Shelve Poems | Examples

Premium MemberThree Four, Under the Floor

One, two,
I think I'm through; 
Three, four,
under the floor; 
Five, six, 
I'm in a fix;
Seven, eight,
he met his fate;
Nine, ten,
I'm in the pen; 
Eleven, twelve,
my hopes to shelve;
Thirteen, fourteen,
clean with chlorine;
Fifteen, sixteen,
bloody crime scene; 
Seventeen, eighteen, 
murder unforeseen;
Nineteen, twenty,
stole my Good & Plenty.
Categories: shelve, murder, nursery rhyme,
Form: Other

Premium MemberMoments and Memories


Remembering all the wonderful days we spent
Looking for an extra dollar to purchase
a memory that you and I once lived

Memories are that of life, a treasure trove of pages blow upon the wind.....gathering all that was tossed aside when we were learning to live...

Enjoy each moment of life like a good book
Placed upon the shelve yearning for another look...
To opened a page at a time of great joy
Waiting to fill you spirit of memories deployed
Categories: shelve, beauty, celebration, desire, emotions,
Form: Free verse


The Daily Chore

One, two, 
     what to do?
Three, four, 
     mop the floor.
Five, six, 
     play no tricks
Seven, eight, 
     make it great
Nine, ten, 
     now and then,
Eleven, twelve, 
     help her shelve
Thirteen, fourteen, 
     have you seen
Fifteen, sixteen, 
     see what I mean
Seventeen, eighteen, 
     make it clean
Nineteen, twenty, 
    Full or empty.
Categories: shelve, kid, light,
Form: Rhyme

The Widow

The Widow

At sixteen she is a widow
She is still a kiddo
With a baby in her arm
Life will be no charm

She’s now like her brother
Who has a child without a mother
His wife chose the street
Killed as she was standing beat

But now she must look after herself
Not wanting to sit on the shelve.
Now she has a great need
her baby she must feed

Selling her body for her baby
with her that’s no maybe
Her baby must eat
and that’s a job she’ll meet.

After 2 years on the streets
A member of the gang she meets
Initially they fall for each other
Not knowing he killed his mother

Very soon he starts beating her
She now works for him in fear
He was found in an alley dead
He was shot in the head.

She realises in her life of sorrow
she will remain a widow.
She takes her baby she must feed.
So, she moves back to the street
Categories: shelve, anger, anxiety,
Form: Didactic

Premium MemberTHE LADDER OF IMAGINATION

People love the rolling ladder in our store.
We use it to shelve some of our rarer sets of books.
Many people who enter tell us how great that ladder looks.

But to me that ladder is much more than a 10,000 year old innovation.
It is a symbol…a gesture…a stairway to ones imagination.

Our store is filled with people who climbed the ladder of their imagination
and when they stopped to take a look…
Wrote down or drew everything they saw 
and shared with us their book.

And we get to go along with them as they climb that ladder 
all the way up to the moon…
As they ride whales, befriend dragons, or ride in a big balloon.

As they talk to animals, storm castles, feast with queens and kings…
or from the comfort of their bedroom visit the land of wild things.

Yes, the bookstore is filled with stories other people wrote
as they climbed the ladder of their imagination…
and we love to read their words and visit the lands of their creation.

But the ladder in our bookstore stands as a reminder…
that our own ladder of imagination is with us all the time…
standing proud and tall and ready…
for us to begin the climb…
Categories: shelve, imagination,
Form: Rhyme


RICEPUBLIC

Tell them we are working hard
They will soon afford to buy rice
Show them our graphic evidence
Of rice pyramids. We are self-sufficient.

When they complain of hardship
Give them rice!

When there is rising unemployment
Add some more rice, I say
There's plenty of cassava too to eat.

If they plan to protest
And the workers want to strike
Pacify them with mudus of rice, right away
I know my people, they will shelve it.

All subsidies are gone forever
Taxes all around have come to stay
And when those rabble begin to grumble
Let the Custom open their stores
Of foreign rice to them. It tastes good!

