Short Telltale(A) Poems

Sugar Deception

My diet’s going well
she said
Telltale crumbs
in her bed.

Kathryn Collins
February 6, 2014...

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Life is most visible
in its imperfections

Cracks in the hourglass
—us wanting more

(Dreamsleep: May, 2021)...

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rain bursts from the clouds
as tiny ambassadors...
to announce the spring

date: 3/31/22
syllable counter: "how many syllables"...

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Spacetime but emergent,
the string on nature’s kite

Reeling in a looming giant
—beyond both day and night

(Amtrak R5: July, 2021)...

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clouds playing dense drums
golden streaks in telltale curves 
books in handsome blurb
------------------------------------
May 22, 2016, Kolkata...

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Today
time took time
to think;

Then truth
took thinking time
to task;

Testing teasing themes
that today taught;
trouncing telltale tragedies....

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Is poetry literal?  If it is dark,
does the protagonist become me?
Did Poe really hide bodies in the wall?
Probably not! It is telltale, is it not?

2/12/2021...

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Guard Your Tongue
By Tom Wright
6/15/2019
Haiku

Thoughts once spoken are,
Wind whispering through dry grass;
Both leave telltale signs.
...

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. . . crisp leaves, toss, crackle

                                    tiny, telltale rain puddle

                                                                tadpole tails wiggle . . ....

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The telltale signs I'd seen
   So many, many times
And yet, somehow, 
   I always played the game

But now the game is over
   And loser that I am
The cards, they still remain
   My hand unplayed...

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circling buzzards
smelling the destroyed carnage
someone’s beloved

detectives arrive
important questions arise
telltale fingers

the prints are taken
medical examiner
a killer is loose...

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Margaret is astounded
That someone dare call her prissy
persnickety, uptight, queen

She gives the man her coldest meanest shoulder
his eyes captivate her imagination
her telltale cheeks flush pink...

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Hoof and sleigh tracks, in the snow; The telltale signs of Santa’s visit.
Presents beneath a brightly lit tree; jingling bells in the distance.
There’s nothing like, waking up on Christmas morning.
...

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The eyes reveal much more than any word, 
sound, or even subtle body shift. 
Let the other person’s optics be your cue 
to leave or stay.

Posted in Quotes as well as poetry section. 
16 th February  2022.
All my own work to the best of my knowledge....

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*Image of Silence Effects by Pixabay.

the power of silence

his soul yelled her heart screamed~telltale faces held a deafening silence

2022 October 04
*1st Place*
The Power of Silence
~~JCB Brul: 2022 October 14

*HMS; 17 syllables....

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empirical evidence - what supports or counters this proposition,
 or experimental procedure or admission...
a body of facts that are true...
fingerprints & footprints at a place admitted to...
those telltale signs one has to admit too...
well; that's how you can be so sure; True...

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Edgar Allan Poe
Died in 1849, you know.
We heard his telltale heart beneath the floor;
Then quoth the raven: nevermore!

Napoleon Bonaparte,
His marriage to Josephine got blown apart.
Her barrenness: his Rubicon;
His name, he thought, should live ever on.
...

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Five little fingers keep me “occupied” as I crawl on Persian rugs,
four little fingers toy with model trains my eldest brother scorned,
three little fingers learn to tip and tap on  gadgets oddly-named.
Two little fingers wrap around felt pens that scribble “telltale signs.”
One little finger now a playpen pal in my
“let’s pretend” home!...

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Sparks

it is the dark shading
the tightly sealed blind
denying the light
at our core..
with the darkness
the creation feels
alone..separated and
fear shouts out..
explosions express the
darkness and isolation
with deafening sounds
and telltale sparks..
but dare I say
the sparks remind us
through the horror
of the shaded light......

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Head-first slid into the belly of a scanner
Humming and clicking
far away canned music turns white

Trying not to think of shadows
the telltale marks of
a spreading fear

Weeks later
there are tubes, lots of them
force-fed back into a life
one he has to handle like a time bomb

Almost back to normal
but now normal is ticking
he hears it
when he closes his eyes...

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In the lobby of the courthouse
People’s demeanor
Are such a telltale
Casual and comfortable
The secretaries
Determined and debonair
The lawyers
Focused and unperturbed
The judges
And then the others
With scowls on their faces
Nervousness and concern
The weight of accusation
The slow ominous pace
Of being led directly
To the slaughterhouse



posted on July 16, 2019...

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I scan their faces to recognize a friend,
though few comprehend.

Everything I need to know is in their face,
to shun or embrace.

Stifled smiles and constant frowns leave telltale signs,
non-verbal guidelines.

Love’s life-long caresses crease a friendly face
where smiles interlace.

So many pretend
or overextend,
I scan their faces to recognize a friend....

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Tyrannical,
tourette-ical,
tic-tic-tic-tic-tocking,
twisting, tangling, tumbling,
the words tie in tight Gordian knots
trying to flee the faltering tongue
in a staggering, staccato rhythm, 
sounds now chat, chat, chat, chattering 
out of his mouth as unpredictable 
and uncoordinated utterances; 
as if, as if, as if, AS....IF
they were bubbles, popping
as they rise, rise 
from the depths 
of the sea....

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composer performer
            complex & complicated
flamboyant  frenzied
evocative
emotions
             extolled exhibited

keyboard expressions
of
heartbreak
               melancholy 
made lyrically
                   aloud

genius  marooned
in
innovation

inner tragedy  telltale torments
transformed

romantic naivete
          fortuitously fingered
in
nocturne&concerto

for us
    when we look laugh & dream...

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Hymen intact, it was a long night
in the grave. A naked skeleton
trying to cover, after a broken skull –

by telltale hands. Failed weapons ?
To bring out the unborn child of a
rhyme? The shadow lengthens on the bird’s nest.

A moon subtracted from a sky, meets
the sobbing silence of a valley. The
virgins will be sold again.

Mind blowing pearl on a wedding day
becomes a dance of tsunami, engulfing a smashed
boat of a body.


Satish Verma...

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