"detract" poems
*I can recommend two things in life
Friends and shoes.
A friend will defend 'till the end
Shoes will let you cruise the streets
A friend will try to mend you when broken
Shoes will soften, and mould to you
Like a lover in bed.
Friends pick you up when you are down
Shoes become missiles ready to be thrown.
But, as a woman I can say the play
from shoes is better than friendly play,
Shoes attract, friends detract.
Both are needed
Just not on the same day!*
May 13, 2014
May 13, 2014 at 11:31 AM UTC
It was after we passed Moby’s Dock
that Ebony met her first thresher shark
He was five feet long or so
two feet shark, three feet tail,
and had just been pulled from the surf
to be proudly displayed
by the fisherman who had caught him
Ebony stood transfixed
her every muscle poised
her feathered tail twitched
as she leaned closer to inspect
and then recoiled from this cold-blooded beauty
still dressed in fleetingly iridescent
blues and greens and purples -
As the sun’s fading beams highlighted
the magnificence of this dying shark
I mourned his loss that night.
The noise and tourists
in the Pier’s arcades and bumper cars
did not detract from the peacefulness
of the Pacific in her chaos
for this was August
and they would soon go home
I watched a distant storm at sea
flashing fire against the deepening twilight
I stood, and Ebony,
gazing at the flashes of lightning
My hand felt her softness and warmth
as I stroked the waves of her black fur
relishing the cool wind on my face
listening to the rigging
of the boats resting at anchor off the Pier
Thinking about thresher sharks
Willing them away
from this place with its fishermen
and cold, baited hooks
Cori MacNaughton
13 Sept 2000
Jun 11, 2015
Jun 11, 2015 at 1:11 PM UTC
And then a year later,
the ship sets sail
fleeing a year long sorrow,
into the tomorrow.
Each breath
calling out your name
a yearning for a last gaze,
every ear's thirst
for your voice,
a desire to quench it all
one of these days,
on you and me if there may
never dawn this tomorrow.
From the captain
to the cleaner himself,
they all yearn for it,
before they depart.
From the sky
to the ocean herself,
envy the troop's pining
for she who on the port
detract's the beauty
of this scene
for she who in their eyes
poses to be better than art.
- Diljeev
Feb 3, 2021
Feb 3, 2021 at 6:29 PM UTC
Oh California!
How my heart burns for you,
how beautiful you are!
The greenest trees and the most picturesque beaches.
The soft sands of the desert,
and the rolling slopes of the foothills.
My body, my mind, my spirit, all belong to you, oh Great and Wonderful! California.
Your hills are on fire,
scarring the beauty of your curves.
Your rivers run dry,
suffocating the green into brown.
How my heart cries for you! Oh dry, oh burning, oh how relentless this war against you, oh California! And there is no relief in sight, winter promises no respite, and the summer will be long and tough and dry like the ones before and before and before.
Oh California!
How I tremble, how I shake in awe,
your sun burns a bright orange,
smoke fills your sunsets,
even fire cannot detract from your beauty!
Oh cleansing rains!
Oh cleansing El Niño!
Oh how I beg you to save California!
My California!
My roots go deeper than that of the greatest redwood, California is my home, and not the most fearsome of fires could cause me to leave, not the fiercest and most ruthless of droughts could scare me away!
Oh California!
Let my tears be absorbed by your thirsty soil!
Let my body one day feed your hungry crops!
Oh California! I am yours, to the very last.
God bless California!
God bless the desert and the mountains!
God bless the foothills and the valleys!
God bless the beaches and the forests!
God bless my home and spare it from the relentless.
California is my God, and I hope she hears my prayers!
Sep 17, 2015
Sep 17, 2015 at 11:02 PM UTC
Bipartisanship, whatever
the key nowadays is
cooperative collaboration
I sell the rail
You buy the rail
Let’s call the whole thing off
Centre left centre right
sent her round the bend
Get with the program
Facebook Face Time whatever
Feb 25, 2015
Feb 25, 2015 at 6:59 PM UTC
The day, I still remember-
When you captured my heart
On a cloudy phase of October,
That made my life, as your part;
I melted on the whole,
As your beauty locked my soul;
Little did I think
Of closing my eyes to blink.
