Natural things are rarely smooth
or flawless as they appear on the surface
Smooth fur on skin and curve on wing
are rough and jagged underneath
Push back against the grain shows true texture within
reveals bristling hairs and quill barbs of feathers
It's the grit within that shapes us
A pearl is smooth but inside is a seed of grit
We need the bumps knurls and gnarls to grip and hold
Slick things slip through silky wet and wanton fingers
Most natural things are rough at birth
Stones and gold nuggets are fractured rough at source
They're smoothed by wear and tear of sand rubbing in streams
Babies are smooth at birth but age roughens them
Humans grind away all day at nature's roughness
seeking perfection in shiny smooth and faultless
Blissfully they're unaware that
it's the faults flaws texture and roughness within
that glistens shiny the pearl
It's the bumps and gnarls outside that knurls the grip
Categories:
push back, angst, anxiety, environment, growth,
Form: Free verse
Alcohol to numb the pains.
Cigarettes to taste something other than hate.
Sex to escape the constant loud voices in my head.
Makeup to hide the broken girl inside.
So put together, so stylish, so grown up and mature. Little did they know that girl was always manic, depressed, and anxious.
Giving her body with no meaning just to escape herself. She felt beautiful on the outside, but like a raging storm on the inside.
Her brave front for everyone to see on the outside comes naturally after so long. Just sometimes, she could not push back the overflow of brokenness from her non-healing wounds.
One more cigarette, one more night for temporary relief, only to be followed with guilt.
Categories:
push back, anxiety, childhood, depression, emotions,
Form: Free verse
The heart of Night pierced by first light,
Dawn gives birth to a brand new day.
And wildflowers instinctively;
begin opening their petals.
Shadows scurry back into cracks,
the heart of Night pierced by first light.
And color steps from the shadows,
as the moon completes its cycle.
A spectacular sun rises
once more, to push back the darkness.
The heart of Night pierced by first light,
Sol illuminates a blue sky.
Dusk and Dawn are a package deal,
for light and dark are conjoined twins.
Dawn sparks the day that Dusk ended,
the heart of Night pierced by first light.
Categories:
push back, dark, day, image, nature,
Form: Quatern
When the cold winds blow
And the hostile natives are restless
It’s time to wake up, smell the coffee
And cut your losses.
What is there to push back on, after all,
But the bitter taste
Of someone else’s resentment;
The mighty wind of their off-gassing.
The world is wild and cruel
Even within the treacherous smile of neighbors
When dog eats dog possesses their mind
You find yourself one of the dispossessed.
In this open, exposed and lonely place
Circle the wagons of your resolve
Recognize those you hold dear
And take solace in their love.
(4/13/25)
Categories:
push back, conflict, encouraging, society, sorrow,
Form: Narrative
As a people we Americans are so naïve.
We've been snookered by a con man
who has blatantly deceived..
Each new day our freedoms and institutions
are under attack as Musk and his D.O.G.E.
crew hammer and whack.
Many of our elected representatives too
fearful to even push back..
The Declaration of Independence states
"In God we trust".
We are a government by and for the people,
not Donald Trump, nor Elon Musk..
With out the rule of law the power grabbers
will keep on seizing.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk are comitting treason..
Categories:
push back, america, fate, freedom,
Form: Political Verse
Driving along steel on the road
look in the mirror
salt falls from my load
Moving just as swift as I can
Look at me
I'm the snow plow man
Snow piles high as it moves off my plow
push back corners
the kids scream WOW
working round the clock all through the night
Clearing the roads
With determination an might
Road to road as fast as I can
Look at me
I'm the snow plow man
Categories:
push back, cute, fun,
Form: Rhyme
A walk to the park
The crisp morning air
There’s frost on the ground
A chill everywhere
Squirrels scurry about
From here to there
They notice me not
I’m needn’t a care
Sitting alone
…those four wooden chairs
Waiting for me
And calling me there
Eight chains frozen
…hanging straight and so tight
Awaiting all burdens
From one winter’s night
Wooden and cold
…but just right for thee
She squeaked and groaned
Then waited for me
I gripped her links
…what was my plan
Push back - release
Or do all I can
I looked to the heavens
…then in front of me
Another man standing
His chance to speak
Needn’t a jingle
…or even a sway
My time has passed
Send wisdom his way.
Categories:
push back, character, devotion, emotions, forgiveness,
Form: Rhyme
I'm clawing through my mind,
every thought pulling me closer
to the jagged edge, where oblivion waits.
Fatigue wraps around my bones,
a weight so heavy it almost feels like comfort.
But I can't let it win.
If I fall, I'll vanish,
swallowed by the dark,
forgotten by everything I once knew.
So I push back,
fists clenched,
fighting the pull of the void,
because the fear of nothing
is louder than the exhaustion.
Categories:
push back, absence, anger, anxiety, deep,
Form: Free verse
Baby you got me so obsessed
You know Im twisted up twice
Like 720 degrees
You know I aint nothing nice
But you got to admit
You love riding with me
My old friends might ask
What made you break,
what gave you the disease
If I got back to work
Theyd all shut up
And act like “My nigga Please.”
