Long Ghosts Poems
Long Ghosts Poems. Below are the most popular long Ghosts by PoetrySoup Members. You can search for long Ghosts poems by poem length and keyword.
The Collective Conscience of the World Apologizes to Jamal
Kashoggi, and His Fiancee', Hatice Cengiz
We are very sorry, Mr.Kashoggi,
As also to your never-to-be wife -
Condolences.
We understand how the Casualties of Truth
So often find themselves, like you,
Caught in the crosshairs
Of exigency and cynicism,
Bereft and bewildered,
Adrift and confused;
Betrayed by the mistake
That Truth and Justice
Are closely connected -
A common error,
One that turns some that make it into ghosts -
Like you, Jamal, physically;
And you, Hatice, in Spirit.
Believing as you did that Truth was a prize beyond all price,
Shared for the betterment of all,
You missed the sad fact that Justice,
In this wicked world,
Is subject to price fluctuations;
May be had by the highest bidder.
Those scales are for weighing money.
So when you bid Truth for the Many
Against Justice for the monied Few
The price for the difference was your life.
At least now we know the full Market Price
Of one good journalist's life:
110 Billion dollars
In arms sales.
Wherever your spirit wanders,
Let it not despair;
And let comfort come to Hatice;
It is her due.
The Truth will Out, no matter what -
For it is free of price;
A thousand smiling cynics
A thousand bitter tyrants
Cannot stop it.
In the end they shall drink their own tears.
So Be It.
To you, Jamal, I say,
Bismalla.
To you, Hatice,
Inshalla.
OF WARS AND THINGS…
(A TRILOGY OF PEACE)
I
The whole world is a war and we are its
Victims; you and me…us;
Fading silhouettes of life, chasing tomorrow
In euphoric bliss…
Riding high on a giant white cloud:
A mushroom nourishing on pregnancies
Giving birth to new world war ghosts.
Living today has be indefinitely postponed;
The world has declared war on peace.
II
In psalms of dreams, webbed in the labyrinth
Time spins; praying to the fertility gods,
I stole a hole in space and planted a flower;
Mourning peace amidst
The empty shadows of wars never won.
III
They say flowers don’t grow here anymore:
Earth’s womb a victim of nuclear pus;
And her tissues of civilization lay rotting
From atomic infestation;
Military plagues mutating shells of humanity
Freaked out on self destruction.
As peace suffocates at the conference table,
God is denied a seat.
[Verse 1]
I keep staring at the empty side of the bed
Wondering why you left without a word said
Was it the way I held on too tight?
Or did you just get tired of the fight?
[Verse 2]
You slipped out like smoke through my hands
Leaving me with questions I’ll never understand
There’s a song we used to play on repeat
Now it’s just silence that I can’t defeat
[Chorus]
Every moment’s a cell that I can’t break free from
I wasn’t there when you handed down the sentence, love
Caught between memories and what I never knew
This limbo’s a place where hope just won’t pull through
You were my lover, my closest friend
Now I’m chasing shadows that never end
Are we done? Or just frozen in time?
This waiting, this not knowing—it’s slowly killing my mind
[Verse 3]
You wanted freedom — maybe more than me
Took your Independence like a thief in the night, silently
I’m left in the ruins of all we planned
With nothing but ghosts and a ring in my hand
[Chorus]
Every moment’s a cell that I can’t break free from
I wasn’t there when you handed down the sentence, love
Caught between memories and what I never knew
This limbo’s a place where hope just won’t pull through
You were my heartbeat, my favorite sound
Now it’s just echoes I keep hanging around
Are we done? Or is this some cruel pause?
Girl, living like this is a slow, quiet loss
[Bridge]
If you wanted to leave, just say it plain
Don’t bury me in silence or leave me in pain
I’m drowning in questions, no lifeline in sight
You wanted your freedom — you got your Independence that night
[Outro]
Forever locked away, and I’m still here
Haunted by memories, haunted by fear
Longing for answers I’ll never get
In this limbo where I’m stuck — can’t forget
over and over
why did you leave me?
over and over
over and over
over and over
why did you bang my head against the ground?
was it my head that you were banging
or was it the ghosts you were chasing
your neverending chase of ghosts keeps trying to coincide with my bipolar mind
but i wont let it
i can conquer this and try to restore
oneness and unity
because that's alot of what bipolar is....
its separation
chaos
disorder
don't get me wrong, mother and father
I love you
I understand you
you were simply reflecting the insanity of capitalism
that you tried so hard to fight
and the higher power, whatever you want to call it
love, mercy, justice, truth
the hope of all humanity
is helping me
forgive you and
kick that apple
so damn far from that tree.
said the older ghost to the younger ghost,
watch and learn from me how to scare the most,
just show up in open crowd,
bare ugly fangs and scream loud,
these folks tonight are our butter and toast!
said the younger ghost to the senior soul,
to scare the most for sure is not my goal,
would listen to holy songs,
set right now, what I did wrong,
in after life wish to play a good role!
senior shook his head and charged at the crowd,
red eyes and fangs his scream was eery loud,
people in fright ran to door
who fell were trampled on floor,
he flew here and flew there waving his shroud!
the younger ran to the top of the room,
sparked a white light to dissipate the gloom,
in bright senior could not see,
younger ghost smiled cheered in glee,
do you see? not all ghosts are about doom!
