Life’s Upsetting Shows



Empower me; let me enjoy my strength,
some dignity, grant me a kick in the ass.
Talents wasted, the whole dreary days’ length
I feel useless, aimless, no more than flesh.
But moan and groan, always lacking the cash
to go outside and mingle among those
who have a say and drift upon the flows
that suck me down, without the slightest hold.
This tragic life enacts upsetting shows
of fitting in, doing things you are told.

About this poem

Poem written in the form of a dezain, inspired by an artwork of an Belgian artist.

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Submitted by ludy_b on September 14, 2021

Modified on March 05, 2023

23 sec read
13

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABACDEEFEF
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 413
Words 77
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 10

Ludy Bührs

The topics she writes about are very diverse, so are the poetry styles she applies. As a Dutch translator and poet, having lived in Cambodia's capital city Phnom Penh for 2.5 years, in 2008 she published "Op de ruïnes van een rijk" (On the Ruins of an Empire) ISBN 978-90-8834-483-1 with 60 poems based on her experiences there. In 2007 she received a Certificate of Accomplishment as one of The Best Poems and Poets of 2007 issued by poetry.com and the International Library of Poetry for her poem Choked Truth, her own translation of "Verstikte waarheid", one of the poems in the book. Born in 1956, she still works as an independent translator, translating from English into Dutch. more…

All Ludy Bührs poems | Ludy Bührs Books

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Discuss the poem Life’s Upsetting Shows with the community...

1 Comment
  • rosyjane007
    expressive ... keep on going you can do better than that.
    LikeReply 117 days ago
    • ludy_b
      Thank you for your comment. Yes, keep on going ... But this isn't autobiographic. I wrote it as my interpretation of a very expressive painting by an artist and good friend.
      LikeReply17 days ago

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"Life’s Upsetting Shows" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/109501/life’s-upsetting-shows>.

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