Please bring a track for me
Tapes push back tapes pause with glee
But you know the rain
It falls down cold
The know the thing, I believe
That it falls down on me.
Don’t bring your ice a fussin x 2
Don’t bring you rock so cold
So this is hustle city
Motherers back up
When they find out the true definition of a ****
Its so scary But you know what
I cant do much when they
Find out which one I love
Its a cold day outside but inside
Its as warm as july
Inside I see the drama on this guy
I love to watch it fly
With her i hate when she goes
With her I masterbated and she knows
Its alright, its alright she can do that
Its alright I thought she knew that
She said - I know - I love it when you do that. I love it when you do that to So Imma do that to you
Cause hey girl hey girl hey girl
I love that I love that
Categories:
push back, addiction, america, analogy, anger,
Form: Free verse
You push back and think
Simply engaging their game
Up and go away.
Categories:
push back, freedom, peace, perspective, silence,
Form: Senryu
Harvest my love in reverence
Loft these bushels to sift in air
Husk them to hearts of prayer
Sow true my coming endurance
For each Soul cocooned like mine
Must weather through the coming
Longs nights of less than nothing
No promise to germinate storyline
Push back the harsh breath of ice
Keep us wrapped wholly well spun
Turn cheek to kisses blown by Sun
Flower us to bloom in fragrant spice
Categories:
push back, analogy, autumn, change, growth,
Form: Rhyme
(A lone voice whispers)
As a person, you must know
Deep down
You're part of one of the most spiritually
Illuminating
Literary movements there has ever been
A gift sent to you for self-expression from The Great In-Between
A means to pull down old towers with new or old siege hooks
Open closed doors
By maybe writing a blog or book
To walk through anthills and moors
Of poetic stanzas
To find who you really are
As you pause and really look
For above all things
Magic in poetry is real
A form of rebellion from the mundane
A resolution
A Bonanza
To push back boundaries in a form of grassroots resistance
To power and social control
To be able to purge the destructive nature of humanity and the need to share its beauty
To those watching on patrol
As they go
For you are so gifted
So never be afraid to share your Illumination of the soul
For someone somewhere
Always needs to be lifted
(C)
Copyright John Duffy
Image shared under fair usage policy
Categories:
push back, poetry,
Form: Rhyme
I have written for some time now and pause,
the quill in my hand rests from wear and tear;
The realization strikes me in my mind,
my mentor used to hold his quill the same;
In morning walks I wave my hand to greet,
the stranger smiles and I remember how,
my Brother used to wave his hand the same;
The time I contemplate, I bite my lip,
my heart shows me a vison and an ache,
my Love bit them the same, what I recall;
The gust of wind, it ruffles my long curls,
and I push back the hair, like Mother mine;
I stargaze, longing my eyes bear, like him,
oh how my Father gazed at them the same;
and then come now to terms with fact I do,
that truly, me for one - a Mosaic whole,
of all I have even been in with or love.
Categories:
push back, appreciation, family, father, meaningful,
Form: Iambic Pentameter
A statue is standing in the road. The center of town.
Still, silent
A stone. An outcast, watching the world around them. A silent spectator.
Empty. Empty are the streets. Empty is the town, flooded with identical houses.
Empty are the markets. The aisles of food.
Empty are the complexes. Apartments galore.
Empty are the woods. The nests and caves.
Empty are the diners. The tables and chairs.
The statue is not in the street anymore.
The statue is now within their home, and yet
Has not moved.
A frozen pig, covered in ice
Has no coins within.
The closet is full of identical clothes.
The shower is cold.
The phone is silent. It never rings.
The phone is silent. The statue never speaks.
The beach is cold.
The waves push back.
Statues sink.
And the beach, full of people
Lies the statue. Watching, with their eyes plucked. Icicles on stone cheeks.
Invisible.
Categories:
push back, deep, depression, desire, lonely,
Form: Free verse
I am a creator of life and death, thoughts and fates, stars and voids. I was born with the purpose of guidance and creation, sculpted from the cosmos to carve destinies into man.
My home is that of a desolate chamber in which one hears echoes of screams and prayers, reverberating from all directions, inescapable. I feel pain for those affected by my omnipotence. I feel envy for those who ignore my pull, and lust for those who push back against my will.
Though I am not god, I know thee well.
My past is long, my future foretold and overbearing. Perpetual. Repeating. Repetitive. On and on and on and on.
My spirit is the essence of all men. I am necessary for not only evolution but existence itself on a conscious level. I shape and strengthen the ego, though I also shatter the soul.
My soul, forever ambiguous, is tethered to the man within my grasp, and as I shape and strengthen I am curious and doubtful, for my own ego is malevolent and my own essence ethereal.
Though I am not god, He and I are born from the same spool of matter, woven into the same thread of life.
Categories:
push back, philosophy,
Form: Free verse
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