There is a grosser I often chat with, on my way from work,
a veteran with tales of the long war, and his own heroics of ferrying food to the front and
carrying the wounded on the stretcher, drenched in blood, until a nerve bomb knocked him unconscious for months.
But when the American and Israeli bombs started turning our city block into an inferno,
he rushed to a hiding but kept the store open with a sign that read, take what you like, pay later. War discount ten percent.
This is a city of courage,
a haven from fear,
a warrior city,
unreconciled to humiliation and defeat,
a sanctuary of faith,
a mosaic of independent wills to resist.
They built this world for the other hand,
Every door, every tool, every scissors command.
Ink smears across my palm like war paint,
While spiral notebooks mock me with their constraint.
But I am the mirror breaker,
The rule shaker,
The one who writes backwards
And dreams in reverse.
Ten percent revolution ninety percent poetic evolution
I am the southpaw standing alone
Against a kingdom of clockwise clocks
And right-turn locks.
My hand moves left while the world turns right,
I am the shadow boxer in broad daylight.
Every signature is an act of defiance,
Every handshake, civil disobedience.
They say I'm sinister—
From the Latin for "left"—
But I am the artist
Of beautiful theft,
Stealing moments of pure rebellion
With every stroke of my rebellious pen.
I am differently commanded.
So here's to the lefties, the rebels born,
Who face each day like breaking dawn,
Carving our paths through a backward maze,
We are the 10 percent uprising,
The minority surprising,
The ones who reach across our bodies
To write our own stories.
orange tweeting bird
sent his buddy to Greenland
frosty reception!
Percy pig candies
UK tariff ten percent ~
are they for the chop?
penguins and grey seals
are desert island dwellers ~
how can they be charged?
dow jones Index falls
trump claims there will be a boom ~
egocentric creep!
A crystal clear imprint this life,
Still, true story’s false hint this life.
Life of great possibilities
Lived only ten percent, this life.
Sheer look that murders and gives life,
What a romantic hint this life!
A beauty spot--her soft black mole,
Yet, no less than a flint this life.
It lets a thousand flowers bloom
Ah with a distinct tint this life.
A flip of eyelids and all gone,
Of fleetingly short stint this life.
What karmic imprint still this life
That keeps its print succinct this life!
______________________
Ghazal |17.03.2025 | life, philosophy
Uncle Jimmy was always bragging about his profits.
He constantly had things to sell.
I made two dollars, a ten percent profit.
I made five dollars, a twenty percent profit.
I made seventeen dollars, a fifty percent profit.
Actually everything he sells gives him a hundred percent profit.
He has never had a job.
His father has purchased anything he thinks he owns.
hey math tutor, I need help.
kids with questions - five at once!
multitasking, aging, geezer.
too much, too much, who needs help?
tasks need doing, people are waiting.
computers, phones, even TVs
are mind-boggling electro-monstrosities
gotta be there, gonna be late
car breaks down again, why now?
did I hurt her feelings or maybe his?
what is she expecting, anyway, and when?
I must improve my mindreading.
to prove myself I must work harder -
give a hundred ten percent
where am I gonna get that extra ten?
lose some sleep? borrow some money?
hey, buddy back off, that ain't funny.
hey mister, watch your step.
I'm a walking time bomb razor
time for me to go ballistic.
maybe I just got pushed too far.
whoa - time out.
kids got 18 years to learn.
they will be ok.
which of those tasks need doing?
which of those things can wait?
I think the world still spins without me.
my friends know i'm well intentioned
things will work out - it's ok.
I don't have to prove myself.
hey, buddy, nice to see you.
it sure is a beautiful day.
As one gets older
One often looks back
At all the things you did
In your life.
The good, the bad, and the ugly
And we all have those moments
Because we are human.
And some things you desired
But never pursued.
For me, it was a dream
Of becoming a famous writer
While I can write poems
And short stories,
My greatest desire
Was to write
The Great American Novel.
And sadly it will remain
An unfulfilled desire
As I don’t have the patience or energy .
To edit my six rough draft novels
Turning them into something publishable
And they may die when I die.
And I am in good company.
The rule of ten rule applies
Of one hundred people
Who want to write a novel
Less than ten percent finish it
Of those less than ten percent publish it
Of those less than ten percent make any money
Of those less than ten percent make a living
At writing their novels.
