Your Choice T Poetry Contest: Sponsored by Brian Strand (April/May 2025)
all time classic soul
music from a poor man’s son
turn that volume up
for the motor city sound
now everything is alright
When in a night
so dark, scary and lonely,
With your heart so burdened and uptight,
When your claim, ' small me - big God,'
makes you feel like your prayers
are nothing more than an ant's whispers
in an elephant's ear - useless.
When you feel tired and worthless,
like one fourth the tree remaining in the ground
while a third of it is cut down,
Do not not lose hope, remember he says,
"For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease."
Christ will revitalize you.
my co-workers were snippy, snotty, persnickety, uptight and mean.
I had been discounting this for some time, but could not ignore any longer.
quitting my job was the right thing for me; I did not belong with mean girls.
Superman was feeling mighty uptight
So he went out for a long midnight flight
Spotted two teens making love
Shut his eyes tight as a glove
But his blue leotard turned hard, alright
Why am I so wired
Wound up so tight
I think I might explode or crack
At the least little extra added pressure
It’s all way too much drama
Messiness and chaos for my liking
Enough is enough
I just can’t bear it
Don’t pile on any more
Everybody stop just relax
Take a breath
We can’t keep up this pace
Life isn’t supposed to be a race
AP: 3rd place 2020, Honorable Mention 2020
her features harsh in her white gown
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
There's so many uptight people these days
The world is literally overflowing
What's happened to those glorious days of yore
Civility was all that was showing
Maybe I'm dreaming, and things haven't changed
Technology has changed you and I
What once took a week for a letter to reach us
Arrives now in the blink of an eye
Most older folks talk of their good old days
Every generation has their own
Can't imagine what's in store for these guys today
Will they live their last days in a home
For this guy, just want to sail off into the sunset
Be remembered as a decent kinda chap
Not a hero, didn't invent a great new gadget
As I puff away on my very last lap
Upset and uptight
Wound up and bound tight
Broken inside
Shards clasped against the inner of my skin’s pores
Too small to fall out
Broke but sheltered
Broke but drunken on expensive red wine
Covered in silk but ashamed
This dress is all too glamorous
Ashamed to define my privilege
My privilege is not my privilege just an invite into their privilege
A gift by the blood of my mother
To a soiree I cannot leave nor do I want to
Waiting on my own wealth, not hers
My lack of, sounding like church bells not above the church
But against my empty vessel
Once full, insecurity asks me is it sounding too loud and should I quiet down
Unnoticed, it emptied
While I was running with the bulls
While I slept with one eye open
The wrong eye affixed on the wrong prize
Clasped tight in the arms of the wrong enemy
While I traded with the devil
To buy back what could never be bought
My life
frozen fast
a chain reaction
deepens
closed positions:
a whirlwind
opens up
emotions
sparks
a radical review,
re-ignites
love
There's so many up tight people these days
The world is literally overflowing
What's happened to those glorious days of yore
Civility was all that was showing
Maybe I'm dreaming, and things haven't changed
Technology has changed you and I
What once took a week for a letter to reach us
Arrives now in the blink of an eye
Most older folks talk of their good old days
Every generation has their own
Can't imagine what's in store for these guys today
Will they live their last days in a home
For this guy, just want to sail off into the sunset
Be remembered as a decent kinda chap
Not a hero, didn't invent a great new gadget
As I puff away on my very last lap
© Jack Ellison 2014
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.