After wedding in our church,
Valentine was left in the lurch,
Cupid offered red flower,
Wifey from abuse did cower,
It was a bouquet of chance,
Horror from romance,
Yes, any rat can turn,
None wept over his urn,
Cupid flitted away,
Battered wife now okay,
And he had been turning back,
Global chicks cut his slack,
He was no gal's kind of guy,
Lover he did not personify,
Little women beware,
Keep safe when dating there!
Sooner or later the presiding politician
will be pushed off his perch
made to do the walk of shame
on his own and left in the lurch
then marched off into eternity
no matter how loud he begs
with head bowed down low
and tail tucked between his legs
he went on to bomb and kidnap
after his flag unfurled
and became the self-elected
policeman of the world
by annexing Canada and Greenland
he wants to make America large
guilty of piracy on the high seas
blame those who put the clown in charge
he may beg plead bribe or cajole
only to wear on our nerves
but on the whole let's dump the chump
and hope he gets what he deserves
The trolling of the iron bell
brought the pair together
in sickness and in health
through all kinds of weather
he a macho manly male
anticipating his marital right
she a timorous maiden frail
awaiting her wedding night
no more lingering at the church
or languishing left in the lurch
no more cake or champagne
someone left it out in the rain
and that which is to come
he acceding to her every plea
she submitting to his every wish
a happy couple for all the world to see
Gumball machine you make me smile an old woman said
With your happy round balls in bright blue, yellow, pink, green and red.
Reminding me of the fifties when I thought everyone was kind.
Poodle skirts a turquoise fifty-seven Chevy, intact families in my mind.
Prayer once a priority, everyone attended some kind of church.
Those who did not were often left in the lurch.
Gumball machine, you remind me of malt shops and such.
Soda jerks and cherry Cokes, and I thank you so very much!
Written on 3 October 2023 For:
What to Search For Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Miranda Hawley
I Care I Search
Am I a bundle of bare bones
Each one a kind of its own,
Wrapped with a heap of muscles
That I may hustle and bustle!
Am I baked with cells and atoms
Which science can never fathom,
Or a long net of arteries
Which full of fats cause miseries!
Am I a bunch of emotions,
A lump of feelings and passions,
Bestowed with nerves, brain and a soul
That none can explain as a whole!
Left in the lurch to my own self,
I care I search my inner self.
“first things first, let us find out who we are ~
the truth is within, not somewhere afar”
~ quote by poet
we wander about
where should we perch
that our heart feels complete
endless search, we’re left in the lurch
to examine the cause, put thought on pause
shifting baton of awareness to heart
let’s find out who in truth we are
befriending stillness, start
silence shuts off noise
we’re finally alone with ourself
time holds its breath, space conspires
revealing to us eternal living light of true Self
If God be omnipresent
Is He to be found only in a church
Or for that matter in a temple or mosque
Save the faith we hold are all others left in the lurch
If this be so, if our God be so petty, let us doublethink
Does not the sun bestow life on every life form
Mother Earth shares her gifts with all
Love is unconditional and warm
Wake up, oh weary hermit
In innocence, tip toe into heart unshod
If we be still, voids within us will automatically fill
And without any doing, we will face to face behold God
JILTED
He stood there at the altar,
The best man by his side,
Awaiting the arrival
Of his beautiful, blushing bride.
The vicar was getting anxious:
They should have started at four.
The organist extemporised,
Until she appeared at the door.
An usher kept a lookout
For the bridal limousine
But came back in and told them
It was nowhere to be seen
At five o’clock they gave up
And everyone filed from the church,
Leaving the groom to ponder
Why he’d been left in the lurch.
But she hadn’t meant to jilt him,
He found, after making some calls.
For he had been at St. Andrew’s
And she had gone to St’ Paul’s
I know a place where we can go,
There, its ok to be different you know.
Don’t worry, they will let us in.
They won’t notice the colour of our skin.
Nobody will care if my skin is white,
This place is really out of sight.
There’s always a place for us to sit.
They’ll always make sure we feel we fit.
It’s a nice place if you are feeling blue.
A good place to go if you are happy too.
As you enter you might hear a song,
Everyone’s welcome to sing along.
It’s always open, no locked door.
All can enjoy if you’re rich and even poor.
There’s always a bloke who tells stories.
Relates from a book about holy glories.
They offer help if you’re left in the lurch.
Always welcome any day in God’s church.
Will the sun ever set in Sitka?
For here the sun takes forever to say 'see ya'.
The clouds blush a pink, red, purple adieu,
As if they have forgotten what to do.
Left in the lurch, ever so shy,
Up they pop up to dance a sweet goodbye.
Like angels summoned to heaven's court
They leave under a rainbow, arching the port
The Sitka sunset, angry, fiery and bold,
Paints the sky in hues of ruddy bold gold.
The sizzling sun hisses as it flops into the sea,
Setting the long, lingering, languid day free.
The Lord says you must attend church
So no child is left in the lurch
Despite the weather
A strap of leather
Will work just as well as the birch*
* The Mayflower pilgrims came to
Plymouth so they could enjoy the
freedom to fine, humiliate, torture,
and "purify" any and all who did not
adhere to their beliefs. Trump believes
that attitude made America great.
They pass my window every day
the young, the old, the tired, the grey,
the little woman going to church,
the teenage lover left in the lurch,
the silver haired lady, a faded ingénue,
the argumentative couple with children, two.
The retired school teacher with the nervous tic,
the lady in a headscarf walking very quick,
the Jehovah's witnesses who hover by and by,
looking and wondering is it worth another try?
The postman with a parcel, always for next door,
the reluctant school kid, wondering what education's for?
I sit and watch this panoply of ordinary everyday folk,
laughing, crying, interacting, sharing a current joke,
and wonder at the diversity of the people that I see,
and think how strange and wonderful and funny we can be.
A year ago could we have guessed
we could be in bad times like this?
Where we'd be tethered to our homes
and could not our grand-children kiss?
It is lonely living alone
when none are allowed to stop by,
unless they stay six feet away.
It would make a stone grandma cry.
Easter came and then Easter left,
and we were left in the lurch.
We wondered how we could enjoy
Easter, without our loved church.
Political problems aside,
I truly am fit to be tied.
Why must we change our lives around
because someone in China has died?
It's because our world has shrunken.
We're only a few hours from there.
Bad things happen in any country
we in the USA must care.
We're coming back in short phases,
and no one in charge seems to care
that I'm needing my hair-dresser
to be able to do my hair.
By: Joyce Johnson
It makes me so sad
To see people afraid
But the governor called a lockdown
And it must be obeyed
I've got the COVID-19, the pandemic Coronavirus blues
And I'm getting more depressed whenever I turn on the news.
The stores ran out of sanitizer
And I felt like I was throttled
When the cheapest price online
Was $20 a bottle
So I went down to the pub
To get some space to think
But all the bars were closed
And I couldn't even get a drink!
I've got the COVID-19, the pandemic Coronavirus blues
And I get more depressed whenever I turn on the news.
It's been weeks since I've seen pals
And now I'm left in the lurch
I got dressed up Sunday morning
But I couldn't go to church
Everybody's staying home now
And there's not a car on the street
And I can't even talk to you
Unless I'm standing back six feet!
I've got the COVID-19, the pandemic Coronavirus blues
And I get more depressed whenever I turn on the news.
There are times when an object misplaced
Is the most pressing problem you've faced
For you search and you search
But get left in the lurch,
All that time you spent searching a waste.
If you're lucky, you'll find what's been lost
After each pile of stuff had been tossed
Yet it's possible that
You won't find where it's at
With frustration and sadness the cost.
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