Shucking Poems | Examples

List of Member Poems

Premium Member Hush and Huck

hush, a quieting word
hush up, a fighting phrase
hush-hush, a soothing term
hush puppy – tasty salty treat

husk, a hull of corn
husky, a stout curved-tailed dog
husking, shucking corn in Iowa
husky man, beefy, chunky and muscular

similar words
sometimes spelled identically
multiple meanings
English is not an easy language

What even is this?

• Blazing hot ice
• Chilly open flames
• Animals wearing clothes
• Humans with no names
• Empty houses with legs
• Rats hatching from eggs
• Marbles from the water faucet
• Shucking pods and getting pegs in

The Sea Inside Me



"The Sea Inside Me"

The sea inside me, 
hides a Kraken 
in its depths, 
The Fathomless
lives there beside it,
some strange god
feeding on my 
minnow soul

I am one of many
in its overflowing baskets
manna held in fishnets
where butter wouldn’t melt
the seams of clams kissed open
shucking for the untouched pristine
is like diving for black pearls
The sea inside me, 

hides a Kraken

in its depths, 
The Fathomless 
lives beside it

(LadyLabyrinth / 2023)


Fella Show

"Sweet Dinah won't you blow my horn?"
She's in the kitchen shucking corn
And when she hums
The whole world comes
To bless the day when she was born!

Premium Member Hope I Do This Too

My mother went door to door on a daily basis
Collecting money for Mr. Sim’s wife’s funeral flowers
or for a present for Tad and Betty’s newborn baby girl
When I am older, I hope I do this too

My mother hung her clothes out on a line
Where they turned stiff as a desktop in the wind
The other neighbor ladies ran out at the same time to talk to her
When I am older, I hope I do this too

My mother baked pies, cakes and cookies in the morning.
In summer she gardened– snapping peas and shucking corn.
In winter she brought out the watermelon jelly she made in summer
When I am older, I hope I do this too

My mother gave her time to the church on Wednesdays and Sundays
She was one of four ladies in charge of all of the funeral dinners
Because no one else would step up and do it like they would
When I am older, I hope I do this too

My mother was the quintessential volunteer.
She was our room mother every year at school.
Because if I did not volunteer her, my identical twin would.
I hope I will volunteer time and talents like my mother always did.

Crazy Maize

A woman who works shucking corn
Tells jokes that are Iowan born
Just lend her an ear
And you're bound to hear
How colonels can milk a French horn


Premium Member Doing Whats Right

Doing What’s Right
Miracle Man
5-19-2022

When life has finished shucking our corn,
there remains that day, just a shriveled stalk.
Thoughts may carry us back to being reborn,
and circumstances bidding our Godly walk.

From shallow graves, just a thought away,
lie bones we thought long ago forgotten.
These past memories often sadness convey,
and while many are good some are rotten.

For all those things which we ought have done,
that remained as scraps on our life’s plate.
Life makes no allowances for a partial rerun,
the life we’ve lived will determine our fate.

Premium Member Oblivion

There is a state of mind devoid of thought,
where no one expresses an opinion.
And yet, the thing is, that it is not safe
to let others do your thinking for you.

Those who live their lives in oblivion,
cower within its anonymity.
And none the wiser, they become shadows—
in a place where only shadows exist.

Choosing not to get involved: they escape
to where reason becomes irrelevant.
And shucking all responsibilities,
ignore truths and dodge the consequences.

Oblivion offers a false escape:
like an ostrich with its head in the sand.
For ignorance is never an excuse
to detach yourself from reality.

Premium Member The Book of Job

You might have blisters on your hands from all your manual toil.
You may be climbing up a pole with an electrical coil.
Could be a produce vendor shucking husks from the cob.
It’s just a job.

You might have permanent employment, or only work from time to time.
You may have ring around the collar from industrial grime. 
Could be working in a hotel kitchen spearing kebabs. 
It’s just a job.

