My limits have never left me poor
for poverty is not the emptiness of the hand,
but the silence of a barren mind.
A smile, a burst of laughter—these are wealth,
coloring what no eye can name,
where every living soul unfolds without end.
It's comforting to shrink
Down onto a hard white surface
Ant-sized, running,
Dust for pebbles
Sunlight through glass
Clear boundaries
But room to move
Safe from sweeping forces
Go ahead and ask.
Answer: it's drying out
Direction evaporating.
Clear sky's a cage
See the giant birds
They're not happy
costumed dogs with a facebook page? Forgive me but no.
Putting their videos on tictoc is as far as I’ll go.
Knack for keeping kisses and kindnesses kindled while
Yoking yearnings to stars without yielding to fear yarns and
Leaping over list of limits doctors labelled as his life so he may
Eagerly enjoy evidence of all his joyous emotions empower
Each day holds countless possibilities
only imagination can sets boundaries and barriers
~ break free from your cage
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
They pose with the austere stares of
Loving, friendly ghosts —tall, gaunt and lissome,
With big, rounded head.
Draped in weathered robes of care,
They are the only guardian spirits we see.
They have the calming power,
Where drunken machines run amok
Through broiling engine oils
And reckless crankshafts,
Spitting gas, and brittle axles.
Roads are unpredictable.
In winter they storm with the quiet rage of
Sods, dragging queens and whims . . .
Guide me, O limits of spirits!
Check my fattened excesses for fibrosis.
Darkness thickens —even by feast-time of the sun.
The quiet whispers of a dream
stir within, a gentle, persistent call.
Doubts may loom, and shadows creep,
But the heart knows its own truth, standing tall.
For this much is clear, a fundamental plea:
Dreams don't work unless you do,
So if you put in the work, all your dreams can come true.
It's in the effort, the learning, the rise from every fall,
the unwavering belief in the seed you've sown.
Don't let the world dim your spirit's light,
nor let another's fear become your own.
Within you lies strength, a fire unquenchable, vast.
Remember always, and let this truth hold fast:
Nobody can define your limits except you.
So rise. Step forward, brave and free.
Shape your destiny.
a line drawn in the sand of time
plucked from the depths of my mind’s eye
curled edge of what’s real what’s not
that line that never should be crossed
plucked from the depths of my mind’s eye
things we’ll forgive but not forget
built an imaginary fence
washed away by tides yet lingers
curled edge of what’s real what’s not
distinguishing what’s right from wrong
what’s acceptable from what’s not
comes to a full and sudden stop
that line that never should be crossed
willing to turn and start anew
choosing sides for worse or better
a line drawn in the sand of time
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Form: Retourne (8 syl)
like patient Nature
hens keeping nests pluck the eyes
of hostile creatures
I went to the river and drowned
I went to the forest and screamed
I went to the shelter nearby and cried
I went to my head and asked:
If anyone in this whole damned world would truly take you seriously? Seriously enough to understand or know?
Acknowledgment is enough.
So I knew I had to simply,
Drown until I reach the deaths of the ocean
Scream until my voice will never be heard again
Cry until someone keeps them in jars…
They say my tears are precious.
Until;
UNTIL, you know,
You’re worth it.
“You can be anything you choose,” commencement speakers say.
“Your journey starts today. By persevering, you can’t lose!”
The graduates and audience all nod and smile and clap.
Some want to take a nap, but jabbing elbows interfere.
Conclusion: “Limits don’t exist unless they’re self-imposed!”
To love you more
....I would have to love you less
....to love you more
Twinkle twinkle little stars, please tell me wherever you are,
sky blue,
The cows turn their heads, as they stand in their beds,
grass grew,
The mop and the broom had to clean up a room,
mushroom,
Mom goes no-no, Dad goes boo-boo, the baby goes poo-poo
karma,
The bass and the trout went swimming about
school's out.
We were at a small
bar, the place only served some
older regulars.
An elderly guy
in an old jean jacket was
talkative, friendly.
“What do girls learn at
Yale?” He asked. “We’re taught things, like
expressions, smiling,
pomposity, snark,
whatevering and stuff-stuff.”
I bragged shamelessly.
“Sure,” He chuckled, “sure
- but it’s worth the money I suppose,”
he gave me a toast.
Limiting yourself
can, in fact, set you free - try
writing a Senryu
Like a martial art,
a tea ceremony or
classical music
They are a tight dance -
controlled, disciplined, focused.
Other styles can drift.
A Senryu is like
a Haiku except it deals
with human feelings
.
.
A Haiku/Senryu should three lines of 5-7-5 syllables
A Haiku should be about nature
A Senryu about human feelings
#senryu #haiku #focus #freedom #limits
"Let there be light.".
He separated day from night
There is a limit to darkness
just as there is a limit to light
In the battles we fight
we discover these limits
We learn that God's wisdom is right
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