Category Archives: Poems

Damning Science

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Damning Science

Wisdom newly learned or tribal,
from Koran or Scroll or Bible
demarcates a line between
what shouldn’t or what should be seen
or said or listened to or done.
No matter how seemingly fun,
some things cannot be integrated.
No masterpiece is tolerated
if banned by the censor’s tool.
Thus do bigots thrive and rule
spouting truths long since belied—
asserting them as bonafide.


These half-truths to reason’s sorrow
may dictate how we live tomorrow—
our whole world screwed up by some fools
who bend the laws to their own rules,
spouting words skewed to their favor,
creating slogans dullards savor.
There is one rule for what the zealots shout.
After you have heard them out,
use your good sense to judge the acts
of those determining the facts.
Use your powers of reason to test
those who rule at our behest.

Prompt words today are masterpiece, tribal, integrated and demarcate

Christmas Spirit

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Christmas Spirit

Covering the Christmas tree, decking every door,
Excessive seasonality suffuses my decor.
Embellishments without cannot reflect what’s in.
Too often Xmas cheer’s bound up in what has been. 
If a helping hand could decorate my heart,
then the celebration perhaps could have a start. 

 

For the dVerse Poets Quadrille prompt: Spirit.

Split

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Split

They gather round the pool for a glass of wine—
their voices soft as butter with a continental whine.
Their conversation heady. She’s finally arrived,
running from that castoff life that she barely survived.

She changes personalities according to her whim.
She became a baroness the moment she met him.
Tonight in the wine bar, perhaps she’ll be a waif.
In such low localities, a title isn’t safe.

The fantasies of childhood have certainly paid off.
One day she is a Renoir, the next she’s a Van Gogh.
One face follows another with a costume change.
Her various identities show an extensive range.

Being so many people is her brand of fun.
You’d call her a chameleon if you knew more than one.
But she is very careful. One identity per friend.
She saves her next identity for those met round the bend.

 

Prompt words today are butter, heady, glass, pool.*This poem was not written about the girl in the photo. I love this photo I took of my niece and although I felt the image worked to illustrate the poem, it is not illustrative of her personality.

Overpacking

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Overpacking

Where is it that a cat belongs? She’ll be the judge of that.
Wherever I am going, I am sure to need a cat.
She’ll help me with my packing and be my memory
so I don’t forget to take her when I set out to sea.

She can’t see how her company could go against my wishes.
A cat goes well with boats and anywhere where there are fishes.
Each morning she repacks herself and each night in the dark
she asks herself once more just when we’ll finally embark.

After a week of packing, my case is finally full.
I shut the lid, secure the lock, pick up the strap and pull.
I’m off to catch the red eye that will fly me off to Rome
to catch the boat that for one week will make do as my home.

I have packed so carefully, checking off my list
that I’m sure there’s nothing that I could have missed.
But I know that Annie, sleeping curled up on her mat,
when she wakes up and finds me gone, will not agree with that.

In spite of her best efforts, alas, she’s left behind.
It seems that human planning isn’t always kind
to cats who have spun fantasies of travel and romance.
Did human plans concur with hers? Poor Annie. Not a chance.

It’s a wonderful coincidence that the dVerse Poets prompt today is “Felines,” since just this morning I found this photo taken three weeks ago as I packed for my Mediterranean cruise with my sister. I meant to publish it back then but forgot and was wondering when it would be appropriate to use it as an illustration. I didn’t have to wait long to find out.

 

Sun’s up, Cheer Up!

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Sun’s up, Cheer Up!

Although the moon is obstinate, They’re waking up the sun.
It’s time to fold your dreams away, to shake out the day’s fun.
When adventure’s inconspicuous, still you can try to find it.
Time is always ticking but you can’t forget to wind it.
Knit your future to your dreams and life will be your plum.
When life can be so wonderful, why spend it being glum?

 

Prompt words for today are wake, inconspicuous, knit, obstinate and up.

