A prince who’d been changed by a spell,
Was an ugly frog in a well.
To a pretty young miss
He said, “Give me a kiss.”
She replied, No thank you, you smell.”
When asked by Prince Charming to wed,
Cinderella shook her fair head.
Thought, not for a ransom,
He’s not very handsome
And she married Buttons instead.
When Snow-white saw the dwarves in the hall,
She observed they were not very tall.
They were children she thought
And decided she ought
To apply to foster them all.
The dragon had breath fiery red
And the people wanted him dead.
So Saint George was dispatched
But, unevenly matched,
The dragon slayed Saint George instead
Georgy Porgy, pudding and pie,
Kissed all the girls and made them cry.
Nursery Land was aghast
At what had just passed
For Georgy was a girl, that’s why.
On the pretext of finding water,
Jack chased Jill and then, when he caught her,
They got carried away
And the following May,
Jill gave birth to a little daughter
My doctor likes to see the Earth
I get a nosebleed, she’s wading the surf
Maybe off Thailand, maybe Brazil
Who’s gonna save me when I get ill?
Yeah, there’s satellites, I can always text
But she’s out of town at the smallest pretext
Running a marathon, maybe in Rome
Everywhere is her home away from home
Maybe its that she sees all the frailties of man
Maybe that galvanizes her to move while she can.
I shouldn't grudge it, but I've just broken my toe
Kicking a wall when she mentioned "Idaho".
So I’ll drive like a saint, not drag race the streets
Not eat the wrong things, not trip on my feet
Not mouth off to strangers, not poke at a bear
Not flirt with disaster or agree to a dare.
I'll use Gemini or Grok or Chat G P T
Then I'll order from an offshore pharmacy
That might finish me off and I'll complain no more
Hope she feels sorry before heading to the Jersey shore.
(note: she really is a good doctor, I'm just having fun here)
attitude
detached
behaviour
a maze
of
oddities
to
outwardly
explore
varied
veristic
feelings
translate
as
phenomena
dispassionate
pretext
undeserved
undeniable
in
existential
reality
a potential
to
cloak
instability
nonchalantly
exaggerate
&
marginalise
figuration
with
a sense
of
universal
perspective
Under the pretext of care
a real care takes place,
and the worries are over
at least until the next morning
with its muted white light
but what an advantage, dear
you are at home
the winds and rains are outside -
sometimes it’s important to notice
but later, maybe the same evening
it doesn’t matter
because the night creeps in
as it usually does, all of sudden
and like in the old movies
the sign” the end” appears
in the damp air
over the darkened foliage.
Freedom is a birthright—
No one has the right
To tread on anyone’s foot
On the pretext
Of one’s own freedom.
Everyone has the freedom
To punch the air
Or swing one’s hand,
But that hand must
Stop short of others.
Like the kite we fly,
Freedom is conditional.
Kite flyers fight
To bring down
One another’s kite.
The powdered glass
On the twine
Sharpens the twine
To sever the kite
At the point of contact
Both try to cut off
The other's kite
By pulling the twine
Or by releasing more twine
To create friction
Finally, the winner
Severs the kite
Of the loser
And the severed kite
Glides down to the ground
Now, whose freedom
Is superior?
The one that is severed
And becomes absolutely free
But what if it falls to the ground?
Or, the one that is still
Tied to the twine,
The spool, and the kite flyer
But soars higher and higher
Into the sky?
some loves bout lost come go almost all sorts
motives remain true pure until find not
list least cain hope fewer no good reports
still life like love moves backing forth cold hot
back outing again own each such sigh wish
loss lasts long gone fast run use eye oui next
stuff split rough two there one bright here blue dish
but still be same unself self sans pretext
wait patient fourth floor first ready confess
one day then now was dreamed real life unfold
four most seven great death comes not success
some would telling kisses end life untold
try may believe yes if not near reverse
mind conceives lives another universe
Written: May 25, 2025, for Contest: Sponsored by: Constance La France
Quote: "There is a place where voices sing your beauty, A place where every breath carves your image in my soul. Words are a pretext. It is the inner bond that draws" By Rumi
***********************
Night's silky scarf adorns a lunar necklace sign,
Wanting her a ruby silk veil in a tuxedo design?
Translucent limbs disseminate flowers sublime.