My people are understanding 
I have instructed them to tighten their belts
But if they questioned my extravagance
Give them state-sponsored rice
Sold at a subsidized rate.
Let them know we are truly empathic.

Not our fault about climate change
God knows why! We inherited banditry 
Herders-farmers' clash, from our predecessors
But be assured when disaster strikes
Our response shall be swift
To distribute rice in camps of the IDPs!
Categories: shelve, betrayal, corruption, humanity, leadership,
Form: Free verse

Premium MemberGrieve

Thirty-nine and thirty-eight…
Let me get this straight.

Thirty-seven and thirty-six…
How can I be in this fix?

Thirty-five and thirty-four…
Are you sure there is no more?

Thirty-three and thirty-two…
What can I do?

Thirty-one and thirty…
Now I'm getting shirty!

Twenty-nine and twenty-eight…
I don't accept this fate!

Twenty-seven and twenty-six…
I refuse to be in this fix!

Twenty-five and twenty-four…
I’ll settle this score.

Twenty-three and twenty-two…
What's my life worth to you?

Twenty-one and twenty…
If it's money, I've got plenty.

Nineteen and eighteen…
I demand to stay on the scene!

Seventeen and sixteen…
C'mon! On a deal, I’m keen.

Fifteen and fourteen…
Your stubbornness is obscene.

Thirteen and twelve…
I’ve negotiations to shelve.

Eleven and ten…
I guess I'll just give in.

Nine and eight…
It's getting late.

Seven and six…
This, I can't fix.

Five and four…
There is no more.

Three and two…
I love you.

One and done.
Categories: shelve, anger, death, depression, grief,
Form: Couplet

her purty pulse'd

.

                          her
               animated she with
                purr'fect pulse'd
                      robustly
           
                       latch'd
                          no
                       lock'd
                    with snug
                      hern to
           the marshmallow fluffy 
                   love seat's
                    arm rest
             where'st mine head
           many uh pipe dreamz
                    reposed

           mine engram'z mantel
                  copious with
                   hern purty
                     roused

               muse after muse
                     i shelve
                 each her long
                   each mine
                     respond
Categories: shelve, appreciation, beautiful, character, passion,
Form: Romanticism

Premium MemberArt As Activism I

One of the great things about being an artist is that even if I can’t change the world I still have an unfettered opportunity to express my opinions. To keep from exploding, I made these pieces instead—Alice Deasley

Art As Activism I

It begins at home or should I say at the grocery store,
anywhere food is sold
Changes in ways to shelve groceries 
should again be addressed, it’s still an issue
Packaging goes straight into the sea—the true trash can
Alternatives are store chains that use barrels for sweets, nuts,
dried fruit and edible seeds 
More deli section, less packaged meats and cheese
Bakery containers, less packaged muffins
Plastic pollution solutions everywhere
Beach cleanups, volunteer to pick up litter
Our actions impact the ocean 
even far away from the coast
land and water are connected
Buy plastic free, figure it out!
Less bagged chips, more glass bottled water and jars
Youth with passion will themselves create new ideas, 
for they are the inheritors.
Categories: shelve, earth, ocean, planet, pollution,
Form: Free verse

The filthy cigarette

I am that slender lady in sexy white sheets, 
my figure is smoking hot when my body touches the heat.

I’ll give you moments of pleasure and a fill of nicotine, 
but around your healthy lungs I’ll weave my  tricotine

I am a silent killer 
causing deadly disease, 
but people ignore the warnings and signs of expertise.

I am the international 
loved by all my fans, 
I’ll send them to the graveyard in polished caravans.

I am those smokey rollies the filthy cigarette, 
you’ll find me on every shelve I am not that hard to get.
Categories: shelve, addiction, cancer, death, grave,
Form: Rhyme

A Rhyme of Science

In the realm where atoms dance in space,
Science unveils its wondrous grace.
A symphony of particles, small yet grand,
Unraveling mysteries across the land.

