Required Prerequisite
A call to duty,
Few use refuse.
It once had been an honor to do it.
In those days passed,
When patriotism was a thing to choose.
And everyone felt this,
Without making an excuse.
Today,
Quick escapes...
Is as natural as responsibility betrayed.
And having no accountability comes to surprise...
As many display themselves to be disrespectful.
Without a sign of regret to disgustfully criticize.
As if the act of expressing respect,
Has become a required prerequisite...
Most folks have come to think as weak.
And this, if shown, is today despised.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Whatever Is Put Into The Engine
Whatever is put into the engine...
To energize,
Is connected to the kind of ride...
Received to criticize or pride.
How well we treat and respect,
That which reflects our priorities...
Will result in what is given in return.
To be believed...
As witnessed and seen to accept or deny.
And making attempts to disconnect...
A responsibility of involvement,
To proclaim a non-acknowledgement...
Is to also profess an unconsciousness,
One is accustomed to using...
To excuse an accountability.
And escapes one takes to fade away,
Are no longer easily dismissed...
As one would wish as has been done,
In a recent past,
The hopeful are praying will return back to welcome.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Even Though Some Do Not Show They Have a Clue
I do not have to respect you.
I choose to do so.
I choose to be respectful,
Even though some do not show...
They have a clue to what that means.
There has been a breakdown of concern,
Others display for one another.
There is a total lack of empathy,
In many environments where people bleed.
And are homeless and go hungry.
I do not have to respect you.
I choose to do so.
I choose to be respectful,
Even though some do not show...
They have a clue to what that means.
And it is difficult to sympathize,
With those who have 'had' now 'have' not' in their lives.
Those who made it a point to criticize and devalue,
Others they despised.
And now they cry their own tears they can not hide.
I do not have to respect you.
I choose to do so.
I choose to be respectful,
Even though some do not show...
They have a clue to what that means.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Up Close and Vivid
There was a time,
I loved agitating.
Just to see different expressions,
Shown on people's faces.
Coming close,
To aggravation.
I knew my limitations.
I had gone to school to learn body language.
Interpersonal Communication.
And studying 'where' folks' feelings were.
You know...
Probing from afar.
Seeking to discover...
With just observation.
Who was disturbed...?
Who was emotionally disconnected,
And unnnerved.
And just 'who' was crazed?
Living on the edge...
Seeking to escape the maze of life.
Only to discover my own paranoia!
Today,
Few people are trying to hide their disgust!
Some are outright enraged.
With attempts to masquerade an outrage...
Many caring less,
If that it is shown on display!
And I am not quick to agitate...
For experimental purposes.
Not today!
Too many folks have venom in their eyes.
And I've learned to do what I've been trained to do,
From my early days of schooling.
I either wear my sunshades.
Or talk to myself!
Choosing to fit right in!
But I don't have to take notes today...
Too much of this 'stuff' is up close and vivid!
And I rehearse ducking...
Just in case a wild punch is thrown,
On its way to pay a personal visit!
These are not the times,
For one to blindly unwind...
To share false pretensions.
Too many folks are easily provoked.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Dry Day
Life as you know will end someday
Since every single day is never the same
Yesterday was a dark age following in today
What a surprise because today was a dry day
You got nothing to do but get wasted
Listen to me brother, don't get me arrested
We gotta break free from this stupid law
What a surprise because today was a dry day
All along as the clock ticked by I waited
It seemed as if the time was all destined
A moment of space without you I stay
What a surprise because today was dry day
Grieving low all past long when I'm high
Help me grace, love will relieve the pain
Let us explore the world as the drunk one said
What a surprise because today was dry day
As past enfolds into this mystery today
I look behind back in those days
Suck glorious moments filled us held today
What a surprise because today was dry day
poem by Siddharth Shah
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Nurturing This to Have It Grow Like It Grew
Remember...
When the clouds of regret,
Begin descending to fret...
All opportunity to correct this,
Has been exhausted.
Everything you own,
Will seem valueless!
Unworthy to be shown.
But all is not lost!
There has to be 'some' decisions you made
Pleasing your heart...
That did not require a purchase from the start!
To impress.
With a lease, rental or mortgage to digest!
If you are happy within,
With a peace of mind you can display...
What else is more satisfying than that?
Today...
Many are holding onto impressions!
Possessions they can least afford.
Accompanied by confessions that bore.
Today...
