Best Poems Written by David Kavanagh

Below are the all-time best David Kavanagh poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

View ALL David Kavanagh Poems

Details | David Kavanagh Poem

Newspaper clippings

Too little 
too late
God said to me 
in this dream I had about fate

So I asked him 
what did he expect, 
A goody two shoes 
a prophet 
a saint 
to be something I ain’t 

Not at all he said 
I want to be entertained 
Eternity is boring 
mostly people snoring 
especially at night 
and during the day on occasion 

Look god! I walk around an
Amazon warehouse all day 
pigeon-holing tat
picking this and that
How am I supposed to amuse you 

Well I do enjoy you 
breaking stuff on purpose 
sabotaging the line 
Bunking off for a smoke 
going to the toilet 
and drinking erm… doing coke 

Ok hands up!
I admit 
I’m a total chancer
and do stuff I shouldn’t 
But it’s alright isn’t it 
that Amazon place is full of s-hit

Yes it is a terrible kip
but more fun when you entertain
Like in your last job 
listening to you lie
not taking the blame 
asking me to help out 
In your moment of doubt 
All that stuff you stole 
and barely got away with
on the whole 
That was quite funny!

Oh the (paper and plastic) I gathered, 
before selling it to the highest bidder 
Throwing expensive stock out in the trash 
The owner was a bastard 
all things considered 
a miserly swine
But nevermind 
Thanks!
I did need a dig out that time 

Hey! remember when I was aged about 7
and was told my pal went to heaven 
Why did it happen 
A year later walking to school with another kid
he was only 8
And that nut-job attacked us with a hammer 
Put a hole in my friends head 
The blood pumped in fountains of red
I thought he was dead 
All the gore I’ve seen 
witnessed a killing at 18
Trying to hold down an abattoir job in between 

Yes! Life ain’t pretty by design 
sometimes the stars just won’t align 
Others times they go nova 
and leave black holes behind 
still you’ll never really understand 
The powers in command 

So how about this poem
Will it see me home 
Does it amuse you
are we cool?

You’re still alive aren’t you!

By
David Kavanagh 

Copyright © David Kavanagh | Year Posted 2024


Details | David Kavanagh Poem

A Mountain From a Pile

How far do the ripples spread, when eventually we die 
Probably stay in the locality, level off, no major outcry
But let’s say we’re famous, suffering unexplained death 
The ripples keep expanding, growing further in breadth 

See the grotesque nature of spin, is to overplay a scene 
Garnishing public outrage, lurid pictures fill our screens 
Playing to an audience, ratings become the holy grail 
Stories without embellishments, grow tiresomely stale 

These ripples are an illusion, imagination going berserk
Carried along by a corrupt deception, truth been shirked 
Evidence the one requirement, for establishing all facts
I extrapolate backwards, what the hell there’s no splash 

Lines converge into partial truths, confused to a degree 
Must be taken with a pinch of salt, querying what I see
Even this soup we enjoy, is manipulated and massaged
Most of the poems are quite good, others form a mirage 

Taken out of context a rectangle, can become a square 
Brought into focus, desolate pictures, not quite so bare
What’s basically a clean stab, or slash across the wrist 
When poets stick in the knife, some give it a good twist

Using poetry for a hidden agenda, political or otherwise 
Tantamount to mind-numbing crap, seen in the tabloids 
If your going to post propaganda, to further some game 
Write it on toilet paper, wipe off, that’s all you’ve gained 

 By
David Kavanagh

Copyright © David Kavanagh | Year Posted 2021

Details | David Kavanagh Poem

Porcelain Doll

Porcelain doll, with a face so pretty 
a country gal, ran away to the city 
Worked in a bar, dancing on tables 
beat shovelling sh-it, in Pa’s stables
Looks for love, but only finds bums
lowlife gamblers, in rundown slums

Go back home 
not a chance 
One day soon 
find romance

Porcelain doll, life’s becoming gritty
rent’s due, ain’t nothing in her kitty
All knocked up, mascara streaking 
bloodshot eyes, skin’s unappealing 
Sleeps in the pines, winter it snows 
crystallised tears, angel eyes froze

