3,000 Pages of Bob Atkinson's Poetry 1600+ Poems

3,000 Pages

of Bob Atkinson's Poetry

1600+ Poems

Jon Gonzalez, Apache

(1350+ Bob Atkinson poems made public)

"Is always easier to criticize
than to do it yourself

(and a heck of a lot more fun)." an old saying

Well, I choose to criticize
the sorry state of American Poetry

but, I do present my 3,000 page exploration of
how to write poetry
to the public for free,

not hidden in some ego driven
vanity publication on Amazon

which nobody would buy,

save for relatives
when imbibing a vast quantity
of alcoholic beverages.

Some of my poetry you may like,

some (or all) you may not.

Either way, hopefully, you will have experienced another view of the purpose of poetry.

Poetry.......
"the emotional content of literature"  

LINK TO BOB ATKINSON'S POETRY 

Necessity to Ambition - by - Bob Atkinson

Necessity to Ambition

(c)2016 Bob Atkinson

Lincoln's actions explained by Machiavelli

we've seen a pattern in our lives

which sets food upon our plate

selling souls for images

of future progress made

some necessary culture floats

formed of pretenses tried

with undulating purposed deportment

for which good men have cried

cried while operating manners

devolved in times of shame

eventful aberrations

of an honest person's game

necessity seems a wicked path

never finding honor within some bounds

expanding ever deep into

a circumstance of grounds

grounds of capitulation toward

what needs be done of late

never willing absolutes

be formed in a purposed haste

afterwards, when elements

find their place in time

we replicate these actions

with ambition deep far down

ambition's sense of order

replaces necessity in our minds

overcoming lust as a label

to legitimize our frowns

true, our feelings rove as we

find good place in life

wandering over problems

with arrogance of stride

Adaptation - by - Bob Atkinson

Adaptation

(c)2016 Bob Atkinson

Adaptation

surreal describes our situation

a mental image processed inward

toward some deviation's mark

of human non-progress directly stated

we step back in our time

within a mix of what we see

devolved toward institutions

benign and in between

solve for me this problem

help me with this question

which expands our capabilities

strength or cowardice?

strength would stand our backbone

against every problem charged

while cowardice would never ever find

us with courage leveraged by

by those men of society

who claim their laws lie real

when they, in their weakest moments

this land underfoot did steal

so why would what someone says

hurt you in the least

why could you not ignore

words from some strange beast

why would society protect you

from verbal communication

even though those thoughts you hear

come from a deviant situation

I would rather hear it all

so I could adapt to that charge

with thought over time

as to their meaning's cause

would never tell you you're in the wrong

to say any words to me

for when you say them openly

you've set your mind process free

when you hear these things from me

you know fully where I stand

I'd rather have a bullet come

from front not toward my back

adaptation changes us

and melds those not sincere

from a pot of thoughtless men

into a set of peers

while protection of thought

demeans our species greatly

give me honesty please friend

so I can understand your meaning

for if because of convention

you hide your feelings from

your friends and your enemies

we'll never become just one

always stay "them and us"

and those not of my kind

something I would cry about

from now 'till end of time

Emotion or Life Out of Focus - by - Bob Atkinson

Emotion

or

Life Out of Focus

(c)2016 Bob Atkinson

Emotion

we try our best to arrange

our world in some state of array

we feel we've done a superb job

when all remains cool, calm

then temper, fury, outright rage

flares when some strange event strays

into our life of simple focus

knocks us directly off our balance

we grab a tool for adjustment

time for emotion to reconcile disruption

as if twisting of a camera lens

we need clear vision thus amended

we've changed our outlook just a little

see acutely again, with different usage

emotion's our method of re-adjustment

in adapting to life's abutments

those bridge supports we walk through

when we take our traveled views

what we think as normal here

re-focused by emotional atmosphere

thus emotion fits our need

a simple mechanism to our brain free

from conscious consideration of

all we see, all we love

Essence of Poetry - by - Bob Atkinson

Essence of Poetry

(c)2016Bob Atkinson

sometimes questions come of age

in an age of sweetness dawned

some semi circle arranged in patterns

without which our lives lie dormant

here, in our wondrous days

we softly ponder meaning

define please essence of poetry

without which I'm only dreaming

well dear, 'tis not a definition

to wonder and berate

we've come to know a why of life

when we write words on page

to think begins a journey

into the mind of us

settles for us ever more

what's good about this fuss

good can find many meanings

as bad can find one's sad

elegance of finite solution

begins each day at dawn

to answer your good question

about poetry's erudite parade

we must here find a purpose

to why these words get arranged

poetry doesn't tell those facts

which prose must duly report

poetry tells how you feel

about this new discourse

emotions laid upon a page

where feelings come to front

how did you react to the news

with love or real discomfort

do you like these events

or do they make you sad

how could you find solace

in both good and bad

so there, in a nutshell

we've shelled this beast again

telling all there is to know

about one plan of man

Hiding the Garbage - by - Bob Atkinson

Hiding the Garbage

(c)2016 Bob Atkinson

Nobel Prize for Literature Announcement

we see bios written long

profuse in praise of poet's songs

those who know words to say

tell stories endless in many ways

he's this or that

she's teacher of

awarded trophies

because of.....