You might regard it a profession, a career, or a chore.
You may be forced to punch a time clock when you pass through the door.
Could be an undercover agent, or a thug with the mob.
It’s just a job

You might be laboring like Sisyphus for minimum wage.
You may possess a golden parachute for late middle age.
Could be widgeting the fittings on a thingamabob.
It’s just a job.

You might be entry level ready for the corporate sphere.
You may be hoping to retire in by the end of the year.
Could be cleaning up a crime scene where the vic was a slob.
It’s just a job

You might be licensed by the state to practice criminal law. 
You may be framing out a condo with a circular saw.
We all need to make a living, even trash-talking snobs.
It’s just a job.

Opalescent

much more than diamond  
pearled in a mere reflection  
the cat sings for his supper  
mirrored she flashes by  

fluttered flight, naked thru shadows  
shuttering amid a hint of light  
he doesn't see the lengths she goes to  
closing eyes with open mouths  

using only ears to listen  
perfect rythmn in a storm held night  
entwined and bound to midnight  
grasping fingers as the morning sounds  
 
shucking oysters and caressing bodies  
their rhapsody is sliding down

Premium Member Seeking My Pearl

Seeking My Pearl
Written: by Miracle Man
1-31-2020

I excel in writing when right conditions prevail,
I’m relegated to failure if I’m not giving my best.
No halfhearted effort will be of any avail,
and with that kind of effort God isn’t impressed.

A lofty goal, sometimes causes thoughts to stray,
and bar isn’t high enough if I easily reach my peak.
I just keep shucking oysters believing that someday,
God will give me the pearl that I diligently seek.

Premium Member I Know Where God Is At

I, face what most be ducking;
I escape what most be stuck in.
I, roar while they are clucking.!
I stand, no crawling;No Shucking.
Marching forward,no stalling.
Speaking on it, teaching,not preaching.
I grab it,no reaching;

Serving it raw, no preservatives;
Ain't giving Caesar nothing at all.
All the glory goes to “The All”,
God, is my staff and my rod.
He is my pillar and my rock,
He removes the obstacles that block,
keeps my mind open;

And my vulnerable parts blocked.
He opens my heart when needed,
or keeps it protected under lock.
What I lack he's got,he's got my back, 
and front for me,
he's always up to bat.
I am standing on his foundation,
I see premonitions with my internal eye;
Sometimes I sit and cry...

Yet, I face the future with bravery;
I carry the DNA of slavery,
from which he did deliver me.
I have a built-in sensory, to repel the unsavory.
Thick with wit, never dense.
Always thankful for my God-given sense.
No boasting, just facts...
Behind this English preposition...
“I know where my God is at".

Barz for God!!

Childhood Memories

Summertime with grandma and schools out
Greyhound bus riders we are on the way down south
Me and my sisters
Getting away from the city
Early mornings with grandpa 
He has us garden picking
Used to be grossed out
Hearing all those hissing sounds
City girl never worried about that on the cemented ground
Summertime in the kitchen 
Snapping peas and beans
Shucking corn mason jars stored
This was when food was clean
Sunday was family day 
We were always stuck with the dishes
Grandma and our big family
The truly love was our riches
My cousin and I always walking the tracks
To JJJs store just to get snacks
Mt Pleasant center we would skip
We thought we were grown
I can hear my aunt voice saying take your fast tails home
Memories of my childhood
I know some can relate
No worries about the world more love and less hate

Prince

"PRINCE"

Prince: truly a self-produced man;
“Purple Rain”—simply a masterpiece.
Sail smoothly sweet Prince.
May you find yourself on the 
Big Stage, shucking & jiving
For Love & Honor of God:
“That’s entertainment!"

Awe Shucks

Clam shucker yup that's me.
Ice cold or hot from the pot
will you take 6, 12, or 3 ?
Oysters, shrimp and crabs
complete the lot.
Fresh seafood in summer
hits the spot.
Island music is what 
I choose to play.
It makes the customers
come my way.
Toes tapping some dancing
while they wait.
To be shucked
the clam and oyster's fate.
The village street comes alive
when I arrive.
The music sets the beat
as people fill the street.
It's work but in a wonderful way
clam shucking for my pay.

Sub Categories

Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.

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