Short Shouldered His Way Poems

Heart grazed by Holy Spirit,
rapture oozes from each pore
but this divine light sublime,
oft faces closed doors....

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kiss me and kiss me again.
smother me with your affection.
tell me that you want me.
perhaps on our seventh
breath exchange,
we both will feel
the trueness of each syllable
shouldered by love....

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My jealousy was crushing:
A friend had shouldered past,
And seized my prize by rushing
Past me, stealthy-fast.

But jealousy can rust you,
Corroding your inside;
I shrug it off and trust new
Friends, and quell my pride....

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My jealousy was crushing:
A friend had shouldered past,
And seized my prize by rushing
Past me, stealthy-fast.

But jealousy can rust you,
Corroding your inside;
I shrug it off and trust new
Friends, and quell my pride.
1981...

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Squatting lakeside
darting swimmers 
at their feet. 

Shouldered burdens
over shadow even 
family time.

Prayers for Peace
carried in whispers
breath after breath.

Gods coloring book
pages of hope,
peace, beauty.

Just inhale
the wonder!...

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shadows turning variations
heart is beating permutations

breathing living day-by-day
woke up this morning yay! yay!

yet weight is shouldered morning breeze
and weight is burdened evening ease

but I'll keep gliding to the next
in spite of my soul's every vex...

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Tin Man

Stoop shouldered,
head down,
shuffling.
Just “kicking the can”
down the road.
Casting no shadow,
lost in a lie’s
intransigence,
following
the tinny sound
of an empty can.


10/5/2017

submitted to – It’s The End Of The Forms Series – Poetry Contest
sponsor – Broken Wings

theme - ZILCH...

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I knew a rodeo cowboy in Tulsa
Broad shouldered with shiny blonde hair
He was a sight to behold with women
Knew 'em all at our county fair

We’ve got a high school rodeo team now
'Bout the best you’ll find anywhere
Four ropers, three riders and a clown –
Broad shouldered with shiny blonde hair


July, 2016
For Contest Two Stanzas - Two Only, for Broken Wings...

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I sank into the depths of marbled 
Frustration.
Canonized in furrowed gasps,
I claimed my own footsteps were thieves.
We all skulk slunk-shouldered to the same sorrowful shore.
Though it ain’t all that bad.
Look through the lightened leaves
The maple glow will warm your 
Foiled, flagrant, tired eyes.
If you are not your own era,
Bring your illusions to the foreground and
Castrate your deadened pride....

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Stopped in my tracks,
About to act,
They had no backs,
To brake the pact. 

Out with living,
Within the shark,
They prodded giving,
And ripped the bark.

They shouldered guilt,
Fashioned disease,
Covered in silt,
They gave no release. 

Indecent to dancer,
Productive to criminal,
They shook my chancer,
Into bilateral.  

Never considerate,
Always conceited,
They live to abate,
The darkness bleated....

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Oh lover, lover, loved completely,
Come to me, come calm, come rest.
You're wearied by a world lead-weighted,
I'm here to hold you, love you best.

My love, you've shouldered burdens heavy,
And I will bury what I can.
Be sure to share your fears, your worries,
I'll bear it all so you can stand.

Oh lover, dreamer, sleep beside me,
We'll escape the world tonight.
The cost to cast away your troubles
Is paid from hands eclipsing light....

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It’s the way I am I heard him say
It’s how I see the world in my way
So you judge by what you see
Knowing what you know was meant to be

But I wonder if you filled my shoes
Would you think what I would too
The experience of my life has moulded
Me in the pain I’ve shouldered

So as you stand there 
And wonder why as you dare
Would you wake each day to find
The world is so different and not so kind.

© Paul Warren Poetry...

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sometimes it so happens
love knocks on icy hearts 
and is cold shouldered

in timeless time jagged rocks
are smoothened by the river’s flow
love employs no force

unconscious souls 
yet rooted in animal nature
appear cloaked in human form

the indwelling spirit
is the same within all
only coordinates differ

there’s neither judgment nor shame
the sunlight continues to stream
on all life without prejudice

31-December-2022...

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Silently it travels,
along this tree lined way
Shouldered by the softest green,
nature on display

~
Carved of destinations,
inviting is the scene
Heading off to nowhere fast,
lost inside a dream

~
Evergreen endeavors,
now heed the nightly call
Whispering on fragrant winds,
lingering this fall

~
You and I together,
love becomes the view
For nature is so beautiful,
when it’s shared with you

~...

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It is but of your fire
That I whither to this pain
This lonely life of love bemired
This shouldered weight of blame

Oh love, fair love, return to me
The glory once inside
For if a chance there ever be
I accept and offer pride

Oh love, fair love, return to me
The dignity of self
For so it seems that in this dream
Beauty lies in stealth

Oh love, fair love, return to me
The rhythm of thy heart
A lonely beat is lost at sea
With a life torn apart...

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Through murky waters
a manatee sees me;
brave he is,
but knows not 
my kind
or does,
has shouldered mine,
the reckless,
careless.

I look down at wet feet
planning escape from
eyes that yank 
shame from me. 
I am the species
juggernaut
and he, a refugee,
gliding back and forth
alongside a slippery dock,
his back a revelation of 
crisscrossed shapes

he needs me to see.

And when I whisper
'Will you be here tomorrow'
he answers, 'you tell me.'...

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The scuffing of slippered feet 
stoop shouldered baby steps 
can’t climb the stairs 
can’t get to the potty 
button my buttons, please 
I need a nap 
come read to me . . . 
hair needs washing 
winter’s coming 
wrap me in a blanket, dear 
tuck me in and shut the door 
but, God, don’t leave me here 
I know your face, seems close somehow 
but that memory’s not too clear 
nice to see you, dear 
do I know you, dear? 
you’ve such lovely green eyes – 
like mine . . ....

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They call me Big Toe he said.
He was tall, broad shouldered, handsome.
I looked at his shoes. 
They were enormous, probably to provide for the big toe.

I wondered if it was both big toes or just one big toe.
I thought it would be too personal to ask, 
So I kept my thoughts to myself.
Glad to meet you Big Toe, I said.

The other adults started laughing.
I am big Joe, he told me. Not big toe.
I stopped looking at his feet at this point,
and started wondering about my hearing....

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