I was not always afraid of you—
When each street was only a road,
And faces were passing weather
That neither threatened nor glowed.
But time laid a frost on my spirit,
A chill that the sunlight missed;
Too many careless voices
Turned my kindness into fear.
Now every door has an echo,
Each greeting carries weight,
And the heart like a guarded sparrow
Still flutters behind my gate.
Yet somewhere the world remembers
The gentler breath of spring—
That not every hand is a shadow,
Nor every word a sting.
So softly the soul keeps watching,
Though quiet its courage seems—
For even the wounded spirit
Still shelters my smallest dreams.
Shape shifters come in all shape and form.
Politicians are naturals of course
Smiling and promising one thing
Then delivering quite another.
Then there are con artists and scammers
Taking advantage of the naive
And innocent at least if only once.
Then there’s those like my neighbor
Who’s nothing more than a welfare rancher
Taking funds from a do-gooder land trust NGO
Ostensively to keep his lands whole.
Appearing on the outside a good old boy
But really just another scamming thief
Feeling entitled to whatever he can take
Such as a small sliver of my land
For some reason fenced inaccurately long ago.
In this particular case the law isn’t on his side
But that doesn’t matter
In his desire to be right,
Uphold the bizarre tradition of adverse possession
And bully his way to some who knows what end
To who knows whose advantage.
The thing about shape shifters is just that,
They shift and change
So can only be trusted to be untrustworthy.
It’s good to know though
Caveat emptor
They can be anywhere, and dangerous
Especially when least expected.
(11/14/25)
This word has so many prejoratives in the
English Gypsy vocabulary..Here are some
Mark..Them well.' Cagey and darkly so, sly, underhand, nasty, untrustworthy, mockimg, grudging and it
Fits a certain politican exactly.' he seems
Typecast here.'
What have I created?
I look in the eyes of the devils kin everyday,
yet it has not fazed me until that day.
This man,
who claims to love and care for me,
Has brought me to tears more than I can count
But you see,
I’ve made him this way
he claims.
I am ungrateful.
I am selfish.
I am rude.
I am a dishonorable person.
I am untrustworthy.
I am narcissistic.
I am unclean.
But you see,
this man has sinned more than me.
This man speaks of stories that
are far to gruesome for anyone to hear.
I’ve made him this way,
he claims.
Yet he speaks that he was like this
before I was a thought.
It was as if the devil came to his hospital room and claimed him as his own.
This man,
who I cannot seem to understand.
Seems to not understand me as well.
What have I created.
I’ve got so much to say,
But my words don’t come out right.
Thoughts stacked in my chest,
Heavy, ready to fight.
I try to speak, but I freeze,
The words just slip away.
I need to let it all out,
But I don’t know what to say.
I’m screaming inside,
But my voice won’t break through.
I just need someone to listen,
To hear what I’m going through.
I’m not hiding, just tangled,
Stuck with nowhere to go.
I want to let someone in,
But the words refuse to show.
I’ve tried to scream, but it’s silent,
The words disappear like dust.
All this pain I carry with me,
But trust just hurts too much.
Maybe someday I’ll find the strength,
To speak without the doubt,
But until I know they’ll listen,
I’ll keep my heart locked out.
Maybe someday I’ll find the strength,
To speak without the fear,
But until I know they’ll listen,
I’ll keep my words right here.
Life if you're not trained is not warranty
Running on the long highway is tiring
Sometimes, it’s more important to stop
And appreciate the those flowers
On the side of the road than to rush
Let yourself give a break to think
There's always first for everything
Analyze things and how to execute properly
Try and error are for youth and undecided
Being curious is the first to reasoning
As for energy is not gone out for reserve
We never say never for a courageous person
Untrustworthy is present for a doubters
Preempt opinions constitute the judgment of others.
God simply made man and woman
to be together for the rest of their lives,
it's a blessing this heedless world
has not fully known;
and it's so rare nowadays
to see two people in love
and promise each other to be faithful:
is this all impossible?
No, real men, don't cheat on their women,
no, real men give their whole hearts full of gold
to those who really live them;
I've come to know a good man
who did just that for his woman,
and he still loves ger although is old!
Unfaithful men: would you rather have
an unhappy home or feel a joy
as sublime as the sunrise in glory?
Untrustworthy men, give up what you crave;
you can be the strongest man on Earth
and still can't stop the tears that gather inside!
No, real men don't cheat on their women,
no, real men adore and cherish then 'till they're gone :
to be beside them and share a lovely dream,
to console and encourage them when they'll get weak!
Written: November 03, 2023
__________________________________________
Pristine his soul and tamed to the core,
Who was semaphored by a sloping wave?
He escaped the safe harbor of the shore,
And pushed by each coxswain and crave.
God foretells a quaint future for humanity,
The hidden channel for thinking and action.
Beware of fools; this is a hazardous vanity,
He sought sanctuary in the chilly reaction.
Underground stars emerged victorious,
And the ocean served as an awful grave.
He is surely a compassionate star, glorious,
People who pulled the cast first are brave.
Their moorings have above welcoming past,
Ventured out into the sea, lacking a map.