Neither Shakespeare nor can Wordsworth-
Aptly verse your elegance
Which took me off the earth,
And routed all my sense.
Following your footsteps, allowing not to detract
Learnt all possible notes of hymns;
And at last, discovered the fact,
That our souls are the best synonyms.
Aug 26, 2014
Aug 26, 2014 at 7:13 AM UTC
the traceable lines that
lead me here
pattern the sky
above the remains of a streetlight
its bent frame
shattered glass
cannot detract from its
deep and careful meanings
it speaks in its silent decay
of nights when teenagers stopped
beneath its orange glow
and kissed goodnight
before curfew
forced them home
it used to give a pool of light
that would be safe and warm
it feels like a home
Oct 26, 2013
Oct 26, 2013 at 8:22 AM UTC
Vietnam's got a raw, dangerous side to explore,
And whilst I'm far from one to detract or deplore,
From the beauty of the place, the gentle souls of the people,
There's some dark things balancing the good with the evil.
Prostitutes are shedding clothes and dignity in bars,
Whilst ***** old men sit with wet mouths ajar,
People claim to help you whilst emptying your pockets,
Because they can't afford to live on their pitiful pay dockets.
Prices sky rocket based on the colour of your skin,
But we're from a wealthy country so we can't make a din,
The protectors - the police will only help you for a bribe,
And if you can't pay the price then you'll get locked inside.
Just alive malnourished dogs with heat exhaustion,
Rats dwell beneath restaurant tables waiting for their portion,
Agent Orange victims left with face contortion and extra limbs,
While aging, old ladies gather supper from the bins.
Children roam the streets at night and noone blinks an eye,
So much is wrong that you're left wondering what's right,
But in this world of chaos can we chastise their plight?
Whilst we take advantage, judge, rule, bomb others and fight.
The 'United' Kingdom separates itself from the world,
Covering up so many lies it makes your toes curl,
Corrupt chains thwart families hopes and beliefs,
Let's form orderly queues for the corporate thiefs.
Every country has a blood money epidemic,
We simply hide it better as we're more academic,
A nation crammed full with political actors,
The fact we follow suit is the critical factor,
To the downfall of our country and the people who reside.
It does not abide to say, ‘Well, at least we tried!’,
But as we all know in this puppet show ********
We've only ourselves to blame, therefore I'm the biggest culprit.
Feb 21, 2019
Feb 21, 2019 at 3:37 PM UTC
I withdraw from you all
Conceal the depths of what I feel
Shadow my intent in poetry
Words that make the secret me real
But other actions detract from the facts
Of what I write
Daily life
Denies
What my writing implies
I am honest
Mostly
With others
Not really
Is this me
Am I a good person
To account for myself justly
Our am I just deftly
Deflecting responsibility
Is my modest genius
My disability
Is existences my exercise in futility
Self-mutilation in the form of humility
Acts of contrition in my comedy
I still don’t know
If I am a good person
Feb 7, 2015
Feb 7, 2015 at 12:48 PM UTC
For I to cherish soaked in sunbathe dream of freckles on cream and strawberries
For you to see and sigh and fill with warm fizzy pink water too sweet to contemplate
For you to see and sigh and long for long sleeved sheathed in jealousy spilling out in bright red syrup
For I to paint faces with my utterances fanciful making ugly alluring curious mysterious attractive
I can take my nose to be strength clever seducting wicked men and women to listen to my describes or look upon papyrus sheets
I can make my jaw a naive child stricken with blue veins translucent skin clinging papery like wings to brittle bones under eaves ready to snap
I can write my eyes wide innocent in first time headlights first time frosted firsts filled with empty antecedents of unclasped things and fifty fifty longings
I can make the ugly striking like a stinging snake cruel contemplating lashing smarts or make it sad sorrowful quiet longing new to life love mature but still a child
I can add grace poise to my stretched out neck make it stand tall of pride training because it's ladylike to do so and so I must and say my prayers every night too as I powder over my faintly drawn freckles
Boyish humour uncaring to my generous brows a baseball mitt bubblegum cards and a fetish for goths forever unrecognised as spit flies and at home haircuts compose a flyaway life
Embellish the hollows collarbones and detract the too-broad shoulders make the frailty proud and small shrink it down to fit in a girl big brothers to gentle and lovers to rough pinned wrists that near snap
With my words I reap the benefits of my own mindly kindling I wander through half made times in history and finished times two seconds right now
I can create myself and so I do my thirst to be is insatiably insatisfied like my attraction to bad grammar and lilts when you talk so I do I become each and every one
I create myself and it's addicting
Aug 3, 2012
Aug 3, 2012 at 5:41 PM UTC
Volcanic destruction. 2 words
A volcano destroys the citadel. 5 words
A tiny volcano destroy the movie-set citadel look-alike 10 words
A paper machet volcano spurts water and melts the miniature ice-city for a home movie 15 words
Did i amplify or detract?