Many are abandoning their happiness in 'things'!
Today...
If you are happy within,
With a peace of mind you can display...
Know today you can say,
What you have is completely yours!
And foreclosure or repossession,
Is not coming your way!
Today.
Not for what took you long to pursue.
Nurturing this to have it grow like it grew...
For you,
Today!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Entertainment Escapes Made Accessible and Free
Accepting challenges around the clock nonstop...
Defantisizes life for some.
And crystallizes a maturity.
This is not often seen...
Where folks are committed to irresponsibility.
Where folks schedule their activities...
Between being uninvolved and making party scenes.
Entertainment escapes made accessible and free...
Are generally observed,
Where people are not concern.
And quickly display disrespect for themselves.
As they show a lack of discipline.
And an absence of identity.
Those like this often call for unity.
And pray to have their communities monitored...
As they beg for more police.
To keep them protected from themselves,
As they spread more of their mental disease.
And this is done by urbanites,
At a price that is paid by everyone!
Although no one acknowledges a consciousness claimed...
To be seriously considered or concrete of beliefs.
Not when so many have exited from accountability.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Perhaps It Is This Lack Of Discipline
Perhaps there was a sense of responsibility,
Others and myself had perceived as a duty...
When we enisted into the military.
As young men with initiative.
And wanting to prove we had accountability.
Perhaps too it was the knowing,
At the age most of us were 21...
Some of us had married and experienced,
Living away from a known comfort zone...
To begin living lives in other environments,
With a making of a home and on our own.
And perhaps that has been,
The reason for my impatience...
With those who today complain,
About decsions they've made to lay on others blame.
Without having the courage to adventure forward,
To adjust to something new and embrace the change.
And perhaps it is this lack of discipline,
Welcomed by immature grown men and women...
Who believe they are owed entitlements,
Given without earning them...
With demands and claims,
That so many today are clearly insane...
And spoiled by their prioritized delusions.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Real Men
The real men today are not recognized,
For who they are.
In fact,
Those who are real men today...
Are despised for who they are.
And barred from getting their just 'do'...
And attention.
A working man who does what he can,
And without complaint as he does this...
To provide for his family.
Is rare!
And hardly seen.
A devoted husband and family man,
Is not given credit at all...
For standing tall.
As other 'men' shy away from being accountable.
While away busying themselves...
Leisurely making excuses,
To play all kinds of self obsessed, seducing 'ball'.
You name it!
There will be something entertaining,
And selfish attached to it!
And 'these' are the 'real' men...
Cheating women bar hop,
To pick and lay up with.
As they both trade their self respect,
For two minutes of unsatisfying...
Discreeted, deceiving, disease spreading sex!
The real men today are not recognized,
For who they are.
In fact,
Those who are real men today...
Are despised for who they are.
And barred from getting their just 'do'...
And attention.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I Appreciate Their Teachings
Many today are discovering,
The ease their introduction to poverty has become.
Some of us already experienced with its effects,
Thought of poverty as a prerequisite to upper mobility.
When people of a 'certain' class were living,
Right across the street.
Just before the terms minority and ghetto were popularized.
And poverty was 'NOT' a fast fall from greed.
We seemed to have never qualified for anything back then.
But sympathetic looks and eyes cast down...
From those with turned up noses.
That was a long yesterday ago though.
But today,
Greed has become the 'boss'.
People have falsified qualifiers,
Just based on them knowing how to use a pen.
To sign documents eventually forged to approve a loan.
I couldn't make this up if I wanted to.
Too much of this is factual.
And people are up in arms,
About a downward credit rating...
That puts a smudge on their pretentions.
And that hole they have dugged deep...
Will take a hundred years to plug.
Many today are discovering,
The ease their introduction to poverty has become.
Some of us already experienced with its effects,
Thought of poverty as a prerequisite to upper mobility.
And not a fast fall from greed.
We seemed to have never qualified for anything back then.
I remember those who now crawl on their knees,
Use to say to my family and me...
Back in the day of our struggles,
How unfortunate 'we' were with their sarcasms.
Today I look at 'these' people and purposely buy a can of beans,
With a slowing of an opening done...
To then eat the beans in their honor.
Expressing a blessed thankfulness for having people like 'them'...
To realize how much I appreciate their teachings.
Maybe they will...
'Get off their lazy ignorant butts and find a job.'
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Sincerely Insincere
People today...
Are so sincerely insincere.
