Deadly deceivers revel in delusions of self Empowerment whose grandeur Leaves the other feeling lesser Undeniably their power springs from Saturating the media with a narrative Inculcating their goals of superiority, Only, they actually strip themselves of honesty Never favoring justice or equality, Deadly delusion.
My poetry book, Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, is available on all eplatforms including Amazon. It was on the finalist list for the Canadian Book Club Awards 2023.
Malak Kalmoni. Chehab Wow! “Knowing that joy, eternal, an antidepressant/Is your only rebellion not to live in a cast.” Oof! Bam! Kapow! The entire poem was lovely, deliciously evocative and then you land a knockout blow with that final thought. Nicely done. By Tara Hicks
Such a beautifully sublime poem, Malak, so many amazing images! Time, “mercury slippery,” is a brilliant comparison. You’ve wonderfully transformed the mural into an intriguing metaphorical narrative. The serpent of fear slithers in the branches of an ancient tree upon which scary bats hang. Yet a cardinal of grace sings of hope eternal, of endless time that cannot be stopped. Like that cheerful bird, we must accept the past that can’t be recast, we must “soar in the present.” Being joyous to live in this present, that is part of the eternal, is the way to true freedom. It is a spiritual rebellion! Superb rhyme scheme and rhythm, excellent sophisticated tone and composition. Fantastic, encouraging poem, Brava!! By Linda Powers O’Dell
Window of Time
Through my small window The world revolves around time, Time, intangible, like mercury slippery, a crime Not to stand still and let it flow
Slowly around you as you Watch the ancient tree’s branches Reach out to the sun in gnarled bunches, The resting place for the serpent you
Fear as it slithers from place To place spreading its evil along The aid of bats that string you along, Yet on the other branch rests, with grace,
The red cardinal whose beauty, Color, elegance speeds your heart With hope eternal, limitless in its great Licenses for carrying hope on wings that flew highly
Into the vastness of a blue sky Knowing that time, Rhyming with lime is a transient crime That can’t be stopped unless you try
To soar in the present Understanding the past, that can’t be recast, Knowing that joy, eternal, an antidepressant Is your only rebellion not to live in a cast.
My poetry book, Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, is available on all eplatforms including Amazon. It was on the finalist list for the Canadian Book Club Awards 2023.
Malak Kalmoni. Chehab What a magnificent, brilliant heroine! Building her community through the strengths of her empathy and integrity, she overcomes the forces of death. She empowers others with her hunger for equality and her devotion to ethics. I love how you feature her hunger for equality, this is the foundation for truly encompassing empathy. This poem is beautifully written, Malak; you’ve created a wonderful poetic form with superb rhymes and flowing rhythm. Your compelling images and organized thoughts sweep the reader along in a most wonderful way. Brava!! By Linda Powers O’Dell
Angel Wings
Her acorn blondish hair frames Her blue eyed eyes, piercing In their gaze, all seeing As her grey wings flutter in rhymes
Whose utter grace have underlying Silver rays that brighten, coalesce Atop her heart in blissful radiance Shining like a star, brilliant in showcasing
Her inner heart filled with humanity, A hunger for equality that stalls When faced with impunity that crawls Inconspicuously, stealthily, stealing
Her ethics, yet, she prevails Using her empathy, strength Of will to overcome the killing breath Of death from peers who quails
From her integrity’s effervescence She builds her community Of supports, like minded dwellers, impossibly Impoverished by their beliefs’ conscience
They empower others and selves To push forward against trends.
My poetry book, Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, is available on all eplatforms including Amazon. It was on the finalist list for the Canadian Book Club Awards 2023.
My poetry book, Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, is available on all eplatforms including Amazon. It was on the finalist list for the Canadian Book Club Awards 2023.
How do you conceal who you are? How many facets do you portray? Do you change the way you dress daily? Do you alter your hair and eye color? Do you vary your tone, whisper, cry, or shout? Do you add make up to accent different parts of you? Are you an award winning actor playing a role?
Which part of you are most protective of? The real you or the ones you show off? I’ve said before, but I will say it again: The crux of who you are is hidden for few to view And bask in your cheer, hope and self-esteem.
