Athleticism and Other Poems

By Alex Andy Phuong

Athleticism

Showcasing talent
On a court or an arena,
And playing a game
That is more than just a game,
And learning precious
Lifelong lessons
While accepting defeat
With humbleness and humility,
And demonstrating the ability
To beat the heat
Until the game is complete

Mist

Fine morning mist,
Evaporated
Through the air,
Lingering
Around who knows where,
And society could strive
While people are still alive
To create a plot twist
That would alter reality
As the mist clears away
With the hope of
A brand new day

Synthetic Aesthetic

The artificial
Is sometimes beneficial
Depending upon
The beauty of
Anything people make.
Give or take,
But please do try to give
As well as forgive,
For majesty is all around
Even when royal leaders
Sometimes step down,
And even when rulers abdicate,
People can still appreciate
The uniquely aesthetic
While remaining rational
And politely cordial

Brooch

Ornately decorative
Elegant design
Understanding reality
Coping with modernity
Changes happening constantly.
Poetic rhymes
Are slowly shifting
To free verse,
Yet all verses
Have some form of merit,
And the ones that endure
Do that
So that dreamers would not
Forget it
Nor do they lose hope
By learning to cope

Be a Maker and a Creator

Make art with the heart,
Begin a new start, and let
Nothing fall apart

Accepting Acceptance

Do try to not hate,
And also appreciate
Accepting others

Modern Pride and Contemporary Prejudice

Jane Austen composed
A story as timeless
As the tale as old as time,
And yet while love stories
Might appear trite,
Writers and artists still
Do anything to write,
And cheer for the authors
Who write for what is right,
And continue living life
Both day and night,
And do more than just do
To help one another
And each other

A Few Minutes

A few minutes might not sound like a lot,
Especially since time itself does go by
A few minutes at a time,
But even when memories fade away,
Some people from days long gone
Do stay locked safely away
In the mind, heart, and soul
Of the ones who do
Treasure and remember the beauty
Of bygone eras gone with the wind,
But also summon up the courage
To rise up,
And prepare to play new parts
On the worldwide stage,
And utilize today,
While remembering that
Tomorrow is also another day

Manifest Festivity

The creation of the Earth
The Birth of a Nation
Changing via transformation.
Shifting attitudes
As time passes by,
And do make an effort
To do more than try,
And even have an alibi
As evidence for accomplishments
Within the one and only lifetime,
And even when all is done,
The only life is the only one,
And the people who do more than they should
Oftentimes have lived more
Than anyone would have would
By going beyond the notion of could

Reciprocate Reality

Some romances result in tragedies,
And some stories reveal the realness of reality,
Yet even when life itself might appear bleak,
There is still the fundamental fact about the obsolete.
In fact, when things become out of date,
People still have the ability to reciprocate
To such changes
By coping with such changes
As a positive response
By abandoning negativity,
And demonstrate the ability
To showcase maturity
Through knowledge acquisition,
And become a more educated person.

Demure Allure

Reserved modesty.
Moving surreptitiously.
Respecting reality.
Allure and enchant.
Humbleness and humility.
Accepting the impossibility
Of idealism,
Yet always attempting
To create aesthetic beauty
That would fool no fool,
And reminding people
To follow the rules,
To purify,
And defy
The unreal, and instead
Try to heal

A Role Born to Play

Coming into existence
Resisting via Resistance
Avoiding the norm
While also paying respect
With all due respect,
People are themselves,
And no one else,
So play parts authentically,
Because within reality,
Human beings live their own way,
So enjoy this one and only day

Alex Andy Phuong earned his Bachelor of Arts in English from California State University-Los Angeles in 2015.  He was a former Statement Magazine editor who currently writes about literature, film, and culture.  He has written film reviews for more than one hundred motion pictures for MovieBoozer, and his writing has appeared both online and in print.  Alex is a writer who dares to support the ones who pursue their dreams.