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Best Poems Written by Duke Horace

Below are the all-time best Duke Horace poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Duke Horace Poem

My Beautiful Headache

You are such a beautiful headache;
 so hard to get rid of.
My body wishes you would leave,
 but there's no cure to ward you off

Yet,your face is like a drug;
 one look, & my troubles are put to ice.
Though I know it's not the cure
 for the moment, it'll have to suffice.

Were you sent by God,
to keep me happy,like He cared?
Or dropped by the Devil
 to make me gnash teeth,when you're not there.

'cos I know that it's by good nature
 you set free the one you most treasure,
 knowing, she'll come back some day
 returning that love in the same measure.

Or would I've to chain myself to you;
 your every step,with me as a yoke.
To make sure you're always by my side
 for reasons unknown, fated to choke.

Would I get salvation for my deeds,
 and reach a place much higher?
Or scream evermore in Hell's kitchen
 a soul left to roast in the Eternal Fire?

'cos one thing I know, and know for sure
 that without you near, I can tell..
If I have to rejoice in heaven,
on earth, I'll have to go through hell.

I ain't sure, about the reaction I'll get
 on expressing to you, what's in my heart.
If this proposal, you ever would accept,
 & unite two, destined not to walk apart.

How I'd continue to wander
 if you refused me, & turned about face.
For, if you can't be in my world,
 this world would be a wretched place.

Why bother beating around the bush,
 wreck myself, & cause undue grief?
To those near, blind to the struggle within,
 unaware that I'll never find relief.

Find me a soothsayer, skilled
 who'll tell me things untold.
And find for me a path, to her heart
 for which, I'd repay him in gold.

For even if peace settled on earth,
 battles would rage from dusk to dawn.
'cos my mind you ripped, in two,
 and these battles will go on, and on..and on.

Thoughts about you, spread through me, cancerous,
 infectious, I'm brought closer to my demise.
I realize there's no cure for my headache,
 no end to these muffled cries..

Soon, the lights will get dimmer,sounds more faint..
Without you,my heart,oh how it would ache!
For my life will soon reach the end of its term.
But, so too, will my headache...

Details | Duke Horace Poem

2 Journeys

Things I need to stop for:
deodorant, candy bars,
some magazines,
to while away the hours..

Have to catch the train in time,
as it's a long trip north.
With no one to keep me company,
my tongue's going to rot.

On my way to the station,
there's a man who wishes he was me;
he's running for the bus I'm on
shouting "STOP!", as it starts to flee.

He’s quite the messy dresser:
in any crowd he'd be the odd-man-out.
Tight tee on formal trousers
& sneakers which have gone through a lot.

The bus stops near a gizmo store;
"JUST IN! Boy stabbed to death",
the LCD's scream in unison.
& odd-man stumbles aboard, out of breath.

Can’t see who’s been killed this time,
who’s been robbed of the right to live.
In a series of deaths all across town:
tragedies caused without any motive.
--
The train wheels start turning,
no time to get to my seat!
My bogie is further down the order
getting there won't be an easy feat.

It's hotter in here than the midday sun.
Different smells ride humid air.
Fresh food & farts fight to be noticed
& my nose watches them in despair.

The cellphone rings in my pocket;
my hands are full, they aren’t free.
To let go of my case or the railing,
would add to the others misery.

Many stations pass, many alight:
in the aisles,less people remain.
As I move to my coach, a familiar sight
Odd-man's on the train.

As I rest in my seat I can finally see
the call from home, now miles away.
But as I started to say that all's fine,
my father had very bad news to convey.

"..'twas past 6, when Jim left home;
he was to meet up with Johann.
Then I heard his scream, & watched
as the killer ripped his chain..& ran!"

My heart froze as I heard those words;
I couldn’t follow what else he said.
It felt hard to breathe, the lights felt dim,
as I felt the blood rush to my head.

Thoughts of Jim came fast now,
a ball of energy all over the place..
How he'd get into trouble,
& still bring a smile to my face.

He always stood out of the crowd;
his arguments drove us insane.
He was with the US on Nagasaki
& so had a golden Fat Boy made for his chain.

More stations pass, more alight
in a hurry to reach their town.
Life I realized, is a train journey
& Jim had already got down.

And again the train comes to a stop,
as I wipe away another teardrop.
Odd-man jumps off the train.
And from his pocket..

a golden chain?

I see the Fat Boy
He recognizes me, from the bus downtown.
I see the stained sneakers.
And as the train picks its pace,so does he..

& he's gone..

Details | Duke Horace Poem

Loss To the Innocent

It's only for a brief while;
you said you'd get back.
And I know, to me, you won't lie;
soon, everything'd be back on track.

Time, healer of all wounds;
taking care of all that's wrong.
Time, lost waiting for your voice,
will be worth it, no matter how long.

The sandman comes, my eyes falter
in the darkness, my cell brings me tidings.
False alarm, gaining breath, I mutter
and wonder, have you gone into hiding?

