All is lost.
I refuse to believe
Light still shines.
Hope is fading.
It is foolish to think
Strength remains.
I am ill.
I do not concede that
There is a cure.
Hope is slipping.
It is absurd to think
I will get better.
And this will all come true unless we reverse it.
mark
time camp-
ing
in
a worldly chair
near your body
fun
scene motion which is a
pendulum at best because to swing
is
not at all a curse from birth but rath-
rather what the hanged man calls
for
once he sees from upside down the exit
door that traps death in with us
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness’- Isaiah, 5: 20
Topsy turvy is the world, we live in.
Man claims to be advanced and civilized,
But now he has more of animal instincts
With all human qualities paralyzed.
Seeds of goodness our ancestors sowed,
Have fallen on rocks and in arid soil.
Cracks are deep, our moral structure weak.
Race after wealth and fame sadly recoil
Wars and bloodshed are too frequent,
Scattering the pristine peace and calm.
The bedrock of values we once held,
Has disintegrated raising alarm.
We watch the crumbling of values nonchalant.
Have begun to take everything light.
While the soil is slipping from under our feet,
Without the least resistance, we yield to might.
Fact and fiction morph into each other.
Evil has become good and good- evil.
Woe to men who turn their back on goodness.
Sad, we have mortgaged our lives to the devil.
We should reverently turn to our Creator
Respect nature and everything created.
Prevent the quiet erosion of our values,
And blow new air into the tiers of life deflated.
ROLE REVERSAL
A most enterprising canary
Always found the cat very scary
So to turn a new page
Shut the cat in the cage
It’s the cat’s turn now to be wary
Maybe a role reversal would be in order
And us guys could take it or leave it
Whatta mind-blowing experience that would be
The ladies simply couldn't conceive it
Exciting? You ain't just whistling Dixie
There's a stirring deep down in my loins
Sexual in nature maybe my jockeys are too tight
Sometimes I let out a few oinks
Sure would be great to see how that works out
To turn the tables on the ladies
I'd say, “I have a bad headache, maybe December
Right now I'm baking some pastries”
Can you just imagine the look on their faces
They'd start to grovel and whimper
“It's already August, not too long to wait
Before you know it, it'll be winter!”
See, my dear sweeties! How do you like it
To be at the other end of the dial
Can't tell you how much fun that would be
I'd never be able to wipe off the smile
A boy can dance
Boy can he dance
Can dance and sing
Dance free of string
Effortless float
Free like a note
Gain loft, soar swift
His feet adrift
Inspiration
Just elation
Kissing his true love.
Love by her spurned
Mocked, badly burned!
No other thing,
Other act brings
Predicament
Quite fiendish sent
Reverses love
Sensation of,
To feel rejection
Utter dejection
Vengence directed
Withering invective
Xyloid, woody,
Youthful feelings gone,
Zeal for love dare again spawn?
----------
for the Abecadarian Poem Poetry Contest
sponsored by Caren Krutsinger
written on 05/21/2022
I wrote the original, Reversal,
comprising just the 26 words in bold,
on 02/07/2022.
Two bits of music
Are said to be back to back -
So one's in reverse!
(April 2022)
He tried to change the unchangeable.
Came to his senses…
And found himself changed, instead.
Bite Size poem no.36 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Line Gauthier |
Date: 18-02-2022
Placed: Honourable Mention
A
Boy
Can
Dance
Effortlessly,
Free,
Gain
His
Inspiration
Just
Kissing.
Love
Mocked!
No
Other
Predicament
Quite
Reverses
Sensation
To
Utter
Vengence,
Withering
Xyloid,
Youthful
Zeal.
—————
Xyloid: characteristics of wood, woody
Role reversal, rekindle love
To be a child again
Head-heart aligned, now hand in glove
Cleansed soul thus free from stain
Choosing heart’s expansion
Bliss our meditation
God orientation
Glows fontanel
Role reversal
30-January-2022
I have unearthed perhaps the first reversal poem
from the words of Jesus.
Truly I tell you
in the age to come
To receive eternal life
The first
shall be
The last
For my sake
and
For the sake of the good news
Now read from the bottom up
Mark 10.29-31
The body has a different relationship
with space now.
Disrespectful of distance before,
it now moves with a new sobriety,
motion slowed by a deliberation
barely perceptible,
as if, with each step,
asking for admission into the space in front,
a little readier to recoil from air
fraught with unwelcome possibility
imagined by creeping frailty,
erstwhile swagger
replaced by a simmering, private anger,
shedding bits of remembered energy,
its age unlearning the freedom of coordination,
edging ever closer to
a reunion, across many decades,
with its former self,
the one who toddled forth with
the same caution,
just much more optimistic.
This is reverse poetry. A category that really should be in the Poetry Soup list of forms as it is increasingly used to significant effect. Here is a link to a challenging and inspirational example: https://brianbilston.com/2016/03/23/refugees/
And my brief contribution to the genre.
To make it through the winter
I'll feel safe from Covid-19
By keeping a safe distance
Responding to you my friends
I will not feel alone.
Now read from the bottom up
His hands clasped tightly, one in mine, one in mother's. Days of baby steps made us nod in encouragement -- we let go. Daddy took his first balanced steps post crash. A memory of joy, watching him walk again.
dad's first leap of hope
puddles of joy held my breath--
gleaming roles reversed
June 30, 2020
A MEMORY Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Line Gauthier
~Winner: 1st Place
C-ome into reversal of fortunes,
H-igh time to turn your world around;
E-arly January thirty-first,
L-ove, faith, and hope are found.
A-fter years of total darkness,
L-ight has finally shown up;
Q-uitting was not in your mind,
U-nceasing search did not stop.
I-n spite of all setbacks,
Z-eal has done more actions;
A-rdent trust has let you
R-each the reversal of fortunes.
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