Official Poetry Thread

[grumpygirl]

Among the Redwoods
for Judi Bari

Hello old friends, it’s been many years
Ere I walked among ye, towering

Duffy mulch absorbs each step
Woods burl with life emerging

Here, warless warriors born before the Crusades
Bear regal witness to the graceless masquerade

Of new and newer holocausts. Omnipotent hum
Of chains saw your wisdom

Establish greed’s dominion
Profits über alles; Let me touch your skin

And not possess it, kiss your ancient lips, spill
My memories skyborne into your arms

Hear your silence slap the buzzing air
Fingers blazing with contempt

And join your final stand. At last
To soar among ye, towering.

Mitchel Cohen

[michelemichele]

Metamorphoses: A New Translation by Charles Martin
Ovid, Bernard Knox, Charles Martin
p 82 to 84
Book II

-- excerpt --

She headed straight to Envy's squalid quarters,
black with corruption, hidden deep within
a sunless valley where no breezes blow,
a sad and sluggish place, richly frigid,
where cheerful fires die upon the hearth
and fog that never lifts embraces all.
... Arriving here, the warlike maiden stood
before the house (for heaven's law denied
her entrance) and with her spear tip rapped
upon the doors, which instantly flew open,
revealing Envy at her feast of snakes,
a fitting meal for her corrupted nature:
from such a sight, the goddess turned away.
...The object of her visit sluggishly
arises from the ground where she'd been sitting,
leaving behind her interrupted dinner
of half-eaten reptiles. Stiffly she advances,
and when she sees the beauty of the goddess
and of her armor, she cannot help but groan,
and makes a face, and sighs a wretched sigh.
...Then she grows pale, and her body shrivels up.
Her glance is side wise and her teeth are black;
her nipples drip with poisonous green bile,
and venom from her dinner coats her tongue;
nor does she know, disturbed by wakeful cares,
the benefits of slumber; when she beholds
another's joy, she falls into decay,
and rips down only to be ripped apart,
herself the punishment for being her.
...Although the goddess hated Envy, she
addressed her nonetheless with these few words:
"Infect one of the daughters of the Cecrops.
That is the task. Aglauros is the one."
With not another word, the goddess fled,
placing the tip of her spear against the ground
and using it to vault back up to heaven.
...Muttering sourly beneath her breath,
she eyes the fleeing goddess with distrust,
already saddened by Minerva's joy.
She takes her staff, bristling with thorns,
and sets off in a mantle of black clouds,
flicking the heads off flowers as she passes,
blighting the grasses and destroying trees,
her breath polluting houses, cities, states.
...At last she sees the city of the goddess;
its wealth, its work, its joyous flourishing
and peaceful temper all affect her so,
she's scarcely able to prevent herself
from weeping -- for there's nothing here to weep for.

[ppatt]

We are the American people
Loving Jesus, church with steeple
Voluptuous cushion of assurance
Unquestioning, righteous, our concurrence

The nations fear is so infectious
Redemptive bloodlust might protect us
They cannot change so what's in store
If not a never-ending war?

What can we do, who can we blame?
We know inside they're all the same
This national lynch mob cannot stop
Glorious presidential photo-op

It's so simple, black and white
Reason fails so we must fight
While we won't give for we are strong
Unlike us they'll break before long

We can't be wrong, I'll be explicit
It's all their fault, we're not complicit
If we can't get the ones who dunnit
Get some others, that's how we'll run it

World opinion matters not
We need no friends to join our plot
When we need help they'll have forgotten
The spoils however misbegotten

Be resolute and do not bend
For they will thank us in the end
For mother, father, sister, son
Dead and buried, freedom won

Oh Lord, sweet Jesus, God of war
Help us smite them we implore
Rain oil down on us from on high
Until our wells have all run dry

And please accept our stated reasons
For more death with each passing season
We'll help them learn Lord, if you're willing
See it our way or see blood-spilling

We're good at war, as well you know
Your kids don't even need to go
There is no risk, no roll of dice
We do it without sacrifice

Labels define us to a "T"
Yellow ribbons on our SUVs
For the cause one hundred percent
Regretful though not penitent

Our body counts, so good, so low
Just working class, the ones who go
Their hope is our benign neglect
No need to think, care, or reflect

IED’s and missiles in space
Unleashed without even a face
To know in moment of last breath
A reason for the end, one’s death

Will hope arise, will it fight back
Through mindless stupor, Mac Attack?
Find one good man, a fearless leader
Sans riches, ego, vengeance meter

Who's strong enough to turn a cheek
Holding mighty no higher than meek
Relentless in the quest for peace
No cronies, debts, or palms to grease


©2006 SixFootGlass Productions
All Rights Reserved

[michelemichele]

Originally Posted by grumpygirl

Peace Of Mind

Carry me out the ocean, where
my drifting thoughts flow free.
Guide them to a far distant land,
that only the mind can see.
There I shall paint a great portrait,
of what this world should be.
A place without senseless wars,
and human poverty.

