This time I worship with faith's glow
praising God* for His blessing flow
soul is blest midst divine friendship
with faith’s glow, this time I worship.
Smiting sorrow along trust’s crest
midst divine friendship soul is blest
steadfast with hope, vanquishing woe
along trust’s crest smiting sorrow.
God’s grace works well for me to cope
vanquishing woe, steadfast with hope
Yes, I declare … now gladly tell
for me to cope, God’s grace works well.
Thankful indeed, my heart does share
now gladly tell…yes, I declare
the Lord is great midst Scripture’s creed
my heart does share, thankful indeed.
Proven always in every state
midst Scripture’s creed the Lord is great
I exalt Christ through all my days
in every state, proven always.
*Isaiah 25:1O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
July 18, 2026
1st place, "Double The Swap" Quatrain Poetry Writing Contest
Sponsored by Joseph May; judged on 7/27/2026
You smell like sweet roses,
But I've smelled the sweat of the weak.
My sight is as keen as an eagle's eyes;
I see the chains, rusted from years of injustice, binding the meek.
Segregation tried to tear us apart;
Tried to break our spirits, but we stood unbroken.
Like Carlotta Walls, I keep my head held high,
Disregarding the lies.
Even when the ground is unstable,
I feel the weight of all the cries,
But still, my will is unshakable.
Racism tried to steal our pride;
It tried to silence our voices,
But the roar in my protests shakes the sky.
Is it pain that makes you shy?
We taste the bitter ash of sorrow,
Long, hard fights.
I hear the whispers of a dream—
Thunder-loud, like the King's words shaking the nights.
The statues speak, but they are silent.
They don’t tell the battles we’ve fought,
The struggles we’ve survived.
Segregation tried to tear us apart;
It tried to divide us, but we remain unbroken.
Yet here we are, stronger than before.
Like the Proclamation’s call, we break the chains;
The day will rise — not just with light, but with our truth.
Famine preys upon a desolated civilization
Dying out the old breed new world awaits
What makes one soul defile goodness
The heart, as if it does not feel
Is mankind just a beast of nature's mix
Devouring the lamb like wolf's they are
We are farmers of the nations growth
Sow a seed, pass knowledge not the buck
We depend upon the other to feed world
Kids killing kids,as adult we kill our own
Lead by example, they strip God from belief
Corrupt being of evil's greed run deadly wild
Fight good and evil rumbles the house
Who runs the temple, they fill us with hate
Of their own demise their thirst is quench
Evil of one's heart bleeds its color
Do us good, I think not future at hand
But tomorrow I may not see sun rise sky
A bird in a bath, youngster at play with no care
Tomorrow could end today while love carries on
Give to society what's better, not evil's desire proclamation
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, a people for his own possession that you may
proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light
To the queen of my heart, I hereby decree
That I'll be the best man I can be.
I promise to give you a long, juicy kiss
And a humongous hug to the woman I miss.
I'll cook your favorite meal, help you with the chores,
Buy you things from the 99 Cent Store;
Comfort you when things go wrong,
Serenade you with a beautiful song;
Be there for you every day and night,
And let our romantic fantasies take flight.
I'm so happy that you're my soulmate;
My everlasting love for you won't let me wait.
Ever since the first day we met,
My heart soared like a jumbo jet.
I'd give you the world if you were mine.
What do you say? Will you be my Valentine?
It matters not while in dark of night exclaimed in moment of passion or in fullness of day exposed on height of mountaintop , my promise is, was and forever shall be formed from within the depths of my heart and soul as I proclaim my undying love for you. I will always love you to the fullness of all I am.
No matter the hour. No matter the day. No matter the season. My love will follow you forever.
Darrell
I decided I want her. She that with a mere raise
of an eyebrow can give me a good day or a
bad day.
I'll take her piercing eyes and that smirk,
you know, the small laugh that she gives me
when she thinks I'm being ridiculous.
or the flash of anger that tells me the
subject is over, ended.
I'll take her lips, full and so soft against my
brow, along with her sweet voice that tells me
everything's going to be OK when I am not
always sure it will be.
I'm OK thinking about her now, but when she walks
into the room, I can't breathe, her beauty blinds me
and I'm surrounded on all sides. And at that very
moment there's nothing in the world but her.
