IDIOM POETRY
A collection of poems based on 38 commonly used idioms. The rules were simple - no rhyming. I settled on a meter of two stanzas of 9 lines each.
1. INVENTIVE GENIUS (Your guess is as good as mine)
Inventive genius what falls like rain
Upon those bless’d by time’s magic wand
Drops of perfect startling thought
Drizzling through a neural sieve
Advancing like an army, unstoppable
A tidal wave, a lightning bolt
Invading until it is all but only
A blazing singularity settling upon
the vastness of creativity’s shore
Not mine this to savour yet
But to yearn for with savage lust
A want beneath all but ordinary
A pining for good fortune’s fall
The where, planted just out of reach
The how, mystified and obscured
Misted blind by clouds of doubt
When will this finally come to pass ?
Your guess is as good as mine
2. WORDS CAN BE SAID BUT ONCE (You can say that again)
You can say that again if you want but will you ?
For words sometimes can be said but once
They may hover like a humming bird
Circling just a few feet above consciousness
Or flutter on a song to distant shores
Losing coherence within whispered verse
They may cut wounds deep, that never heal
Or live within scars all invisible, twisted
Churning forever the fever of mangled mistrust
Oft times they heal, a balm for ancient hurt
A salve that soothes, a thread that repairs
Sometimes they lie coded in delicious discovery
Hidden within sighs of uncontrollable bliss
Gifted with the power to prompt gallop or trot
Perhaps even the force to cease and arrest
Without no need for repetition or reconstitution
You can say that again if you want, but seldom do
For sometimes, words can be said but once
3. AN IDLE MIND CRAVES (Wrap your head around something)
An idle mind craves in a devil’s workshop
For nothing short of release
From the captive unknown of today
From the phantom horrors that dwell
Between the real and the imaginary
Forwarded snippets of unsolicited advice
Those lengthy tomes that nobody reads
Bombarding us daily with callousness
Uncaring for veracity of truth or fiction
An idle mind craves in this devil’s workshop
To turn back to what was once before
A time of unhindered activity
When the air we breathed scared us not
When social distancing was unheard of
and a hug or handshake was not taboo
What must one do to shake this lethargy
Wrap your head around something I suppose
And make the most of your time today
4. BUILDING BRIDGES (We'll cross that bridge when we come to it)
All through life we build, break and build again
Churning life’s glue with a pestle called experience
Creating a cement that repairs, reconstitutes and renews
broken bonds, misunderstandings, misgivings
An engineering marvel that becomes better with age
Building bridges of reality, Building bridges of fantasy
Some firm, on stable moorings of solid rock
Some fragile, collapse prevented by just a hair
Yet the faith that both will survive is unquestionable
Perhaps it is so only for the eternal optimist, the dreamer
Overflowing with confidence, brimming with hopefulness
The romantic shackled and imprisoned to positive thought
The poet that conjures captivating imaginary verse
But what about the corollary , the negative control
The doomsday predictions, the scribe of Murphy’s Law
A bridge built on the supposition that it will crumble and fall
we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, I suppose
all possibilities considered it’s better to hope than not
5. THE FOUR ACES (Under the weather)
A storm brews as winter fades, no welcome spring this
A spring surprise of unwanted contagion if one may call it so
The change in the weather is sudden and unexpected
Normalcy uprooted, Equilibrium exiled temporarily
Panic, Hysteria, A Frightening crisis looming large
There is nowhere to run from this alien atmosphere
With stakes now as high as the survival of a species
When Nature is disturbed there’s no escape whatsoever
She plays four aces with a calm, poker face
The first hits the news but none are concerned
It’s a problem for others they say, displaced in a faraway land
The second thrown at Rome, brings it to its knees
The pride of man humbled by the fear of the silent unknown
The third goes abroad in mankind’s avian invention,
And forces nations to a halt with alarming speed
The fourth changes the weather, with cleaner clearer skies
Unpolluted rivers, canals and oceans sparkle once again
When Nature is under the weather mankind can only wonder
6. SPIRIT UNCAGED (To make matters worse)
Amplified it has, the charm of the vast outdoors
The yearning to look at the blue spread above
The romance of the night under the watchful eyes of stars
They are more visible now, scintillating and numerous
Diminished it has, the need for travel to air cooled indoors
Lessened considerably, the call of gustatory tickling, the rumbling
