Political Poems History repeats itself; first as tragedy, then as farce. -- Karl Marx
HOME PAGE   •Contest Winners
ORIGINAL WORKS: Romantic Sad Humorous Old Favorites Wish I'd Said That Nature Thoughtful Patriotic One-liners Limericks Friendship Life In General Happy Family First Love Dreams Dogs & Cats Memories Cowboy Poetry Paint a Word Picture Holiday Themes Nursery Rhymes Music Sports Political Religious Travel Collected Works Ballad Poems POET LAUREATES: Elizabeth Santos N.G. "Gary" Stapp FOR FUN: •NEW: Crossword Puzzle •Magnetic Poetry •Shakespearean Insults •What time is it where you are?  ABOUT US: From the Editor Favorite Links Copyright Info		PEACE  Evening on the Harpeth River and the golden chariot rolls on to rule the nether world, trailing stars that call a hawk to rest high in a motionless elm. Violet haze creeps across field grasses as a brown mouse hurries forth to search for berries that grow along the bank. Stifling air freshens and dew falls, a sweet reprieve from grinding toil. A coyote calls: night has come in which to sleep, perchance to dream of harmony among mankind.   RANT  Slide me under a microscope and record my imperfections, then stuff me into a pigeonhole under an outdated heading.  Destroy the things I believe and name them illusions for the sake of your reality, that I may learn to worship you.  Make willing eunuchs and mental pygmies of my children to create the obedient army of your hideous new world order dystopia.  Ply me with chemical happiness, the new kool-aid of your utopian cult of fear, the classic Orwellian cage of rats that you inhabit.  You have spent too many years at the feet of Nietzsche and Marx, skulking in prestigious towers, feeding on history's crimson swill.  This cannot stand. Now nations draw back on either side of the nuclear abyss, fingers poised to begin the new holocaust of your insane creation.   PROPHECY  land of insubordination lost in empty disputation empires built on speculation justice drowned by intrication  families in disintegration schools devoid of education churches loving ostentation poverty begets frustration  lives of bitter desperation hopeless in their situation questing honest legislation finding cold discrimination  factions clash in confrontation shouts of brash intimidation taking sides across the nation societal extermination  war the ugly destination blind to every implication powers watch in consternation nations plot retaliation  weakened by degeneration crumbles now the great foundation far too late for extrication soon will come obliteration Submitted by Mollie Kindall from Pegram, TN e-mail: molliemaek@gmail.com WHERE IS PEACE? Accept failures bravely, Bestow love abundantly, Convey ideas correctly, Delete jealousy completely. Eliminate problems wisely, Face challenges boldly, Guide friends properly, Hurt no one intentionally. Intensify goodness wholly, Justify facts strongly, Keep your mind openly, Lend advise timely. Mince words carefully, Never help reluctantly, Oust selfishness totally, Peace will be there gradually!!! Submitted by Gunam Rajaratnam e-mail: rajaratnam_gunadevi@yahoo.co.uk THE SILVER THREAD Whisper not to me of Xanadu, stately dome of Kubla Khan Or those ageless warriors who brighten history's span, I know of Omaha's grim beach and Iwojima's sands The fallen always cherished and whose glory ever stands. But I have heard of one fair land with places as sweet dreams Of a fairyland of beauteous charm hewn from virgin realms, Ah, savour Mavuradonna's heights and Chimanimani's peace Oh land of sweet delight and true patriot's release. T'is also said their strife was fair and noble was their cause But honour with deceit was paid and almost without pause, Scattered they were to far flung lands with little worldly gain Save for that blessed hope that once their dear land may reclaim. There is still the mystic silver thread that binds this gallant band Of comradeship, travail and ah, the Regiment's last stand, They say that hope still lies awake for some eternal hour So tarry friend for thou mayest yet still smell such sweetest flower © S. Weatherall, The Bard of Gatooma. October 2006 (Gatooma was a small town in Rhodesia. It has a different name now - Kadoma) SECURITY BLANKET  They continue the adamant Repudiation of the wrap Clothed in the insistence of denial An image based on ocher.  Presence of contamination Impossible in the linen The implication That it is genuine after all.  Inquest of skepticism An abundance of data That man is not living by Distortions and marked tempera alone.  Medieval mundane artist's rendition Little more than desperation So please pray tell Where are the thousands more?  © D.S. 2002  -- Submitted by David Soriano from Bradford, PA e-mail: soriano@pitt.edu COST OF FREEDOM Problems always start As persons all should now know When doorways are open.  Freedom and ideas The rights of man also here You know what I mean?  