but where do they give

humanity something solid

fair value designed not with
ego driven noshings

no monument to carry in our minds as we resolve
to accept as truth these

openly divine belongings

hidden away, vanity books
to add to bios padded
like a mimic of some ancient crook
hand out for purses grabbing

and when you find a snippet

of words for which they care

one sees there's not much to read

wisdom lacking in a tirade of greed

so tell your institutions please

before awards please this junk read

don't throw us under a long black bus

and feel you've done some good for us

The Compulsion of Barbarity - by Bob Atkinson

The Compulsion

of Barbarity

(c)2015 Bob Atkinson

some see living in their dreams

a different world upon

which we rely

to carry ourselves toward dawn

some see peace and justice

as goals for which to rise

toward that institution

of derelict disguise

me, I find unusual

a soul who cannot see

simplicity of our germ of life

when we set it free

free to wander openly

beyond constraints of pride

free to send our children

toward the other side

free to search our feelings

for all who walk near us

and free to find sincerity

as a well defined plus

while jumping on those teachings

which never were that good

for faith in understanding

tells some what's absolute

absolutes have no place in life

leftovers from those times

when life carried less of value

than a pocket full of dimes

He Never Understood - by Bob Atkinson

He Never Understood

(c)2015 Bob Atkinson

he never understood this life

sometimes he would say

not any of its parts

whole dang thing displayed

never in his many years

could this or that be found

to eradicate his fears

of not finding hope profound

you'd think with advancement

he'd understand the rest

or at least diminish thoughts

put to a simple test

to find hope buried in a pile

of dust there on the stone

or under leaflets left on tables

or in his brother's home

no way in understanding that

which hid from his clear view

could this be the story he would seek

or could ignorance become his due

to tell the truth, it's not arranged

don't sit and wonder why

we all look for what's not there

as we eat our fruited pie

Terminology of Love - Bob Atkinson

Terminology of Love

(c)2014 Bob Atkinson

terms of love evolve in time

from where we stand right now

language, such a fluid river

expands, contracts, evolves

in marriage such controversy

on what to call these unions

confounds and confuses me

contributes to my disillusion

in time participants are destined

to drift apart in their hearts

requiring outside stimulus

association with other tarts

this doesn't mean you love less

that partner you have taken

just means you need strange nuhky

to broaden out your station

let's call this deed "constructive loving"

or "love-two" if you will

or, "yes I would, if I could"

or

"love you deeply for a bill"

so you see there lies in wait

terminology we might use

if we need to explain

ourselves, our wiggly moves

love for humankind

doesn't stop when we leave home

just takes on somewhat different

values, actions and forms

The Critic - Art & Poetry - by Bob Atkinson

The Critic - Art and Poetry

(c)2014 Bob Atkinson

The Critic

'tis always easier to criticize

than is to do it yourself
although in truth the latter
contains far more fun and mirth


