Worked Poems | Examples

For Them We Worked

Forgive this battery; tilt up your chin. 
You're ready now. 
Still, absent. "Help! Help!"
Life running in. Futile.

Puckered breath on silent chest.
Crushing pain and animal calls.
"Please! Please!" A familiar voice.
We work. Not for you.

You are lost, forever and complete.
Distinguished face, absent now.
Silver hair matted red and brown.
For them. We work.

Body rushed to mind's demented end.
Forgive us this dishonour on
Your ancient bones.
We press, counting, breathing.

Declined decision raises ugly head.
Of vomit, of blood, of tears and shame.
A bookcase bare of recent tome,
Crushed under laced fingers. 

"What's the time?" It's over now. 
Last moments made brutal.
Forgive us this horror.
For them we worked.

the spell had worked

she grabbed her cat and began to dance
the spell had worked!
Not only was she a monarch witch
but her colors were pastel

The two things she had been dreaming about
She kissed her spell book
the cat hissed a bit at first
but she gave him a warning clench

if he wanted to stay her familiar
he had better keep up with her mood
she was in the dancing mood
and the singing mood

she sang several tunes
her dance steps were getting wild now
she was spinning and twirling
I wonder if I can fly? she asked herself

Would she grab for her broom as a back up
or just kick off with her feet?
She set the struggling cat down and kicked off.
Rising out of the window and into the night
Showing her new self around to the woodland fey

I Have Finally Worked Me out

I Have Finally Worked Me out.

I’m impulsive
I never stay when I want to leave
I’m annoying
They feel it, but are too polite to say.
I’m opinionated
So much so, I show my own stupidity
I’m explosive
My temper sometimes lets loose
I’m a recluse
I love being alone, in my own company
I’m scared
Mostly by things which will never happen
I’m suspicious
I trust very few and allow few people to know me
I’m sceptical
I believe little of what I hear and less of what I am shown
I’m a nuisance
High maintenance, annoying sometimes, irrational, irritating
I’m emotional
My face can’t lie or hide how I feel.
I’m also….
Giving, generous, caring, talented, humorous, funny,
Off the wall, loving, helpful, shy, a genius, if I believed.
I’m me. Who are you?

David Cox 27/02/24.

I Worked In Her Shoes

I am not sure what size shoes I now wear,
it is hard to be small with skin so fair.
Wishing I was reading in a big chair
instead I wipe my eye from a big tear.
My heart smiles when others can takeover,
this wheat is heavy not light like clover.
Back breaking work not fit for any child
this hard work can make an adult go wild

As If That's Ever Worked

to you who seems to think time is infinite
to you who seems so sure
the clock will stand hushed and still 
until you’re ready to press that button
i’m not sure what to say

i don’t share your delusion
yet strangely I must admit i relish
in the illusion that time might somehow hover
suspended and surreal if we so choose
to look the other way



AP: Honorable Mention 2023

It Worked

She threw his ashes away.
An impulsive act.
Unfortunately, I had suggested it.
As a joke.

She says it worked!
He is not haunting the house anymore.
He was her husband.
She professed to hate him.

I have one awful thought.
If she has regrets
or he finds out it was my suggestion, 
Will I be the next one that gets haunted?

My Husband Worked Graveyard Shift

I will never work the graveyard shift
Because elementary students are not awake all night.
My charges whom I persuade and uplift.
They bring me all kinds of happiness and light.

My husband worked the graveyard shift
For about a year, once upon a time, many years ago.
We had two small babies, so the real challenge was mine.
Trying to keep them quiet so he could sleep, filled me full of woe.

He would wake up and be nice about it, but it was not ideal.
Working the graveyard shift means your day sleep must be real.
I am so glad those days are over, they were stressful to me.
And to my husband also, as you can plainly see.

Smartest Artist Who Had Worked Her Hardest

Smartest Artist Who Had Worked Her Hardest

seemed to be smartest (5)
such a fantastic artist   (7)
had tried her hardest   (5)

Five vowels than seven vowels
followed by five vowels

verified each vowel
he had been a wise old owl
much art work compile

It Worked In the Past

hello Barr
this is Woodward
would you like to talk to me 
about a new book
called Justice?
it will be fun.

Winter's Witch Worked Wicked Ways

Rejoice the end of deathly days
when winter's witch worked wicked ways.
Free from dark times we sing our praise.

Now sap flows after its long fast.
Snowdrops flare white in bright contrast.
Buds nourished, now they swell and burst.

From blackest loam to spectrum glow.
Bold blue, rich purple, bright yellow
and subtle shades of pastel show.

Aloft, we hear the 'caw-caw' cry
as fledglings flap and flare and try.
Some instinct keeps them in the sky.

Pond nymphs nourished and near full size,
awaiting warmth from summer skies.
Then shed their shell, make damselflies.

Rejoice the start of golden days.
Nature completes her complex ways.
For her magic we sing our praise.

Had Worked Our Shirt

Had Worked Our Shirt

Off of our back we had worked our shirt,
And even though we did never had hurt;
Was catch;
Did stretch;
We grew out after having a growth spurt.

Jim Horn

Romantic Charm In Four Lines - This One Worked

Hey baby there's a roast in the oven
And all the dishes are done
I washed your socks and underwear
Now let's have some fun







*not for contest

''Worked Hard''

A Rushing Creek.A beavers' broken dam.Washed Out Gully.

Old Ways Worked

The Old Ways Worked 

Oh 50 years passed by with the flick of an eye
and our people got so soft don't you see
Back in the fifties people worked oh so hard
just to bring home the bacon for ye 

Well the machines oh they came and the work it all went
till there was nothing to do don't you see
it was better back then when the kids had respect 
for their elders who sired them with glee

Oh the people grow fat for there's nothing to do
no crowbar or shovel for ye
No sweat of the brow of a days work well done
and a cold beer at sunset for me….

Minority groups have stuffed up the world
full of great ideas so they think 
So now the kids are out of control
anarchy comes to the bar for a drink…

Oh I got the cane at school yes too right..
teachers got some respect just from me..
I didn't steal cars & didn't do time
and I’m drugs and alcohol free?
……..Don Johnson

Pole Dancer (In Memory of All the Girls Who Worked the Voom Voom Room and the Star and Garter)

sizzling, scintillating-
tittillation from on stage
oh, the way she works that pole
would cause erections in the morgue.


legs and arms and breasts (oh damn!)
promise rare delicious delight.
and that ass would stop traffic
in the middle of a Nascar race.


but take a close look 
at those eyes...
colder than a pimp's heart;
harder than gunmetal
they tell you that something died inside.

the lines is her face
are not traces of aging
but, of the hardening that comes
from all that she's endured:
the joy and hope that eloped
when she first understood
what it means to be a commodity

she'd likely slit your throat
for your wallet and watch,
or just to get revenge
on herself, for ever being born
but only if she thought
that she wouldn't get caught. and-
man! look at the way she works that pole!

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