Killick Poetry Contest
Craig Cornish
The weight of his dog on his mind
There were no makeups, makeovers
… there was a makeshift as death was calling
One sacrifice that could save his family
Out of reach, out of breath, out of gas
The boat rocked with the crashing waves
With the regular anchor broken
He said his Hail Marys and passed
The rocky shoreline begged for prayer
It was low tide in the most figurative way
As the white crest of waves fought the jagged rocks
Father, mother, and three kids kneeled at the altar
As the family pet that stood vigilant earlier
... now gone along with a lifetime of tears
About 100 yards from doom, the dog came to rest
Seagulls flying above are disappointed
With honeyed comments, you absorb adulation in vain;
drinking it in like a congratulatory champagne.
Down your nose, you smoothly cajole;
Deft at choreographing leverage to reach a goal.
The effete man you put forth is cast in boorish airs -
Stealthily exuding to foil all players.
Irreproachable character, you claim in spades,
but to athwart interference you throw up blockades
Speaking in bitter tones, speeches full of lies suppressed -
churlishly angered with those that protest.
King Lear’s Voice
Nothing out of nothing
William Shakespeare
A king of true tragedy
No unconditional love.
No never and nothing
Machiavellian
His descent into madness
Dead to Heaven above.
Gary Bateman, Copyright © All Rights Reserved
October 10, 2018 (Double Dactyl)
Treachery is the coin of the covert realm,
gears within gears turning ...
Devious machinations, pure Machiavellian
Secrecy is the Shanghai shuffle speech
Tool and Die maker,
what instrument of inflection deception
will you darkly wield?
Skilled in the art of misdirection,
fake exit wounds
make a theatrical lead entrance
A surreptitious maze
of feint thought progression
Allied motility based on mutual scoundrel affinity
Chicanery is the Au crown weight of a silver shekel tongue,
wheels within wheels spinning ...
Mirage machinations: Shimmering works so Machiavellian
Crafty consultation be the cabal mushroom reach
Fool and Cry maker,
what instrument of ruse tone
will be spuriously blown?
Trained in clandestine ways ... dubious methods
Sly serrated angles:
cloak-and-dagger means, perforated aspirations
A duplicitous labyrinth
of bifurcated deals,
from dastardly motives concealed
With the turning of the screws,
twisted obsidian truth is apnea beveled into
morally amorphous grooves
Machiavellian machinations
is warped, Mephistophelian lip lathe
of fabricated whispered news
He thought he had it made
That he could hide and make the grade
And get what he wanted in the end
So his position he could defend
In Machiavellian manoeuvring
So he could sit back smiling
But he could not control everything
And in his life so sad to bring.
© Paul Warren Poetry
Seldom seen suspicious and spiritual mighty and unseen rendered obscene futile and flawed
with prominence immersed in corruption an unconscious perception implications essential in
the inevitable metaphor set forth. Compelling controversy fundamental yet instrumental
examine the obsessed strive for nothing less banishment to second best disseminate
perpetual hate enthusiastically emphasizing infinity. Be candid when persuading humanity be
deliberate with intent passionate yet subsequent exclusively empty of envy the best is yet to
see.
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.