ten years wide

On 2025081120250811 By Beleaguered ServantIn Original Poems1 Comment

when i was ten years wide the world 
believed and i was cognizant 
of every breeze and wave and girl 
that came out in the sun and went 

into the stripling blur of years 
that steeled our innocence with pain, 
as we were rarely volunteers, 
and lost more than we had to gain -- 

our bodies, minds betrayed our hearts: 
we longed for when the wind blew free -- 
the tale that ends before it starts,
the half-forgotten melody 

that means that we were once alive. 
the sun burned down, the earth sped on, 
at ten years wide, about to dive 
into the teeth of life 

head on

life / essence

On 20250517 By Beleaguered ServantIn Original PoemsLeave a comment

we blithely give out traces; 
we live, we love, we leave -- 
in what was once life essence, 
we suffocate, and grieve -- 

for nothing brings the feeling back 
like scents of yesterday, 
the chemical infusion made 
of hearts that went

away

the banning

On 20250501 By Beleaguered ServantIn Original PoemsLeave a comment

she said I was a fossil, 
fuel that powered nothing, 
less than everything that mattered. 

but I responded never. 
have I believed in them? 
more and more is not so much -- 

= = = = =

she said I was a fossil fuel, 
that powered nothing less 
than everything that mattered; 

but I responded, 
"never have I believed in them more."
and more is *not* so much.

the pariah

On 20250429 By Beleaguered ServantIn Original PoemsLeave a comment

we the i the no i didn't 
ridden, hidden, once forbidden 
doom the habits of belial 
giving inches walking miles 

mango guava and papaya 
cooling off the lost pariah 
wandering and left alone 
highway to the danger sown 

seeds of anger cleft regret 
meritocracy of debt 
what was never done is finished 
losing steam but 

undiminished

Too Many

On 20250325 By Beleaguered ServantIn Original Poems1 Comment

Too many days go by untasted, 
Too many chances bypassed, wasted —- 
Too much love goes mute, unspoken, 
Hearts without hearing languish broken — 

All too often, our choice is thoughtless, 
Heedless of all that life has taught us —-
Too many headlines stark and sprawled 
For that one friend we never

Called

more different

On 2025022620250226 By Beleaguered ServantIn Original PoemsLeave a comment

you were a habit, 

but less like binging than 
like breathing -- 

i saw you daily as 
a part-filmed spirit 

reflections on a lake 
i'd never been to, 
let alone 

been in 

but after years made 
out of frayed yarn 

there came an apple-day when 

there, from a tree in 
a lost backyard 

we climbed a stepladder 
our heads among the fresh leaves 

and you 

you could not have been


more different

the things we never think about

On 20250222 By Beleaguered ServantIn Original PoemsLeave a comment

the things we never think about 
can shape our very lives 
on shores of disappointment 
that leave us cut edgewise 

by cold and wind and bitterness 
that flow in by extremes; 
the things we never think about 
that somehow formed 

our dreams

On Long Island

On 2025022020250220 By Beleaguered ServantIn Original PoemsLeave a comment

The vale, the hidden tear, the secret cove; 
The amnesty declared before the war -- 
The many nights you've knocked upon his door 
In hope of finding one last treasure trove 

The cry of seagulls far across the sound 
Has brought you to this time, this place, this grief 
And left you wanting someting like belief 
And wind and sky where you've known only ground 

My friend, no one should tell you what to feel: 
Desires rain on heart and head and lap 
With reason simply acting like a map 
For where we all must go to buy, or steal

  The measure of our minutes, with its span -- 
  For lives are never really built to plan

Said Ingest (7)

On 2025022020250220 By Beleaguered ServantIn Original PoemsLeave a comment

People's tastes will differ. 
I learned this very young: 
We're all uniquely wired, 
Or maybe better -- 'strung' -- 

My son-in-law hates pizza, 
Which just serves to illumine 
How tastes can differ widely 
When one of you's 

Not human

No Talent for Certainty

Category: Original Poems

ten years wide

Like this:

life / essence

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the banning

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the pariah

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Too Many

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more different

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the things we never think about

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On Long Island

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Said Ingest (7)

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To share is human:

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To share is human:

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To share is human:

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To share is human:

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To share is human:

Like this:

To share is human:

Like this:

To share is human:

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To share is human:

Like this:

To share is human:

Like this: