Negotiating winds and raging rains
Occasional threats of nasty weather
Vigilance is the order of the day
Ensuring readiness in any foul weather conditions
My love for fall outshines the negatives
Beautiful waltz of falling leaves
Everyone in awe of the colourful foliage
Romantic autumn walks with you
AP: 3rd place 2025
A casual november sunday morning
Going to take it easy and relax
Then off to a roar
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Tasteless money, has become like honey
Drugs and all, makes them fall.
No selling of honey
and you will taste no money.
A life gone in a moment, killed by the man
You didn’t serve him; he takes a life because he can.
A gun and a pill, they use at will
No regard for a life, or a wife
They take a pill, and rape a girl
Fatherless boys, motherless girls
They live a life of drugs and pills.
Violence is the order of the day,
you respect them, but they kill anyway.
They live like an animal,
they see their own as disposable.
Life means nothing at all,
whether you stand or fall
Once a gang member,
you are going to have to remember
A life of violence and drugs,
means becoming one of these thugs.
Once you purpose is fulfilled,
there will be nothing but your blood that’s spilled.
Writing this poem in an awful plight,
I wonder when mr.nigeria would be safe and secure.
Everyone running helter-skelter,
Insecurity and kidnapping are our next door neighbours,
Social vices are becoming rampant in the society at large.
Injustice, corruption and inhuman killings are the order of the day,
People are scared and filled with fear,
Many innocent souls are lost in the struggle to live.
The masses of our land becomes poorer;
while the politicians and the rich people of the society are filled with abundance,
We need change in all aspects of our society.
But the change start from you and me
A change of the situation in our country
A change in our behaviour
I hope for a bright future for my country: Nigeria
This is my dream for Nigeria
In a world full of despairs, distrust and betrayals.
World one can not lean on nor breathe.
Sanctuaries turned to haunted abode...
Nightmares with bleak future a norm as hope
Long gone,leaves immeasurable void engulfed with Darkness and solitude. Uncertainty lies ahead,steep paths
Leads to illusion. I ask what is the way forward?
Out of this uncertainty comes a firm hand that refuses to
Align with the order of the day, a hand which saves those Who comes to it's succour,like a balm to a wounded soul.
Soothing and comforting, a hand to the drowning souls,
A hand that never fails like the Hand of the Creator.
Born in a family of 13, a tail in line but never allowed this to hamper his goal, a fulfilled being, a pillar and light that shines thru places as opaque as mercury.....
Alas! This hand like an an Angel guides lost ones to hidden hope.
Peter I. the hand that bears the burden of others. Thank you, I celebrate you.Never lose strength in doing good for your reward awaits in life and after life.
Dedicated to you Peter .I.
I see the photo and I am there,
taking the picture of my friends at
happy hour on Mabel’s porch,
Penny smiling, bare feet on railing board,
Mabel holding up her cocktail glass,
Jeannie reading a book, and Sue
just grinning for the camera.
Shorts, bathing suits, coverups,
damp sun-bleached hair order of the day.
I smell coconut sunscreen,
join the chatter and laughter,
discussing who was at the beach,
water temperature, jokes
about the wind blowing sand
into the snacks, the seagull
that snatched a ham sandwich
right from Jeannie’s hand.
The nerve of that sly bird!
Friends and neighbors passing,
walking to and from the beach,
waving, stopping to chat,
sometimes joining the fun,
every day after the beach,
before dinner, with maybe crabs
or fish caught earlier in the day,
served from the kettle or grill
onto paper plates, eaten with gusto.
I’ve moved away, to Nebraska,
nearer to our daughter and family.
Someone else lives in my beloved
Victorian with its own wide porch,
across the street from Mabel’s.
Mabel is gone now, the house
sold, different people there -
louder voices, louder music. No more
Danny Boy, Mabel’s favorite.
the most direct line to heaven ~ is to circumvent hell on the way
but will they admit you ~ for seeing the devil and swerving away
said the millionaire to his driver ~ who put his foot down anyway
By
David Kavanagh 05/06/24
Some of us grew up with words that made us think,
Words that on the blackboard came alive,
To change our lives.
The day soon came when pencils were the order of the day,
And then that special day when for a fountain pen, we could pay.
But those days are gone now I am sad to say,
As a photographic memory now is the order of the day,
With words no longer holding sway,
And a thousand words lost along the way,
For each and every photo that comes into play,
To push more words off the page each and every day.
I wonder how much we will have to pay,
If we lose the ability one day,
To think of any words to say,
As our thoughts only run to photos on display.
There is one more thing I need to say,
While words still hold some sway,
If we continue in this way,
And words are no longer on display,
How long before our voices too fade away?
And will faces without ears seem quite normal one day?
They say that God gave us parents on earth,
To care and nurture us and show us what we are worth.
Care and protection should be the order of the day,
Instead of abuse while we work or even play.
