Long Slaving Poems

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Premium Member What Matters Most To Me

The coziness of domesticity
A shoulder to press a cheek to 
Someone to come home to
after shedding a quart of sweat
slaving away at work.

A precious quality time to kill 
with near and dear ones 
that love me, and still will, 
at my worst

Putting away the cell phone, 
folding shut the laptop computer 
in the gloaming in favor of
a much-needed human connection

Making time for a quiet reflection 
and prolonged cogitation,
a conversation with God, for rest 
and relaxation, for creativity

Someone with whom to share a laugh
Someone to walk with, arm in arm,
step by step among the fields of gold
despite all the madness in the world.

A skin to touch, a hand to hold when 
Autumn leaves begin to fall.
Being emotionally available to people
I love and care about.

Most importantly, loving 
and being loved in return.



What Matters Most To Me Poetry Contest (Winner: 3rd Place)
Sponsored by Chantelle Anne Cooke
Date written: 04/01/2020


Underneath that Grand old Flag

Natives interrupted
Guns pointed to their chests
Blown away like beautiful dandelions
Into that sweltering sun

Americans lollygag
In their newly claimed land
Under that grand old flag

Slaving away, picking cotton
Under the South’s heat of injustice
Scarred with inhumane treatment
Sweating tears and pain

Burdens heavier than sandbags
Yes, they’re slaving away
Under that southern flag

Stripped away from homes and work
And terrorized prior still
No voice spoke louder than the writing
Of no. 9066, President FDR

Away from homes they’re dragged
Into camps full of prejudice
Under Franklin’s flag

My old friend Alice
Just arrested
For obstruction of the traffic
Roads men proudly trample on

In handcuffs she was dragged
Into a sad, sad prison
Under Wilson’s flag

A poet in the midst of Caesar
On a shelf in Alexandria
King was shot and killed
Right of speech suppressed

Six feet under in a grave
Betrayed by the very country
He tried so hard to save
Yes, six feet under, toes tagged
Underneath that grand old flag

Spying on the enemies
Can’t afford to lose
Separated by a dumb old party
Worldwide on the news

There comes a couple lads
Down at watergate
Under Nixon’s flag

Furious and crazy
Past the point of no return
A noose is hanging for Mike Pence
Violence calls to burn

A mob gone mad
Pardoned from hurting their own police
Under Trump’s old flag

Marching home from the military
To a world full of hatred and unacceptance
Comes the obedient soldier
Disregarded as a crime

Yes, called hideous words like you-know-what
Barred from inclusion
Protected in the constitution
Under Trump’s old flag

Situations

“Situations” 


In the morning when I rise 

On Sundays watching the game with the guys 

At the table when I eat 

In the car bobbing to a beat 

At the job on the paper chase 

In a session with smoke in my face 

In the church listening to the Word 

In my notebook combining nouns and verbs 

In the gym while making baskets 

On the court hitting balls with rackets 

In my bed lying all alone 

On the field trying to reach the end zone 

At the bar buying a drink 

Under the stars just trying to think 

At the board ironing my clothes 

In the club throwing them boes 

At the house just trying to chill 

At Mama’s house enjoying a meal 

At the track kicking up dust 

On the corner catching the bus 

On the couch taking a nap 

In the circle trying to rap 

At the mall buying some shoes 

In the room feeling the blues 

On the porch staring up at the sky 

In the encyclopedia trying to find out why 

In the yard manning the grill 

Under the weather waiting to be healed 

In a boat pulling fish out the water 

Under the hood putting on a new starter 

On the side of the road fixing a flat tire 

On my knees saying prayers getting ready to retire 

In the kitchen cooking it up for my lady 

At Victoria’s Secret buying a gift for my baby 

With my boys bragging on my girl 

On the clock slaving just to give you the world 

But regardless where I’m at and regardless what I do 

The only thing constant is I always think of you
Form: Ballad

Premium Member Dolce Far Niente

running,
                  and running,
                  and running 
           on a spinning wheel 
   like an indefatigable hamster;
                   persisting... 
                    on and on 
          as dawn creeps into 
             dusk's front door 
     and makes a backyard exit,
  a dyed-in-the-wool workaholic 
       can barely move a limb
          after slaving through 
            his graveyard shift.
he's finally home early morning;
    body and spirit, exhausted.
   with a cold brew in his hand,
                he leans back 
   on his comfortable recliner 
          and takes a big gulp...
              a   h   h   h   h ! ! !
          temporary freedom 
     from back-breaking work 
                 never tasted 
               so refreshing!! 
         he's earned his right 
          to be blissfully idle 
          throughout the day.
       he's got hours of sleep 
              to catch up on!
Form: Narrative

