We Wear The Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar
After poem by Olabosoye Wemimo Olaoluwa
Love of our land's labour should make us proud;
The efforts, time, and energy put through...
Well enough to place our pride clear as vowed.
But we wear the mask of pain we don't plowed,
When slavery is to labourers in blue...
Love of our land's labour should make us proud.
Showers of rain ain't just of dusty cloud,
But of heavy downpour and not dew;
Well enough to place our pride clear as vowed.
Yet all harvest couldn't feed suppose crowd,
We become weary of need to pursue...
Love of our land's labour should make us proud.
Just an endless space to measure; unbowed
Hearts and heads under threat, government subdue...
Love of our land's labour should make us proud,
Well enough to place our pride clear as vowed.
Categories:
labourers, blue, class, discrimination, farm,
Form: Villanelle
Glittery shimmer,floral patterns,
laces around ,bows on back ,
and pattern ties in front.
Cocktail to ball gowns,sexy silhouettes,
bossy pants,flirty skirts.
Beautiful white wedding gowns to go with
handsome suits and tuxedos,
to glam your bod and to feed insta.
From satin ,silk ,cotton to faux leather
in colours aplenty and sizes of all.
Trends so cool and fashion so fast,
with little hands they sew the dress,
as you click add to cart.
Little hands pack and feet runaplenty
to pack with a smiley happy sticker.
Fast as the fashion,slow you realise
its not couture but evil pure.
After a wear and a wash,
you feel the blends of
polysester,hitting your conscience
seeing the ‘Help me’ stitched
behind the label.
Seeing those invisible tiny labourers,
looking at the perpetrator and victim
of the bigger corporate cosmic,
seeking freedom to live their childhood,
lending their little palms to help
from you to me and me to you,
to a free world of ours.
Written On:19-12-2024
Categories:
labourers, children,
Form: Free verse
Fiery sun's endeavors to scorch the buds and blossoms fail
As pre-monsoon drizzles cool and caress the environs
Maia and Laxmi, goddesses of spring, slowly sail
Optimism and adventure spread wings, shushing storm's sirens.
My human form moulded to be born in May merriment
My conscience and consciousness cascade from the divine source.
With the leaven of truth, each word and deed of mine ferment
As the breeze gives breath to this month, love becomes my life force.
Adele, Will Arnett, Megan Fox, and Lenny the Kravitz
How sweet, Rabindranath Tagore too, bloomed in this season!
The labourers, who still are suffering for their birthrights
If He's made me a Mayborn, doesn't God have his reason?
As graces of fruitfulness reach the zenith of goodness
May the almighty, day by day, lead me towards fullness!
Categories:
labourers, life, may,
Form: Sonnet
If we could teach the world, one thing
it should not be, the price of string
the microwave and why it pings
the endless list, of English kings
the dynasty, of Chinese Ming
the mystery, of golden rings
the history, of Western Swing
No
absolutely none of these things
with all the distraction they would bring
if we could teach the world one thing
we need everybody to stop
we need everyone to listen and look
to hear the little bird that sings
and watch it flap its tiny wings
If we could teach the world one thing
we'll show those people how to dream
above the crazy sounds and scenes
to find all the hope and all the joy
that our imagination just might bring
If we could teach the world one thing
maybe somehow we could learn
the power of ideas, the power of ideals
with courage, decency, justice and truth
from all of those who walked before
Dorchester Labourers, Doctor King
women who did amazing things
in science, politics, literature and more
if we could teach the world one thing.
Categories:
labourers, courage, dream, hope, power,
Form: Rhyme
Father, who entrusted me with his mission of salvation
Will provide me with labourers to realize this goal.
Pondering, he roamed around in disciple formation.
They will, like fish, gather to the kingdom of God, each soul.
Waves of humans from every walk of life were collected.
The new teacher, as though a magnet, attracted everyone.
His smile, like full-moon elegance, seemed secret-reflected.
The author of all, he's not an authoritarian
The breeze blew gently in his presence. Buds bloomed. Trees stood still.
Schools of fish swam onto the sea surface to get a glimpse.
Children, as though seeing a miracle, flocked, filled with thrill.
Poets, playwrights, and storytellers composed suspense-filled scripts.
Odd persona opted as though it's a play of honour,
Did they realize it was a calling from the Father?
Categories:
labourers, jesus,
Form: Sonnet
Radiating nature’s colorful glow
designed well by divine artistic might
showing blessings of God midst harvest* flow
Oh, grandeur of Fall brings sublime delight.
Presenting varied hues of lovely blends
red, orange, yellow, auburn, maroon, gold
overshadow green that beauty transcends
Yes, grandeur of Fall … a sight to behold.
Inspiring painters for picturesque scene
to highlight amber shades with crimson rays
against rusty foliage so serene
that’s grandeur of Fall marked by awesome praise.
Enthralled vicariously, my heart can shout
Wow, I fall for grandeur of Fall … no doubt.
*Matthew 9:38 38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
November 23, 2023
Categories:
labourers, appreciation, autumn, blessing, christian,
Form: Sonnet
Mixed with crimson
and covered with wool.
They receive with hope
the spell of the gospel.
His voice calls with mercy
to devour innocent lambs
waiting jauntily to be sacrificed
on the altar of earth.
Come to me ye labourers
and I will grant you rest
in a place of no return.
One by one,
heads of blessings are counted
and preserved in knackery.
Blood speaks and births
miracles, money and maim-bers
with the seal and smell of death.
Beguiled and bewitched,
they cheer and applaud
to the subtle tongue of their father.
Awaiting the day of reckoning
with their shepherd,
doom calls out to death,
death beckons on the grave
to play and sing
along in high tunes.
