Short Artifice Poems

Artifice-cultivation 
Cracking pitches, up at bat
Impactful, this journey to fame
Reacting, claims to my own name
Control, my poison cup

So let go as follows
untying the knot
Wading through crystal water
Unearthed root systems 
Free, complete...

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(for Nik)


lucky, gracy, raw artifice
natural all the way;

just like a fairy
in the medieval world
natural all the way

nik, purely nikky
aren't you 
natural all the way?

aren't you from an arty universe?
aren't you another mona lisa
natural all the way?

you're just nikky
& natural all the way!...

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resigned
without artifice
the loveliest of virtues
humility
the heart attuned
to gentleness
bared to all
surrendering
heart to heart
secrets divulged
no holds barred
laying it all out
on the table
a most endearing
vulnerable intimacy
redefined dignity            



AP: Honorable Mention 2020

Posted on May 17, 2019...

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(for ngozi)


natural all de way
lucky, gracy, raw artifice -
o, natural all de way;

just like a fairy
in the medieval world
natural all de way

ngozika, purely ngozikay
aren't you 
natural all de way?

aren't you from an arty universe?
aren't you another mona lisa
natural all de way?

you're just ngozikay
& natural all de way!...

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            From artifice of moving pictures, 
                     avatar becomes new, 
            proud, aphrodite of Hephaestus. 
                          Appetite of Man, 
                      given apple and eye. 
      Fashioned by self and Mankinds kindle. 
            Wrapped in warp driven bundle.
              It shall lend itself to the feed....

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Ancient Roman poets weren’t prudes,
the foulest vocabulary they used.
They spoke the language of the street
unaltered by artifice, much less discreet.
The prudish and the ignorant
were shocked and waxed indignant
though kids today less than ten years
would never think to block their ears,
to filthy verse by Martial or Catullus
their faces unembarrassed by a blush!...

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THOUGHTS
an insidious truth
this magnetic
attraction
an
accessible charm
engaging
 expressions
of an inner
 construct
agonising
 so interesting
 explicitly
embraced

yet a
paradox
 capable
of curating
exaggerated
 images
a
 divinity.
 of transformation
of innate qualities,
in an  artifice
of authentic
choices
 contoured
& involved
so effortless
 frequently
appearing
 artificial...

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Her chest cavity empty
Drained carelessly, caves
His brows smooth in relief
Hands wandering her body

Her insecurity replaced
by fraudulent worship
His muddy irises obscured
tears refusing to spill

This masked artifice
Unknowingly worn
Beguiles the youth

Her body atop, temporarily filled
bends with his breaths
cheeks tarnished by water

His lips brush her skin
She imagines her face
Empty again...

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Exhumed memories
Pinned to a moment in time
Faded photographs

Close enough to hold
Or lose one's way and drown in
The past is like that

Stripped of artifice
The worst kind of nakedness
One's own reflection

Puerile litany
Lust begets lust begets lust
That's the thrill of it

Dancing by myself
Music slower softer now
Box is winding down

The music box plays
The ballerina dances
Graceful and alone
...

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High fashion climbs the ladder of
     artifice, advertising, allure

Unrestrained composition by
designer, model, photographer
create an image with power
to heal, change, inspire

   Bright lights, illumination
     flare, freedom, flair, fun
       set the consumer's eye
          for imagination, industry, impulse

High fashion climbs the ladder of
      disassociation, defiance, desire.

January 11, 2020...

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In those unconscious moments
When midnight sweeps in on you
Surrounded by a sweet contempt
Offering the taste of cool dark water
With essences of serene moonlight
Desires fruit peaked and ripened
Hangs just over you waiting
You reach out only to realize
Within those few feet to desire
Eternity lies in wait for its prey
Leaving only a silvery and pallid 
Reflection that undulates and drips
From the touch of your fingers...

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The face you show to the world is false
A deceit intended to mislead;
To draw in the innocent
So that you can manipulate
And corrupt to your evil ends
I see you; I see your artifice.
I will expose you, expose your fraud
and your deviancy.
The face you show to the world
Is not the face I see
For I am your Nemesis:
Your exposure is my mission,
Your defeat the ultimate conclusion.
Be afraid, Hypocrisy
Your days are numbered....

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COPLA 86 INVOCATION : This Bad Guy World

If Worlds stand still for nano-second
Logic can bind all in straight-jacket :
Alas how nice

There’d be reason for this errand
On Earth as in Heavens to mock at
His artifice

Who is that comet hurtling in space
Looking for answers in mindless face :
Disintegrate

Could the answer be such simple grace
As to stop reproducing this race :
None then can prate

© T. Wignesan – Paris, 2014...

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FALLING IN LOVE

That lingering punch felt deep inside
Not so much a slip but a sudden drop
It’s like a helter-skelter fairground ride

When in love, the heart does a flip-flop
Almost scary but causing a wide smile
Wishing and hoping that it’ll never stop

Intense feelings keep turning up the dial
It was said that it would happen like this
And the brain loses control all the while

It’s very real with no need of any artifice
And it all starts with that one special kiss
...

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Dusty porcelain dolls,
quiet in the corner of 
              your blink. 
Victorian shutters,
calm against the 
glass,
an opaque artifice
to block the swell 
of oncoming wind.
Their darkness,
provides ignorance
of the storm ahead.
Only the clatter of
dollhead against
curio cabinet embrace
reveals the onslaught
of what is impending. 
So you cower with 
the inanimate, 
and wonder if,
at the end 
             they'll bleed too. 
 
-James Kelley 2014, All rights reserved....

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