Limerick 10,10,7,7,10
4 connected limericks to tell a story
Joseph May sponsored
Halloween Lim contest
Written 2nd November 2023
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You find them first in the attic dust,
spells written on the backs of receipts~
bleached ink, promises curled at the frayed edges.
They taste of cinnamon and static,
whispering in a tongue your brain
almost remembers.
Strings, too. Not the kind that bind,
but the ones that fray~
a sweater unraveled by time,
a puppet cut loose,
still jerking its limbs in the dark.
And the forgotten things?
They crowd the corners like shy ghosts,
holding their breath.
A locket with no face inside,
a key that fits nothing you own,
the slow dripping of a faucet
that stopped being fixed
long before you were born.
You could cast them all,
these leftover incantations,
but magic is heavier
when it has nowhere to go.
So you let them settle~
spells without syllables,
strings without anchors,
lost things learning
how to stay.
If pain is felt
like a windstorm, strength
is shades of calm in between
as the years melt
off and slide, when it's understood
how good it gets when we stop
trying to make it good.
I know what it is,
how to find it. The Real...
I let it in and out like breathing,
palms facing the clouds.
I'm a lover who cheats,
a giver who wants it all, loud music,
bruised knees...
The darkest parts
of love and war and hate,
sunny skies and peace.
I think of what god would be
if he IS,
though he needn't look for me
to save me from fear,
or resurrect me from death.
I'll forget me.
I'm not killing myself
slowly, by worrying at the how,
when and why.
Why are we here?
Maybe we've fooled ourselves-
hammering apart that two-sided coin,
as if it were possible.
Maybe I've come undone
flirting wildly with untamed edges,
the crack in the sidewalk
beneath the ladder,
practicing witchcraft under the bridge
they said was full of ghosts.
But circles may appear
to us like squares,
and could we know?
Pain and pleasure? Together,
they mean something. Apart,
there’d be no shadow. A face
with no reflection in the mirror.
We see by comparison in this wild wild place,
full of a pats on the back,
kicks to the face.
But the world's not boring, I've seen
what pulls harder
than even the good,
(all of them)
where the wild things move
in motions so fast and strange,
all we can do
is stare into the face of the Sun,
eyes burning,
and call it beautiful.
I burned a book today.
The author will remain unknown
his words unread,
yellow pages untarnished
by the grit of hungers need
his ideas set free upon the wind
disembodied ghosts
hoping for redemption
I passed a library today.
its shelves stripped
of error’s errors
dark corridors
leading to locked rooms
suffocating the voice
of freedom.
I wrote a poem today
etched my heart
upon the paper
baptized it with my tears
nurtured each word
melded them into a union
of mindful contemplation
I passed a mob today
chanting incoherently
carrying contradictory signs
demanding unity,
equality and justice.
after the riot and looting
I went home and
I burned a book today.
John G. Lawless
3/21/2021
I am out of time
I am outside of my mind
No reason or rhyme
No time for thinking
Never a time for drinking
My ship is sinking
Some people would say
I'm living back in "the day"
It's my only way
Come with me and see
Experience what's to be
It's our destiny
Of things yet to come
It's a scary thought to some
From where I come from
Grab onto my hand
We will fly over the land
Over sea and sand
Distant pyramids
And now we are here amid
Ghosts of the abyss
Now we're out of time
I am seeking what is mine
Now we're out of mind
Here in worlds sublime
Seek there what is yours to find
I'll help you in kind
What there do you see?
A stone cold reality?
Shifting sands for thee
Sun will make cold flee
To warm the soul and body
Take what's yours, it's free
Tell us what will be
Shadows, shades and ghosts we see
There for you and me
Heed what I say now
Hold fast to my hand and gown
It's a long way down
What do the ghosts say?
Be thou brave and not afraid
For you will be saved
From tomb, doom and grave
But wisely you must behave
In time that He gave
Not all will suffice
In the Son He sacrificed
His Wisdom is nice
Thoughts of creation
But His Word is salvation
To save this nation
Listen long and hard
Listen with your mind and heart
Follow your soul's chart
Time is not your friend
It's out of time in the end
No more time to send
Yes, out of time there
Oh, But out of time is where
We have time to spare
Ending of an age
Will finally set the stage
For poet and sage
To come and play now
To finally take a bow
And show us all how
We'll dance all day long
Join with me and sing His song
The way down is long...
To Those Who Stand in the Flame
Your sweat and tears
are felt in the quiet spaces—
we see how you toil where
the air burns, heavy with ghosts,
how strangers rise in the
name of saving.
Hands and hearts steady,
bearing the weight of devastation—
through these gutting days,
we owe the stars to you.
-
This poem honors the brave souls—firefighters, neighbors, and kind strangers—who have faced the flames with unyielding resolve. In a city shrouded by smoke, you have become the light, carrying hope and humanity through the ash-strewn days. Your courage and care remind us that even in destruction, there is a quiet force that holds us together.