Liberty never free Always a ticket to buy Where is the window? © D.S. 2002  -- Submitted by David Soriano from Bradford, PA e-mail: soriano@pitt.edu BABYLON AND THE BEAST I had an awful vision of a ten horned beast that shook the ground and rose from the east. The kings of the earth stood and stared as it devoured anything that got in its way. All the armies prepared for war not really sure what they would be fighting for. Some people fled in horror and fear searching for hiding places that were not there. On top of this creature for all to see was a woman dressed very regally, and inscribed on the cup in her hand were written the words "Mystery Babylon". Suddenly a voice was heard to say fall on your knees and begin to pray, keep your spirituality exceedingly strong and you will be saved in this Armageddon. -- Submitted by Cedric Napti Walters from Atlanta, GA e-mail: cedricnaptiwltrs@aol.com INVASION OF FREEDOM Before the flag, I pledge allegiance, While placing my hand upon my heart, But today is no longer like before As we watch our freedom falling apart. No longer free to soar the skies of blue Or leisurely walk to collect our mail. Bombs now planted everywhere; Where, oh, where, did our country fail? Did we give to others way too much, Depriving our people here at home? Should we have just closed our eyes To all the suffering; a poverty syndrome? Industrial Revolution, the great need for oil, Protecting our interest both here and abroad. Send our soldiers to die in a war for the cause But is it ourselves that we thus defraud? We need our two and three cars apiece And don't talk about any of us giving up ease. So when it comes to our interests that we protect, Could it be our greediness that we appease? Go out and spend and don't save a penny, For if you do, the economy will plunge; So go out and buy that brand new car And back into debt, for the economy, lunge. Will the cycle go unbroken, each generation going to war Or will in this world we learn someday to live as one? Once again to feel free to soar the skies of blue Without the fear of anyone foreign? -- Submitted by Gloria Sarasin from Trinity, North Carolina e-mail: sara689@yahoo.com RENT A SUIT We will represent you, not resent you. We will honour you, not dishonour you. We will stand by you, not walk by you. We will care for you, not share with you. We will consult you, not insult you. We will not be like you, though we'd like to. We will do our best, not like the rest. We will We will We will. -- Submitted by Roger Stewart from Perth, Western Australia e-mail: rojak1@bigpond .com A PLEA FOR PEACE Can we begin to understand The cry of the innocents in foreign lands Or the anguish shared on our own soil When death and destruction take its toll, When peace interrupted is commonplace, When retaliation occurs at a rapid pace? "Vengeance is mine," saith the Lord, But at the lamb the lion has roared, Suicide missions perceived as valor, Signs of compromise keep growing paler. The guns, the bombs, the loss of lives-- Where is peace when no one survives? Where is righteousness in each barren region? Bands of rebels form separate legions. Why can't leaders together agree? Constant bloodshed does not make people free. Why can't life be serene once more? Case and desist the horrors of war!  -- Submitted by Floriana Hall from Akron, Ohio e-mail: Floriana102@aol.com AVOIDANCE I am scared of looking straight into your eyes; I'm frightened of what I will see. I wouldn't dare search for your inner soul, I'm terrified of what there may be. The world is changing, so are we Just wish the development would turn and see, The world needs love, not a killing machine  -- Submitted by Liv Astrid Bergsager from Haugesund, Norway e-mail: livab@yahoo.com IN THIS WORLD THERE IS: Aggravation Alienation Annihilation Desecration Desperation Detestation Eradication Extermination Irritation Isolation Molestation Obliteration Pacification Provocation Separation And you say "I am not responsible for any debts other than my own." -- Submitted by Airen from Dallas, TX e-mail: airen_69@hotmail.com O STOPA BIN LADEN Where are you, hiding from the world? After deeds done, to make hair curled, In the name of religion, hatred was hurled, Like some of your compatriots, you will go down, Dead or alive, the world will more than frown, When your place of concealment, is finally blown, And news of your capture, is known, Until then, the way(s) or your demise, are various, But devising plans, are really quite tedious, The favorite way, among some, is a missle of sorts, To travel an arc, and zero right in, To whine its' coming, and go down your shorts, And blow you away, like most of your cohorts, It won't free the world of terrorists, but will cause, Others of same ilk, who would have reason to pause. -- Submitted by Rudy Hoedel from Nanaimo, B.C., Canada e-mail: WWW.RUDYRAH@HOTVOICE.COM CONSPIRACY When our government conspires With the monarchs and dictators, Like a deer drowned by an alligator, Hope of the public expires. Flags of freedom fail to flutter, Democracy melts like hot butter. Certainty suffers, integrity abused. Only the Devil amused. Love sighs, Fraternity cries, Equality is an extremist stand, Justice is buried in the sand. Humanity stretched like rubber band. When our government conspires, Injustice and