In laboratories, minds ignite,
Seeking truths hidden from plain sight.
Through lenses and microscopes, they delve,
Into the secrets that nature does shelve.

From galaxies vast to cells unseen,
Science unveils what once had been.
In equations and formulas, we find,
The language of nature, beautifully designed.

So let us marvel at science's rhyme,
As it reveals the mysteries of space and time.
Categories: shelve, 10th grade, 11th grade,
Form: Rhyme

Why I Walked Away

Another shovel load of sin
Towards my lifes end tossed away 
I’m covered in the lust
Of the winds of want each and every day

This hole within my soul
Is void of but one truth
You walk with God while all my thoughts 
Are drown in the devils proof

I’ll always love you
And I will until I’m buried in my grave
Sometimes the hard truth
Is better seen than hearing it said
I sold my soul
At the crossroads while you found your way
I’m not sure what to say…..
I love you
That’s why I walked away

This hell isn’t easy 
I’m living out each day in my mind
I can’t shelve these feelings
And I’m guessing neither will time

I’m confessing and professing
You’re one of life’s greatest blessings 
And I know you’ll never be mine
So I guess it’s time….

I’ll always love you
And I will until I’m buried in my grave
Sometimes the hard truth
Is better seen than hearing it said
I sold my soul
At the crossroads while you found your way
And I’m not sure what to say…..
But I love you
That’s why I walked away

I’ll always love you
And I’m not sure what to say 
That’s why I walked away
Categories: shelve, conflict, deep, devotion, emotions,
Form: Lyric

The Scattered

Inside a library of things uncountable,
clippings, extracts, jottings, and snippets
gather words out of nothing.
Mind dust wafts.

A woman approaches with an armful
of my early, roughly cobbled poems.
behind her, unwritten books
begin to fall off bookless shelve.
“Don’t worry” she says,
she is Scottish and actually says:
“dinna fash yersel.”
An old Celtic grandma peeps out of her eyes.
The enormity of everything
overcomes the moment.

She places the fragmented scribblings
in an untidy pile upon a small reading table.
The thought of a ‘reading table’
amuses me;
she smiles while the rest of her vanishes.

After reading all the table had to offer,
I leave the building empty-handed.

Outside, a mackerel sky
begins to rewrite some passing clouds,

Like myself,
it is constantly editing and revising
its reality
the way a bowl fish does
                 when it swims full circle.
Categories: shelve, poetry,
Form: Free verse

Florida's Fig Leaves

A principal had to resign
For an art teacher chose to assign
What a parent called ****
And she needed to warn
Those in charge it was way out of line.

Thought the students, eleven and twelve,
Into classical works were to delve,
Michelangelo’s art
Showed a male body part
That the protester wanted to shelve.

Now the David is known far and wide
And most viewers can take it in stride,
But in Florida’s schools
They play by different rules
So some crazy taboos are applied.

To that mother who thinks she protects
Her near-teen, maybe what she expects
Is that viewing a nude
Will make someone unglued,
Certain books having likewise effects.
Categories: shelve, art,
Form: Limerick

Soothe Strong

I’ve hated myself and gated my true self/
Tired I waited for health basics to shelve/
Take care of yourself during young ages to delve
Shake bare sore urges yearning numb phases to evolve/
Intake of a rare lore emerges /
In wake of we’re to lure resurgence /
I think not as they’ll plea what they have to plead to move along/
Most certainly a uniquely freed seed of his own breed to sooth strong/
Host a sneak peek of belief for the creed through deeds to behoove long/
Sordid and oblique with the technique nothing meek to seat a sleek antique/
Sure didn’t complete the metaphor for the mega Thor to wreak on the sheet/
A meteor upheave is seen as way more meatear to read the meter/
Catching a gear clutching the brake lever I steer near to see you sear/
Hatching as the overseer or instructor if you peer I have the hymn structure to adhere/
Categories: shelve, anxiety, art, courage, deep,
Form: Rhyme

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