Home » Poems » Best » Ryan Kelly » Best Ryan Kelly Poems

Best Poems Written by Ryan Kelly

Below are the all-time best Ryan Kelly poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Ryan Kelly Poem

The Lion, Tamer

I have fought you in tears for years,
useless in our abuse, an excuse for entertainment
at the merriment of no one save we two
and we knew the outcome, always the same
the shame in the unfought defeat, fresh meat
for the masses to feed on and laugh at on our behalf.
And at morning’s light, the same fight of we two,
me and you going round and round in a cage,
our own stage of self-destruction, and an eruption
of no one clapping in amusement, a bemusement
and a confusing silence as I realize that the whip
that’s hurting me is the very same one held by me.

Details | Ryan Kelly Poem

Simple Realization

As the bleeding hearts blossom 
In a garden that is no longer mine,
My absence of her hits home
And rings of true, painful reality.

Details | Ryan Kelly Poem

Blatent, Gonzo, Gangster Poet

I wish I had the balls of Bukowski,
I wish I had the genius of the Gonzo HST.
If I had the style of Gotti mixed
With the drive of Capone, left alone
To simmer with Lanskey, I'd be
The newest of new in the melting pot.
You either got it or not.
Mafia prose mixed with noble booze
And a refuse to lose, matched by who?
Nobody knows. Uncontested, irreverent,
Insignificant, insubordinate, yet,
Undeniably the truth, and proof that
No matter what the day and age,
No one can ever be the slave
If they pick up the definer of men...
...The Violent Pen.

Details | Ryan Kelly Poem

Ronin 43

Old age and its wisdom but
mostly luck of the draw one inch to the right
or left of the arrow that kills a comrade beside me
To be just past the flames that explode and incinerate
those unfortunate enough to be in front of me
is luck
pure and simple at the cost of dreams and desires
Narrow piercing painful eyes that have seen so much 
and wonder still why those who make war
seldom dress for battle

Details | Ryan Kelly Poem

Maker's Mark

“That’ll hit it’s mark.”  He thought as he purchased the bottle.
With a hint of melancholy, he thought of whiskey, 
And the past, and her.
Knowing the toasts tonight were two fold
To her and away from her.
Medicine to numb the heart and smooth the needs growing
In his loins, deadening the want he had and the life he led.
Cracking the neck, he poured three tall fingers neat.
“To her, to her return, and to our reuniting.”
He washed it all past his lonely, talented tongue,
And stoked the instinctual, animalistic fire that grew in his belly
Gnashing, tearing, and howling for release.

Details | Ryan Kelly Poem

Ronin 100

I am nearing the endless night and my body
reminds me of it’s torture in a daily vigil
toward reprimand 
My adoration of you my love has passed
from heated loins on pillows
to passionate words on parchment
My son the weapons of war
are now wielded in words
I am old yes a gift that I did not deserve
but a treasure I shall take with me
to the next horizon
upon this pebbled road

Details | Ryan Kelly Poem

Ronin 1

Stone pebbles crush beneath my sandals
Bare skin welcoming warm breezes
in the aftermath of a cold shameful bath
Washing crimson away and
my soul bit by bit  Honor is the excuse
given for bloodshed
River rock and coy drink in my horrors
bear now the burden that drives these feet
upon this pebbled road

Details | Ryan Kelly Poem

First Forever

And Odin, so pleased by how his warrior poet fell in battle
Sent his most cherished, most beautiful and beloved Valkyrie
Down to carry the warrior back to Valhalla.
As she descended upon this warrior poet,
Their eyes met and centuries of time passed from his steel blue eyes
To hers, green that reminded him of the rolling hills of his home far away.
Her strong unflinching features softened, his pain faded away,
And a mix of their histories, ages old, carried them back to the hall.
There, before letting this warrior poet join the other Einherjar,
Odin granted him one request.
“Her,” said the warrior poet without hesitation,
“She, the one who brought me to you, to sit by my side 
In the hall and in my chamber until the day of Ragnarok.”
Odin turned to the Valkyrie and, with a nod, it became so.

Details | Ryan Kelly Poem

Ronin My Own Heart 32

High upon this hill of long grass we sit in repose staring off in the distance
down upon the valley and village of our youth
the sun is setting in the sky and I feel its fading warmth
pushing us toward winter pushing me back toward duty and my destiny
but my dream is now with you at my side and nothing to want or worry
A child runs with purpose against the blowing grasses
This child your child your boy left as a gift and testament from his father
runs quickly into your welcoming arms winded breathing a familiar innocence
out into this undeserving world
the weight of my purse has become burdensome as it presses against
my sword and side I rip it free from my body
this bloodprice bloodmoney I have never had a use for until now
Possibly to do good could justify the price it has cost my conscience
Freely I pass it over to you 
As the wind blows between us you know
soon I will be gone

Details | Ryan Kelly Poem

Ronin 3

Before I wake this split second of pure white joy
alone in a field of blowing grasses and nothing
No sound no fear no joy no duty
just infinity with the sun and sky and self
The quiet peace humbles me before I blink
And clash thunderous swords with a soul
I share no history with except an ending
A tear-filled mother and scorn-bitten child that realize
nothing but the taste of vengeance in their mouths
their spit burns the earth it falls on 
as a father’s blood feeds the flowers
that grow in spring