Write Your Poems To Here

[Adorno]

Contract

A

If I have the power
do I then have the right?
Can I impose my will
just by winning a fight?

No one's above the law.
Even those who write them.
Yet riches open gates
sealed by words of freedom.

Truth does not lead to wealth.
Honesty can be crime.
Laws sometimes benefit
those who should serve time.

They are simple minded
who control the masses.
He should fear the many
who controls the classes.

B

Humans are all born free
to feel pleasure and pain.
Yet everywhere I look
they're being held in chains.

From apes, to men, to laws
society is built.
So our will is common
from tip, to blade, to hilt.

The world can be tilted
by a finger with ease,
using a lever on
shoulders of Hercules.

We can discuss what's best
and try to find the line.
But they can all be bad
and good at different times.

C

Hebrews have religion
Carthage and Tyre trade.
Athens its literature;
Sparta with war was made.

Finance is slavery
unknown in city states,
where all is done with labour
and lenders shown the gates.

The walls of the cities
and all of their structures
are raised from the pieces
of houses in pastures.

Oh, you modern people,
no longer have you slaves.
Instead you are walking
in shackles to your graves.

 

[Mad Vader]

I didn't know this thread existed. Interesting and far more intimate than "what made you X today".
I like limericks and any other kind of trashy humor myself, but I can appreciate a good effort with the serious stuff.

 

[Adorno]

Wrote a poem based on Antigone, the classic Greek tragedy.
But from the perspective on Antigone only. Hence the title:

Spoiler: Antigone's Song

Antigone's Song

1
My dear sister, let's step outside,
an honest talk, nothing to hide.
Hoped not to meet my darkest fears,
no gods can dry this sea of tears.

Our brothers lie dead on the field,
a fratricide where none would yield.
A usurper and rightful heir,
they were brothers but did not care.

This stage of war saw thousands die.
Now we will play our parts and cry.
He's my brother, a loving kin,
I might be blind but see no sin.

2
The king decrees conflicting rules,
one is proper, the other cruel.
One to receive the holy rites,
the other sent to endless nights.

What good is it to let him lie
where beasts come by and vultures fly?
The laws of gods must be upheld,
or strife and hate cannot be quelled.

Sister, I know we disagree.
You will follow the state's decree,
and should not die for my belief.
Don't make me go to death in grief.

3
The state is he who wears the crown,
and his duty is to the town.
But higher still we serve the gods,
never the two must be at odds.

There is no harsher punishment.
Alas, the king is adamant.
He should foresee it's a mistake,
in one that I cannot partake.

Once he's buried, death is simple
like finding peace in the temple.
Sometimes what's done at night will show
during the day under sun's glow.

4
Tiresias, enter the stage.
Talk to Creon, temper his rage.
Even a blind prophet can see
from Nemesis one cannot flee.

King Creon, know I do confess
a crime mundane that gods will bless.
Call me a man, and you a maid.
Not gods, but you I have betrayed.

Just like all men one day you'll die,
so I must pose this question why
do you ignore the will of Zeus
and put around my neck a noose?

5
You have brought fire, and so you burn,
but even then you will not learn.
It's a haunting seed you have sown,
to Hades I won't go alone.

I'm to be killed in a cruel way,
a hollow rock in slow decay.
But you are a corpse still breathing,
a broken king who lies bleeding.

Your son lashed out, but no such luck.
A dagger in the liver struck.
Suicide upon suicide,
now from sorrow they have all died.


EPILOGUE

In this tale I'm the heroine,
but tragically no one will win.
Your house now in ruins lies.
Left is only the longest sigh...

 

[Adorno]

A blues song - aka boomer poetry.

Spoiler: Once

Once I was a young man
with hopes and dreams.
Now I struggle
to know what that means.

Once I had a vision
of days to come.
These days I think
where did I come from.
--------------------------------
Thought I wanted freedom,
to be alone.
Walk my own road.
'Cause that's all I've known.

As a child I never
thought about time.
There were no days
I would not call mine.

Back then the days were filled
with things to do.
Now an hour
is tough to get through.

You can't turn back the time,
relive your days.
But you learn that
when they've slipped away.
--------------------------------
Once I planted flowers.
Maybe they bloomed.
I would not know.
I moved on too soon.

Once I spoke with passion,
fire in my soul.
It faded fast.
Time leaves nothing whole.
--------------------------------
There were times way back then
I'd tell the truth.
With time you learn
truth is for the youth.

Lost joys can not be found,
raised from the dead.
You won't see them,
until your deathbed.

The sky is darkening.
Rain's on the way.
Here I sit dry.
How long can I stay?

