Poetry competition CLOSED 27th January 2019 3:14am
WINNER
cabcool
cabcool
RUNNERS-UP:
Jade-Pandora
and SatInUGal
tear down the wall!
The Wall
Build a wall, they say.
Sign of our power, our grandeur.
Razor to landscape
cut straight through to marrow.
Build it higher, they say.
Sign of our eminence.
Stand it tall as our egos
mirror to your insignificance.
Build it longer, they say.
Construct it of metals jagged and barbed.
That blood of errant people may run down every inch.
——
Build a wall, we say.
Iron canvas upon which to paint in vibrant tones
the music of our mutual humanity.
Build it higher, we say.
That we may recount stories for miles.
Recite verses to our sisters and brothers
Each word nourishment to shared sacred ground.
Build it longer, we say.
That more of us might rejoice together
the inevitable moment swings of hammer from north and from south
reduce your great wall to confetti under our dancing feet.
R.
Sign of our power, our grandeur.
Razor to landscape
cut straight through to marrow.
Build it higher, they say.
Sign of our eminence.
Stand it tall as our egos
mirror to your insignificance.
Build it longer, they say.
Construct it of metals jagged and barbed.
That blood of errant people may run down every inch.
——
Build a wall, we say.
Iron canvas upon which to paint in vibrant tones
the music of our mutual humanity.
Build it higher, we say.
That we may recount stories for miles.
Recite verses to our sisters and brothers
Each word nourishment to shared sacred ground.
Build it longer, we say.
That more of us might rejoice together
the inevitable moment swings of hammer from north and from south
reduce your great wall to confetti under our dancing feet.
R.
Written by Rachelleundrgrd
Go To Page
Anonymous
<< post removed >>
World Wall One
Were all earth’s lofty trees and mountains mine to keep,
No foreign creatures could beneath their shadows creep.
Blackbird and toad, nor ‘rican roach
Could on my sovereign soil encroach.
For my philosophies are far too strong and deep
For common beings to apprehend. Truth is my friend
Yet, if he crossed me, I would soon his life suspend.
Were rivers mine, c’shores, and sands,
No s’hole aliens here could land:
My gallantry does not to wretched souls extend.
Were I the bard of heaven’s band, I’d blow my trump
As perky felines wear my music on their rump.
My loftiest of dreams, to grope,
Where beggars find no solemn hope,
To reach for stars beyond where lazy dogs can jump.
Were I sole owner of God’s green and bounteous earth,
No citizens were here, except by native birth.
No lexicon of Mexicans
Or tongue and cheek of Dark Afrique
Could circumvent the wall of my impervious girth…
© Copyright 2019 January 24
by cabcool
No foreign creatures could beneath their shadows creep.
Blackbird and toad, nor ‘rican roach
Could on my sovereign soil encroach.
For my philosophies are far too strong and deep
For common beings to apprehend. Truth is my friend
Yet, if he crossed me, I would soon his life suspend.
Were rivers mine, c’shores, and sands,
No s’hole aliens here could land:
My gallantry does not to wretched souls extend.
Were I the bard of heaven’s band, I’d blow my trump
As perky felines wear my music on their rump.
My loftiest of dreams, to grope,
Where beggars find no solemn hope,
To reach for stars beyond where lazy dogs can jump.
Were I sole owner of God’s green and bounteous earth,
No citizens were here, except by native birth.
No lexicon of Mexicans
Or tongue and cheek of Dark Afrique
Could circumvent the wall of my impervious girth…
© Copyright 2019 January 24
by cabcool
Written by cabcool
Go To Page
PARODIA MAIRANANA
Can’t deliver
on this wall—
you might as well install
a mountain, desert, or a river…
done and done and done!
All glory to creator,
to the moon and sun,
not some goddamn traitor
with exactly one
idea in his head:
use trickster schemes to
divide, conquer &
get ahead—
erect a snide self-reference
as if that’s real—
impermanence
is a mother and she will
strike you dead
as she strokes the abused hairs
on your tiny little head,
then whispers your spirit
into something new instead,
perhaps a cactus—
you always attacked us,
you prickly old fool!
on this wall—
you might as well install
a mountain, desert, or a river…
done and done and done!
All glory to creator,
to the moon and sun,
not some goddamn traitor
with exactly one
idea in his head:
use trickster schemes to
divide, conquer &
get ahead—
erect a snide self-reference
as if that’s real—
impermanence
is a mother and she will
strike you dead
as she strokes the abused hairs
on your tiny little head,
then whispers your spirit
into something new instead,
perhaps a cactus—
you always attacked us,
you prickly old fool!
Written by SatInUGal
(Kumar)
Go To Page
Well I have to tell ya, this was a really tough comp to judge! Everyone was deeply expressive and creative.
Congratulations to Cabcool and Jade-Pandora and SatInUGal on your excellent entries!
Everyone deserves a big pat on the back for such thoughtful and heartfelt poems!!!
Thank you all!
JJ
Congratulations to Cabcool and Jade-Pandora and SatInUGal on your excellent entries!
Everyone deserves a big pat on the back for such thoughtful and heartfelt poems!!!
Thank you all!
JJ
My thanks to our host JJ for doing this competition, and for the formidable job of sorting through all the skilled & expressive entries.
I’m honored to be sharing the podium with cabcool & Kumar. And my congratulations to all the entrants!
I’m honored to be sharing the podium with cabcool & Kumar. And my congratulations to all the entrants!
OMG! This is a surprise. I'm seeing the results three days late.
Congratulations, Jade-Pandora and SatInUGal, for being the giant shoulders on which I stand. I might otherwise not see the glory of the liberated world. "What Happens?" and "PARODIA MAIRANANA" had no slighter merits.
Thank you, Poetryman JJ, for hosting this stimulating competition on one of the most topical issues of the age. I was initially hesitant that my interpretation might get me in trouble; however, I claimed poetic license and said what must be said. That's the role of all artists. Thanks for providing the canvas begging for the ink.
Congratulations, Jade-Pandora and SatInUGal, for being the giant shoulders on which I stand. I might otherwise not see the glory of the liberated world. "What Happens?" and "PARODIA MAIRANANA" had no slighter merits.
Thank you, Poetryman JJ, for hosting this stimulating competition on one of the most topical issues of the age. I was initially hesitant that my interpretation might get me in trouble; however, I claimed poetic license and said what must be said. That's the role of all artists. Thanks for providing the canvas begging for the ink.
Thanks, Ahavati, for both providing your own "border patrol" despondency and for acknowledging the other winners. Indeed,
"...were not our ancestors strangers
seeking peace in foreign places"
when William Bradford and the pilgrims landed the Mayflower at Plymouth Rock?
"...were not our ancestors strangers
seeking peace in foreign places"
when William Bradford and the pilgrims landed the Mayflower at Plymouth Rock?
