Poetry contests ...
skew the way
hoping
for a win
Ink
that never
truly dries
lost within the din
Words not felt
but chosen
to stay
forever cold
Spiraling
to depths unknown
in darkness
— bought and sold
(Dreamsleep: September, 2026)
Rushing back with my shout
drinks held aloft skew-whiff.
I was spun all around
like a wild water spout,
caught by brush
flush with haste
shame's a gush
blush disgraced
crowd's hush-hush
He glances ‘round the crowded room,
Where laughter sparks and joy resumes.
He plays along, a practiced mime—
Lifts his lips, but not in time.
For somewhere deep, his mind has flown,
His soul long gone, he stands alone.
What’s left behind, a hollow frame—
A shadowed man without a name.
And oh,
You cannot feign what isn’t true.
So smiles, like paint, began to skew—
A circus mask, a jester’s frown,
The silent tears of one worn down.
The clown remained, as days went by,
But joy, it wilted, left to die.
Behind the lens, a smile posed—
But all that gleamed was false, composed.
Where is the laughter? Where’s the cheer?
What once was light now disappears.
And all that’s left when curtains drown,
Are soft and salty tears of a clown.
He tried to hide the ache with grace,
But sorrow shimmered on his face.
And though he smiled, his eyes betrayed—
The hush where happiness once stayed.
Why, love—
It was the tears of a clown.
The pain increases every day
bit by bit, I have no say
I do what I can to ease it all
but it’s been a real long-haul
from cramping feet to head in a vice
swollen fingers, no paradise
aching hips, joints all stiff
inner workings gone skew-whiff
pins & needles, exhaustion too
I get no help, so I push through
muscles ache, it’s hard to heal
feel like perhaps I got a raw deal
Insomnia, brain fog, twitches & more
just some of the symptoms I endure
no two days are ever the same
Its wretched Fibro’s twisted game
The invisible illness no one sees
a chronic condition considered a disease
widespread pain & yet I smile
but some days wish I could turn down the dial.
When life’s storms come your direction
It can be like an infection
They cause you to feel kind of blue
So don’t let your storms define you
Storms should not define who you are
Allowing them may cause a scar
These burdens may cause you to skew
So don’t let your storms define you
You are not defined by your past
Do you know who you are at last
A man died for you is a clue
So don’t let your storms define you
He bled on the cross for your sake
A new life for you to partake
Believe in Christ and you are new
So don’t let your storms define you
Edward J Ebbs - 03/14/2025
I am far away from home in a land that is now foreign to me
I go outside at just the right moment and I see the moon high in the clear sky
And the sun setting in the background saying good night
But it is a travesty...
I miss my home and I miss my views
Here the sun is being hidden behind tall buildings all around
I see the reflection of the suns colors in the clouds but that is all
I miss my home, I miss my land
It's a travesty what man has done to skew the beauty of the world
~ Pauly G
Nursery Rhymes Only Contest - sponsored by Eve Roper
To Eve’s winning contestants, I write this poem for you.
I have read each one and commented till I am blue.
You won’t see them there however.
I’ve been getting an error forever.
Your nursery rhymes are clever, cute, unique, and precious.
It is the comment fields that are the most treacherous.
So know I have read and do wish you congrats!
My non-existent comments will skew your stats.
It’s “Error!” “Error!” “Error!”
I am a “System 500” starer.
Where is that IT repairer?
Should I cross my fingers or say a prayer?
Disagreement, discussion, and debate are not indicators of hate.
When fetuses die and their mothers no longer cry, we are practitioners of infanticide.
Becoming rich from a Washington hitch is evidence you are a crooked son of a be-itch.
Segregation and diversity mandates are damaging constructs designed to divide and each are a disgrace of equal distaste.
You need it to drive, you need it to fly, you need to buy, voter IDs are not Jim Crow and when you say so, it clearly shows who paints from a racist tableau.
Those who skew NEWS based on their political views are liars and should be considered pariah’s.