A day has past, another day done.
My heart pines for tomorrow.
This day, for Thee, O rotten One;
for stirring my thoughts with sorrow.

Time, the rot, that lives in me
has set itself, on all pure & true.
Time, stealer of all those days.
I fight, to hold merry thoughts of you.

Yet, life goes on, at a hurried pace;
musings about you, lesser so.
Some thoughts sting, like a shot of mace;
the heart goes numb, then my mind lets go...

Details | Duke Horace Poem

Lost To Time

I had a girl for company.
She answered to the name, Time.
It was love at first sight;
who else could've a girl like mine?

Moments we lived in, were dreams
We spoke through thoughts, no words to tell.
She was a pretty witch
& I was cast under her spell..

An elixir in flesh and bone;
her voice thrilled me, her warmth filled me.
My skin longed for her touch, enticing;
a moment's caress can surpass eternity.

Lady Luck roared, my aims soared;
I had aspirations now.
I got used to Her appraisals;
drunk on her fortunes..& how!

My aims soared, my demons roared,
"She's wasting your life away!!
Share your life with some better lass
and ditch her, without delay."

Thus my gal Time, I did show the door.
I then sought ambition's hand.
Success & fame, all went and came;
for them, I was a one-night-stand.

Smashed by sadness, I searched for company.
Looking afar,'twas Time, I could tell.
She walked alone, roaming in solitude.
Was I missing, in her life as well?

And so I called out to her,
"Blinded by ambition, our love I did kill.
These wounds I'd like to heal,
so we can be lovers still.."

Desperation drove me after her.
Untrodden paths, my feet did pound.
I felt, she was just a mirage:
why did she not turn around?

Blind to all around me,
I stumbled, on objects unknown.
And fell tumbling, towards a stream,
where to me, my thirst was shown.

Exhausted, leaden limbs
dragging myself to the edge, I drank.
Thirst quenched, I looked in
to see a face staring back..

I took a closer look to see:
alas, it's my own image.
Fingers worn out by fatigue.
A face ravaged by age..

Then I felt my own weight on me;
my body defeated, paralysed.
'twas then, that Time came to me;
It was her all along, I realised.

"Oh, what a fool, you've been.
With your eyes, could you have not seen?
That I'm time, itself, past, present, and what is to be;
forever young, if with me, you had always been.."

"When you had me, you had all of time;
to chase ambitions, night and day.
Erase absolute blunders, at a moment's passing!
For time was yours, here to stay.."

"Don't you know time and tide, wait for none?.
When you left me, you wasted time away.
So when you started chasing me again,
did you expect, forever young, you'd stay?"

(an older poem rewritten)

Details | Duke Horace Poem

Puff

Tension personified:that's me.
Apart, my world soon would fall:
Family, friends, work, life.
Was that the grim reaper's call?

I was feeling so down on luck
that sadness would look at me, & smile.
Why can't my miseries just leave,
leave me happy for a while?

That's when a voice said,
"Why don't you call Puffy?
Puff the magic dragon!!
Your misery will be over in a jiffy.."

How would I find this Puffy?
Do dragons even exist?
But I was desperate to try all;
my troubles had to desist.

"Just light these pipes & blow
when you can't face the day.
He'll come to you in an instant
and take your troubles away.."

I lit my pipes, and held my breath..
& there stood Puff the magic D..
"Climb onto my back for a ride
and I'll take away your misery."

Above the clouds, through the mist;
we flew high,oh so high!
To this enchanting place;
a paradise in the sky!!

Was I in a dream, all along?
For I saw fields green with life!
What place is this? Utopia?
All creatures,so happy, sans strife!

-----

"Oh Puff, to this place I've been quite often;
greener pastures we must seek.."
"Just blow your pipes harder, boy
and we'll move towards the creek."

So higher we went, higher still..
Puff took me to the creek.
Why's the air here so scant?
I feel the choke hard on me:can't speak!

"Dear boy, it's time for me to go..
Never again can I take you here.
You troubles I can take away;
but they won't disappear.."

The dragon may be gone;
but these pipes remain.
These troubles loom over me, just as before;
not long before I go insane.

No, no, now it's too late
to do anything about it.
Oh, this pipe blowing has done me in;
I'm a choking pile of filth.

"Hey, that's just pipe smoke
clouding your judgement.
Don't need no doctor for this;
a puff will cure this ailment.."

My last pipe, one last wish
One last, bittersweet ride.
A peek of that awesome creek
Sweetness before I taste goodbye..

There's the creek I know so well;
But I can't reach it anymore.
Falling through empty air, in despair
when a Beast, my weight, it bore.

Faster, we dive together, faster still.
I open my eyes, my cheek against the floor
Snorts and giggles but no smiling face
Echoes around me, darkness unlike before.

Apart, this core splits, draws me in,
alone again, the chasm gets deeper..

Free-falling.

Shrieks of laughter getting louder
I hear him closer now,the reaper..

Calling...