Barely alive 
baby’s dead 
No way back
no warm bed

Porcelain doll, face’s the committee
lunatic asylum, nobody shows pity
Shock treatment, four hourly dose’s 
prison guard lesbians, with halitosis
broken doll, made one bad decision 
they chipped her head, thin incision

Eyes don’t blink 
stare at space 
No expression 
just a doll’s face

By
David Kavanagh

Copyright © David Kavanagh | Year Posted 2022

Details | David Kavanagh Poem

Hereafter

Living on a planet, unsure if I belong 
Where only sand grains and fossils, seem to last long 
The instinct to breathe air, compelling me along 
And the miracle that’s water, strives to prolong 

Hear the wind blow bending the trees 
Feel the bones crack inside my knees 

High upon a mountain, an avalanche gives way
Yielding to gravity, and powerful sun rays 
Down below I ponder, will this be my last day 
Still all goes over my head, as life balks away

Holding my grip busting my balls 
gives a nice twist when in free fall 

A juggernaut of lies, hurtled down that slope 
Widening debris fields, spreading rumours of hope
Is there any big truths, or just lies to help cope 
The past looks basic, viewed under a microscope 

Fossils don’t lie rocks are not bones 
Sand remodels back into stone 

I piece together the fossils, search out life’s source 
Scream out eureka, til my larynx implodes hoarse
Scan skies for graviton waves, stretching time with force 
Try stop that damn avalanche, least alter it’s course 

Raw energy blood upon dust 
Time’s eternal cascading rust

Evidence can be sketchy, when life forms a scree
In the end information, is all there can be 
Empirical pathways, are straightforward to see
If they postulate a god, good enough for me 

I’ve crawled before I’ll walk again 
Encased in skin til god knows when 

As a kid in confession, I’d mostly tell lies 
I admitted made up sins, without compromise 
The priest liked forgiving, so telling lies was wise 
He went easy on penance, devil in disguise 

Shame on us both playing such games 
He wore a cloak, I’m still the same

Copyright © David Kavanagh | Year Posted 2023

Details | David Kavanagh Poem

I shall find a way or make one

(Inveniam viam)

Far beyond these eerie things, where limits have no scales
Fish are replacing gills, with turbine aerated tails 
Sea level’s losing all meaning, for the humpback whales 
Ships piggyback them, harpoons syphon wind from their sails 

Today I woke up early, lately I’ve let dreams flow 
Into an abstract yonder, where visions often go
A wave came over me, up from my downy pillow 
When tidal forces passed away, many moons ago 

As the ocean waved goodbye, I called for an encore
Behaving like a poultice, the beach drew back old gore
You could’ve bowled me over, sent ripples to my core
Never again I’d sleep soundly, near this bloody shore 

After a fretful lie-on, facing truths with each turn 
My sundial running on empty, stars can’t always churn
Moribund in dimness, til an old spark can return 
Reigniting glory days, (let supernovae burn)

Overhead the vacuum grows, just to make more space 
Stretching my dysmorphia, to align with gods face
No one knows for certain, who enhanced his human race 
Gave an artful hand, outsmarting evolution’s pace 

As life spirals forward, in a world out of control 
Entropy dismantles, stripping back our maker’s role 
The poet in me keeps goofing, digging deeper holes
He’s a junkie rhymester, overdosing on this soul 

So hail all billionaires, who never walk down my street
Flying above fake cripples, with power in their feet
Prodigies of bad and worse, scheming to make ends meet 
Leaves an aftertaste of smugness, one that will repeat 

As for those big questions, some take a straightforward twist
Two things I thought might go away, stubbornly exist 
Not death or taxes, I’m already over that list 
Each day I arise, how come lies and bullsh!t persist?