Liberty is the root of every storm and blast,
A span is the breadth of the Earth's sea gap.
And their daily unrest is merely a brief respite,
Mixed with man's untrustworthy spiritual kernel.
Desires lacking a shore, hidden and desperate,
Quite ardent, open to faith or clan air, eternal.
Empty in itself, the soul lives
Feeling of loneliness thrives there within
A sound of peace among the dark
A soul search touch of humanity
Days of friends gone, now aquaintances
Work, life; everyday trails of consistent
We cut ourselves off from society ways
Raising kids, paying bills, a sun up sundown job
We lose ourselves of our own doing
Growing to adulthood,a life has past
Some turn to whiskey in hopes of soaking
New beginning, friends of different standings
Living of a world, existing in our own
What is it life offers except to live
Friends, just like enemies out the woods
In my own the only one I trust
They come and go, some in betrayal
Others, memories carry and people change
Friends of my own domain dominance
A trust only in one I find liability
The delusion of man, untrustworthy in being
Myself, I am my best of all
Seeing is believing, attitude is everything
But friends we are eternal souls
Between the living and dead, darkness light
Only one will you find any true
I am silvery and clear—have no cultural biases.
I quickly consume all that I analyze.
Without affiliations or antagonisms, I am.
I am neither harsh nor untrustworthy.
On the opposite wall—I contemplate.
It has a blotchy pink hue—I've seen it for a while.
It's probably in my mind—yet it flutters.
The sights and darkness restrain us apart.
A frog in a well—has never seen an ocean.
As you delve into the abyss,
Roots and buds grow deeper.
In the sky there—grows a tree called "Life."
And the marvel isn't alone in the sky.
I hold it dear in my heart.
I maintain it close to my heart.
Accept a tally of—our affection for You.
You have my undying—boundless love.
While unseen, my soul reaches you.
Smiles and despair have been my life!
With my grief and the faith of my youth.
Written: March 16, 2023
Brian Strand Contest No 1199 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Brian Strand
I am whorist in tenses
Among women.
Untrustworthy to make
Stories,
That women shall be
Weary in my presence.
I am his amonvest men
Religiously submitted
To his needs.
His desires makes me
Adverse to all but him.
Forgive me, children
For walking through the desert
Thinking the world was dry and barren
While lying on the wet, dewy grass
...limited vision
Forgive me, children
For focusing on used clothing
Thinking new is necessary and natural
While being fully covered in skilled threading
...hidden desire
Forgive me, children
For preventing control of rules and ways
Thinking soil had to be free from contaminants
While covering the ground with fertilizer
...mangled roots
Forgive me, children
For not leaving you in the care of others
Thinking love was limited and untrustworthy
While flowing in the process of healing
...unsubstantiated allegations
Against the Creator
Forgive me, children
For my experience of life
Thinking out was in
While being, now, where I've always been
Alive...
Written by Trudy Schrader on 04/28/2022
God simply made man and woman
to be together for the rest of their lives;
it's a blessing this heedless world
has not completely known,
it's so rare nowadays
to see two people in love
and promise each other to b faithful:
is it all si impossible?
Real men don't cheat on their women,
real men give their while hearts full of gold
to those who really love them;
I have come to know a good man
who did just that for his woman,
and he still loves her although he's old!
Unfaithful man, would you rather have
an unhappy home or feel joy
as sublime as a sunrise showing its glory?
Untrustworthy man, give up what you crave:
you can be the strongest man on earth
and still can't stop the tears gathered inside!
Real men don't cheat on their women,
real men admire and cherish them 'till they're gone...
to be beside them and share a lovely dream,
to encourage and strenghten them when they're weak!
Where his loyalties lay is not with me
therefore I think he’s untrustworthy,
Strong feeling of support absent
from a bond that was well meant…
Though that’s OK ‘cause I don’t trust anyone anyway.
Compromise he was not taught
empathy is near to naught,
No middle ground, no give or take
agreeance on he does forsake…
Though that’s OK ‘cause I don’t depend on anyone anyway.
Egotistic, boastful, vain
selfish for to only gain,
Don’t understand what's in his brain
though comprehend he won’t explain…
Though that’s OK ‘cause I love myself anyway.
To shed some light upon his flaws
know the kind and the cause…
To learn from him and awaken
much of him I have mistaken...
Though that's OK 'cause I'm only human anyway.
The longer I stared at you,
the more I become fearful
of that untrustworthy look;
your intentions are untruthful
and that's the impression
I got, unless you return what you took
all you promised is still untrue,
so don't expect my compassion.
I've seen you through a thick blindfold,
took to heart all the words you whispered,
feeling sure they were sincere,
not deceitful but so genuine.
The longer I stared at you with magic,
the more I became fearful,
not confident of that untrustworthy look;
I regretted that I mistook
trust for love in the rush of things,
sharing all the secrets
with an unscrupulous fool,
not expecting an end so tragic.
I agree with friends who were lied to and cried,
they took words seriously and let doubt interfere
when something looked out of place and concided
with the horrendous truth that made fear persevere.
The longer I stare at you without resentuful hate,
the more I become compassionate...
dropping anger and picking up love:
that untrustworthy look I'm willing to forgive.
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