I'm suffocating,
do not resuscitate me.
Reality has become an adversary,
silently sinister, slowly suckling my energy.
If the morning light doesn't steal my soul,
my final breaths will write a story in the fog,
revealing secrets I can't speak of.
Spilling the ink to fill in the blanks,
suppressed emotions are a reminder,
about how I don't belong here,
nor an island surrounded by toxic fences,
fabricated by fiendish fraudulent friends.
I'm colder than this home,
abandoned by the abandoned
in an acidic aquarium,
where sharks prey upon sea urchins.
My heart is a foreigner without a dwelling,
arteries too lethargic to spread love.
Too disgusted to breathe,
the mirror reflects as my nemesis.
My welcome is overstayed,
black faces, darker than darkness,
giggle, hiding in the background,
their sharp teeth dripping in crimson drops,
as I try to cover freshly ruptured wounds.
But I'm content, so I keep bleeding,
hoping to become a forgotten entity.
Unwelcome Guests
(Arthritis, Bursitis, Tendonitis, Gout)
Miracle Man
10-11-2023
The “rItis” boys came to visit,
and their welcome overstayed.
My futile efforts to evict them,
they always downplayed.
Arth, Burs, and Tendon,
that very unpleasant three.
Were always reluctant to leave,
before the ravaging of me.
For pain I gave each points,
on occasion they brought a shout.
They all attacked my joints,
but none compared to Gout.
Joy dances in even to the bereft
She cracks my frown with a tango
Then she leaves my house swept
Joy is a hummingbird trapped indoors
Her iridescence lights up all my grime
Usher her out before I’m enamored
But, happiness is like fish overstayed
His cloying perfume overpowered
He is a rhino to her phoenix raised
Sometimes joy is an elephant
Hiding under a tablecloth snickering
She exits invisibly like an ant
Sometimes she’s Mary Poppins waltzing
Scrubbing a spot that I cannot dirty
Sprinkling a spoon full of sugar on salt
A lifetime of joy waltzing in wears me out
Then happiness retires to a piece of furniture
I’ll give her a ticket to dance and not pout
Someday when I am old and feeble
Too tired of laying ashes down
I’ll let joy lift my frown with needles
I’ll let her cat sit on my lap untamed
When I’m too demented to sully joy
I’ll let joy feast upon my remains
Till then I’ll leave the door ajar
** Luke 12:36
"Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks."
Perching on a fencepost, the meadowlark calls
in sweet trilling tones like a solo marimba.
I mimic her voice and watch her curiosity
as I stroll among the goldenrod and yarrow,
the pathway winding through a welcoming maze
of autumn wildflowers wanting to be noticed
before the cold north wind nips their heads
and turns golden brown their long-legged stems.
The sweet scent of summer honeysuckle lingers
though their bright orange blossoms are gone,
but I still faintly hear the rapid fluttering wings
of hummingbirds who overstayed their welcome,
hurriedly fleeing before October’s chilly breath.
Touching the raspy edges of a Queen Anne’s Lace,
I pluck a stem or two for a neglected vase.
My heart smiles contentedly.
I long to see the meadow white with early snow.
Written December 9, 2022
Submitted to "Still-Life Autumn Scene" Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Eve Roper
So, you thought that you could play your game forever?
Thought you had power over me?
You exist on this planet because I let you.
You exist on this planet because of me.
I’ve seen you parasites before and I will see iterations again.
But don’t think that you own the law when the earth asks me to step in as a friend.
Your welcome is now overstayed.
Don’t think that some divine power will help you now you’ve an enemy of nature made.
I control the power of the seas and the oceans.
I control the power of the moon and the sun.
I control the powers of extinction.
You’re a speck in my history.
You thought that you owned me.
You thought that you could control me…
you thought wrong.
Always proceed with hope,
Living is walking on a rope,
Do trusting there is scope,
Every journey has a slope!
Troubles teach you a lesson
And make you a strong person,
You are defeated for a reason,
Pursue to create a victory-season!
Give up never at all my comrade,
Just because success is delayed,
He who has hopefully overstayed,
Is by success never disobeyed!
A fool retreats
After facing defeats,
A wise man repeats
And does great feats!
If soon success so easily arrives,
Take-it-easy-policy man derives,
After hard-work, if he thrives,
His guts and hope, he revives!
I slowly slip out from your
warm bed unnoticed
stretching here and there
in search of my clothes in the dark
trying not to wake you
from your slumber
then i whisper in your ear
that i love you, but i must leave
for I've overstayed my welcome
in your arms
as your love for me has faded
with the passing of the time
our secret romance
coming to an end
and i refuse to believe it
was all in my head
Go away, Today,
You have overstayed your stay.
You think you're tough,
We've had enough it's been rough,
It's time to go.
Go now,
We can't allow
This bedlam to last,
You've had your day,
Just vanish, we say
Be a memory of our past.
Shove off!!
Oh! you've acquired a cough,
From someone you infected.
