when poetry is
obsessive… compulsive… argghh
... transactional
___________________________
Selected reviews:
. Bullseye, Wolf! ~ Mad Magazine
. Cuckoo, bro! ~ Jack Nicholson
. echoes of Donald ~ Hillary Clinton
. settler-colonizer whitey words ~ Ilhan Omer
. (Add one of your own! lol)
Categories:
transactional, humor, mental health, mental
Form: Senryu
In the realm where love intertwines with gain,
Bouquets and brands, a capitalist's terrain.
Gucci labels and bags, symbols of might,
Love's currency measured in material delight.
Flowers exchanged for moments in time,
A transactional love, a capitalist paradigm.
Dubai's allure, a destination grand,
An investment in passion, a capitalist's hand.
In the marketplace of affections, a lucrative trade,
Intimacy priced, where transactions are made.
Love becomes a commodity, a lucrative blend,
A capitalist benefit, where desires transcend.
Yet, beneath the surface, a paradox unfurls,
For love isn't confined to material swirls.
In the balance of wealth and emotions, we see,
The complex dance of love and capitalism's decree.
South Africa's tale, a fusion of hearts and gain,
Where love's richness isn't solely in the material lane.
In this capitalist romance, let hearts find their say,
For true connection transcends the price we pay.
Categories:
transactional, age, america, anxiety, butterfly,
Form: Dramatic Verse
You made the right choice
Sign right here, be a pal, oh..
One more thing can I ask?
Though I know I seem shallow..
Could you just click a like?
Or a heart, that would do
I don't wish to impose, but
It makes our friendship SO true
Then I'll visit as well
Send our numbers to maximal
I do love you and this is
In no way transactional
You can stroke me and hug me
With your words affirmational
My reply will be Shakespearean
Or at least dissertational
When we're done with our tags
Or the half dozen kisses
With the hearts and the stars
Loaded high with best wishes
We can sleep safe and sound
As with nuclear fission
There's nothing to fear
From our popularity mission
xxxxxx
Categories:
transactional, love, self, vanity,
Form: Rhyme
I’m okay you’re okay
I’m not okay and that is okay
honour your parents
but respect needs to be earned
blind obedience kills childhoods
and where right becomes wrong
opposition becomes duty
genes and hand me down customs
un-reflected socialisation and traits
are a wicked combination of templates
for unexpressed emotions
and irrational thoughts
when defence mechanisms
and blindfolded acceptance
create no more than a chip
off the old block
on one’s shoulder
to be okay
is definitely
not okay
yet in a way
it is never too late
to have a happy childhood
because adults can play
and now I need
to talk to my Selves
just a bit because otherwise
analysis becomes paralysis
07th September
written with Eric Berne's concept of transactional analysis in mind
Categories:
transactional, anti bullying,
Form: Free verse
I offered two nickels,
she demanded a dime
It wasn’t enough,
her anger declined
“Can’t you make change,”
she then shouted aloud
And while counting my failures,
her voice reendowed
But the count was undone,
all divisors were shunned
My offerings
attacked
With her vault locking down,
and my ledger unbound
The numbers red
—not black
(Dreamsleep: October, 2020)
Categories:
transactional, lost love,
Form: Rhyme
Tangible: perceptible by touch.
There was a time when I wanted too much.
There was a time when it gave me a rush.
Transactional mindset, enough ain't enough.
Learning the hard way, by going through such.
It was a crutch
Compensating for my lack of confidence
It was a crutch
Treating people like things, for defense
It was a crutch
Confrontation of myself was too scary
It was a crutch
Rather get high, it's easier to bury
I couldn't just “be”
Maybe I couldn't see?
Maybe what I learned was a distorted reality?
Apparently,
We all,
have a few holes.
Chasing acceptance,
It's interfering with your goals.
Chasing the money,
Yeah, that’ll change your soul.
Chasing protection
Wait, let me impose.
Get open.
And when you get open,
Take this token.
Dance, Smile, Walk, Laugh, Love, Chill, Run,
Take a chance.
And before you know it,
Gifts start showing.
Arising from the ashes,
Coals start glowing.
Now you’re growing.
Becoming organic.
All pure & the tangible vanished.
Categories:
transactional, self,
Form: Free verse
A comfortable illusion.
Distinctly foreign,
To the world of blacks.
I was “lucky”, I had a name.
And could entertain.
Through a man made game.
But see,
There's conditions on this contract.
Fine print that's not attached.
Especially if you have intellect.
And they felt the need to
Remind me that,
IF,
You speak your mind.
And your thoughts don't align.
With the “superior” kind.
