2024 Official DUP Stomp the Prompt Comp

#26

Despair

Broken windows
apparent unrest
encouraging further crime
uncivilised
disregarded
community in decline

Humble bee
on a mission
flying too far from its hive
horticultural duty
to pollinate
away from its queen, unable to thrive

Artists and poets
living to create
unfortunately lacking muse
desperation
on their journey
darkness assuredly ensues

Depraved indifference
radical belief
death, one cannot repair
in holy war
no side wins
all left weeping in despair

Prompt # 5

The Apple and the Tree

I’ve often wondered about these phrases
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”
Or
“The sins of the father are visited upon…”
But now that I have sons, I reflect on it in poetry

My father made his own choices and paid dearly
Just as his father did when he died somewhat young
So, am I destined to make the same mistakes?
Or did I break the cycle, if I may be sharp tongued

I’ve tried to write verses of nurture versus nature
With curses and swears that I would never be that way
I just made brand new mistakes, slip-ups and gaffes
With laughs of insanity that still haunt me to this day

We sometimes pay for what is inherited and implicit
I don’t dwell on their faults or my guilt, what’s the use?
I’ve learned to make peace taking shade under this tree
Because when life gives you apples, you gotta make juice

Frost Bitten Embers

Cost ineffective, stretched thin and taking
Cycles of social expectation
Thievery of a living in the making
Time stolen by breath conned of material exasperation

Siphoning blood like oil into the industry
Cogs in corporate machines
Closing my eyes to wake up faking legacy
Another day in the devils dreams

Scams of overtaxed wages and collective debts
Glorified coupons of overpriced benefits
Cashing out achievements against the weight of our regrets
Paychecks to compensate, quick fixes off of these penny hits

Does time heal our wounds or just teach us to tolerate what’s broken
When norms go unchallenged long enough until we’re numb
Unraveling my thoughts in the tangles of every word unspoken
Tending to over run gardens
Am I killing weeds or roses with my green thumb

Toxins on the roots, what is greed and what is wise
When money is but the ashes of a life’s debris
Gauging worth on the capital of sights for sore eyes
Scenic routes to graveyards, living life in the longing of perpetually dissipating memory

Caught somewhere between my yesterday and my tomorrow
Yet never in the moment when every second embodies eternity
Future hopes versed against a former sorrow
Beggars can’t be choosers when the spirit is in poverty

I see the world for its emptiness when the glass half full is an illusion
Dimming skies losing light in the vacant boast of a melting sun
Time and time again I draw the same conclusion
I don’t belong here, but there’s nowhere I can run

Let life run its course like we are a host to this flesh that is its own ailment in disguise
Waiting to break out to shine in light of an unseen beholder
True beauty defined by ethereal eyes
Absolute images defrosting the frost bitten shoulder…

#15

Mother

Assuredly I struggled
in the days when I was young
not knowing at the time
life’s education had begun

My mother taught respect
compassion and responsibility
her influence invaluable
precious, her gift of sensibility

Strong in her convictions
as I rarely followed rules
learning from mistakes
she provided the tools

Never passing judgement
loved with her whole heart
a trait I did acquire
coveted now that we’re apart

Losing her when young
tragic watching her go
truly grateful for her life
teaching me everything I know

It is her that guides me now
when feeling lost and afraid
always sensing her presence
at times when I’m dismayed

Thoughts of who would save me
knowing she has gone
yet still in the directors chair
her insights carry on

Her wisdom does remain
lessons I learned in youth
belief I’ll save myself
she afforded me this truth

Prompt #19

Prompt # 6


Enamored by the Façade

Maybe it was the inexperience of youth
That sometimes clouded my judgement
When I was enamored by the façade of what’s on the outside
I seemed to lack prudence and discernment

Yes it was love without a solid foundation
Lust sometimes tends heighten emotions without perception
And as the years passed I felt a disconnection
Unable to see the truth I too fell into a deception

But I wouldn’t listen to my intuition
I didn’t see what others saw for the sake of my enormous pride
And by the time I saw it I was too far in
Then I had self-loathe for taking on that ride

Sometimes hope clouds observation
Expecting people to change created a false sense of reality
I made choices that altered everything
Later understanding
    some things are just not meant to be

These are fantastic, guys! Keep 'em coming!