Full with trite expressions
Delivered from a smile,
Slowly lifting from a sneer...
Seconds before an encounter appeared.
People today...
Are quick to say
What they don't mean,
To make it seem
As if what is felt can not be seen...
Or show!
But it does.
And they don't know.
That's why at home alone,
Folks throw dirt.
Where it can hurt the one,
Who has no clue who threw out and 'dished'
What's to come.
To be a part of destruction is fun to some.
Except for those who do not suspect...
The one who grins,
Is the real culprit to regret.
Yet...
People today,
Are so sincerely insincere.
It is hard to address
Through disguises worn...
Just 'who' to tell what time it is,
And 'when' they can go to hell!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Today (Earth Song)
Please oh please
where blue ain't green
so flowers can bloom and birds can sing
today
Hang out with your friends
cool breezing sun
and I'ma join y'all so we can all have fun
today
and blow me a kiss
and dry my clothes
while I run through the sheets like I'm 5 years old
today
You got the natural wood grain with the big ol' 'fro
your fresh 15's got me ridin' low
today
smile today
smile today
smile today
smile
today
See you got this new man
who treats you wrong
but I'ma do you good before your youth's been gone
today
and if you feelin' kinda grey
I understand
emotions sway but I'm still your friend
today
You got bugs in your house
that you let run free
but if they don't bug you then they don't bug me
today
See, I respect you and you respect me back
so I'ma make sure I put my trash in the sack
today
smile today
smile today..
(feel good today)
In origin brown you look so young
so let's spend the night 'n tell purple to come
today
and I'ma sing you a song so play that track
with the creekers in the back that so abstract
today
and as I take a deep breath
I close my eyes
I say a little prayer for the sun to rise
today
(tomorrow)
and I see in the morning all bright and fresh
and I'll be the girl in the yellow dress
new day, new day
smile today
smile today
...
song performed by by Erykah Badu
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Cutting To Paste From A Snippet Quick
Remember those days,
When it was said honesty pays.
And people tried their best,
To be respecting of others?
Today thieves blatantly steal from others,
With a declaration as to what they own.
And dismiss others they choose to disrespect,
With a respect from them that is demanded to be shown.
Remember those days,
When it was said honesty pays.
And people tried their best,
To be respecting of others?
If you don't remember times like this,
Don't concern yourself with it.
You are probably the least affected.
And your life is based upon...
A cutting to paste from a snippet quick.
With an easier claim as a creation you made exist.
To wallow away in a 15 minutes of unearned fame.
Void of originality.
But that's where the minds today,
Prefer to sit to then languish over it.
Bemoaning their boredom with the ease of life.
Only the counting of illegal funds,
For many would make this right!
Remember those days,
When it was said honesty pays.
And people tried their best,
To be respecting of others?
Well
Move over.
You are in the way.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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But in this Congress, accountability is just a catch phrase, usually directed elsewhere. Demands to personal responsibility or corporate accountability abound, but rarely congressional accountability or fiscal responsibility.
quote by Melissa Bean
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Those Fantasy Years
Scratch off your list
Any decisions you may have
About 'your' wishes.
We have begun to distance you,
And those in pursuit...
From the 'wish' business!
Those fantasy years,
Have been erased!
They have been replaced.
And/or severly reduced...
For a quick,
And timed-released usage!
An explicit seriousness,
Has got to be sold!
Anyone objecting,
Will find their popcorn...
Too stale, too salty
Not fit to eat!
And too old to sell...
On these streets of hell,
Today!
Those films stocked with delightful,
Talking animated animals...
Are currently being deleted,
For quick adult escapes.
To make accountability,
No longer some else's responsibility!
Competent thought levels,
Must be reached.
Wipe those tears...
And tie up those 'sneaks'!
Pull up those jeans,
That show your butt cheeks!
A traumaticized reality...
Although not test marketed,
In modern memory...
Is overdue!
And will be enforced!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Do Your Duty
Be done with a hook up and go.
Do your duty to the booty,
And satisfy the mood.
Be done with a hook up and go.
And do your duty to the booty,
Don't present an attitude.
Or make excuses for what you choose.
Do your duty to the booty and go!
Whether clothed or nude.
Today folks care less who they screw.
Or spreading diseases and to who!
Be done with a hook up and go.
Do your duty to the booty,
And satisfy the mood.
Be done with a hook up and go.
