Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

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Discover Dark Poems about Human Folly

I’m poet Guy Farmer and I love writing dark poems about human folly, from the petty to the galling and reprehensible.


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Unconventional Being Poetry by Guy Farmer

Emotional, raw, and deeply personal, ‘Unconventional Being’ is a powerful poetry collection about human darkness and folly.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Escape

It begins to
Come into focus.

The incessant quest
For acceptance.

The need to be
Part of the in group.

The endless judgments
And expectations.

The need to
Cater to others.

The sacrifice
Of self.

The urge to
Escape from it.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Subsequent

How that one brief
Moment has impacted
Everything, each
Subsequent occasion,
A constant conflict
Between what is and
What might have been,
Unfinished stories
Calling from another
Place. Staring into
The distance, another
Infinite day of
Wistful speculation,
A story rewritten but
Never completed.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Goodnight

He waited many minutes before
Clicking the send button.

She was both surprised and elated
When the message arrived.

They met in a small restaurant,
So many memories.

They bid each other a fond
Goodnight.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Genuine Effort

I could write
The most eloquent
Speech, carefully
Enumerating every single
Exhaustively reviewed
And edited detail,
Backing up facts with
Copious evidence,
A genuine effort to
Explain my point of view,
Or simply speak from
The heart, sharing
What I feel inside,
And it wouldn’t matter.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

What to Do

Though she would never admit it,
She didn’t care much for
Herself and for so long
Had been told she didn’t matter
That she gave her life
Over to something,
Someone else who
Would tell her what to do,
When to do it,
How to do it,
No questions, no comments,
Complete conformity.
Thought traded for comfort.
Mind and will atrophying.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Extravagant Display

The slightest shift in tenor
Presages the impending
Barrage of vitriol and virulence
Spewed upon all in the vicinity.

Unblinking, staring at their
Immaculate shoes, the guests pretend
Nothing out of the ordinary
Is happening, not here.

Carefully selected finery,
Arranged extravagant display,
A mesmerizing feast for
Some other time and place.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Window

Getting out of her
Car, she walks slowly
Toward the building
Where she and her
Many brothers and sisters
Grew up in an apartment
Far too small for
Even two people.
She remembers these
Sidewalks, their cracks
And buckles, the chalk
Drawings she and her
Sisters would make,
Washed away by the
First rain, the endless
Cast of characters just
Trying to make it in
A world of hard edges.
She looks up at the
Window that was her room,
Wonders who lives there
Now and vows to help
Them make it out too.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Nonetheless

Having been what
Other people call shy
For most of her life,
Thoughtfully observing
The world without the
Hindrance of an
Endlessly spewing mouth,
She sees things that
Others don’t and
Takes it upon herself
To be the chronicler
Of the unnoticed,
The people and occurrences
Existing in quiet obscurity,
Deserving attention
Nonetheless.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Despots

When all that matters
Is tearing down
A safety net,
Dismantling vital
Institutions,
Installing a regime
That solely serves
The upper echelon,
Then it doesn’t
Mean anything when
They lie about what
Their initiatives
Will really do
To regular people,
How their cuts
Obscenely damage the
Ability of working class
People to thrive,
For democracy to function,
That the real agenda
Is to redistribute the
Wealth to a few
Lewdly engorged despots,
Mansions re-gilded in
Gold many times over.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Stop Me

Stop me
If you’ve
Heard
This one.
Begin story.
Stop.
I’ve heard it.
Hurt feelings.
Not as easy as
It seemed.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Integral

He’s made more money
Than he ever thought
Possible, built an
Empire that keeps
Growing at an outstanding
Pace, year after year,
The clear leader in
His field. He’s asked
To speak to business
Groups all over the world
And is always amazed at
The hush that falls over
The room when he describes
How well he pays his
Employees and how integral
They are to his success.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Hoarders

Humanity-choked street,
Bodies shoulder to shoulder
Hurrying somewhere.

Traffic at a standstill,
Automobiles competing with
Animals and carts.

A small stall
Halfway in the gutter,
Selling sugarcane juice.

Decaying buildings,
Edges smeared
By neglect.

An ancient woman
Sits on the ground,
Hand outstretched.

Smoke, dirt, filth
Permeate the air,
A film of misery.

The hoarders make
Sure nothing
Ever changes.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Envy

There are stories
From long ago,
When his family lived
In the old country
And enjoyed vast
Land holdings,
Prosperous mills
That produced vast
Quantities of goods,
A lavish home on
A sprawling estate,
The envy of everyone,
All of it taken
From them in an instant,
A camera capturing
A moment in time,
Planting seeds of
Rage and discord,
Lashing out at the
Thieves that came
In the night and
Separated them from
Their supremacy.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Impress

A small stream gurgled through
A verdant meadow under the
Content gaze of a cerulean sky.

A small boy played an improvised
Game alongside the rivulet,
Giggling with unselfconscious glee.

A small mind polluted the water to
Feed his desolation and impress his
Name upon another public building.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Disorderly

Accustomed to
Doing
Whatever the want
Whenever they
Want to,
For whatever reason,
With absolute
Impunity,
No fear of
Retribution.

Bullies
Wearing
The right outfit,
Preying on
The vulnerable,
Enforcing the
Status quo,
Having a
Few laughs,
Disorderly.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Contained

They had the most superficial of
Relationships where they talked about
Mundane topics and tiptoed around everything
Else. Stifling whiffs of decay and disease
Barely contained by clattering lid.

