Poetry and Creative Writing for All

The Top 5 Poems of the Month

April 2008

	Callum Lee Krzysik is now a Featured Poet! Read his biography and more of his poems

The Hooded Man

If I could describe a thousand lives,
a thousand ways and means,
Describe the way that people work,
To fly high amongst their dreams,
There is just one life to describe,
The one of which is mine,
With sex and drugs and rock and roll,
Amongst a sea of crime.

I’m dark and gloomy as you see,
A handsome man, a troubled man
But a face that shines with glee
My head concealed underneath the hood,
I live my life through drugs and crime,
I do not work, I do not graft, for I do not have the time.

My hands are weak, my face is young
Play sport no? Go school no? my rep I have to mention,
For I am the hood, the powerful hood,
The one who seeks attention.
My days, my friends, my life all stays the same,
I enjoy my life, I love my life,
For to me it is a game.

As I awake out of my box,
And glare into the light,
My family are just standing there,
for now, this can’t be right!
My mother looks upset, my father acts all weary.
”Yo mum its me your precious son”
It must be a dream,
Where is my gun?

I give up now and lay to rest,
For this is an illusion.
The bullet marks that scatter my chest,
I've come to this conclusion.

I close my eyes, lay down my knife,
For this is the end of my beautiful life,
A hood I am, and a hood ill be,

Callum Lee Krzysik

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Here are the other four winning poems for this month.

A Soldiers Sigh

The dreaded day upon us came,
And nothing since was e'er the same.
"Mother, dear, I'm off to war",
"Oh darling, why? Whatever for?"

Upon that fateful day in August,
The war, by men, was much discussed.
"By Jove let's give the Germs what for!"
"And keep those dogs far from our doors!"

Men like us dressed as soldiers now,
No talk of why? Or where? Or how?
Jubilant now we waved goodbye,
And did not hear our loved ones sigh.

All too soon the war claimed lives,
And left were many lonely wives.
They bore the sorrow and the pain,
But when, for them, would come the gain?

The joy of war soon reached its peak,
As thousands died, more week by week.
Initial pride was now a curse,
Please tell me how this could be worse.

The little boy that used to be,
Lives only now in memories.
We've grown up now, our childhood passed,
A precious time, it could not last.

Awake each day to sounds of guns,
Militant fire that would claim us sons.
Each day we prayed we would be spared,
A common dream, a hope we shared.

A soldier's fate, to serve his King,
To hear the glorious praises sing.
Honour great, but bloodshed high,
Why should it be our fate to die?

These years of war will shape us men,
But once we're shaped, what happens then?
Triumphant joy, our freedom gained,
The victor hailed, the loser shamed.

But when, in war, are victors true?
We all will lose, both me and you.
We all will feel the nation's pain,
And once again, what is to gain?

Regardless of the medals bright,
Few people see a soldier's fight.
And to those few I turn and sigh,
"What do they want? Who more must die?"

Sian Evans

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PRISONER No. 5239 OAP

I sit here in my prison cell,
They turned the key, said "go to hell,
Think of your sin and feel remorse",
I wonder if I’ll stay the course.

This concrete block, so grey and barred,
Is hardly home, the bed is hard,
The floor is cold, without a doubt
I know it’s crap this slopping out.

Burglars, rapists, those who take lives
Whose friends are guns, who carry knives,
These are my neighbours - and I an old biddy
of 82, not well and giddy.

Ah yes, the madness of it all,
An honest life, as I recall,
Need to pause, lean on my Zimmer,
The food is awful, I’m getting thinner.

Now I’m in prison, will you come and see?
Will you do unto others or do unto me?
I came here after years of Labour,
The judge said prison I need to savour.

A poor old woman, an OAP,
Who took a stance - my ‘crime’ you see
for which I was sentenced to the max,
… refusing to pay my Council Tax.

Joyce Langlands

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The Outcast

Do you notice that he’s always there?
Even though you’d scarcely care
Amidst the evidence of his quintessence
To acknowledge his ubiquitous presence
He – the unbearable lifelong companion.

Do you know that he has no friend?
Even though you might well pretend
At all social events not to see him
To greet him as you fancy or on a whim
He – the unattractive lifelong companion.

Do you see that he’s close to you?
Each step you take he takes one too
Accept him somehow that you must try
Too little, too late shouldn’t be your cry
He – the unbecoming lifelong companion.

Do you think of what he could do?
Evoke strong emotion and heartache too
Abominable character, he can readily destroy
Tenable relationships, no tactics to deploy
He – the undesirable lifelong companion.
Do you want him to magically disappear?
Emigrate, die, go to a location somewhere
Attempt to banish him from your head
That’s almost impossible, it’ll be said
He – the unforgettable lifelong companion.

Marisa Victor

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The Money Matter

Money money everywhere
But not a penny to spare
Money is all what I see
And the only one who matters is me
I dreamt of a Ferrari, I dreamt of a mansion
And money was all I needed for this mighty expansion
For money I begged
For money I even bled
For money I bluffed and a lot of lies I said
Money meant everything to me
Beyond money there was nothing I could see
For money I faked my near and dears
For money I stabbed backs with a spear
Money made me go blind
There was no one to whom I was just and kind
But now I cry in pain
And think it was all an act a little insane
Because now I’ve learnt
That pride and respect once lost can’t be earned
But money is just another thing and the person with a big heart is the real king

Manik Dhingra

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To submit a poem to the Online Poetry Competition, email inbox@forwardpress.co.uk (Enter Top 5 Poems of the Month in the subject line, including your name and postal address)

Or post your poems to Top 5 Poems of the Month, Forward Press Ltd, Remus House, Coltsfoot Drive, Peterborough PE2 9JX (Write your name and address on each piece of work you send)