And do your duty to the booty,
Don't present an attitude.
Or make excuses for what you choose.
Do your duty to the booty,
Whether clothed or nude.
Today folks care less who they screw.
Or spreading diseases and to who!
Do your duty to the booty and go!
And don't present an attitude.
Or make excuses for what you choose.
Today folks care less who they screw.
Or spreading diseases and to who!
Be done with a hook up and go.
Do your duty to the booty,
And satisfy the mood.
Care less about affects,
And what they do!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Today...
Today, the leaves were greener
Today, the sky wasn’t grey
Today, the sun was brighter
Yes, it changed today
Today, people transformed
Today, they weren’t rude
Today, I felt loved
All just today, it’s true
Today, I lived for today
Today, was not for the future
Today, was a great day
Not menial, tiring, brutal
Today, I laughed in silence
Today didn’t make me cry
Today, everything became clearer
But, today, I couldn’t figure out why
And today, if everything changed
And today, if it wasn’t a dream
I don’t know what happened
But today will become everyday, it seems.
poem by Shreya Madhogarhia
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Paying The Price
If for no other reason they exist,
Those who have chosen to self destruct...
Have done this very effectively.
This is not a negative wish.
This is an observation of it.
And they seem to be the ones,
Who approach life from a superficial point of view.
With no depth, no insight, no ambition.
And certainly no respect or discipline shown,
To themselves or others...
They accuse for their lives of 'bad luck'.
Quick to critique the deeds of others.
With expectations to be served.
Since living to take without giving...
And use what and whoever it is,
Without replacing that with acts of gratitude...
Will not from them rise high on their agenda.
Although blaming with a fault to find is what they do.
And abuse themselves and whom they choose,
If not getting on demand what they wish...
Is not on someone else's list to prioritize,
They will promptly deceive with a getting of it.
No matter how blind the eyes in denial.
Or the expense others pay,
To refuse to accept truth.
And usually,
As time goes by...
And today time flies.
They are not alone or by themselves,
When it comes to paying the price.
They are we and we are them and all of us,
Are in this 'thing' together.
And not one of us is a Walrus.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Betrayed
Betrayed by the one who says she loves you
By the one who says she needs you
Above all other men
Betrayed by her fragile, vicious beauty
Her father did his duty
And I lie down betrayed
Justice taught her confidence
Her mother was like steel
Her cousins, theyre all convicts
She alone rose above that wheel
But a motorcyclist no matter how good
Is slave to the oncoming truck
And the poison of her father was
Her most pitiless luck
Betrayed by the one who says she loves you
By the one who says she needs you
Above all other men
Betrayed by her fragile, vicious beauty
Her father did his duty
And I lie down betrayed
Three of us lie in this bed
Night of infamy
One of us lies on our back
Her fathers in her head
And quick she turns and slaps my face
And with her eyes open wide she screams
I hate you, I hate you, I hate you
But shes looking right past me
Betrayed by the one who says she loves you
By the one who says that she needs you
Above all other men
Betrayed by her fragile, vicious beauty
Her father did his duty
And I lie down betrayed
And I lie down betrayed
I lie down betrayed
song performed by by Lou Reed
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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We talk a great deal about patriotism. What do we mean by patriotism in the context of our times? I venture to suggest that what we mean is a sense of national responsibility which will enable America to remain master of her power — to walk with it in serenity and wisdom, with self-respect and the respect of all mankind; a patriotism that puts country ahead of self; a patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime. The dedication of a lifetime — these are words that are easy to utter, but this is a mighty assignment. For it is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them.
quote by Adlai Stevenson
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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The Banshee's Wail
Today, I listened to the banshee's wail
Some believe that to be an old wives' tale
Today, I heard the ringing of the death knell
Dry your tears and say your fond farewell
Today, I grew weak and expired
Another soul, the Grim Reaper acquired
Today, I drew my last breath and died
Burying your face in your hands, you cried
Today, I quietly passed away
Leaving something I failed to say
Today, I met my untimely demise
We didn't get to say our final goodbyes
Today, I silently gave up the ghost
No longer tied to life's whipping post
Today, I came to my life's end
It's a tough thing to comprehend
Today, I went to the hereafter
Think of me only with laughter
Today, I died due to the fall of man
The good Lord has a master plan
Today, I was committed to my simple grave
Rejoice, oh rejoice! Only Jesus can save
poem by Charles Hancock
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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