In the name of civility they forgot to relate and
Share what was really going on, acknowledge the
Sleeping giant, the misunderstandings and
Resulting rancor that formed the glacier.
Small talk prevailed, reality restrained.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Aftermath

She sits in a comfortable room
Surrounded by trappings of
Carefully contrived gaiety,
A union of convenience
Slowly dissolving in a
Pricey crystal wine glass.
Memories untended,
Reality makes its presence known
In a million small ways,
The inescapable aftermath of an
Impulsive, ill-conceived
Party thrown by teenagers when
Parents are away.
If she closes her eyes for a
Moment she remembers the
One who really matters.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Long Days Pass

He bristles when people
Who are onto him get
Too close, revealing
Who he really is in
Uncomfortably realistic detail,
Unbearable to someone who
Thinks he’s pulling the wool
Over people’s eyes.
A cocky mess of prancing and
Posturing jerks and twitches.
The sad gyrations of a
Cavalier clown.
He dismisses as psychobabble
Any discussion of his true character.
Long days pass, filled with
Justifications and regrets
Never uttered out loud lest
Someone like him
Makes fun of them.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Special

Not the same
As it once was,
I hold on desperately
To what made it so
Special, a memory of
How it used to be,
Clashing with
Present reality.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Fall from Grace

Self-appointed arbiters
Of morality and righteousness,
They incessantly harass everyone
To conform to their vision of
The world and more than
Just once in while
Fall from grace when it’s
Revealed that they’re as
Fallible or even more flawed
Than people who don’t portray
Themselves as paragons of virtue.
After the inevitable collapse,
They sit whining about how it’s
Everyone else’s fault while
Plotting their next steps toward
Imposing a crushing theocracy.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

It’s There

How to be a kind person?
You already know how.
We all do.
Look deep inside and
You’ll find that part of you
That is free from
Fear, anger, sadness—
Your courageous self,
Without conditions or
Complications,
The version of you
That is love and peace.
You know it’s there,
Ready to embark on a
Journey of wonder.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Improving Education

Starve the public schools
By refusing to
Pay taxes.

Declare that teachers
And schools are
Broken.

Under the guise
Of school choice,
Dismantle the system.

Pass bills so public money
Can be spent on private,
Religious, or home education.

Help private corporations
Get their slice of
The pie.

Only support education
That furthers your
Political goals.

Issue proclamations
About how you’re
Improving education.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Certain Things

Helen volunteers at a
Local food pantry that
Helps people with far less
Than she has, though she
Can remember when she too
Had very little of anything.

She’s mostly chipper as
She greets the people who
Come in to ask for some
Kind of help, although
She’s particularly acerbic
About this one woman.

It seems this lowlife drives
Up to the building in
A fancy car, which rubs Helen
The wrong way, after all,
Poor people aren’t allowed
To do certain things.

The woman with the car
Never says a word, nobody
Knows her story, where she
Came from, what she had to
Overcome to get to this point,
And why she asks for assistance.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

His Business

He owns a thriving company
Which affords him a lifestyle
He never could have imagined
As a child, no one in his family
Had succeeded like this before.

When he attends meetings with
Fellow business owners he
Often overhears conversations
About cutting employee pay,
Hours, benefits, training.

He emphatically disagrees
With this cold approach,
Opting instead to treat his
Workers as part of the family,
People to be esteemed.

His business is one of
Caring and kindness,
Where people are valued.
Sure, he makes money,
But not at someone’s expense.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Walking Together

Walking together
Through the park,
Admiring all the
Lovely trees and
Beautiful animals,
Talking about anything
And everything.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Party

The only bad thing
About a party
Is that it
Eventually ends,
Although sometimes
It doesn’t end
Soon enough.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Amiss

I would always get
A strange feeling
When they came around,
A persistent unease
Warning me that something
Could very easily go wrong
And had many times before.
Others seemed not to notice it,
Perhaps more familiar with
That type of energy.
I didn’t know what it was then,
But I do now and I still
Heed the voice that tells me
Something is amiss.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Wholeheartedly

This morning
He woke up and
Resolved to
Give away a
Large part of
His fortune to
People who
Have not had the sun
Shine on them
In the same way
It has on him
And who are where they are
But for chance,
An act of kindness
Offered wholeheartedly
To fellow human beings.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

If Only I

If only I on outstretched wings might
Spy that which I once failed to heed.
Onward, upward, soaring, squinting,
Hoping to gaze upon that which might
Have been but for undiscerning eye.
If only I had waited one minute longer
I might have met you or mingled lives
With destiny well-acquainted.
We might have been close had we
Paused for a moment.
If only I had done that which I dreamed
I would have found my path to solace, calm,
Invincibility, fulfillment’s caress with joy.
Dance, shout, sing, act, exalt, dream
As one with unhindered jubilance.
If only a moment I had grasped as my own
To reflect on places arrived and unconsidered.
Dreams neglected, spine protected, wounds
Infected. Wake today with unclouded will and
Take flight on wings ideal, unbound.

Poetry by Guy Farmer-Dark Poems about Human Folly

Entrenched

Entrenched below
Consciousness, attitudes
Developed through rote
Reinforcement, leaving
No room for anything but
Dogma, a narrow window
No light penetrates,
A joyless trudge
Through life.