Categories:
labourers, anger, prejudice,
Form: Free verse
Workers in the rice fields,
Labourers on agrarian land,
They move in rows and columns,
They work assiduously until they are spent,
Until twilight wears its garment over the region.
It's the golden season,
The season that precedes the dry,
It’s a season when the land yields bountifully,
The land births a teeming population,
Nature has smiled over the fields.
They gather their harvest in silos and local shelters,
There’s enough for the home and market,
Then comes the annual festival,
They sing songs in their indigenous dialect,
They come out in colourful attire,
They extol Nature for his kind and merciful acts.
The town is a shadow of itself,
It sits in forlorn hope,
A lonely wind sweeps through its streets,
The fields have become a haven for birds and unseen creatures,
Land dispute, encroachment and trampled rights,
These threesomes have stripped the land of its beauty,
They have pushed the town down the cliff.
November 8, 2022.
2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 22 Poetry Contest,
Mark Toney.
Categories:
labourers, lonely, lost, memorial day,
Form: Free verse
Soldiers fear Warship,
Labourers hardship,
Demons fellowship,
Tribes citizenship,
Chaos leadership
Thugs Governorship
Loners long friendship
Fat Guys sportsmanship
Backbenchers headship
Men secretaryship:
Another man's Worship...
Fear is a spread thing
Mine fails not to ring.
Categories:
labourers, character, courage, people, prejudice,
Form: Rhyme
My gift for you is blessing so wondrous
grant I likewise received from God, awesome
worth sharing toward spirit prosperous
with kind prayer for well-being, wholesome.
Well-wrapped with the Lord’s love, precious indeed
my gift for you offers grace, truth, mercy
bringing revival of soul, truly freed
along blissful peace and blest ecstasy.
Viewing eternity with you in mind
while in divine partnership we work now
my gift for you is stewardship-designed
in the fulfillment of ministry vow.
Sealed with the Master’s stamp of approval
midst fellow-labourers’ favoured gesture
grateful am I for your faith-upheaval…
my gift for you is Bible adventure.
Toward wisdom-height for functional gain
study well with godly illumined role
then keep reaching-out, letting love to reign…
trusting the Almighty in every goal.
*2Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
July 3, 2021
1st place, "A Brian Strand July 10" Poetry Writing Contest
Sponsored by Brian Strand; judged on 7/10/2021.
Categories:
labourers, christian, faith, giving, god,
Form: Quatrain
Ten labourers in a farm
the other things
are a copy work of servants.
Categories:
labourers, adventure,
Form: Haiku
Once out of a mother’s womb,
Labourers we all are,
Till we reach our tomb.
We labour for ourselves and others, day and night,
For breakfast, lunch and dinner we all fight.
Yes, we struggle day and night for our basic rights,
And motivate ourselves out of predicament during the flight of life.
Respect all fellow labourers,
Irrespective of whether they are engineers or farmers.
Don’t make it tougher for them to walk further,
By burdening them with the sharp words of predicament .
All of us are brothers and sisters,
United we stand and divided we fall,
Together, we must stand tall,
And help when we hear each other’s crying call.
Let us contribute towards untangling the world
From the clutches of predicament,
So every labourer works with joy and without resentment,
And work becomes a place of excitement and enjoyment.
Categories:
labourers, appreciation, career, endurance, friendship,
Form: Free verse
Big Job
There's a big job breaking out
Time for smelling salts and focus
There is no magic wand this time
No top-hat hocus pocus
Time to wheel out heavy gear
Flex our muscles and get busy
Pick ourselves a loyal team
With dreams so high they're dizzy
There's a big job breaking out
And it's clear we need to fix this
Sticking plasters just won't do
For this world defining crisis
Labourers to garden,
Experts in their field
Anyone who cares enough
To bring this crop to yield
Shoulder to the grindstone
Knuckles cracked and ready
Wrestle with the challenges
And climb to heights so heady
Engineers and carpenters
Housewives, teachers, leaders
No time to waste. No shirking off.
Ask everyone to heed us
There's a big job breaking out
Blue lights are flashing by
Too much plastic in the ocean
No more ozone in the sky..
We need healers for creation
For neglecting all our duty
The reflection may be ugly
So it's time to bring back beauty
Jinjagoliath
10th February 2021
Categories:
labourers, beautiful, christian, creation, environment,
Form: Rhyme
Jesus appointed seventy-two
sending them in pairs, labourers few
with neither pack nor purse
to bring peace and to nurse
the sick to health for the Kingdom true.
Luke 10.1-12
Categories:
labourers, bible, christian,
Form: Limerick
We are the workers, call us
an hour before an absent fill shift
The pyramid sprouts atop of
The heavy depths of broad ordinary,
Breadth mopped and swept
Silent cogs push motion
Everywhere, rarely heralded
Carpet of field mice scrambling
Part of the pattern, crucial
Expectations remain ingrained
Pith of the fruit, flavour generic
Bolster of bricks protects
Lighthouse of blinding brains
Scratching hand to steerhouse
Tightening bolts, scrubbing deck
Nugget behind their high shine
We are the labourers, casual pay
covers days not at work, sticking
To meagre styles, life defined
By the hemming, wage stemmed
- Can't afford to ask questions
Surge of activity, pothole filled
Inhibited by flurry, imagination aside
Menial smooths the cement
Minimum makes no plans
beyond next week, when, - if
I have a job. We will do any dirty
Demeaning chore, and thank you for
Your grace in giving it to us
6th August 2020
It Sucks - Contest
Kai Michael Neumann - Sponsor
Categories:
labourers, anger, business, endurance, poverty,
Form: Free verse
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