Submissions by PrurientVersifier (Brian Barney)
POEMS AND SHORT STORIES
Poet Introduction
My poetry derives from a life lived fully. Often, it portrays a vision of what might be or might have been. It is meant to be engaging if not enticing, entertaining if not gratifying, challenging and sometimes absurd. If you like it, I have succeeded.
MISCELLANEOUS POEM
Published
18th Jan 2013 10:06pm
18th Jan 2013 10:06pm
What Was Left Was Found In Death
What Was Left Was Found In Death
(An Iambic Inanity)
Beside the woman’s body on the rocks
Beneath the cliff, upon the pediment,
There lay a padlocked, leathered oaken box.
The sergeant had the item logged and sent
For thorough scrutiny, then bent to task
Inspecting the remains for clues on scene.
A pair of officers were sent to ask
Of locals near-at-hand what they had seen.
The cause of death seemed trauma from the fall;
The bloodless rock however raised a doubt.
It seemed that she’d been strangled with a shawl
Then...
(An Iambic Inanity)
Beside the woman’s body on the rocks
Beneath the cliff, upon the pediment,
There lay a padlocked, leathered oaken box.
The sergeant had the item logged and sent
For thorough scrutiny, then bent to task
Inspecting the remains for clues on scene.
A pair of officers were sent to ask
Of locals near-at-hand what they had seen.
The cause of death seemed trauma from the fall;
The bloodless rock however raised a doubt.
It seemed that she’d been strangled with a shawl
Then...
678 reads
2 Comments
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
4th Dec 2012 4:57pm
4th Dec 2012 4:57pm
I Passed Today the Detritus of Desperation
I passed today the detritus of desperation
set in disarray on the lawn down the road
A cat-scratched couch without cushions
served as the seat of its castoff owners
who rested lifelessly
man and woman
hand in hand
silent and staring
at the back of an old tv
There was a table
its Formica surface chipped and grimy
three mismatched chairs
and a shadeless lamp lying prone on a rolled-up rug
Sundries indescribable were heaped on boxes
Here lay pots and pans and coffee mugs
There lay dishes and silverware
a crock pot and...
set in disarray on the lawn down the road
A cat-scratched couch without cushions
served as the seat of its castoff owners
who rested lifelessly
man and woman
hand in hand
silent and staring
at the back of an old tv
There was a table
its Formica surface chipped and grimy
three mismatched chairs
and a shadeless lamp lying prone on a rolled-up rug
Sundries indescribable were heaped on boxes
Here lay pots and pans and coffee mugs
There lay dishes and silverware
a crock pot and...
721 reads
3 Comments
DARK POEM
Published
3rd Dec 2012 6:11pm
3rd Dec 2012 6:11pm
The Lunch Box
It was his first day with the bright container
ornamented with bits of scenes
with characters frozen in mid-combat
light sabers raised and warriors
massed for battle
He made a point of holding the box
just so
to inspire the envy of schoolmates
whose paper bags and unadorned
misshapen packages paled
in contrast to his own
The bus was made to stop
the checkpoint just ahead
as edgy soldiers shouted shrilly
at the balky car in front
A miracle to him it seemed as Sarah
lovely Sarah
moved across the aisle...
ornamented with bits of scenes
with characters frozen in mid-combat
light sabers raised and warriors
massed for battle
He made a point of holding the box
just so
to inspire the envy of schoolmates
whose paper bags and unadorned
misshapen packages paled
in contrast to his own
The bus was made to stop
the checkpoint just ahead
as edgy soldiers shouted shrilly
at the balky car in front
A miracle to him it seemed as Sarah
lovely Sarah
moved across the aisle...
