Subject Poetry Contest.

Unrequited

unrequited:
it's all in the mind -
an unkind game
we play with our heart

crushed by a crush
or matrimony gone bust -
it's the ache that breaks;
a void that tears one apart

10/10/2015

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

Last call, anybody else?

Apparently not.

Three good efforts there.

But I can announce that the winner is ...

taylor "Crushed by a crush" STATELY- excellent!

Thank you !

I'm a fan of the funnies and read many daily @ http://www.gocomics.com/features . "Zen Pencils" http://www.gocomics.com/zen-pencils
is a weekly (Mondays) that touches me quite often (not often a rib tickler). Today's theme is the subject that I would to to see explored:

Happiness

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

We are connected like the leaves
To something larger with strong roots
And it’s connected, it believes,
Which gives it hope to send out shoots.
And that’s connected. So it goes.
No need to question, ask what for.
Happiness: a rush that flows
And knows it need not ask for more.

What is Happiness Grandad?


What is happiness Grandad?
Asked the child.
As she laid by the fire,
On the rug,
With the cat,
Watching bright flames
Dance out of black coal.

I was half asleep,
And didn't answer,
But the cat purred on.

Happiness

In appreciating,
Seeing the beauty,
Of the smallest thing -
There lies my duty.

A flicker of sunbeams
Glows through the glass
Onto your face, it gleams -
This moment will never pass

I hold onto it, not lonely
In the cold and the rain
With memories my only
Reason, comfort for pain.

Oh well you know
such a thing
is limited to the few
Happiness is a puzzle
We all know it's true
It's about Mars
Far more than Venus
Any God will tell you
Since they all Has Penis!

Setting the deadline for end of day (PST), Tuesday, November 3. Thank you for the entries !

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

What Price Happiness?

Money cannot buy happiness
So it something to be treasured
The things it can buy may give you cheer
But happiness cannot be measured

Good things in life are to be desired
Good health, good food, good friends
As far as happiness goes there are not required
One forsaken and alone can still experience joy

Are you truly happy? Then tell me, my friend
The formula you use to ascertain it's value
What would it take for your happiness to come to an end?
That is the fulcrum you must guard and protect

Don't base your happiness on something you own
Something you like or someone you hold dear
Because the lost that will come will bring happiness to an end
Happiness is a state of mind, you nourish and grow!

Pendragon
10/29/2015

happyness
is a choice
out of modern
claws
stress draws
the mind needs
it to unlawds
light against
flaws
it becomes
the meaning
of cause
with
applause

A little more than 10-hours to go !... how 'bout some of you newbies ?

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

Serotonin, the Catecholamines
Norepinephrine, dopamine, and adrenalin,
GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid),
And Endorphins – These bring you happiness.

We may talk of women, wine, and song, but
These just bring on neurotransmitters.
We may talk of the joy motherly love,
But oxytocin brings that, not magic.

Oh, happiness is just brain chemistry,
Good food, chocolate, wine, and nuts with loving
Caresses, sweet whispering, some nibbling
All these stimulate neurotransmitter production

I enjoyed the variety of the interpretations explored regarding happiness. As usual I agonized over having to make a choice; all were worthy on one level or another.

YesNo: My favorite lines -

“We are connected like the leaves
To something larger with strong roots”...
“Happiness: a rush that flows
And knows it need not ask for more.”

prendrelemick: “What is happiness Grandad? Asked the child”...
“the cat purred on.”

Oh, if Grandad only imparted an effort to engage and break the spell of the ensuing tableau vivant !

North Star: “In appreciating, Seeing the beauty, Of the smallest thing -
There lies my duty.” I found this quite profound. The rest I found most melancholy for some reason; albeit affirming your opening lines.

Delta40: My favorite line - “Happiness is a puzzle”.

Your ending took me quite by surprise; a rather ribald repartee. Then I broke down your title to an understanding, a slow dawning I can assure you, and I better understood the Mars/Venus reference. Venus might have more to say in my estimation; from Shocking Blue: “Her weapon were her crystal eyes/Making every man mad.“

Pendragon: Upon deconstruction I discovered the gem within (IMHO):

“happiness cannot be measured”... “One forsaken and alone can still experience joy”... “The formula you use to ascertain it's value”... “That is the fulcrum you must guard and protect”... “Happiness is a state of mind, you nourish and grow”.

Cacian: “happyness
is a choice”... (That is how I envisioned the ZenPencils 'comic'.)
“out of modern
claws”...
“the mind needs”...
“light”

PeterL: “Happiness is a Warm Brain”

(lol) I might have attributed the aforementioned to Timothy Leary or Ken Kesey; a very 60's mind set of the counter-cultured.

Congratulations to all, and the winner is Pendragon !

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

I am glad that I didn't win, but Leary and Kesey were interested in artificial enhancement, while I was writing about using the brain's existing chemicals, rather than adding anything.

Thank you. Since Thanksgiving is coming up, lets have the subject as Down At the Mission, i.e. the gathering of the homeless for thanksgiving dinner at a charity venue


Thanksgiving is the deadline

Good Luck, God Bless

Pen

It’s for the food. That’s why we go.
It’s for a change from everyday.
Blessings come and go we know
And we are thankful anyway.

Some will serve and some will eat
And some will see the faces change.
It’s temporary. Have a seat
Or help with pie. Does it feel strange?

And who are you with eyes so bright?
And who are you depressed with fear?
And who are you? It’s day not night.
And who are you beside me here?

