Forum Activity for @ceri-shaw

The Dying of the Light

West Coast Eisteddfod Online Poetry Competition 2018

Diolch for posting Bill. Pob lwc/best of luck in the competition

First Name: Crooked, Last Name: America by Lenardo Youmans

West Coast Eisteddfod Online Poetry Competition 2018

While you are obsessed with the lifestyles of the rich and famous,

The devil is placing guns and weapons

In the hands of the sick and dangerous

Kids killing kids in schools,

While madmen run around the nation

With no regard for any rules.

The richest country in the world,

And you can’t even provide for your senior citizens.

Now you’re deporting people

Because of their ethnic origins.

You had no problem standing for something

When you heard of the invasion of the Redcoats.

Fast forward a couple hundred years

And now you have the audacity to take away people’s right to vote.

Why do you send all of your good jobs overseas,

And graduate kids from college

With all of these exorbitant student loan fees.

Other nations give free health care to the needy

And you on the other hand

Keep your wealth ensnared with the selfish and greedy.

Crooked America,

Give and it shall be given.

When the cover is pulled off,

No longer will your sins be hidden.

When the wrath of God comes down in fury,

You will be crying out,

“Will someone please come cure me.”

It will be too late then, Mr. Crooked.

You won’t be able to tuck your tail

Between your legs, run, and book it.

When the opportunity was there,

You never stood for the truth.

One day sooner than later

The chickens will come home to roost.

You stole what you own

From the hands of the Red natives.

They were here first,

But you just had to be abrasive

And evict them from their rightful property,

From the least of them to the greatest

This includes all tribes, especially the Cherokee.

You built yourself up on the backs of slaves.

Your hypocrisy and degradation

Will make you dig your own grave.

What happened to the promised mule and 40 acres?

What’re you going to say

When it’s time to face the Maker?

What else has to happen

Before you awaken from your stupor?

Turn back to God before it’s too late

And stop acting like a simple prostitute that’s had a cruel pimp dupe her.

You’ve had to watch your twin towers in Gotham fall and crumble,

While your citizens have to watch

Your political leaders drop the ball and stumble.

On your money,

It says “In God we trust,”

But judging by your actions

You seem to be only motivated and driven by your own lust.

When bad things happen,

You question the existence of God.

If you return to your moral fundamentals

You can anticipate Him sparing the rod.

But you consume yourself

With greedy and selfish desires,

Yet you’re disheartened when natural disasters hit,

Things such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and wild fires.

Don’t get mad at me for dropping this literary bomb,

I’m just doing what God wants,

Someone has to sound the alarm.

Judgment is approaching

And there’s nothing you can do to stop it

Forsake your corrupt ways

And take heed to God’s true prophets.

Like the prophet Isaiah they cry loud and spare not,

Your crime’s been uncovered, Crooked America,

Come out with your hands up.

Because you’ve been caught.

updated by @ceri-shaw: 11/24/19 06:16:51PM

Mr. Nigeria by Lenardo Youmans

West Coast Eisteddfod Online Poetry Competition 2018

I thought the ghettos in America were bad,
But what I observed firsthand
Would make the jolliest clown be sad
And turn his perpetual smile into a frown.
How can you have streets with holes
The size of craters in the ground.
These are slums,
The likes of which my eyes have never beheld.
Any government that would allow such horror
Needs to be readily dispelled.
Isn’t your country the largest oil producer on the continent?
Judging by the abject poverty,
It’s hard to fathom where the money’s being spent.
It’s 2018!
No reason why there shouldn’t be clean running water,
Or why there should be parents
Who cannot clothe their sons and daughters,
Or why there should be streets lined with opened bags of trash
And people of all ages sidling through traffic
Trying to earn some much needed cash.
Mr. Nigeria,
This is a desperate plea for action.
If you have all of that oil money,
Why is the people’s electricity rationed?
Is the money hoarded at the top,
While classism never seems to want to stop,
The poor are on the bottom looking up at the bottom.
And the citizens are living in a new-aged Sodom?
Gomorrah is long gone
And so should this nation’s deplorable conditions.
Come down from your ivory tower, Mr. Nigeria
And begin a revolutionary mission.
One that results in all people
Having access to flowing milk and honey.
Initiate change in the slums, Mr. Nigeria
And pass the less fortunate some money.

