More honor
in shame
than ever
false glory
The larceny
of time
cleft moments
abscond
Passion
untitled
prescience
but memory
Pandering
fantasies
prevaricate
long
Lost verses
of blood
all pain
in their letting
Remembrance
a shadow
of days
underserved
Redemption
a silence
that screams
in our absence
Placating
our fear
when the Sirens
— are heard
(The New Room: February, 2026)
Anguish I feel, in decisions once there made
Sharper the pain, then a cut throats blade
So difficult it is, to sever a link
A most bitter pill, a swiftly poisoned drink
Hearts broken, anger left was my faulting
Fates cruelty of lost connection, the final resulting
The feelings in my direction, rightly deserved
My need for affection, I felt so drastically underserved
I tried my very best to show where I'd stand
Not maniacally thought out or purposely pre-planned
So difficult it is to sever a connection
It was not easy to do, looking back in reflection
Never easy to suffer, a one-of-a-kinds, now rejection
I forgave you when you hurt me and brought tears pouring from my eyes. You didn't deserve forgiveness for keeping secrets and telling lies.
I forgave you when you would just run away and disappear without a trace. You didn't deserve forgiveness returning only to lie right to my face.
I forgave you when used me and I would do anything you would ask. You didn't deserve forgiveness because you never gave anything back.
I forgave you for the cold cruel words that crushed my self esteem. You didn't deserve forgiveness, you repaid my kindness with your heartless and mean.
I forgave you tossing me aside when another girl you chose to find. But you didn't deserve forgiveness when you just used me everytime.
Sadly I loved you so much I forgave time and time to no end. But you underserved forgiveness when you repeatedly returned to hurt me again.
I forgave you for not loving me the way that I loved you. But you didn't deserve forgiveness when the person undeserving of love was YOU!
Although it was written and recorded in 1968,
I think that it was the late 80's when I first heard it.
First, arrested by it; later captured; then embraced.
For more than 30 years, I have loved that song.
It was the way that Sammie sang it; how he danced to it.
I felt Mr. Bojangles's heart and understood his pain.
"I drinks a bit", said he, but managed to 'jump so high'.
Growing up, I knew many a man like Mr. Bojangles.
I remember them, oh so well, and could name them one by one.
But none were closer to my family than Baines, Billy, and Buba.
They were abused and underserved. Their sad lives were never a song.
But when I hear that Bojangles song, I can taste the sweetness of their lives.
They were kind and gentle; worked hard from 6 to 6; too tired to 'jump so high'. Hurting none but themselves, they were skilled, talented, and drank more than a bit. The song takes me back to the 'Bojangles men' I once knew.
They laughed a little, smiled readily, helped others faithfully, drank heavily.
071822PSCtest, One In Five 2. Chosen phrase, #3. Joseph May, Sponsor
*Mr. Bojangles, written and produced by Jerry Jeff Walker
Mr. Bojangles, version by Sammie Davis Jr. 1P
I have had my heart torn to pieces
From inexplicable pain and devotion,
Sown seeds of trust and reaped distrust,
I have gardened it, in dry stormy deserts and in green plains,
And garnered nixes as deserved and underserved,
I have grown fonder in loneliness, yet attached,
Earned pain and immortal reminiscence,
I have had mine broken, as I may have broken others,
Reaped a share of emotional intoxication,
I have let my passion flow, into bottomless pits,
Yet, in all this madness, I find no wondrous virtue,
Than to love, be it in the rains or in the suns,
Inconsiderate of its start or its end.
Years ago you took a stake and thrust it in my heart
Then, spent years twisting it, hoping I’d fall apart
Doing anything to get away with what you did
From many years ago, when I was a kid
As you continue to ride your mighty waves
Of underserved freedom wrapped in lies,
I watch you continue to taint lives, as my soul cries
You thrive on what you think is everlasting power
You have neglected to see the innocent blooming flower
Heidi Sands
6/15/18
The golden life I claim
Was neither earned
Nor deserved,
For I climbed the ladder
Trampling the underserved.
On the day of reckoning
When I count all my wins,
No way can I explain
Why there were no losses.
Regrets accumulated over time
Now demand humility,
But the treasures I own
Contain only pride and gloating.
Don't take that crown
When I wish to surrender,
And don't remind me
How high I sit,
For when I hear the call
I will find out
How deep I must fall.
January 10, 2018
Placed 3rd: Strand Poetry Pick 2 by Brian Strand
God gives people kindness whether we deserve it or not.
He gives us undeserved kindness because he loves us a lot.
The Lord will give us kindness even though we make mistakes and sin.
If we repent and turn to God, he will help us with the trouble we're in.
God gives us underserved kindness when we have food on the table.
There are starving people who want to eat but they are not able.
We should be thankful when God gives us undeserved kindness.
When he is kind to a man or a woman, he or she has been blessed.
Imposed love of debt
Seeking soulful releases
Empowering self through lies
Abusive ways masked in gifts
While wounds are healed
So eyes no longer see
Internally embedded as deserved
Becoming self inflicted
Thoughts taught to believe
Brought upon self
Undeserved of a better love
He holds the Key
Of a torture-some beat
Held in his hands
Squeezed of blood flow
Restricting all vessels
In a vegetative state
Oxygen gone
Cloaked in grinding whispers
Such inhabitants feel
Their way
Gallop the day
By thrusting, trusting
Emblazoned minds
Envious looks deflected
As the clan stays on task
The full-time preoccupation
And execution of self-expression
Daring risks trickling
The vacant gutters
Thirsty for adrenalin
And a satisfying gulp
Of shattered dreams
Fashionable product
Underserved and underappreciated
By the sanctimonious angels
Slinging hash in pits
Adjacent to the realm of man
Does thou hast remedies
For secrets and manipulations
Self-inflicted
The favored play of
Tenderlicious vassals
Who clamor for more
Than anyone truly deserves
The proven chorus
Decorated in colors
Beyond their years
Hum a distant buzz
Galvanized harmony
Textured strokes o' plenty
Count the measure seventy
Plus whatever is needed
No budget heeded
Because symphonies
Laced with street sugar
And turnstiles revolving by
The peeks and cheats
Sing the bling
And never stray too far
Given no better place
To go.
(8/7/06)
there is a boulder on my shoulder
there sits a block upon my head
no matter what I say or do
nothing ever seems to be good enough for you
I have found someone great
I have found someone true
but that doesn't matter too much now
I say a couple words and ya have a cow
you are always caring to criticize
I don't ever proclaim to know everything
nor will I pretend I am never wrong
the times you choose to trust in me are never for very long
I love you yes I love you true
but this is what I am going to do
I will make my good choices and my mistakes
I will stick by his side for both our sakes
I can't help how I feel
I won't tuck it away
so opposite yes, this much may be true
but I really like him, and he likes me too
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.