Thanksgiving at the Mission

Gravy, steeped and steaming,
Enriched with giblets,
Fatty floating grease,
Gizzardly goodness,
Richly rendered from the turkey's back,
Anointing mash and peas alike,
A blessing on the broccoli.
The tender flesh is pierced,
Sliced and gobbled.
He died for us,
And lest we forget,
Take this bread,
Bread for the sops.
Bread and gravy,
Communion for the homeless.

Come Down to the Mission

They once came to listen to the Master
and were fed; received loaves and fishes

Now lest we forget, judge, or disparage
our fellow brothers and sisters -
Bring your humble harvest, your loving time,
and kindly care to those whom have need

Charity to all that despair; share the
Master's perfect example of love

11/20/2015

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

Everyone did very well. I declare Prendrelemick the winner! The subtle reference to Communion and Christ is perfect!

Congratulations, Mick!

Congratulations prendrelemick !

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

Thanks Pen, that's great. Sometimes an idea just clicks into place. I thought the other entries were very strong too.

Right, Mussorgsky happens to be playing on the radio, and it's given me an idea. The subject is: A picture at an exhibition. Any thing you like along those lines. Good luck.

There's Mussorgsky via Ravel for inspiration and then there's ELP's take on it... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7NAGTq_IJQ
Mick, I'm suddenly recalling a play from Christmas past.
Great choice, I'm in.

Great link, That'll get everybody in the right moog !




sorry.

It’s black Friday. Time to buy.
Everything has gone on sale.
That picture’s worth a thousand words!
That’s too expensive. Maybe I
Should offer fewer words and try
Deflating the inflated price.
That’s bargaining. I often lose
And pay too much which isn’t nice--
At least for me. I have to choose
Between this one or that one there.
Personally I don’t care.
They’re Christmas presents--not for me.
I can’t quite stand them visually.
That one in blue with beaches, birds
Is something I might tolerate.
It’s soothing, mellow. I have heard
That’s better for the aging brain.
I want a healthy picture when
I’m forced to see it now and then.
Perhaps I won’t buy anything.
Just leave them hanging on the wall.
That exhibition then would fail.
It’d be my fault. I have to bring
Some words that tease and complicate
Our existential doldrums. Wait!
Another stroller’s stopped to look,
Perhaps to buy and best my bid.
I better make my offer now.

Not quite a thousand? Would that do?
The frame I hope’s included, too.

A Picture at an Exhibition

Bodies of grays.
Woman curled -
Tears in her eyes.
Someone turned
Away at the door.

The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel

It's just a photo black and white
A frozen moment in time
She stares at the crowd, bewildered
What is the source of the deep emotion
That almost overcomes everyone
With just a glimpse of her tortured face
And the huge, swollen black eyes
The next day, she died
This was her last photo in a short, heartbreaking life
You can feel her hopeless anxiety
You can almost hear the demons
But can you see them
When they wear robes and crosses
And chant prayers over a helpless child...

Pendragon
11/27/2015

An Impression of My Youth

Introduced to
pointillism -
a copied scene easily
discerned from afar:
"A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" -
But, oh!, when brought
to my attention - points of color
most painstakingly,
I thought,
applied to the canvas - Thus
I first chanced upon
the works of
Georges Seurat -
to this day I recall
I dubbed him "Le Dot ! "

12/1/2015

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

Of Dream


Dreams can make a man happy,
Fortune comes only to the lucky.
Future is always unknown to us,
Good things come surprisingly thus.
Hope can give us shelter,
If we embrace the dew of fortune through its filter.
For if dreams die, nobody knows why,
Life becomes a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.

How's it going GG ?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by prendrelemick

How's it going GG ?

---

Sorry Mick, all, my brother passed away last week, the muse is bummed out right now.
Thanks for the follow up though, but go ahead without me for this round.
No worries though, I'm still hanging around, watching from the wings.
Good luck on the judging.

Sorry to hear about your loss, Gilliatt Gurgle.

May God be with you in your sorrow, GG

God Bless

Pen

Thanks everyone, here we go.

I'm going to give it to YesNo because it may not be profound or moving - but it is funny and clever and seamless . Well Done.

Thanks, prendrelemick!

The next subject is anything to do with the current holidays however one might celebrate them from Christmas to New Years to Hannukkah to the Twelves Days of Christmas to the Winter Solstice. Whatever you celebrate this time of year. Or if you are anti-holiday, that would work as well. Grinches are welcome to participate.

Deadline: January 9th, Saturday

Jolly Old Spy

You better watch out, better open your eyes
Better watch your step I'm telling you why
Santa Claus works for the NSA

He's making a list, keeping a file
Every call you make, and your whole life style
Santa Claus works for the NSA

He sees you when you're sleeping
Through the camera in your TV
He records everything you say
Hidden microphones, you see

You better ditch your cell phone, change address
Disguise yourself to avoid the mess
Santa Claus works for the NSA

The only way to avoid this
Is to live off of the grid
So buy some remote property
And keep your family hid

Oh you better wake up, avoid this dude
Before your private life is on the news
Santa Claus works for the NSA

Yeah that fat old guy works for the NSA

Pendragon

Anyone else? I will announce a winner this Sunday.

Thanks for the entry, Pendragon. I knew there was something funny about Santa.

It looks like you are the only one to enter and since it is long past the deadline, you are the winner! Congratulations!