Jun 17, 2013
Jun 17, 2013 at 5:40 PM UTC
too many answers come down to the same
non-explanation of the simple fact
we are the ones who always bear the blame
for all the anger we have one hard name
clear and precise both noble and exact
too many answers come down to the same
wave of exhaustion so that we must claim
not what we earned but all the goods we lacked
we are the ones who always bear the blame
for what was lost and for the constant shame
that was included in the lost compact
too many answers come down to the same
inauguration of the truth of fame
which we can neither add to nor detract
we are the ones who always bear the the blame
for those who come when we call the right name
but have no thought of what it means to act
too many answers come down to the same
we are the ones who always bear the blame
Mar 30, 2015
Mar 30, 2015 at 12:20 PM UTC
aldous huxley told me twice,
'that men do not learn very much
from the lessons of history is the
most important of all the lessons of history,'
both times i put my pen to the page
and re-read what he had said
until i thought i understood
today i watched big fish and
thought of spectre longer than
i probably should have,
where is it that i arrived before
the road was paved to bring me there?
when will i return?
i know i don't need to figure out
timing because that's what fate's for,
but with a wild wandering mind
it's difficult to detract senseless what-if's
from buzzing about in my brain
tonight i delete excess and make plans
to live a life that doesn't declare ignorance
of what preludes each step taken,
tonight i find sollace in full moons and
figure if there's anything i've learned
thus far, it's just as aldous said,
live life as if you've learned something
Jun 24, 2013
Jun 24, 2013 at 12:49 AM UTC
when I’m this drunk
and you’re a thousand
miles away
I miss the plenary version of you
everything that you are
and all that I perceive you to be
why aren’t you here with me
I want to stop giving up
I want to just do it
I want to love you completely
with all that I am
and with no reservations
because when you’re
a thousand miles away
I know that the daily
irritations and influences
that detract from our
utter (what an ugly word) and complete
devotion to one another are
just that
distraction and irritations
the insecurities and the self-defeating
effects of life are nothing
when I have this much whiskey in me
I know that my love for you
is real
more real than Paris for Helen
more significant than
Romeo for Juliet
I love you as I love the
heart and lungs
in my own breast
without you I am bereft of a
vital *****
necessary for life
for existence
when I am this drunk
I don’t make sense
but I know
more truly than I know my name
that you are
essential
and that I love you
always
Jun 3, 2015
Jun 3, 2015 at 12:43 AM UTC
I'm tired of all these fake backbiters
Their petty tongues can't taste my desire
It lies beyond these dives and old tires
Beyond the earth and the funeral pyre
Cause every pair of friendly eyes
Contains a knave, a ***** a spy
They salivate on the juice of your mistakes
Pry open your wounds, so they can smile
This wicked little town is full of dreamers
Local hopefuls, kind souls and believers
Also known as calumny beamers
Bankrupt spirits, synthetic schemers
So pardon me if my presence I detract
Rather face the Tree than a talebearer's fact
You curse my organs, my ornamental torment
So from the Shadow, I'll never look back
Humiliation is the purest ruse
It's all fun and games until someone gets truth
But these stigmatas will turn to bruises
And from this place, I'll be destitute
A real friend
Always gathers up ammo
Incase the end comes
Guess I never got the memo
Nov 26, 2011
Nov 26, 2011 at 3:09 AM UTC
The funeral was well attended
Nobody came
It was sad in a way
Clashed with the dog passing away
There was a friend with a leg
When I say a leg
I actually mean two
Though he had the flu
The Priest nearly made it
But he passed too
The butcher discussed it with the baker
In the newsagents where the notice was placed
Was it his wife who put it in
Well yes, to begin
Then a black guy called Fred
Placed another, hopefully dead
Followed by Titch
Who looked quite rich
But was really his *****
Not to detract from Simon
Frowned the butcher, calling him pieman
Though, that was simplistic
The florist cried foul
She had the contract
But just for a while
It was left to the undertaker
Wade
Who had to subcontract
When thieves stole his *****
Joe from the pub
With the maths degree
Discussed the angles
Buried under a tree
Bernadette, at the bookmakers
Had to agree
Rushing off to mass
Father Joe listened with glee
It was a trying day in the village of Dull
The pub was in mourning
There was a definite lull
But one thing was agreed
As they slowly got ******
Rover the dog
Would surely be missed.
