Hypervigilant Poems | Examples

opening the gate to my dog pen

Hypervigilant are both dogs
Fat and juicy, built like farm hogs
They are in a huge pen with plenty to do
Do they know that I, their gatekeeper, is watching them too?

I am vastly aware how fast they are
As I open the gate, not far from a car
Being knocked down by the front gate
Is pretty often now my fate

they dont do this to you

my dogs can be in the dead zone
snores as deep as the grand canyon
but when daddy opens the frig
they are as awake as a grumpy newborn
hypervigilant, they wait to hear the pop
they move toward the kitchen
to see what they will beg for
they don’t do this to you! my husband says
of course they don’t.
I don’t share my people food.
They have their own duck and chicken delights.

Hyperion

hyperion
world’s tallest living redwood tree
higher than the Statue of Liberty
she oversees her forest
hypervigilant
all-knowing.
her subjects wave their leaves
showing their appreciation
for her protective service

Why Did I Wear This Short Shirt

deadly college campus at night
only thing moving are leaves
pick up pace, skirt brushing my legs
feeling highly vulnerable
drop a Kleenex but keep walking
of course hypervigilant now
have they caught the rapist yet?
why on earth did I wear a short skirt?

kind of night you expect to be murdered
ebony shadows make my spinal column shiver
heard a footstep, dared not look behind me
sure I will momentarily be killed

Mimes Plans To Clone Herself

When I clone myself, I will make a marionette the Mime told me.
A great idea, as any observant hypervigilant watcher can see.
I watch her marionette dancing in a happy summer time way.
And I think how much fun the Mime must be, merry and gay.

The Mime is a trickster though, wearing a faux happy mask.
She makes it look like she is delighting in his puppeteer’s task.
Inside she is crying, inconsolable and ready to burst with sorrow.
I am afraid that the marionette will be the only one here tomorrow.

Woodland Friends

delicate leaf faerie
clothed in naturalness
befriended fox kit once upon a time
his all-knowing amber eyes trusted her
She knew she would never let him down

hypervigilant fox recognized her benevolence 
Her empathetic soul spoke to him
there was a mystical connection
together they became a beloved duo
united by their love for the woods

oaks and elms kept their secrets
gentle northern winds whispered to them
other creatures cleared a path
their allegiance recognized and revered 
their leaves glistened with joy

delicate leaf faerie 
and her trusted companion, fox
patrolled the ancient woods
inspiring unity, listening to ancestral voices
beloved together

Flower Petals of a Curious Mind

flower petals of a curious mind
hypervigilant and resourceful
springing from garden of experience
fragrant and poignant well-built dendrites

We Are the Wolves

Little Wolf is my spirit guide; she keeps me loyal.
To the pack, the family, the tribe; I pledge allegiance.
We hunt together, my pack and I.
Auntie Summer is hot; she keeps us down in the day time.

One watches the pups while the rest of us sleep.
The pup watcher sleeps at night while we hunt.
I am sure the pups sleep too; but pup watcher is hypervigilant.
One snapped twig, and she will fight to the death.

Our prey this evening is an elderly cow.
He has wandered off, and is disoriented.
We chase him down, it will not be long now.
I can feel his terror, and it thrills me.

I sit back and howl in a proud way.
Father Moon gives me a heads up nod.
I am the wolf; we are the wolves.
The pups will eat well tomorrow!

The Watcher

I feel eyes watching me before I notice the woman across the room.
I try not to stare, but she does not seem to mind.
We are in the library, the only two here.

Her caramel eyes are pensive, wary.
She is hypervigilant, unhurried, unpressured.
I smile but she does not reciprocate.

I think of her as the watcher
wondering what has caused her
to develop and hone
this kind of untrusting awareness.

A Man Who Watched

Dan had opinions, but he was too wise to share
He kept them to himself, and was not coaxed to talk
A quiet man, he kept his ideas hidden until they were needed
Others trusted him
They confided in him 
Because they knew he would never violate their trust

Dan was a man who watched
He was hypervigilant, seeing what others often missed
He secretly wrote poetry, he had sixteen books of poetry. 
His relatives did not know this
Until after he was long gone and his poems were shared at his funeral. 
Dan was a man with integrity, a man of strength
Women loved him, and other men wanted to be him

Dan was a man who could listen. 
He neither approved or disapproved of people,
loving them for themselves, cherishing their friendships. 
He kept his opinions to himself.
He was trusted, and adored.
His children knew his soft side.
His wife knew his funny side,
His friends knew he was the best friend they would ever have.

Hobo Hitches a Ride

I am hitchhiking rides to Britt, Iowa this week, and I’m not green.
Fully intend to be named the glorified, brand new 2021 Hobo Queen.
Wish people marked cars like they put hobo symbols on a fence post.
I do not wish to get in with an axe murderer, a most horrible host.

Used to jump in box cars but the rail yards are computerized now.
They have surveillance cameras that count the hairs on each brow.
Live by wits, my hypervigilant ideas keeping me alive, it never fails.
The quickest way to the hoosegow is to get close to one of those rails.

A prissy lady stopped and handed me meat sandwiches yesterday.
She thinks if she wants to get to Jesus land, she somehow has to pay.
Uh-oh. The cops are here to give me a ride to the county line.
Riding rom sheriff’s car to sheriff’s car I should get to Britt just fine.

I Released Her Into the Wind

We became friends before she lost herself
Growing up together, we loved many of the same things
As a young wife,  in an abusive situation, she had reinvented herself
A fearful shadow, hypervigilant.

She had been opinionated and self-assured.
That person was dead; gone, buried, her ashes blown.
I offered to pay for her therapy. She smiled but did not reply.
She flinched a bit when I persisted, so I stopped.

She followed me around for a year or two
Doing what I was doing, saying what she thought I wanted her to say
I released her into the wind, hoping she could rediscover herself
I told her to come back when she remembered who she used to be.

Two Unhappy People Make Five

Their love was pure until it wasn’t.
She kept thinking it was her fault.
If she could just outguess him, things could be lovely again.

She tried to dress the right way, say the right things,
keep silent when he wanted silence,
She tamped down her natural charm, because it annoyed him now.

She became almost invisible, so things might work out
So they could go back to the “happily ever after” love she sought
She became hypervigilant, outguessing his moods.

The more compliant and obedient she became, 
the angrier prince charming seemed to be.
His disparaging comments and pouty ways began dictating her behaviors.

Two unhappy people, in a union that only one wanted to save
Sadly, eventually involved three frightened children
Who learned to be hypervigilant and silent like their mother.

He Knew He Was Unlovable

He thought no one could love him
Because he was unlovable
He knew this without being told 
in words

His mother considered him a burden
he had felt this from infancy
Left on his own in a crib, 
sobbing for attention

He was startled when he was given a home
Thought it was a trick
expected they would be mean to him
His mother always told him they would
if they ever “took him away”

He was on guard and hypervigilant 
for several years, not able to let his guard down
remembering that he was unlovable

Waiting For the Queen

Her calm fettered visage reveals nothing
She is as stoic as any sentry
I imagine she is secretly hypervigilant
However, she is unyielding 

A plethora of pernicious bats 
Might have trouble dampening this queen.
She probably enjoyed stinging the others to death
I watch her traverse the honey comb highway

In an ethereal, astral state, I watch her movements.
She is larger than I thought which increases my fear 
Each heart felt buzz a bit louder as she closes in.
I am the last potential queen to be eliminated.

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