FanStory.com - A Poetic Idiot's Approach to Idioms by Videl Sky

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"A Poetic Idiot's Approach to Idioms"

Chapter 1
Speak of the Devil

By Videl Sky

Ole Lucifer slumbers down in Inferno,

Brimstone composing his cage.

You feel how he yearns to escape this burrow?

Can you not feel his rage?

Though he sleeps, he’s never at rest,

He seeks to corrupt your unconscious mind -

If you can’t withstand this taxing test

You’ll find your fate forever his, confined.

You don’t believe these tales? That’s fine!

Let us together scorn the Gods!

Yes, yes! – Put your soul on the line!

Are you ready to bet on the odds?

Speak of the Devil! Invite me him in!

This game of chance you’ll surely not win.

Author Notes Painting is 'The Fallen Angel' by Alexandre Cabanel.

Chapter 2
A Blessing in Disguise

By Videl Sky

Warning: The author has noted that this contains the highest level of sexual content.

An Amazon package came in the mail,

Addressed to my dearly loved wife Janelle.

She stole it fast out of my open hands -

I was left to simply guess at her plans.

Sadly, we were getting up there in years,

Spikes of excitement had long smoothed to spheres.

I didn’t mind, hardly thought to lament,

I thought this, but Janelle was discontent.

In days, I forgot about that parcel

Till one day her eyes held a clear sparkle.

She led me to our bedroom, and oh lord,

My old body froze on its own accord.

Atop our shared nightstand, freshly wiped clean,

I caught a glimpse of a book I’d not seen.

‘The Adventure Challenge – Sexy Scratch-Off’ -

She caught my attention with a soft cough.

~ *ahem ahem* ~ Well, I’ll skip to the end -

As we were, ah… exploring… this happened -

A greasy object got stuck wayyy behind,

I blame it on the way it was designed!

Goodbye marital bliss, hello E.R!

Turns out our situation was severe!

She crushed my hand as they probed with a scope,

We were both in shock when the doctor spoke.

Now get this – good thing they caught it sooner -

While they looked up there, they found a tumor!

Surgery followed, and soon it was done -

It was soft on the bank, a two-for-one!

But even before they took her over

I’d knelt, and whispered when I got closer -

Cutting off my sweet wife’s mortified cries -

“I guess it was a blessing in disguise!”

Author Notes !This did not happen to me - it's purely fictional! (Thank goodness)
Photo from Shutterstock!

Chapter 3
Tomorrow's Winds Blow Tomorrow

By Videl Sky

Our prospects endless, our time is now nigh,

The adventure makes our blood soar, and sing.

Grass under our feet, we look to the sky,

Soaking up the fresh renewal of Spring.

But Spring’s a cruel time, didn’t you know?

Starts off with sickness, the common cold peaks -

I got West Nile in March, three years ago -

My bones still ache, and my head, well it shrieks!

Truly, I’m afraid to die, to get ill,

What if this year, I do not recover?

I’m terrified to grow cold, and grow still,

To be buried in the ground down under.

You overstress my friend, you’re still here, yes?

Nature is a natural remedy.

We all pass on someday, do not obsess,

Stay here to observe life’s melody.

I wasn’t done, you see, tax seasons here.

Isn’t that a silly worry to own?

It’s not worry I feel, it's dread, my dear,

Over how many years I’ve now outgrown.

Each April rings a bell I can’t unhear -

How did I forget the joy of my youth?

Memories loose color then disappear,

I’m afraid they’ll all be gone soon, in truth.

And it all repeats again and again -

You expect me to break this fixed cycle?

We share one body we have to defend,

This is all about our life’s survival.

Can we perhaps on just one thing agree?

Cling not to our times of fear, or sorrow.

For even if we are not there to see,

Tomorrow’s winds will yet blow tomorrow.

Author Notes Art is by MiarCo!

Chapter 4
To Make Trouble out of Nothing

By Videl Sky

My wife nags me every day, for loads of things -
I didn't do the dishes, or sweep the floor,
I forgot to take out the trash, forgot to fix the door.
She did when I didn't dress up for supper,
and when I was too busy watching sports,
ignoring her with those easy retorts.

