Short Also Ran Poems

Charlie Chan
was an also-ran
till, knock on wood
  ~ 'So far, so good'...

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The body houses the soul
        that is its primary role

     But with all of the body's demands
        the poor soul is an also-ran...

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Donald Trump is a flimflam man
Trump and Pence have an healthcare plan
Its in a nutshell
So Nancy can't tell
The thumbnail is an also-ran...

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The measure of a man?
Does his heart expand?
Is he a man who can,
Or simply, 'An also ran?'
Is he able to understand?
Is his head above the sand?...

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Tin can pan alley cat man
                                       Nickel and dime No money blues
                                    Also-ran derelict on the run no shoes...

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Ever since the world began
there were those who 'also ran.'
Not for them the highest grades,
not for them great accolades.
Mediocrity rarely shatter.
That they ran is what most matters....

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The earth remembers
  every September
    The dawn of Time
    fateful, sublime

  Six days of Creation
  singular innovations
    Last is Man
    land's also-ran

  Lips part, mortality
  whispers the earth...

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flop,failing fiasco
where to go,how to cope
failure impacts us all
in life's revolving call

up against the wall
can we cope,is there hope
failure impacts us all
in life's revolving call

carrying the can
champ or also ran
how we handle the mess
the measure of our success

failure impacts all
in life's revolving call...

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Where fire’s rage
no flame unfanned
The cinch retightened
no also ran

As horns go silent
the gate is dropped
 On victory’s path
his legend cropped 

Unbridled passion
distraction flees
A trophy hails
as reins go free

The end in sight
where roses wait
Ablaze in glory
— outrunning fate

(Paris Kentucky: June, 1986)
...

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Am I but the stirring of a seasoned stew
The madness of a game that summer threw

Hard edge of a canyon wall at dawn
Towering above a trembling, speckled fawn

Must I be a raging lion or timid lamb
Contending for the prize of also ran

As I must outduel Winter’s feigned chagrin
Until it screams OK, all right, you win

So bear with me and kiss me as I go
And take with me the curse of bearded snow
...

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I have always been an Almost
Almost handsome almost ugly
almost a genius almost a fool
almost very good almost very bad
almost successful almost a failure
often an ‘also ran’
I guess most of us can tick all those boxes
I figure it’s not so bad to be an ‘almost’
better than being something you can never live up to
better to be free of someone else’s label
much better to make a goofy grin in a 2-way mirror
and wink...

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I have given up on the divinity of man
For in fulfillment’s race I’m an also ran

I’ve suited up, prepared to play
Sat on the bench many a day

Driven by the insanity
There was hope in sanctity

As the horsemen of my soul
Rode in search of being whole

Thundering hooves and flowing manes
Pursue their shadows in cold rains

As I sit and percolate
Struggling to meditate

1/2/2023

An Existential Curiosity
Edward Ibeh...

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Of all the demons I do face
the greatest foe is more than me.
Self-deception's been hard to trace,
my delusion I can not see.

Ever chasing windmills to and fro,
noble blades have a part to play.
Whirling around issues I will go
but faced with risk, I turn away.

I've been spinning so many years
all puffed up with my grand plan.
A consuming vortex of fears,
glad to settle as also-ran.

Tried to be big, more of a man;
this my truth, as small as I am.


7/11/19...

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RACE

  Ant, rat, crab ran, also ran sparrow.
  Road was full of bricks, long and narrow.
      Sparrow, rat, ant, crawling crab
       had to rush for shoes to grab.
  No option but all had to borrow.

 Shoes needed by them varied in number
    Rat took two pairs, just remember.
      Pair needed by crab were four
     Just three pairs clever ant wore.
 Sparrow picked one pair on last December. 

            
01/28/17
   'Make me actually Lol' Contest by Nina Parameter....

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