The little gnome-like Rumpelstiltskin
spun straw into gold thinking he'd win
the queen's infant child
but then got so riled
when she spoke his name, to his chagrin!
In the story Little Red Riding Hood
(woods full of danger, a basket of food),
the hungry wolf, big and bad,
a reprehensible cad,
was outwitted by a maiden so good!
The cradle of three of the biggest faiths
Rocked by the claim one agenda stakes
Locked and loaded and ready for war
With righteous blessings for terror and gore
Sentiments civilities and landscapes pitted
All of human decency finally outwitted
How glad I could be if, like the teaching of the Gita
I can renounce the fruits of each of my tireless labour.
Being a long way from the perfection of Lord Krishna
Midst lost gifts, I'd seek my son's note that I value greater
As boyish, buoyant naughtiness navigated his road
Fun and frolic outwitted his fervour for true wisdom.
Roaming carefree, like a hippy, his youthful trails he trod
My hopes for him were hushed like the glows of a broken prism.
He grew up with his mother dead; I was his all in all.
My chides pierced his heart, which, I know, might be like a knife.
Like a gipsy, with a note, he left; didn't write or call.
That precious note is lost; I feel as though I've lost my life.
Silver, gold, or gems would never match a paternal bond.
Though in the travails of time, bonds tend to fly far beyond
I've kept telling friend Elvis:
Belt secure across pelvis:
For chest that could hit the dashboard,
When crashes the car we board;
For the shocks from collision
That sometimes end Man's Mission;
Across his upper thigh fitted,
No fears of being outwitted;
Crash's worst forces withstanding
Their impacts not withstanding...
Seat belt for traveller's life
Achieves this without true strife;
Against jolts worse than a knife:
Traveller safe with his wife!
Yet,the wrongly adjusted
Had never safety boosted:
To still earn him"Cool Arrest"
Or a cop's glare,not the best.
Midst his playfulness,
I could find gracefulness;
Midst pugnacity,
Great amicability;
Bravery wrapped in fear,
Foolishness enveloped cheer;
He chased rats and cats,
And humans he thought burglars;
His irritability outwitted sociability,
Aggressiveness withstood passivity;
Seeming treachery,
Couldn’t hide his loyalty;
It’s hence when he died for me,
To protect me from an accident to be;
Words like defender or Savior,
I found, could never define his behavior...
11 January 2022
Road Runner escaped the cleverest traps
Because he had no known handicaps
Outwitted, outsmarted at every turn,
His nemesis would sigh, doing a slow burn.
Wile E. Coyote was determined to destroy
Road Runner by using every available ploy,
But the tricky bird was ever so clever
Always escaping by pulling the lever.
written August 28, 2021
Sisyphus. The Might.
Death now humiliated,
chained by mortal king,
will you remain with the dead ?
No. This is not yet your realm.
Sisyphus. The Craft.
Hades now outraged,
outwitted by mortal king,
do you yet deceive the dead ?
Yes. Such remains your realm.
Sisyphus. The Hill.
Zeus, now intercede,
chastise the mortal king,
will his eternity be spared ?
No. Such is not his reward.
Sisyphus. The Heft.
Might fades, craft fails,
contrite the mortal king,
is the futility to endure ?
Yes. Such is his reward.
Sisyphus. Now Fall.
19th July 2020
Expeditious plus instantaneous fox,
apt o'er daredevil weathering, parts his lair,
ingeniously resourceful, and nevermore...
~~to be outwitted,
A lackluster canine, faults, near some stillness
of his stoop, peering somewhat from droopy sights
that influence his realm ... dropped at points from his
~~elongated snout,
Heydays concerning happenings, abandoned
diverse anecdotes from a dog sovereignty
when challenged through a fox determination
~~engaged fraught dispute,
Lacks nurtures endurance, sequence marks a fox,
the dog's yoke weighs domestically heavy--
*"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"
~~end fox versus dog.
He is outstandingly out-of-bounds
asserted the outlandishly outspoken outlaw
He can outshoot, outtrump and outride you.
He is outrageously outranked, the tenderfoot replied.
But he did feel outsparkled and outvalued.