It’s quite puzzling to me how we are often treated,
Like nothing to some, broken and defeated.
How did you get to be this way?
Telling us not to do as you do but what you say?
You have failed in the role He gave you,
And you are being held accountable too.
Wise up! try and be strong,
For somewhere along the way, parents, you have gone wrong.
Choices
The choices we make
for ourselves,
often if nearly always
effect others.
The milkman is late,
breakfast is later,
the kids are
barely going to make it
to school.
The wife is sad,
the husband is mad,
and life goes on.
It is... no one's fault,
that things happen,
in the manner,
and order of the day.
Simply pray.
Stay focused,
and know,
that a smile lasts a while,
and a pout makes people
only want to shout.
Fieldwork is stellar, sexy, or strenuous and sad
Talking values, prolonging childhood
Is not for the faint hearted among S. Africa's "Coloured"
My "township" boasts about acting backward
Using walls for urination, or there on streets
Many walk all day long with beer in hand (never discreet)
We reward bad for good; kindness is meekness minus Jesus (equals: simple weakness)
Abusing drugs, kids, partners - "street privacy"?
Is the only "rule" respected by all and sundry
II
Shall I report these abuses, "shebeens" next door?
But the policing is poor, revenge usual & more
Or should I show the other cheek, God's love
Shall I continue peacemaking, or reward shove with shove?
Since Middle School I struggled with moochers, "the lazy"
To accept them, help, yet teach a better way
Humans seek peace, routines, "order" in some way
But competition fir resources, conflict
May be the real order of the day
Hence wars are welcome for profits, bottom lines!
My question: Love or lecture "them" is as old as Time
In my "coloured township," there is no "time" for both
I'm more pessimistic about human nature now, sad truth!
Silence among enemies,
Means more jobs for spies,
To see how the land lies.
Silence among friends,
Means it is time to build bridges,
Down through the ages.
Silence among Lovers,
Means less need for daily showers,
And hairdryers.
Silence in the Forest,
Means it is time for the inhabitants to find another place to stay,
As logging trucks are on their way.
Silence at work,
Means a bank holiday,
Is needed right away.
Silence in the classroom,
Means the head teacher is in today,
And lesson are the order of the day.
Silence in the kitchen,
Means Mum is out,
And Dad is incapable of helping out.
Silence in the lounge,
Means the internet is down,
And everybody is wearing a frown.
Silence in the car,
Means cell phones are on,
And any opportunity for a family sing song is gone.
Silence in the office,
Means the boss is back from playing golf,
With the village Oaf.
Silence on the court,
Means the money is not enough,
And they have all gone off in a huff.
Silence at the keyboard,
Means I can't think of another word,
So, silence will now be all that can be heard.
[Written 5 February 2003]
When you pass through a Crisis of faith
God will show you His riches through Christ
Death to oneself is linked to your situation
Confusion can bring an intrusion of truth into your life
So the protection against disorder
Can establish a border and
Can change the order of the day
The key is to pray and
Lay yourself down before the Lord!
Then, soon you know that to pass
Through a trial is to expand your territory!
The defense of God is the essence of Love!
A session of pain
Teaches you to maintain and
A crisis of faith will
Teach you that God is never late!
As a result, you will see the wonderful attributes of Jesus!
Mark Frank
Copyright 2023
Goodbye sun, hello moon, it is time
All Hallow's Evening has now arrived,
Pumpkins lit until dawn, wink sublime
Lest all flame, wax and wick be deprived
Sheeted ghosts hand in hand with witches
Go skipping in their own happy way,
The stranger, the better enriches
For it is the order of the day
Ghouls and goblins begging for a treat
Come knocking about the door in droves,
Tricking in exchange for something sweet
A thank you kindly said for sugar troves
Good olde traditions, may they never die
Halloween haunts the soul, all for fun,
A night to relive our October's gone-by
A night when happiness is yet won!
I
its funny how words contain stories
call them by the synonym, mysteries
SLAVE also has an antidote: SALVE
where SALE of humans rendered some HALVES
of what Nature's God had given ("inalienable rights")
I wrote before: SAVIOUR, spelled so,
has within its letters: 'OUR VISA' to Heaven
Kids have often said DOG and GOD are close
Or "I" am in the middle of a PiG (I am not!)
Just the Letter "i" is in the midst of letters P, i, G
So, as you awake or prepare for work, lunch, snack, or sleep
I suggest a combo of games help redirect, change our focus
From the issues of the day (We had no piped water for 10 days, and)
In sunny South Africa, LOADSHEDDING means power is rationed
So we have six hours a day of cold food and overworked diesel generators
In a digital nation, where banks do not offer much cash: phone
Or internet banking, the order of the day - and no one told my Government!
Remember then, SHALOM SHALOM - as you think of home
Whether on earth or heaven, we need lessons on keeping sane and sad-free
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