in one of her films
where a woman's strength reminds me
of the chiseled strength inside of me
Sometimes I get it right
Sometimes I remind myself
why it's important to run barefoot
on the beaches
of Sosua
to prove that you could make it here,
or anywhere
The ingrown shells
that cut my heels
help me build integrity
You know, poetry can be fun too --
not all need be melancholy blue.
Not all need be broken-heart,
brain surgery trying to restore
a logical missing part –
destabilizing like an ingrown fart (whatever).
With common aches we need
to break. Why not also poetry, for goodness
sake?! Light verse is not necessarily
better nor worse. Not all poetry
need roll like a hearse. Poetry can
be happy and sad – So, for this
day I play – from sad I seek world
redemption I pray! Smile for self as well as
for God I say!
It's not a tale told by a bard,
Theadora was a gift from God:
that light gliding over vawes
at sunrise, as it showed
all its splendor on mornings
of melodic sound.
Theadora loved Mark...
that was her ingrown spark,
never ignored or put aside;
they enjoyed being one.
Was there a jealous threat
that could separate them
and wound their pride?
Was their hope gone?
The beautiful memory
of Theadora and Mark
lived on in poetry,
never forgotten
by lovers who remembered
it quite often;
somebody saw the tragedy,
how they drowned screaming
in a troubled sea colder than ice.
He didn't help at once,
all he felt was revenge increasing.
Their pain was sharper
than a shrieking lark
that lost his life
in that terrible hurricane.
Growing up I always saw these commercials for razors
Razors that will shave “extra close to the skin”
Ones that have 5 blades and ones that have 7
And an ergonomic handle that is pink just for you
Commercials showing the perfect pretty blonde model on my tv
Shaving her armpits to be impossible smooth
I know now that they were already waxed
No hair is left because hair isn’t dainty, isn't feminine, isn't appropriate
The perfect pretty blond model on my TV says
Underarm hair is a turnoff, so start worrying when you’re 11
Shaving is necessary if you want to have a husband!
Who cares if you get cuts from your razor
Who cares if you get ingrown hairs
Oh your razor is dull? Buy a new one!
Get our super handy replaceable clip-on razor heads ™!
How much are they? One replacement is only $20!
The perfect pretty blond model in the razor commercial says
With the most stupid
Serene
Irritating music in the background
You’ll never be truly pretty unless you are hairless like a newborn
So shave your pits from the womb to the tomb!
SITTING IN A QUIET LAKEFRONT PARK
LOOKING AT PICTURES OF MY MOTHER IN THE DARK
THE ILLUMINATION OF VIVID MEMORIES CREATE A SPARK
A TRUE HISTORICAL MILESTONE EXCURSION LANDMARK
SHEDDING A RARE TEAR, BUT CALMLY SANE
LOOKING AT PICTURES OF MY DAD AS IT BEGINS TO RAIN
WISHES AND REGRET CAN CAUSE SUCH IMMEASURABLE PAIN
I GET SHEDDING SNAKESKIN HANDS TRYING TO WIPE AWAY EVERY STAIN
DRIVING BACK TO A REALITY LONG SINCE RUSTED
THINKING ABOUT HAPPIER TIMES WHEN I WAS LESS DISGUSTED
MY LIFE IS BLUE BALLOON WITH AN INGROWN BOIL DOUBLE BUSTED
SO LITTLE REPLY AND REACTION HAS ALL THE FUSS DID
She spoke to me
about the semantics of shame,
the seduction and flame,
the name of the pain,
lunatic loop of lost meaning,
complaining of symptoms remaining
robust and teething
weighing upon me
morning through evening
like a stoney smoke stifling,
misidentifying the madness
of this sadness as inherent illness
primordial and permanent,
the face of Her wisdom
a jewel of enlightenment,
a catharsis burning on the coals
of my ingrown crown,
Her voice vouches for my vim
as she says to me with a cerulean sympathy,
The Mind must make Itself
as a heart must learn to heat the soul,
emote to promote the promise of your pulse,
you are not a puzzle
you are a powerful purpose,
emotions are the lights of your eyes
the colors of your concepts,
the verve of your values,
find no shame from your sensitivity,
make love with your intensity...
