Involuntary Poems | Examples


List of Member Poems

Involuntary Release

Unfortunate accidents.
Lucky incidents!
Slipping, tripping, when all that's held
Gravely tense bursts out.

Sprinting down what, long presumed
Of joys,  unresumed
A laughing child's giggly mess
Was so blown about.

Premium Member Involuntary Tears

It starts behind the eyes, a quiet pressure,
No permission asked, no invitation sent.
A sudden, salty, heavy-hearted measure
Of moments that I thought were fully spent.
I am walking, breathing, doing what is needed,
When gravity shifts inward to the chest,
And I am forced to pause, however unheeded,
To let the burning, broken waters rest.

These are not the screams that set a spirit free,
But slow, stubborn thieves that drain the light.
They slip down silently, drawing what used to be,
A cold, unwelcome shadow in the bright.
I hate how they blur the faces I am loving,
How they steal the voice and make me small,
Just a traitorous, quiet, involuntary sobbing,
Against the sturdy, high, and hidden wall.

Premium Member INVOLUNTARY--

No mean to fall
yet i received di call
felt it komot for place
yet amazingly graced
i received ya faith
involuntary.  For voluntary

seamed, be 
uncontentioned, 
do i mention though 
you de sweet?
you complete me
involuntary

Didn't mean to fall
Yet I received the call
Felt it out of place
Yet amazingly graced
I received your faith
Involuntary. In voluntary

Seamed, to be 
Uncontentioned, 
Did I mention though 
You are sweet?
You complete me
Involuntary

3/23/26
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr 2026


Premium Member Involuntary Gasp

tumultuous sigh
loud gasp at the sight of her
the missing woman

Premium Member Involuntary Scream

He bounces from one extreme
  to the other
Wrapped up in himself
  can't relate to another

He seeks a middle ground
  yet speeds right past it
Demons rule his mind
  will he ever outlast it

Involuntary screams
  moderation's a dream
He's no one to tell 
  of his descent into hell

This Is Involuntary

Sometimes it comes back and hits you
Harder than the hit the fan.
You were just being you and doing
Whatever it is that you do and then
All of a sudden there's a polar bear on your chest
Cold and unmoving
Taking your breath because of its beauty and your undeniable dread

It took how long to forget though not forgive?
But now you're back again to hold me captive yet another time
Do you ever tire of locking yourself inside of my body
Ruling from my mind while telling your minions to dance on my heart strings
Maybe it didn't occur to you that I'm happier
When you don't take control I don't want you here
You hurt

And yet
I don't call someone to shoot the polar bear dead instead
Instead I admire every feature of its face while sobbing uncontrollably
And remember when the terrifying polar bear was once a playful loving cub
Please go away because I want you to come back
I try to push it all away through I fail
I'm tired of this month after month I'm through I'm through
Get the hell out of my mind remove yourself from atop my chest 
I miss you


Voluntary and Involuntary Sportsmeet Contributions

This January, I was in the tenth grade,
when our Head informed
that we couldn't contribute to sports meet next year,
and we all did our best this year.

I volunteered for two,
signing up for badminton and long jump
then they asked me to have a go at TT too.

I didn't know anything about table tennis
But I said yes anyway.

I went for badminton,
(I was reserve)
I floated above the sand pit,
But stopped right there,
not reaching the top three.

What about my Table Tennis?
Please don't ask:
I was so bad that I couldn't get my serve through,
and my opponent donated me some marks. 
("TT is like badminton" - you liar!)

So that was how I played all my sports,
but I couldn't do anymore.
I had keep the big day free,
to play my trumpet - and also to stand straight until the whole thing ends.



* based on how I contributed to the sportsmeet this year. I didn't gain any placement or certificate, but I'm happy because our house turned out to be the first, and I felt proud when I played the fanfare as a player in our brassband.

note: almost everything in this is consisting of true incidents.

An Involuntary Trip

AN INVOLUNTARY TRIP
by
JOHN M. ARRIBAS




My warm gestation vacation was up, water had bust
Into this cruel and unmerciful planet, I had been thrust
Now alone, to find people and things, that I might trust
Would have been easy if were in, with the upper crust

On my own I discovered there not many, of any, to  trust
Quickly became aware, go with the flow, learn to adjust
Got some habits, deception, dishonesty, envy and lust
A good fit with usual crowd, acting innocent n august

Accumulate treasure, dismiss if ethical, legal or just
Join the “in” people, tho some act in regurgitative disgust
No matter how full your coffers, getting more is a must
The more treasure I gained, the more I began to  mistrust

Mighty battleships, now gone, obsolete, victims of rust
Stature means nothing: ashes to ashes, dust to dust

Involuntary Weaves- Clouds

The dream of the fluffy fluffs
the little Cutts of the curly cotton crafts 

Blow a bit they will fly ...
Uncontrollably fly high out of sight 
Cringing the kite 

On the November's hectic moon ... 
They blew all over ,  
covering the truths cocoon..

First Across the half bowl 
Next they made it to the sol

Partly obscured the positive 
vitamin D  deficiency  ... 

Up the river there's the swirls no blinding rims... Just grey fizz 
Just grey shaded  foam.. 
As they form
More and more grey they become  .. 

Full moon dates one 
of you come  .. zeal energy
Still there  , I feel it's  bond

The deprive  of  dreams 
The grey water rinse ... 

Uncovering of the sudden mist 
Oh Christ 
It's the colourful grass 
It's the flowery dust 
Yes the clouds had crust 

Replenished temp at last 
Look at it it's going to be dawned fast. 

By our involuntary weaves..

Premium Member Involuntary Suicide

Smoking is a deadly addiction
that slowly kills with each cigarette.
And as tobacco tightens its grip
it devastates you with its effect.

You shun the rules of society
and sneak that inevitable puff.
For you're hooked and unable to quit,
your nicotine habit's much too tough. 

You fight off bouts of anxiety,
but they invariably come back.
And you feel a sense of revulsion 
knowing your lungs are pitted and black.

Willingly smoking your life away 
is involuntary suicide. 
But defying all explanations,
rose-colored glasses are applied.


(Quatrain)


5/6/2015

Involuntary Retirement

Our world is embarking on a destination
that is odd and strange, everyone has
learned to fear age,

Corporations are obssessed with youthfulness
and the ability to be cute,

They are shoving capable people down the
garbage chute,

"Involuntary Retirement" is what it is silently 
called, the intelligent are overwhelmed and 
appalled, because the victims are being replaced
with people who lack quality and have no taste,

But as long as they are young and virile,
Good people are laid out to pasture as if
they were waste,

Why does our society abhor aging gracefully?
Is it because they are so desperately trying
to please "the establishment" and the advertisers
who are ardent worshippers of youngsters with fluff
and trimming, yet beneath the surface they are
shallow and clueless?

Involuntary Excercises

Poetry, films, sleep, thoughts
Never been so occupied
At times before exams.

Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.

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