Soon to be replaced by AI
Some poets curse
Others yearn for
the 'good old days'
of wracking our brains
for just the right metaphor
or the perfect simile
So. I plead guilty to writing facsimiles
~ ‘cos NONE of the above applies to me
An iron gaff impales my tongue,
a barbed and rusted length of steel;
where putrid, swollen lungs once hung,
the black brine rots all that is left to feel.
The tempest split my ribcage wide
to anchor horror in my gut;
I drank the writhing, bloated tide,
through each raw and gangrened cut.
This quiet earth now snaps my spine,
a suffocating, heavy vice;
it crushes down this form of mine,
a maggot-eaten sacrifice.
I spew up bile and jagged bone,
my sea legs torn, a bloodied pit;
the silence screams against the stone
where flies and festered sores now sit.
The phantom deck begins to split,
my tendons tearing to match the deep;
I rip my own wet flesh to fit
this horror that I cannot keep.
I crawl through dirt, a severed head,
a corpse that vomits back the gale;
the sea-bound rot is all that’s bred
to haunt the wreckage of the sail.
This peace is acid in my veins,
a sickening and stagnant hell;
my body yearns for wracking pains
to break this suffocating spell.
"We'll be in touch." Each job interviewee is dismissed with this nerve-wracking cliffhanger. On the line, a highly-coveted dream job sought by the qualified and overqualified alike. One out of several job seekers - just put through his catechisms - exits the "Interview In Progress" door, as another walks in. It's a feeding frenzy. Competition for the great gig is fierce, but Lady Luck will smile on only one. His mind and heart, racing. Do his employment chances glow like the sun? Or will he be blown the kiss of death? Oh, to be a fly on the wall during decision time! Until then, a dream job hangs on a slender thread. The prolonged suspense is agonizing as they all wait for the moment of truth .
a prolonged suspense
lady luck smiles on just one ~
job of a lifetime
When it's not possible to go abroad
It's not bad to get acquainted local scenes
With the Philippines country's surroundings
I have long wanted to see Cebu's whale sharks
I want to visit Palawan's Underground River
Witness the Baguio's cliff-hanging cemetery
Astonishing Bukidnon nature like Switzerland
Feel the nerve-wracking landing seaport of Ibatan
Experience the windy part of Northern Ilocos
Enjoy surfing the giant waves of Siargao
Adventure trek to Suhoton Cave of Surigao City
Of course, swim in the pink sand beach of Zambonga City.
One in a billion
Can dare this amazing
Courageous rock climbing
This one second of success
It reflects years of training
One second of success
Can also be a second
That takes a life
It's too dangerous
There is a sense
Of accomplishment
As great as the risk
The need of great strength
Experience and self-confidence
Such gift of overcoming fear
Is a gift that comes from above
In this sport, it's nerve wracking
Everyone goes crazy in their own way
And when strength and courage mixes
Automatically comes success.
It is addictive.
Used to it
like the wicked bitter pills
that one swallows to numb the pain,
to block the feelings.
Lethargic yet nerve-wracking;
A tightness in the chest that
never goes away.
Faint, throbbing, persistent.
It is inherent to me.
the salinity of an ocean of tears,
the chaos of a storm wrecked ship,
the thorns of a lonely cactus.
Never clears away by itself.
Haunting like monsters,
nauseating like rotten hopes,
Appalling like oblivion,
Repulsive like nightmares.
One drinks it,
Slowly.
Like the morning cup of coffee,
Bitter, gone cold.
Yet addictive.
Mine alone.
-Ree
Written: April 28, 2024, For Constance la France Contest
"One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life. The word is love.
Sophocles, Greek Poet
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One word cures all life's queries and distress,
While we indulge in our quest toward bliss.
Pure, lush love imparts delight and success,
Amidst life's winding path, may run amiss.
Love protects us from dread and disarray,
Serve awful time, lead us across the storm.
Love allows us to face fear and dismay,
Merry love is merely drawn in free form.
Embrace who allows us to tame our fears,
The fleeting light of our souls burns all time.
And foster kinship, swipe nerve-wracking tears,
We cry such babies, dull for bliss, sublime.
We descry solace in qualm and sadness,
While we sink in state of auric aptness.
One nerve-wracking race
Is motor bike cliff climbing
Grand finesse with grace.
frog came across tightrope riding on a bike so high
entire circus crowd gave a loud gasp and a sigh
there is a dog in that basket! A little one yelled.