J.A.B. 2023
Of WHAT USE ARE FINGERS TO HANDS THAT ONLY UNDERSTAND MITTENS
I have a bunion and an ingrown toe nail;
I’m a blind man wearing glasses and I can’t find them;
My hair is so short that I am bald;
My spine so straight I am tall;
I have a four year old who keeps shaking his fist at his sister;
And it’s cold and snowing my question is;
Of what use are fingers to hands that only understand mittens;
And what’s the use in cooking dinner in the kitchen;
When we don’t know how to fry chicken livers;
12/17/22 2022©
For Of What Use Are Gloves to Fingers That Only Understand Mittens Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: John lawless
A nation dies
when its ideas become slogans
nothing is deeply planted
or cultivated
just notions to be scattered around
as exposed hayseeds
that fly directionless.
When a state is oppressed
the collective impulse
is to oppress another country.
Wars are never fought
over an ideal.
In the staggered march of time
dead men become
the enemy.
Minds die
they become buried in the deaf flesh,
become as thin as the bones
of extinct songbirds.
The dead consider themselves
the finest examples of a new reality,
an existence that is the loudest shout
in the widest open mouth.
Dead letters, dead opinions,
dead ends
travel in circles together
until the land forgets its roots
becomes a basement for the sky
a place that is ingrown
like a toenail
pushed into the white tissue
of all such unkept deathbeds.
Before you go and buy that new pair of shoes,
There is something you should do,
That will save a return trip for you,
Or maybe even one less cost if you do this before you go.
If buying for your children,
To save a hullabaloo,
Before you leave the house,
This is what you should help them do,
Cut their toenails.
You may have another trip, not to do,
And earn a thank you from your local GP,
As yet another ingrown toenail,
Will not be on their bucket list of things they want to do.
Keola-Sonnet-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Imagine perched above, you ride THE lofty throne
Peering through pellucid skies to seek our MORAL truth
You yearn to spread what people need; empathy ingrown
To stare into transmutative hearts, from elderly to youth…
Suddenly, your throne volplanes into a graceful ARC
Your view, now curved, a myriad OF sights
THE UNIVERSE so grand, folks pale to smooth and dark
You cry as crisis BENDS what’s good, tears AT every right…
THE journey must proceed; though lachrymose you feel
Another ELBOW OF your trek; celebrate below
For this great place watched JUSTICE rightfully appeal
A moral victory, a beginning, where together, folks will grow…
Written and submitted on February 1, 2022
Submitting for Keola Secret KA-CHING-cash cash cash Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: William Kekaula
YELLOW
a center of a highway line
yellow a
Banana and pears
yellow
the cowardice and ingrown fears
yellow
a golden parakeet
yellow
a bag of crunchy Cheetos
yellow
A pampered golden puppy
yellow
Warm homemade pound cake
yellow
Cheddar cheese
yellow
Yummy boiled summer squash
yellow
Mustard squeezed on a bologna sandwich
yellow
A soft plush pillow
A young baby chick feathers
Yellow keeps me warm and true -
8/20/20
written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2020 ©
Samantha is as delightful as an ingrown toenail.
As wonderful as a virus, hearty and hale.
She was a corn on the bottom of my foot.
Her caustic tongue as long as a tree root.
The rest of the family said “give her a chance”
But I had to let her go, so I could dance.
She entertains the rest of them with her vile.
I prefer keeping my distance, and natural smile.
Brown the color of the passive ground Autumn I'm falling leaves horizontal the waist by product the leaves leave me Brown blooms with the bloom of unemployed in clouds Grands made from scratch chocolate cake taste the golden tan Brown pancake taste like hot coffee and cocoa yum I'm in pecan much and crunch right on mushroom potato soup delicious feels like synonym of dressing being in down Brown a cloud of pollution Brown the face and skin the many races Brown is a color nurturing ingrown it's the color of Mother Earth Brown so Earthly neutral Brown colors filled and pumping iron serious down-to-earth stable bility protection and supported sense of Duty and responsibilities 5th and the listing of last names I'll be around must be own wit
BROWN
10/29/19
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr
The Agony of de feet
When I am afoot I fear for the fact
That my didgets will fidget
And I must react
My corns are like thorns
When the pressure is great
The bunion’s no funion
My toenails ingrown
With all this pain I can loudlly state
I must buy large shoes
To give me some space
to rid me of this winged tip fate
Ralph SergI ©
October 23, 2018
“Joy”
Your joy should be my joy,
Without question,
Without reservation,
Without pause.
If it gladdens your heart,
It shall gladden mine.
If it fails,
I cannot profess to love you.
For Love, ” ingrown” love,
Selfless love, is born from within.
It is not celebrated in this life alone.
It circulates through our souls
From one generation to the next.
It is what creates us,
Gives meaning to our lives,
Teaches us the glory of
Being a Giver, rather than a Taker.
It is Life’s own reward,
Here on earth,
On the Battleground of Life.
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