they come down on you
with their silver badges
and rusted hearts,
nightstick morality,
a fist of laws so tight
you can hear my knuckles crack.
they'll jail the hungry,
the weak, the lost
while their own hands stink
of greed, of white cocaine powder trails,
nights twisted up in back rooms
with drinks and dirty deals.
they call it credit card justice,
where a fee is charged,
just to use it.
they call it order,
but it's a dark laugh
that sticks in your throat
and leaves you sick,
unable to clear it.
Categories:
nightstick, 12th grade,
Form: Free verse
When the light comes on, roaches will scatter
Scampering for the nearest crack, crevice or hole
When gossip comes to a deaf ear, there's an abrupt stop to all chatter
Expeditiously in comes the judge, allowing truth to be told
When thieves get out and wander in darkness
In search of the next quick lick
When knaves come to spew lies on the chosen who walk in meekness
In come the authorities with their baretta and nightstick.
Categories:
nightstick, dark, integrity, judgement, life,
Form: Rhyme
Noah Sharp wakes up in the middle of a fitfully frantic Friday night sleep.
Compelled to bring forth elephants, dinosaurs and tigers out of the deep.
The toy chest has fashioned itself into an arc, big, brassy and bold.
There is music wafting in that sounds straight out of heaven’s gold.
You are the keeper of the animals of the future, Noah is promptly told.
He uses his nightstick, commanding the creatures to plank up into the fold.
They come two by two, ready to take to the sea or Elmo’s fire.
We have to hurry, he tells them. To linger would be foolish and dire.
Categories:
nightstick, 10th grade, 11th grade,
Form: Rhyme
There once was a prizefighting cop named Mick
Whose two fists flew furiously quick
He saw a big rowdy drunk
Whose awful breath really stunk
Mick flashed his badge, then took out his nightstick
But that drunk was truly a great poet
And his whiskey-fueled lips really showed it:
"Hey, cop, watch my lips
As I rotate my hips
~ You're a mite light, and everyone knows it"
Categories:
nightstick, drink, gender, poets, sports,
Form: Limerick
Blessed is the world because of Beethoven's music.
Escaping pain, he played piano for his father.
Enduring, to avoid the wrath of the nightstick,
Transforming musical style; never mediocre.
Hopelessly in love with his “Immortal Beloved”
Overtaken by deafness, he composed with fervor.
Victorious, despite disability…patience.
Evermore an eccentric, music played in his head.
Never quitting, he immortalized perseverance.
© November 6, 2011
Dane Ann Smith-Johnsen
FORM: Acrostic with rhyme
Written for Poetry Soup Member Contest: ANYWHICHWAY any theme/form max of 15 lines
Sponsored by: Brian Strand
Categories:
nightstick, history, music, people,
Form: Acrostic