©SamHarty
Thou asks how far the wind blows
in fact I cannot tell
Or then how high the heavens
my prayers deep in the well
Thou asks if love comes truly
to one in greatest need
My answer spoken duly
of romance undecreed
Thou asks if truth be spoken
or written timeless down
My speech in patterns broken
unlettered and unfound
Thou asks if time be measured
beyond the last refrain
This moment hides the answer
—of that I can proclaim
(Dreamsleep: September, 2022)
I can live hungrily
I can stay alive by fasting
My starvation can't do anything against me
I can die of a pandemic outbreak without any medicine or treatment
Yes, O yes
But, I can't tolerate the hungry living of my country people
I can't tolerate the death from starvation of my country people
I can't tolerate any injustice against my country people
I can't tolerate the death of my country people for the pandemic outbreak without any medicine or treatment
You can come to me to kill my life,
But go, go to every door of my country people to save their distressful life
© Mahtab Bangalee
We are the people of the past and the present that you have failed to represent.
We freeze in fear of the current fate of our vitality and of our future fertility
We are those that pay the pipers price for policies of protection.
We do not take lightly the heat of hatred nor the will to wage war. We only stand brave to bear the burden thereby you boldly boast. We laugh not into the plight of peril or our unwarranted demise. We do not fight for foolish follies made by our own doing. We are only humble servants of the eccentric and the uncontrolled extreme.
We are forced to march onward in the manner mandated by madness. We pray profusely that we perish in a peaceful proclamation. We cry the treacherous tears of treason that stain the sheets of our salvation.
We know not where the truth ends nor where the lies begin. We only remember the written hopes and dreams of our bygone “Noble” men.
We the People, We the People, We the People.
I knight thee
master chef of the Royal S Soup
let them pick their poison
and serve them their just desserts
little cupcakes hiding in the pan
why even peter was more of a man
Every kings chef has a great kitchen
The masons have built you a great stoic oven
lets put this to good use
after we shall have an ale or two
along with some laughs
leprechauns and trolls we turned
to ash
Wasting huge amounts of energy
not for the proclamation of fidelity
is to discard the vowes made on that altar...
when the sincere and amorous didn't look far.
Wasting huge amounts of energy
not for the proclamation of fidelity
is to discard the vowes made on that altar...
when the sincere and amorous eyes didn't look far.
Only true hearts are devoted to faithfulness
and their commitment is never to go astray;
will they dishonor their vows of their wedding day?
No, the truest love awaits them: it's blissful happiness!
Sutherland No More – A Proclamation
Sutherland Springs from the pages of my media feed,
A story of guns, grief and the need, for no more.
Sutherland no more.
The innocent and the free sitting in their Sunday Pews,
Little thinking they would be the news, on the door.
Sutherland no more.
The white squat steepled church reaches to the sky,
The congregation and world asks why, whilst the tears pour.
Sutherland no more.
‘Fortunately somebody else had a gun’, the saying goes,
That was equalising those bullet flows, from ceiling to floor.
Sutherland no more.
Freedom to Bear, Freedom to Speak, Freedom to seek
The solution to these nightmares in our sleep.
Guns cause the rift and opinion must shift.
When you’re gone,
Will you send back a letter from America?
X.
©Keith Murphy
The mist on his glasses, perched on the end of his nose
Coffee cup sips, as he posed his points
Pacing up and down, up and down, up and down,
Tie whipping like his hands,
Accusing and deciding, one man jury, and judge.
And afterwards, when the crowds had melted away
And the subway like a fridge began to freeze
The icy wind grabbed hard on a pamphlet
And threw it at the man, bowed on his knees, praying.
Then, testosterone on skateboards roared down the yellowing tiles.....
His meditation snapped in half like his patience,
So he rose, stared for a long time at the barren ground,
And then dragged down the tunnel, with forgotten pamphlets paved.
I sit gazing at the bruised branches
Of trees that wall my humble thatch.
Leaves dead and live laments,
Tender mango sprouts,
Like yellow granules of cake dough,
Lie listening the last drops’ descent.
Pale hairy roots of young trees,
A shattered sparrow’s nest,
The bowing branch full of guava
Fruits yellow and green,
Blessed basil leaves with tiny
Silver pearls clean and pure
Sets the morn’s golden glory;
Proclamation of a nocturnal rain.
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