First there was oblivion, til I woke up and saw 
Now fully awake, dead ahead looms a fatal flaw 
But so long as I can dream, and able to guffaw
It only hurts when I laugh, Don’t you think? vents my jaw 

By David Kavanagh 
Hms 

Copyright © David Kavanagh | Year Posted 2023


Details | David Kavanagh Poem

Onslaught

#One should be cautious in starting a war, but 
once begun, it should be carried out thoroughly#

     #Quote by Hirohito circa Dec 1942#

                       Onslaught 

         As little boy fell over Hiroshima, 
        a demigod dismayed how it grew 
          Into a fat man above Nagasaki, 
        Hirohito said, so I’m the devil too

       Both are one, and the same person, 
        to say otherwise is splitting atoms
         When two suns appear overhead, 
       an emperors duality, cannot fathom 

        And necessary evil is a dubious sin,
       willpower making its choice that day
        Expedience worked saving millions 
        I’m firmly on the side of Enola Gay

     Reckoning came, not a flash in the pan
     for marching POWs to death, at Bataan
       Also, Pearl harbour, Iwo Jima, Guam
      Midway, Okinawa, Tarawa, and Saipan

       Job’s done, the mission accomplished
        a time to celebrate, peace be strong 
     our conscience does not need absolution 
       obliterated by belief, we did no wrong 


Little Boy/Fat man, US code names
for the atomic bombs in WW2

Pick-A-Title, Vol 32 - Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Edward Ibeh
Prompt chosen Onslaught 
07/11/22

Copyright © David Kavanagh | Year Posted 2022

Details | David Kavanagh Poem

Once upon perdition a dedication

This POTD is dedicated to Di11y Da11y 
who spoke the truth and paid the price! 

to the unheard poet 
you weren’t driven away 
you moved beyond them 

Once upon perdition 

The apostate looked out his window, 
and started to believe
As genuflecting pylons 
sent ramifications through the trees
Chaos questioned reason, 
hoping for a guilty plea
but the world was too far gone,
 so began the killing spree

The Crier rang his leper bell:
 “Our town’s a godless apparition”
Filling hearts with envy 
of a once-dreaded condition
Now the King prayed for calm, 
in a pagan act of contrition
After his son died at birth,
he had proscribed all religion

Atheists came from all around,
excommunication filled the air
Roots faced horizontal, 
trying to feed off despair
Anxious to leave town, 
fallen gargoyles block civic square
Steeplejacks grow disoriented, 
from looking up at disrepair

“That hole’s not deep enough,”
winked the jester to the knave
He could never resist a shortcut, 
even digging his own grave
As the madness continued, 
hermits set fire each other’s caves
Shedding light on the void, 
by burning alive its willing slaves

With the apocalypse gathering pace, 
populations slowly died
Some genius came forward 
a real madman in disguise
Said, “We need a scapegoat
—a martyr, an ultimate sacrifice”
He was crucified for being too clever; 
they much preferred no advice

And whilst writing this story, 
that apparently makes no sense
The queen was in her chambers, 
hanging herself from suspense
Children butcher themselves gaily, 
having learned how to fence
As for putting fear of God in us, 
the wicked come crawling to repent

At last when heaven reopened, 
an eclipse tried darken that day
Never to see man overcast again, 
sun went nova, boiling all life away…

By
David Kavanagh 


Copyright © David Kavanagh | Year Posted 2025

Details | David Kavanagh Poem

Humanity


Humanity 

The pagan pilgrimage, sun-worshippers frequently make
Latter-day phenomenon, take off on a Bronze Age break
Constellations change position, solstices realign
Tropic of Capricorn peaks, Cancer starts its slow decline

Astrologers reassure us, the end is not bespoke
Astronomers can’t sleep, has a supernova awoke?
Healthy cells deconstruct inexorably from their core
Runaway chain reactions, laying waste forever more

Be that as it must, cosmic cataclysms generate thrust
Comets are slightly nudged, on a collision course with us?
Ancients believed them omens, wraiths of impending slaughter
Those billion ton tailed curveballs, catalysed Earth with water

Modern man searches for answers, drowning in misnomers
Melding PhD honours, with chatbot E-diplomas
Teleporting entangled particles, throws back a hack
Time travelling marvel, rewinds the real Bronze Age back?

Absurdness seems lame, yet concomitantly germane
Hawking conserved energy, by merely using his brain
Newton had a bachelors, kept him celibate stable
He’d balls of steel for sure, alas no bearings on that cradle?

