Time sits upon both of my shoulders with
white hands ticking promises right, opposite
red numerals counting down the left. Tock.
In this aging valley, this crevice dug by ambiguous stretches,
seconds trickle like months as years can flush like minutes.
An indecisive pendulum never makes a full rotation.
bleeding pendulum.
swings back and forth with force, while.
I lie on table.
Betwixt where and whose
Swings the hit and miss of life,
To win and to lose.
He whose focus’s rife
On where the mistake was made
Goes way far in life
And he who dwells on
By whom was the mistake made
Nary far hast gone.
_________________________
Senryu | 15.12.2025 | error, failure, fault, life, loss, success
Yesterday I missed you when I felt weak
Before morning’s break of day when I awoke
Recalling times we had so many stories to speak
When we would laugh and share a joke
When each other’s attention was all we’d seek
When smiles were easy with each word we spoke
Now time just passes,
And the pendulum swings...
Today I cried for the grief that I feel
Over how you’ve hidden again without a sound
I ponder if our connection was ever real
I wonder how you feel without me around
And I wish you peace but now I must heal
This pain breaks my spirit in ways so profound
Now time just passes,
And the pendulum swings...
Tomorrow the distance will be longer and lighter
And the constant battle between my head and my soul
Will only strengthen me because I am a fighter
I will patch my heart where you left a hole
And each day that passes will only get brighter
As I let go of you to make myself whole
bleeding pendulum.
swings back and forth with force, while.
I lie on table.
The pendulum screams as it slices the air,
A blurred arc of frantic, kinetic despair.
From the pole of delight to the pole of regret,
We pay down the interest on spiritual debt.
Hot bleeds to cold, and the day bleeds to night,
A binary flicker of shadow and light.
But watch for the apex, the top of the swing,
Where gravity pauses and loses its sting.
The zero-point field where the current goes dead,
Before the next thought can infect the head.
Here is the silence that deafens the ghost,
The guest uninvited who becomes the host.
The ego is hungry, a mechanism of steel,
Grinding the grist in the turn of the wheel.
It hunts for a future, it mourns for a past,
But the gap is the anchor that holds the soul fast.
In the breach of the circuit, the spark is set free,
Not what you are, but what you will be.
We hang in the balance, unmade and unbound,
Safe from the trap, where we cannot be found.
how the pendulum swings
from the perspective of a poet
a lonely poet
spewing out painful poetry
poaching prideful strangers
it's magical
and miserable
the pendulum
akin to decision-making
but I am no decision maker
I am barely a writer, even less of a poet
I thought a line came to my mind this morning
it was around 4:30am
that was the first swing
on my first day of writing in a new place
the perspective of a poet
regarding one's on poetry, writing
it's devastating, more so damaging
but by 4:30pm, a few titles came to mind (unfortunately no lines worth jotting down)
a poet's swinging pendulum
The pendulum springs, the head is cluttered
The pendulum sings, the head is fluttered
The pendulum swings, the head is levered
The pendulum stings, the head is severed
Cyclical Reminisce
Pendulum skips one bang to the bead
Triggers the feeling to turn it off lead
Allows memories to run and circulated
Reminiscing promises you once articulated
Deep in mind are the guilt and regret
Keep looking back and wanted to reset
If only not tempted, no hearts will be broken
If only not lusted, no trust will be fallen
Fridays are bluer since the day of part ways
Laughing is not better than shared as always
Messages are sent waiting for responses
Hoping to be seen even it is now nonsense
Memories suddenly comes in cyclical
The unfold pages comes in unintentional
One day the fate will surely cross again
And surely, that will never cause any pain
Mesmerized by nature’s pendulum
the rhythmic motion of the tides
I listen to the splash of waves
unfurl against the seashore
The ever undulating flow of waves
the hypnotizing sway of water
it’s the perfect appetizer before
enjoying every sunset as it falls
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Our crucial love pendulum
one day flowers and fruits
the next only loss and silence...
Written: February 24, 2025 For Brian Strand Contest
*********************
A lifetime swings good, bad, and back
Toil shows us what we lack.
Brave lessons learned
hard earned,
grasped by
how high we fly,
determined by the will
to work, whatever sweat we spill.
Note: Pendulum is an invented verse form with graduated line lengths. Etta J Murphy created it and it first appeared in Calkins' Haiku Highlights (July-August 1970). The Pendulum is an 8-line poem with a syllable count of 8/6/4/2/2/4/6/8.
Rhyme scheme: aabbccdd.
Some folks cheer, others boo
Millions celebrate, millions stew
2025: Rarely has it been so true
It's out with the old, in with the new
The pendulum had swung too far to one side
Americans aren't naturally cock-eyed
For those who moan, you’ve not long to groan
To wide swings, pendulums now are prone
I’m sitting on the edge of time
For just a disembodied pause,
While pointed hands o’er rounded chime
Obey the pendulum’s swayed cause.
Where kinetics’ course is lastly laid,
Comes forth the pointing to a door
That opens wide. Be not afraid,
I think, to thereupon explore.
And there I search the sea, in stay,
For those few drops that speak of me.
Below a crystal clouded day,
I look for cause and clarity.
But deep inside, my inner clock
Is calling forth its metered rhyme.
Inclined I am to learn like Locke,
I’m also tuned by trembling tine.
The edge of time is thinner than
The fairest maiden’s finest hair,
Yet broader is the settled plan
That puts us just exactly there.
It keeps swinging
I can't stop it
The pain hitting
I can't stop it
Is this what it is?
I can't stop it
Left to right hits
I can't stop it
Pendulum of this
I can't stop it
Life of hits
I can't stop it
Needing help in this
I can't stop it
Rap battle is it
I can't stop it
Lets start with
I can't stop it
Don't interrupt my dis
Coz i can't stop it
I'll take it easy on your tit
Seriously can't stop it
So your brood needs it
I Really can't stop it
Give up yet?
Still can't stop it
Limp buscuit?
It is -
wait it has stopped
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