We held our breath now, for he could have been killed.
the frog was cocky, reckless, wild, and crazy for sure.
But dogs are innocent, loyal, kind, totally pure.
I hope the dog is okay, someone yelled from the crowd.
Let the dog down! We began shouting, some of us loud.
frog gave us another cocky wave, and kept pedaling away.
it was a scary ending to a very nerve-wracking day.
the next act was an acrobat who had done away with the net.
I was too nervous to stay, so I ran home to be with my pet.
Oh, the times I have regretted leaving you
Thinking about what I would do differently,
Wracking my brain for a better solution
To the problems that caused your bitterness
Eventually leading to my giving up on you.
Came the time when I could no longer abide
Your volatile and temperamental malignity
Which made my life insufferably unbearable,
So, I left behind the good times, and I fled
For my sanity, hoping to make a better life
Unfettered with nastiness and spitefulness,
Keeping in mind “beauty is only skin deep,”
How it takes two to make a relationship work.
Written August 16, 2022
though they sought the gentle verse
a wracking pain drew up their purse
as thoughtless sovereigns hissed their curse
the dollars drained; their feign- rehearsed
this tragic dismantling
ever-torn fabric seams
flowing a pious demand of the feed
groveling majesties
planted their effigy
cordially under the pew cushion seats
stating repeat
loving the myrrh
silent decree
ebony spurs
a conversation lingered in my mind ...
between Reality Versus Passion!
singing my greatest devotion I find
choosing technology the persuasion !
in technology jobs are abundant,
won't be painful to get a job I crave!
love music from the bottom of my heart..
difficult to succeed even if I’m brave!
I have no agent, I have no money!
recording companies hard to impress!
contests are tough, nerve-wracking and funny
may get awful stage-fright - hardly success!
Reality Versus Passion - hard choice
efforts are rewarded -tells a wise voice!
December 5, 2021
Strand - 1047 Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Brian Strand
Syllables (10 in each line) checked by howmanysyllables.com
My muse Trixie is always raring to go; she writes while I sleep.
I know because upon awakening I hear a poem often.
The last couple of lines anyway, which is truthfully rather exasperating.
She has favorite words of which I am sick.
Dancing, prancing, twirling, whirling, are some of the verbs she always wants.
Do we have to use it on corpses and gargoyles? I ask.
She insists on her own way, which explains my fear of her.
Does she ever inspire me?
I am wracking my brain, thinking hard now.
My dendrite highway has completely shut down.
I am trying hard to think of the last time she inspired me.
Possibly today when we wrote twenty poems I do not remember writing.
She takes over when she wants. I am putty in her hand.
Not sure she inspires, but she surely runs the show.
She is in charge.
I am her pawn - a peon, a Plebian.
She is blowing the kazoo and dancing now.
Extremely happy that I have recognized her power over me.
Maybe when I awaken from my slumber in the morning
Trixie will let me remember more than just the last line of a poem.
My muse Trixie is always raring to go; she writes while I sleep.
I know because upon awakening I hear a poem often.
The last couple of lines anyway, which is truthfully rather exasperating.
She has favorite words of which I am sick.
Dancing, prancing, twirling, whirling, are some of the verbs she always wants.
Do we have to use it on corpses and gargoyles? I ask.
She insists on her own way, which explains my fear of her.
Does she ever inspire me?
I am wracking my brain, thinking hard now.
My dendrite highway has completely shut down.
I am trying hard to think of the last time she inspired me.
Possibly today when we wrote twenty poems I do not remember writing.
She takes over when she wants. I am putty in her hand.
Not sure she inspires, but she surely runs the show.
She is in charge.
I am her pawn - a peon, a Plebian.
She is blowing the kazoo and dancing now.
Extremely happy that I have recognized her power over me.
Maybe when I awaken from my slumber in the morning
Trixie will let me remember more than just the last line of a poem.
I once had an office job sitting next to Miss Sunshine day in and day out. She and her 7th Day Adventist Jesus were always so positive and jolly about everything, it was hard not to smack her.
One day with syrupy sweet intonation she asked why I was so cynical and wasn't I an unhappy person.
I said, "Only a sociopath could be happy about the truth of things, but I'm just a realistic observer not hiding behind cheerful nonsense; there's no correlation to happy or unhappy. Look at you for instance. You are smiling and upbeat all the time. And I don't believe I've ever met an unhappier person."
She was stunned, momentarily silent, mouth hanging open. Then she burst into terrible wracking sobs of anguish.
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