Every Spring there’s a battle cry
from deep within the South;
It raises the hair of millions for miles;
Tempers rise and just continue to climb
brushes try as styles explode mid motion;
Nothing can stop the impending siege;
Wild curls wage war with humidity;
Summer follows suit bringing sweat
to frizzed ringlets that go out of control;
One goes up while the other goes down
leaving bangs to hang limp like noodles;
With longing you look at the ten percent;
Over and over again failed products,
new ingredients same formidable foe;
Dog days leave you looking so unkept;
Wild curls wage war with humidity;
Doing this and trying that
slaughtered instantly by air;
Warriors fall this combat so daunting;
Lean into the wind armed and dangerous;
One final stand for the incorrigible;
A worthy opponent? My old school hat.
Wild curls wage war with humidity.
ETHREE-NONET POETRY
OUR BRAINS
Man's
Faulty
Brain power
Is limited
In this place of sin
Even the genius
Uses maybe ten percent
God plans much more for His children
What a blessing our life will soon be
If we will let Him take over our lives
Then God's universe we will explore
We will know how dull we were here
How stunted our growth has been
How our foe has fooled us
And kept us in paths
That led us to
Forsake God's
Loving
Way
Copyright, Kathryn Search
Plastic for garment hopeful Mc Guyver
Privileged upbringing Mum funded Uni
Drooping arms self described Survivor
Sends selfies working store security
Each week forgot which time we'd set to meet
Busy cuddling cat in his hoarders house
Box obstructed rooms, pet fur pile retreat
Expensive half hour at strip club aroused
Deep thought Duncan sombre long faced hellos
Told off at new job for being morose
Six year psychiatrist compiled his woes
Used a lot of glue trying to make clothes!
Fifty eight, next door mother truest friend
Asserts he's recognised among top ten
31st January
Duncan in denial
Ninety percent of those I have loved are dead,
ninety percent of those I have disliked are dead also.
Ninety percent of my life has been spent
travelling to find new places.
Ninety percent of those places
I have left with no regret.
Ninety percent of my life I have wasted,
ninety percent of what’s left is now taking a nap.
A memory of anything real is ninety percent wrong.
A recollection of one thing is usually a ninety percent
reflection of something else.
I have learned that ninety percent of what I know
is ninety percent false.
I have more to tell I am ten percent sure
but ninety percent of you all don’t care anymore.
When the president said ‘misunderestimated’
Everybody wondered, ‘was he ever educated’
But I forgive him that, for the thing that makes me ‘EEK!’
Is the mad proliferation of Corporation Speak…
For thirteen years a desk paid my rent
As I gave a hundred and ten percent
While progress chasing, the big knobs suggested
I could perhaps be more invested
They said action that
And try blue sky thinking
Let’s square the circle
Cos floating ain’t sinking
So pick it up and run with it
But bring it to the table
And hit the ground running
Don’t smoke in the stable
Scare the ghost
Feel the commotion
Peel the onion
Boil the ocean
If you’re out of the loop
Go punch the puppy
We’ll take it on board
(While I punch the yuppie)
So here’s the game changer
Think outside the box
We need joined up thinking
Heads up, shoot the fox
It’s a no brainer, for it’s got legs
The tastiest coffee still has dregs
So find a window, bump some heads
You can’t make an omelette without cracking eggs
So let’s all sing from the same hymn sheet
For we live in a world full of corporate speak
That word.
All we can give is one hundred and ten percent,
Or the lack of effort that we all did.
All I have left to give is the emptiness,
Of a future already behind us, so let’s give it a miss.
We are young; we are evermore.
I am the strongest with your hand in my hand.
We believed forever more that we would be pure,
But life changed us into The Devil’s man.
It began with sex and inside my head,
I had all these thoughts that I would confess,
To a woman I loved, if I ever loved any,
But life ain’t like that; lover’s are ten a penny.
They come and go and on with the show.
They say I love you like it is just a word they have heard.
All I can say is the pain that I have known,
When that word has been said to me…my God that word.
(C)2020 Aa Harvey. All Rights Reserved.
T.V.
Haiku: by Tom
December 15, 2020
Television is;
ninety per cent commercials,
ten percent other.
Lewis Carroll, Harpo Marx,
Albert Einstein, Eminem,
Paul McCartney, Judy Garland –
These are just a few of them.
Add DaVinci and Obama,
Oprah, Jimi and Bill Gates,
Charlie Chaplin, Morgan Freeman –
All have something that relates.
R.B. Ginsburg, Mozart and
Ted Williams and, of course, Babe Ruth,
Helen Keller, Ringo Starr,
Matt Groening and Bart Simpson. (truth!)
Jerry Seinfeld, Larry Bird,
Ludwig B, Spike Lee, Mark Twain
Are among the ten percent
Who use the right side of the brain.
Since today’s Lefthanders Day
Let’s honor all of those who are
As I will with my grandson Henry,
Who’s my lefty fave by far!
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