for indulgence in savoury treat or exotic coffee with fancy names
My spirit is uncaged like never before, wandering free
The humdrum of busyness a distant memory of what was
A world filled with noise, activity, work and study
Hectic routine without a second to spare for oneself
A new normal, the now, a creation borne out of necessity
that my soul embraced and thence discovered
A path new and exciting, A path of healing and meditation
Brimming with craft, creative writing, books and poetry
Distanced socially but amusing itself with itself, and surprisingly
to make matters worse I am afraid of going back
7. SERENDIPITY’S VINEYARD (To get bent out of shape)
I ask you to get bent out of shape, would you
Just once in your life take that risk
Stand on the boundary of your comfort and
Turn towards the unknown with open arms
Leave your safe haven, your protected confines
And leap over a cliff that has never been charted
No safety net below you awaits, except
One fashioned from your own understanding
And perhaps my hand, strong and trustworthy
Is it scary when you stand on the precipice
With tingling nerves and trembling feet
Your understanding of the situation, the task before,
In conflict with all that you know to be right
The grass, always greener on the other side
Is so only when it is in sight, in direct view
It conflicts with decisions blind, hinged on faith
Decisions sometimes that lead to sparkles and bubbles
In a crystal glass from serendipity’s vineyard
8. ANOTHER SUNRISE (Time flies when you're having fun)
Another sunrise, another dawn
Another opportunity at carpentry
Another patient in dental distress
Another class to conduct online
Another masked dash for essential grocery
Another painting awaiting a brush
Another dramatic reading of a play
Another page to turn on my kindle
And fall asleep after four sentences
Another board game with the family
Another recording of a new song
Another set of push-ups, squats and skips
Another run through deserted roads
Another sunset and a smiling moon
Another goodnight while hugging infinity
Another extension of lockdown expected
Should I be worried or upset? No, not me!
Because time flies when you’re having fun
9. GET INFECTED (The best of both worlds)
It’s a different world from what we knew earlier
One that harbours an unseen organism
It’s a difficult world to come to terms with
And perhaps it’s time to change the tack
For in my opinion it’s not worth the effort
To fight this war from the confines of sterility
From the safety of a lazy boy or the comfort of a bed
Why cower in the corner and pretend you are protected
When the threat undetected can still find its way in
A masquerade ball of gas masks of all kinds,
PPEs, HEPA filters, UV lamps, and disinfectant sprays
It’s time to look at an easier solution
Get infected and take that chance of a lifetime
A risk no doubt, one that may even take your life
But the odds of recovery are stacked towards you
A fortnight of rest and you’re vaccinated
And from then on life changes and you can start to enjoy
Normalcy replacing despondency; the best of both worlds
10. CHANCE (That's the last straw)
Dooms pall fell grey and breath misted deathly white
When Chance offered a miracle, ‘Pull a straw’ he said
From the bunch he had, I drew one out and
almost at once felt alive, renewed and revitalized
I slept, a good sleep and awakened with purpose
Years past and when I was yet again one step from the grave
Chance placed a cold arm and said ‘ Pull another straw’
The straw I pulled was long and slender, golden veined
And sleep did I, a good sleep and awakened invigorated
A decade, maybe two or more I really cannot say
I forgot about the straws, as is wont of humankind
But Chance reminded me for a third time when I collapsed
My body wounded from disregard and abuse
‘Pull a straw’ I knew he’d say that and so I did
And went to bed knowing that I would awaken
But as I lulled, Chance smiled a knowing smile
He turned to me and said ‘That’s the last straw’
Then I slept, a good sleep
11. SPEAK OF THE DEVIL (Speak of the Devil)
What do you hear in twisted words
that drip from a forked tongue
A ravaging tornado, a whirlwind
An attack when most vulnerable
Beware that voice that waits
Until you are ready to disbelieve
Beware that babble in ancient code
For it does not belong to this world
It is what it is, the speech of a demon
It’s not enough to close your ears
But also shutter the gates of your mind
For the voice does not follow rules
The laws of electromagnetic conductivity
It pierces through strongest armour
In constant search for your weakest links
And then proceeds to creep and invade
Past the fortified defences of your soul
It is what it always was, the speak of the devil
12. THE TRAVELLERS (So far so good)
We’ve travelled so far on this long road haven’t we ?
