The Stubborn Heart”
Stubborn as stone, he stands his ground,
Words like rivers, he won't let them drown.
Eyes set firm, with fire and pride,
Even truth must wait till he's tried.
He sees threats wherever he may go,
Every word—a weapon poised to throw.
Sharp as knives, his cold replies,
Send chills down spines and truth to lies.
He hides his pain, but weeps in the shade,
Regrets and traumas carefully laid.
In silence he curls, where no one can tell,
A prisoner of pride in his own shell.
But even stone can crack with time,
And healing grows where love will climb.
A touch, a word, a hand held tight—
Can lead him gently back to light.
When we injure our bodies, we expect it to take time to heal, but why do we not extend that healing process to ourselves for emotional healing as well?
Someone walking around in a cast easily receives sympathy whereas someone struggling with an emotional scar and is short tempered gets our annoyance.
I walk around with physical scars for the world to see but have those emotional
ones crammed deep inside as far away as I can hide them.
What if we decided to heal those wounds that no one can see? What if we took the time to clean, bandage, care and heal them?
You cant change how people treat you but you can change how you treat yourself. You can learn how much you can tolerate and when to walk away.
I hope you take the time to heal. I hope you learn to rest your mind as well as your body. I hope you realize how important you are and needed in this place.
Welcome to the Inferno,
Your room is almost ready.
I'm the hotel manager,
My name is Mister Eddy.
You're in the hotel lobby,
This is the bellboy Jerry.
If you sign the register,
Your luggage he will carry.
You might wonder why you're here,
I know it seems informal.
I'm sure you have some questions,
Believe me this is normal.
I'm here to give you answers,
But before much more is said.
I'll say that it's my duty,
To inform you that you're dead.
I can see it on your face,
It may come as quite a shock.
Your wife did the final deed,
Bashed your head in with a rock.
But while you're here don't worry,
There's everything that's needed.
The rooms are always clean,
The swimming pool is heated.
The maids are very friendly,
And as pretty as you please.
Then tonight you'll meet your host,
Mister Mephistopheles.
Though he can be short tempered,
You'll find he's oh so clever.
But the one thing that's for sure,
Your stay will last forever.
The ragged violet sinks
into an abyss.
What a mighty,piercing
shore!
what a lonely soul,
sometimes it's short-tempered.
If we take this pathway,
the raging sky will be
fruitful.
Even the sparrow has a place to lay it's head,
So why should I lay worries on my breath?
All the world's colors laid with such ingeniousness
so why should I live in gray grievousness?
Oh God! you even crafted nature's music in brilliance!
Then how can I be overcome by my monotonous silence?
( It was my silence, a strangling silence,
Unpeaceful, condemning, rooted in me with defiance.)
-Storms visit all forests.
But trees are anchored with firmness.
So when anxiety hits me hardest,
trees teach me calmness.
Even how the tides dance over the oceans, and how they crash and thunder!
So small I feel, and insignificant,
that pride cannot be a blunder.
To the short-tempered man,
I'd advice,
look to nature and her device.
To the jealous
I must teach,
How all creation will live in joy and peace.
And those who hate must consider
that Life always tramples the bitter
Hence what I know is this:
Man is witty, and crafts many things
but has forgotten to think about all his blessings.
the older we get
the more quirks we acquire
the more it is that we’re unique
just like everyone else
but in our own special way
we’re guarded and we’re jaded
laden with all life had to throw at us
the longer we’re alone the more
we’re set in our ways and less tolerant
we grow grumpy and short tempered
we’re less open to the magic around us
robbed of the last of our childlike wonder
we let the clouds wander in
and interfere 'til we no longer
see the rainbows in our skies
we drag baggage around like it’s our cross to bear
and tragically love loses its every luster
AP: 3rd place 2023
Hit her daily won't solve your problems.
Escape her noisy as you are short-tempered,
All will work good for you.
Rightly, you will appreciate my advice later.
Troublemaker can turn to be a peacemaker,
Being good to each other is a good process.
Right and left hands always lift up heavy things
Observably, reject wrangle and like peace
Kindliness , happiness , joyce, love.
Expecting to see some smile on her face soon;
No one will call you harrasser again in the future.
February 26/2023
Written for poetry contest sponsored by Constance la France.
Chosen theme: HEARTBROKEN
... Second
Win in the
Contest...
Mr Nobody
Mr. Nobody is the one who did it,
Guilty as charged of accused crime.
Incredulous innocence looks on his face,
Mr. Nobody was culprit time after time.
It wasn’t me cried Mr Nobody,
Why am I always to blame?
Mother had eyes in the back of her head,
She knows perpetrators name.
Our house had several Mr Nobody’s,
No need of reproach or scold.
Who was the offender this time?
Two paces forward brave and bold.
Occasionally I was Mr Nobody,
Though cried my innocence in disbelief.
As the eldest often copped a clip,
Even when the youngest was thief.
Mr Nobody again screamed Mother,
All up the stairs now, early to bed.
Ignited by short tempered fuse,
It wasn’t me; it was my brother instead.
