In these troubled times may we all be blessed to be optimists
with all the sadness and heartache each day we’re suffering from
because optimists know the difficulties we have ahead of us
but believe they can be overcome
binary self-will
I could never quite do it
leaving escape clause
in analogue equation
go with 1, just once, all-in
perception sees beyond reality
interprets to the best of its ability
optimism keeps fire burning in one’s heart
while pessimism gleefully tears everything apart
instead of being boggled with the mundane
romance fills our days with wonder and champagne
a dusting of fantasy does wonders to cast a spell
kicks life up a notch and that’s no bagatelle
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Submitted on July 5, 2025 for contest 1394 sponsored by BRIAN STRAND - Honorable Mention
TANKA Contest //Sponsored by: Brian Strand
Contest Judged: 9/18/2025 12:21:00 AM
( 9th Place )
Written: June 26, 2025
Walls soft as the sky,
scatter courage, let it fall,
mistakes are doorways
sprinkle laughter through the air,
hearts grow wide and curious.
we plan our future
but have not added our broken leg
Bam!
Ouch!
Things change fast
We begin to heal
filled with optimism
We can still reach our goal
a temporary side road
we replan, replenish, rehearse
Refocus on our future
Car wreck!
What?
We’re hospitalized and helpless
Rehab takes a long time
Depression might set in
We are disabled, disillusioned and disheveled
Is there a glimmer of hope?
Can we continue our path?
Some of us cannot go on
These souls have not rallied, refreshed or regrouped.
Despair holds them down in the ditch of the side road
Most of us can continue
The luckiest ones find strength and stories in the side roads
Understanding that the goal is not the future,
The journey is the test
and the road we have travelled for a reason.
We are the optimists, and we do well
Some time just before the sunset,
When the butterflies were gone,
The moon was on its way,
There was no eclipse, but it felt that way
When there was darkness all around,
A beam entered in their life,
Turning the time around,
With 11:11, no longer on the clock
Beneath the sun's glaze, we often turn blind eye,
While seeing the perspective through the moon's eye,
We often forget to see from whom it borrowed that light
But the sun will always set right?
The moon will come again too,
For we will always appreciate the moon
Who will appreciate the sun for giving up its youth?
In this day and time I’m grateful for optimism:
With so many things happening in the world…
so many wars and prejudices and daily threats…
optimism is understanding tomorrow is a new day…
with no mistakes within it yet.
there is beauty where i look
some days i need to look harder
i used to wake up and taste the promise
of wonder and magic in the air
now it's more of a daily struggle
maybe the connections have become rusty
perhaps life just wore me down
but optimism is truly worth the struggle
spring is the proof that nature is forgiving
it's willing to wipe the slate clean
with winter snows on then off again
hoping that mankind will have grown up
and decided to be much more respectful
AP: 2nd place 2025
Breathe me in the air,
You will then know what is fair,
As life is just not same,
To one and all-But all your griefs I can tame.
I come to give you joy,
Which you can then enjoy,
I come without any fee,
As you can get me for free.
All you need is your mind,
To think about me and be kind,
Then I will win your heart,
And will stick to it like a stuck-chart.
"To make pearls out of grit
is to make sorrow and hardship a thing of beauty"
I can change him she said
Her name is Monica
She planned to change her last six beaus
Did her best too
None of them changed
Her optimism is applaudable
But not contagious
Wouldn’t it be easier to date a beau she does have to change?
Charming and serious, communications between
the fairy and dragonfly, compete for a child’s attention.
—Poet
A rustic sky, out of bound;
Humans see ethereally.
Teeniest fairy, on sunshine round,
children find touchy-feely.
On warmest bed of optimism,
in her red-pink gown, wings sans sound.
She entertains, charms with witticism.
Steely-dragonfly’s profound.
Supernal what-ifs sifted.
Human children understand, for
the tiniest while, the world’s gifted.
Blue eyes gaze sunflower’s core.
Verdant leaves cocoon, sway in breeze.
Amidst the seeds, mobile lifted,
innocent, before the birds’ and bees’
fluttering lashes shifted.
First, I would dine on a bowl of sunshine
To spark my day and give
the energy I would surely need.
Next, a dish of work would suffice
To save me from idleness and drive me
To do something a little worthwhile.
Then, I’d have a serving of rest--
A time to meditate or reflect
Before, or even after, a day of work.
I would pick each letter of each word
With my fingers, savor it, turn it
In my mouth with my tongue,
Feel how it melts or crumbles,
Taste the subtle differences in flavor,
And then down everything
With a half-empty cup, oh no,
A half-full cup, rather, of optimism.
If I didn’t have these for breakfast,
I wouldn’t be able to carry my feet
To the door; I’d just stay at home,
Do nothing while the world passes me by.
I’d be sluggish and useless because
Sunshine is energy,
Work is a reason for living,
Rest is contentment,
And optimism is that wonderful feeling
That somehow things will turn out right….
And bright.
November 12, 2024
Baguio City
As long as I see the sky, I know gemmed sparkle ~ follows dogged blues.
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