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93 · Apr 2021
Chlorophyll
Keith Strand Apr 2021
I was the French
and you the Ardennes

Tall peaks watched gently
as howitzers fired

But there in the grass
among the trampled flowers

as I lay bleeding
I smiled

Because in the earth
I am finally with you
92 · Apr 2020
Growing up
Keith Strand Apr 2020
You
always said to me

Starlight
never seemed so bright

Rain
never felt so nice

You
never seemed dangerous

Black holes
never seemed so dark

Poison
never tasted so good

You
lied to me
Ash

**

KK
92 · Mar 2020
Ash
Keith Strand Mar 2020
Ash
My starlit blood
Will curse the ground

Awash in a flood
Without a single sound

Galaxies in my eyes
Will fade without trace

The blue morning skies
Will never see my face

A supernova will ring
And death’s icy hand ungloved

Will hear me sing
A song of one that was loved
Not written about me. Rather someone who ended up betraying me.
KK

X
91 · Dec 2020
S
Keith Strand Dec 2020
S
Moon and Sun
Across the sky we run

Silkie and downtrodden man
I’d do anything I can

Water and Fire
Please, someone

douse my pyre.
90 · Jun 2021
Katie
Keith Strand Jun 2021
Your rosy cheeks
you think are ugly

But perhaps you don't understand
how some wish they had

A permanent rose tint
or eyebrows like scimitars

My words could never
ever do you justice

To say that your jaw
is like a cliff

Sharp yet smooth
is an understatement

But I
in my hubris
Will attempt to describe
the beauty of perfection

The beauty of an autumn meadow
or conifers whistling in the breeze

Eyes that show
distant supernovas within

And arms that may warm
my cold cold heart

But for now
I shall just be stumped

Because eventually I do hope
to be driven insane

To do so trying to understand
every little bit of you

And writing it down
on some small paper
90 · May 2021
Dust
Keith Strand May 2021
I thought that we had
something special

that we could be friends
just nice and simple

no pain
no rain

but my tears
must've muddied your dirt

you said
that you never wanted to part

YOU SAID
SO MANY THINGS

now yet again
I'm here

where you told me
I'd never return

but I suppose
it's my fault

I never should've believed you
my trust was misplaced

you should've just left
so I don't have to watch you go

so
so
slowly
89 · Mar 2020
Be"wich"ed
Keith Strand Mar 2020
This one's for my spark
my Hollywood sun

She's the song of a lark
with a brunette bun

A barista's style
in a coffee shop

A never ending smile
a resounding POP

A bird of paradise
flying among wires

As soon as I rise
I feel her fires
Written about the same person as the last poem.

**

KK
87 · Aug 2021
scorpion
Keith Strand Aug 2021
No
I don't want death

I want someone
who once close to my heart

won't poison it
with their tongue

someone
who won't bite hard

or take too much
from my fragile arms

Hold my scars
in your kind hands

hold this delicate throat
without crushing it

use your knives
to cut my dinner, not my wrists

and carry this husk
until it's whole

please
I promise you won't regret it
87 · Feb 2021
Legion
Keith Strand Feb 2021
A thousand
Words and sins

Covered and smeared
others in guts and cuts

Clockwork unbroken

Twisted like rebar
around my throat

Ever tighter with every tock

An arsonist set free
in the winter snow

When the gears halt

Will this house stand
or will it burn?
85 · Jun 2020
Apollo
Keith Strand Jun 2020
I made a pact
In the shady part of town

My heart
For an unknown price

They said
“The sun will lose the moon”

I agreed
Because I knew not what he meant

Now I’m cast out of the sky
Watching her dance

Just not with the sun.
84 · Jan 2021
Stiletto
Keith Strand Jan 2021
Oh darling oh dear
the waltz plays in my ear

pounding yet soft

This orchestra
this chorus

please take me far

Darling dearest
**** me now

use a stiletto

so I may die
only once
80 · Jul 2020
Nectar
Keith Strand Jul 2020
Fire exists
only to serve

The likes of an oppressor
and the likes of a hero

Burning everything it touches
singing the very fabric

That it rests upon

it's warmth brings you through
the night till it's over

Ambrosia upon earth

How much are you willing to pay?
77 · Aug 2021
Hills
Keith Strand Aug 2021
I've lost something
again on winding roads

something
I never knew
that I could lose

I lost it
under my nose

between bridges
and deep rivers
it rests

a treasure
just beyond sight

I had it
I had it
I want it back

through mud
rapids and caves

the scent
is still there
the scent

of a ******
****** shard

this mad hunger

when
when shall I know it?
the peace of completion?
77 · Sep 2021
God
Keith Strand Sep 2021
God
I saw the face
of your god on high

I saw his frown
his disgust

his horrible
horrible and crooked hands

I watched them
as they bent

popping my ribs
one by one

I saw the face
of unyielding hatred

for what
has been created

I then knew
that pain is true
the only truth

for even he
who is so mighty
might cry knowing
what was created

to know his creation
was in his image
to see
how twisted
he truly is

and finally
to rip it apart

without mercy
without hesitation
75 · Oct 2020
Asylum
Keith Strand Oct 2020
I tried
to build a house