Quiet Boy! You’re out of line!
A mindset.
Subject to,
Reject.
Those who,
Don't accept.
Their views.
Stay silent you fool!
You think you're cool?
Don't forget who created the rules!
Since they “bequeathed” this honor,
They can revoke it as well.
A transactional hell.
Standing up, but you fell.
George Floyd is me.
And I am him.
A comfortable illusion made you forget?
Categories:
transactional, conflict, integrity,
Form: Free verse
Behold the flageolet wizard wand —
at each windpipe end,
it toe tag taps the same dirge sound
Abominable Gomorrah black buries
to the left
Vile Yeti blinking Babel blue buries
to the right
This voodoo mint stick
shows you the same Al Jolson face,
no matter which dark side
of the hex coin you flip
Deep indigo Far West hue
is gonna bullet mark your forehead
with a transactional tattoo
Shallow turquoise shade rear East tint
will sunset your hope
with burning crosses double helix bent
Wooden voodoo baton
carved with pagan imagery
On each side of the prod stick,
cattle cull call
is tased with ballot trickery
Some pridefully pip
they be canary pawns of the right wing
Others proudly chirp
they be pigeon fawns of the left honking
And the independent night owl souls
sniff how the trade wind blows,
to decide on which way they gonna lean
Pogo patsies on a voodoo stick
bouncing to-and-fro billow mindlessly
Drowning their fears
in patriotic waves of I-pod conformity
They do the death dance,
head bobbing self-sacrificially so
Voodoo chicken tenders
turning on the fiery pit spit slow
Categories:
transactional, judgement, perspective, symbolism, wisdom,
Form: Dramatic Verse
Too slow is the speed of life,
so we try to outrun avalanches and race sounds,
flee into roaring tubes of hungry water,
brave invisible waves in the sky.
Too barren is the landscape of life,
so we take shelter in surly jungles and unruly gulfs,
set out to survive deserts where even memories die,
trespass peaks reserved for birds and clouds.
Too bloodless are the aesthetics of life,
so we declare emotional asylum in the turmoil of music,
find refuge in the jarring, scarring beauty of poetry,
ask to be abducted into the haunted wilderness of art.
Too transactional are the relationships of life,
so we pawn our souls for the drugs of cults and creeds,
trust in friends or their imposters,
risk heartbreak for a few moments when the world spins.
Too fraught is life with the danger of safety,
so we seek salvation in a rush of adrenalin,
or a trickle of madness.
Empty-handed is no way to leave.
We’ll hitch a ride on those spikes along that flatline.
Or be impaled upon them.
Categories:
transactional, adventure, emotions, fear, journey,
Form: Free verse
CoArise each remembered
and imagined moment.
CoArise each bilateral inhaled
and exhaled breath.
CoArise each bicamerally conscious heart's light
and dark desire.
CoArise each win/lose work
and win/win play agenda.
CoArise each transactional commission
and transparent omission.
CoArise each binomial relationship
of positive value
with negative disvalue.
CoArise each eco-nomial
binomial.
CoArise each language comforting meme,
each silent
lusty
discomforting scream.
CoArise each impassioned mind paradigm
and compassioned body pleasure.
CoArise each neurosystemic individual
and biosystemic species.
CoArise each national Cooperating Space
within sacred EarthPlace.
CoArise EcoCitizens
of SunFather enlightenment
and MotherEarth empowerment!
CoOperate this CoArise;
cooperative systems form co-aroused
home again ReGenesis.
Categories:
transactional, addiction, culture, earth, earth
Form: Parallelismus Membrorum
Cool tongue teasing
Lips undone.. pleasing
Sweetness drenching
Probing tongue quenching
Heightened breathing
Blinded with lacing
Around me you’re pacing
Cascading inside yearning
Wanton fire burning
Inhibitions quickly fading
Transactional mating
Animalistic surging
Exploring another…
Merging...
Contending...bending...
Blending!
Categories:
transactional, adventure, fantasy, girlfriend-boyfriend, love,
Form: Rhyme
Let’s not go,
let’s not reach anywhere.
The toenails have started digging in the earth,
to make peace with the distress response
of the bruised hunger for transactional surrender.
And the surrogate mother will abandon
the child for the father who had
run away in pursuit of pleasure, like others
sowing his wild oats in rags
unwashable in the milk of mercy.
It has spilled again my full heart.
The pain provokes the stopped clocks,
in the wake of explosions. Unstitched
fissures bleed, I see the ashen face
of a floating wisdom.
SATISH VERMA
Categories:
transactional, adventure, allegory, angst, animals,
Form: I do not know?