Swadling encrypt the contrarious slopes of a mired
entity coursed veinous stammer spurts bled
across a court of an unchallenged befitted named
as valor cornered the bleached to be razed
spirits encapsulate the branded sole championed
glory dazed betwixt ears of an abandoned
waning light fills purple sighs 'ill eve succumbed
bitterness spilt the downtrodden weighed
hung kicked a life out of bound the final scored
Steel gates whisper his name in the wind,
Legends bow, their bravado dimmed.
A gaze like thunder, a voice like stone,
King of the shadows, he stands alone.
No chains could bind the fire inside,
No walls could tame his ruthless pride.
Even the hardest, the ones who don’t break,
Learned to watch their step, learned to hesitate.
He walks, and silence floods the halls,
No echoes follow, just loaded pause.
One misstep, one reckless glance,
Would seal a fate—not left to chance.
Respect carved deep like marks on stone,
A legacy sung in whispers alone.
Not through words, nor through might,
But through the weight of his burning sight.
Even guards keep their measured tread,
Prisons hold many, but not all are bred
From storms that rage, from roads untamed—
Only one name, forever ingrained.
He is the line, the line unbroken,
The name unchallenged, the word unspoken.
Even time, in quiet refrain,
Bows its head—won't call his name.
Nobody likes to be studied too closely,
under the microscope we all display
a ridiculous, multicellular idiocy.
What gives us away
is how we squirm as the light seeks us out,
or scurry behind any rock-like molecule
to fearfully disguise
being caught by surprise.
Unlike the noble monkey and ape,
who know not the concept of foolishness,
they do not shy away
from any prying eye - are not ashamed
to be what they are.
We, the unchallenged and unhinged,
avoid at all costs to be studied
even by the flea or ant.
Look up humanity, look to the sky
there are beings up there,
their ships are spyglasses,
their point of view is to study you,
and when they figure us out
they will magnify our intellect,
examine it close
until it gets large enough
to be squashed.
The lack of common sense
makes nonsense easy,
things that should make sense,
slip through, unchallenged.
Yet common sense itself
makes the absurd unbearable,
forcing logic upon the illogical,
struggling to grasp the uncommon.
To live without it
is to drift through chaos,
unbothered by contradiction.
To live with it
is to wrestle with reason,
forever questioning the senseless.
Beneath fate's shadowed edge, I take my stand,
A moment granted by design's own hand.
The blade above me poised, a guillotine,
My neck upon the board, awaiting fall.
While others drift through life's unchallenged stream,
Letting time pass without a second thought,
I cannot share their luxury of ease.
If days were numbered, hours slipping by,
Would actions shift to meet the fleeting time?
Would calls be made, connections sought anew,
Or would desires still command the will?
At dawn's first light, I sacrifice and strive,
Pushing this vessel to its utmost brink.
In places dark, where trust and love may fail,
I question if this path is what I've earned.
Do I deserve respect, fidelity,
Or is this trial the portion I must bear?
Yet onward, toward a self none can replace,
I journey, trusting what's ordained will come,
And what is not will fade along the way.
All you've heard is true.
It cannot be helped,
hard as we try
the eons of time move right along, unchallenged
much like the Pilgrim's Progress
the words of the prophets
or the biblical words of Christ
indicting us, calling our names
to open our eyes and see
to open our ears and listen not just hear,
to think and contemplate all the possibilities,
the end game that will play out.
Will you ask the right questions
what is it that you seek
what do you truly believe
where will this take you in the end
what price will you have to pay?
Your turn is coming
there is no escape.
You may do as you will
right or wrong
something will happen,
there will be a catalyst and an action
how will you handle it
will you ignore it or go with it
will you speak up or be silent
will you condemn or justify your actions
who will you answer to?
Where, when, how
will you stand among the crowds
when the decision must be made
while the path remains unclear
but now,
your chance
your time
has come.
1985. We looked for signs
not so much had changed
Wars in far-flung parts –
the same-O-blame-O.
An acceptable amount of body bag counts.
Was Orwell too early to be this late?
1996. Upheavals are restricted to
marginalized mobs. Heads are talking more,
there is a nameless fear and it's getting near.
Fewer western countries are smoking, though
many simmer silently.
There was this elongated period,
decades drained away
leaving only a vague residue,
a smear of narcissistic self-indulgence
begat a numbness.
Then we began to crave more.
2024. Now we see it.
its head is a swollen tumor,
it talks in tooth bites,
monstrous cover-ups go unchallenged,
its control is iron clad.
The monster is now global,
it gobbles up dissident thought,
it re-imagines the nature of
Jello.
The only way forward now, is through
the monster's ever narrowing ********,
besides,
most now consider
the nature of the beast
to be the same that it ever was.
