A single white rose stands, swaying in wheezy wind
Got a glimmering glimpse of it in the dewy dawn.
On the carpet of green, as a dreamy dame she swings,
Demure and slightly bent on a magical monsoon day.
A fine flower with petite petals, delicate,
Yet sheltered by sharp stinging thorns that pierce.
Rain drops drip off her vaporous velvety face
As unanticipated tears rush down from one’s eyes.
She is fairer far than anything one can spot
Her petals, so silky and soft, spun by angels of heaven.
Oh, symbol of grace, you rock me in dazzling delight,
And in me a thousand poetic fancies ignite!
Age and circumstance conspire
As the will waffles
Beneath the weight
Of the unanticipated
Present
A gift
They called it
This aging thing
A crumpled box
Found in the dark corner
Of forgetfulness
The softening
Of the delicious
Into the bruised torment
Of a long-forgotten season
And yet
The core contains it all
Accepts the circumstance
Defies the conspirator
Knowing that age
Is but time’s tempering tool
cooling its perfection
May 2024 was the month I knew I would never work again.
Pneumonia in January and February convinced me to retire.
I had given my notice back then; school would be out May 28th.
My seventy-second birthday was May 31; I would be retiring June 1st.
I did not volunteer for field day this year, although I usually did.
Illness kept me away from school a few days the last week.
I did not feel guilty, I felt validation this was God’s plan for me.
Retirement is nothing I had looked forward too.
I felt my body was forcing me into it, and I was a bit irritated.
Two retirement parties did not make retirement feel real.
I had been working since I was sixteen, working was my way.
The minute I was checked out from my boss, I left, fleeing the place.
I forgot to leave my badge, so I ran back in and gave it to a friend.
Her check out time was in an hour, and I did not want to be called back.
I knew my time was over; I was on my way to a new unanticipated life.
Leaving work me behind was the hardest thing I have ever done.
One born to greatness is oft ill-fated
His swift denouement unanticipated
All the advantages repudiated
~ by his own dagger eviscerated
I’ve been patient
I’ve sat here,
And waited.
I’ve given you the best of all my tomorrows.
The thing is..
I haven’t even met you yet.
And I wait here,
A fool. The hopeless romantic.
For the girl I may never get.
Who some say, doesn’t even exist.
Maybe you do,
Maybe you don’t,
But, all I know..
Is that I would walk into the abyss, with no sense of direction,
For a chance to love you.
Am I the captain of my ship;
Am I the master of my fate?
Fate, or destiny, it seems,
Often has a peculiar way
Of ignoring a person
For most, or all, of his life,
And then suddenly finding him
At a most unexpected time
And thrusting him
Into the most unanticipated circumstances.
How can blind fate know better than we do
What we should or should not be doing,
And why should we have to accept that as our destiny?
Far more important, I think,
Not to miss the opportunity to understand
The real privilege of a lifetime
Is being who you are.
Six people confessed to the murders of four.
Police detectives were consternated.
This many confessions had never happened before.
This was totally unanticipated.
Other homeless people lined the police station door.
Police said “Now, these jail cells are overrated.”
In a week the confessions numbered twenty-four.
Free room and board for all those who participated.
Love risks all when we just can’t pass it up
Though it may ask us to drink from a bitter cup,
For who has not loved and, regrettably, lost
They who would love must measure the cost.
Love promises much more than crude infatuation,
It matures into that warm, mutual appreciation
When a couple shares not-so-subtle glances,
Willingly walks together through perilous chances.
Love smiles at the unanticipated gift or token
Love is the apology after harsh words are spoken
Love accepts the gentle unexpected touch
And knows the meaning of precisely such.
Love endures when everything else becomes jaded,
When what once was unblemished now has faded
Love looks not on the outside, but inside the soul
Finds therein the reasons the two are made whole.
Love is more than a few words can describe,
Words written on a wounded heart can ascribe.
Love is faithful to vows of commitment spoken,
The promise of one’s presence never broken.