When you deny biology in favor of an alphabet ideology there can be but one conclusion; you are possessed by demons of delusion.
People who say God is not boss and reject Jesus’s work on the cross are wandering through life blinded and lost.
How am I so wounded by you?
Arrows never shoot, but run me through
Beautiful viper poisoning; stares straight, not a skew
I'm glad to be seen by their bite; I'll be its anti-venom, too
Covetous my own thoughts of envy; verdurous thy view
They're green and ravenous, but see me in a form so true
Eyes that sing a siren song; control my affection they do!
When life has gone skew-whiff
And best laid plans have gone awry
When everything is topsy turvy
And you're winging it on the fly
There is something you can do
To rectify the situation
Don't waste another moment
Go and run off on vacation
It's a radical approach
Not to stay and tough it out
And instead hope problems disappear
When you are not about
Lying under a palm tree
Drinking pina coladas while you read
May not change your problems -
But its probably what you need
After all is said and all is done
By Michelle Morris
07/09/2021
After all is said and all is done,
can you face the truth?
Can you accept that you're a superstar
with nothing to lose?
Don't let your friends and family
hold you back from your dreams;
Don't let anyone get between you
and your self esteem.
After all is said and all is done,
can you make a choice?
Can you stand up for what you believe
and have conviction in your voice?
Don't let people or the media
skew your true beliefs;
Make sure that you have a backbone
when conflict you must meet.
After all is said and all is done,
can you count on yourself?
Will you put aside those restless nights
and years of living in hell?
Don't let the demons and monsters
try to eat you alive;
Your soul is made of stardust
and you are meant to thrive.
After all is said and all is done
will you live with no regrets?
What words would suit your
tombstone or legends of your quests?
Don't let this life go by
without giving it your all;
Be thankful for every chance
that isn't granted every soul.
© Michelle Morris, 2021
see the seesaw sea
send its waves to rock
the barrel stave wooden seahorse
to and fro, askew and slow
though I'm feeling
skew-whiff in the waddle
and iffy sickly not well
I think I'll stay
riding the bare-back bronco
to whittle the whiles away
letting the be, what's may
till the break of day
Sitting on a pew
Grilling and skew
Cravings that streak
Gravy of the mountain peak.
Sauces and condiments laid
Sprinkled, dashed and said
Vegetables, meat and bread
Cooked, baked and knead.
Reserving, consuming energy from tree
Drinking, nibbling like spree.
Waiting for the next bonfire and gaze
Rollicking with charcoal, dust and blaze.
A shooting star from the night so dark
Oozing with smoke and might that spark
Writing your name in the dark board of chart
Weaving canvass in your heart of art.
Can't keep refusing it's on the hands of you
Is this the haunting image of hell I view?
So, to care or plead for my discreet silence
Weak hands are calling to you for guidance
Praying to get help for feelings that permeate
Like watching, hurting, rolled down a sewer grate
Gentle hands tapping a telegraph in dotted code
Seek to find salvation before all these feelings erode
Scared to run, diseases like this don't seem to phase you
Are the answers to it all, I read, found in a hard wooden pew
I wish I had your faults, there aren't many, but I have found a few
Wringing hands, no answers, come fly around my hell, all a skew
No blasphemy intended, no one nailed to the board
Once written, answers in time, by the pearl gate lord
Somewhere the sun is shining through
While sadness attempts to claim the day,
Emotions can sometimes get out-of-skew.
Often it is when we do not get our way
Which makes us ignore the brighter side,
While sadness attempts to claim the day.
So easily bruised feelings hurt our pride
We allow our emotions to take charge,
Which makes us ignore the brighter side.
On these occasions we need a recharge
Too often we go with the emotional flow,
We allow our emotions to take charge.
Succumbing to gloom, we lose our glow
And, if not careful we become depressed
Too often we go with the emotional flow.
Feelings too often take over, unassessed
Somewhere the sun is shining through
And, if not careful we become depressed
Emotions can sometimes get out-of-skew.
Written August 23, 2022
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