May 2, 2016
May 2, 2016 at 10:40 AM UTC
I sat and watched
The angel give up
Before the devil ever showed up.
If Lucipher and Beelzebub can fall;
What makes you think you’re above it all?
My soul is intact
And my love and sacrifices
Came along side my vices.
But my honor
Will not come from man
And my will will not detract.
I’ve seen angels
Turn into devils;
But it was man
That took evil to new levels.
If the greatest of men failed,
What makes you think you’ll prevail?
Because my lord,
My aid is your word.
Because my lord,
My word is my sword;
And though my actions
Are not all pure
In you, I’ve a cure.
I gave you my son,
I offered you Emanuel
I beseeched protection
From the angel Gabriel.
Now he forces his one;
He curses you with Demian
As to provoke defection,
And bring your kin to evil again.
What makes you think
You can prevent his will be done?
If you fail, he as won.
The greatest gift of all,
You gave me to stand tall.
Through the breath of your voice
You bestowed on me free choice.
While evil still be done,
Man is free from none;
But while choice belongs to me
I will keep this world good and free.
Mar 29, 2011
Mar 29, 2011 at 7:16 AM UTC
Once your lips first dampen my skin,
You become the soaking rain, seeping in.
Your kisses pour over my face, drowning me in love.
Oh Rain, don't leave me.
You are the summer breeze through my shades,
tangled fiercely by the wind, warming me,
waking me, breathing me in.
Oh Summer Breeze, don't leave me.
You are the ocean melody in the dark of night,
with only stars to detract me from drowning
in the sea of your voice, my heart beat by your waves.
Oh Ocean Melody, don't leave me.
You are the last Marlboro Red
dragged into my lungs, no longer burning,
my blood clean once again.
Marlboro Red, I'm saying goodbye, it's time to quit.
Aug 17, 2013
Aug 17, 2013 at 9:28 PM UTC
I am the message, I inspire
set souls on fire.
A vestige of hope in days of darkness
I speak words of revolution
I can be the solution if you act now
so don't detract from the words I am saying
and the message given
which is driven home with concrete verbs and feeling
sealing the change for the future
I teach I nuture souls with love and not disdain
I heal the pain of the poor
but i shame the guilty with words fired like justice driven arrows
to make them atone for their sins
but I let them change themselves within
and their ways
I am the message
think feel me
absorb my words.
Jul 10, 2016
Jul 10, 2016 at 6:51 AM UTC
*Chilly spring day
between winter and summer
winter bias...
Spring in the middle
seasons between
are good homes...
Those opposites
detract and demand
middle grounds...
Right and left
corpus joins callosum
I'll join you there...
The middle
is not muddle
is energizer..!
Between Awakens...!*
Apr 20, 2013
Apr 20, 2013 at 7:26 PM UTC
If I don't sucessfully stem the flow of doubts demanding my attention they detract from my ability to compose myself for a consecutive endeavor.
