Misquoted Poems

POWER IN THE TONGUE

POWER IN THE TONGUE

Words once spoken, have a life of their own
Quoted, or misquoted, perhaps written down
Emotion likely launched them from inception
Or a cold logical reasoning, in far fewer cases
Yet so rarely can erase their distinctive traces
But are measured in kind, by their reception
Sometimes just discarded like a broken crown
Especially when they suggest an empty throne

Yet there is an intrinsic power in the tongue
When words, if poorly chosen, cause offence
Even a quick recovery from a bumpy landing
And resonate with their own sort of rhythm
Whether they do accidentally cause a schism
But also, when summoning an understanding 
As their true mission is to always make sense
From which layers of meaning can be wrung

COUNTERINTUITIVE

COUNTERINTUITIVE

One would think that news was real
At least it was, mostly, as in the past
Yet with A.I images on social media
And even a misquoted encyclopedia
The scale of deception is quite vast
With emoticons about how you feel

We believe what we want to believe
And welcoming an influencer’s role
Afraid that intuition has had its day
Who knows, or even cares, anyway
More sales or votes is now the goal
Now just shut the door as you leave

The disappearance of common sense
Did it not surrender or pay its taxes
It is a complicated world, of course
But who now ever checks the source
Today, no-one can remember faxes
Just a meme, intended for the dense

Shenanigans

Customary or misquoted, What hand shall be dealt in this game of shenanigans people playing games are often questionable of one’s ulterior motives. Is it because of one’s anger, disappointments ascending, descending contemplating should the unknown accept the facts and move on or continuously deceive inner-self and remain on and off tasks contemplating who is playing the games if shenanigans.

Taboo

There, in the middle of the vehicle free road,
she lulled herself, slowly and gently, back, and forth 
to the rhythm of her rocking chair, as she sang
her song in earnest defiance, strident,
misquoted words of randomly recollected hymns,
but she cared not a damn.
Perhaps we should all have joined in
form a kind of manic impromptu congregation
right there, right then,
instead, neighbours looked on and whispered.
Next day she would be gone
taken to Jenkins. 
Even us children knew what that was.

When she did come back, nothing was said
The word was never going to exit anyone’s mouth,
Ssssssh - no one dared mention it
but everyone knew
….. mother was mad.

Scorpio

Selflessly loyal to those I love but stubborn to a fault
Creating poetry, paintings, and artistic projects I exalt
Once touched by love, my heart is totally devoted
Resolved to honesty; intolerant of being misquoted
Perplexing, emotional, quite mysterious, and although
I am a water sign, I don't always swim with the flow
Opinionated but my sentiments, I hesitate to bestow


April 1, 2021
Star Sign Acrostics Contest
Charlotte Puddifoot-Sponsor

Proud Boy, Indeed

I was alone
in here I found a crowd
I was scared
in here there was courage, strength they said
Strengths to harm and kick and maim and kill
Drown the world in petroleum soaked rage
Napalmistry is a real study
I, a vigilant student
I follow orders because alternatives are worse hells
drink deep. Drink true from 'god's' well
Drink fast! We have a story tell.
Match in tikis 
how big were we?
Big guns equals big hearts, do you feel me?
Call you foul but your soul is white
Snow-blinded and numbed to remember the crash
Shhhhh I am too hungry load my bullet sash
Suited up for dinner just to dine on trash
Happily, orgasmically, hypocritically share like-minded high-fives
What fast times in this Ridgemont high
O what a time to be alive
To kill what I profaned, abused and stole
Goya's last six in dirty milk bottles
Down the hatch ideological Propofol
Diprivan-infused day-meres sending
Misquoted whispers bent out shape
That glorify the fear in my heart of things unknown
Fear fear fear
Hurt hurt hurt
Kill kill kill
I am afraid now.
I am scared
Please. Help!
I don't know how I got here
But I know
I am scared.

Pastorale

"If you need a thesaurus to find the right word, then it's the wrong word." -- a remembered, probably misquoted, old maxim.

A week of rain
has left my yard spongy
but quite lush -- and birds, now,
are again appearing.

A small, strange toad --
here rarely seen --
startled me yesterday
at my threshold.

Inside, my three cats
persistently attacked a lone
long lizard hiding in
an artificial palm.

I mention minutiae,
breathe deeply in and out:
my unremarkable reality,
my routine life...

Too often, words -- and
problematic politics -- intrude.