A group of molecules that swirled around for ages
Then fashioned by genetic code into a specific cocktail
A blueprint unique or so we are led to believe
Designed or deigned to exist for a lifespan
Ranging between too little and too much
Left alone to find our mission or vision
On an unending journey of constant discovery
Purpose and direction changing unexpected
Backpackers are we with nothing more than dust
Carried proud, on shoulders bared to the world
Adding anecdotes to our ever growing trove
of keepsakes, antiquities and graffiti scribbles
Changing our present constantly based on whim
And gaining only a fraction from an earlier life
Yet upon reflection if you ask me how we’ve fared
I’d hold your hand and say it’s been so far so good
13. THE TRUTH IS STARK (Pull yourself together)
Vulnerable are you, when sailing adrift
On a catamaran, rudderless and lost
The vast ocean before you teeming with life
And none seem concerned for yours
Hands rough from scouring the deck
Hours spent on the shiny façade
Priming it for world acceptance
Increasing the attraction quotient
only for limpets and barnacles
Unravelling, you feel the unrest within
Opening locks of secret chambers, hidden
from humanity, containing the codes
to imagined fears and associations,
Storms, that gather steam, that finally erupt
Leaving you whirling with arms outstretched
Seeking answers to calm your deepest fears
The truth is stark. You are alone, and
If you don’t pull yourself together, no one will
14.THE DJINN OF DREAMS (Pull someone's leg)
An alley was it ? perhaps,
Half lit by an orange yellow glow
And there he was, waiting
A familiar tracing, a route routine
Marking cobblestones on the way home
The bloodhound, he knew my path!
Swift the approach
And swifter still the plunge
The shock of growing disbelief
The knife drips sanguine
The drops of the living
Rouge tinged steel gripped tight
The horror spreads
Like peanut butter on bread
From immobile toe to fluttering eye
Enough with the dreams, Djinn
Don’t pull someone’s leg
While they sleep
15. LIFE SUSPENDED (On the ball)
Somewhere between here and there
Or thereabouts, I can’t say
Swings a pendulum of steel
Casting a shadow on a wall
Faces recognisable observe expectant
Plastered and hopeful, waiting
For from them, one will disappear
Foretold it has, if marked
By a prophecy older than time
The shadow moves like a cat
The dance, mesmerising
Hypnotic stares follow its path
Hopeful hearts beating aloud
Hair on end, mind on edge
Feet on precipice , an abyss below
One would say it’s a game with
Life suspended on a thread
All eyes on the ball
16. CHOICE (No pain, no gain)
That’s the easy part, the knowing
That choice, is always there, isn’t it?