Horn Haiku Hogwash
About President Trump
trump white supremist
he seems to always persist
should cease and desist
trump made mockery
of our whole society
and democracy
of trump am ashamed
we are the one who he blamed
like horse must be tamed
trump has so much shame
we are ones who he does blame
shall suffer more of same
trump mouth open wide
while he often lied and lied
wish he would have died
trump us does impede
we will have always agreed
common sense will need
trump is a traitor
like a long alligator
all of us hater
trump always foolish
at same time also selfish
God remove anguish
we looked at trump file
full of lies and denial
which had been his style
trump has been big boss
short tempered often cross
much slime in his sauce
needs a revival
trump supports own survival (SOS)
horrible rival
has been hard to follow
trump with head that is hollow
he seems so shallow
Jim Horn
I try to choose the right way
But my mind is double to many choices at bay
So I tell myself what truth what's lies
As I try myself selective voices enter inside
Now I lay my thoughts down for a moment in time
And I pray to myself to make those right choices
So I am in kind to choose the right line
And I can get away from the wrong voices
Double the trouble
double the time
Double in knowing I'll do the time
If within my choice process
I do not pick the right choice
I should always listen to the small voice
I am angry and sad
Short tempered and mad
So I tell myself it's their fault and not mine
So I act somewhat strange as I defile my name
So I tell myself what truth what's lies
As I try myself selective voices enter inside
Double the trouble
double the time
Double in knowing I'll do the time
If within my choice process
I do not pick the right choice
I should always listen to the small voice
7/22/18
WRITTEN BY JAMES EDWARD LEE SR. ©2018
Somedays I feel like a female
Bugs Bunny,
saying "whats up doc" while
confident and cool,
while other days more like a
girl Daffy Duck,
feeling more like a tongue twisting fool,
while out shopping I feel like
an Elmer Fay Fudd,
almost always on the hunt,
looking and hunting for bargains,
hopefully finding them before anyone else does,
while most times at work while on production,
we have to be like a Speedy Gonzales,
or pretending to be like a Road Runner,
all the while imagine being chased,
by a Wile E. Coyote behind us,
and after all the production running,
we smell similar to a Pepe LePew,
because everyone's armpits,
need to be thoroughly perfumed,
then sometimes when I am driving,
and someone cuts me off,
I feel like a Yosemite Sam,
because even though I'm not short,
I feel short tempered and cross,
and when I'm off on the weekends,
I cannot tell a fib,
I like to overindulge,
and eat like a Porky Pig,
well, there you have it,
guess that all she wrote,
so good-bye for now, and
a bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep
thats all folks!
I once dated a chef …
I was worried about getting a bun in the oven
But when I saw him mincing across the kitchen
I knew I wouldn’t be getting my fingers burned!
I once dated a fireman…
Oh he was HOT HOT HOT
But when he got out his tiny hose
It soon put out the flames of my desire
I once dated an electrician ..
Hoping that he would light up my life
But he was short tempered and would quickly blow a fuse
Sadly in the end there was no spark between us
I once dated a plumber…
I was flushed with pride when we were out together
Sadly he had problems with his waterworks
I ditched him… he was always taking a leak
I once dated a bricklayer
Couldn’t resist pointing out my faults
He wouldn’t listen, it was like talking to a brick wall
In the end he drove me up the wall and our relationship crumbled
15th April 2016
***Here's a set of senryu's!***
(Stimulated by nervousness to the core)… trying to calm down
Can’t because I can’t sleep – there…
Worn a wretched frown
Life is demanding
Making friends can be tricky
Think before you do
Think before you write –
I’ve learned that as a writer
Well, silence is bliss…
Don’t lecture me please
I’ve tried to take correction
Don’t ignore…just LISTEN!
Why am I angry?
Grateful that peace erases . . .
All violence observed.
I tried to belong
In & out of my house
At least I try…okay?
I made some mistakes
Some I’m not proud of, alright…?
Well, I’m human…right?
Short-tempered once more
Refrain from being a pain
Smiling hopefully… (serenity is in store, so worry no more)
After a few seconds of disturbing silence had passed
yet no one agreed upon the presented agenda,
one of the shortest tempered participants
kicked the chair, stood up, pounded the table and yelled
“let’s adjourn the meeting; I’m tired of it,
we have no reason to sit together”
and he was the least important person
among the group.
When he opened the door to step out the room
there was a shout behind him
“you are fired, SOB”
probably it was a CEO or the owner of the company.
The short tempered one turned back his face
and stuck a finger out and shouted
“stick it up your ***,” then shut the door,
everyone remaining in the room
looked at one another, and laughed.
short tempered and strong
stuck In a place I no longer belong
trying to move on
such a scary past
now ending at last
moving on fast
get to work put on a show
hold it in keep yourself under control
trying to leave cant hold it in for long
let it go don't cry move on
they tell me crying is for the weak
they say be the bigger person turn the other cheek
this is what I say
I say
cry
I say get it all out
I say don't hide
I say let the person know and see and feel exactly what they put you through
let your feelings be revealed
only then you can move on and your mind and heart can be healed
people feel they hurt they hate they love and heal
don't ever tell a person not to be human
cause that's exactly what we are
be proud of it show it off
don't hold it in and blow it off
short tempered and strong
in a place I now belong
I am human I am me
I'm exactly who I seem to be
I let it go
ill let you know
direct is what I do
don't tell a person not to cry not to laugh giggle
sigh
we are people we bleed and feel we are people only our bruises heal
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