Have you seen an old man
with no regrets.
Then you have seen
a sun that never sets.

 

[Terco_Viejo]

A blues song - aka boomer poetry.

Spoiler: Once

Once


Once I was a young man
with hopes and dreams.
Now I struggle
to know what that means.

Once I had a vision
of days to come.
These days I think
where did I come from.

Thought I wanted freedom,
to be alone.
Walk my own road.
'Cause that's all I've known.

There were parties and booze.
And women too.
I did not care
about who was who.

As a child I never
thought about time.
There were no days
I would not call mine.

The days were always filled
with things to do.
Now an hour
is tough to get through.

Once the world was simple
and I was right.
I lay awake,
can't tell day from night.

Once I planted flowers.
Maybe they bloomed.
I would not know.
I moved on too soon.

There were times way back then
I'd tell the truth.
With time you learn
truth is for the youth.

Lost joys can not be found,
raised from the dead.
You won't see them
until your deathbed.

The sky is darkening.
Rain's on the way.
Here I sit dry.
How long can I stay?

Have you seen an old man
with no regrets.
Then you have seen
a sun that never sets.

It blends in very well with this one:

Spoiler

 

[Adorno]

Nice song. Very poetic lyrics. Blues is so repetitive.

Here's something more existential (don't think I've posted it before. It's not so good).

Spoiler: Lifeguard

Lifeguard


Walking on the beach one evening,
the sky is grey.
No people but me, mom and dad,
one autumn day.

Just a boy at my parents' side,
being carefree.
A few boats in the horizon,
is all I see.

The wind is cold, the summer's gone,
I look for rocks.
Run ahead and gather seashells,
water soaked socks.

Then a tower catches my eye,
the lifeguard's post.
I climb the ladder, step by step,
and see the coast.

My mom and dad have walked ahead,
strolling, talking.
Below me, sand and brown seaweed,
dying, stinking.

Jumping from the tower I see,
I am alone.
A strange feeling of loneliness
I'd never known.

The jump is too high and I'm scared,
falling midair.
Landing on the ground something's changed,
I am aware.

It's a gloomy revelation,
the childhood's gone.
In this life there is only me,
the world is torn.

Running back to my parents' hands
just like before.
"We must head back", my father says,
but it's no more.

 

[Grank]

Didn't know this existed, but I'll share a haiku I got from a flash of inspiration a few years ago. I think I got it right? I hope a Japanese person could correct me if something is wrong.

Spoiler

遠い月
無くなる意識
君のそば

English translation:
Distant moon
Fading consciousness
By your side

 

[Adorno]

I don't understand it.
A haiku is typically 5, 7, 5 syllables, but maybe that doesn't translate.

 

[Grank]

A haiku is typically 5, 7, 5 syllables, but maybe that doesn't translate.

Yes. I did it in Japanese and (I think) it's 5-7-5. The English translation I gave is just a translation. Not a haiku by itself.

 

[Mad Vader]

Weebs, weebs everywhere,
Anime avatars are
In every damn thread.
?
??

 

[Grank]

I lift my cup and sing this song,
For MadVader has a tiny dong,
Weep in sorrow my tears run long,
He won't satisfy girls when he bonks.

 

[Mad Vader]

There was a young fellow from Asia,
Who dreamed of becoming a geisha,
His name was Grank
He dressed like a skank,
Only to come last in Miss Asia.

 

[NPC99]

There were two poets competing,
Their grasp of innuendo was fleeting,
One was stark mad,
The other plain bad,
I hope I forget what they're tweeting.

 

[Adorno]

In a New World

I saw the wall come down in Berlin.
We heard the politicians talkin'.
'Bout a new world,
On a new day.
In a new way,

Tim Berners-Lee then wrote his language.
We watched it gather all our knowledge.
In a new world,
On a new day,
In a new way.

I saw the tanks roll in on Red Square.
The oligarchs got their unfair share.
In a new world,
On a new day,
In a new way.

I saw the towers fall in New York.
We saw the soldiers march in new wars.
In a new world,
On a new day,
In a new way.

We put the Internet in pockets.
So we would never miss a message.
In a new world,
On a new day,
In a new way.

We saw the bankers cheat on Wall Street.
They knew they were too big to be beat.
In a new world,
On a new day,
In a new way.

I saw the Russians fight in Ukraine.
We saw the mothers cry out in vain.
In a new world,
On a new day,
In a new way.

I saw the power of an AI.
We see the world becoming a lie.
In a new world,
On a new day,
In a new way.

----------------------------------------------
*chorus*
I've read the books on history.
Still I'm surprised by what I see.

There's nothing new under the sun.
Yet time goes by and changes come.
*chorus*