Like a patient friend
Happily pinned to the shadows
Never complaining
A curtain that never closes,
Always open, and waiting,
Perfectly poised, flawlessly balanced
Carrying the burden of decision
No pain, no gain the answer is stamped,
Into the folds of the wrinkled brow
While the solution stares unblinking
Peeking through the ongoing dilemma of
Options stuck on fly paper
Fluttering with each passing breath
Spinning truth on a yarn or vice versa
While opinion, a friendly adversary
Muddies the waters unsolicited
17. THE DREAM (Miss the boat)
Looped narrative, Rewound, Replayed
A record stuck on a singular theme
Scratching familiar tune
Plaintive song of dejection
A single violin conducting rejection
A blurred face turns away
With a wave of an extended palm
Shrugged shoulders and nod of dismissal
And each time I miss the boat
Calendar reminders do not speak
Or jolt the mind like does the voice
They beep like trained robots
Squeaking urgent sounds
In an escalating crescendo
Of chords dissonant and jarring
A chorus of I told you so’s
Bouncing off sleepy shoulders
About to miss the boat
18. GOODBYE (Make a long story short)
Hello, said I … no answer
When … a reply at last
The day before and yesterday
Why … anything important
I needed answers, an explanation
What for, nothing to say
I find that hard to believe
Believe it … the sooner the better
Better … Better for who, me or you
You … it’s always about you
I don’t understand
You never did, You never will
This is so confusing
I am glad … leave it
It feels unfinished, incomplete
I can’t explain it again
Can you make a long story short
Goodbye
19. THE MAGIC FORMULA (It's not rocket science)
Equations none that explain
Explanations none that satisfy
Satisfaction always a hairsbreadth away
Always elusive, eluding perfection
From the realms of mystic faith
To the shores of medical science
Possibility shakes hands with probability
Superstition winks slyly at reason
Twisting the cycle of life
So strive we do untiringly
Searching for the magic formula
Between frowns and chewed pencil ends
Spherical scribble-bearing discards
Sharing space with torn pages
Amongst second guesses scattered
With suppositions and hypotheses
The cycle of death is part of the circle
Its elementary, it’s not rocket science
20. THE RIGHT TIME (Let someone off the hook)
The man in a white apron frowns
Mulling over a decision
Puzzling over when it is right, the right time
To pull the plug, to close the chapter
Of a book that still isn’t read over
Expectant hearts hold hands in prayer
While choking dread paralyses him
How does one hammer the final nail
When life is still beating
The balance hangs precarious
On the precipice of human reason
But when demand overruns supply
And dilemma plagues the art of healing
Life weighed on an economic scale
Bows to the business of healing
Who is more deserving, he has to choose
And the aproned man has no option
But to let someone off the hook
21. FOREVER ACTIVE (Hit the sack)
The mind, forever active, is regrettably attached
To a body that ages, governed by nature’s laws
A misfortune of infinite proportions
To be carried by a carcass of skin and bone
That grows older and weaker by the day
With no say, no choice in the matter
No vote, no voice, no hand to raise
An unfortunate outcome of evolution
Intelligence chained to a walking ape
What would it give to be independent
To run free of its genetically fashioned bra
To alter its destiny at the break of day
And from then on do whatever it chooses
Explore its limits, its cognitive boundaries
Every synapse, every exploding impulse
Harnessed in billions of neurons
That are always awake, conscious and alert
In spite of it being time to hit the sack
22. THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE (Hang in there)
Have you ever felt the weight of silence
As it hangs like a festooned ornament
Growing in size and proportion
To the wonderings of your curse
And that sound in the background
That never goes away, never disappears
Only getting louder in the quiet
Those words strung on familiar tunes
Bouncing off silhouettes that dance
They hang in there like suspended mist
Figurines from your porcelain past
As fragile as the dreams they weave
A face, A smile more beautiful
than you can ever comprehend
Blending into the haze of recurrent memory
Distant comfort amidst torrid tranquility
Amplifying with every passing second
Until silence is broken by a blessing
23. ANOTHER THOUSAND YEARS (Go back to the drawing board)
Jesus and Zeus, separated by a syllable
Watched from Olympus on hill
As ten thousand years flashed by
And mankind drew blueprints
The attributes of Gods new and old
Fashioned to suit the minds of man
Every century bringing change
The devout holding fast to conviction
That the greatest was their own
Zealots steeped in dogma and superstition
Interpreting codes based on convenience
Establishing argumentative rhetoric
As unwavering, unquestionable truth
Translations befuddled by simplification
Ancient imagery lost to first hand anecdotes
Discovered amongst dusty scrolls
Another thousand years, they concluded
And Man will go back to the drawing board
24. THE OTHER SIDE (Give someone the benefit of the doubt)
The other side is shadowed and obscure
Often missed, by narrow understanding
Of things beyond horizon
The other perspective is grey and dark
Purposely blurred by myopic vision
Untrained to accept a different view
And the result varies from anger to hurt
From wounded pride to reclusiveness
Reflections in a sullen self-absorbed shell
The footage spins a dangerous curve