809 reads
8 Comments
MISCELLANEOUS POEM
Published
29th Nov 2012 4:37pm
29th Nov 2012 4:37pm
All That Work
Beneath the tall thick dome of Appalachian wood
the sticky summer midday gray incites
cicada choral drone as from within
the weathered small house she comes
pressing gently out the rust-hinged screen door
then setting the warped and peeling frame
slowly slowly back to the jamb
With the stub of an ancient broom in hand
she moves on creaking wood porch slats
outwards then down the swayback steps
to trod softly on the dirt a ways
Moist ovals form on the formless drab
tattered dress she wears
beneath her arms and down her back
as...
the sticky summer midday gray incites
cicada choral drone as from within
the weathered small house she comes
pressing gently out the rust-hinged screen door
then setting the warped and peeling frame
slowly slowly back to the jamb
With the stub of an ancient broom in hand
she moves on creaking wood porch slats
outwards then down the swayback steps
to trod softly on the dirt a ways
Moist ovals form on the formless drab
tattered dress she wears
beneath her arms and down her back
as...
694 reads
2 Comments
MISCELLANEOUS POEM
Published
28th Nov 2012 10:50pm
28th Nov 2012 10:50pm
Theresa Goes Home
Theresa had no reason
none to think that all was not as well
as well as ever it was
at home in South Central
by the ball courts
that summer Friday night
Work was done for the week
No more clinic intensity
for two whole days
and a picnic planned
with Martha and the kids
in the teeming peoples’ park
on Sunday afternoon
She turned the key
in the first floor door
and checked her mail
then stuck the white envelopes
in her purse
planning to catch up
in the kitchen
in a minute
No junkies in the hall...
none to think that all was not as well
as well as ever it was
at home in South Central
by the ball courts
that summer Friday night
Work was done for the week
No more clinic intensity
for two whole days
and a picnic planned
with Martha and the kids
in the teeming peoples’ park
on Sunday afternoon
She turned the key
in the first floor door
and checked her mail
then stuck the white envelopes
in her purse
planning to catch up
in the kitchen
in a minute
No junkies in the hall...
743 reads
7 Comments
ANGER POEM
Published
28th Nov 2012 5:06pm
28th Nov 2012 5:06pm
You Crave Your Hateful Wretch with a Fury
You crave your hateful wretch with a fury
You flee his brutal supremacy
then you crawl listlessly home
timorous and crying
peering emptily from a selfless eye
Fraught with a wry caution I come
and supplicate myself
hands outstretched
reaching toward your abysmally vacuous soul
seeking the same weary sustenance
you have disallowed me oft before
Pitilessly you speculate about my paltry feast
and how my zeal may augment your days
Flailing your taloned fingers
you snicker and sneer
Glaring iniquitously
you throw my...
You flee his brutal supremacy
then you crawl listlessly home
timorous and crying
peering emptily from a selfless eye
Fraught with a wry caution I come
and supplicate myself
hands outstretched
reaching toward your abysmally vacuous soul
seeking the same weary sustenance
you have disallowed me oft before
Pitilessly you speculate about my paltry feast
and how my zeal may augment your days
Flailing your taloned fingers
you snicker and sneer
Glaring iniquitously
you throw my...
619 reads
2 Comments
DARK POEM
Published
27th Nov 2012 8:55pm
27th Nov 2012 8:55pm
She Left Daddy Laughing
She left Daddy laughing
behind her in the room
Almost right away she sought
in happy sweet imaginings
another life like that of Tess
her playtime friend whose papa
did not touch her quite
like Daddy did
As soon as night turned over
her childish thoughts returned
as if it never happened
as it had in Daddy’s room
Her dolly was a mama blessed
with kindness in her hands
hands of soft affection that touched
in gentle kindly ways
But later on she sought
and found the butcher knife
She slashed at Fuzzy Bear...
behind her in the room
Almost right away she sought
in happy sweet imaginings
another life like that of Tess
her playtime friend whose papa
did not touch her quite
like Daddy did
As soon as night turned over
her childish thoughts returned
as if it never happened
as it had in Daddy’s room
Her dolly was a mama blessed
with kindness in her hands
hands of soft affection that touched
in gentle kindly ways
But later on she sought
and found the butcher knife
She slashed at Fuzzy Bear...
776 reads
6 Comments
DU Poetry : Submissions by PrurientVersifier (Brian Barney)
Page:
