Odds are not good for Herkimer to breed
The kind of person who always succeeds
For Herkimer himself failed
Wound up in the county jail
I’m sure this just makes your little heart bleed
Nobody said life is fair.
It's not right that many kids suffer...
If only given better odds.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
I venture to say
That most people,
Against all odds,
Have found their way.
Against all odds, they believed.
They lived the nightmare,
But kept their dream alive.
Against all odds, they kept the faith
And were able to survive.
They experienced a living hell,
But Against all odds, they thrived.
Against all odds, rejecting the lie,
They refused to roll over and die.
Although over many years, their eyes
Wept bitter tears, like windshield
Wipers, they wiped away their fears.
Their bodies, although beaten, brused,
And pained, little by little, they gained,
Because their spirits refused to be ruled
By their sighs.
The time
Young youths
Sing songs
Pertaining Peace
For fortune
Just & Joy
To twerk
With waists
February fosters fairness
January junk just
It is intent
Dollar drives dust
Knight knitting knots
Luck lock loss
Queen quest *****
Boost behaviors best
Against all antibodies affirmation
Energise erring ell earnestly
Out of ongoing outburst
Until unity urges us
Go get gems growing
No net nail none
Vault vibe via vision
Till time tells trillion
Mercy must make moves mean
Above all antagoniser and atrocities
Chosen coming closer career cease
Since savior savage souls' safety
Let Lucifer lay low lubber
For failure fostered from firmness
Kicking kite keel klein kudos
Hosting huge hugs hastening hallelujah!
The seagulls flying low
You know that crying wail
The storm is coming on
One boat put down the sails
To sail against the odds
In hope to reach the bay
Is there an urgent load
They carry, who would say
It feels like déjà vu
Although it must be real
For sailors, not for you
And not for me, we’re still
Beside our desks, sit frozen
Watching the wheel that rolls
And then the wind blows in
Some petals have to fall..
The Sooner They
Give Up On You,
The Sooner You
Are Free.
-Gray Squirrel
09-07-2025
being easygoing has its advantages
but a framing of how life is processed
helps establish rules of conduct
when relationships are in the making
clarify expectations
say what you mean
and mean what you say.
clarity of ideas
well expressed thoughts
precision of words
understanding what works
and what doesn’t ~
life not a crap shoot
improve the odds
take charge
be in the driver’s seat
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
The flower of humility is a prerequisite for the intervention of hope
No situation can nullify a shift from hopelessness to joy
Faith over fear should imprint your heart because
The potency of unshakable hope will piece the air
Even when life is not fair
Darkness is but a temporary occasion
On this road of life
There lies an unshakable hope.
This is a hope that shines in the darkness!
This is a hope that is courageous and steadfast
In reality, certain moments in life will refine us and
Shake the core of our existence
But in this state of prepared darkness
The supremacy of hope will become stronger, and we must
Never forget that there is a hope that shines in the darkness!
As an individual of time, the heart must
Reach its prime against all odds!
The sun sets as evening approaches, but
Nothing can stop the sun from rising in the morning!
Hope is ever present, and hope shines in the darkness
Mark Frank
Copyright 2025
The Sun forgot to rise one day,
and never came again.
The stars blinked out like dying sparks–
the world went cold, and then...
the silence grew, the stories died,
and no one dared to dream.
But deep beneath the weight of dark,
inside a cave unknown,
one ember breathed–not bright, not bold,
but fiercely on its own.
It had the last of truth and fight,
a warmth that would not go.
It waits for hands not scared of dark,
for hearts that still believe,
It waits for someone brave enough.
to light what none could see,
The world thinks hope is gone for good–
but hope was always heat.
~hira~
If soil could complain-
if air could sign,
if Earth could weep,
and if humanity could truly speak
of what it has done to itself.
They would recount quite wounds,
buried in silence,
echoes stifled by times,
memories sealed away,
folded within like secrets-
the world refused to hear.
But silence is not peace,
it is a storm held in the lungs,
a scream never given voice.
And if one day -
someone dared to listen, truly listen-
To the grief that was never spoken,
they should be overcome by guilt,
They would fall beneath it's weight.The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award
She’s pregnant with guilt
Deep inside in turmoil
Two minutes of lust
Off the cusp
Makes the colour of little Johnny
A lottery must
50 50 odds of despair
She could see it now
Driven out shamed and bared
Little Johnny turned out alright
The odds in favour
He turned out white
Loving husband unaware
Time moved on without a care
Back in the sack
With husband Jack
A wry smile
Wish he was black.
In the desert of doubt and fear,
A flower blooms, resilient and clear.
Like this bloom, we stand tall and bright,
Nurturing our passions, through day and night.
The desert's harsh conditions test our will,
But we draw strength from our inner still.
We brave the burning sand, and weather the storm,
For our dreams are worth the desert's form.
In this arid land, we'll find our strength,
And like the bloom, our spirit will take length.
We'll strive to reach our goals, and make our dreams unfold,
And in the desert, our aspirations will bloom.
So let the desert's vastness, be our stage,
Where we'll rise above, and turn our dreams into page.
We'll walk through the fire, and emerge anew,
For in the desert's heart, our spirit will break through.
And when the journey's done, and we've made our stand,
We'll look back on the desert, with a heart full of sand.
For it was there that we found, our inner voice so bright,
And the flower that bloomed, was our spirit, shining with delight.
I forded shallow waters
I tried to set my feet
The bottom was too sandy
Nothing there concrete
The tide then turned against me
No footing held me down
I drifted out of memory
Alone and left to drown
I'd worked to lay foundations
In hopes of a someday
But then before I knew it
Got pushed out of the way
I didn't think would happen
What actually did
Should I have kept my mouth shut?
Should I have kept it hid?
My heart though right now broken
I feel I want to die
Despite the odds against it
The chance was worth the try
as the black cloud
descends
on his field
the fierce scarecrow
springs to life…
pink plastic
flyswatter
in each
hand
Almost eighty-nine and life's still a blast
How long will it continue, how long will it last
Pushing the odds
Testing the gods
Will I still be around when one hundred I pass
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