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Best Poems Written by Jim Vandevelde

Below are the all-time best Jim Vandevelde poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Jim Vandevelde Poem

Game Time

Out of the locker room,
Onto the field,
Under my helmet,
My fear concealed, 
Bright lights,
Fans are loud,
Adrenaline flows,
As we run by the crowd,
I’ve got my Sharks on,
A brand new pair,
The smell of grass,
And Fall in the air,
Looking across, 
At the other team,
It’s all in slow motion,
feels like dream,
We get in the huddle,
We’re only seconds away,
Into formation,
To run the first play

JEV

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They

They’ve convinced themselves ,
That they’ve been oppressed ,
Fragile white punks,
Everyone else they detest,
Stripped of the illusion,
They’re alpha males,
Just  common trailer trash,
When the thumb’s off the scales,
With everything in their favor,
They still can’t excel,
The truth of history,
They try and dispel, 
They hide behind God 
Drape themselves in the flag,
Of their racial superiority,
They often like to brag,
It’s truly glorious 
When the curtain falls,
They have the self awareness,
Of a dog licking his balls

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The Reflection

In front of the mirror,

I stare into my eyes

To myself 

I repeat I’m alive 

A terrifying feeling,

A somber realization 

Fear of seeing

The Loneliness of being

Trapped inside myself,

Death the only way out,

Hopelessness and doubt,

I look away,

But the feeling stays 

Finally, reality abates 

Fear Slowly fades,

Back to the mundane 

To the charades 

JEV

Details | Jim Vandevelde Poem

Cursed

I wonder why it started
Alcoholism, depression, and panic attacks
But It all makes sense once I trace it all back
Far away on an ancient peninsula
We thought we were superior,
Acted like Caligula,
Drunk I would piss on the mounds
Knowing now I’m Cursed, For desecrating their sacred grounds
Touched by darkness
Never to be the same
The rest of my life
Living in fear and shame.
The ghost that stayed with me,
Never again will I be free.
JEV

Details | Jim Vandevelde Poem

Black Market

Oxtail, beef ribs and 72 slice cheese

take it to Ajima 

And double your money 

Budweiser, Coors, and MGD,

Army says one case a day,

I used to get twenty.

In ‘95 beer was eleven bucks a case

You’d get $25 

For stacking them in Ajima’s place,

But watch out for MPs

Because If you get caught,

Its court-martials And Article 15s 

JEV

Details | Jim Vandevelde Poem

The Tree Ii

Everything starts innocent,

Like a seedling 

Pushing through the soil,

New, green, and uncorrupted,

Before what’s below starts to toil,

roots dive deep,

Into the unknown, 

Into evils keep,

Slowly it sinks in,

What was buried,

What was forgotten, 

It changes the tree,

It twists, and it creases,

It’s not what it was,

All goodness ceases, 

For centuries it will stand,

Patiently waiting,

Possessing who it can,

Deep in its roots,

The fates of man

JEV

Details | Jim Vandevelde Poem

Sawdust

What was your name?

Why was your pain?

I stood on the concrete,

Your blood had stained,

Wide circle of sawdust,

All I knew of you,

The remnants of your life,

The wind now blew,

From 40 stories up,

You lept,

Away from your agony,

You stepped,

Fates promise,

Now kept

JEV

Details | Jim Vandevelde Poem

2135

2135,
Crest Hill Drive,
In the summer of ‘79,
We arrived,
stifling heat,
Sandburs in our feet,
At Joseph Keels,
I started 3rd grade,
After school,
In the street we played 
Cicadas droned all night,
Bats chased insects at twilight,
Gamecocks weren’t very good,
But Atop college football,
George Rogers stood,
Flea market every Sunday,
To try and make ends meet,
The tragedy of suicide,
Of the man across the street,
Such are my memories of,
2135,
Crest Hill Drive

JEV

Details | Jim Vandevelde Poem

Panic

It comes on slowly, 

I can feel it,

Growing in intensity,

It will not quit 

Wave after wave, 

Feelings of doom,

A brush with darkness,

Made Shadows loom 

Fifteen years,

This evil has stayed,

Wasting the life,

No mercy displayed

Drinking helps 

But it comes back worse

Whatever I do,

Deepens the curse,

Will it ever leave?

Who can say?

But Until then 

I can only pray

JEV

Details | Jim Vandevelde Poem

The Dam

The dam in summer,

Thick air, hot, Green,

Myst by the falls,

Red wing Black birds sing,

Riding our bikes,

Fishing for pike

Cattails and breeze, 

Innocence, happiness, ease,

The dam in winter,

Dark, cold, gray,

Ice on the river,

Short are the days,

Everything bleak,

Snow at our feet,

Empty branches blow,

Realization, hopelessness, sorrow

JEV