Children walked down the street
And, in curiosity, picked up a rock
An adult, suddenly appeared
And gave the noggin a firm knock
...when violence ruled
Little tykes trying to grow and learn
Would stumble into angry fields
An adult, suddenly appeared
And destroyed what hope builds
...when violence ruled
Young teens would begin an adventure
Trying to find a way out of the cave
An adult, suddenly appeared
And delivered a beating to the grave
...when violence ruled
Brand new adults built homes on values
Practiced to secure detainment
An adult, suddenly appeared
Showing the mirror of perfect containment
...when violence ruled
Finally, a new generation was birthed
Determined to clear the curse of the line
An adult, suddenly appeared
Yielding to the power of LOVE over the mind
...when violence bowed
Written by Trudy Schrader
You handed me the black Excalibur~
not a sword, but the silence
that grew between our sentences,
heavy with everything we wouldn’t say.
I tried to pull it free,
but the hilt was welded to your ribs,
and my fingers slipped
on the oil of old apologies.
What we had was never meant to be~
not like this, not with edges
that drew blood when we reached
across the bed, not with a scabbard
made of unspoken vows.
I left it buried in the threshold,
where the door couldn’t close,
where the light split itself
trying to choose a side.
Now it rusts in the rain,
a monument to the kingdom
we never ruled.
they strap him in like a free bank toaster —
leather belts immobilize the limbs,
the priest muttering fairy tales
while the switch man cleared his throat.
rectum stuffed with cotton--
next comes the electric hum —
Seventeen hundred volts--
a deep, angry silence —
then every nerve throws up
at once.
eyes cook and bulge behind the mask,
tongue swells like a drowning rat,
flesh jerks against the state’s approval
and no one flinches —
some of them are aroused.
the room smells like pennies and pork
and still —
some hack writes in the logbook:
“justice is served on a silver plate.”
I beheld the quaking aspen, shaking and gold
I quaked in resonance with the breeze
If you're young inside, you never get cold
Its recriminations that make your spirit freeze
I wept beneath the weeping willow
It felt like the right place to cry
Under its cascades I found a pillow
Had a sad feeling, didn't know why.
When autumn colored I found a burning bush
Its red leaves engrossed my mind
I was aimless; needed a push
A small voice told me which path to find.
The wind sounded eerie through the screaming tree
I thought of ghosts, and the sum of all fears
I looked for clues at the canopy
I learned life was not as it appears
They laugh when I followed the cedar and oak
then turn around to tie their ship to any fad
To be swayed by trees may be a joke
But following herd river is just as bad.
I'll take a subliminal hint from every tree
Can you trace your worldview from what planted the seed?
I'll go with botany, to some degree
You can go with the river; I'll go with this creed.
World ruled by hate
Change of fate
Fighting
Rare report of a love sighting
People uniting
People of violence making everyone pay
To get their way
Lost between wrong and right
Depends on how you see it in the light
Those that have little use
Are the first to feel the abuse
To feel the noose
Forgotten, left behind
Surviving on the leftovers they find
People representing us
Like to fuss
Refuse to work together
Words that are light as a feather
Used with hate
Trying to seal our fate
Are we too late
To say
This day
No more
Close that door
Work with each other
Our human brother
We could be so far ahead
But we choose to hate instead
Turn that page
Let's start a new age
Arson not ruled out as Emco chemicals are being tossed all over the north Chicago cab company on Sheridan road where the contents of the tailor shop was being stored remembering Tony Boloney Anton Goracia North Chicago cab driver the many days nights spent after the arson murder of 8 wow 1984 Christmas Eve history repeating itself march 1998 fire blazes to cover the tailor shop contents amazing how to get away with arson murder of 9 use emco chemicals petroleum camphor the blazer and there you have do you sew the fbi questions what do you know about arson murders payoffs bribes during elections choose your fire chief watch the fires ignite and keep your mouth shut for 40 years eyes wide shut pay corruption I wore wires pregnant for the Fbi this covered up arson murder of 9 persons today I am blessed I survived the car bomb meant to silence me while they try and rule out arson again
This world that dials M for madness—
One for this, Two for that… what mess!
Blind led by blind, or by one blurred,
In this odd world ruled by password.