vested interest aspire. Our rights are flaunted and defaulted. Truth is mocked and halted. When our governments conspire, Rights of the public expire. -- Submitted by Asif Ahmed from Birmingham, England, UK e-mail: a.s.ahmed@bham.ac.uk THE PRICE OF INFAMY You won with your atrocities your fame. Books proclaim your works, but not with glory. You each, we do remember your great name. Hitler, you your people did inflame. You took your reign as king of the persecutory. You won with your atrocities your fame. That you weren't your brother's keeper was your claim. Cain, we learned your curse from the Bible story. Always we remember your great name. If to some of you we gave a nickname, "Jack the Ripper" all the same is accusatory. You won with your atrocities your fame. Bin Laden, you are too in the hall of shame. Now to blame, you'll go below purgatory. Absolutely we'll remember your name. Relentlessly through history you came, Each to play your bloody annihilatory game. You won with your atrocities your fame, But God, who sees, remembers each "great" name. -- Submitted by Andrea Dietrich from Pleasant Grove, Utah e-mail: Pandie55@hotmail.com AMERICANS Strong, Caring, Free, Life, there's no doubt. As an American that's what we're all about. Sept. 11, 2001 they declared war on this day. Now Americans will make them pay. They've hurt us, they've caused us pain. Americans won't stop until they know their name. They tried to break our spirit, but they just made us strong. Americans have strength and they were wrong. Let us stand alongside one another. Americans are sisters and brothers. They have taken something from each of us. Americans won't break, we're born to be tough. The land of the free, the home of the brave. Americans give, Americans save. Let us bow our heads and begin to pray. Americans, ask that those bad memories go away. -- Submitted by Teresa Skyles from Tulsa, Oklahoma e-mail: ratshare@swbell.net A VILLANELLE INDICTMENT OF THE BLIGHT Brutes, in name of God, to show their might, fixed laws that you'd succomb, dumb, measly sheep. Womankind, kind woman, rise and fight. Serbian daughters once with smiles bright Ravished by beasts whose skin with sin did seep. Angels hovering nigh have you in sight. A dutiful bride in India for something less than trite Had fire set upon her as she lay in bed asleep. Kind woman, womankind, your soul's in flight. A Somalian child within a hut shrieks and huddles in fright. To steal her "sensuality", they've come to cut her deep. Angels from on high do hear your plight. And nearer here's a wife (and all's not right), Who, trembling, bruised, hushes her son not to weep. Womankind, kind woman, comes the night. . . Sisters, don't be wearied by the blight. For what they sow, God's told us they shall reap. Angels have prepared you robes of white. Kind woman, womankind, hold tight your light. -- Submitted by Andrea Dietrich from Pleasant Grove, Utah e-mail: pandie55@hotmail.com THE HONEST POLITICIAN It is with great inspiration That I compose this dedication And call on a certain incarnation Which should prove to be a sensation. It is with great expatiation That you compose inner commotion And call on a certain reaction Which should prove to be a connection. With all that are exerting concentration To the great words of my creation Like wide-eyed sheep to destruction You follow the pictures of my imagination. And when you leave this exhibition It will be with a need for contemplation On my many words of idealisation For a world with great skills of organisation. But if you still have the inner voice of preservation You will come to the realisation That the meaning of my incantation Is to create in you ... Frustration. -- Submitted by Angelique T. Vermaak from Empangeni, South Africa e-mail: mwfenton@iafrica.com INFLATION In times past and now forgotten When honesty ruled supreme, Before some men with hearts rotten Deposed those worth our esteem, The world was free of speculation And there was no talk of inflation. But then a band of cunning thieves With lying tongues and souls of greed, And many tricks up their sleeves, A simple plan their minds conceived To bring the world into subjugation, Requiring only guile and dedication. The first step was to begin the trade Of lending money and holding sure The wealth that folk, through work, had made; With "interest" as bait they'd allure Their naive victims into their den, And this hold true now as did then. Once the money was in their hands They used it for their own end, And would take the poor peoples' land As payment for the money they lend; It didn't take long for them to hold In their vaults other people's gold. Their eyes were set on bigger things ... With this wealth they began to bend The judgement of princes and kings Who were in need of funds to spend In projects that they thought were best To safeguard their kingdoms' interests. From lending to individuals, Then to kings extend their usury, They soon became multinationals Controlling the world's treasury. They rule supreme and over all The peoples and their capital. Power hungry, they'll dash to pieces All who