The seed has been planted for all to see
a bitter tasting fruit grows without light
this rotten sense of security justifies the lie
the mortal coil in wrongdoing sparks this bulb
Fused articles spiritually burning every orthodox word
all that is fake becomes the prepared menu on show
reality when it eventually surfaces will be condemned as not right
Two paths to choose from one goes up and the other down
snakes and ladders the dice when it rolls with deceit
the truth will be the shadow questioning each and every step
Game is over when a heart looses all sense of morality and human respect
Arthur Henry King said
as the world becomes less and less Christian
the compensations the world seeks against misery and despair
become more and more satanic
SNAKES AND LADDERS*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
slinking silently
slithering in the shadows
serpent's vicious spite
look to the ladder
looming long in languid lines
life’s lofty ascent
*Note: poem written for and published at Writer Monk’s weekly Poesy & Poise Contest #twmonkpp11, August 2, 2025, ©Sara Etgen-Baker, United States
Ladders
If we could heighten our
bodies we’d have no
use for
ladders.
well if one won’t stoop to fight the devil ~ he will always condescend
he’s further up the ladder ~ but down a manhole so let’s not pretend
and how do I know such things ~ on any level he’s a charming friend
one who makes empty promises ~ only the mesmerised comprehend
inspired by Lin Lane’s (devilish ways) Monoku
Hms
By
David Kavanagh
Ivy-covered sheepskin, firmly in hand
the confident graduate, square-jawed and tan
Pulled offers from prestigious start-ups all over the land
a year later he played lead guitar, hat in hand
He, ever-grateful to his folks for those music lessons
They, bleary-eyed from all the therapy sessions
Yet Patience will out, and Time always tells
Perhaps by thirty-five he'll own an oil well
"A Game of Snakes and Ladders"
It’s like a game,
a game of
Snakes
and Ladders,
some spend their lives
climbing ladders
up the corporate sticks
sliding all the way
back down on their sore
sweet and sorry revelations
soap boxes thrown and burnt
like needles lost in hay
we all become
redundant at some point
on some slippery soaped-up stage
greeted by the Dickinson himself
holding all the horses’ reins...
“She parked Silver Lady by The Road's side,
placed the keys in Her pocket
Her hands were warm Her eyes were cold
She smiled a tight smile
You know, full of passion, full of ire -
Her heart was an inferno,
inside her was a Wicker Man
Her heart was burning up, on fire
Ferociously She slammed the car door
and walked into the Woods ...”
(LadyLabyrinth / 2023)
“We slowly drove – He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility –
Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity – “
a world of dreams
made manifest
imagination
extolled
eclectic
surreal spectacles
the outlandish
otherworldly
unconscious constellations
of the contemporary
monumental vitality
outpourings
in an
impulsive collaged
spontaneity
expression
frees liberty
in
a
finger printed fantasy
supple satires
out
of nothing
the
banal
beautified
instinctive impulses
alchemistic
angular
bold&brash
contemplations
A serpent disturbed in the grass
Slithered up the hose of a lass
But quick as a flash
It made its last dash
A victim of Isle of Man gas
Come down from that ladder
Immediately, right now
You are a stupid snake
Saša Milivojev - THE LADDERS
Never a one stood in my way
When I set my sails away
Wavy was the sea
And no one was in the least surprised
To see me barefoot with their eyes
Walking on water
And to infinity forever saying my goodbyes
I remember the light that was ablaze
Beaming
I was illuminated by the Sun
That was blinding
Blinding
As I was ascending
The ladders to the Welkin
Striving to perceive
Amid the strangers
A face that I hold dear.
Saša Milivojev
Translated by Ljubica Yentl Tinska
visit: www.sasamilivojev.com
With elan springing forth from young age
Enthusiastic to take centre stage
All his wits he was able to gather
And proceed to the foot of the ladder
Effervescent – a smile on his face –
No misgivings, of doubt not a trace
Rung by rung clinging on to elation
Reaching up to a dream destination
Fortune favours the daring, the brave
Saw the trophy on which to engrave
Both his name and a feat well accomplished
Punching air, feeling great and established,
Yet in triumph he made one mistake:
Not perceiving the hiss of a snake.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
© 17th May 2019
ON ----- LADDERS
BELONG ------- UP
PEOPLE ---- DONT
FOR -------- SOME
THESE -- MATTERS
TALK ------ ABOUT
DIFFICULT ---- TO
ME ------------ ITS
DOWN - TOWARDS
BUTT --- SLIDING
A ------ GIGANTIC
I ------------- SEE
WHAT -------- DO
UP ----------- AND
I ------------ LOOK
The Smile at the Foot of a Ladder Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Craig Cornish
4/22/19
Chutes and Ladders, Monopoly
Candyland and Bingo
One-two-three!
Risk and Careers and
How about Charades?
Scrabble and Password
Venerable Word Parades!
The youthful pursuits of
An Innocent Age
Eating Hostess Twinkies
And drinking Kool-Aid!
Life is a game of Chutes and Ladders
At every step you roll the dice
What you think really doesn't matter
Each day you'll either climb or slide
With every move you take your chances
You will either rise or plunge
Don't ask me, I have no answers
You'll never know until you're done
Where every step along the way
Is a case of do or die
It makes no difference in how you play
With every day a roll of dice
In this game of Chutes and Ladders
That some out there fondly call life
Where your next move at any given moment
You will either climb or slide
Sanity is threatened by this game banaL
Not for the faint of heart - it has its own agendA
An endless nightmare can be yours once you are snareD
Knowledge is useless when your luck has dieD
Everlasting. Trenchant; It will drain away your last drop of hopE
Survived since ancient times in India - hardly right or faiR
Squares, endless squares, lead slowly, but surely to madnesS
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