This world that verifies you’re you,
Robots nor robbers from fake blue,
But a KYC confirmed bird,
In this odd world ruled by password.
Confirm the OTP or else…
Face all the consequent travails,
Repeat wobbly words so awkward,
In this odd world ruled by password.
Despite it all, a world no safe,
Fake, full of frauds, fraught with F,
We live in times a bit absurd,
In this odd world ruled by password.
____________________________________
Kyrielle |Nov 2023| world, humour
Should I stop too explain
My life is not perfect
But my time you won't kill
My bank account you won't steal
If I asked you permission
Open up the gates
Put me in slavery
It's all in your head
Time to take back numbers
And show you why I'm strong
In a realm where pluck ruled supreme
Where valorous hearts dared to dream
A shrug is strong tough thrive and gleams
Whose proud tales to compile?
His name was known, both far and wide
Always stood by his people's side
With unwavering faith and pride
Fought for fairness, not heil
In gloomy times, shone as bright light
He leads people through the worst night
His zeal and resolve often bright
Each step went, extra mile
If elephants ruled the world, it's a fact
They wouldn't make us a circus act
Their hearts big and caring
Know not greed, only sharing
Golden Rule notions we've lauded but lacked
12/20/22
Ruled by Meter, Ruled by Rhyme
(A Poet of “What’s Next”)
I love both metered verse and rhyme, the discipline they bring
that guides the output of my muse (their voices help heart sing
without restraint). They elevate mere prose, grant harmony
to speech that gives it shine. They decorate mind’s symphony.
Free verse, of course, inhabits space, mysterious this tide
that sweeps the shore of consciousness; muse-slave, its currents hide
fact gravity enslaves us all. No atheist lends voice
to protests that Its Will’s not fair! Does Truth give one a choice?
How silly is the vanity, that God does not exist,
while we sing ‘truth’ like troubadours to ONE that can’t be kissed?
Should heart prove greatest fool of all, still infinite are ways
I hope to live in gratitude to Grace that RULES my days.
If death is just a final sleep, then let me praise its door!
But till that day (if that is all), I live in faith there’s more!
Long Tooth
June 15th in 2022
Her love-life ruled by idyllic extremes
romantic, passionate kisses on screens
fairy-tale princes on stallions pale-cream
Promises whispered on moonlit nights
shoreline strolls under stars twinkling lights
two lovers' eyes filled with amorous gleams
Little wonder no beaux could live up to her billing
any glimmer of hope she ended up killing ~ 'til
she retired to pillow-fed, wistful dreams
If I ruled the world of words
I would empower that refined bond
Wave gracefully my magic wand
And into ploughshares beat swords.
*****
I would invoke all the Muses of poetry
With the truest of voices, in a fervent chant
To cast a spell on souls and every quill enchant
And serve Art attain beauty and glory.
*****
If I ruled the world of words
I would feed its soil and clear it of weeds
Unearth all its fields and sow the finest of seeds
And reap an ink stirred by divine hummingbirds.
The bad news is Satan is the prince of this world and have been since
The Fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden
The Good News is Jesus has come to overcome the one who is in the world and soon there will be a new world for us to enjoy.
If God Ruled the World
There would be no wars
There would be no poverty or sickness!!
There would no violence
There would be no crime
There would be no need for brutality
Trafficking would not exist neither would slavery
There would be no such thing as abuse
There would be no existence of drug overuse
All lives would matter to other lives
The lion would get along with the lamb
There would be nothing but peace in the land
And all would bow to the Lord our true prize!!
If I Ruled The World
Proving souls mettle life elapsed that being in disaccord,
Let us confirm the presence of each other multi-colored,
Give a righteous opportunity for all to justly share,
Equitably, separate terms on a wing and a prayer,
Reinvent a world from disarray also disillusion,
Let all be convinced in a better future, hearts infusion,
Enjoying fashioned comfort together and security,
Truly, rooves o'er heads, bellies well-nourished, lifetime surety,
Laborers lifestyle concludes with an automated new world,
Encountering goodness, nature, others, set in a dreamworld,
Disproving spoils of Earth and that genuine malevolence,
Relieved ills, ensure benevolence, I hope its prevalence.
2020 August 25
*10th Place*
If I Ruled The World
~~Chantelle Anne Cooke
Sub Categories
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.