Roughing Poems | Examples


List of Member Poems

Premium Member I only wish

Immersed in cold and snow
Roughing it at the chalet



AP: Honorable Mention 2026

Waving

Troughing and cresting 
Cresting and troughing 

Going down a bit, to rise again 
Feeling the jolt but not yielding to the strain

Riding through and roughing it 
Steady on the board and rising through it 

Not staying low for long 
Just riding through, sturdy and strong 

Gathering momentum to catch another crest,
Owning the board, rising no less 

Not getting too comfortable while floating above 
Steady on the board is key___
Owning it and riding free with love 

Feeling the splash and the zeal
Embracing and embodying the thrill 

Cresting and troughing 
Troughing and cresting

With each wave, keep learning and besting

Premium Member Fitting Nowhere

i am pieces of granite wall
undetermined reason for being
tolerating chisel masters
crumbling into dust
falling into bowl of crevice
scraped up into Chinaman’s baskets
roughing up against dainty seashells
fitting nowhere
out of place
out of sorts
out of ideas


Premium Member Dine At My Request

Moonlight Come Dance With Me
There's no polyester in the trees
Nothing but mucous membrane
What's writing what's wrong
Pattern of the ole coal miners
Roughing it eating leftovers in diners
A brute abusive husband placed in marmalade
This is how bad men behave
Sun bright burning the heavens
Loaf of bread singles only seven
Nothing left on my dinner plate
Dine at my request

03/08/14
Written by James Edward Lee Sr
from anthology "Up Rising"

Premium Member Tyler and the Beast

Beasty was a monstrous dog,
An Irish Wolfhound he.
If you saw him bounding towards you,
You'd likely turn and flee.

One day while he was walking 'bout,
He came upon a fight.
Some bigger boys were roughing up,
A small lad gripped with fright.

He recognized the little boy,
As his neighbor, Tyler Green.
A low growl formed in Beasty's throat,
How dare they treat Tyler mean.

Beasty charged into the fray,
His barking fierce and loud.
The bullies squealed and ran away,
Leaving the small boy cowed.

With gentle steps and wagging tail,
Beasty approached the frightened lad.
Then promptly gave his face a lick,
Causing Tyler to smile a tad.

Throwing his arms around the huge dog's neck,
And hugging with all his might,
Tyler thanked the beast for saving him,
And putting the bullies to flight.

Tyler and Beasty became great friends,
Though an odd looking couple they made.
A slight little boy and a monstrous dog,
It was fun watching them as they played.


6/20/13
For Seren's "Little Lad, Big Dog" contest

The Unwanted Rise of Tears

My own downfall,
being with no malice of intent.
the gravity of being born with no force,
my soul even wanders beyond my spirit.
shame of uncleanliness;
guilt of unworthiness,
troubles of accepting,
missing pieces that can't be held together.
troubles with sanity,
sometimes roughing it out to tip of the edge of reasoning.
no rest for the weary,
thanks!, things couldn't get any tougher than this.
mentality co-existing with no hope of success,
unwanted failures and regrets slowing me down until it all ends.


Peter Pan

His way of life, I will
never understand
This character, We all
know as, "Peter Pan"
The idea of him taking
a young woman,by the
hand
Only to drop her, for a
more indefinite plan
Such as, "roughing it",
with the "lost boys", in
NEVERLAND
When he can perform MAGIC,
with a single grain of sand
yet, it's He, who AMERICA,
wants by Popular Demand
How ironic, for this Young Boy,
to somehow be, "the Man"

Surfing In the Sea of Sweet Love

The postcard reads"Wish You Were  Here"

Then I see the sea of loves wave on how

We behave... The sea waves rush and

Your surfboard gets drenched. Is this a

Dream you wonder and nothing but gushes

Of extremely salty water gives water gives

Us both a potent pinch. Your surfboard stands

High nearly touching the clear blue sky. The sun

Of sweet love has us sweating from strenuous

Activity. Oh in glee we are both surfing in the

Sea of sweet love getting soaking wet from

Below and above. The postcard reads "Come

Join Me" Then us surfing in the sea of sweet

Love will no longer be fantasy but reality.

Surfing in the sea of love drenching the

Surfboard roughing the waves that won't

Behave and that's okay. One day the postcard

Will read "What a wonderful vacation1 Y'all come

Back to love nation." Surfing in the sea of sweet

Love is a vacation to savor on any board like

Surface. Surfing in the sea of sweet love is

A dream worth having to get pinched by the

Saline waves. Surfing in the sea of sweet love

Is what is by both of us craved. Come over

Here and ride the waves, the postcard says!

Premium Member My Backyard Volcano

My Backyard Playground....Mt. Lassen Peak


Our playground is a mountain steep
Come climb with me to Lassen's Peak!
It guards our valley, rust and green
Like roughing it?  A camper's dream!
Or take a picnic for the day
Such beauty takes your breath away
With lakes and streams and meadowland
Boiling mudpots, volcanic thrills
And sulpher springs to take a bath
With fish and game and hiking trails
In summer take your fishing poles
Or ski the slopes when winter calls

One hundred years, since last it blew
Prepare to run....'cause it ain't through!!!



.    .     .     .     .      .      .      .      .      .      .      .      .      .      .      .      .      .        .        .
Inspired by Brian's contest "SONNET ME"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lassen_Peak

Sagittarious

Skinny
All american
Gangsta
In
The
Town of
Anadarko
Roughing
It
Out
Under and
Sideways

Your Cheer Leader

He's your typical 
   all-too-friendly booster
who goes way, way out 
   of his way to bolster
what's left of your stuff 
   when the roughing gets tough,
when your bestest best 
   is never good enough;


impervious to high rank 
   and noble status,
he'll root for you 
   with fanatical purpose;
and yet his skewed sense 
   of what's appropriate
can be so naive, 
   even affectionate;


though he's got bold, 
   chivalric aggressiveness,
something in him is unarmed, 
   so defenseless:
raw enthusiasm bursting 
   at the seams,
dismayingly innocent, 
   or so it seems.

Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.

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