Suicide Velvet Rope-

I had a velvet rope-
I placed it round my throat-
I had given up hope-
The world has called me a dope-
Now as I fall down this slope-
did I afford mention I given up hope-
Been misquoted and I've miss quote-

You see I am the spirit of 
Suicide-
and I

have just repented
and did I mention

for this life I have
this breathe I got has
belongs to God
and I'm a child of His

and I've been found and saved by Jesus
Alleluia

11/05/19
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr.  2019©

Not Rocket Science

our day
Thursday
was always
our day until
as of late i made

the statement
close to landing
on the moon but mis
taken and both misquoted
"That's one small step for a man..."

leaps and 
bounds later
i find i can't find
her yet know she's
there so back i go to

sleep
where 
i will find
her seemingly
next to me yet i

leapt 
didn't
she know 
it was "a man"
on the moon and

breaking
up Houston
the real quote
"we've had a problem
here" but she's nowhere

near
nearly
falling back
into sleep but 
needing to speak

or at
least write
it was today but
now not even tonight
but the early hours of Thursday

Silence

Silence 
Can be the loudest of expressions 
Can be deafening 
Cannot be misquoted 
Yet, can be misunderstood 

In silence 
I am mastering the art of a swimming duck
I am mastering the taming of my tongue 
I am paddling troubled waters 
Yet, seem calm

When silent 
I tend to calm my anger
I tend to see things in a different perspective 
I tend to empathise.
Yet, long to rub minds

Silence 
A time to be silent 
A time to break the silence 
A tool in effective communication 
Yet, can build or break relationships

Hope Should Not Spring Eternal

They held an election and 
nobody voted
Politicians complained they 
were grossly misquoted 
Atlas shrugged 
The world unplugged
Slipped violently way out of 
kilter. 
Tea cups tipped
Newscasters quipped
Walk don't run but please get 
to the shelter. 

Strategists tasked to come up 
with a plan
Went back to the time when 
the country began
Senators grumbled
Sarcastic mumbles 
Accusatory fingers were 
pointed 
Who's to blame
What a shame
Blame the system, its alright 
we're disjointed. 

But another campaign will be 
meticulously planned
Based in part on the sweat of 
the poor working man
Campaign promise
Faith jaundiced
A silent prayer for a magical 
elixir  
Tradition rules
A ship of fools
Looks like spoils still belong to 
the victor.

Sacrificing Forever

Some can't imagine forever
So they came up with time and chance
The theory of evolution
Just one idea they advance

The Bible is not fantasy
Regardless what some may believe
The answers to our universe
A gift that we can all receive 

Gateway to a meaningful life
It's crucial we take time to read
Although it's often misquoted
It's exactly what we all need

The book alone cannot save us
It's the marker that leads the way
To a special man named Jesus
Who did more than teach us to pray

Sacrifice gives us forever
Not limited by time and space
A special gift that we can't earn
We are all lost without his grace

Some may look at me as a fool
Who believes in a fairy tale 
Still I know the reality
With my Savior I cannot fail

Don't sacrifice your forever
By believing a pack of lies
Trust in the Maker of man kind
His path is the one that is wise

Media Blitz

If you're still not frequently misquoted
            or not often lied about completely,

that means mighty press is not interested
            and you're not yet a real celebrity.


To snatch and hold tight their attention first,
            make the shrewdest media blitz that you can,

for they  love the best even at their worst,
            famous or infamous, you'll be their man !

Pretty Picture

What a pretty picture I have
for all the world to see.
It’s painted black and blue
and the gray part, that’s me.

Every color that is chosen
blend well with one another
and when I get upset
red overrides the others.

No one sees the real me
No one knows me for myself.
When I come to them for help
they put the problem on a shelf.

The people that I hurt,
the people I push away,
the ones I put my trust in
are the ones that betray.

I feel there is no help
for my family or for me
to save us from this selfish world
of greed and misery.

On the chance I have a good day
when things seem happy and full of light
they next day becomes too loud
and the light way too bright.

When can I stop feeling this way?
When can I just be normal?
When can my like go like the rest
with ‘business as usual’?

The things I say, the things I do
are NOT sugar coated.
The hurtful words used against me
are totally misquoted.

So the picture painted is not truly me
but a figment of my imagination,
to make you believe I live just like you
and not in the world of damnation.

• Short Misquoted Poems
• Famous Misquoted Poems
• Best Misquoted Poems
• Read Misquoted Poems
• Long Misquoted Poems
• Misquoted Quotes