Thought our bubble was safe…
how little we knew about how fragile
the balance of powers be.
Thought the peace we knew
was god-given and would last forever.
How little we knew about
how vulnerable we had become.
Things we took for granted
are no longer birthright freedoms…
Life we know can so quickly change.
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
No more waiting or hesitating
taking off on a whim and a prayer
making do with whatever's there
going out on a limb
skating where the ice is thin
gotta get going as the going's good
gonna do what I can and should
on my way on the run
to make hay in the sun
not walking
now time's a wasting
while they're talking
nothing's being done
made my bed and I'll lie in it
come what may even die in it
'til that day dawns have to confess
I now know less
than I once knew
I am who I am's
why I do what I do
Opulence suits you, my Queen.
To you I humbly devote my life
~ cater to your every whim.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 1st place 2025
Neither toy nor a plaything
time on a whim squandered at leisure
frittered for sake of burlesque
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Written on May 31, 2025
By Gail DeBole
We were just two people who met
and live vows with utmost respect.
The world would keep going
If our lives didn’t align.
But lucky for us
That the universe was kind.
Yes, we met and keep going.
“Til Death Do Us Part.”
Living a life not always easy,
But so full of heart.
Our history is ours that no one can steal.
Our feelings are strong because they are real.
So, those who are prudent don’t always need
To live an “over-the-top” life for all the world to see.
The “Salt of the Earth” are the people who live
true to each other, who compromise, and forgive.
gone astray in a world of her own
she earnestly embraces her whims
dancing to a wistful melody
that truthfully only she can hear
and the abiding stars play along
spinning round in graceful harmony
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
spring arrives today
a scatter of clouds grey
parisian rains unfurl
winds that twirl and hurl
umbrellas in the air
petticoats fly up with flair
whether each parisian girl
parades for whim or dare
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Wave a magic wand and poof!
Try to put the genie back in the bottle
Oops, too late…now everyone’s laughing
More like heads shaking in disbelief
Wear the rough edges of your plan down
With the file still buried in that 34-ingredient cake
A humorous situation, no, a real mess
At the crossroads…freedom & whim
You tore apart the construct limb from limb
Disaster cleanup desperately needed
If we manage to Lego-build back to glory
Too serious of a spoof though
Walking around aloof
Eyes closed on the cloud of a sucker’s wish
Riddled with inaction
No cloud but a chasm below
Anti self-interest fools none the wiser
Mom said there's no time for a swim!
For sure, I was upset and grim.
The day was so hot-
Time for a quick shot!
Dunked my brainy head on a whim!
Magnetic storm emitted
A surge of solar blow
I wasn’t there, but you
Were touched by it, I know
Soon afterwards you thought
“What makes me talk to him”
All reasons were rejected
Except a silly whim
Next evening you were smiling
And joking quite a lot
And I had no idea
Of the forthcoming plot
You waited, till I went to sleep
Pulled out your magic sword
And cutted off my silly head
It fell with great C major chord
Well done, the angels sang
Your pc screen is quiet
It doesn’t show my face
You’ve better things to smile at
I was a weather side effect
Inevitably I go dim
In memories that wither
No place is saved for silly whim
You have to manage treatments
Hell of a lot of stuff
All serious, plus vapes
Which you can’t get enough
The last time lullaby
I’d record, if I only knew
A little more about the moon
And of the sun in you.
I loved him
On a whim
Said I’d never love again
Churning and turning
In my stomach
Feeling dizzy
So much spinning
Getting tired of the chase
Not knowing what to say
Does he love me back
Or am I just a fool
No rooster crowed the tenebrous morning
I woke to somber skies aflame.
As dawn rose across a crimson horizon,
a firestorm blazed from a golden core
and scarlet lava flowed above the plains.
Charred, were black mordant clouds.
Menancingly, they swept over my barn.
A rubicund threat; a hazard to the earth,
an inferno; a warning of ill-fated death.
Terror filled me as fire encroached,
knowing I would become a torch,
kindled when scorching embers approached
to ignite me, rendering a fight for life futile.
Laughter heard as I became ribbons of smoke.
Soon, my ashes would be airborne,
and all that would remain of me would be
carried on the whim of the wayward wind.
Ah, crazy girl you've fooled around
with other guys when I wasn't around,
and those blinking eyes can't lie;
I could say, " Pack up all your staff and leave,
give me back my keys: find a corner to grieve! "
Am I so heartless to let you die?
It won't end for a whim,
giving up on you is too grim;
he's the size of a blimp,
he surely is a giggling chimp!
We make lots of mistakes
and we regret them later;
guilt is painful and can remain forever!
I checked your endless text messages,
they were from red-head Fred...
he's from another neighborhood!
It won't end for a whim,
losing you is a tragedy;
I've got the crop of the cream...
you fit my ideal so perfectly!
Ah, he shows off his black Maisto bike,
he thinks you'll fall for what he's got;
ah, his worst enemy is spiteful Mike!
I'm better than him, I have no tattoos,
I drink beer and stay away from boos;
I have no beard, I wear no silver rings
in my earlobes, and whether you stay
or not, the bright sky won't turn gray!
What's happened here?
I asked,
I asked again...
and where to reclaim.
For I've lost something precious (so dear to me)
and someone or something's to blame
and will I be repaid in heaven's name?
To be sure, I'll find peace in justice, heh
justice in life..
heh!
Where to place it..
God, demon, mankind, or you?
Oh, such a shame to know
the fault could be all mine too...
swirled in murky shallows
can't fix it, can't face it
can never forget it
it is an injustice,
after all...
So dear friends, convince me
whim of justice, just isn't so
so I decided finally to
just let it go...
How I wish to scuttle alone,
over a gentle river,
from bank to bank,
in a small boat,
rowed with a bamboo pole.
The call of the wild is an irresistible call,
to venture into the silken waters,
to feel the wind and look at the blue sky
with nimbus clouds drawing strange patterns,
when seagulls’ fly, shrieking over my head,
and sense the misty spray of water
when weary hours shall sink to blend
with the soothing sibilance of the river,
winding its way through woods and plains!
October. 23.2022
~Placed Eighth~
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