Long Lesson Poems
Long Lesson Poems. Below are the most popular long Lesson by PoetrySoup Members. You can search for long Lesson poems by poem length and keyword.
The disgrace
So, it is coming to an end
and the lesson that will not be learned is this:
the occupied people will not love the occupier.
The army of the Kabul government is melting away
the soldiers know. they will even if they won
a battle or two, lose, the Taliban are the people
Of the Pashtun are as strong as hemp.
The west has to live with the knowledge of having lost and work out what can be done.
The women might be the biggest losers
if the Taliban rulers, chose to follow their strict interpretation of the religion,
one hopes not.
So many ruined countries come to mind
Everything the west touches in the east is degraded
to dust, death and rusty weaponry.
I almost slipped up.
Mentioning my step down injury
to my boss.
I clamped up tightly the second I realized.
I had to go through workman’s comp once, four years ago.
Never again.
It cost me $2000 of my own money
And I have a torn meniscus and ACL which
had to heal themselves.
If I break my back, both feet,
fall sixty stories, and my head rolls off,
please drag my dead or dying body
to the car in whatever shape
I am in, so I can get home.
I will always lie now and say it happened at home
where I have insurance that actually works.
Never at work again. I have learned a valuable lesson.
Everybody has a story to tell
Publishers put the pages together to sell
Leather bounded and sewn
Message marketed over the phone
It takes days to years
Sweating blood emotional tears
A package arrives in the author’s mail
Books for donation or sale
A commentary on life shared
Creative interpretation setting off an understanding flare
No one gets hurt in fictional genre
Dropping subtle hints entertaining with drama
Is there a problem?
We do not know
Compose a story and let the angry discussion go
Expressing opinions in a debate
Could solve a situation creating the hate
Started by a mistake
Needing to be made straight
Acting like a safety basin
Novelist issues are ray sin
An antagonist with an evil glow
Displaying topics letting the pages flow
Next time a reader encounters a piece
Sit back and enjoy the typing tease
Put the red pen down
Listen to the writer’s sound
Contents on the electronic paper counts
Especially when the tension mounts
After closing a book
Digesting the meal from the penning cook
Exercising intellectual concern
Working out when the lesson is learned
A healthy imagination a must
When developing fantasy based on trust
I stand with the world in my hands,
Not because I own it,
But because I believe
A better world begins with me.
One step, I walk a quiet road,
Learning life, one lesson at a time.
Another step, I climb a hill,
Chasing dreams that feel too high.
Behind me is the man I was,
Before me is the man I will be.
In this moment, I am both—
Still, strong, and full of light.
The map may glow,
But it’s the heart that guides.
Through dark paths or golden skies,
I keep walking. I keep trying.
I don’t know all the answers,
But I carry hope like a flame.
Because no matter how far I go,
This journey has my name.
The tiny ray of hope in the warmth and glory, peaks itself through my window
As i lay still, on the ground, wondering
As the air gets colder and colder
What intrigued me, about you..?
The twisted smirk you thought was charm
The conversations you thought would get me by
The lies you fed, the hearts you shred in the past
Your incompetence in being yourself
Yet you think i write all about you
Yes, i do
But not anymore, is it for you
It's just about a boy who ran and ran
And shamelessly ran
Searching for roses on a barren land
Haunted by ghosts of his own mind
And when i knew what wasn't mine to begin with
I took a step back
Your faux and your empty words, i left those walls to you
In vain, you suffer
When you know, when you're alone
You can't walk through
And am not someone who takes revenge
But am the perfect lesson for you.
I had much to accomplish last Saturday,
But far too many things got in my way:
As always when awaking, I took a pee,
then went to see the emails piled up for me.
I stayed so long, missed boxing class, so then,
I grabbed some food and went downstairs again!
Decided I’d swim laps at 12 instead.
Felt tired, so I lay down on my bed.
Put the TV on; dozed off. Oh my!
Woke up at noon, so skipped the swim (sigh!)
Told myself I’d later use the gym.
Then called my hubbie - talked a bit to him.
Called a sister too and talked forever.
Thought about the gym. I’d get there never!
Decided to do lesson plans and got my book.
Went to the computer, but at Soup I took a look!
Saw some blogs and got involved in those.
Got up to pet the dog and blow my nose.
Remembered I had vacuuming to do
But had to write a poem that was brand new.
Decided that the vacuuming could wait.
Took a bath and readied for my mother/daughter date.
Put on better clothes and got to thinking
lesson plans and gym were off (my heart was sinking).
Happy nonetheless, I drove my car.
Went to my sweet daughter’s house; it’s not too far.
Drove an hour more in pouring rain
just to eat at Maid-rites once again!
Satisfied and chatting, headed south.
Taste of Maid-rites lingered in my mouth.