With consequences undesirable
Its impact often leaving a crater wide
A yawning gap that threatens to grow
A dividing chasm between here and then
A problem to consider with urgent note
Wisdom lies in looking beyond
Walking a mile in somebody’s shoes
And give someone the benefit of doubt
25. BARLEY TALKING, BARELY THINKING (Get your act together)
The weekend is … was … is
Where am I … a cloudy haze
It’s barley talking, I’m barely thinking
A hammering syncopates my head
Drumbeats with bass riff out of sync
How did it start … a glass
Yes … One glass … bittersweet
Was it pale ale … frothy fury
Gaelic coffee … golden warmth
Perhaps yak potion … strong and nasty
Spiked with Barbados water
Memory fails … it was more than one
A lot more … and then some
Until speech slurred … Legs jellied
Arms … limp as old lettuce
Incoherence causing concern
I hear voices … get your act together
It’s barley talking, I’m barely thinking
26. THE RIGHT WAY (Get something out of your system)
Sometimes, when you
Get something out of your system
Pertubance remains
Disturbed and confused
Sometimes, the removal
Leaves behind broken shards
Barbs and splinters that serve
As reminders of that which
You want to forget
Is there a way
For the right beginning to an end
Or the right end to a beginning
Slow and methodical perhaps
With understanding and compassion
Or a severing, quick and cathartic
Wisdom says you must discuss
With conversation, easy does it
But it is not easy at all
27. GODS ALONE KNOW (Get out of hand)
I’ve always wondered about the stories
The stories that began someday, they had to
Supernatural explained by humanity for humanity
A connection with the unexplained deciphered
Like a tale spun on a fantastic loom
A construct of wild imagination
Filled with the necessary whys and wherefores
Built over centuries of half-truths and hearsay
By fertile minds well versed in the dissemination of lies
Strangers one day and Gods the next
Elevated and kept just out of reach
The untouchable business of religion
Coercing masses to search for paradise
Within folds of printed paper and gold
To give and receive with interest
Seats in heaven available for the right price
When did all this get out of hand
The Gods alone know or perhaps not
28. PORTRAITS ON A RAINY DAY (Easy does it)
An outstretched hand on a rainy day
feels tiny drops settle inquisitively
Lovers they are for as soon as they meet
They merge and melt into each other
Much like reflections cast on puddles
Spilling over from too many secrets
Left collecting after every shower
Splashed by hurried footsteps
Seen by all but heard by none
Watching smoke rings curl to the sky
Carrying with it, dreams of possibility
On fragments of tear-stained parchment
Written in disappearing ink
A shadow leans beneath a lintel
A wee dram frozen like dew on the lip
There is none to share the moment
The raindrops bear witness
Footsteps retreat easy does it
29. OUTLINES OUTLIVED (Cutting corners)
Snip and discard, trim and throw
A constant evolution, adept adaptation
To surroundings changing like the weather
Costumes suited for the season
Hang in a closet of dreams
Waiting for the next change, the next prune
On the borders of our lives, most exposed
Frayed and curled like the corners of pages
In a well-thumbed work of pulp fiction
Sometimes tender, at times abrasive
The friction costs more than just skin
It hurts and heals in equal measure
And is perceived mostly on the edges
Fragile fringes constantly under fire
The parts most distant from our grip
And so we resort to cutting corners
Corners that expose our vulnerability
Redrawing the outlines outlived
30. WHAT THE UNIVERSE GIVES (Cut somebody some slack)
Faults we find, in our lives and others
Under scrutiny from birth to death
Family, friends, co-workers and colleagues
Favourite this and favourite that
The eye watchful picking flaws
The tongue articulate in disparity
Loud remonstrations or quiet whispers
Findings revealed from one to the other
Seed poison along the furrows
The universe gives not in equal measure
It is selective but always adequate
Not always understood is this simple truth
Leading to comparison and contrast
Personal traits that can’t be placed
On opposite sides of a universal balance
Defines the blessing of being human
So the next time you wish to equate
Remember to cut somebody some slack
31. SOMEBODY YOU KNEW (Call it a day)
After they call it a day be prepared
For moments that drizzle or flood
Like snapshots from a rolodex
Days, months, even years perhaps
Until you think it was fabricated
A figment of your imagination
That every emotion, fleeting feeling
Was presumption at best
Far removed from the truth
After they call it a day
Reality punctuates with souvenirs
Sounds replay endlessly
Echoes numbing the present
Those haunting melodies and refrains
Dancing on notes of familiarity
Floating further and further away
As somebody you know
becomes somebody you knew
32.THE STAGE (Break a leg)
Imagined stage, dreams sold
Recurring illusion on display
Break a leg for lines by hearted
Dialogues of twisted fiction
Different shades of human emotion
Explained through tales of life
While onlookers dream
Stare from a distance
Evolving individual narratives
Truth sifted and perceived
Through a sieve of disbelief
Invoking tears and laughter
In equal measure
Silence meets darkness
While the audience waits
For the curtain call
Collective reality on display
Empty stage, dreams forgotten
34.THE HEART SAYS NO (Bite the bullet)
Bite your lip You will only make it worse
Bite the bullet. If I don’t speak now then when ?