Of all the masks you’ve worn over time, Which do you want to be ‘you’? Is your identity a bricolage of family, friends, colleague, Ethnicity, race, religion, and cultural ‘norms’? What happens to the mask when the identity shatters? Do you also fall apart, lose control, and spin like a top, Unknowing what your next mask will represent?
It seems to me, after much consideration, experience That who you are is reflected in your eyes, Where your soul reaches out to impose its wisdoms, In order for self satisfaction and acceptance to Coexist in harmony with your favorite mask!
My poetry book, Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, is available on all eplatforms including Amazon. It was on the finalist list for the Canadian Book Club Awards 2023.
Oh Ye bloom In fugue Reverie of Vellichor world full Of books of yore, create Utopia, a fool’s house, Paradise filled with crazy bee Whose imagination buzzes like a Virtuous maiden in a tree of life Covered in the seasons of change whose vain sepulcher is nature’s reign that is Trained Over a Book’s refrain that Delves in beautiful images Of graceful rainy grain Of sand that travels Around parts of Beautiful Parts of World
My poetry book, Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, is available on all eplatforms including Amazon. It was on the finalist list for the Canadian Book Club Awards 2023.
My poetry book, Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, is available on all eplatforms including Amazon. It was on the finalist list for the Canadian Book Club Awards 2023.
From this page of the ancient book, This delicate pink rose has traveled The seven seas, ancient empires have seased To exist, while its beauty, color, and break
Grow into the roots of the nook in the book As it cascades its freshness, fragility, Strength, and independence in lacy capacity Of petals that rise towards the sun to look
On humanity’s history book Guarding its secrets, fragile, violent, Yet, it rebels and grows still resplendent In a lackluster world filled with a crook
Intent that borders on sacrilege against the book Of God, that brooks no uncertainty In knowing that the perpetrators will simply Be punished for their irreverent belief in a look
Of masked piety that reveals its artifice When faced by the innocence of the blooming rose.
My poetry book, Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, is available on all eplatforms including Amazon. It was on the finalist list for the Canadian Book Club Awards 2023.
Malak Kalmoni. Chehab What a lovely acrostic, Malak! To address a personified quill is such an intriguing, rhetorical way to address your theme. Piety and self-restraint are being lost to egotism and self-interest. What delights me most is that it is the quill that has failed to prevent this change by underscoring it, by speaking out, and now the poet asks the quill for advice on how to reverse this change. This irony is poignantly clever! Thank you for sharing this superb poem!! By Linda Powers O’Dell
Malak Kalmoni. Chehab This is a great description of the changes in society! leaving piety and discipline! love of self without restraint! so true! poignantly written! By, Brilla Fernbright
Acrostic QUILL
Quill, oh quill of yonder years, have you Underscored the differences of then, now, beyond? Ill prepared for the demands of a world Leaving piety, discipline in order to be lost in Love of self without restraint. Advise us, oh Quill.
My poetry book, Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, is available on all eplatforms including Amazon. It was on the finalist list for the Canadian Book Club Awards 2023.
Malak Kalmoni. Chehab Supremely joyous and uplifting, Malak! Oh those halcyon days of carefree play! “Let innocence flow like a flood” is a beautiful invocation. It speaks directly to our memories. We know exactly what it means without having to pin down the exact meaning of the word. You allow the reader to relate to it personally. You appeal to the truth that all kids are the same. Realization of our shared humanity should encourage us to reject stereotypes thereby restoring our own innocence. You invite us to focus on the freedom, laughter and fun of childhood. A kite is a perfect metaphor, your rhythm and rhyme scheme are absolutely wonderful! Excellent poem about childhood innocence!! By, Linda Powers O’Dell
Thank you Linda, you humble me with your wonderful words.
Memories, Memory
Memories, memories of childhood Long gone, come back, come Let’s play a song, a game, Let innocence flow like a flood
Throw, throw away taught stereotypes, Enjoy the games with all blood Types, mixed races, all are kids who prod One another regardless of religious hypes.
Oh to be so free as a child’s kite No cares about evil, pedophile, Predators, child abusers, all file Into a chest locked away in a fight
To stay bright with joy, unmindfull Of obstructions to laughter’s song That glides into deadened hearts long For beauty to brighten the awful
Despair of a dutiful social being Whose memories of childhood Spring with cheer, geer, games bold In their actions for social strictures having
Poetry for Change 