A fortress
to keep us safe

But you

You had other plans

A sledgehammer
broke the bricks

And concrete
was no match

I still wonder

If he hadn't offered a home

If you would be on the couch
cozying up next to me

But that doesn't matter now

Two saw this broken house
and decided it was home

Refugees
huddled around the fire
75 · Sep 2020
Her
Keith Strand Sep 2020
Her
Good for you
you clipped my wings

Watched me crash to the ground

I swear we were flying

But it seems it was
just my ****** gums, knuckles, and thighs

Are you happy?
you hurt me unlike the others

Are you happy?
taking but hardly giving

When I pledged my soul
I never knew you intended to shred it

Or make my head
just a trophy on your wall.
75 · Apr 2020
Noct
Keith Strand Apr 2020
Nyx's crown sits
heavily atop my head

Like how stone grits
with me it is fed

Darkness
that I'll never escape

Regardless
it's just death's jape

And I'll live another day
because it is my say
KK

**
75 · Mar 2020
Anti Meridian
Keith Strand Mar 2020
The AM feeling
Is always something else

Sleep's sirens sing
A story that tells

Of struggles so far away
Merely the break of day

A yawn only heard by me
Not for another to see

My secret respite
So alone but I don't care

Here there is nothing to fight
This is a time and place so rare.
written at 12:36 AM while listening to some good music
73 · May 2021
Sons and Daughters
Keith Strand May 2021
Sometimes sadness feels
like your home

like laying down after work
and feeling your muscles fail

laying face down on the floor
dog hair and all

a familiar sadness
a tired sadness

like just giving up
because what's the point

Why try?

when your efforts
were all in vain

when it's given for a moment
but ripped away the next

I'm done with this painful dance
I'm done being a puppet

a puppet bleeding in the wind
an exhausted and torn rag

that's always been there to shelter
and dry you off

at least I tell myself
that I'm done

it's like a prisoner
saying they're a free man

I just hope
the guards take pity
72 · Feb 2020
Arsonist’s tears
Keith Strand Feb 2020
Lungs screaming fire
Drooling ****** upon the ground

Drowning yourself in the pyre
Drowning out all other sound

A conflagration in your eye
Turning your will to ash

A blaze so high
It made the heavens crash

An ember so all-consuming
It took your very soul
68 · May 2021
Precip
Keith Strand May 2021
The rain that comes
with this lingering cloud

yes, it makes us shiver
but it's better than constant sun

But you want sun forever?
I won't stop you.

But if you start to wilt
do not come to me

My moss may not
be hibiscus or lily

But it is strong
I know it won't starve

This is your choice
I wish you luck
68 · Sep 2020
Confinement
Keith Strand Sep 2020
In lonely rooms
the end comes too soon

But hey,
not such a bad way to go

With a bullet in your head
blood splattering your pet succulent

At least it's not suffering
in the pale sunlight

Watching it glint
between the panes

As they tell you
that there's so much to live for

When you know
the opposite is true
67 · May 2020
Lessons
Keith Strand May 2020
When it's over

Discard the feelings
but not the memories

Of all the love

And if there was a lack thereof
learn from the pain

These are lessons

I learned the hard way

If only I could show I've learned
66 · May 2020
war
Keith Strand May 2020
war
Our love was a war

we started campaigning

for what we believed in

tensions rose

and shards

like shrapnel

tore our faces

the allies and the axis

destroying each other

senselessly

seemingly for fun
66 · Apr 2021
Behind
Keith Strand Apr 2021
Knives and bubblegum
litter my space

But maybe I'm someone
someone you'll miss

Charismatic from the start
but erratic at heart

Scarves and swords
skirts and spears

You say that I'm kind
I'm not, I just look behind
65 · Jul 2020
Tea Leaves
Keith Strand Jul 2020
In that forgotten ruin
that cabin in the woods

I see the remnants of love and sin

The weathered furniture
well loved but forgotten

Will return to nature, I'm sure

An old man
may gaze upon these things

Artifacts from which he ran

But for now the ruins stand
among the cool shade trees

And burning sand
64 · Nov 2020
Line and sinker
Keith Strand Nov 2020
Left hook right hook
Can you not see?

After all you took
How you hurt me?

I take hot showers
To cloud vision and pain

Like depriving death’s flowers
Of all their rain

Make me kneel
In coals that are hot

So I may feel
When I’m shot
I was just spitballin’ here, hope you like it
63 · Nov 2020
Trust
Keith Strand Nov 2020
Maybe if your lips
Never crossed mine

Maybe
Maybe means nothing

Give me a yes or a no
and don't do it for show

Maybe is worthless
like the words everyone spews

Saying they won't go
yeah right, just row

Away like they all do

Go! Get the hell out!
I know you only want my best

my body not my soul

I'm tired of trust
I'd say it's gotten me nowhere

But this pit
is hardly nowhere
61 · Oct 2020
Hey Kid
Keith Strand Oct 2020
Hey kid

your warranty is up
the demons are here

what's your play?