Just As Bad As Nazis, Part Ii

...Then, of course, there is the idea
that people are nothing but groups,
whether lumped by skin or income
there’s nothing further from the truth.
A group is but an abstraction,
it’s the one where the sovereignty lies.
Think individuals can’t effect change?
Just ask President forty-five.

Or Guttenberg and his printing press,
Mr. Gates and his software codes,
a single man nailed to a cross,
be he a God or man, who knows?
One person can change the whole game,
even in the ‘collectivist’ lands,
the politburo’s evils exposed
by that brave heart Solzhenitsyn.

Did they all accomplished nothing,
slaving for their dreams alone?
They gave us a host of changes,
while the socialists just give us bones.
The Nazis in their cruel madness
left ten million souls undone,
but Socialists, they take the gold,
slaughtering one hundred million.

And those are just the ones we know,
the real number’s much higher still,
all that death, and what has it brought?
No paradise, and it never will.
At least the Germans, after the war,
had the sense to learn from their mistakes,
Socialists refuse to move beyond
their ideas of murderous hate.

They just hide out in schools and claim
that they’re only ‘misunderstood,’
tied identity to failed ideas
so they can never see they’re no good.
To refuse to learn bloody lessons
strikes me as insanely perverse,
in truth they’re not as bad as Nazis,
they’re orders of magnitude worse.
Form: Rhyme


Empty Blue

Stared into the empty blue
Thought of how much I feared you
To turn this cloudless sky
Into something to terrify

Could I fall into the sky?
Leave this asphalt road behind?
And the thought made me so numb
I forgot I was driving

And she sits with her young one
Baby daddy's having fun
Every day she's thinking back
To how her life fell off track

And the other man she loved
Is floating up above
A life free from drugs and pain
Had slipped right through her grasp

We shared some tea together
The moment lasted forever
Slaving away for minimum wage
And she's crying

Again, the empty blue
Rested above me and you
And it all seems better now
My life doesn't seem so bad anyhow

And the blue turned into black
And I'm driving home at last
To a better life it seems
But it's all still the same

Now I can see forever
Back then, if I never
Took the chance to make it all better

Who's to say that it couldn't have happened to me?
Loveless life and nothing to make me happy?
How empty would the blue be?
© Derek Chos  Create an image from this poem.
Form: Lyric

Small Forces

In the corner of the the house, outside
At the end of a long trail of cold, shut up windows 
There is a procession, a vigil kept through the night 
Beneath the notice of even the smallest branch 
Or the thoughts of a bird landing on a tree 
There is a band of brothers slaving for their home
Lining up as fine as thread
But chained together as if forged from steel 
Lifting broken leaves, a crumb of bread, a sugar crystal 
They're heaving cars, boulders, buildings 
Silently bearing their burden, they hold a torch for each other 
Tiny miracles in the night, performing feats of magic 
A struggle that defies ages past carries on- invisible 
All for their children they walk, martyred often 
While future generations of their families
Hang in the balance 



Jeremy Martin 2/19/13

Winning the Lottery

Winning the Lottery

Yes, I dream of winning the Lottery,
Hitting the jackpot on a Saturday night.
Oh, it’s so wonderful to imagine,
So, I cross my fingers and hold them tight.

Our George bemoans his bad luck,
All these years, not even a Tenner.
He told me that a couple from up Orkney,
Won Five million, Mr and Mrs Jenner.

Now I don’t want a fortune,
Just to be comfortable, would be nice.
I could buy me a shiny new sports job,
Without thinking about it twice.

A holiday to the Island of Barbados,
Under tropical skies, that sounds grand.
Or perhaps a Mediterranean cruise,
Lazing on deck, getting tanned.

I would have to update my wardrobe,
With a suit from Ralph Lauren.
A few shirts with the label of Versace,
Oh, and Designer shoes by Donna Karan.

We may have to move from the terrace,
Buy a cottage in the countryside.
Or better still a bungalow by the sea,
With a Veranda, to sit watching the tide.

