Poetry — Easy
Poetry — Hard
Words — To Decide
Truth — Zero Sum
**********
Free To Disagree
We don’t always agree
but are free to take issue
With differing minds
— that our Founder’s defend
**********
First & Last
Say something ...
with every word
spoke or then written
heard or unheard
With every word
free a new moment
Eternally prescient
— divorcing from time
(Dreamsleep: June, 2026)
My title - the culmination of a recent ad on TV
from a company well-respected in my home town.
They offer a nonpareil chance for those who think "free".
I take issue, feel vouchsafed and venture to frown.
"No interest, No payments for twenty-four months"
Enjoy the wide-open window of opportunity.
A bit incredible which makes one suspicious at once
this sugary-sweet offering must have finer print to see.
It brings divinity to mind, remember that puffy treat
made of whipped egg whites and sugar, maybe pecans.
Unsubstantial candy, so-named to sound so sweet --
My advice, be sure you check out all the pros and cons.
"We don't want your money!" (at least for right now)
"Go buy a pony!" how whimsical does that sound?
Ponies need space, 1-2 acres at least and lots of chow;
or you can board them at costs which truly astound?
I've gone on long enough about commercial fare.
A rarity once in a blue moon, too good to be true;
hidden catches and scams are out there everywhere.
It's the teasing of viewers with proposals beaucoup.
They're airing falsehoods,
Claimed more than they should -
they're up to no good
And should be called out.
Don't be dramatic,
Don't be pedantic,
It's in semantics
That evens the score.
Now then take issue,
Although they'll diss you,
For what you'll pursue
When stating your case.
Deal only with facts,
Nothing to retract,
It's your time to act
With Truth on your side.
Hit the ground running,
No need for cunning,
Don't spread the bunting
And don't sermonize.
Just make your case strong -
Most will come along;
They'll want to belong
And not be left out.
Put rogues in their place -
Stand up face-to-face
And you will erase
The lies they've embraced.
'It takes one to know one', so they do state,
but that won't take you far,
as we're never told exactly who these 'they' are.
'It's not what you know, it's who you know',
so the saying goes,
but the devil is in the details,
and I say, 'It's what you know about whom you know,'
which really goes to show,
whomsoever holds the power prevails.
'You have to give them what they want', so it is said,
but that only adds to my pique,
as I know not those 'them' of whom they speak.
Some may say 'I have an axe to grind',
but that's neither here nor there,
as I take issue with; 'they', 'who' and 'them' unknown,
yes it's my cross to bear.
Its rain and rain; and rain again..'
But are those politicans ready?
To thwart or stall? this great downfall'
Cause for weeks its been coming steady!
How we need a crew that will take issue
As with a plan-demic we knew
Proclaiming, one..' Raindrop (is one too many!)
Would it not be absurd
If just like a bird
We could live our lives up on the wing
The things we could do
As freely we flew
Such freedom could make a man sing
If just like the swift
Our wings gave us lift
And rarely would we need to land
We’d flirt and we’d date
And possibly mate
In need of no tree, grass or sand
But if on the ground
Large snowflakes abound
The people below might take issue
For we’d even do
Airborne number two
And the snow is in fact toilet tissue
Pink Floyd said,
'All you touch and all you see
Is all your life will ever be'
Do you believe it
How can that be
A world in which there
Are no dreams
Where everything
Is only as it seems
Was Pink kidding me
If God is dead
And dreams don't exist
If love's a farce
Then I'm so miffed
And I can't breathe
I can't breathe
~Lyric Man
Note: The Pink Floyd band is legendary. Their lyrics some of the best ever written. But I didn't always agree with their message. In this simple lyric I take issue with one of their more famous lines.
Three cheers to a man who threw off his shackles
Key turned by cancer door slammed by his wife
An eleventh hour primal urge stirring
A man had decided to reclaim his life
He did what he did to provide for his family
More than that he did it for pride
Given we know what before the fall goeth
Of his ruinous end we should be not surprised
Society thought that he was a weakling
He would admit he went through life afraid
Until the day when the straw broke the camel
And now we sing of the stand that he made
Who would have thought someone so mild mannered
Would put a bullet in a rival's head
Some would take issue with how he did business
Mostly though those people are dead
He died alone in a pool of irony
He'd tell you his decisions were bad
When the world tries to strip a man of his dignity
It's hard to conceive of a choice to be had
March 18, 2017
I have no need to discover
Where the fault in my construction lies
because there are flies where I lie
and my chapped mouth sighs
unable to take issue again
with those things which don't say goodbye
I'm clenched around my frozen fist
which beat the bones of a horse
that died so long ago
Poems spill from my lips
as though I speak of yesterday
as though I'm justified to say
that this is all unfair,
when really, the fair is over
and the tent are drawn
When I'm just wading in an overgrown field
cutting my toes on trash that remained...
over and over...
I'd like to think that I'm good
or that I am the strong hero
who won't draw the line,
that will rap on the door until
his knuckles break
Or will stand until his body fails
Who will stay until he can no more
until the floor swallows him whole
But I'm
not
strong...
I'm just
afraid...
I just can't live in a world where you're away
and my faults find me wanting
at the memory of your feet
and nothing now will fix me...
As I was busy “being”
just who I am,
I didn’t care what others were seeing.
To be as they wish, would be a sham
and I will not be part of a scam.
People are really the sum
of everything that has touched their lives.
When others take issue with what you’ve become,
don’t expect to receive high fives.
If you stay true, your uniqueness survives.
No one can tell you what to feel,
when to laugh or how to pray.
The very act of being real
will find you rising above the fray,
dispelling regrets each day.
For if you submit to playing a role
that doesn’t fit your personality,
you’ll dig yourself deep into a hole.
Don’t succumb to others’ mentality;
maintain your individuality.
*English Quintain by Carolyn Devonshire for Nancy's "Unzipped Lips" contest
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