Short Barbs Poems

watch barbs that sting
deep angst bringing
heart sings no more...

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sunset is scarlet
red rose smiling with barbs
delightful parting...

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tripwire with spiked barbs 
two trite puns joined at the hip
slapstick jabs that bruise...

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mother-in-law’s tongue
Sending up new brittle shoots
barbs beyond the grave


May 23, 2021...

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thinks she is witty
sarcasm her daily fare
a nonfriend maker

cannot help her barbs
alienates all she meets
my cousin betty...

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To arms, to wit, with repartee!
The barbs and jabs in fun and play
We never fear et tu, Brute,
for Gershon's verse makes bright the day!...

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Give and take
barbs
then retreat
to wounded silence
licking our lacerations
before picking up
where we left off
with the razor wires....

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Brilliant nightfall views 
Barbs of darkening hues 
Specter of sunlight gems 
Vespers obscuring into godsends
Elegant devoutness 
In worshipping grandness...

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Treacherous ebb tide

        Jagged barbs among the mist

                  Step-stones to freedom







Inspired by Raul's contest: "Ghost Tides"...

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I'm alone, even amongst my friends
Who among them could understand?
A gay teen, full with self doubt
Insults from others sting
Mental barbs are worse
For the alone
Desperate
Hated
Gay....

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In chaos set sail
where pain barbs assail,
yet retaining poise,
in life's fearsome noise.

To become as such,
we must feel God's touch,
moment to moment;
then no fears torment.

18-October-2022...

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the gullible are too many, the sane too few ~ what will voters do

barbs being thrown, tit for tat, red states, blue states ~ I've had enough of that

tired of all the political rants ~ they bite each other like red ants...

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Seeing a hawk diving,
a jackrabbit running from
deadly shadow – I am reminded
that, the desert is no place for casual,
pointless strolls~ the cactus a still sentinel
only for its barbs. A near rattle tells me,
beat-it!...

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Barbed volleys 
Wound my heart.
Sieved and torn,
Crippled beyond repair.

I crawl,
Seeking  condonation,
For what I know not,
Content with scars.

Would that they disappear
Without trace,
To start afresh;
But barbs suppurate!...

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Bent wire horizon,
the day is a broken perimeter.
There is light
between the barbs
but you have to squint,
pretend the fence still holds.
People flee,
their knees are bruised
by each narrowing dawn.
The fool on the hill
blames the sun
in his eyes....

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Limericks be flyin' this fine St. Paddy's day
Trading of barbs is welcomed and quite okay

There once a man from County Kerry
Who was all sorts of drunk and pretty merry
He put on a wig
and danced a fun jig
Til he got picked up by a fellow named Jerry...

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Sugar-coated tongue sway the sea, 
Like lilacs and roses allure the spree.

Barbs dim one's worth, leaving scars to accrue,  
Stripping away dignity, leaving only rue.

Choose thy verbal artillery with grace, 
For they hold the power to create or erase....

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A fraction of my sense of humor 
retains and loves full blown sarcasm mode.
I have to watch it at work.
I deal with children.
They are experts at it.
At home my husband catches my barbs in his glove
Winging them past outfield to hit the fence
So we can remain in love....

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I swallowed hard the feelings scorned,
to finish off my plate

But filled I was in sated form
a glutton postulate

I bit off more than I could chew,
with meat still on the bone

My stomach full of fiery barbs
—leftovers unatoned

(Villanova University: January, 2020)...

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Love barbs singed my heart, churning feelings of revulsion, flying topsy turvy in every nook and cranny in the heart that once whisked feelings in which I basked with hope, delight and anticipation. 

Fed up I wanna break 
Free of the shell I now elect
To wrap, cast in my past....

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Naive Guillotine


I once knew a poet named Balveen
Whose heart was not a touchscreen   
Confused when she read some barbs
Until she was shot by shards 
She rued at their naive guillotine


Syllables per line-97779
February 29, 2016
Contest : Sensitive Community
 A PD Contest...

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Love’s touch gentle could not cope
With barbs of an unconscious mind
So took a step back in earnest hope
That God bestows sight to the blind

Rose in one hand, sword in the other
Prayer in heart and song on our lips
Innocence beseeches Divine Mother
May all relinquish ferocity ego grips...

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What a splendid scarlet rose!
Smiling petals surrounded pretty heart
What a charming blood flower!
Move closer,
The fragrance fulfills my chest.

Unlikely this blood scented!
Beloved form and perfume;
My hand tries to reach you,
My head plans to pick you;
Wild barbs bleed my heart,
O dear!...

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Susie sassed some stupid scoundrels 
they tried to take her treasure
Bobby blew back barbaric barbs
Susie shook some soot off her sweater
lovely little lights lit the large lake
promising perfect midnight persuasions 
Susie sat still staring silently 
bobby won't be back before breakfast
he had his handsome hazed gaze on her...

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If you don't like what I write 
Then let it be on me
Just please pass me by
And please leave me be

I just write for some peace
To try and smooth out some scars
I don't want to be cut
By your fence full of barbs

Just stop and think, why be so unruly
I would never go out of my way
To ruin your day
Stop being a poetry bully...

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