Robert M. Hensel

copy paste save

Love it.

[lrrp]

Look in the mirror tell me what do you see
Or can you lie to yourself like you're lyin' to me
Do you fall asleep real easy feelin' justified and right
Or do you wake up feelin' empty in the middle of the night
You want to think you're different, but you know you never can
You're just another ordinary man
Hey politician, can't believe a word you say
Almighty media, whose truth d'you sell today?
Watchdog of justice, who keeps their eye on you?
Con man, song in hand, who you singin' to?
The more I get to see, the less I understand
I'm just another ordinary man
CHORUS:
Ordinary man
Comes a time to take a stand
No rest for the wicked - they get it while they can
The preachers and the teachers and your local Congressman
Everybody plays the game they played since time began
Lawyers and accountant - your media man
Everybody's talkin' but nothin's gettin' said
You're looking for the truth you better look inside your head
I see the flash of lightnin'
I hear the thunder roll
A hungry knive, a slice of life
It cuts another soul
Power finds a way to those who take a stand
Stand up ordinary man
Once I thought the truth was gonna set me free
But now I feel the chains of its responsibility
I will not be a puppet I cannot play it safe
I'll give myself away with a blind and simple faith
I'm just the same as you I just do the best I can
That's the only answer...for an ordinary man
CHORUS
No such thing as easy answers
You play to win and you take your chances
CHORUS
Here's to health, here's to wealth
May you never doubt yourself
CHORUS


Triumph Ordinary Man

[ocealdia]

Originally Posted by lrrp

Look in the mirror tell me what do you see
Or can you lie to yourself like you're lyin' to me
Do you fall asleep real easy feelin' justified and right
Or do you wake up feelin' empty in the middle of the night
You want to think you're different, but you know you never can
You're just another ordinary man
Hey politician, can't believe a word you say
Almighty media, whose truth d'you sell today?
Watchdog of justice, who keeps their eye on you?
Con man, song in hand, who you singin' to?
The more I get to see, the less I understand
I'm just another ordinary man
CHORUS:
Ordinary man
Comes a time to take a stand
No rest for the wicked - they get it while they can
The preachers and the teachers and your local Congressman
Everybody plays the game they played since time began
Lawyers and accountant - your media man
Everybody's talkin' but nothin's gettin' said
You're looking for the truth you better look inside your head
I see the flash of lightnin'
I hear the thunder roll
A hungry knive, a slice of life
It cuts another soul
Power finds a way to those who take a stand
Stand up ordinary man
Once I thought the truth was gonna set me free
But now I feel the chains of its responsibility
I will not be a puppet I cannot play it safe
I'll give myself away with a blind and simple faith
I'm just the same as you I just do the best I can
That's the only answer...for an ordinary man
CHORUS
No such thing as easy answers
You play to win and you take your chances
CHORUS
Here's to health, here's to wealth
May you never doubt yourself
CHORUS


Triumph Ordinary Man

Do like this one Irrp -this one's a keeper, your taste goes beyond music also.

[lrrp]

Originally Posted by ocealdia

Do like this one Irrp -this one's a keeper, your taste goes beyond music also.

Shhhhhh! I have the wife convinced I'm a knuckle dragging neanderthal. That way I'm too dumb & shallow to be responsible for anything, and I don't get dragged to plays anymore. Although we did see Spam Alot, but that's different...

[Comicsartist]

Originally Posted by lrrp

Shhhhhh! I have the wife convinced I'm a knuckle dragging neanderthal. That way I'm too dumb & shallow to be responsible for anything, and I don't get dragged to plays anymore. Although we did see Spam Alot, but that's different...

Spam Alot was absolutely GREAT.

Saw it in Cincy when it came here.

[Vicariously I]

I really have no idea if the things I right are actual poems. I just right down my thoughts and feelings but not in any kind of poem template.

I took something I wrote recently and put it into poem "form", so if there is something I did wrong with the format, I'd appreciate any help.

If it had a title it would be Grey Again

Looking outside into the dark light,
I can’t help but feel that here,
In this falsely lit room surrounded by the material,
I am drowning in the true gray of the world.

Out there I can see nature,
I can see truth,
In here I can only see the illusion,
I can only feel the lie.

Trapped in the moral prison,
We have created for ourselves,
We hide from human nature,
In order to please the mentally insane.

Who is it we are trying to impress?
Who is it we are trying to be?
And how long will nature allow us to defy it?
The farther away we move from human nature,
The more sick I feel.

Tirelessly asleep and perfectly ill,
With no signs of sickness,
Other then what I can feel.

There is something not right,
Something wrong with the way we pretend.
Has it consumed us?
How will it end?