Well Read Poems

Dong Zhongshu, 179-104 BC

If you've a yen
(it's not zen)
you may bet your bottom dollar
while integrating yin yang cosmology
Chinese philosopher and scholar
Dong Zhongshu
(good old you know who)
favoured heaven worship results
over and above traditional cults
altho' a man well-read
he often wrote instead
yet to avoid confusion
knowingly said, 'Jump to assumption,
arrive wrong conclusion.'
Categories: well read, fun, humor, philosophy, psychological,
Form: Rhyme

Premium MemberIn the Vault with Walt

Some say...Walt Whitman's the poet's champ!

His works were well read, by dim oil lamp.

But, oh so long winded,

Those words never ended...

Woe, ritual champ of reader's cramp
Categories: well read, humorous,
Form: Limerick


Premium MemberCutting Room Floor Poems

Neighborhood Gossip

He walks all alone and does evil things,   
quietly making puppets walk without strings. 
He's the only one who emerged from the wreck.  
When you sleep, he'll stab you in the neck.

Am I Wiser Now?

I wanted to know what it all meant
so I visited the Asian continent.
Am I wiser now, back in my hometown?
I have jet lag and walk upside down.

Life Mission

The doctor gave me a slap and shook my head,
until he had fully scrambled my brain.
The nurse gave me a diaper and the doctor said,
"You've got eighty years to unscramble it again."

Unimpressed

He's well known and he's well read, 
but I wouldn't be misled.  
Even lettuce has a head.  

Bee Orientation

Welcome, friend, to the hive
It's true, no one gets out alive, 
but, before you're done,
you'll have lots of fun.
Categories: well read, nonsense,
Form: Rhyme

Premium MemberThe Devil's Bouquet

I see demons 
I see ghosts 
Staring at me from the bedposts 
Gargoyles of grotesquery 
Statues of misanthropy 
The Prince of darkness has come for me

There's evil in this room 
I can smell the sulfur in his perfume 
A fiendish foray into Axe body spray 
Wedded with used ashtray 
Trade name The Devil's Bouquet 

Why me why me ?
why today?
Because poets die tragically?
Remember Shelley drowned at sea
Where's your humanity?

In the voice of a late night disc jockey 
A silky deadpan delivery
"I lost it the day the world began.
You may have heard not my game plan.
God made Adam and Eve
I made beggars and thieves.
See Milton Book Ten
Are you not well read?

The blood immediately drained from my head.
Beg pardon what was that you said?
I'll have you know I'm quite literate 
I have a ing doctorate!
Categories: well read, 12th grade, eve, evil,
Form: Rhyme

Premium MemberContest Announcement Poem

Since I can’t write
May as well read
And sponsor a contest
For free poetry

Hope you will enter
If it’s your desire
Maybe you’ll find
Words that inspire

The contest is for
20 lines or less no more
I hope it’ll be fun
And not a chore 

Power in the Tongue
Is the contest name
Write away for fun
Poets do your thang

New poems only
Don’t forget to explain
In your words not phony
Don’t use your name

I’m enjoying rhyme
But you don’t have to
The style is yours to design
Good luck to all of you
Categories: well read, appreciation, art, poetry,
Form: Rhyme


Premium MemberThe Magnificent Mouse, A Poem-Story




         ~ The Magnificent Mouse ~
                      Fiction

A minuscule, humble mouse 
wrote much poetry.
Her eyes, so very tired, she 
almost could not see.

Each day, mouse scribbled out
her heart’s melodious song.
For five years she did this,for 
hours, far, far too long!.

Her poetry, she hoped, people
would hopefully like.
That was her mistake, this all 
too trusting, poet-tyke.
She fell ill, quite weak and lost 
her will to write.
She felt great peace now and
bright, inner mouse might.

Mouseland, her country,was made 
great fun of too.
She was proud of that poetry land.
under her sparkling,lyrical, shoes.

So mouse gave up writing where
her ideas were not wanted.
In her new home, she was well read,
accepted, and her joy was undaunted!


                  5/15/2024
Categories: well read, inspiration, strength,
Form: Rhyme

LETTER TO A TEACHER: FROM A HURT CHILD'S PERSPECTIVE

I look up to you
With the child in me,
A child that knows no wrong.
I look up to see some comfort somewhere,
that solely in wisdom belong.
They say that teachers are all, so very good.
So long as they can see the child; 
That hides behind the glaring sun,
And senses no worth in chide.
That figures not what’s right or wrong
And basks in unreal pride.

Why do you take things that can be
Solved in a matter of time?
Why do you complain, times so often
With sometimes no reason nor rhyme?
Why don’t you see that the child in me
Is yet to grow as old,
As can be said to struggle for long
Well read and matured and bold?

I belong to you, do try understand.
Do please no laugh at my faults!
For the womb that gave me birth in time
Has the semblance with the one that's yours!
Categories: well read, 7th grade, 8th grade,
Form: Rhyme

Premium MemberKillers Aim

They all think me more than I am
Must be these songs I sing again and again
Even I’m starting to believe in them
I wish I could start this life over again

Till then I’ll forget these feelings ever happened 
Erase these visions from my mind
Perfectly balanced, well read with a killers aim
I die a little with every empty footprint leading to my past
That I can find 

Till then I will remember all 
Who have touched my soul
Watching them come and go then me moving on
With heavy legs I will keep marching on thru my past

In the end none of me will have ever mattered 
Except in my scattered memories
As I only have today for short time longer
This soul within please be kind to me
Categories: well read, allusion, anger, conflict, hyperbole,
Form: Free verse

Premium MemberThe Old Farm village

Down the dirt road of the old farm village,
where the sun sinks low, casting long shadows,
each weathered cottage tells its silent tale.