my point lies somewhere in between

good and bad of poetry
adjustment for the mainstream
how we absorb ideas

to see this in a different light

with crystal covers on the lens

we can, with open eyes

love writers with sharp pens

those who look beyond the fluff

and understand good meaning

divest themselves of constraints

and pursue a different dreaming

they see a world with tearfulness

not holding on to chains

which produce establishments

that grate and agitate

my desire in this arena

carries to all a simple message

don't let the future be determined

by past usage and direction

what you see is fabricated

a reality far from real

poo pooing things that matter

holds their only zeal

me, I've grown accustomed

to my meaning zipping by

heads of those who look

only at the surface side

doesn't mean I'm disheartened

to try is not hard at all

when you feel compunction

to rearrange it all

Beaux Arts - by Bob Atkinson

Beaux Arts

(c)2014 Bob Atkinson

Fine Art

fine art permeates our lives

what we see's therein derived

some good, some bad, some forced

some sickly made in due course

definitions retrograde

or definitions purpose made

to put forward broad extremes

of subtle formations gleaned

culled from inadequate stock

of pompous airs trending upon

an overview of situations

brought on by purchase of station

for us to present a finite goal

in determination, what's overloaded

bombastic open ended remarks by some

who view the process, not what's loved

works this way in all we do

arts, science, construction, food

experts pontificate, nothing else to do

skills so meager in producing good

The Tempest of Poetry - by Bob Atkinson

The Tempest of Poetry

(c)2014 Bob Atkinson

Poetry

there blows in stiff wind

created by the word

an everlasting frozen

collection of nouns and verbs

like a whirlwind of change

these letters spell the thoughts

of minds evolved to think

and report facts back to boss

here, in an open world

where flies the dust of change

we find restitution

in words thus re-arranged

cannot give to the giver

much more than we have done

for in an underlying thought

he knows what we have spun

stories of our past

tales of our future deeds

garnishment of life

on all we can agree

freeze emotions for all time

let thoughts be translated then

into a world evolved from us

as simple mortal men

let them know all we were

let them like us some

let them know we tried our best

as we from danger run

let them see what we were

back when we were young

and how we gathered wisdom

when older we'd become

trade our sincerity

for that truth of which we knew

let them see our tears of pain

when success we couldn't view

hopefully they will exist

if we don't destroy their seed

for if we continue on this path

we'll be devolved by greed

Statesmanship - by Bob Atkinson

Statesmanship

(c)2014 Bob Atkinson

Dwight D. Eisenhower

"... we hold it to be the first task of statesmanship to develop the stength that will deter the forces of aggression and promote the conditions of peace ..."

Dwight D. Eisenhower

here in that time of crisis

those wayward days of mud

when those who would be powerful

gain fashion with use of gun

not seeds of perfect charity

no love do they possess

just overriding purpose

by thumping of their chests

here in our development

nature has our crossroads made

do we digress to the point

where progress reverses trend

back to a time when people lived

a life so badly blessed

with slavery, toil and pestilence

given to their masters' whims

or do we define the nature

of progress to be made

a simple organizing statement

which carries to the grave

all we seek of accomplishment

all love grown for our friends

no enemies designated

we're all just mortal men

so first we can define

the void of useful souls

that underlying demon

we can't allow to grow

when some seek to gain power

by force or use of gun

intimidation, recklessness

they need to understand

society cannot fathom

such willful negligence

needs of the many for peace

herein takes precedence

Love Is Lost by Bob Atkinson

"Love Is Lost"

(c) 2009 Bob Atkinson

it doesn't matter

how long I must wait

how many tears my eyes see

before my day breaks

love is lost

but not the pain

it doesn't matter

I'll wait for you

to come and caress me

and say you love me too

love is lost

but not the pain

give me that smile

bring me some red wine

sitting there at my feet

when I'm tired and beat

love is lost

in my heart's domain

love is lost

but not the pain

Sound Turned to Silence - by Bob Atkinson

Sound Turned to Silence

(c)2014 Bob Atkinson

Oceans

we all, in our own way

struggle through pursuit deranged

broadcasting our thought processes

in that in life of little gain

how much snaps your memory

to where you hear my tune

and sift your own experience

to drive home my good moods

how much of who I am

rubs right off on you

am I just noise in your cabin

as you ignore my attitude

silence knifes the book pages

as if cutting sentences in half

spewing waste out through a gate

and pulling shards of glass

silence feeds the open echoes

trundles through my past

and forms that open crust

of my ocean as I laugh

silence fills my need for clarity

non-ambiguous in its tone

the world defined by nature

or total lack thereof

The Art of Poetry vs The Discipline of Poetry - by Bob Atkinson

The Art of Poetry

vs

The Discipline of Poetry

(c)2013 Bob Atkinson

Encyclopedia

Fine Art has its alter ego

Art D'cor which also breaks

these two ideas into factions

one primitive, one more staid

Fine Art means something learned

art constructed from the past

having trained in master's techniques

meaning that will ever last

Art D'cor lies more transitory

fills merely a momentary need

more for pleasant decoration than

further advancement of the breed

in literature begins an era bold

of truly differentiated tastes

in a time of new beginnings

of newness that will rage

Poetry as an art leans

toward the wispy, mindless tripe

thoughts without complex emotions

guided by throttled emptiness

no purpose in its dreaming

no research done for its themes

no imparting information gathered

beyond simple illusion of mindless motif

Discipline of Poetry

on the other hand

takes our minds into a world

of culture broadly expanded

always purpose in those words

always thought deep in what seems

complex exploration of existence

researched flowing through watered streams

that tell us what we didn't know

what a writer knew not too

when he began his assemblage

of words that wanted to

expand our understanding

of this, that, or the other

setting us on a journey to

correctness, not toward blunder

he sets out to explore a point

be it theory or merely fact

and takes us on a journey meaty

never wanting to look back

he opens books of reference

gives those notes there for our usage

to let us quickly acclimate toward

understanding an idea's currency

here we've gotten something good

what pushes on our hearts

total construction of our world

observed at least until we're dust