my animals overdressed for Christmas Eve
the bat wore mistletoe on his left sleeve
cat and giraffe dressed like Santa that day
Reindeer kept running around hauling a red sleigh
tabby brought peppermint and was dressed in holly
giraffe wore blinking bubble lights that were overly jolly
flamingo was ridiculous, dressed like a drag-queen elf
crow had never looked more unlike herself
zebra and penguin came in wearing a fake carrot nose
they brought in tinsel, frost, and a wheelbarrow of snows
I was frustrated that they had all gone overboard again.
Luckily I was the only one with a white beard on my chin.
At first glance, time had stopped.
The air felt light, a sweet scent followed the current.
A solar flare, there she stood.
Weeks of dreading, months of pondering.
Years of emotional tournament.
Was it all worth it?
Sleepless nights, mental starvation.
Loathing for that bright light,
always a little out of reach.
Freezing forests,
traces of growth exterminated.
Black skies weep droplets of sorrow.
Always too early, and always too late.
A path that splits in two,
yet I’m always walking a familiar road.
An uninspired rhythm,
a melody lacking any hint of beauty.
It's nothing more than noise.
Born to follow my heart,
I can’t endure the harsh tune of hers.
It was always bad timing.
Underdressed and bold, overdressed and vulnerable.
There has always been an unspoken truth.
With wings clipped, unable to fly away.
Blood embedded in the snow, bones pierced.
Break through this barrier and reclaim the sky.
Soar as high as you want, my friend.
A galaxy heart, free to explore the universe.
Go, be at peace.
Sydney Sweeney
looks good in a gown or bikini.
Standing out from the rest,
you can't say she's overdressed.
According to this reporter,
she's a house of brick and mortar.
I once took my mother’s pearls
and wore them to kindergarten.
I wanted to look like an
Adult—
a word now bitter on my tongue.
In playgrounds, we believed
in monsters—
now we drink with them,
learn their masks,
mirror their smiles...
We say growing up means
ties with clips and red-bottom heels
when really
it's just learning—
to shed off sincerity,
so adulthood can
grow wings
threaded
with histories we never told.
In the shedding,
we never asked—
if the silk unraveling from our backs
meant we escaped—
or just overdressed
for the fall.
jungle governor green, respectable robin egg blue
beyond banana mania, periwinkle too
brisk bluebonnet, French fuchsia and plum
tickle me pink, where did you come from?
wild strawberry, chesterfield on my swollen lips
radical red, overdressed orange wearing two slips
midnight blue, outer space light saver green
a few crayon colors at one time in a box seen.
The powerhouse of rain, insane but nice.
A liquid ray compared to so-so lot.
The sun still hides but does have fun to soak
the neighborhood whose streets do wash away
the glum. It’s better than the dreary haze.
I’ll graze upon its drums and sip the sound.
The Winter’s chill abates. I’m overdressed.
I’ll wear sweat shirt, thin socks; still stay inside.
The caterpillar sun will show its face.
Evolving moon will find its place at dusk.
Humongous Egos
Miracle Man
3/18/2023
We all know someone so full of themselves,
they think their opinion is all that counts.
That the last word spoken is always theirs,
And every conversation the friction mounts.
Many think having money, position, or fame,
means the world evolves around them.
But they don’t see self through the eyes of others,
Lest some of their ways they’d condemn.
"Imagination is the highest kite that one can fly"
Lauren Bacall
“If you’re all wrapped up in yourself,
you are overdressed.”
The Wedded Unmother
A fine day in Cascais
A beautiful spring day in Cascais, the centre full of people
which I found a little disturbing.
We moved slowly on old legs like weather bitten barges
in a sea of jubilant racing boats.
It was warm, down by the sea, and we were overdressed.
My wife’s niece had the patience of an angle adjusted her
strides to our gaits, not easy I’m sure she is a picture of
healthy living.
We had lunch, theirs was fish, I settled for a Greek salad
no wine though knows from experience unless you by
a full bottle, the wine served individually in glasses tend
to be inferior to the residue of bottled wine of dubious taste.
We drank beer, and the healthy niece stuck to water.