Creaking porch swings, paint chipped and peeling,
invite a rest for those with stories to share,
as the wind rustles through the ancient oaks.

Narrow lanes, worn smooth by generations,
beckon with memories etched in cobblestone,
and the town square, a hub of quiet gatherings.

Hens cluck in backyards, scratching for stories,
their feathers worn like the pages of a well-read book,
while the blacksmith's hammer rings a rhythmic echo.

Chimneys exhale fragrant whispers of hearth and home,
as the church steeple, a sentinel to the passing years,
marks time with a soft tolling that lingers in the air.

Children's laughter, a lively brook, meanders,
through meadows where wildflowers nod in agreement,
and elders, leaning on picket fences, share the day's musings.

In this old farm village, where time moves slow,
shadows dance on the worn planks of the general store,
and the river, a quiet confidant, mirrors the stories untold.
Categories: well read, age, earth, family, farm,
Form: Free verse

Premium MemberInner Voice

Nicorates warned me about you
not so much with words
more in dubiety, 
a clairaudient hesitation

imagine an experienced woodworm
widely travelled and well read 
making peace with a cluttered desk top
within which it now dwells
keeping it right, advised

that's kind of it, really
suffice to say, Nicorates is rarely wrong
Categories: well read, anxiety, friend, introspection, life,
Form: Free verse

Premium MemberThe Red Diamond

His heart would flutter, so in love was he.
She was smart, well-read, and a great beauty
So under the moon, on his bended knee, 
He pleaded with her, "Will you marry me?"

The answer, "yes", he was relieved to hear,
Then they both decided the time next year.
"But your diamond takes longer, true, I  fear."
He rued the remark that saddened his dear.

"Oh, it will be shipped to you by and by.
'Bout ten years", he said, for he could not lie.
"It's a rare red diamond that I did buy,
And lodged in an asteroid in the sky."

"When the rock flies near to our planet's place,
We will send up a rocket to its face,
So we can dig out the gems from its base,
And you will wear a ring from outer space".
Categories: well read, i love you, marriage,
Form: Rhyme

Premium MemberKnow the Soul

A soul is divine it is said,
by spiritualists, well read,
but what soul is, most have not seen,
who are by scriptures blindly led.

Detached hermits, whose needs are lean,
in staid stillness have felt soul’s sheen,
which we too can know, if we choose,
erst fears and desires, from heart wean.

With agape love as our heart’s muse,
following truth without excuse,
we then see soul, as light of God,
whence mind games no longer amuse.

Made in God’s image, soul’s a pod,
blooming when we give love our nod,
shining within, as living light;
revelation that leaves us awed.

Bliss drenched soul pulsates with delight,
humming gently by day and night,
as God’s essence, alive, aglow,
known when awakens inner sight.

Thus truth of soul, if we would know,
we must make first, our thought flow slow,
whereupon we see soul’s divine;
whence God guides us and we follow.
Categories: well read, spiritual,
Form: Rubaiyat

Premium MemberComets Taking a Self Guided Tour

Comets taking a self guided tour
So many to drink in without a slur
Mystical and genuine, both are a plenty
Antares is a fundamental of my entity
The only commonality is their drawings among the stars
As Tellurians, we claim many of them are among ours
Signs are clearly visible in the clear night sky airs
Are six and two totally opposite sets of pairs?
Perhaps all are well read bibliomaniacs
That pledge allegience to the zodiacs
Categories: well read, appreciation, deep, extended metaphor,
Form: Rhyme

My Mother the Communist

My mother was brought up in an orphanage because her father
a confectioner became an alcoholic and lost his job, ended
up looking for work when ships came in and needed dockers 
to unload the cargo.
My mother, although working class, was well-read but also
a bit eccentric, she had come to the erroneous conclusion
that only communism (equality in her mind) could bring peace.
It was in one of the papers she read I learned about 
Roosevelt’s knowledge of the Japanese Pearl Harbor attack.
I was about twelve years old when she dragged me to 
a meeting where two Russian “workers” would attend.
They painted a wonderful picture of life in Russia and
showed still films of happy workers at tractor plant extolling 
the wonder of the communist regime.
They also showed us the homes of the workers and later
how happy the land workers were breaking out into dance
in their national dress.
I was very young at the time but was not sold on this display 
of happiness, mother said I had no imagination.
My mother continued to believe in communism until
the Soviet Union invaded Hungary in 1956.
Categories: well read, absence, blessing, devotion,
Form: Blank verse

Premium MemberI Feel Bland Next To You

Gorgeous red haired beauty in the colorful peacock dress.
How dare you wear your shiny perky loveliness to my party.
You have trumped all of us.
Our frocks look dowdy and sad now.
We look like yesterday’s tissues.

I feel bland next to your bonfire orange hair.
I feel dowdy and ugly now.
Where did you get those earrings?
They dazzle my eyes out.
Who invited you?

I can barely eat my dinner, staring at you.
Wondering what your life is like.
You look confident, self-assured, and well-read.
I run from you all evening, not wanting to be compared.
I meet my mean sister-in-law’s eyes. Now I know who invited you.
Categories: well read, women,
Form: Free verse

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