Apr 13, 2013
Apr 13, 2013 at 10:19 PM UTC
Take a few deep breaths, then tell me what you felt.
It was a few short weeks before the invasion.
At least one had to concede the possibility of such a thing.
I denied it; I’d have known.
Yes, there is one, and this year, it falls on a Wednesday.
Four more hours until I get a break
I’m going to, uh, go and, uh, find something to eat.
the first streaks of the morning sun began to dry the dew from our decks
The breath of man and horse mingled, steaming, in the cold morning air.
He'd been careful; he was trying to prove that was possible to live without killing.
What was she doing with this new guy?
And in that second, I began to understand her.
Every lover admires his mistress, though she will be very deformed of herself
She was growing a little stout, but it did not detract an iota from the grace of every step, pose, gesture.
She was cute, in a child-like way.
From where I sit, you look more like a kitten.
So if anyone mysteriously hates me, that's why?
Get out of my way, *****
You always say that,
Don't you dare leave this room,
That's not what I would do.
What the **** was that?
I was gonna go with 'unexpected', but 'cluster fuck' works, too.
You fell out of the sky,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
It seemed like it lasted a long time, but it probably didn’t.
the decline was punctuated by some major rebellions.
This period is believed to be the time when souls of children visit the earth.
Conservative bloggers sparked a national controversy.
Since that time, information about the heavens has been visible.
The clinical importance has yet to be established.
And that's been well over a hundred and fifty years.
My heart skipped a beat.
I tensed, because I knew what that meant.
There was more at stake.
If I failed, I could hardly blame the tools.
Just try and make me go back.
I’ve been waiting for you for a very long time
She waited, hearing nothing but breathing during the pause on the other end.
As if he was making sure I was real this time, and not another dream.
But the kind of dreams they have; those end when we die
But this wasn’t the time to pick apart my obituary.
Mar 20, 2012
Mar 20, 2012 at 11:33 PM UTC
Some movie on Lifetime
ends itself.
I feel like i should
push these keys again
and try to make
some sense of self…
but overall i’m disappointed
because I know that it’s not self
that i’m trying to make sense of.
I’m trying to make sense of this computer,
and the sewing machine
on the table next to it,
and the air conditioning,
and whether or not it’s acceptable
to mention modern innovations
in poetry.
For example, if,
in a poem alone
(because i can talk to you through other mediums),
i tell you
(we’ll get to who you are in a bit)
that i
(don’t worry about who i am)
texted a girl,
(and she’s just as nameless as you are)
does the fact that i mentioned something modern
detract from the significance of the poem?
Of course,
poetry is all about the use of words as well
(sometimes we hang them from the walls
just to see how they make us look),
so i guess really the question is
whether or not
you managed to make it all work
in a way that makes sense to you.
Because honestly it’s worthless what I have to say;
you’re constructing these phrases
piecemeal
(in your head)
as we
(yes,
i’m there too)
push the buttons
(ahh, can you feel it?)
on this computer
to make us
spit out
images.
Haha,
psyche.
these are just black specks
on a white background;
our mind only attempts to give them significance
because we lack it as well.
Aug 15, 2010
Aug 15, 2010 at 8:59 PM UTC
There's not a lot to follow here
I hope I make that very clear.
Primary purpose is contact
React,
do not detract from that which we call Art.
So if I were a flatulist I might expect to still be kissed
but if a stoic, so heroic and my eyes were just dichroic
well then,
We could do this gnostic trick
And vanish,
In one long transcendent tick.
Jun 12, 2014
Jun 12, 2014 at 5:38 AM UTC
Letter me your soul, marked
‘For your soul only’
So to detract others from your soul
Ribbon me your softness, marked
‘For your softness alone’
So to deter others from your softness
Voice me your silken words, uttered
‘For my ears only’
So to prevent others from your silken words
Sing to me your written love song, sung
‘For my heart alone’
So to pierce others from your love song
Love me like no other, loved
‘For me alone and only’
So to disallow others from your love
Aug 14, 2012
Aug 14, 2012 at 3:33 PM UTC