Are you gonna stay?

come now, don't fight it
let us take you away.

there's a cab out back

just step in
and we'll take you someplace

far far from here.

no, it doesn't matter where.

this wretched place
hasn't treated you fair

they say they care
and still want you to stay?

c'mon kid, it's time to go.

maybe tomorrow
they'll lie and say

they loved you
and act shocked that you're gone

come with us kid

you'll be safe when it slips

and watch as your body drips
61 · Nov 2020
Tungsten
Keith Strand Nov 2020
If it had a voice
it would shriek

It would scream
into the pitch night

Never to be seen

If it had a body
it would ****

Lay waste to empires
through the night

Never to be conquered

Yes, a ravager in the night
the war cry of an iron will
60 · Dec 2020
Artemis
Keith Strand Dec 2020
Do you walk
wreathed in leaves?

Holly, Juniper, and Yew
upon your shoulders

A spectre of the forest

though your dress is fit
for royalty or worse

this dirt will hold
hold your soft footfalls

a siren hunting prey

why don't you stay?

the earth welcomes all

all miscreants
and lovers with smiles

the cavalry
and princesses alike

but you
you were misjudged

you are a gardener

one who looses soil
just to plant a solid oak

and the heart of the forest
shall always welcome you
58 · Oct 2020
Seven In Heaven
Keith Strand Oct 2020
She loves my respect
and odd idiolect

Hey there cutie
I'm not your true love you see

But for a night
I'll make you feel alright

If you'll let me
I'll help you see

A world of oddities
among the commodities

The stars above
and the call of a dove

My words may shock you
but you'll find them to be true
57 · Jun 2020
Rolling my R's
Keith Strand Jun 2020
I'm not a poet
just a guy who writes

She is
her talent is raw

I'm a stuttering mess
hell, that's never happened

But, somewhere between
the realm of today and tomorrow

she shows me what art is

she shows me things I can't describe

tell me, how?
how is life breathed?

into words so flawlessly

tell me, how?
how did this happen to me?

falling so impossibly
56 · Aug 2020
Mechanus
Keith Strand Aug 2020
Liquid gold through my veins
all for you

To sell in an exchange
an exchange of reins

Finish it
whatever you came here to do

Watch me shimmer
as you polish every hit

I'll serve until
you watch me collapse

Parts upon the ground
until you drag me to the landfill
54 · May 2020
Sandfire
Keith Strand May 2020
Dance dance
dance you ****** fool!

Sand in your eyes
not like they worked anyway

Feel the water
crest your ankles

Your tears
they match the sea

Let the sand
burn your skin and eyes

Run as fast as you can
god knows you won't make it
**

KK
45 · May 2020
Skeletons
Keith Strand May 2020
Skeletons
bleached in the river

Bones turning to dust
as animals graze

Machine gun fire
bursting rounds of three

A man bleeding out on the shore
finished by speeding lead

The skeletons watch it all
in silent contemplation
45 · Sep 2020
Zoe
Keith Strand Sep 2020
Zoe
White scars
with bright red paralysis

Burning blood

The white
is too bright

Soft glow
of turbulence in calm

Burning eyes

My friends and I
we hide

In a burning prison
in which we fight

Incinerated heart

These things broke me
a shattering that anyone can see

Holding my glass
hands bleeding

Red as I stab

Everything I don't like
until I die

With an incinerated body and mind
For and about my friend Zoe
44 · Oct 2020
Never Again
Keith Strand Oct 2020
Man
how simple times were

How chaotic they seemed
before I knew

Friends and lovers are like sand
slipping from your hand

No matter
how like iron your grip is

They go

Leaving you
and a blank page

Don't even try
to write on it

You'll quickly find
your ink turns to rage

Blood flowing
from a bone pen

And you will look back

You will look on with disgust
and try to never trust

never again

NEVER AGAIN.
38 · Dec 2020
Broken Love
Keith Strand Dec 2020
This poison
that you blew into my lungs

A saccharine kiss
hiding cyanide

Let me stay
in a rose gold palace

At night we'd fall
never looking back

In the day we were artists
painting pictures of each other

We'd walk in rose gardens
discuss anything we wanted

Till one day
I plunged my knife
into your defenseless chest

You looked into my eyes
and gave me a final kiss

one with blood
and with death
38 · Sep 2020
The Nero Up Above
Keith Strand Sep 2020
Why praise god
when the ******'s out to get you?

If he is truly a father
he is the paragon of abuse

Sickness, famine, plague
how universal the suffering is

When I was young
I believed the lies

That there was someone up there
someone who loved me and my brothers

Then I saw how

The gift of eternal bliss corrupts

And how he is a madman

If such a madman truly exists
then how can anyone love him

If it is not some form
of a sickening Stockholm syndrome?

— The End —