How do you feel?
Do you feel ill?
Has Human breath been detected,
A virus in you,
That is new?
Caught, from a human being,
It's our breath that causes your death,
We can't believe what we are seeing,
A vicious virus,
Is not desirous,
To anyone on Earth.
We've invented a puffer,
A virus snuffer,
That will kill and stop future births.
As we wave goodbye,
We all breathe a sigh,
All feeling very chuffed,
Who would have thought we'd kill the virus,
Who was so desirous,
With a Super Sniffer Puff.
Color of sun..darkens in shade.
Color of leaves..wither and fade.
Color of spring...never overstayed.
Color of life. .greys. .betrayed.
Reflections shimmer... the glass of solitude.
A kaleidoscope heart... colors in multitude.
Dated 21st April 2019
Rithimus Divisa Poetry Contest of Gregory R Barden
Originally Submitted on September 8th, 2018 to the "Colored Memories Poetry Contest" sponsored by Craig Cornish, and placed 10th
This is a "Rithimus Divisa", taken from the poem "Colorblind Dreamscape", written on September 8th , 2018.
Oh no! What are YOU doing here?
I haven’t seen you in a year!
But I’m sure it’s perfectly clear,
I’m still red-dress fabulous, Dear!
You thought you could steal my spotlight?
You sauntered in like it’s your right.
But now you know, it's no fair fight—
I’m red-dress fabulous, tonight!
Surely you see, it’s my parade!
You’ve been upstaged. You’ve been out played!
And now your welcome’s been overstayed,
there in my red-dress-fabulous shade!
It's getting late and you should fly-
I bid you, red-dress-fabulous Good-bye!
January 15, 2019
Poem of the Day ~ January 17, 2019
White chalks.. on the glossy blackboard.
Black and White. .all matte and bored.
Technicolour scribbles. ..the world explored.
Vivacious markers...splashes the white board.
The aura of colors..the magical power.
Light mesmerising...the dull in cower.
Crayons and lipsticks..palettes of brush.
Vintage memories..in bookshelves flush.
Color of sun..darkens in shade.
Color of leaves..wither and fade.
Color of spring...never overstayed.
Color of life. .greys. .betrayed.
Reflections shimmer... the glass of solitude.
A kaleidoscope heart... colors in multitude.
Chameleon thoughts...in silence argues.
A 'Colorblind Dreamscape'...
the mind imbues.
8th September 2018.
Colored Memories Poetry Contest
sponsored by Craig Cornish
Protesting late arrival of spring
This long winter's been lingering
Seriously overstayed its welcome
Not leaving till it's warm and sunny
I’m staying indoors to shout and pout
AP: Honorable Mention 2020
Posted on March 14, 2018
Tall tale conveyed
A little like a charade
Was about a mermaid
Partook in a parade
Long golden hair in braid
Eyes brilliant of gems inlaid
Seated on a throne of jade
Draped in seaworthy brocade
She was beautifully portrayed
While her graceful horses neighed
They passed by a colourful arcade
Enchanted was she by a serenade
Suddenly craved a wild exotic escapade
Ran off with an attractive mate in mascarade
Thought he’d treasure her heart soft as suede
But quickly the wondrous fantasy decayed
Realizing she’d been misplayed
Heartbroken and betrayed
She’d been remiss and overstayed
With much reason to be afraid
Perilously parched if further delayed
She urgently made her way through the glade
To the closest waterfall cascade
Moral of the story aptly made
When you’re a mermaid
Guest in a parade
Whether paid or unpaid
Do not cross the barricade
Submitted on October 3, 2020 for contest SECOND CHANCES NA POEMS of 2020 sponsored by CHANTELLE ANNE COOKE - RANKED 6TH
and on October 2, 2020 for contest YOUR BEST UNCLAIMED POEM sponsored by JOHN HALMILTON
Originally posted on February 20, 2018
If you told us how to wear
Our smile, our dress, our fear,
Our stories or our hair
If you blamed us for your fists
Or if you blames us for your stare
You have overstayed your welcome
Because the way you held me last night
Faded into elastic animosity
Your hands conjoined with
This lustful grind,
Bringing me to a dilapidated heaven
But, you forgot to believe in Him.
You sucked off the beliefs of
Yesterday’s fulfilling lie
…
Now these truths you prayed for
Come undone
Watching
Waiting
For this burdened error
To tell you lies
Tell you sweet, little lies
While you caress validations’ gavel
Wishing I would collapse
Under the grasp of another scheming
Photographic smile
As words become defeated cries
Oh, my sweet little cries
Of an inflated tomorrow
Just to pleasure your flaccid hopes
For how ugly
You wished for my smiles
Oh, my sweet little smiles
To be
Your fantasied hips
Will dance with my
Empowering lips,
No longer
For this scattered tongue
Overstayed its welcome
And your vindicated landscape
Will never be the final word
In how beautiful I truly am
Inside
©D.J.E.
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