the Chinese diet
simple and unique ~ all you
need is one chopstick
a guy falls off a
ship yell man overboard ~ a
gal? full speed ahead
the Swiss invented
a bra plays musical notes ~
"The hills are alive ... "
*brain stall--will add/kinda old jokes
Off to the sea in ships we all go,
Untested, but cock sure, as iron to a forge
Deck apes, snipes and gunners are we,
Salt spray, steam and gun smoke to deal
Up early and turning to ‘til late,
While pilfered horse cock, cards and dice await
Down to the bilges and up to the bridge,
Or off to clean the head each day begins
Gunnery drills and damage control,
A well-oiled fightin’ machine we all have become
Man Overboard! Gunner to the bridge,
Seems ole Oscar has taken a dip
A catnap before we take on fuel,
Heavy seas and darkness again to duel
Heave around lads, hand over hand!
Get the rig on deck the bos’n demands
Finally completed and soaked to the skin,
No rack for me, I’ve got the mid
Reveille! Reveille! Up at first light,
Clampdown awaits then I’ll grab a bite
In port tomorrow and liberty awaits,
But first there’s a washdown and lots to paint
All is secured and the Chief’s in good cheer,
So it’s off to the gut for some titties and beer
Back before sunrise no Shore Patrol required,
A run through the rain locker before liberty expires
Breakfast and quarters a new day begins,
I’ll borrow a $20 so I can do it again
Trotter's words are his deeds
girding the Earth
in great magnetic lines
of universal intent.
In Ward's ritually upraised palm
we see the symbol Coriolis
south draining left
north draining right
Into the realm of Neptune
via the cisterns of Rome
down the ancient river Po
to wicked storms at sea
Into vortices the poet's passport
falls as a man overboard
all its pages torn
one by one.
happy birthday to you
I'll never do that again
what will I deduce about being here
there is enough.
no there isn't
yes there is
let me cite as an example
ants crawled across the ceiling
spelling out for a good time call 911
reaching for some of her mouth
his flame-shaped heart over and over
if you were the ocean
I'd be your man overboard
being here
is an inescapable fact of modern existence
and can lead one to certain conclusions
facial-mental alliance
the smile of a dog
with feathers stuck to his lips
pulling off the graceful caper
an eye full for an eye full
try to make it better it gets worse
try to make it worse it gets worse
hit the gas hit the brakes
the oil of anointment in my crankcase
skid 'till it's over
smoke them tires
what's that smell
Dr. Leerious leans into my visual field
what is it you feel Mr. Field
I can't seem to move any any anything doc
hahahaha goes Leerious
see how ironic it all is
must have been in his oath
and then they show you
the inadequate prize
From "Engine of Didactic Beauty" available on Amazon
http://tinyurl.com/nhfk6dr
Naked alone my teeth are sinking in the bone
The ship is sinking all are in fear
I do, let's jump; overboard
Naked clotheless the chocolates are in the sea
Man overboard, Set the sails and let's jump ship
Naked and ready to go
Jane Fonda Knows what to do
Jane fonda Knows everything
She is life itself and i'm the chocolate beneath her teeth
Set sail and lets go ho ho ho
Riddled with fear, a trickle of panic.
Waiting for a ray of sunshine to drift down this
Murky bloodstream and eddy into a
Pool of serenity.
Patiently fishing, longing for just a nibble.
Perhaps a change of bait is necessary.
Used to catch keepers to hang on the wall.
Or eat for dinner when hungry.
Angling for hours:
Hoping,
Praying…
Nothing.
Reel in the line.
Row towards shore, whistling through the fog.
The “Sirens” start to scream through the gallows.
Empty stomach. Craving mind
Succumbing to the screaming - “Man overboard!”
Swimming towards the drink, no life boat in sight…
Drowning.
My bedroom has been flooded
and now I'm drowning in my thoughts.
Questions of what is and what isn't
floating about like hundreds of jellyfish.
They wait for me to venture out
so that they can sting me and send me
sinking
into the abyss that is my very own mind.
There are also two sharks,
Loneliness and Depression.
The scent of blood in my veins
has made them hungry.
I can't swim
and I have no place to hide.
Man overboard!
Once upon a time,
There was veritable indifference
In the mind of a man
Who always lies.
As he flipped
Through movie channels
With his IO remote,
The world suddenly became downtrodden.
The discovery
That Howie Mandel
Had actually became the host
Of his own reality series
Sent the man overboard.
He threw his IO remote at the TV
With such a velocity,
The explosion sent sparks
That reached his sofa.
The piece's arm was in flames.
For one brief moment
He thought of calling the fire department,
But he changed his mind.
He reached into his pocket
And pulled out a pack of cigarettes,
Down to its last smoke.
The heat lulled his face
As he lifted the butt to his lips
And dipped the tip into an open flame.
He took a stale pull,
Sat back and puffed away.
The empty pack clenched in his palm
As he slowly made a fist
And threw it at the broken television.
He started laughing like a maniacal king,
And continued to do so
Until the black air had him coughing,
Rendered him unconscious
And he lived happily ever after.
Constantly trying to get something for oneself--
Sit down, you're rocking the boat.
Constantly trying to have the last word--
Sit down, you're rocking the boat.
Constantly judging yourself and others--
Sit down, you're rocking the boat.
Remember, you are never lost at sea.
Simply sit down in the boat
and allow the mothering waves
to embrace and guide you on your way.
When, at last, you hear the call,
"All ashore, who's going ashore,"
you may find that you have decided to stay in the boat.
Well, then you need to go back to the beginning, and read the poem again.
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.