Arrived in Sandy for a film called Child 44.
Resisted smell of popcorn and the urge to eat once more.
Got home late. The dog was filled with glee.
I let him in the house as he jumped all over me.
My lovely weekend’s nearly gone. What fun. . .
when vacuuming and lesson plans are still not done!
(A list poem written for Sara Kendrick's "What I Accomplished Today" Poetry contest on the following day, Mother’s Day,when I actually finally did the vacuuming and my lesson plans! Nothing like putting things off till the last minute!)
This is the story
We tell ourselves
Like wishes and dishes
That pile up past today
With tomorrow a
Lesson of what should
We say
Hi there I’m hurting
I’m shaky at best
With dates on the calendar
And should we care less
My mentions a moment
Of let me stand still
Remembering roses
They blossom at will
So looks listen
Legislate the wrongs
At each turn
Then yesterday
The reason
That we should all learn
With goodbyes
Forever Eye’s
And the seen
And unseen
Like gold set
In cravings
And stones with
Heads too
We wonder and whistle
The tracks of tears
True
All that we tell ourselves
About loss and years
Time
The story’s a tall tale
We tell ourselves with
Our reasons
Without rhyme
When you live on the streets, you
attend the school of hard knocks.
And think you've hit bottom
until you feel the sharp rocks.
You wake to a throbbing pain
pounding away in your head.
And you're filled with dread, Oh God,
you kind of wish you were dead.
This can't be a hangover,
for you haven't been drinking.
But, your head is exploding,
and it hurts to be thinking.
You figure out where you are,
just as the doctor walks in.
And like a silly young fool,
you slap on a happy grin.
You survived a bad beating,
slipping death's grip, yet once more.
And quickly gaining your wits,
you shrewdly head out the door.
The lost children of the street
are more than eager to play.
But, for every lesson taught,
someone always has to pay.
(Quatrain)
3/29/2017
cold
physically, emotionally, spiritually
hollowed out like a two hundred year old redwood
ravaged by fire, i didn’t care
my sense of purpose had long lost its relevance
spiraling out of control and letting it happen.
i had to admit, i needed help
we had a relationship once, You and me,
we used to chat,
though it’d been a while.
i believed You would help me.
thats what You do.
So i called on You
and waited for a response.
… crickets
maybe a little more reflecting wouldn’t hurt.
…so i waited and i called on You again.
You must have known i would reach out.
You must have heard my cries.
where were You? away on business?
i thought it was ego or pride.
or both.
not coming to You regularly
seems to piss You off
maybe there’s a lesson to be learned
i knew one of us had to blink.
then i remembered, You don’t blink.
it’s pretty much Your way or the highway.
i realized this time i wasn’t going to blink either.
now what?
… more crickets
i learned early i am responsible
for my actions
i read a person must trust in himself
ultimately, one can’t rely on anyone else
one needs to develop inner strength
be honest with himself, face life, face reality.
no one or thing is going to save me
only i can
in the past, i believed in myself
when most wrote me off.
and in a moment of clarity,
i figured it out
the righteous will say You did hear me
You heard my cries and answered
my action was Your response.
giving me the strength to ask for help
to pull myself up, to be a light for others
it was You working through me.
they’ll say there’s a bigger picture
that i don’t see or get.
someday an explanation will be revealed.
i suppose those are possibilities
but i don’t understand;
what’s Your point?
is this about me
or about You or
You and me?
teaching? compassion?
put them before myself?
feel the pain i inflicted on others?
exalt You as the only one who can “fix things?”
how does that work?
i get credit for failing and You for healing.
maybe someday if You have time,
we can have coffee and chat about it.
we’ll meet some place where we can
sit outside and You can blow more smoke
Thanksgiving Reflections
Kevin Davis 2025
Each fourth Thursday in November’s light,
We mark a day of thanks outright.
We pause to honor all we’re given—
The harvest blessings life has written.
As the year draws gently to its end,
We look to family, love, and friends.
For joy and health, for safety too,
We offer thanks in all we do.
We lift our hearts in quiet cheer
For moments gathered through the year.
For simple joys and hopes that shine,
We give our thanks for gifts divine.
For laughter shared and burdens eased,
For sorrow softened, spirits pleased,
For every lesson life imparts,
We hold these blessings in our hearts.
For morning light and evening rest,
For doing right, for doing our best,
For work that shapes the lives we live,
We bow in gratitude and give.
For mended bonds and friendships grown,
For seeds we planted, harvests sown,
For dreams that rose where doubts once lay,
We give our thanks this holiday.
For peace that finds us when we pray,
For strength that meets us day by day,
For courage when the road feels long,
We lift our voices in this song.
We are thankful on this day—
Grateful, joyful, come what may.
We are thankful, we are blessed.
Together strong, in love we rest.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING