Twinges Poems | Examples

Growing up

In such a way where it's almost amusing, I get to sit here on achy feet, and a leaning flat pain like metal bars against my chest. I wasn't even allowed to exhale. 

It's, like a circus attraction, unavoidable to stand here in a spotlight, and not feel the mockery from a crowd that only draws inhale in my mind. That they knew the knives I call my thoughts, the ones they flung at a spinning wheel I know as my heart, weren't random conjurations, but true sentiments in hopes of nothing but wasted time. 

Why was it all wasted time? What do I learn? What do I gain but the soreness of discarded feelings, ones I've spent my whole existence pining for, to keep firing off like flares of a ship that didn't need saving but acknowledgement, and ones I needed to fortify because the universe knows there are too many cruelties that want to drown someone like me. 

All for bruises, twinges, and someone to tell me I'm growing up, 
because why wouldn't growing up mean more strain?

Playing Pinball

Carpal tunnel twinges
punctuate a torpid afternoon,
as row on row we line the aisles
and stare at nothing
with the guarded anonymity
of urinating men.

My thumb is on the lever,
moving almost imperceptibly,
as marbles rocket into space
and filter down
through obstacles designed
to keep the management in business.

The captive of a chain reaction
freed from craving by acceptance
of the preordained,
I decompose, am compromised,
incorporated by the convolutions
of this artificial universe.

But something breaks
the moment I let go.
The single thread
that holds the world in place is cut,
and once again I fall away
with all my individual needs exposed.


Japan, 1968


Previous version published in Outposts, England

lacy things and whispered kisses

Oh, would that I could speak of love
Of passion and of red high heels
Of lacy things and whispered kisses

But if I did all would be memory
Soft twinges teasing a timid heart
A shadow cast on a distant stage

And yet I speak for love remains
Weary eyes and veined hands
Searching in a darkened warmth

For lacy things and whispered kisses
For passion without red high heels
Oh, would that I could speak of love

Yet I Cling Long Version

Blue
twinges
of lament
cast gaunt shadow
o’er my dreadful  pang
as a grim mist segued
into dark claustrophobic
cantons where rabid zeal of hearts
once smouldered from magma’s deep red vein
Yet I cling to golden dawn recall
of lazy strolls in lush green mead
wild sniff of purple heather
neath sun-drenched sky aflame
gusts of joy rippling
froth-rim brook waltz
now toilworn
gaudy
dream
Haze
born of
mellow flight
as hunches splay
across foamed pool morn
plop of jaspers echo 
icy shriek as chalk mark toe
dips into a whirlpool eddy
to soothe stark reflections so forlorn 
Those august palpitating heartbeats 
etched in vivid ripple canvass 
entwined that fleeting pearl drop 
bead keen ink glint token 
a pledge once fervent
now rose tinted 
phase on brink 
of times
lapsed

Yet I Cling

“NA”

Blue
twinges 
of lament
cast gaunt shadow
o’er my dreadful  pang
as a grim mist segued
into dark claustrophobic 
cantons where rabid zeal of hearts
once smouldered from magma’s deep red vein
Yet I cling to golden dawn recall 
of lazy strolls in lush green mead  
wild sniff of purple heather
neath sun-drenched sky aflame
gusts of joy rippling
froth-rim brook waltz
now toilworn
gaudy
dream

Yet I Cling

Blue
twinges 
of lament
cast gaunt shadow
o’er my dreadful  pang
as a grim mist segued
into dark claustrophobic 
cantons where rabid zeal of hearts
once smouldered from magma’s deep red vein
Yet I cling to golden dawn recall 
of lazy strolls in lush green mead  
wild sniff of purple heather
neath sun-drenched sky aflame
gusts of joy rippling
froth-rim brook waltz
now toilworn
gaudy
dream

Paradoxical Perfection

Written: November 19, 2023
             ____________________________________________

Beyond the ethereal hues, reigns peace,
Incongruous with intrinsic ease.
Noshing desire tugs at the core fibers of my soul,
Wear tiredness bruise, frailty, and out-of-control.

The twinges of awe distort and narrow,
Dazzling me with its emerald harrow.
Crushing the sunlight rays that spread,
Oozing a cruel throb of dryness in my head.

The emptiness hosts sight and sound,
The truth is revealed by my idle ground.
Controversy seeps through my arteries,
Providing a safe haven for my mysteries.

Salt penetrates the skin's surface,
Water waves form in pools as they face.
Sharing the mind wonderful disarray,
So utterly, I'll be in anguish all day!

Life is blasted against the glass akin to sand,
Time is marked by simple, quiet steps stand.
What remains is a barely flickering light,
That is a velvety smear spackled in the sight.

Soul Fulfillment

Written: November 03, 2023
                          _______________________________

Beyond the misty shades, there is peace.
Irreconcilable with retaining inner ease
Noshing prefers tugging at my soul.
Bearing wounds of stale apathy as a whole

Confusional twinges twist and confine.
mesmerizing me with its emerald design.
The rays, while flowing, are being broken.
A punitive pulse that shrinks is swollen.

Voices and visions visit the void vacuum.
The reality is shown in my idle bedroom.
My pores are a way for dread to escape.
Provide solace and safety for my shape.

The epidermis gets tangled in salt.
It lands in a vibrating pressure vault.
Exposing the exquisite havoc of the mind
Ensuring me that I can properly bind.

My path to the afterlife begins here.
I'm a speck of sand thrown at a sphere.
Subtle gestures are used to indicate time.
The sole residual insight has grown grime.

Giddy Retirement Days

Some days are up, others are down
    Little setbacks wear a big frown
  Every ache or pain, magnified
    Tingles and twinges our battle cries

  Offered a plethora of seminars
    Telling us 'bout how lucky we are
  To benefit from sophisticated financial planning
    ~ Though we spend all our money on MRI scanning

I Do Not Trust Sport Trainers

There is a twinge in my left knee,
right on the inside of the kneecap, under the bone.

I’ll jump, sometimes.
Tendons stretching, stretching, stretching—
muscles flexing.
My foot leave the ground (pointed, of course).
My other leg is straight already (pointed, of course). 
I lock myself in this position, finding the stretch, the burn, for a second in which I do not know the ground.

I fall. Land on one toe, then a foot, then a weight that cannot possibly belong to me.
My knee twinges. 
I ignore it.

I stretch the other side, there is no twinge.

I go back to my left. Twinge. Twinge. I ignore it.

Wearing knee braces on top of leggings, is embarrassing, anyway.

Tingles, Twinges, Creaks

Tingles, Twinges, Creaks
    signs that don't need to speak
   of time's effect on our physiques
     Tingles, Twinges, Creaks...

Purple Coneflower

Unsung heroes of the garden fringes
Perennial favorites for a colorful bouquet,
Purple coneflowers with yellow twinges.

Violets are sweet…, yes, they are okay,
But they are too small, coneflowers tower
Perennial favorites for a colorful bouquet.

They are imposing not unlike a sunflower
Those bright purple petals, strikingly nice,
Looking swell edging a front lattice bower.

Their scent can be reminiscent of a spice
But be careful smelling, for bees also enjoy 
Those bright purple petals, strikingly nice.

Purple coneflowers the florists employ
For lovely summer arrangements, in fact,
But be careful smelling, for bees also enjoy.

Of the purple coneflower, nothing lacked
Unsung heroes of the garden fringes
For lovely summer arrangements, in fact,
Purple coneflowers with yellow twinges.

THIRD PLACE WINNER
Written May 31, 2022
Submitted to "Purple Flowers" Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Nayda Ivette Negron Flores

Swabbing My Nose

Swab
inside 
my nose
presses, swirls. Twinges,
twitches, runs like it’s bleeding.
I wait in lobby, till rest home screener
smiles. “Negative! Good to go!”
Grandmother, I only
do this
for 
you!

La Verite De L'Amour

I fantasized you’d found me
Caressing every curve with care
fascinated by my flaws
Realizing what it is 
to be with a woman so real
unlike those portraits of perfection 
like manufactured mannequins 
Not today’s definition of desirable
Shoulders and hips too broad 
with a bit of a belly
resembling a Rubens painting
refusing to starve myself into submission 
to become a slave to an impossible ideal
Your touch sent twinges and tingles 
through every needful nerve
passionately possessing every part of me
our ethereal, eager essences 
propelled to a higher plane of existence
Two wanderers in the wilderness 
finally finding what we’d sought
after so many years of yearning
La vérité de l'amour

Embrace and Release

Embrace happiness wherever you find it 
Relish the good times happiness will bring 
Absorb all the happiness your mind will permit.  

Release sorrows that cause your heart to sting 
Cast aside the hurtful twinges inside your mind 
Quickly cast out the evil thoughts they bring. 

Embrace the joy and the peace you can find
Especially in the love of family and friends
Tightly cling to those loving ties that bind.  

Release disappoints that serve their own ends 
Don’t be discouraged by what you can’t control 
And always be quick to make amends.  

Embrace good things that nourish your soul 
When things seem to go wrong in your day 
Reach out for that which will make you whole.  

Release the negative; embrace the positive way.

May 11, 2021
for "Embrace and Release" Contest
sponsored by Unseeking Seeker

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