speak against their clan; While their heartless greed increases Their victims survive as best they can Eating scraps from their table, And true freedom remains a fable. So until all control returns To the leaders of each nation, In whom the spirit of truth burns, We are saddled with inflation And our children will never be Masters of their own destiny. -- Submitted by A V Fenton from Empangeni, South Africa e-mail: mwfenton@iafrica.com AMALGAM OF MILLENNIUMS The despair and desolation engulf our hidden emotions Like an ebb tide in the sea - And keep our lives afloat in troubled waters By turning around the happiness key! The dawn of civilization has been a key witness To such turbulence since the histories of the past - And brings the memoirs still today, for continuity in next millennium But that may not be the last! Worse holocausts and bloody wars of the twentieth century Depict the inhumanity and abuse of brutal force - While walking down the memory lanes to remind our despair, Next to paving new millennium's only course! But suddenly the expectation of a glorious awakening Now tickles my brain with a "civil sense" of mass - To honor the dawn of the new millennium as the holy gate Through which the nobility has to really pass! Restrictive power comes from the imposition of laws That pretends to robotize the present mankind - And creates an anguish through the disappearance of "devotional love" That does not put us in a bind! The true soul of man should be the product of education and freedom, Instead of the restrictive claws - To enable the rapid progress in the next millennium, And eliminate the visible pasts' damaging "flaws"! Now, democracy, lost to money grabber politicians, has created A reign of corruption over so many lands - While the strong political power moves only among the cronies With time via a 'mutual' shaking of hands! The fruits of such transfers of power leave nothing but the bitterness In the mouths of the million factions - And are now sobbing for the meritocracy in the next millennium In lieu of the democracy's selfish actions! At present, I dream to see piling of fraternity, freedom, And humanity from the past millenniums to the new - And build a bridge of love and fellowship to promote human rights For the forthcoming generations to view! Surely the task is not easy and will need engraved emotions As the building block buried in each soul around the Earth - But still we can explore possibility through amalgam of millenniums' ideas Drenched with brutality, sacrifice and mirth! -- Submitted by Hillol Ray from Garland, Texas e-mail: mukhosh@aol.com BUREAUCRAT Bureaucrat is just a word for someone who is slow, The sweat that trickles down his nose is probably just for show; Working hard's against the rules, ...accomplishments... forbid!! If you're the guy that wants to work, of you they'll soon get rid; Slacker, sleeper, lazy bum ... and these are just a few, Accomplishments that you can earn, do you now have a clue? "Work hard", they say vocally, but just what do they mean? The time that you're allowed to work is only when you're seen; Be here by nine and home by two, I know it's very hard, To work between the many breaks, you useless piece of lard; What's that? I said a naughty word, not politically correct, I better change that word right now, your psyche might be wrecked; The words I choose instead of lard will not be fat or plump, The phrase I think I'll choose for you is the "Equine Challenged Rump"; In time, no doubt, this simple phrase might seem a little dumb, So here it is just plain and clear, you are a horse's bum. -- Submitted by E. Ralph Fallentine from West Valley City, Utah e-mail: pipesurgeon1@juno.com THE WOMAN SACRIFICED I am the woman who was sacrificed For an unworthy cause by those who decide: 'This one shall not live'. I walk alone - I am the woman whose face is known Whose thoughts must not be spoken Judged by those who decide: 'She must be broken'. I have been shamed - I am the woman who was defamed. They have created through lies and inventions A network of spies who distort my intentions. They have tortured and robbed me of my peace I am the woman they have brought to her knees. For their own selfish reasons I have been reviled By those who decide: 'She shall not have her child'. I am the woman without a life - They've decided for me: 'She shall not be a wife'. I am the woman who is made to pay Unspeakable horror each night and each day. Yet, I'll never know the reason why - But, I won't cry, and I will not die I will persevere and go on without fear. I do not know if there will be another Spring But I know that all my praises I will sing To Him and Him alone who owns my soul Therefore I will be consoled. But I am old, and I am cold I do not know if there will be another day - But no one has the right to make me go I am here to stay. -- Submitted by Sigrid Castaldo from Flushing, Queens, NY e-mail: Musigg@aol.com
TOP
		THE POET'S CORNER - ORIGINAL POEMS FROM AROUND THE WORLD Nan Crussell Computer Services © All rights reserved e-mail: webmaster@silentwords.com P.O. Box 334 * Newcastle, CA 95658