GOOD POETRY

When people write and call it verse,
Their lines must have appeal and sense,
Which draws attention to a thought
With depth and meaning must be fraught.

When words are joined in skilful way,
They make your verse a lovely tray,
But when we look at gifts on it,
We will be fully frustrated.

For me the contents should come first
To charm the readers by its gist.
I want the tray to be quite clean,
But what it holds should please the brain.

When thoughts have charm, that pleases much
As your verse can its purpose reach;
But when you give your lines good form,
That gives your contents much more charm.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
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LET'S CONVINCE GOODNESS TO STAY.

Why do we look for what is bad?
Does not what we behold round us
Make us quite sure it is abound
And fills the world with dreadful fuss?

The ugly sights are spread nearby
To make this world a fearful scene.
Let's seek what causes all that cry
And replace it with smiling sheen.

How strange is man when sparks of hell
Provoke his hatred from inside,
And make it on his face reveal
The devil with its hateful pride?

The vicious sights have filled the world.
Let's light a lantern in the dark
And roam dark streets; we may behold
The ship which goodness will embark.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
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THE LOVE OF THE SOUL

I'm not aware of eyes or nose;
I'm not so fond of thoughts or form.
What makes me my heart and mind lose
Is that nice creature whose soul's warm.

That creature traps my heart though plain
As my eyes get blind to his shape.
What l care for is one big gain:
My soul with his yearns to escape.

They flee to where no eyes can spot,
Where no ears can hear what they say
And live_ far from the flesh and rot
The greatest joy of endless day.

No flesh can attain that warm glow
When two souls mix and their third's God.
They start their heaven from below
And both go up to upper ground.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
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SELF  CONTENTEDNESS

Little frog, don't drink much
Though big size does entice.
Water can't your aim catch
And you'll pay such high price.

Don't you know that your size
Won't match that of a cow?
Water brings your demise
But no bulk will endow.

God gives you certain height;
Don't reject; don't abhor.
That will bring you a plight
If you look for much more.

Satisfaction's a gift
That makes life smile to you.
Your low height toil can lift
To see what you should view.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
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LIVE YOUR LIFE.

Human life, which we live, is too short;
How dare you spend its time on a dream?
Throw your book; don't let it life abort
As sunshine turns your drink into steam.

Don't let books show you life as a whim
On which you spend long time in false joy,
Thinking that you will get blinding fame,
A mirage all your life can destroy.

Your own life passes by void of prize
While you don't appreciate what you live.
All your joy will then come to demise.
No rewards ere your end you receive.

Does this sort of short life need a book
Which takes you to the worlds others lived?
You desert your own life just to look
How those men human life they conceived.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
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THE FRUIT OF VICE

When man indulges in his vice,
And gives his flesh all what it needs,
Does not he think of its high price
When in his eyes his honour bleeds?

How can he meet the other folk?
Does not he look mean in his sight?
Does he accept himself to walk
Among who then appear so white?

I doubt if he can meet a friend
And shake his hand with that pure one.
All people will seem of pure trend
Except himself who has a stain.

He'll see himself a pile of dirt.
What has his vice endowed to him?
He deems he hides in his clean shirt,
And seeks a way out of his shame.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
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THE CONTEST

Man is destined for a goal,
Hard to reach but can install
His  name in the book of life
With those famous for their strife.

He begins an empty page.
Thoughts in his mind seethe and rage.
Looks he casts on those great men
Who could paint a splendid scene.

Lots of people lived with them,
Came and left with no small claim.
Nothing could they leave to show,
How they lived, what they could know.

Man is born to start a race
Which he should so boldly face.
Its reward is just to write
His name in the book of light.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
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