Rat Race Poems

the daffodil folk
by Michael R. Burch

to live among the daffodil folk...
slip down the rainslickened drainpipe...
suddenly pop out
the GARGANTUAN SPOUT...
minuscule as alice, shout
yippee-yi-yee!
in wee exultant glee
to be leaving behind the LARGE
THREE-DENALI GARAGE.

Published by Andwerve and Bewildering Stories as "escape!" This poem...Read More

The scene is the breakfast table
Mom and Dad rushing
To get the day underway
There’s a bit of tension in the air
Not everyone’s on page
With the early morning pace
Of the weekday rat race
When out from left field
Is heard clear as
Any three-year old...Read More

Come here, my dear, and have no fear
The Lord will be wending our way
Making it easier to face another day
Until heaven's golden gates appear
Where for eternity we will stay

Protected by the most holy kingdom
Basking in God's affectionate embrace
Our souls granted...Read More

Who the hell do you think you are?
Roaring by me in your motor car;

Did you not see me standing there?
Or was it just you did not care?

Care to see the world around you;
Racing to no place like a fool;

The rat...Read More

You follow the rat races,
Climbing ladders that never end,
Surrounded by faces,
But not one you could call friend,

You stare hungrily at your reflection, 
Picking apart your every inch,
Believing beauty leads to connection,
But would it save you in a pinch? 

You spend...Read More

Small fortune already spent
to maintain 2009 Hyundai Sonata
(pray cuz I love genii, or even mirthful
teletubby heaven sent)
compromising financial means to pay rent,

telecommunications service provider (Verizon),
electric company (PECO), sparking pent
up rage against the machine money meant
to buffer panic attacks
springing up like...Read More

To life, and all the hangers-on
Who’ll endure when the others have gone?
“We will,” hissed the cockroaches
“Don’t forget us,” squealed the rats
Ah yes, the rats
The idiom kings
“Rat race”
“Fight like cornered rats”
“Like rats leaving a sinking ship”
“Drown like rats”
Except for that last...Read More

A CHRISTMAS AGO

My Christmas present list 
Every year
Got longer and longer,
What to buy
Whether far or near
I certainly have always got joy
Out of giving,  
Just two months ago, I thought
Things are getting out of hand,
What is Christmas all about,
Faith and...Read More

You surely could
  So nice if you would
You really should --
  Say something good

For a change of pace
  In this crazy rat-race
A moment of grace --
  Say something good

A compliment
  is Heaven-sent --
Say something good

Give...Read More

November's sun brings smiles
   to every passerby's face
As throngs weave their way
   through downtown's rat race

On overcast days
   eyes are cast down 
or look straight ahead

Today they glance upward
   like petals of...Read More

It seems that minutes after Halloween,
before we’ve even seen the first bits of snow,
the Christmas movies are flooding our screens,
and I think we know how they’ll all go.

Start with an actress that’s half-forgotten,
who in teen films once took off her...Read More

Face the day

Woke up to the thunder clapping,
on the window rain was tapping...
the rain sometimes... reminds...me of you

The crack and flash of lightning,
they put on ...quite a show...
the sky just like your face was grey-blue


Bridge 1
I feel like time's forgotten...Read More

Lab Rat Race - 




Well it’s a hard pill to swallow
that we aren’t promised tomorrow;
but the rent is still due today. 
Sure, you’re losing your mind
but you still made it to work on time;
That’s just the nature of the rat...Read More

How quickly a future can change
Guess it was time to turn the page
Never been one to plan long-range
Still the circumstance was quite strange
In my life there's no way to gauge
Not when observing at close range
My path I would never exchange
Karma...Read More

How ideal to luxuriate
supposed divine right frill
maximizing climate control
with matter of fact bravado
creature comfort pang to fulfill
consequent flagrant portent

to exercise freewill
beware controlled environment
pays hefty bill
cracking heat as
temperature gets chill
cumulative destructive

ecological footprints generated,
thus advisable to swallow
figuratively bitter pill,
herewith suggested
binary/digital quill,
cuz unchecked...Read More

Under the sun is the earth, a place for the good and the worst. Only to hurt to feel pain, only to live an stay sain, the mind is a weapon of choice, to live on earth with a voice....Read More

Here’s to all the dogs
who go out of their way, every day
to rescue their pet people
from the impossible-to-win,
rat race.

Who spend countless hours 
waiting in anticipation
Just to smother us in
kibble-breathed, saliva-kisses.

Who we trip over and step on 
in the middle of...Read More

The path of life is criss-crossed 
with many intersections:

A fork in the road forces you 
to choose a diversion:
Ahead Left or 
Ahead right.

A T-junction has a Stop Sign.
Look Right, Look Left, 
No way forward,
Choose one or the other.

The U turn...Read More

Have not we all made our acquaintance with struggles, troubles, and trials?
When we met them, we did not say, "Happy to make your acquaintance". Nay,
When we encountered them, we sought to avoid them like the plague or other
Painstaking fellows of...Read More

Seasons change
They come and go
And while I enjoy their differences
The summer is my favourite
This I know

Big yellow sun in
Clear blue skies
Emits its rays
Making lovely warm days

Warm nights too
Beautiful smells
What a delight
It all feels so right

Growing and alive
That is the vibe
Exciting...Read More

Axed dent of circumstances
finds yours truly liberated,
whereby no obligatory constraints
obliges forcible adherence
synchronizing Circadian rhythm

forcibly linkedin within paradigm
minutely crafting, daisy chaining
involuntarily ceding cradle to grave
man made artificial construct
(dismissing one living away

off the gridlock)
co-opting every precious moment
comprising hour quotidian existence
to sustain swiftly...Read More

Life's busy rat race.....
people become blurs-shadows
losing track of time



haiku-hue
kim rodrigues
7-11-19...Read More

I got arrested!... further developments await...

By gravity said law
linkedin with physics
stating that a body at rest
will remain thus unless otherwise
acted upon by an external force,

hence I cannot wrest motion
from inert human matter
regarding nearly lifeless entity
concerning how aye barely breathe
heavily weighed...Read More

UNQUOTABLE QUOTES - XLIII(Continued)

A black-listed writer tops every publisher’s reading list.
Half a loaf is better than no love.
Don’t dig your ears while tying your shoe laces. Just wear slippers.
Eat only what’s available in the stable if you’re able to put...Read More

Coupes skimming fly, gently humming of engines and tires.
Listen closer, and hum turns to cheetah’s roar, pushing for
A harder pace, an impact-- No achievement is frictionless.
Jaguars leap and bound, a mile-a-minute, sometimes more.
The roads are not sky but earthy jungle,...Read More