Perfunctory Poems | Examples


List of Member Poems

Premium Member Perfunctory

           Are we just going 
         through the motions
          with our devotions?
            Don't be a clod
         but walk as God trod

Premium Member How a Perfunctory Poet Punctuates a Piece

A period here. a question mark there?
A handful of commas,,,tossed in the air
To fall all willy-nilly but he doesn't care.
Then he closes his eyes so he never sees,
And does it again with apostrophe's.

Next colons: and semis; are put through their paces,
And are frequently found in the oddest of places.
Quotations are more than just dressing or stuffing,
Yet often appear when "nobody said nuffing".

It makes reading a chore just to try to adhere
To a writer's directions of what to do where,
But you barrel on through 'til you get to the end,
Give your eyes time to uncross,
And then try it again.

Some poets abjure punctuation, for sure,
And though not a big fan,
I'm a reasonable man.
e e cummings, for example,
Responds to the call
By using little or no punctuation at all.

Author's note: To quote the author Cormac McCarthy: "If you write properly you shouldn't have to punctuate." Poets such as e e cummings, et al, apparently took him up on that. Please understand, dear reader, that this piece is punctuated incorrectly to make a point. And I blush to admit that I, myself, am overly fond of "quotation marks" and…ellipses.

Premium Member Perfunctory

It's time that you were disabused,
of notions that I am bemused,
but if you feel I am confused,
it will not leave my ego bruised.
I hope that I can be excused;
it seems my muse simply refused.
‘Obligatory’ has been used…


Perfunctory At Best

No romance, just mating
Perfunctory at best,
No love, just procreating,
No need to line the nest.

No artistic self expression
Just a path from a to b,
A monosyllabic procession,
Mental catastrophe.

Constricted imagination
Creativity windblown,
A fallow field's stagnation
No seeds of beauty sown.

In single files our minds
March to a humdrum beat,
Originality left behind
Our dreams around our feet.







Entry for
If there was no poetry Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Silent One
21/1/2020.Placed =2nd.

Narrow Minded and Perfunctory

Narrow Minded and Perfunctory

Is short-sighted, narrow minded and perfunctory,
And then Trump inserted lies into his each story;
A weird sort,
Someone did abort;
Only President permanently remaining in purgatory.

Which is worse. Tower of Babel or Tower of Trump
in a golden shower in a dossier.


Jim Horn

Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.

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