I did my time in service to their “gods”
Cold demons dressed in glowing garb
Claiming on an altar they could summon
A living “god” in bread and dinner wine
I prayed and begged forgiveness for my sins
Although so young I didn’t remember them
Prayed for souls who failed to make their case
And lingered in some “purgatory” place
Thus, did I shed the sackcloth and the ashes
Refusing to accept the stain of sins
Allegedly passed on by dear old dad
His bank account it seems still overdrawn
Each says there is but “one true god”
And argue with each other “who is right”
Congregations of spiritual hermits
“knowing” in their hearts that all are wrong
He wandered to the rim
looking over and down
Lost in a memory
his fear as a shroud
As voices from faces
that he never saw
Called out from the darkness
— with time overdrawn
(Dreamsleep: November, 2024)
Closed Account
David J Walker
The uncertain
Decimal point is real yet
Unforeseen
The last scene of the
Latest dream of a
Vague and future
happiness
The language is Pigeon
And unfamiliar
An inspiration of
Lukewarm winds
An overdrawn account
Of promised future days
Compromised and
Secured only in unsigned
Promissory notes
And yet the plan is
To retire young
While the infirm
Await their turn
To expire
To the tune of a
Closed account
Money buys
freedom
when blood’s
overdrawn
Reality’s
greed
destiny
pawns
Money buys
freedom
its truth
to bemoan
Dignity
truant
the future
— on loan
(Dreamsleep: January, 2024)
new year dawn
lines are drawn
2021 no yawn
tax withdrawn
I’m overdrawn
I’m so blessed
I confessed
to my guests
no contest
I digress
written January 14, 2022
for "What's New" Poetry Contest
sponsored by Joseph May
By a cozy little fire
‘neath a soft lit Christmas tree
I just can’t help but think about
what Christmas means to me
I think about my Mom and Dad
so thankful they’re still here
though Dad was never really one
for lots of Christmas cheer
I think about my children
all grown up and on their own
each one doing all they can
to make a happy home
I think about my husband
and how lucky I must be
of all the girls in all the world
his gifts are just for me
I think about the friends I’ve made
while most have come and gone
A bank of memories overflow
with gladness overdrawn
I think about the choices
I have made throughout my life
how each was like a stepping stone
how some were filled with strife
I think about the hard times
and the person I might be
without the love from God above
to see things differently
My heart is filled with blessings
God has given graciously
by a cozy little fire
‘neath a soft lit Christmas tree
Autumn is taking its last breath
But the leaves are all raked and gone
The bareness reminds me of death
As autumn is taking its last breath,
Cold winds blowing in, I am bereft
No cheer, [well] my account’s overdrawn,
Autumn is taking its last breath
But the leaves are all raked and gone.
The bareness reminds me of death
Cold winds blowing in, I am bereft
As autumn is taking its last breath,
But, the leaves are all raked and gone
No cheer, [well] my account's overdrawn,
But at least I can see my front lawn!
written December 12, 2021
[this is a trionet, a form I invented
to combine the triolet and the sonnet.
See New Poetry Forms.]
I was well along the graveyard shift with aces in my hand.
The cards felt right. My luck was coming on.
The pot was full of mischief, and LeBeau had seen my raise.
I assumed a bluff would leave him overdrawn.
I had two minds of opinion on the thought of throwing down.
The stakes were high, but so were my reserves.
I had just as much invested in my current twist of fate
As fortune gained on previous returns.
In the end, LeBeau lost all his cash, his pocket watch, his knife.
He mostly lost a sense of self respect.
It's with little true nostalgia I recall the night he died.
A winning hand is all I recollect.
Serenity is why I fought
The more I gave the more I got
When I was high I was low
Speed was making me incredibly slow
Now I choose a better way
On this crazy highway
Turning my will over to His
And this is simply how T’is
I want my ego gone
Before I become overdrawn
It’s the Greater Power I seek
To do His will so I have to be meek
Of the Glorious world wonder wide
On this planet I’ve allied
With people who believe in a Positive Power
So I can change from a weed into a wildflower ?
time stood still
warped hands
Dali’s painting
molten dreams
apocalypse now
surreal serendipity
digits of fate
swinging balance
warped pendulum
twisted threshold
timer of doom
fused arrest
stuck momentum
moment of pause
art in the making
disguised blessing
tar turned to gold
overdrawn credit
changing the dial
healing hands
31st October 2020
Relative of mine believes in enjoying life
Her husband earns well
But they spend all in shopping, dining and sightseeing
Lavish house well decorated
Designer clothes, car, all luxurious amenities
Their credit card is always overdrawn
Most purchases made on instalments
Few days back, her husband's right fingers became numb
Neurologist said it can be cured easily.
Operation would cost two lakh
Now she is sitting in her house clutching at straws
IT’S OVER
She did not like him at first sight;
He seemed to her a bit uptight,
Overdressed
The second date, though still not good,
His little faults she felt she could
Overlook.
So, on date three, what can I say?
She took him home and let him stay
Overnight
But she found, in the course of time,
The fellow was not worth a dime.
Overdrawn
She decided, now she knew him,
He was useless, so she threw him
Overboard
5th May 2020
Compounding Word Verse contest
Sponsor - Joseph May
The charlatans bankrupted
his checking account,
but his love was not overdrawn
Each check that he wrote,
each choice that he made,
trading ingots for righting a wrong
With credit denied
and spirit affirmed,
he continued to endorse what was real
Until bankers and lawyers
destroyed with one stroke,
his wishes—their power to steal
(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2017)
you withdraw more
than you put in
overdrawn now
yet once again
checks and balance
just won't solve
red lines, black numbers
slowly dissolve
the statement here
before your eyes
columns long
materialize
many equations
that don't add up
to what you pour
into your cup
shake your head
and start again
adding now
with paper and pen
that's when you finally
realize
the truth that's here
before your eyes
They love to sell into the dark end,
where covetous souls
plunge to the bottomless debt deep
Parrot voice chirps got the suicidal siren blasting:
Saying a lifestyle of surfeiting
is an overdrawn bank account pleasure drowning
Pirate eyes cast a silver tongue hook
of bait-and-switch repo
to the blue wails
Underwater mortgage
from a pirate lending shark loan
cause the cash minnows to prey groan
Heavy is the dropped credit anchor pain,
sinking life savings ...
Treasure chest safety net
401k disappearing
Another black pirate patch
cast a hollow gaze
False profits on the rise,
usury rescue in pocket tearing decline
Pirate eyes wink leviathan;
spearing desperate, money hungry short fins
at the bottom feeder end
Purse plunderers sale on the pirate flag
wavy death tide ...
Peering into the empty wallet
abyss dark
Where all false profits
foggy deceit hide
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