I fondle her soft skin at the golden hour's time.
Swept by every idle breeze, as if there to soar,
Borrowing an unending sigh of time, dark core.
A revered but wild kiss, a glazed ember sways,
We will unite and break, dulcet love, swift ways.
Slightly higher down the breathless, winding path
Continue to inhale despite the windy day's wrath.
An aromatic ambrosia moistens deep, secret caves,
As I unzip my soul and bones below dark waves.
To quietly remember her fading, love-struck gaze,
Pouring dew on a beguiling night's enchanted maze.
Not that Jack and Jill
Jack took Jill up the hill
On the pretext of fetching water
But the need for some weed
Was a far more pressing order.
The hill was all green with flowers asunder
When they lit the pipe so they could go under
Jack inhaled deeply and spied Jilly with a posy
She took the pipe and took it in till her cheeky were rosy
They lay a while, and closed their eyes, the birds all chirps and singing
The clouds floated and bobbed their beards as weed and ecstasy collided
The sky was bluer, the grass greener, the air fresher as senses imploded.
Another puff, eyes closed, and images dance in the gentle breeze
As clouds part, God appears, staff in hand, smiling with ease.
All sounds are dappled, all objects move slowly, deliberately
The present prince of Prussia prances proudly
With preaching priests, while prattling proles suppress
The primal pressure to prank the pretext
Of proper praise for the precious primate.
lost love all sorts
motivates not
any good reports
move cold to hot
such own sigh wish
gone now eye next
one here blue dish
without pretext
ready confess
real life unfold
death not success
ends life untold
Sometimes, people suffer
From the mistake decisions of other
Much worsen if it's the errors of leader.
Oftentimes, people mistake
In choosing their leaders is a pretext
That something is going wrong to expect.
Moreover, leaders come and go
Government remains executing law
For people who believe progress will show.
However, lover's for freedom
Should keep warning for a damn
So we can be aware that change is a humdrum.
An abstract dull spirit, amorphous and loose,
Cloudy and irate, possessing the even soul,
Haunts the frail mind and body on the whole
Of the one who fervently chases a wild goose
Firmly believing the strange enigmatic world
Of fancy to be real and divine, demanding all
Venturesome feats such as a sacrificing fall,
And even the human nature whirled or furled,
Or ,lost cornered in a traceless, mazy cavern
Letting the conscience search for the deep
Hurt ego , in pretext and unwilling to return,
But still making a play out of vanity steep:
The worldly Eden has far greater things to seek,
Know,feel selflessly and be Nature's bit, meek .
(Apologies to Shakespeare's sonnet 126)
Man to man
If you are a homosexual
You need to change—
I present a 'contextual' analysis
Based on a pretext and a post-text!
Your emotion is based on something
God 'your Source did not design'
Therefore. sign a 'new' beginning in your life
Be honest with God the Father and
Jesus can impact your life so that you
Can understand your purpose in life
Homosexuality is a perversion of the truth!
Do not remain perplexed or
You will be vexed with ‘deceit’
I might not understand your 'perspective'
But understand God's 'objective' when
He sent His Son to die for you and me!
Man to man
You need to change!
Homosexuality is wrong
My Government’s (Heavenly) position is clear.
Mark Frank
Copyright 2024
FLIRTATION
a pretext
for
the glamorous
renaissance
across
the core
of romantic love
swathed in
the symbolic
changing
&swaggering
in a suggestive
state
emblematic
of the
vanity
so so
essential
&
appropriate
to the occasion
beauty-obsessed
assessed
& filtered
adolescence
so
superficially
beautiful
looking fo
a glimpse
of the
reassurance
&
the spectacular
in profile
to be paraded
in an
appearance
so soft
gentle
&soothing
aspiring towards
desire
& promise
covered with
ornamental
displays
of perfection
a
focus on
& aimed at
the observer
at will
I am humble
But will rumble with any barrier
I am a carrier of truth in any context
I have a pretext and a post-text
So I speak in a specific context
I evoke any generation
I solve problems beyond borders
I pacify and ignite flames of hope
That engulf the heart to endure
I don’t fall
I don’t fold or stumble and
I am ready to rumble with any barrier
Showing you why the walls will crumble
I have a pretext and a post-text
So I speak in a specific context
Mark Frank
Copyright 2023
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