With an eye for detail
Lost in the Mediterranean
Alive in the form of a male
Boiling the ocean
I would never fail
By hook or by crook
I am that lonely eagle
Waiting for my target
Is it to love or is it to kill?
Some birds accept while some regret
Better keep my wings still
This I would never forget
By hook or by crook
By hook or by crook
I will starve to death
I will leave planet Earth
I will fly from the cove
To the heav’ns above
By hook or by crook
In spite of my charm and extremely good looks
There's times when I can be quite a schnook
When the girlies turn me down
Ends up more than a frown
But still, tend to get my way by hook or by crook
A meeting of the quorum
We’re takin’ this place by storm
Got to get back to the farm
By hook or by crook
We’re young, free and insane
Clothes all creased and stained
Our attitudes inane
And we don’t read books
Into the hive we go
And that’s where we’ll stay
Got a feeling we’re gonna
Get something done today
You wave this and I’ll wave that
Complain at the drop of a hat
Think I saw a diplomat –
Let’s follow his car
Hey, got any Depressions or wars?
Like the people who came before
Need to hook up with some righteous cause
To know who we are
So into the hive we go
And that’s where we’ll stay
Got a feeling we’re gonna
Get something done today
A moment right now is at hand
What it means, we don’t understand
Maybe let’s invite the whole band
Play songs by Free
Image is everything
It’s better than any brass ring
So plan our unmasking
On MSNBC
And into the hive we will go…
There was a hot poet called Jan
Who one day developed a plan
By hook or by crook
She’d write a kid’s book
And a lizard love story began
A lizard meets a pretty girl
Their tongues in unison unfurl
On a mossy rock
Their lives interlock
Together in love they now curl
for my so talented friend
Moment after moment
Hour after hour
Day after day
Month after month
Year after year
The time rolls by
Leaving its footprints
On the screen of the universe
And we all
Like time’s fool
Can’t stop this scroll
Often we look back
Memorizing our
Happy and sad moments
Repenting on losses
And smiling on gains
We look sorrowfully
Our decaying statue
Without knowing
For how long it will stay alive
This the life
Full of mysteries
And all surprising uncertainties
Planning for years
Without knowing
Even about next moment
Which is hidden it the dark
Vulnerable even to a small shock
Yet we are ready to rock
By hook or by crook
Hearting and teasing
Tricking and cheating
Serving our selfish ends
Ready to fish
In the troubled waters
Collecting all the blots
On our soul
Which go in the roll
In the court of The Father
Yet like a defaulter
Trying to catch the slipping hour
Attempting for the impossible
For, life is vulnerable
please wait...
what's queued up to be our fate?
it seems never ending, please wait...
the phone menu of very important calls
if paid attention to, says it all
the traffic light that only sees red
never flashing greenly to go ahead
the computing device that must attend
to things beyond people's comprehen...sion
the form filled out on the bottom says
six to eight weeks of non-refundable dread
Job's sitting around just reading his book
contemplating proceeding by hook or by crook
patience wearing, on thin ice to skate
oh god, the lordly retort - please wait...
© Goode Guy 2014-01-29
someday, it will
maybe,
someday it will come.
the day that i wait for the rest of my life,
someday,
it will pass by,
the feelings i have for you that last,
maybe,
you changed too much,
being a person that i never recognized you anymore,
indeed,
i am hoping that you live it sincerely,
not because of someone else,
but because of you,
i do feel sad,
i knew you for yourself,
i liked you for your quirkiness,
i admired you for your confidence,
but now,
it seems that i actually make up a reason,
for not liking you anymore,
as the moment you changed,
i tried my best to accepted,
but i failed in changing,
i still love you now,
i still admired you now,
i still want to hold on you now,
until the last day my heart beat for you,
i will be there for you,
by hook or by crook,
by knowing by you or not,
i make my promised,
until fate part us in times,
until destiny changes their way,
i will be here,
even you knew me or not,
i will be here,
right by your side.
and someday,
it will.
Power tends to corrupt
And absolute power corrupts absolutely
This is so true in the political arena of Bangladesh
The ruling party has made the justice department
And anti-corruption commission a hoax
They forgive the criminals on political grounds
And withdraw all corruption charges against themselves
By hook or by crook
Politicization is taking place in every sphere of the country
Votes are being bought and sold like commodities
In competitive markets
The criminals are becoming leaders
Because of their black market money and liaisons
The mouth of the civil society are being gagged
By large amount of hush money
People who are trying to eliminate poverty from the country
Are being called bloodsuckers by the so-called patriots
Whereas the real bloodsuckers are in disguise
Of the heroes and heroines
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