And a little bit on the outs...
The outsized outsister tried to sooth the tenderfoot
but she was an unfamiliar outsider and not totally respected
So they both ended up being outwitted and outslickered
by the outspoken outlaw who outsmarted them
The outlaw’s outlandish gang outroared their protests
Making them both feel outclassd and out-of-sorts.
Al the plumber was in such a funk
He's outwitted by a pesky skunk
He got called out at night
to such an awful sight
Critter stuck in a drain, how it stunk!
1-3-19
Submitted for limerick contest
Sponsor: Joseph May
Theme Chosen: Plumber
I have a lovely daughter, who is a lovely mess,
for every rule you give her, she will have to test.
She’s always just inside the lines or balanced on the top.
She loves to challenge all the rules to see how they will flop.
My favorite of her hurdles was the school uniform,
and she was delighted to best this strict form of norm.
A uniform would be an insult to her fashion sense.
As her mother, I suspected the rules would soon be mince.
She wore exactly what they said: khakis, belt, white top.
You've probably guessed, though thusly dressed she did not stop.
Smiling like an actress in a play,
she wore a striped scarf with red beret.
Her belt was wide and trendy,
her shoes, black boots to knee.
A voguish olive blazer was her “coat.”
Stylishly outfitted
and with the rules outwitted,
the books she carried seemed a lighter tote...
The "book bag," after all, was a fabulous new purse!
and...
Her creative conformity sent the principal to the nurse.
There is something to be learned here, as I reflect on this bright girl.
Without the rules before them, there’d be no rebels in the world.
11/2/2018
Why do you go through the things you do?
Does some strange spirit have some claim on you?
It’s gotta be love
It’s gotta be love
How are you standing still on those coals?
Doesn’t the pain just burn through the soles?
It’s gotta be love
It’s gotta be love
A promise of gold at the end of the rainbow
A lighthouse’s glow in a deep, dark ocean
Must be somethin’ that keeps us sustained-o
That keeps our sad hearts full of devotion
Yeah, it’s gotta be love
How do you deal with that man of yours?
He’s got you black-and-blue on all fours –
It’s gotta be love
It’s gotta be love
And that leathery woman who whips you in black –
What stops you from taking your dignity back?
It’s gotta be love
We are so sad and so lost
But that’s the condition
Looking for suitable partners
in times of transition
Our theories outwitted,
our muscles outmatched in submission
That’s gotta be love
Why do you settle for that drunken louse,
Who keeps you chained up and tied to that house?
It’s gotta be love
It’s gotta be love
Baby, I miss those times that we had
What’s the secret to suffering through all the bad?
It’s gotta be love
Yes, indeed
set on lily pad
dragonfly cautiously flies
rapid long tongue snaps
3/10/2018
Who names a traitor? I will name a heart,
For hearts alone forsake the sought-for good.
The Captain Will surveys his seaman’s chart
To plot a course to guide his ark of wood.
Yet he forgets each sailor is a man.
‘Gin mortal foes a man be brave and strong.
Whoso is valiant, bid him join the van
To prove his manhood in the battle throng.
Yet, what fears that combatant beset,
Who, standing lone and single in the ring,
Beholds the trident and ensnaring net
Of him that is the ocean tempest’s king?
Aye, some outwitted Neptune’s rocks and ire,
Yet perishèd. What man resists the siren’s lyre?>
"and, as treason begins in the heart, before it appears in overt-acts, so he accused you as a traitor on that account, and therefore insisted you should be put to death" Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels, Chapter VII
6/5/17
Having separate decisions
And on our own missions
Seeing a different image
Me and boy got in a scrimmage
Like it was a privilege
Following or going against traditions
Whether or not believing in religions
On a planet with high gas emissions
And so many opinions
It may be unscripted
Or need to be encrypted
Not going to be the one who quitted
Or is getting continually outwitted
Going to always help kindred
Before and/or after dirt was sifted
Got into another skirmish
With those that didn't want to see me flourish
So earnest
To put me underneath currents
Or inside a furnace
But I was more than ready for any deterrents
And unwilling to give up on purpose
Above or below the Earth's surface
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