Category Archives: Poetry

Riddles

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Something a little different this time- two little riddles, the first used by a ‘Mutants and Masterminds’ superhero character I run. Gravitron, a goodhearted but occasionally cynical Czech escapee from the Soviet Union, can manipulate gravity and space itself. He is normally bad at English, but used a Hero point to become temporarily eloquent and come up with this riddle to defeat the demonic Word Eater. The second riddle was devised at the same time but ended up not being used. The solutions will be posted in one week.

Riddle One

Scuppered plans, frustrated aims,
Kindness spurned through childish games.
Unfinished songs and failed romance
Truncated by this heartless dance.
Ever-morphing chains of thought,
Chases futile, fun and fraught,
New lives and hopes will rise and fall,
Old hearts grow strong and give their all.
Stars witnesslessly die, or not;
This all and more I am, but what?

Riddle Two

With scarcity it grows and grows
With bounty it declines;
Part artistry, part constancy,
Part usefulness in time.
So rarely spoken of in truth,
Yet sought by every man,
What is this that I describe
Please tell me, if you can?

Christmas Shopping?

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Bereft of ideas
Searching for that perfect gift
That will give your treasured hearts
A flash of joy and lasting lift.

But what can give such boundless joy?
You’re surrounded by a thousand promises
Of heaven in a little box
Of what you’ve all been looking for

What gives a soul such fortitude,
To stand these torrents of harassed seekers,
And persist in your hopeless search,
For the key to a moment of family bliss?

Stand back from the stream,
See the madness of it all.
A present is too easy;
A well-lived life is a worthier call.

To be a good father, husband, friend
A faithful wife, mother, sibling or child.
And every day, not just once a year,
What is the point of appearances?

Give me reality and make it better.
Acknowledge a problem and work to resolve it.
Comfort the lonely, be there for a friend,
Celebrate small victories, yet

See life through to the end.

Debt

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*author’s note, when reading this, use the three-syllable variant pronunciation of ‘cruelly’ and ‘clearly’, i.e. say them with a bit of a flourish. Also, this is another old one, written before the financial crisis started.

Debt

Deeper in debt than I ever hoped to be;
Promises forgotten or retracted cruelly.
My own words used against me
And twisted full of spite;
No sign of dawn approaching
On this terrifying night.

My creditor approaches with documents in hand;
As fear engulfs my trembling heart I lose the strength to stand.
Falling down upon my knees I plead against all hope
For mercy or another day to climb this deadly slope.

“Enough!” He says, holding the deed up high for all to see.
“No more delays, the sum is due, it’s all here clearly.
The time has come to end this,” he grins with childish glee,
Then tears the paper into shreds and suddenly I’m… free?

Once

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Once strong hands now tremble as they grip the spoon,
Once sure feet are now afraid to fall.
A once sharp mind now struggles to place a face,
Once sharp eyes are now blurred by misty flaws.

A once proud man now lets himself be helped from bed,
A once proud band is now reduced to one.
The once life of the party now sits and ponders what went wrong,
Where have all the years and all the heroes gone? Continue reading →

Seven Years

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Seven years we have been one,
And what has come of that?
Three boys, two fish, one house, one car,
One temporary cat.

But most of all, my precious one,
A love that’s built to last.
A love that’s conquered all the pain
And heartbreak in our past

I would another fifty years
Or longer that you stayed
Until the call of heaven can
No longer be delayed

Whatever hurts you hurts me more
When sorrow clouds your eyes
Your victories and joys, my love
Are my most treasured prize

Let the cords that bind us
Be always strong and true
Let not my selfish pride destroy
The wonder that is you.

Youngest

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How could this fount of sweetness
Have found its source in me?
Where did such beauty come from
That shines so radiantly?

What miracle could cause this life
That blesses all it meets
And melts my heart with one big smile
When asking, “Daddy, please”?

What zest for life, what willingness
To lend a helping hand;
Let him inspire me each new day
To make a righteous stand.

*Author’s note – this is another older one, the boy referred to here is no longer my youngest. He is still very sweet most of the time though 🙂