My daughter nags me every day, for loads of things -
she wants me to paint our nails and play dress up.
Makes me clean up after she spills food and ketchup.
She did every day before I went to work,
and when I had to drop her off at school.
Looking back, God I was such a fool.

When I got a call, I expected more nagging -
"Daddy, are you coming home yet?"
"Honey why isn't the laundry done?"
Not
"Hello, is this Tom Miller?"
"Yes, whose asking?"
"This is the Texas Medical Center, I'm sorry to inform you that there's been an accident."

To make trouble out of nothing.
How I wish you still did, because now,
now, your silence is deafening.

Author Notes The art is called 'Regrets Painting' by garuda sukmantara.

Chapter 5
Learning is a Dangerous Thing

By Videl Sky

Curiosity is a natural trait to have, when young,

Opposing the beaten-down interest of our grown.

It is a survival instinct I would hazard to say -

A result of millennia preparing for the unknown.

But questions are a dangerous thing to some,

There are those who benefit from our innocence.

Leaders and parents alike teach the lot of us

Not to question, to believe they know our deliverance.

And therein lies the fragility of their faith -

For if it cannot uphold to a child’s scrutiny,

How reliable of a belief could it possibly be?

But to point these things out is akin to mutiny.

So, we douse the flames of the budding youth,

We must make them think exactly like the rest,

Any dissent could start a backward slide -

Never forget, the powerful always know best.

It is this one idea that all evil understands,

Once you control the knowledge, you control them all.

As a seed of doubt is unlikely to uncling,

A little learning is truly a dangerous thing.

Author Notes The original idiom is, 'A little learning is a dangerous thing.'
I took inspiration for this poem from my own religious experiences as well as from the movie 'Jojo Rabbit,' which was about the youth of Germany being controlled by Hitler.
The photo is of the Berlin book burnings.

Chapter 6
Drink Water, Remember the Source

By Videl Sky

Grandpa was drafted to ‘Nam in 1969,

He maintained that what he saw was akin to hell.

His life forever changed on the governments assign,

But I’ll share a story he could bring himself to tell.

His company was resting near a bubbling stream,

Fighting off the strange amount of bugs.

Clear and beautiful, the flowing water gleamed,

As they took time to fill up their jugs.

By then they were too exhausted to think,

They didn’t have energy to scout around.

All were parched and yearned for a drink,

The wind blew upstream while the water, down.

Later, they found a buffalo’s corpse -

It lay there, rotting right beyond the bend.

Their path took them there after, in due course,

‘I swear I didn’t retch’ grandpa would defend.

The moral of this story is when you drink of the water

Always remember the source,

But don’t forget to mind that by its journey it’s been altered -

And often not for the better, I remorse.

Author Notes The photo is called, 'golden stream' from the sapa-tourism website!

Chapter 7
No Wind, No Waves

By Videl Sky

I walk the path of sobriety by myself,

The rest of my agemates worshiping the drink,

But wonder why I’m writing this in my room, alone.

I don’t feel anything when they succumb to the poison,

I didn’t know them that well to begin with,

But wonder if there will be anyone to send me off.

I keep the same routine every day,

I spend all my free time within my room,

And I’m the only one to make it to ninety.

But as I wither away, I do regret,

That I have not one example of youthful elation,

Nor an adulthood filled with rich memories.

I am but a still pond, beautiful but empty;

As though a life of abstinence saves,

Where there is no wind, there are no waves.

Author Notes Photo credit goes to Kateryna Kovarzh who took it in Italy!

Chapter 8
Only Death Can Cure a Fool

By Videl Sky

It was just past twilight; she was driving slowly home.

Saw a car with hazards on, shining a vivid chrome.

Thinking someone needed help, she braked to a halt,

The urge to help others was her basic default.

As she approached the window, the door swung open -

Her body went stock still, her smile now frozen.

The silver of the car seemed to flash in his hands;

Then he took what he wanted; he made no demands.

The dewy grass was cold against her tear-stained cheek,

It was all she could do to remain still and meek.

She thought she had a chance of getting out half-whole,

A mistake to think he had even that much soul.

The ground wept bloody tears as it watched her depart -

The revving of the engine hid her slowing heart.

Her body illuminated by a glaring light,

Eyes dimming as her body bade a soft goodnight.

Memories, a flash, a blur – but she couldn’t be saved -

This saying on her mind, virtually engraved.

Her father was right, albeit cruel,

“Only death can cure a fool.”

Chapter 9
Once Bitten, Twice Shy

By Videl Sky

Even a beaten dog grows wild,

It fights to escape its painful cage.

Compared to them, humans are quite mild -

They don’t seem to fight, but rather assuage.

Forgiving those who deserve the chains,

We are a masochistic species at heart.

The string wrapped around our own throat remains,

And with it we cannot bear to part.

Here, the other side of that dirty coin,

Holders of the string don’t often start as such.

But realize it’s satisfying to take and purloin,

To crush something pure into mulch and mush.

The greater the love, the greater the yoke,

You can still fear what once was cherished -

The roses release such a deceiving, scented smoke,

You don’t realize they’ve already perished.

As the one once indulged, stays forever sly -

The one once bitten, returns twice as shy.

Author Notes Assuage = soothe, alleviate, calm
Purloin = steal, rob, thieve

Chapter 10
Fall Seven Times, Stand Up Eight

By Videl Sky

One

My poor little dog went to live on a farm,

Daddy drove her over with the Ford.

A link is missing from our small family.

Two

Mom got cancer; dad drank himself to death.

I went to live with my grandparents in Delaware,

Waving goodbye to my friends as we departed.

Three

My first girlfriend and I went our separate ways,

It tilted the stable axis of my whole world.

I was over it by the next Wednesday.

Four

My small business failed and went bankrupt

And my wife had to help shoulder the burden,

That day marked my fall to booze and bourbon.

Five

Our first baby was supposed to be a girl,

But she never uttered that first wailing gurgle.

So, we cried instead of our little baby Grace.

Six

It was just passed midnight, and I received a message.

A photo, from a friend, of my wife kissing another man.

The divorce papers were delivered come morning.

Seven

‘I failed to win custody of our two children,’

I whispered into a glass of Canadian Club -

Drinking to the point of complete collapse.

But, because time doesn’t wait,

I brush off the dirt, and I set my back straight -

I may fall seven times, but I stand up eight.

Chapter 11
Hang in There

By Videl Sky

Clammy palms grasp an old, fraying rope,

Arms shaking with excruciating exhaustion.

I can't see how far down the ground slopes

I hope no one will witness this misfortune.

How long can I stay suspended in the air?

All I want to do is let go, to plummet,

I close my eyes and make a solemn prayer.

I hope I don’t feel when I hit the pavement.

You want me to tighten my grip – I want that too -

But the years haven’t strengthened my will,

I want to go back to that world I knew

And live there till my heart grows still.

Time passes, my body numbs to the ache,

Swaying back and forth in the breeze.

My eyes may close but I remain awake,

Hands growing slacker by degrees.

My time is coming, I know, I’m aware -

I won't for much longer ‘hang in there.’

Author Notes Art credit: francescoch on istockphoto

Chapter 12
Ignorance is Bliss

By Videl Sky

On a sunny summer day, I sat shocked atop the roadside,

A curious human, without a scent, appeared by my side.

Her presence so awfully gentle – I hardly even shied,

The whole affair so disarming, I felt compelled to confide.

I breathed ‘That little black lump lying on the ground there… it’s me,

Moving metal swerved to hit me as I was trying to flee.

But there was no lasting pain, my body was crushed instantly,

A regret that I’ll never get to best that truly tall tree.’

She lifted me up into her warm arms saying, ‘Yes, it’s true.

Your hour has come, it’s time to rest - your life here on Earth is through.

Perhaps in the next turn, you will be something, or someone, new,

But to start that journey you’ll have to follow me right on through.’

As my soul gently drifted toward that enchanting dark abyss,

I said, ‘I just didn’t know humans could be as cruel as this.’

She bestowed upon my furrowed brow a sorrowed, gentle kiss,

And tenderly whispered ‘Oh, dear, ignorance is often bliss.’

Author Notes Writing this poem was a fight with tears! Hope you enjoy!
Inspiration for this poem came from the comic pictured, written by Jenny-Jinya on reddit!

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