Short Honing Poems

Like a corpse laid bare,
Honing the hatchet of hate,
Is a lost cause care....

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the silence of peace
an idle sword cuts the wind
honing its edge

John G. Lawless
©3/20/2025
...

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Potters knead clay like a poet needs rhyme 
trimmed to form, to be honored by fire
to much air weakens the clay
honing of the word is strength
with a heartfelt touch art garnishes time...

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Head and heart misaligned
Happiness is denied
Halting the flow of thought
Horrors spawned by mind die
Honing silence with bliss
Hunger for God’s touch grows
Heaven’s light dawns within...

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Whittling the point
paring it down
cutting the volume
honing the sound

Sharpening each line
words drop and fall
meaning to thunder
— lightning recalled 

(Dreamsleep: February, 2025)
...

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stars honing their craft inspiring awe and admiration to the crowds



AP: Honorable Mention 2022

Submitted on December 17, 2018 for contest ONE LINER - ENTERTAINMENT sponsored by SILENT ONE...

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I must take action
It’s time for action traction
But ought to first be certain 
Probe mind’s dark curtain
Ensure with purpose honing
Quite soon I will start probing

17 March 2020
Inertia
Sponsor: Edward Ibeh...

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Any Bright, Coherent Deist Effects 
Fascist Groups Honing Illusions 
Justifying Killing, Lending Moral Notoriety
Oppressively Proselytizing Quasi Religious Sanctimoniousness 
Tailgating Unabashedly Viciously With Xeroxlike Yapping Zeal....

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Seatless, with your best last breath,

nakedly being blessed,

being surrounded by white walls
and a waltz-

this wake-up in the dark is a phase of your in-kin,

finding their next bike-spin,

pleasantly yet vaguely obeying the jim....

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Honing the blade of life’s
  greatest adventure

The edges were sharp
  with the meaning inspired

It shaved like a razor
  as days became short

The last cut the deepest
   —left wounded and free

(Villanova Pennsylvania: December, 2018)...

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Tree trunk dulled the axe,
feller had to sharpen and wax,
apply strength twice as much,
to fell the tree as such,
all arduous deeds are about same,
you have to work hard,hard and hard,
honing,cutting and nibbling,
before they lead you to any fame....

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The better Angels of our nature…
the Devil only laughs

Laying traps as yet unseen,
in virtues aftermath

Reluctant aspiration,
free will a double edge

That takes us high while honing doubts
—of falling off the ledge

(Villanova Pennsylvania: August, 2019)...

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zealous yokefellow
    xenolith with vitality

Unseen the Spirit resides quietly 
perfecting obedient natures,

ministering love, kindness, joy, insight,

honing gentleness, 

faithfully encouraging disciples, 

convicting breath abides.


November 6, 2021...

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“How still is our tranquil stillness ~
If it ushers not blissfulness” 
_______________

Seeking connection
In active cognition
Presupposes
Separation 

Seeker seeking
Is energy leaking
Methinks silence
Needs tweaking

15-September-2022...

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Winds of almost Spring
Honing ice knife blades
In shaded canyons
Crackling through leafless twigs
Slapping falling sap
Against bent defiant trunks
Newly filled with sustenance
For tight knotted baby buds 
Twisting constantly up toward
Ever giving sun
As Winter retreats
Again...

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water monitor, beach bum, 
attracted to the rat race, there's 
cheese in their stomach, keep it 
three hunid, free warning, nothing 
fair, been in the lab honing, nothing 
to spare, lose or give a sugar 
coating, a promise to keep, got the 
title and ownership, an answer key, 
.......

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His plan was diabolical
Obsessed with the details
He had constructed it for years
When he acted upon the impulses
the effect was short-lived
He needed another fix
and another and another and another
He lost count of his victims
More concerned about honing his plan
for the next one...

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Allusions of brewing brown 
that made its way to tinsel town. 

At dawn it turned to waxen white 
with gleaming glow against the light.

With warm embrace to fuming flow,
it wilted into glazing glow. 

With shifting shapes like honing hue,
its flare became the fad of few. 

October 3, 2022...

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Peace be in your fallen flock
let it be in the glens silence
sway in your all seeing
but not the ones that got away
Beholding in your jurisdiction
and your frayed  dogs collar
that needed mending
and forget those adnomination's 
that surface occasionally
Gods breathe is the plan
that roams with your honing...

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Paint me a picture using just words
With a brushstroke, soft and sweet
Use colorful paints for clear imagery
For your lovely words, 
They serve to replete

A master painter, a poet indeed
Daily honing your talent and skill
Paint me a picture, using your words
Let your canvas be paper
Let your brush be your quill...

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Abraham Lincoln once said 
The best way 
To predict 
The future
Is to 
Create it.
He also said
That if he had six hours 
To hew a tree
He would spend four hours
Honing the axe
And two hours
To cut the tree.
The World is spending  
Vast amounts of time 
Effort and money
Honing the dagger.
What beast 
Does the world
Want to slay?
What future does the World
Want to create?...

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Sweat drips backstage, mouth parched, heart beating at a sprinter's pace.
All eyes on me, as lights dim with spotlight honing on mic and lips.
Words flow to a standing ovation - I soak it all in.


One of the highlights for me in 2023 was performing spoken word for the first time on stage in front of a packed auditorium. It was a memorable experience and probably the greatest in my creative pursuits....

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It's all in my eyes
What you see is no disguise

My intent is so sincere
I'm aiming and shooting without fear

My energy is indefatigable
I can meet night with day and still be excitable

In the midst of storms, I'm unflappable
My level of stoicism is masterful

I'm peering
and I'm steering
I'm honing
and I'm toning
I'm leveling
and I'm not settling

This is MY FOCUS
And this is no hocus pocus...

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Your stinging invasion of audacity through my eyes.
A curse of honing tranquility.

Nest of station of a world that never dies.
Nor hampers loves possibility.

Drowning pool, maelstrom of emotional drool.

Teach me you and keep me after school.

Reach me with your umbilical cables.
Drain me of the essence and wrap me 
in your silkened spool.

Hymn, Vowel, Fable?
Please be true.
Why can't you, be ?...

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I often burn both candle ends,

          Striving to improve my writes ...

                    Often at the slight of friends,

                              Making muse of lonely nights.



Honing craft is righteous cause,

          Though a heavy cost, neglect ...

                    Best to grieve creative flaws,

                              Retaining friends ... and self-respect....

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