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Best Poems Written by Howard Osborne

Below are the all-time best Howard Osborne poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Howard Osborne Poem

Autumn Untold Story

AUTUMN UNTOLD STORY

Sense the tiny bite of crispness in the air
September ends and school again begins
Crows on the telegraph lines just stare
The old guy at the corner leans and grins

September ends and school again begins
The parents’ Volvos wait to drop and go
The old guy at the corner leans and grins
For a reason that most will never know

The parents’ Volvos wait to drop and go
Kids with an emotional burden to carry
For a reason that most may never know
Walking past the man and never tarry

Kids with an emotional burden to carry
Not yet acute enough to raise concerns
Walking past the man and never tarry
The memory of that encounter burns

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THE FINAL ACT

THE FINAL ACT

After Humpty Dumpty’s fall
Angry residents placed a call
The locals destroyed the wall
As it shouldn’t be there at all

Injured Humpty was all gloom
Alone in the emergency room
Having to use a nom de plume
Talking with doctors on Zoom

With meds all suitably labelled
Finally diagnosed as disabled
His complaint was then tabled
And a damages claim enabled

Then he was in constant pain
Smiling went against the grain
But was provided with a cane
Yet would never dance again

All the King’s horses and men
First aid was beyond their ken
As fighting was their acumen
Hadn’t joked much since then

Now Humpty has lost weight
One could say he’s in a state
His scheduled operation is late
Now wondering about his fate

It sounds just like a tale of woe
But that is the way a life can go
He’s a producer now you know
Sitting on walls is his new show

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RIVERBANK

RIVERBANK

The river of life flows fast toward the weir
This scene is now reality, not a pantomime
So smile for the ferryman as he draws near

Is that sweet music that you can now hear
It is calling softly with a melody so sublime
The river of life flows fast toward the weir

There are now only memories to hold dear
As recent years pass, they no longer rhyme
So smile for the ferryman as he draws near

Be resigned to one’s fate, then shed a tear
The underworld is calling, no need to climb
The river of life flows fast toward the weir

Shared understanding as others gather here
In the distance, can you hear the bell chime
So smile for the ferryman as he draws near

With no more to be done, it would appear
The beginning of the end, now is your time
The river of life flows fast toward the weir
So smile for the ferryman as he draws near

Details | Howard Osborne Poem

WABI-SABI

WABI-SABI

The vase lay broken on the floor
Pieces scattered, whole no more
Collected, to try and make again
Yet its beauty may forever wane
Glue and gold wire used to repair
Never to be perfect as I’m aware
Yet still is worthy of my attention
And ongoing healing intervention
Cracks now mended, yet still seen
A sad reflection of what it’s been
No longer stood in pride of place
Almost ashamed to show its face
A hint of the beauty gone before
One missing piece is its tiny flaw

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JANUS FACE

JANUS FACE

When looking to my right
I see images of yesterday
Once sharp, now blurred
Yet comfortable in a way
And somehow preferred
But will it always be night

When I’m looking to the left
As today becomes tomorrow
And seeing a hint of sunshine
Dispelling all traces of sorrow
Prospects should now be fine
No longer to ever feel bereft

Looking straight ahead at you
The present moment freezes
You cannot see my two faces
Yet neither expression pleases
I know that your heart races
Can your future I see be true

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THE LENTINI CURSE

THE LENTINI CURSE

A moment please, as I try to think upon it
A number of rules to apply in fourteen lines
It seems that it could be one form of sonnet
Four lines per stanza that a quatrain defines

If paid by the word, such a pity it’s not billable
For the poetic accountant, a natural proclivity
The time cost is counting every damn syllable
It ends up as a dampener on one’s creativity

Please note there’s the petty rules of rhyme
And it must also end with a two line refrain
Some may even say that it’s a waste of time
I’m not too sure that I’ll write another again

So I’ll wrap it up now, at least for this session
As it really hampers my freedom of expression

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Daybreak

DAYBREAK

I see the sun at last
It was waiting for its moment, yet unbidden
Light is cast

So powerful
Now brazen, no longer hidden
At all

To be
Like a wild horse, never ridden
Free

I see the sun at last
Now brazen, no longer hidden
Free

Details | Howard Osborne Poem

Singleton

SINGLETON

Why do memories always make me cry
Many are old now, after so many years
One would’ve thought they’d run dry
But predictably, always yet more tears

Familiar melody or maybe even a lyric
I can see it now, part of a scene I recall
In context it’s so very real, not esoteric
As if it’s here and now, not history at all

But how can it always have this effect
Despite a mature and balanced mind
There must be brain circuits to detect
And secret nerve connections to find

Sometimes it’s a face in a photograph
A snapshot of how we both used to be
When even a smile turns into a laugh
As if calling up a loss-tinged memory

I also can feel it strongly in my heart
Also in my gut, as a familiar tension
When I remember then, I fall apart
A loss that I find so hard to mention

But such responses I cannot control
A strong reaction I still can’t figure
Yet rising from so deep in my soul
They never do take much to trigger

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BIG BROTHER

BIG BROTHER

The science fiction of yesteryear
Is now here, or all coming true
A futuristic view was imagined
Wunderkind authors like Asimov
Thought much of, and influential
So much potential on every page
In this modern age, it has emerged
As tech has surged, dominating all
But heed the call, it can go wrong
And mankind’s song can soon end
It may depend on how we learn
When books burn, it’s a reminder
To find a better way to progress
Leave no mess, for the planet’s sake
What’s at stake is all our futures
Computers taking over with A.I
But ask why, don’t blindly accept

Details | Howard Osborne Poem

Fall

FALL

It’s mid October
All leaves finally fallen
Carpeting the ground
Swirling in the autumn breeze
Waving to the trees above