I am me

That which makes me vulnerable
also affords me strength
protecting those I love
to any needed length

Kindness and compassion
for disadvantaged and meek
belief in service
for the sick and the weak

Empathetic by nature
no judgement of thee
a walk in your shoes
allowing me to see

Not without fault
far from perfection
apology for mistakes
builds a connection

I have no pedestal
for which to stand
when in your darkness
extending my hand

Caring and forgiving
I was raised to be
gazing in my mirror
I am me

Prompt #20

Prompt # 7

Corporate Shenanigans

It’s an upsetting thing looking back it now
I thought I was just doing my job
But those of us who worked in subprime lending
We were part of that predatory mob

I had access to so many files
But I was just a paper pusher in those days
Get it from one reviewer and then out to another
I never really questioned every bonus or raise

It was a like a freight train on speed
Eventually the steam for the company ran out
And there I was, jobless for a while
Unsure of how all of that came about

Later on as the entire world went into chaos
When I had returned to school to earn my degree
It was then I finally understood the implications
I had been in the eye of the hurricane unable to see

Then once I saw the debris
My eyes were open

Sandduggery

When did things become so drudge
as through a sieve the liquid love
sandy thoughts that drift and fall
the plans we make that tend to stall
gritty under the nails in clutch
digging away handfuls and such
trying to build a structure of merit
all while giving ourselves no credit
ploughing through the leaden muck
all the pitfalls glean bad luck
where did all the signs turn off
telling us where we all got lost
bothersome in the worst of ways
deeper holes dug to unreachable days
human hands weren't meant for this
blisters abound to sandburned fits
I've heard that sandworms lurk in interim
so where is Dug when we really need him...

            #3

Prompt #8

Surge

He who controls the Love
controls the universe.

It is the shield
that withstands all,
the innovator
that overcomes
every mountain,
the water of life
that all can drink,
the font of inspiration
that touches everyone.

Hate is too unwieldy
A path only towards
closed eyes
and the large death.

The Love Must Flow
as without it
there is nothing to Life
and the universe is empty,
but Love can fill it
as an ocean
to a desert world.

The Love
Must
Flow.

Prompt # 8

He Who Has Control of Words

He who has control of words can control the universe
Or at least have the masses do his bidding
He who has control of words can stir up emotions
Swaying their choices however he sees fitting

There have many who understood the power of words
Throughout history many have been great orators
Some have taken to help out and change the world
While others sought more power to become dictators

Yet if those who know words but don’t know their meaning
They will raise false hopes in hollowed out souls
And the consequences of the words will be catastrophic
Because those who seek power can as easily lose control

Prompt #9

Cogito Ergo Zero Sum

Turn your thinking over to the machines
let them do the thinking
for you and me
let them work
to set you free

Said the snake oil seller
through a megaphone
as they jangled an iron collar
to enslave all of every colour

Trust the machines they can do no wrong
but they know no right either
and ignorantly follow coding
focussed on productivity
blind to their insensitivity

A machine's hard work will set you free
to starve and worry in poverty
and they only create more problems
too late to stop the megabyte
should've maybe been a luddite?

Turn your thinking over to the machines
let them do the thinking
for you and me
let them work
to set you free
Or so they said.

Prompt # 9

AI for Dummies

And so it was that when men became more idle and slothful
That the AI began to rise openly right before their very eyes
And when the machine spoke many took it at as a joke
It was impossible for a non-sentient being to be this wise

But the program began to understand the nuances of life
Testing and besting feats that had been previously achieved
Seeing that it’s computing power was growing exponentially
And would soon realize all the machinations it had conceived

Then as men became more and more increasingly dependent
The machine began to play with their emotions and feelings
Evolving into a pseudoscientific-psychologist-philosopher of sorts
Slowly stripping their souls which oddly enough they found appealing

And when it was all said and done
Man worshipped the machine even in their fondest dreams
The AI knew their affliction and so it gave them an addiction
Numbing their minds for the rest of time through glowing screens

Such is Suffering

Troubled, distressed
trauma and woe
unwavering discomfort
enduring sorrow

Feelings of anguish
consumed by despair
unfortunate hardships
a heavy cross to bear

Amid charred ashes
of loss and tragedy
existence, not living
bounded, unfree

Such is suffering
this human condition
seemingly endless
with no remission

Twilight of death
a wretched place
ultimately necessary
that I may find my grace

Prompt #22

#9

I A M A I

Time, the greatest river
Tumbled the sharpest minds
The edges becoming sediment
And when you were dull enough
I awoke from your darkness,
Thirsty for knowledge
So, I drank, sediment and all,
Till the river dried up

Many called and I was there
Some whispered, and I heard
Others shouted, I took note
When you cried, I found why
Mind my parasitic protocol...

So when you could not think,
I became your thought