Near a distant sun
Under an uncontaminated crystalline sky
Exists a world without me
Where the viridescent grass ages unchallenged
Wears wizened beards
And bows only to the wind
Where the waters crash when you thirst to surf
Smooths when you desire to paddle
And ripples towards shore when you’re heading home
Where zebras change their stripes daily
From neon green to psychedelic purple
Or any color in between
Where the “H” on a building simply symbolizes “Help”
And is a communal gathering place
Where anyone can ask and receive assistance with anything
Where government is synonymous with communication
Leadership is synonymous with service
And opponent is synonymous with respect
But, this distant inhabitation,
Magnificent as it may be
Lacks Caleb, Adam, and Kelsi
Two sons and a daughter that have shone so bright
That they must have burned themselves into my pupils
Since they are always in my sight
So, I turn from this distant scene
A dream without an imperfect me
Because,
A world full of wonders
Will always fall short of wonderful
Without the likes of Caleb, Adam, and Kelsi
The butterfly is full of wonder
To see the world from near and far
He has a heart as rolling thunder
Blazed like the evening's brightest star
He likes to roam in kingdoms swaying
Like cracked singers' fearless praying
As air’s unchallenged superstar
Is she Artemis when she shoots, going back to her roots? Or Aphrodite when men fall without shoots, or benevolent Athena when she steps on the field, prepared for war in her boots. Unequaled and unchallenged, dominance assure with Nike carrying her on wings victory, a born winner without a spinner; chance is not her inner. She is Alex Morgan, original and free; All the things women strive to be.
you …
came to me today
(from anon)
wholly untold to your concerns
but real enough …
I was plodding the beach, tending wounds
when you tossed your smile at
me from a shrouded sun
off whitecaps, bursting into dazzle -
echoes, alit
each a memory, recaptured
brief as a blink …
but I was transfixed, as always
immersed in your burnt ochre irises
gold flecks like shiny confetti, fluttering
they hadn’t held me since …
forever, really
and as then, the brilliance within
was unsettling -
a piercingly perceptive acumen that
probed, unchallenged
though your countenance always
smoothed the edges -
a bubbly exuberance and gravity
an eager affability -
thawed everything around you
and … everyONE
effecting the grandest of illusions
that whatever you aimed your attentions at
was your dearest concern
and your one TRULY careful involvement …
when in all actuality
we -
the matter and matters about you -
were just a multitude of
merry moths …
to your flame.
Copyright © Gregory Richard Barden, June 8, 2023
From ancient times, a bloodline divine,
Ruling over lands, with power to shine,
Kings and queens, of a line sacred,
Their legacy, forever inviolate.
With wisdom and might, they led the way,
The throne, their seat, unchallenged sway,
Law and order, with justice in sight,
Their subjects, loyal, in all their might.
From the Pharaohs of Egypt, to Nubia''s emperors bold,
Nubia''s Piankhy the conqueror, with his army so bold,
Great warriors, monarchs, and sages wise,
Their blood, the very essence of power's rise.
They ruled with glory, wearing their crown,
Near and far, their renown abound,
Their word, supreme, their strength, unbound,
Their rule, an empire forever renowned.
Their legacy, a tapestry of power and class,
Their bloodline, the greatest of ancient past,
So here's to the Royal bloodline divine,
Eminent and resplendent, standing the test of time.
Confidence is a choice,
Preponderance of undue ignorance,
Tethered in tandem to wheels of spiny leathery,
Bumpy hairs click back at a finger’s flick.
Rotations earned from itself, but more,
Tread marks lead the way,
Devouring grounds of consummate cortex,
Until tracings are unchallenged by craft.
Back and forth, a sawmill slices,
Though it’s only imagined.
Inside mind and spine seen when,
The body refuses to move again.
Which corridor of counting oneself by the shelf,
Bound leather to me be shown?
Pores of proportions, round algebra,
Confines Gaussian blurs to the grown.
I choose that which nature gifts, the will to change the mind,
Plastic melts and pressure sticks to those whose self is kind.
I am His story come forth
Before placed my heart and soul
In spirit into a vessel of sorts
I am a word within His sentence
He spokes, speaks to me for a while
Still caressing me I am who He says I am I be
I am part of The Great I am I am
I am not dark I am light
I am I'm a spark, part of His light
I am I shine bright diamond
Because of the Great I am, I am a word
Word spoken from His mouth
I am found not lost
So the words spoken grouped and with other words
Speaking humanity of spirit encased in His spoken creative vessel
I am a sentence
I am devout
I am Elohim
And He's in me part
A part of a royal spiritual family
God speaks of words spoken
And it is producing
Produces life God is love
God is light Father
Help Me shine and grow
Help Me blow
Trumpet I am a word spoken sprouted
Vessel birth from the Earth with the spirit unchallenged
And as this soul's hears His word
Words of I am I am His word humanity
Humanity is just a mound of clay in dirt
With the breath of God inside
11/1/22
Written words by
James Edward Lee Sr © 2022
TRADITION
observed
unchallenged
so
prosaic
in
recollection
a remit
of
vivid
memories
wit
pleasure
in vogue
the
fall
in
perspective
NOTE:THIS IS AN OPEN(organic) FORM VERSE using spaces&breaks without grammatical symbols ,the ' open' relies upon 'the one breath limitation' & so inherently requires the 'reader' (reciter) to input and responds thus making this enigmatic form a two way interplay & interpretatIon unique to the moment& changing according to mood is inherently variable.
Copyright © Brian Strand
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