Last Commented Ballad Poems (503)

They all say the same cliché:
“It's better to have loved than none at all.”
Our story had been short and not worth it,
yet I've been cursed with this ability;
this giant elephant memory.

Let's be selective?
Some advice to give.
It's been two years since you said you wanted to be
with no one else but me
until I realized I wasn't the only.
Oh, I had never been.

The story didn't just end there;
like some typical, cheesy rom-com plots
before the leading lady finally deserved
the prince charming she'd eventually get.
In this department, my storyline's been bleak,
‘though I still refuse to let myself get weak.

You were the monster with a handsome mask.
That must've been an exhausting task.
I was glad the truth was finally out,
as you ran off, ghosted me like a coward.

It's been a year since I heard my own version of happy-ending:
You're finally in prison.
Yay!
I felt so sorry about your youngest victims
who had probably known no concept of ‘consent'
when you chose to force her, leaving permanent scars.

I was off the hook;
probably the smallest casualty in your betrayal and wickedness,
but I guess I'm still dealing with my own hurt,
because the idea of starting over…
…is still as scary as the possibility…
…of facing another monster…

Our short, fabricated love story has never been worth remembering,
but I still can't erase it – so it's been permanently written,
a vivid reminder of my past failure
and why I glare at romance with cynicism…

R.
(Jakarta, October 1, 2020)

Oh to be in Orange on a Wintery day like today,
I'd need more than me Plurry sox to warm me body.
The locals love Orange they say its just the place to stay
but even though I don't drink I'd sure need a wee toddy.
Down to the pub I went to meet all the Orange locals
and as I walked in they all looked me up and down
Even Gazza and Fred Smith eyed me with their bi-focals.
But the locals gave me a warm welcome to their town
and yere the pub was good, the place really rocks.
Next time I come this way I'll stop and say g'day
but I'll be sure to bring me Orange Cardi & me Sox
cause I was frozen to the bone the whole of me stay.
................................................................Maymyo

Are you a vouyer to my past
To read my words
From my lifes journey
On my journey of life's toil
To find my hidden sole
my life
You read with such glee
To find that hint of me
My past my present
My future not told
I create these words from my heart
My words for
I can see
who i am but sometimes life hides this from me to the future life is hidden from me
On my ever ending posted life of me

I dreamed of light
A up hill tunnel so bright
Shines from heaven above
Voices heard from distant past
Familiar sounds Voices long gone
They sound familiar could be my mum
Long time gone taken in her prime
We dare not make a sound you listen to the sound as you follow the path of light your body lies motion gone now stiff to touch you lie the voices whisper come follow us you will have fun come to the light the jingle of keys locks now open do you want to follow us
Voice heard light shines so bright you try to focus blinded by the light your times not up go back from where you come
Motion regain breathing heavy
You back again from your journey to the light

he sat on the old deck chair
and thought about her
about how she tied a strand of blonde
behind her ear
when she was anxious

how the sun made plans
between the gaps
of her fingers
how her breath tasted

how her beauty
made her invisible
against the birdsong

how the curve of the earth
found a mooring
in the shape of her foot

how the moon
used the naked oak
as a chinstrap

how her eyes
were stainglass windows
in the chapel
of her face

how the untried seconds
were a lifetime
in old clothes

how she dressed
in the untailored truth
of honesty

spoke
in the dialect
of unaware kindness

and sung.. in the key
of smiling

pause and feel it
so familier
yet you've never
seen it
with your eyes

a kind of innocent
expression
something naive
something wise

I wish I knew what you were
searching for
something shimmering and right
a favour granted by your yearning
the place you grow to
from demise

the days are listing into evening
before the sun has kissed your skin
If you were oceans on a dance floor
I wouldnt wait to jump right in

pause and feel it
without feeling
rather be it
and move on

you won't know it
when you taste it
you'll only know it
when it's gone

a kind of dreaming
way of singing
superimposed
over thought

a commodified
returning rainfall
that can't be trapped
nor sold
or bought

I wish I knew what you were
looking for
something shimmering
and light
something hewn from endless endings
something spoken
in goodnight

he grew up tall
in this small land
and worked the beaches
field and strand

until reward won mind
and hand
and left his youth
for golden band

so two were paired
to understand
that marraige took
its own demand

"what then?"
cried Yeats's Ghost..
What then?"

his bandaged hands
found fame and wage
as status grew
about his rage

and wilder hearts
could never assuage
the fight inside
that always stayed

when life was hard
and fears did age
his story writ
upon a page
of blood red ink
and subtle beige

"What then?"
cried Yeats's Ghost?..
"What then?"

the band of gold
he wore as ring
did lose its glow
refused to sing

and wore away
the very thing
that made his world
a bell and ring

and each new love
brought everything
except the glow
of anything..

that's her

" What then?"
cried Yeats's Ghost..
"What then?"

to a five penny piece
I shrunk to the size
as life made me hard
in the head and eyes

so pressed ganged was I
on a leathery ship
that lived in a pocket
on the side of her hip

and life wasn't easy
and life wasn't hard
it was tough bedding down
neath a sharp credit card

a religious medal
and I became mates
and we sung drunken songs
in between great debates

I dated a quarter
but often she snoozed
we laughed at the condom
that never got used

she took us to parties
she lost us in clubs
she found us in drawers
she drank us in pubs

a lipstick for pillow
I smiled at the fates
my blanket a dollar
she got in the states

when the end came
it was cold.. hard and clean
that's how I got here
in this vending machine

cambridge on a sunny morn
a professor deep in thought
a quasi quantum quandary
his mind now overwrought

now the kernel of dilemma
the cause of his unease?
with fish and chips for dinner..
should I go with mushy peas?

symbiotic clarity
coupled with his fate
yet the "mushyness" of peas
was abhorrent to his plate

order over chaos
his findings quite profound
yet a theorist
must work backwards
to a premis pure and sound

he expressed it as a formula
elegant in tone
he wrote it on a post-it note
and hung it by the phone

twenty minutes later
his mobile broke the breeze
and a tired gruff glaswegian cried:
" I canna read Chinese!"

How long will I love you?
As long as stars are above you
And longer if I can

How long will I need you?
As long as the seasons need to
Follow their plan

How long will I be with you?
As long as the sea is bound to
Wash upon the sand

How long will I want you?
As long as you want me to
And longer by far

How long will I hold you?
As long as your father told you
As long as you can


How long will I give to you?
As long as I live through you
However long you say.

How long will I love you?