updated by @ceri-shaw: 11/24/19 06:16:51PM

Sonder by Foo Zee Yann

West Coast Eisteddfod Online Poetry Competition 2018

Have you ever wondered
If the people on the street
Are more than just
Extras in your movie

Have you ever wondered
If the people around you lead
Complicated lives
That you can't imagine

Sonder:
The realisation that
The strangers around you
Have their own stories
And lead lives too

updated by @ceri-shaw: 11/24/19 06:16:51PM

goodbye - Chloe O'Connor

West Coast Eisteddfod Online Poetry Competition 2018

i hate this feeling i cannot let go
far too long i stared down into that stream.
but i suppose what I reap I must sow.
she’s dropped into the underworld it seems.
or no; i know for sure that she is gone.
and no amount of lyres can bring her back.
i wish someone could turn time back anon
to save my family from this heart-attack
this is the fourth person i’ve seen descend;
yet this one hurts the most--i dare not cry
gnashing of teeth and weeping’s not her end
so there was no true reason for goodbyes
for i will see her in a better place
‘cause when i die i’ll see her face to face.

updated by @ceri-shaw: 01/23/19 02:10:16AM

never looking back - Chloe O'Connor

West Coast Eisteddfod Online Poetry Competition 2018

i’ve spent hours pent up in a prison
(apparently they call them houses)
and the only way to escape them
is to run—to run away,
never looking back.

cars honk, but i hear them naught
bass pounding; feet dropping to the beat;
a jumble of words i could never repeat.
i’m running away from my problems, and
i’m
never looking back.

scents waft from mothers
preparing dinner for their demanding
darlings.
i rush past holding my breath ignoring my
stomach
running has freed me, and now i’m
never looking back.

cars rush by.
in the back of my mind,
i wonder if the strangers speeding past
With their mercedes-benz and bmw’s are
laughing at the girl sweating on the
sidewalk--
but who cares: i’m escaping this world,
never looking back.

my breathing overpowers the music.
shaking, i force myself onward.
cramps waft over me.
i grit my teeth. i count the blocks home.
the sun’s going down. my speed is too.
but the pain’s worth it.
i’m happy now, and i’m
never looking back.

updated by @ceri-shaw: 12/16/18 06:59:13PM

epitaph to myself - Chloe O'Connor

West Coast Eisteddfod Online Poetry Competition 2018

this feels weird
i don’t want to be dead
last time i saw myself
i was making sure there was nothing in my teeth.
darn you, braces.

how did i die?
did i die of cancer?
(they say you can get it
from being on your phone too much)

or was it from caffeine overdose?
(yes, this is my fourth day in a row
at starbucks—please don’t judge)

well,
don’t miss me too much--
i didn’t miss you much, either.

updated by @ceri-shaw: 12/16/18 06:59:36PM

the girl on my right - Chloe O'Connor

West Coast Eisteddfod Online Poetry Competition 2018

an abyss of colors swims before her eyes
faces flash and fade in the light,
throwing a subtle glow on her face.
half-awake; not caring about anything
besides that which is before her.

she sits frozen—in a trance.
it will be nearly an hour before she breaks from its spell.

when she walked in
she cared about naught but an outlet.
(lest her beloved suffocate under her constant stares and caresses)

though he often breathes heavy
and purrs unhappily
she does nothing
but stare and stare and stare.

updated by @ceri-shaw: 12/16/18 07:00:04PM

i see im under 2 names here with a disques name-this is confusing

Technical Assistance

Hi Dylan the Disqus comment panel is there to allow people who are not members of the site to comment on articles, blogs etc. If you are a member and you are logged in you can use the site comment box and ignore Disqus. Hope that helps.

The Best Statue in Wales ?

Welsh History

Great statue! Great photo! I was in Corwen about 20 years ago but somehow managed to miss this??? Will pay more attention next time I'm in town