I picture you holding my hand, and walking by my side,
I wake up to realize it was just a dream, rationalizing my hearts playing tricks on my mind,
It's a longing that's never left me, and I know if I opened the door,
That that longing will intensify and be left with wanting more,
Leaving the dream to wake up to my own two hands, and you are nowhere to be found,
Breaking my heart that Im not close to you,
Always wishing you would someday reach out,
Maybe one day you'll care enough and eventually put out your hand,
And I'll have the opportunity to get close to you so we both can understand.
They run to the taverns to down drinks
Wanting excuses to violate their oaths and promises
Laughter, gossiping and mindless frolicking
a sense of silliness that resembles happiness
But does not reach their souls or their eyes,
Often time leading them into depression and despair
But it was so much fun! They think,
Hoping rationalizing it will make it less devil-like.
Satan smiles at their lunacy, luring them back to the trough.
The joy they seek, the enthusiasm they covet is beyond their grasp.
For enthusiasm is from God.
I grew to fear my dad
he’d often beat me for the slightest thing.
A damaged, drunken man, he was close to going mad,
a tyrant and bully, in his house, he was king.
I remember the day we met
I was three when he returned home, a war vet,
smelling of stale beer and the stench of a cigarette.
Back then, the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder were unknown
soldiers simply dealt with it on their own,
and men’s hearts hardened like stone.
All those years lost to an illness make me sad,
yet I decided long ago to forgive him for everything,
rationalizing what took forever to forget,
though no gesture of love was ever shown.
Fragmented Spaces
7/21/2021
Writing Prompt - Fragmented Spaces Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Constance La France
(118 Words)
Eye sick
whole body aches
hand kills
Heart of Jesus
bleeds
wounded by
wolves
tearing humanity
drunken on heresy
blasphemy
self destroying
conceit
Spirit of truth
shut out
conscience
distorted by pride
rationalizing
boredom of sin
with more sin
unchanging slavery
to lust and greed
mud carrying spring
unreflecting God's image
sickening body
of those who drink
weighing soul down
to sleep
smudging eye lenses
not to see
midnight sun error
God's love light
splendor
guiding
to Paradise
of joy
and peace eternal
Jesus
Blood in veins
of Christian Body
wall of faith
hope and charity
joy of heart
crystal clear water
cleansing soul to sparkle
illuminating path
of lovers of truth
Omnipotent
Omniscient Triune God
with Father and
Holy Ghost as one
may every knee on earth
bent in adoration
to Thy Majesty
and Thy holy name
be praised by every
lips and heart
and Thy kingdom of love
come
on earth soon.
Rationalizing cost humanity Paradise
with burden to choose right the price
an ego to be awaken to rise
when the herd falls asleep to vice
Snake pride tends to hide
selfishness in a tomb inside
righteous façade outside
to camouflage grudges' bite
Passing blame for robbery of joy
burning culprit in thoughts like toy
scattering ashes' sparks to destroy
compassion that love may deploy
As part of humanity body
a sneeze in Wuhan is felt in Bari
a boomerang that travels to return
multiplied to quench or to burn
Only God reads thoughts judges right
His lovelight perfection shines bright
through any window open to His light
sprouting charity everywhere in sight
First Place Winner: A Brian Strand Rhymed Contest-8/2/21
Honorable Mention: Carolyn Devonshire-Unity-1/22/21
Look here, John, I did a thorough research
Inside, outside, up, down and all around
Facts, fables, hearsays and temple or church
Eager to know where mysteries abound
Stranger-than-fiction true and credible,
Mine and yours: life, death, God and the devil
Yet to grasp; to relate, impossible
Sages, prophets, saints – stringent or civil,
Torah or Bible, Koran or Gita
Eager to explain the meaning of soul
Rationalizing life's unique vista,
I believe life is beyond our control,
Easier it's to take life as it is
Sans all the mayhem and the mysteries.
Contest: Rhyming Acrostic sonnet - 10 Syllables/Line
Sponsor: John Hamilton
Roaming with its head high-
Magnificent creature, lurking
Around with a ginormous
Globe, emanating the torture
of the past; it was green.
Right when I reached the door,
It reached the knob, trying to
Push away with all red-
Surrounding it, looked right
Into the eyes, before vanishing
Completely.