Curb the urge to spill what’s within
If I don’t, something inside me will burst
Rein it in, You’ve had your chances
But what of tears, unseen, unchecked
They will only add salt to a healing wound
I’m jealous … I burn with it
Burn your transgressions instead
Will things be normal I need to know
You don’t have a say in the matter
I’m sad … with a touch of self-pity
That’s pathetic You've no right to complain
It’s better to out, I think it’s needed
You strayed now stay out
Do I let go ? The Heart says no
You must, you must, you must
But the Heart says no
35. WORDS (Better late than never)
Words, the one thing in the world
that laces the virtual with reality
Forgotten by a society of avatars
Now lies on the verge of extinction
Along with fountain pens and paper
For today, altered photographs
Communicate better than prose
We are social from a distance
And hug our friends with emojis
Words have lost their might
To greet those you may never meet
So take that step, that leap, that jump
Even though you stay one flight down
In typed calligraphy or handwriting
Set free the words unshackled
Its better late than never
Do it today without further ado
For now is closer than tomorrow
36. IT’S NOTHING (Beat around the bush)
Hi said I, eager and rushed
Hello, a reply terse and unexpected
Anything the matter … earnest query
Nothing … It’s nothing … a pause
Expected! But I know there’s more…
Well, actually … unfinished
What is it comes naturally invited
Forget it, it's nothing
Oh the intrigue, I'm curious more
How does one forget 'nothing' ?
Another pause… But,
What is it on repeat mode … helpless
You already know what it is!
I have no clue … Don’t beat around the bush
Nothing … That’s all I know
Yes that’s it … that’s exactly it
Silence … as hard as it is to feel the pain
Silence … it’s harder still to feel nothing
37. THE CROSSROAD (A dime a dozen)
Red moves the bare scarred feet
A quick scampering over the hot tarmac
Positions change as do the players
But the game is always the same
Time is precious, there is but one chance
Survival depends on the power of persuasion
Pain set aside for the mask of a salesman
Costume suitably ragged and threadbare
Eyes pleading, the words supporting
Orange spurs hands into action
A desperate knocking, frantic waving
Today its flowers a dime a dozen
Last month was maps of the world
The pastor exhorts from the outdoor pulpit
Unmindful of the noonday sun
The congregation unmoved stares ahead
Breath lingers wasted on frosted windows
Green brings a new flock
38. WHAT WAS IT LIKE BEFORE ? (a blessing in disguise)
What was it like before? I have often asked
Before I met a certain me, all youthful and exciting
Injecting new perspective and change
It seems faraway although it may be nearer
Swept was I into a hurricane, a torrential downpour
of unbelievable whirling and spinning
tempting the laws of the natural world
and treading without fear on the razors edge
Did it effect transformation? Perhaps reformation?
Hard to say when time has long dimmed those years
Strands of disconnected thought,
Displaced with ideas travelling through a sieve
Distanced like humans of today
The now shining a virtual light, bright and blazing
Filling the horizon with rouge tinted optimism
I look back and cannot see that distant past,
Perhaps a blessing, perhaps a blessing in disguise
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