no braking on the slippery slope
of sweetest dreams we hold to cope
cast the dice for hope and love
prayers for blessing from above
capricious luck chameleon
lives in finest gossamer skin

silver mirror tells a tale
the hazardous signs to no avail
fried eggs cause cholesterol
acid rain our own downfall
committed to this saddened road
sore weighed down by heavy load

follow through the deadline looms
inexorable lowering fateful boom
as mundane as a dog with fleas
remain in shallow water please
claimed by dirt the box awaits
there is no running from this fate

but still the soul is steel and stone
no chisel carves a scar upon
no soapsuds need to wash it clean
no jaded imitation sheen
throw your theory to the sky
Do not pretend that you know why

though battered, shattered, worn
the minds eye sees beyond the storm
pulls threads of crimson, gold and blue
a tapestry of purest hue
love sings past the aging flesh
life cycle soon begins afresh

this was from a contest on AllPoetry that allowed you to choose from five word banks of five – I decided to be perverse and see if I could work them ALL in.

Words: 1. steel, theory, soapsuds, imitation, chisel 2. mirror, hazardous, dandelion, fried eggs, committed  3. tapestry, sings, eye, shattered, collide  4. slippery, fantasy, casting, chameleon, lives  5. deadline, boom, fleas, shallow, dirt

rats – I missed dandelion!