There is no strength in fear and flame,
naught but the bitterness of blame,
which leads us all to guilt and shame,
finger pointing and naming names.
Better still our hearts to open,
forgive and live with hope and
honest emotion,
a chain of grace unbroken,
positive words to be spoken,
and put our heart into motion.
Easier though to give anger it’s head,
to wish all of our enemies dead,
leave no damning word unsaid,
and encourage our hate to spread.
And spread it will unless we stand,
take our enemy by the hand,
strive to understand,
declare our oneness before the land,
grace and tolerance to expand,
love for brotherhood our command.
Eschew the path of the xenophobe,
abandon the notion of a divided globe,
tap well into your temporal lobe,
encourage agape to brightly strobe.
What a world it would be,
if they and us became we,
if you and I began to see,
instead of difference, similarity,
oh, to be so free,
and know my brother is a version of me.
past passions passed parting
present pains pleasured prolonging
love's longings lowered lingering
world's weight winded waiting
sadness's solo silenced singing
freedom forgotten feared freezing
brittle bones bruised breaking
taciturn tears tattered tumbling
mind's memory mangled melting
reason's remnants ruined remaining
kneels nobody nighted knowing
gutless ghosting gathered grimacing
careless cacophony caged constructing
mammon millions murdered meandering
demons divinity damaged dividing
hearts heads hooked hungering
chastised children chunked chasing
betrayed bought banned burying
jingo jeering jaded judging
kindness kisses kindled killing
quiescent quakes quieted quivering
vapid verses vanquished vaping
words' world wearied wounding
zealot xenophobe zeroed zooming
past passions passed parting
present pains pleasured prolonging
love's longings lowered lingering
world's weight winded waiting
sadness's solo silenced singing
freedom forgotten feared freezing
brittle bones bruised breaking
taciturn tears tattered tumbling
mind's memory mangled melting
reason's remnants ruined remaining
kneels nobody nighted knowing
gutless ghosting gathered grimacing
careless cacophony caged constructing
mammon millions murdered meandering
demons divinity damaged dividing
hearts heads hooked hungering
chastised children chunked chasing
betrayed bought banned burying
jingo jeering jaded judging
kindness kisses kindled killing
quiescent quakes quieted quivering
vapid verses vanquished vaping
words' world wearied wounding
zealot xenophobe zeroed zooming
We all here-that cliche, "It's all Greek to me!"
Here are words you use that have roots in Greek!
A -how about 'airplane'~we all have enjoyed these!
B -and that 'Bible'you use!
C- I know we all love 'comedy'!
E-'a quality we love, 'enthusiasm'
F- one of my favorites is 'fantasy'
G-I know we marvel at a 'galaxy'
H-Oh,, how we love 'horoscopes'
I- idea is of Greek origin, as well.
J- yes, even that word...jealous!
K- 'kilometer' to measure.
L- add that favorite word, 'logic.'
M- 'melody' significant in music we love
N- those 'neon' lights, so groovy,
O- 'Olympic' games we so love,
P- 'poem is a word ,gift,from the Greeks.
R- and 'rhapsody,'a musical treat.
S- 'syllablee' which is so much a part of poetry,
T- and of course, 'theater' in which the Bard
showed his wonderful plays,,
U- 'Utopia! How many of us has used that?
V- could not find a word for that...Vwnus perhaps?
X- xenophobe, still checking on that
Z- zoology, a dearly loved subject!
(Excuse my previous typos, )
10/17/2020
Opus# 4
The letter X is quite complex, it may even be a hex or have special effects.
Check out the subject with respect to X.
There was a man who traveled the globe. When in other countries he would sleep in his clothes.
Terrified to disrobe. The doctors said, it had to do with the frontal lobe.
So they labeled hin a xenophobe. I'll no longer probe for the letter X has me vexed, it's quite perplexed.