Mother Hen

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Mother Hen

His insidious preening as he eyes each teenage guest
makes me want to gather them in a protective nest,
to spread my wings to cover them and tell them to take care.
To go home and do homework and fiddle with their hair.
I want them safe away from this producer’s leering glance.
Away from all they’ll forfeit to try to get their chance.
For all the favors he hands out, with his other hand he reaps,
consuming all the sweet young things as though they were just Peeps!

The prompts today are preen, homework, insidious and safe.

Manual for a Sales Position

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Manual for a Sales Position

Follow commands verbatim. Be quiet, graceful, prompt!
He fired a predecessor who shuffled, tripped and stomped.
Only idiots are bashful. You should look him in the eye.
Do not pad expense accounts. Do not cheat or lie.
Do not applaud suggestions merely on a whim
unless they are suggestions that were made by him.
You are the very first product that you have to sell,
so follow these few rules and I think you will do well.

 

The prompts today are verbatim, prompt, bashful and applaud.

Her Majesty

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image courtesy of Mohammed Metri on Unsplash.


Her Majesty

She had the best instruction in how to act serene––
a necessary attribute if she would be queen.
And though she lacked true courage, at least she appeared plucky.
Daily, they assured her that of all she was most lucky
to have been born of royal blood—to have been truly chosen,
and that is how, over the years, her heart was slowly frozen.

 

The prompt words today were courage, chosen, serene and lucky. Here are their links:
https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2019/05/14/rdp-tuesday-courage/
https://fivedotoh.com/2019/05/14/fowc-with-fandango-chosen/
https://onedailyprompt.wordpress.com/2019/05/14/your-daily-word-prompt-serene-may-14-2019/
https://wordofthedaychallenge.wordpress.com/2019/05/13/lucky/

Confusing Near Homonyms

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Confusing Near Homonyms

A meddlesome fellow is one who is bound
to mess in our business and boss us around,
while a mettlesome person is lively and gritty,
spirited, vigorous, gallant and witty.

They may be fine athletes, actors, or explorers,
but meddlesome people just tend to be borers.
Mettlesome’s interesting. Meddlesome? Deploring.
With one we’re enraptured. With the other, just snoring.

Why would a person who thinks up a word
Make opposites sound similar? It is absurd.
Mettlesome people turn out to be heroes.
They score a full ten to meddlesome’s zeroes.

Most mettlesome people please and amuse us,
but meddlesome people, by contrast, abuse us.
Considering this, our confusions suffuse us.
Was  the word mettlesome coined to confuse us?

 

mettlesome: full of vigor and stamina; lively, gritty, spirited, gallant
meddlesome: interfering, meddling, intrusive, prying, inquisitive, officious.

The prompt word today is mettlesome.

https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2019/02/06/rdp-wednesday-mettlesome/

Dear Donald

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Dear Donald

Serving your own needs or colluding with the Russians
may bring Comminatory actions or other repercussions,
for though you may be pardoned for malfeasance of your diction,
we find we can’t forgive you for your constant words of fiction.

The way you won your office and your acts of dereliction
toward the country you have wronged may lead to your conviction.
What sentence might such huge acts of questionable reason
carry, let alone the sentence for your acts of treason?

You meet such accusations with rhetoric and a shrug
while cronies in high office choose to sweep them ‘neath the rug.
What do I recommend should they bring charges and convict you?
Alas, that will not happen. It’s your judges who first picked you!

Prompt words today are recommend, carry, comminatory and conviction.  Lots of c’s!!! Here are links to the sites who created those prompts.  Come play along.
https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2018/11/21/rdp-wednesday-recommend/
https://fivedotoh.com/2018/11/21/fowc-with-fandango-carry/
https://onedailyprompt.wordpress.com/2018/11/12/your-daily-word-prompt-comminatory-November-12-2018/
https://wordofthedaychallenge.wordpress.com/2018/11/21/conviction/