Alas, I cannot reveal much about my family as they are in the "witless protection program"
Spent my whole life learning how to survive,
Yet never quite learn how to live;
The mountains, the rivers, the wildflowers wait,
With a beauty I fail to receive.
Too short to live, too long to die;
Quite easy to be hurt, too hard to cry.
I can easily surpass violent storms,
Yet fail to fit into these social norms.
I beg of you, set me free, unbind my soul,
Let me write, roam, and sing without a role;
I do not wish to merely spend my days,
Not live a life confined to borrowed ways.
And when I die,
Please don’t cremate me;
Rather bury me in the meadows,
And sow a sunflower seed above me.
And if religion denies it,
Then burn me into ashes;
But please don’t cast me away
Into the vast sea of vain.
Plant me in those same meadows,
So I may return…
As a wildflower once again.
Why is it my fault?
Honest, I promise it really wasn't me.
I'm just an innocent bystander.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
The system asked for Candor—
as if the Soul were Grain,
to pour upon their ledger-books
in tidy rows of Pain.
But Conscience keeps a chamber—
locked, and lit within,
and answers only when it must,
and never at their whim.
They call the Silent—“Lawless,”
they brand the Quiet—“Proud,”
yet Truth will not be summoned by
a magistrate—nor crowd.
For Ethics is a Lantern—
not carried for display;
it glows in choices no one sees,
when Power turns away.
And some—who wear the Laurel—
grow tarnished in its light,
for morals bend too easily
when Influence grows bright.
So keep your Counsel, softly—
let Judgment fall where due;
Contempt is not in Silence—
but in those who silence you.
Feel my energy
& come to me.
Notice that knot
in your stomach
& know it's my breaking heart.
Rise without thought
& find your keys.
Excuse yourself
& run to me.
Fear my cooling.
Break the speed limit
to catch me awake.
Catch me thinking of you
& hoping you would come.
There are things in this life
Weighing me down it's true
There's anxiety and depression
Are some hell l go through
The part of life called living
This is the burden I bare
It would be different for me
Maybe if anyone would care
People who are close to me
Have left me to be alone
They don't like what they hear
My actions they don't condone
I've been pleading out for help
And there's no one that's near
The time is now for this to end
Death i will no longer fear
Dried-up,
___a stream___
in the moor, no-man’s land.
When a soul dares near—
a gunshot blooms
/ Red /
the barren soil
will feast on
anything.
You said amid this desert stands
—an oasis—
A land of innocence, but where you crown sins.
(Greedy, yes,
but that’s all humanity ever is.)
I begged you to point me to the shrine
yet I am left stumbling,
...blind...
Before what was left
of the roads once promised direction—
I drop
to my knees,
cracked soil tears my skin.
In no-man’s land—
there are no breaths ahead.
By mystic river's waters,
Shielding mountains, illuminating sun,
With clear jade, embrace unintentional mistakes.
Within five kowtow, seeking heavenly
Kindness beneath.
Just like this, Fuqin kowtow five times to,
'Mountain outside the family' and 'Dragon king'
To embrace the 'iron flower', protect her
And let drop of water washes away the mistake.
~Byeol
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Fuqin: father
Mountain outside family: in-laws
Dragon King: daughter husband
Iron flower: daughter
Let drop of water washes away mistake: forgive unintentional mistakes
Explanation: this poem highlights the cultural and historical context of many Asian countries
Where in-laws family are revered as equivalent to or given as much respect like dieties.
Just as people bow 5 time to river, mountain and sun to seek protection and forgiveness for unintentional mistakes,the father bows 5 time to in-laws and husband. This gesture show the immense respect required of bride family towards groom family in historic times.
My country is very strategic in nature
I'm asking for our leaders to act decisively
Make my country to be the center of business
My country is situated in the midst of Asian corridors
Let my country stand politically and economically
Free from foreign intervention and bad influences
My country is predominantly a Christian nation
Let God be the center of our people and nation
Leaders must act on immediate and long term solutions
Let my people love and care for my nation.
If duckling, piglets and puppy
Live, eat and slept together
No fussing, growling or barking
Why can't humans get along with each other.
We are all God's jam, an Earthling humans
Why can't we live in friendship, unmindful
Of color of skin, religion, nationality, please...
Have peace, love, kindness to everyone.
BELIEVING PLEADING AND PRAYING-
So I am receiving a thought
That I love humanity,
And in this thought, like God we’re one
What do not want anybody lost?
For in Him when we turn around
In Him we are graced and redeemed
BELIEVING PLEADING AND PRAYING
That none of His children be lost
~
And before I go to sleep
Thinking each and every moment
I believe
As I ask myself
So do I pray for this His people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them
Do I believe and plead when I pray
BELIEVING PLEADING AND PRAYING
That none of His children be lost
~
Or do I ask in forgiveness mercy Lord Father God set a petition from mine heart
Is my prayer even heard I will not hear them in the time that they cry out
Cry out
O cry out to the Father that’s in heaven
BELIEVING PLEADING AND PRAYING
That none of His children be lost
~
Because of their trouble, my Jesus has nailed their sin unto the cross
That none of His children be lost
BELIEVING PLEADING AND PRAYING
That none of His children be lost
8/16/2024
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2024©
she dresses in Victorian clothing
stands with wind in her face
Holding her lacy umbrella
staring into the gorgeous horizon
willing her lost love to return
praying and pleading now
Abraham pleaded with God for Sodom's salvation
Lot prayed for his very life with the cancellaton of
Tzohar's elimination *
Lot's prayers were accepted, the righteous Avrahams were rejected
At first glance astonishing, until more closely inspected
Abraham's concern was that justice be done
So, while God refused to save the city, Avraham felt he'd won
Lot prayed for his very life, along with the rescue of Tzohar
If G-d rejected his prayers, he could go nowhere
His back to the wall, Lot cried out to God from sheer fright
Who listened and saved Lot from his personal plight
_____________________________________________________
*Tzohar was a small town near Sodom where Lot sought refuge.
According to Rabbi Nachmanides, however, God had also
scheduled it for elimination (along with Sodom and Gomorrah).
For those of us who can't eat pork
or non-kosher birds, like a stork
We've suffered for decades reading Green Eggs 'n Ham, 'n
Dr. Suess, please change that Ham, 'n to Sam, 'n
Call me whenever you
Feel like the summer wind
Whenever you listen to
Birds on a sandy shore
Call me sometime and
tell me where you have been
and I’ll listen, listen,
listen and so much more
call me whenever you
feel like you need a friend
whenever you listen to
love songs that you adore
Call me sometime and
tell me how you have been
and I’ll listen, listen,
listen and so much more
Your voice can carry me
Way beyond where mortals dare
Above the din, where love comes in
Call me whenever you
Feel like the world will end
Whenever you listen to
Sad news and words of war
Call me sometime and
tell me you’re listening
and I’ll listen, listen,
listen and so much more
Call me whenever you
Believe I am the one
Who’ll see you through
Whenever you want love
And nothing more
Call me sometime and
Tell me you’re listening
And I’ll listen, listen,
Listen and so much more.
Call me, call me, call me
I’m listening.
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