Fragments of 1972
David J Walker
I carry the year 1972
in a leather messengers bag
That sags and strains the strap from my
shoulder to my hip
and I claim
to open it only
once a year at midnight
but that is a malleable lie
that has
morphed as I have aged
Have you ever raged at a minor
Injustice
Do you trust your minister to dispense
Only the holy truth
Are you glad that you are not
A traffic cop
Directing traffic
Do you believe you can solve the world’s problems
By inviting everyone
One at a time
To be your neighbor
Do you ever see yourself as the antithesis
Of a solution
To a problem that
You were the only one
Who didn’t know
My calendar is a fragmented rag and has lost
The first week of
January
including next Wednesday
When I go back there I feel
Overdressed and
Out of place
I´m watching a Spanish crime series
not a gun in sight and the female detective looks normal
and not like an overdressed American actress.
But I´m thinking of the election tomorrow does it matters
who wins, if it is Biden the rough language will change
but policies will be more or less the same.
The USA is run by the big corporation they prefer the way it is.
They are wrong though, America is raked by violence armed fraction everywhere, and I don´t know who they are.
I remember Biden saying once he was a zionist, this I think
he does not know what it entails.
I look at the TV series it appears the female detective, with the help of a male detective, has solved the crime.
New Corvin restriction we can´t go out, not that it matters
I have bought new leather shoes, and they hurt when stepping on a zionist
Surely we are all voting for Piggly Wiggly Squiggly she said.
She was dressed delightful, but obviously touched in the head.
Yes, we are all voting for the same person, I agreed at once.
I always like to agree right away with an overdressed dunce.
And who are you voting for? She prodded, her fat neck protruding.
I vote by secret ballot, I told her. So my ideas will not be annoying or intruding.
She did not get this and proceeded to tell me about Piggly Wiggly Squiggly.
The woman across from me caught my eye, and we both became giggly.
Whatever is so funny? The woman with too much make up asked.
At that second she was annoying me even more, for she was unmasked.
Let’s all put on our masks, I suggested boldly, loud and clear.
She let out a shriek and ran off, for it would take away her rights in here.
Did I do something wrong? I asked the woman across the way.
Her eyes were dancing. She looked like a friend who could play.
I think you annoyed her because you would not tell her your vote.
Hopefully the next time we meet, it will be virtually, and remote.
A masterful dilemma;
Did I mention;
The contention;
Dead overdressed pallbearers;
6 figures;
Un moving vigour;
Did I mention;
Unloved catfished;
Make a wish;
Counterfit;
The dead bury the dead;
Harness harvesting bread;
Only six guest witness;
Last super calls;
Dinner is now served;
Where is the host;
Conducting a roast?
This contention a...
Masterful dilemma;
6/20/20
written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2020
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
There’s always one drunk at the dinner party; an embarrassing shame
Ne’er to be invited back again
It doesn’t complement the tortured duck foie gras crackers
And the sinfully boring conversations lamenting benefit scrounging slackers
Everyone else is clunkily overdressed, not to mention, anxious and stressed
Even the halibut’s looking depressed.
The darling children all love to whinge
The chubby husbands are all thinner on Hinge
I drain the whisky bottle, and the host hands me some tea
It’s happened again; I guess the drunk must be me.
Evie H
What is me...misery...imbedded deep within
Buried at the bottom of a heart drenched in sin
Washed in doubt, turned inside out, nowhere to begin
Left alone, my unhappy home with silence as my friend
Unable to grasp how to act left borrowing the pain
Overdressed within distress and nothing left to gain
Down each cheek, water weeps, leaving a snails stain
Unable to sleep, incomplete, insanity grips what's sane
What is me...misery...company no one keeps
Eyes open, red rimmed, tired, but still never sleeps
At the slightest intrusion the miserable me only weeps
Slowly every passing second throughout me it creeps
Everything looked upon is envisioned to only depress
Even the happiest of moments cause unneeded stress
Killing all other emotions now already dead more or less
Nothing left, for my misery has become a miserable mess
For Poetry Contest: "Misery" 12/29/18
Hosted by: Edward Ibeh
Placed 2nd in Contest Results
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