#progress poems on Hello Poetry

jonas Jan 2020

Everest

I have gone from baby steps to mountain peaks
From building new bricks to smashing myself apart
From new stitches to crumpling at the seams
Now the peaks rise before me and I have nothing

No matter how often my heart pounds away in my chest
Or the breath falls out of my lungs
I stand as tall as I can make myself
Their love is the harness that grips me as I climb Mount Everest
And only a touch of fear will hold me back

Someday I will stand at the mountain's peak and build a home for myself
Where the air is thin and the scenery stretches beyond the eye's capacity
I may have been pushed down before
/But it was not my fault/
And I will never leave my place from the mountain's peak

written in October of 2019

#progress #fear #mountain #everest

Eleanor Jan 2020

Sharp Eyes, Shark Smile

I’m the politician you elected, you put me here.
And the amount of power you gave me
is something you should fear

I shall now stand around in a high-viz vest
Because ignoring every current crisis
Is what I do best.

I could explain why there’s a hole in the ground where a new
children's hospital should be
Or why the country’s no closer to plastic free.

I could explain why all the houses I promised are late,
But instead I think I'll just boast about
How I single handedly defeated the 8th

I'll take every opportunity to stand above my peers.
I'll stare into the face of my victims
Smile, ignore their tears.

Maybe if I'd experienced this, I'd feel more empathy,
But I've modelled my conscience
After Stormont; empty.

Because I am not homeless or a refugee
I'm just the politician you elected,
With no progress for you to see.

#politics #passiveagressive #lies #deceit #progress

Travis Kroeker Dec 2019

Unmoored

Like the licking of an old dog that insists you take her
for a walk
the insistent swell
laps your legs.

Off port, headlamps
slip by in an unending current
supplying the illusion of your
inevitable progress forward,

and little certainty you had ever been moored at all.

#progress #port #boat #water

Matt Bernstein Dec 2019

In Rhythm

A blind face is the only introspection
many can afford.
Does watching make it worthwhile?
Does counting calm your nerves?

The hands will always listen,
when all we are is gone
The ticking never ceases,
whispering along.

#time #clocks #aging #progress

Amanda Kay Burke Dec 2019

Progress

Slow progress
Better than rushed progress

Think about it

#life #wisdom #truth #progress #slow #steps #better #rushed #patience

LeoH Dec 2019

Becoming

When life presents in adversity
I know this is how
I transcend my past
It is a blessing
Evidence I am progressing
On my journey
To become human

This poem started as advice for a friend who was feeling challenged...