Rationalizing what had
Just happened, trying to run-
Away from that awful smell
That punctured my nose,
Witnessed strange ash
Encompass, as I rush towards
The mirror; it was black.
like the excitement of returning
to your home town
and the disappointment
and realization
that the people
you really wanted to see
have made it out
and the people you see
are the ones who never did
still hanging out
in the same places
still offering
the same argument
still rationalizing
their fate
in life
Saddened Squirrel
she writes
like her wings
are dipped
in purgatory
hot water
and she is grounded
and broken
because of him
him, him, him
to her
how, how, how
he's met
every overture
every response
with bit lips
and olive branches
yet, yet, yet
she seems to think
like
he's the enemy
where he
would give anything
to be her
friend, friend, friend
you've heard this before
this isn't foreign
mater of fact
your wings are dipped
in angel's dust
you soar way higher
than others and him
don't you see that?
yet
for lack of rationalizing
you rather beat
around the bush
resort to innuendos
and subtleties
and angel zaps
did I say anything
about your sharp teeth?
You say he's driving
you crazy,
lying, lying, lying
you're depressed
you can't sleep
girlfriend
you're the creator
of your own
misery
can't you see that?
I do
I say
reach a resolution
I've tried
you can't be
going on
like this
not unless you're
playing
connie pachecho
4/28/17
Longer than twenty years it took me
Of steadfast faithful simplicity
Voicing reassurance, for her to truly get that I’m not you
Explains just how much you put her through.
Mister important ladies man, so dashing
Everyone else takes a back seat; hearts are for smashing
Another looker, another ********, another member of the ex-wife collection
Narcissism is a shameful condition, but you have zero
Shame, else you’d loathe yourself as I do, mister hero.
Love means loyalty, putting your loved ones first
Owning your impact, not rationalizing your thirsts
Your choices all--good, bad, and worst
And keeping your damned pants on when your
Lady is not around for you to ignore
Too late now, for the sake of your daughter’s heart
You’ll never fix it, but that’s no longer your part.
4/22/16
For Contest: Loyalty
Sponsor: Broken Wings
Taking away your peace of mind
Hunting you down everywhere
Every move you make is mine
Stealthily moving in the shadows
Thoughts of tying you up linger
Allowing escalation of my heartbeat
Looking for the right words
Killer instincts secretly penned
Even among the grey matter
Rationalizing fear, the brain is the stalker
The typical intro,
A moment of reflection,
Philosophical conversation with my glass veil is ago,
I swear she's the perfect audience lacking in cognition but excellent in reception,
Shameless in anonymity and thoroughly content being one-dimensional,
An afterthought emerged from reverberating echoes,
Rationalizing a fantasy through demented reality and an appeal to logos,
External concern expressed through intellectual opinion against a majesty outside the realm of scientific convention,
A slight ringing in my ear,
The hazing of the eyes,
My hand presses against the screen and a genie appears,
her technicolor smoke-screen muffles sound and blankets sight,
Far beyond my mortal boundaries I reach,
Into the land of impossibilities ignorantly called "make believe",
Calling upon my polygonal masters from this pulpit I beseech,
That your realm of tangible thought be opened to me,
Allow me to apply my humble craft in hopes of conveying your magnificence to the world,
So that they too will experience your wonder,
Before they grow too old.
Near vacant reason
Absolute truth vanishes
Rationalizing
Defenses of the Mind
Mechanisms employed as defense
Unconscious pretense
Unrevealed
A protective shield
Inner truths hard to bare
Held safely there
Defenses, the living ghost
Rationalizing, one of a host
The do not care escapes
Known as “sour grapes”
When displacing a truer threat
Dumping on… as safer outlet
Suppressing and stuffing inside
Difficult to hide--- set-aside
As emotional retreat
Subconscious self-defeat
What cannot be faced
As if erased
No visible trace
A well-hidden trail
In mind’s jail
Locked in memory’s file
Stored under denial.
08/10/15
Rationalizing a lie
is like trying to
cover your tracks
in the snow
Only more snow
can truly cover
your tracks
Only honesty
can cover the
marks your
lie has made
on a heart
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