I didn’t really want
to get political
my poems are supposed to be
sweet and fun
But several other poets
have posted verses
about my sweetie pie
Donald Trump
So let me explain
in poetic style
why I still plan to vote
for him this fall
Yes, he is crude
Yes, he is orange
Yes, he is totally
out there sometimes
Yes, he is crazy
Yes, he is weird
Yes, he is possibly
dangerous
Yes, he may well be
all those things --
but he’s STILL not
from Arkansas!!!
All Broken, Cracked, Dead,
Everything Frail. Gory Hell I
Just Keep Landlocked Making
No Optimism. Preachers Quote
Relentlessly Suspending Time
Underground. Villains With
Xenophobe Yearning Zen.
Xenophobe- one who fears,
mistrusts, and dislikes
foreigners or what is strange or
foreign.
Actions speak louder than words, some say
Belonging to that period of time, we call day
Considering their impact on others, we may
Develop that strategy, and keep negativity away
Endlessly searching for that special one
Frankly speaking, will that time ever come?
Going to convince yourself you've won
How to deal with failure, calling yourself dumb
Investigating a way for you to have fun
Jack of all trades, yet master of none
Keeping the truth from under the sun
Laughing at you, you turning numb
Managing those feelings of despair
No one knows of those cries you fear
Over and over you say that you care
Predictable enough, when you pull out your hair
Quickly running to gain that control
Relying on your friend, in whom you've trusted your soul
Standing there alone when all takes its toll
Then finding out, devastated, she's been that mole
Under that pillow, the one you once wished to share
Victory to those that you thought had a care
Willing no longer to ever bring near
Xenophobe is now that condition you bare
You've now learned one of many more lessons to come
Zealous in choosing that someone to call, "Special One"
April's roses scent inebriates every sense
below the Gothic cathedral
cardinals doze
draping their wings over
evergreen plants
foreshadowing a cool sunset
griffins guard the bell-tower
hampering the intruders
inflicting fear on the jackals
jaundiced they hide into a jalopy
kapok is soft as cotton
ladybugs allow no sleep
manifesting vulgar wit
nibbling on naugat
oblitaring any sweetness
prie-dieu is her comfort
quickning my understanding
ravishing the merry opus
shedding light on her faith
tending toward forgiveness
unquestionable in its promise
verboten to dishonor it
wimple as sworn devotion
xenophobe not permitted
yodeling is immense praise
zither plays a Gregorian chant
Copyright 2010 by Andrew Crisci
Twitching limply atop an Ulster lamppost
Like a hung man, legs kicking in spasm at the last seconds of life
Its bigoted purpose now spent and now abandoned to the elements
No longer recognisable as the flag of union, a rag, a disgrace
Its fate summarises the fall of a culture that once honoured it
A proud nation of proud men, of starched collars and stiff upper lip
Colonially pink maps on schoolroom walls bore testament to empire
An empire won and lost when the map turned from pink to red
Up and at ’em lads! For King and country! Hold the banner high!
Ypres and the Somme, regiments of the brave under one colour
The twitching curtains of multi-culture now fearful of the emblem
The emblem of abhorrence uncased by those not qualified to fly it
Patriotism, a narrow path parting pride from prejudice
Defined by a flag, one duplicitous fluttering cloth, a split personality
Now the badge of hooligan, xenophobe and pop diva
Courage now gone, bleached by sun, washed by rain…atop an Ulster lamp post
Crackling sparks flew in diatribe hatred,
Jaw-snapping vitriol, hyena raised hackles,
Secure insecurity giggled inanely,
Bared yellow-bone, fangs of jackals.
Mouth that yawns trapdoor premonitions,
Pandora’s box fixed in cold shark eyes,
Releasing the bats, sick and plague stricken,
Bubonic repugnance meets ego despise.
Dull, dumbbell dense, thick as molasses,
Xenophobe hairstyle caps petrified brow,
Crow’s feet cracks frame sunken-in sockets,
The president manifest, down we bow.
Hailing void frequency, wild and unfocussed,
Harpy-shrill cackles in brain dead bazaars,
Nothing breeds nothing but death and ambition,
Light eating blackness, black as dead stars.
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.