I love him
I tell myself
I know that
We will be together forever
I don’t believe that
We could be separated
My thoughts tell me that
He’s the love of my life
Sometimes my heart lies and says
I could live an eternity
Without him
Like my friends say
“We’re perfect for each other”
And you can’t tell me
He’s not the one.

Now read from bottom to top.

What's it take
These days

To write a poem

That makes the world go mad
That brings the crowds to their feet
That spreads like wildfire
Through a dry winter forest

Is it those excessively long words?
The ostentatiously loquacious
Platitudinous ramblings
Of an insecure mind aspiring
To authentic intellect?

Is it perhaps...
     the "creativity"
               of      varied      spacing
  or...    could it be..... the lack
                              of capitalization
               the loathsome little letters
               screaming out
                         hey, look at us!
         ... or maybe it's
               the punctuation marks,
     littered, haphazardly
          through the text
                    (whether used correctly)
               or, theyre not?!
     despite worrds mispeled
          and a grammar might is broken
   can these gimmicks increase interest
        though miswritten or misspoken?

Is the trick alliteration
Whose bite brightly bids us
To center on the snappy sounds?
Although all along
     unvoiced underneath
Ideas idle in the isles
   (or perhaps the aisles)
Of the mind
To meld and craft and bind
Our thorough thoughts
And worthy words
Into lines
Which
Heard by herds
Raise the
                  Praise for which we
                  Privately, desperately
                  Pray

Maybe it's a magical mix
Of splendid in-your-head rhythm
Marvelous meter that perfectly clicks
Flowing smoothly without schism

Well-spaced stanzas
Well-used time
Well-crafted phrases
Well-thought-out rhymes

Well, maybe not...
     those gems are often ignored
     cast-aside, unread, even abhorred

Why?

Because the modern world
doesn't need your rules
your restrictions
your regulations
your misguided boundaries
your oppression
your antiquated ideas
   of "the right way"
   to write
   to speak
   to act
   to live
   to (fill in the blank)

No, what the modern world needs
is
Negation!
Contradiction!
Resistance!
Revolt!

And poetry whose words
Say the same thing
Repeat the same meaning
Echo the same lyrics
Rephrase the same thoughts
But in an ever-so-slightly
Different
Varied
Altered
Adjusted
Changed up way

Line
After line
Of synonyms
          over
               and
                    over
                         and
                              over
                                   again

-----

What's it take
These days

To not give in
To narcissism's spiral?

But more importantly:
What's it take

To make my poem go viral?

I like the
kind of people
      that get
  excited over
the stars at night.

    
                                                                                          Jon York    2019

I catch it knocking nightly
On the center of my mind
This thing they call the conscience
Letting me know wrong from right

It gives me room to wiggle
As I preform my daily feats
Although most are rather simple
It still keeps an eye on me

It helps me in my comings
And goings both the same
To keep at bay the dreaded face
I've come to know as shame

My conscience serves a purpose
In all the do's and don'ts I find
Floating on the surface
Of this crazy thing called life

It keeps a watchful eye on me
In all my ups and downs
This thing they call a conscience
Thankfully always hangs around

I am an
odd fellow,
don't expect me
to be like you.
I follow the
path of my
destiny.
The sun doesn't
shine for you
alone.
Neither the moon
at night time
belongs to you.
The wind cannot
cease because
of you,
everything benefits.
Breathe in the
air of life,
and exhale love.
Cold and it's
chilling snow flecks
is felt by all.
The odd things
happened for a
reason.
For you to
know and live
life and love,
you must first
desire it with
your heart.
The good life
awaits you.
This abysmal
cannot elude,
exclude and eliminate
the very ones
it came to pick.
The innocent ones
are protected by
the greater light.
I am a
protagonist,
the forerunner
of the inner quest.
Don't ever shrivel
by its presence.
Be bold and
unshakable.
It's not meant
to harm you
but to create
harmonium and
protect your interest.
©2018,Emeka Mokeme. All Rights Reserved.

It had to
be you I'm sure.
But i dare you
to leave,
for the love in
your heart won't
let you go away.
But once I love you,
would you stay
forever.
This love and
what I feel
is not a
casual encounter.
I am a
prisoner of love.
It's definitely divine
and deeper than
you think or
imagined.
For the fire
of love is
burning within
your heart
to sift you.
In your lost,
you found yourself.
I want to
disappear too and
be found with you,
for you conquered
your loss.
For the rainfall
must finally find
it's way to the
sea at last.
You are a sigh of
relief gone forth
to ease my
heart of the
pleasure of the
pressure of finding you.
©2018,Emeka Mokeme. All Rights Reserved.