Who am I to judge?
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
Bravo La France..I trust this is so ? It will
Wake a nation maybe a world.?
And much better than war, may now reason take hold '
Vive la différence
couples complement each other
balancing the scales
one will play the jokester
clown and storyteller
the other acts as sidekick
filling in if there are gaps
they juggle and finesse their roles
managing an equilibrium
thus the introvert and extrovert
weave their life in harmony
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
After all these years
I'm the same as I ever was
still a child at heart
(plus some older parts)
I've not changed because
what was important to me then
is also true today
nothing and no one
will ever sway my way
yet unlike so many
who know not their station
and only identify themselves
by their occupation
I'm aware of who I am
it determines what I do
don't need a certificate
to prove anything to you
we may not see identically
or exactly the same
but I can agree to differ
diversity is the name of the game
All the best to France, may her people stay strong
Egalat'e and joi.' I wish you all the best
From here out and on.'
In France, a woman’s right to choose
Is guaranteed by law,
A freedom one will never lose
And no one can withdraw.
The message rings out loud and clear:
Our bodies are our own.
No courts or judge can interfere;
The choice is ours alone.
The Constitution plainly states,
Unlike the U.S.A.’s,
That there will be no more debates
Or government delays.
Unfortunately, here at home,
We haven’t won this fight
And it will take more than a poem
Or march to make things right.
I join in spirit; the public of France.'
Who young and older in romance
Entwined desire, with freedoms fire'
In peaceful protest; contrast the ire '
Of devious governments desires'
They do not reckon, or balance out
For sustainable living people shout.'
Take them from the billions spent
Squeezed in utiltys and soaring rent
It' was spent on war, the mood is sore!
Ecological damage, way up the score
Animals trees parks and farms
Is this saving the planet.?
Or egregious harm.?
Flights of angels surely led her to her rest
Of all our monarchs, she has proved the best
Her example ,there for all to see and her heir to follow
As we reflect upon her reign in this sad time of sorrow
Right to the end publicly she fought to do her duty
In private her witty mimicry was a thing of beauty
Her Christian faith burned brightly throughout her life
To keep her composed in the darker days of strife
Her love for her corgis, horses and offspring saw her sane
And that necessary balance helped to prolong her reign
Where others might well have cracked and lost the place
She rose serenely above all troubles with majestic grace
And now that she has gone to her just reward
Let our memories of her be the last word
Too hard to like
Too easy to love
Once she touches you
No turning back
Too hard to believe
Too easy to deceive
Once she kisses you
No turning back
Too hard to forget
Too easy to remember
Once she loves you
No turning back
Too hard to understand
Too easy to forgive
Once she hurts you
No turning back
Too hard to hold
Too easy to lose
Once she leaves you
No turning back
CANCER-VIVE
Trapped inside a living cell
Multiplying thoughts in mine’s a hell
This body is where my soul lives
Dread and illness is all it now gives
Swirling mind, makes out unreal
Hard to grasp it’s all surreal
Petrified at this diagnosis
Uncertain, of course, my future prognosis
God help me I’m scared you know
Images go flashing: a destructive torpido
All looks low, lonely and lost
Not certain now what life will cost
Re-vive!
My spirit vibrates eternally alive
Stronger than anything. I will survive!
Surrounded by colourful- sincere relation
Information bounds healing inspiration
My heart cries out to you all
Brave angels who will never fall
Valiantly I face an inner foe
I cancer-vive, and freely grow
-Rickus Viljoen
@Facebook: Mr Writes
Whitaker Did with Vive and Verb
Whitaker did do with vibe and vivid verb,
Everyone would both bother and disturb;
His idiotic behavior should begin to curb.
Jim Horn
Toss in a couple of lines for me.
Vive sem horas
Na vida e nos negócios
Sempre,
esqueça o momento.
Não conte o tempo,
Quanto mede pesa,
E quanto pensas mede
e nada é medida certa.
Na vida e nos negócios
Não tenhas nada nas mãos
Nem uma memória na alma,
Que as horas não voltam!
Construa no espaço
Que figura futuro,
E prometa o Amanhã
Cumpre hoje,
não esperando
um tempo...
AH!
Vive sem horas;
Colhe as flores
mas larga-as,
mal as olhe!
Na vida e nos negócios
Sempre,
Tenha as mãos vazias
Ao abrirem-te as mãos
Nada te cairá.
They keep me awake all night
So I sleep all day
Then they blame me
And take my life away
That is how my life is
In this awful game
So rejected am I
A life of constant pain
I say please reverse this
Let them feel the same
Let them know what it’s like
To live Eternal shame.
The reasons they reject me for
I conquer everyday
But they just ignore it
So evil is their way.
Those who hurt me
just don't see
That they are being used
By the powers that be
Those who mastermind this
Are working to a plan
It is entrapment
A great big scam.
My world would be full of love
Where no-one was rejected
For no matter what you think
We all should be protected.
It’s alright to be different
For if it was not
Greatness would not exist
Then what have we got?
on merciless concrete
there's a body
don't clean up this blood
shot in the face
and run over as an inssurance
he'll never again put the blue ski mask on
don't clean up this blood
camouflaging a direct shot as ricocheted
did it even came to mind
was he still alive
when those tires
crossed over
don't clean up this blood
he was someone's son
do you have sons
what does the conscience say
does it claim a father
does that father merit someone calls him father
do your sons know
what you just did
don't clean up this blood
who are you behind that shields
who are you behind that badges
who are you behind that spokesman
who's pressing that switch to inhuman
don't clean up this blood
how does it feel when those who you pledged to protect are scared of you
does it make you feel like gods
or obedient dogs
outraged dogs
trying to silent the oppressed
who throws at you those bones from the top of Olympus
don't clean up this blood
just don't
freedom answers to the name of blood
*In memory of Carlo Giuliani (14 March 1978 - 20 July 2001)
False winter—deceitful—fuels the unrest.
Paris preyed upon; men’s anger coalesced;
guns frame the debate.
Pride and despair fan the unholy flame.
The dispossessed grab weapons and take aim,
do words or actions desecrate?
Twelve dead in Paris—and a free press denied,
mourn for the loss, when faith and guns collide.
To men with no life, there’s only death.
Fathers and mothers, daughters and sons cry;
the workings of men leave no time for goodbye.
Shout, “Vive la liberté” with each breath.
False warmth stirs a hornet’s nest, of dispossessed
on Boulevard Richard le Noir, hate crests.
Guns frame the debate.
Words are warriors, oh there’s might in the pen
what do men die for—ideas council men.
Loss, want, and hate dictate.
With bombs, knives, and guns Europe-wide
strike concern where complacence was decried:
no homes, no jobs, unrest,
societal problems in oversupply.
Your eyes, open your eyes, the dead cry.
There must be more than death.
First Published in here/there magazine UK 2015
Sub Categories
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.