Category: Poetry

Alone Time

By myself, I am reminded

Who I am, inside and out.

Not who I appear to be,

Not who I want to be,

But deep down,

Who I really am.

It takes some honest looking.

Even criticism.

And sometimes it hurts.

But it is good to know

Who we really are.

And when we’re alone,

Calm, sincere, open,

We can learn things

About ourselves

That we might never

Have realized before.

Sometimes it takes a crisis.

It does if you never reflect.

Something pushes you

To try to figure things out.

Why am I the way that I am?

And what am I going to do about it?

Sometimes you realize something

Very good about yourself.

And sometimes it is something

Not so good that concerns you.

Taking time alone to think

Can bring some startling surprises.

 

 

Poets United

Thursday Think Tank #57

 

Little I Ask

The Idiot

Prince Mueschken,

In Dostoyevky’s The Idiot,

Was so humble,

He never presumed to ask

For anything, even what

He desperately needed.

 

The poem, “Contentment”,

By Oliver Wendell Holmes,

Says, “Little I ask, my wants are few.”

 

Sometimes I’m that way.

I do and do for others,

And never think of myself.

I don’t think of my needs,

 

No matter how important.

This goes past humility

Into self-hatred, I think.

Into stupidity, such a shame.

 

 

Carry on Tuesday plus #113

 

Fellowship Fatigue

Coming on the scene,

I had felt to fuel the fire.

 

Comfortable for a while,

Then sensed a bump in style.

 

Being there a little longer,

It was a knuckle from the fellow.

 

I waited and waited,

To be transfixed by anywho.

 

But it never happened,

No connection.

 

Just rah, rah, rah,

And bring in the electrician.

 

 

 

3WW CCXLVII

Faithfully Disappointed

Tried and true,

Follower and leader,

One for the cause,

Always in the mix.

 

Looking for revelations

Confirming prayers

Teaching, singing,

Prophesying, discerning.

 

Full of faith,

Depending on hope,

Demonstrating love.

And concluding…

 

Is that all there is?

 

 

 

Carry on Tuesday #111

Backing Down

It was coming.

I dreaded it with every muscle

In my withered body.

 

I hadn’t done my work.

It was obvious.

Everyone could tell on my face,

And I had no piece of paper on my desk

For her to pick up.

 

“So where is it?” she grumbled.

 

“I forgot to do it,” I smiled meekly.

 

“Okay, so don’t be like this one,

Who thinks he is too good to do his work!

And don’t let it happen again!” she said looking

Down at me in an oh-so-menacing way.

 

“I promise.”

 

Backing down was what was called for here,

Not wanting to cause a fuss,

Or threaten my grade for the semester.

A little lost face was worth it.

Overcoming

It happened again.

You had thrown your back out,

And you were stuck in bed.

 

Of course you waited almost a week

Before telling me of your plight.

You never want to bother me,

Figure I’m too busy.

 

Finally, you called me.

And I came to your house.

You didn’t look good.

You hadn’t bathed in a week.

 

You had sent me to the store

To buy a few groceries

And something for dinner.

 

A week later,

You finally made it to the toilet.

A month later,

You finally went again.

 

You survived on Gatorade,

One meal a day,

Peanut butter crackers,

And Little Debbie snacks.

 

Then your knees went out.

It was the same all over again.

 

Stuck in bed, food deliveries,

Taking in the mail,

And in the end,

Helping with the shower.

 

You worked towards that.

Every day,

A little closer

To the restroom.

 

Both to the toilet

And to the shower.

 

For the shower,

You needed more

Strength and balance.

So it took more time.

 

But you got there.

You made it.

You were determined

And patient,

And you made it.

 

 

Wednesday Poetry Prompts

Poetic Asides #137

 

Loving

Sometimes people float into

Our lives, and they stay a while.

 

You don’t know how long

They will be there.

 

Sometimes you become friends,

Due to common interests,

Or common experience.

 

And sometimes that friendship

Blooms into something more.

 

Sometimes you really care

About each other,

 

And sometimes, you fall in love.

 

From there, at least for a while,

Things sometimes go nicely,

 

But often, one or the other

Brings the sting of pain

 

Into the relationship.

And from there,

 

The relationship is tested.

Can the love withstand

 

The pain, or is there

Reason to break?

 

Such is the path,

That some tread lightly,

 

And some go through

Full-force, future-be-damned.

 

Either way,

Sometimes love is fickle,

 

And sometimes love

Turns into war.

 

One never knows

What to expect,

 

When one falls in love.

 

 

 

Carry on Tuesday #110