a bud-is-tic time
flow-are
beautiful
len
toc tac toe
I am always X
weirdly enough
every young person I meet is also always X
I had to learn to be O
begrudgingly
Just a tic
Sometimes a motor tic
Sometimes a vocal tic
The constant tapping of my foot
Or the constant popping of my lips
Just to ease the storm of nerves
A tic takes the edge off just as that drink takes the edge off for the alcoholic
swirls around my
finds my
bottom right incisor.
jagged
pulls away
[bite down]
finds my
bottom right incisor.
bloodied
bottom right incisor.
[swirl, swirl, swirl, swirl, swirl, sw
Keeping busy
Tic-Tac-Toe
Checking my lists
Tic-Tac-Toe
Cooking and cleaning
Tic-Tac-Toe
Trips to the lake
Tic-Tac-Toe
Let's take a walk
Tic-Tac-Toe
Rummaging and fumbling
Tic-Tac-Toe
Just keeping busy
Tic-Tac-Toe
Never still. Never rest
Tic-Tac-Toe
Time always heals Mother said
Tic-Tac-Toe
Memories Never Fade
Tic-Tac-Toe
*This poem will make more sense to Americans
who watched t.v. in the 1970’s
TIC TAC TOE
the board real tidy. today Tiger would hold
together the family photo. how old the queuing.
surely the Brady six hated tic tac toe -
the anniversary cake blows
the squares, it’s centerfold - Borgnine, Lynde
and Rivers. family full of puzzling fun,
riveting answers. Alice lines them up -
his and her kids, girls on one side, boys
on the other, mom and dad, and plops
herself in the middle, as an inclusion.
delusional housekeeper dates Sam the butcher.
braces and nose job…Marcia…Marcia…Marcia
singing group, house of cards, a charm bracelet.
Tiger’s a thief. Kitty Carryall, his beef.
blame Bobby. Jan gets revenge by sneezing.
sneezing…sneezing…sneezing, sends
the dog away. “in what state was Lincoln born?”
Lynde’s square lit up. He grabs hold of his muse:
“like all of us naked and screaming.” sardonic
tic, tac, toe vibrations of Uncle Arthur’s laugh.
Bruising
the overpass
with bold
beautiful
and brazen
boast -
make the most
of T I M E
impressions
Upon the wall
It hangs
counting
metronomic moments
lost
to time
John G. Lawless
©9/24/2022
an old clock
turns from tic to toc
midnight falls away
from its loose slip knot
hands maneuver hands
to where dark declines
distant specks of time
burst into flame
if your eyes are asleep
you may hear these labors
in another place
within a space-less room perhaps
for the winding of old clocks
maybe the winder of your heart
has even now stepped over
a midnight pause
has about-faced
from your ticking
Tic tic tic
Tic tic tic
Tic tic tic
My life is reckoning
parallel to the ticking
and the clicking
sounds of my heart beating
the clock is crying
I can hear the hollow wheels spinning
the spinning spirals the intricate wires
the ticks functioning mechanisms
I understand this is the motorized transcensive mark
a check the sounds of a series of ticks
Those clicks the klacks
Tic tic tic
Tic tic tic
Tic tic tic
My heartbeats
the sound of KaBoom dynamite the sizzling
of the detonation cord primacord explodes
that is attached the stick of dynamite
Sounds of bacon in a pan
Ticking sizzling
the call of the swallow of the birds the robins in the trees
The crickets rubbing its leg
such a perfect sounds to my ears
are yet ringing as I hear
the text the bee humming
the smoke a hearing sounds of the motor the humming the ticking
Tic tic tic
6/30/21
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr © 2021
TIC
Competitive repetitive compulsive movement sound
Nervously unknown to me I rebound
TACK
Like a ship I sail I change my course the boat's head through the wind
TOE
A digit of the foot just three phalanx bones honed
Gridded nine square I am
A seeker alternating turn complete row
Is it jest or just a game, games
Diagonal
Noughts and crosses
Diagonal horizontal
Lethargic I take the toll
Three in a row
Tic-tac-toe
6/16/21
Written by James Edward Lee Sr ©
aka
"No More Masks" or "Avon Calling"
It seems that your looks are genetic
And no one would claim they're magnetic
Improve the aesthetic!
Apply a cosmetic!
Synthetic is seldom pathetic!
Luna hears you speak of me
And whispers all your secrets
In my dreams
Through my windows
She tells me what you see
Tic toc, time's running out real fast
The signs are there, the dark clouds are vast
Bye bye, have a nice life
Wish you well in spite
Of the massive havoc you've amassed
divide and conquer
one size fits all agenda
money to be made
***
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.