FIRST PLACE WINNER
Poetry Soup Contest
A world full of wonder, yet so small
Uncontrollable, inevitable, fantastical
Dashed in a single waking moment
Unanticipated, complicated, dissipated
Close to the heart, a guarded secret
Defensive, sensitive, subjective
Locked away, it dies
Unresponsive, inactive, unproductive
Yet unleashed, it thrives
Progressive, excessive, receptive
The fragility of dreams
Elusive. Impulsive. Creative.
5/18/20 for Silent One’s In the Fragility of Dreams Contest
that crab nip
upon fingertips
as sunlight tilts his hat
and nighttime makes his start
drinking liquid
from the passing breeze
unanticipated tremble of the knees
Squawked yawn as seagull retires
and sound swathes
its way
through quicksand air
Slip your chill
past neckline
nomadic course down spine
Wrap your silk cotton
darkness around
safe but unsound
unfound
Fortunately I don't mind jumping to the tune
of something new fresh and revelatory
but how is it that the novel unique and unusual
can render the familiarity of your embrace
somewhat unfamiliar as in the case where
surprise is desired as much as love or truth
and we let the next moment work its magic
unpredicted unexpected unanticipated
a home with chairs and tables on the ceiling
my dog with a tangerine eye wagging two tails
doors that open only once but many of them
an irreversability that creates nothing but wish
my arms around you while writing this
#UNANTICIPATED
I was at the verge of giving up
Oh yes, I had my mind made up
Tired of giving my heart out then they ask for breakup
You came from no where and built my hopes up
Loving you was a crime because now am locked up
Anytime I fall asleep and see you I just wanna wake up
You used to mean the world to me
But today you deserve to be called my enemy
You said you couldn't leave without me
Despite all my problems you promised to be my remedy
I was so foolish to believe the things you promised me
Now you expecting me to accept your apology
I trusted and gave you my all
You even promised to catch me before I fall
Today I have fallen flat and you are standing tall
There were times when you pushed me to the wall
I waited all night for your call but it never came at all
I shouldn't have fallen in love, next time I will crawl
WRITTEN BY: Isaac Asante
@Facebook: Trapking Tales
@Poetrysoup: https://www.poetrysoup.com/me/isaacasantepoems
Marriage is not an anachronism
Marriage is a bond
Marriage is not a calypso
It is a marathon
Marriage is not a gentle breeze
Nor is it pristine
Marriage is a choppy sea
Above a listing submarine
Marriage is not a pretty toy
Nor is it a fancy poodle
Marriage is frozen TV dinners
Topped off with mystery noodles
Marriage is not just "I Love You"
Nor is it eternal romance
Marriage is a power outage
Sweaty T-shirt, crawling pants
Yet for all the unanticipated things that marriage isn't
And all the disappointing things it is
I wouldn't have it any other way
~ One towel Hers, the other His
In the middle of the first date,
a troubling thought progression occurs:
The computer in me
calculates
success probability
of insertion of
tongue in cheek
at point zero three
Something in the conversation
has gotta change
this imminent failure trajectory
Input date gradient variable:
Nerd ... inverse chemical personality change
Buddy Love ... alter ego accessing
Cool romanticism vectoring
Body red alert!
Eye contact avoidance
creating critical mass passion implosion
Rupturing of the mellow ambient mood
will occur in
ten nanoseconds delta wave oscillation
Dream date bubble burst will ensue
Unanticipated motor response must commence
Hip central cortex command —
Wallflower boy get off the fence ...
kiss that woman,
and pierce that emotional force field
erected around the heart-shaped valence
Update voluntary co-joined gradient variable:
Buddy Love is now in physical operational control
The leaf of my love fell
in quiet autumn silence
Slowly descending
from the swaying limb
of unanticipated romantic tremors
Caught off balance was
my sense of equlibrium
Shaken by the sight
of a canvas beauty come to life,
I was shook loose from my branch
of librarian solitude
And the twirling leaf of my love
fell so softly into the lap of her open book ...
as she turned the page silently
Thinking,
contemplating ...
She wrote a beautiful passage
in her diary
about me entering her life
with quiet grace
Describing me as a brightly
burnished leaf with the markings
of a tiger lily butterfly,
she said I floated by her
nearly unnoticed —
Until she had to turn the page
of her life
And a slight, silent gust from the
wind of change
caused me to quietly fall into her view
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