I could afford to have Guitar lessons,
Learn to play blues like Jimmy Page.
Imagine that, me becoming a rock star,
With adoring groupies at front of stage.

Now, I won’t see our Emily go short,
and I’ll give a bit to John and Jilly.
I’d better return Danny’s Lawnmower,
and give that borrowed Twenty back to Billy.

I could retire and take it easy,
No more working long shifts over-night,
Slaving for that Miserly McGregor,
He’s loaded but so flaming tight.

In truth, I’d leave without notice,
And tell him just where to stick it.
My wife say’s stop daydreaming Jim
You’ve never even bought a ticket.
© Kevin Shaw  Create an image from this poem.
Form: Rhyme

Confessional Tale From the Mouth of a Sinner

I'm the son of all that's been
Drinking deep of my sin
Of premarital and of lies I've told
And responsibilities I hold

Scattered them all in the breeze
It barely even bothered me
I thought I was king, I knew everything
Thought the world was just a jewel on my ring

But now I see that I was wrong
And I'll confess my sins in song
But like a God that failed you all
You don't believe in me

I went through most my life 
Coasting by on luck
And when my lucky stars blinked out
Man, I'd just get stuck
But every day, I'd pray

To a God 
That I'm not even sure is a thing
But a spiritual energy
Inside every living thing
Praying to myself and you

City of the lost
Crying out for something to live for
Slaving away in this small town

City of the lost
In endless boredom we found sin's the cure
That's what history has shown

So me and her found a place to sit
No one else knew about it
An hour passed and the air was hot
The sounds were sweet and it was just what we sought

We didn't think about what we'd done
We were just looking to have fun
Now I'm laying alone in bed
Worried sick and I'm clutching my head

Can't afford a mistake
It's more than we could take
Hoping for blood
To end our flood
Of sin and tears

Dearly beloved, can you hear me from afar?
All the way in the other town, where distance keeps us barred
I'm sorry I've lied to you but it's something that I'll fix
Even if you never knew, it still makes me sick

I'm kicking my addiction so I can make you smile
Figured I'll toss my sins with it to make it worth my while
Might as well improve myself so if your blood graces our day
We can try again way on down the road some day

Til then, these are my crimes
From now, til the start of my time
I've lied, stole and coveted
The peace of the dead

And it took until today
When the sky was clear and blue
I left the shelter of my home

And maybe I'll find my way
And leave this town with you
But first, I must...
Atone

It's leaving
I'm leaving
We're leaving
Looks like we're leaving it behind
© Derek Chos  Create an image from this poem.
Form: Lyric

A Belated Cc Das Kapital Wicked Candle Box Event For Karl Marx

Born May 5, 1818, in Trier Germany 
     to Heinrich and Henrietta Marx,
sans the third of nine children 
     (and second oldest heir) 

     Karl Marx thinking begot incendiary sparks,
asper his two most controversial publications 
     titled The Communist Manifesto, 
     and Das Kapital

which political philosophy 
     incubating seeds of self destruction didst birth
doctrines of class struggle, 
     historical materialism, dearth

of equitable wealth, and inherent 
     contradictions of industrial capital 
     distributed unevenly 
     across avast swath of Earth 

thus inviting his perspective 
     (conveniently exploited, 
     mined, and usurped) advocating 
     the working class (proletariat) 

     to expedite organized revolutionary action
to topple capitalism and bring about 
     socio-economic emancipation,
where wages of sin exchanged for labor bled
 
fingers to the bone life source, viz proletariat 
     till slaving laborer nearly became gratefully dead  
despite being cased in 12 point 
     Times New Roman garb, who incessantly fed

insatiably maws of production, 
     (no way to get a supportive talking head)
particularly highlighted 
     within schema of Capitalism), 

     a predominant paradigm 
     stratifying society led
to internal tensions engendered 
     between bourgeoisie red

dilly controlling means 
     of production codified as said
as die a critical approach Marx coined 
     as historical materialism,

    where figurative landmines forced one to tread 
gingerly, thus above stated philosophy 
     would supposedly lead down the road 
     where self destruction wrought marriage 
     birthing Socialism offspring from shot gun wed

     ding, thus coaxing eventual establishment 
of classless communist society meant
to establish free association of producers who spent
exchanging merchandise amidst classless 
     campy population hood pitched a tent.

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