Information cannot be destroyed, only zeitgeists can
Synthesised is truth, in the malleable hands of man
Life’s more delicate, gravitas hidden behind a smile
Like tales that flightless birds, buried heads in denial

Ostriches evolved kick-ass legs, and win the biped race
They dig shallow pits in sand, not complex black holes in space
One squawked this revelation before zooming off to die:
“Humankind’s the sole species, with good reason to ask why”?


Copyright © David Kavanagh | Year Posted 2025

Details | David Kavanagh Poem

The space between stars is not empty

          
        The space between stars contains countless hidden gems
            A locked tight treasure trove, opened up by our lens
       Prisms split apart light spectra, and dopplers change shifts 
             We watch galaxies do cartwheels across great rifts

         The space between stars, zooms us backwards in time 
              Before gods arrived, to claim the cosmos divine 
            In turn challenged by telescopes on trellised stilts
             Optics probe heaven, to find it’s still being built 

           The space between stars is empty, No! not a chance
      Black holes wolf down photons, spinning neutron stars dance 
                 on nebulous clouds, stirring up pillars of dust 
            Remnants from a time, when supernovae went bust 

               The space between stars, is black magic synergy 
                Far-out matter thrives, tripping on dark energy 
                All goes unseen, beyond the human naked eye
         Minds can sense its presence, but are stripped bare of why 

              Of course we share gravity, and are loosely bound 
                   Tests our reason, so hermetically profound 
                    The draw of the universe will never expire 
                   Its paradox tears apart, yet keeps us entire

Copyright © David Kavanagh | Year Posted 2024

Details | David Kavanagh Poem

in the realm of silver linings

oh how a newborn’s first tear helps dilute ~ mortality’s bitter truth 

death dissolves in such sweet moments ~ if soluble never absolute

Copyright © David Kavanagh | Year Posted 2024

123
Get a Premium Membership
Get more exposure for your poetry and more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Radiant Verses: A Journey Through Inspiring Poetry

Member Area

My Admin
Profile and Settings
Edit My Poems
Edit My Quotes
Edit My Short Stories
Edit My Articles
My Comments Inboxes
My Comments Outboxes
Soup Mail
Poetry Contests
Contest Results/Status
Followers
Poems of Poets I Follow
Friend Builder

Soup Social

Poetry Forum
New/Upcoming Features
The Wall
Soup Facebook Page
Who is Online
Link to Us

Member Poems

Poems - Top 100 New
Poems - Top 100 All-Time
Poems - Best
Poems - by Topic
Poems - New (All)
Poems - New (PM)
Poems - New by Poet
Poems - Read
Poems - Unread

Member Poets

Poets - Best New
Poets - New
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems Recent
Poets - Top 100 Community
Poets - Top 100 Contest

Famous Poems

Famous Poems - African American
Famous Poems - Best
Famous Poems - Classical
Famous Poems - English
Famous Poems - Haiku
Famous Poems - Love
Famous Poems - Short
Famous Poems - Top 100

Famous Poets

Famous Poets - Living
Famous Poets - Most Popular
Famous Poets - Top 100
Famous Poets - Best
Famous Poets - Women
Famous Poets - African American
Famous Poets - Beat
Famous Poets - Cinquain
Famous Poets - Classical
Famous Poets - English
Famous Poets - Haiku
Famous Poets - Hindi
Famous Poets - Jewish
Famous Poets - Love
Famous Poets - Metaphysical
Famous Poets - Modern
Famous Poets - Punjabi
Famous Poets - Romantic
Famous Poets - Spanish
Famous Poets - Suicidal
Famous Poets - Urdu
Famous Poets - War

Poetry Resources

Anagrams
Bible
Book Store
Character Counter
Cliché Finder
Poetry Clichés
Common Words
Copyright Information
Grammar
Grammar Checker
Homonym
Homophones
How to Write a Poem
Lyrics
Love Poem Generator
New Poetic Forms
Plagiarism Checker
Poetry Art
Publishing
Random Word Generator
Spell Checker
Store
What is Good Poetry?
Word Counter
Hide Ad