“Don’t go there – steer away from it!” he said.
“You’ll turn your gaze away (that’s if you’re wise).
The black hole on the screen you’ve got your eyes on,
which seems appealing, floating in the murk,
confers no blessing. Love is just a curse.
Enticing, yes – but when push comes to shove,
the only day you’re free is when you’re dead.”
The bridge fell silent. Starship Enterprise
was stalled outside the thing’s event horizon.
The science officer asked, “Captain Kirk,
why are you singularity-averse?”
“Unlike yourself, Spock, I have been in love.”
Man often kills
that thing he loves
Dying inside it
— when push comes to shove
(Dreamsleep: March, 2025)
*The Truth Shall Set You Free
Miracle Man
12/16/2024
America has become a theater,
with actors galore.
Daily, many “wanna be’s”,
are flocking to our shore.
Some lay claim to being,
the best in their crowd.
But when push comes to shove,
they become purse-proud.
Only when advantageous,
does this become fact.
It’s not what people say,
but the way many act.
*John 8:32
I've been frequently right,
And I've often been wrong.
I've had plenty of breaks
And made lots of mistakes,
I've been weak, I've been strong.
Looking back, now, I see
That is my destiny,
What else is there to be
But what I am?
I've been good, I've been bad,
Much more sinner than saint.
I've been wooer and wooed,
I've been misunderstood,
Been called perverse and quaint.
But I do what I love,
And when push comes to shove,
What more is needed to prove
That I am what I am?
There are times I fit in,
Times when I don't belong.
I hear opening chords
And start singing the words
To a whole different song.
But I rise when I fall,
And though my footprint is small,
Still I strive to stand tall
And be all that I am.
("The Heart of It #4", 2007, original oil)
The Good Heart
My hunch is probably everyone thinks they have a good heart
Since we are all humans with some degree of empathy.
But while it’s empathy that makes us feel good helping others
It's also empathy that leads us to lynch them.
And it’s shown that when push comes to shove
Nine out of ten of your good-hearted neighbors
Will lynch you if you threaten their peace and security
And end up on their sh*t list.
So there is the paradox of being human,
That even the good habitually do bad
And even if we are in agreement
That we are good or share good intentions
(say, to benefit and avoid harming others)
Then what we each choose to do
In the cause of the good
Will often be different
Even drastically so.
This paradox is what divides nations,
Families, political parties and religions.
It is what divides us within us,
What gives us doubt and confusion,
And ultimately makes us
The humans we are.
But that one out of ten
Who doesn’t join the lynching,
Now, that’s the human we should aspire
To become.
(1/6/24)
Still searching for my permanent address,
seeking where I really live, fit in.
Suspended between life’s already-happened
and soon-to-be-memories moments.
Longing for a white-picket-fenced home,
landscaped in self-trust, self-respect,
with room for a full-of-love heart.
Instead, I discover a crumbling castle,
mossy, dank dungeon of the mind
imprisons me.
The jagged nettles of cruel abuse
doled out by my dark thoughts
pierce my soul.
Spirit sapped, barely staying alive.
Hope, in one tiny sliver of daylight
in the cracked castle wall,
penetrates the darkness.
When push comes to shove,
will there be enough shove left in me
to rise above,
to finally reside in happily-ever-after?
My choice.
I’ve had the example
Of women I love,
Being strong and outspoken
When push comes to shove.
Generations before me
Gave me so much
My looks and hair colour
Tenacity and such.
I was taught by the greatest,
Who in term was taught,
By the greatest to her mind
Her mother of course.
Sister, mum, grandma
All different yet then
They have been my example
Women among men.
Nearly one full century
Has passed since we won,
The rite of democracy,
For both daughter and son.
My matriarch ancestors
I thank you forever
For showing me women
And strive through endeavour.
The lady knows guns.
She's trained to run.
Will act under fire.
and not go haywire.
When push comes to shove
Get tough and saddle up.
She's in the right mind.
High-ready, open fire.
The lady knows guns.
Double stack, night sights.
.
That little piggy who chose to beg off
going to market, stayed home with a cough.
He bragged he was a cut above
butchering, "when push comes to shove
I will always be king at the food trough."
While "king" was napping in the best mud hole,
roast beef pig tied his four feet to a pole;
had-none pig slopped glue in his eyes.
When "Come, get it!" the farmer cries,
stay-at-home pig finds out who's in control.
November 25, 2022
Sponsor Eve Roper
Contest Name Children's Limericks
I want to love you, but you make it a chore
One shouldn’t have to work so hard to love
Still, I want you more and more,
I can’t help it when push comes to shove.
My feelings for you are difficult to explain
I want to love you, but you make it a chore
Time after time I’ve made my feelings plain
And every time you shut the door.
I fear I am beginning to sound like a boor,
But I am trying to honestly tell you how I feel,
I want to love you, but you make it a chore
Slowly I’m beginning to question your appeal.
If you don’t share these feelings I have inside
Emotions I have shared many times before
I’m wondering if you’re taking me for a ride
I want to love you, but you make it a chore.
Written October 9, 2022
Some days linger like a song
You cannot rid your brain of
Slow minutes tick all day long,
When push comes to shove
Everything seems to go wrong.
Just getting through is a fight
Success is, ohhh, so elusive
Nothing seems to go right,
Even your peers seem collusive
Better just to stay out of sight.
Tomorrow will be better, I say,
Portending you'll reach your goal
Anything better than today,
When your gut stymies your soul
And nothing at all goes your way.
Written August 17, 2022
Though I served my country with pride,
To my counselor, I have lied.
It’s hard to tell him how I feel.
The fears I have are very real.
It’s so hard for me to explain
Why, now, I live life with disdain.
After the things I’ve seen and done,
I can’t imagine life with fun.
I lose my temper faster, now.
I can’t keep calm; I don’t know how.
I used to be patient and kind.
Anger and fear take over my mind.
Anger wins when push comes to shove.
I take it out on those I love.
I’m afraid what people will think
Once they know that I’m on the brink.
So, with help and medication,
I will truly find salvation.
The path to become me again
Starts with my family and friends.
With help and love to pull me through,
There’s nothing that I can’t do.
I will live life again, someday
To the fullest and in my own way.
~ Before you throw in the towel ~
Your pen is full of ink
The paper on which you think
as fresh as a mountain stream
All that remains is to dream
of a subject, a theme, a raison d'etre
with built-in rhyme, rhythm and 'metra'
This shouldn't be so unspeakably hard
yet I suppose every minor and major-league bard
has moments when he's ready to throw in the towel
or just glare at the moon, and begin to howl...
That's it! Go out there and howl at the moon
Surely then you'll sing a different tune
'Coz when push comes to shove, it's all about mood
and though it sounds trite, a good attitude...
So, write your heart out, my friend
Let all your hair hang way down
Your poems will be the toast of the town
rhymed couplets
Advice from the oldest in the pasture,
former race horse, derby grandmaster.
We are not losers let loose in the fields;
we horses tell how effortless "wild" feels
No jockeys here, no brutal whips.
No metal bar between my lips.
No braids in my tail making knots,
I will never be forced into slots.
No giddy crowds, no owner's frowns,
All handicaps stayed at the downs.
Out in the field when push comes to shove?
We move aside, think nothing thereof.
Winning is running, hear the steeds confess.
Trophies and purses? We horses care less.
For jockeys, all is lost past number three;
for horses, the winning is running free.
March 7, 2020
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