The  rosy  glow  of  beginnings
is tarnished,                  observe
the shift in colors,               they
wane against                   a new
vision,              one imbued out-
side                           confines of
what was,                       into the
was is of                               now
sojourns of timeworn  devotion
walk   unprovoked     by       the
notion                        of endings

I pour endless cups of tea
down the sink
we don't have time to drink
made for each other
like love notes we never wrote
always on the run
to or from something
a micro world of you and me
thrashing in the pond of life
with none of the finesse
of a swan paddling underneath
where are we going??
never stopping long enough
to think

If the world was made of paper and the sea made of ink,
I would write everywhere that I love you

Di te amore m'attrista,
mia terra, se oscuri profumi
perde la sera d'aranci,
o d'oleandri, sereno,
cammina con rose il torrente
che quasi n'è tocca la foce.

Ma se torno a tue rive
e dolce voce al canto
chiama da strada timorosa
non so se infanzia o amore,
ansia d'altri cieli mi volge,
e mi nascondo nelle perdute cose.

Brain, brain go away
Don't want to listen one more day
Already lonely and afraid
Feel insecure and full of shame

Brain, brain don't act this way
You're always angry; Filled with hate
You know we're joined; Can't separate
Yourself your punching in the face

Brain, brain what can I say
To make it so you see things straight
Don't know how much more I can take
Of constant warring and debate

Brain, brain it's getting late
This journey's not some endless race
Life's flying by and at this pace
Forget a win; Not gonna place

Brain, brain let's medicate
I'll feed you drugs and we'll sedate
The only way to mitigate
Discrepancies we generate

Brain, brain we sadly waste
This outcome feels like it was fate
But never was there a sealed date
Fulfilling what we self-create

Brain, brain so much we faced
Success so close could almost taste
Instead our tail we always chased
We'll die alone sad and disgraced

Barefoot on the beach
with the sun peaking through clouds
and ocean wave sounds

                                     Kelly McManus

a leaky faucet
a rolling drip
of stagnant water

Every day’s
a full closet
of drunk dancing skeletons
living on the premises

Every day’s
a parade of jokes
of gangrene limbs
and thick black smoke

Every day's
a masquerade
of storm clouds
covered in marmalade

Every day's
a rollerblade
on a highway to hell
an arcade of
an old witch's spell

Every day’s
Groundhog Day
an endless loop
of the same

He asked her what it's like living with anxiety.

She smiled sadly, "It's a never-ending pulse-race. Like knowing you don't want to jump off a cliff but not being able to talk yourself down from it.

Your fears take on a nebulous, unidentifiable form that tightens around your throat and incapacitates you.

There is no calm. No peace. Only the edge of a very strained thread."

Most days I feel so lonely
     Hide behind this mask like does anybody know me?
      Still dealing with the same stuff I dealt with when I was a kid
        Maybe I never grew up
Maybe I'm still a kid
       Maybe I'll never get over it.

Most days I just wanna lay in bed
      Close my eyes and forget about the world cause the world already closed their eyes and forgot about me.

I just feel like I could float away and die
Send me up to heaven with a message in a bottle saying " Return back to sender"
Or go down in hell and hang with some of the family.... probably shouldn't said that... oops my apologies.

I woke up from a nightmare
I could not stand to keep
to myself

you were stretched across the couch
coffee going cold on the table
a half finished cigarette
still burning

you wrapped me up
in kind words that
I could not bare
to hear

whispered into my ear
"one day we will go wandering
and this tiny house will overspill
with dreams'

you are not your memories, darling
you are not the bad things
that have been done to you
you are a fierce flame
that warms my heart

forget them, my love
they are nothing
and you, and you
are everything

Would you like to see the world through my eyes?
Take a painting
One you adore
And put a film of grey across it
The picture is still there, you know it is
But all of a sudden it’s not as beautiful
And you just can’t figure out why

You cannot force what is Natural,
Wait for it to come,
And ride the wave.

I used to read your poems
but lately you don't write
you're silent and aloof
you know that isn't right.
You can't close a door once opened
you can't abolish all your dreams
you're a poet of the heart
mustn't fall apart at the seams.
Say what you can in words
they speak the message true
spoken from the heart
the poems will see you through.
A hermit's not your style
a recluse, you are not
never give up writing
of things that you've been taught.
I used to read your poems
I'd read them once again
if you would send them out
(this one's from a poet friend)

I wonder if I really am kind hearted.
Most people think it’s true,
But maybe I’m just afraid of being mean-
Maybe I’m afraid of being you.

whenever i feel the pull to say hello

i remember what you said;
that you can't just be friends

and i remind myself what it means;
that you don't want me around
in any way, shape, or form.

Suffocating under these feathered weights
Gripping the cliff side with my failing ideals
Swept away in my daily dose of crippling uncertainty
An overworked mind, an underutilized soul
Drifting with the current, as the sun's rays say goodbye
Parting words you never said to me

no one loves me
but they claim they care
if they really did wouldn't they see

i am falling apart
fragile to the touch
yet they keep on pushing me

closer to the edge
and they think i can take more
so they push farther till i'm at the brink

it's like they know i can't swim
but they are going overboard
and they'll be suprised when i sink

You're the kind of person I
want to lay on the grass with.
See shapes in the clouds and
feel the gentle breeze with.

You're the kind of person I want
to go on late night drives with.
Have the windows down and
listen to blaring music with.

Doing whatever, whenever.
Always and forever.

lights flicker
in the distance
far far below

I’m here
looking down on it all
wrapped in a blanket
a book lies next to me
pages flipping themselves
in the cool summer breeze
inside are the sounds of life
outside are the sounds
of the questioning
the air is filled
with random notes
fluttering around me
like guardian angels
I know why they’re here

darkness
sat down
next to me
to keep me company
we look at the flickering lights
in the distance
he tells me
you’d do fine down there
if you wanted to
be a light
surrounded by light
but then he shifts his gaze
the moonlight
dancing through his being
but you’d do great
up there
be a light
where no one has dared to be
and with that
he left

They said,
"The most beautiful art is
looking into someone's eyes
when they talk about the
things they love."
And I said,
"Or looking at someone you love.
Or maybe, just maybe,
by looking at the mirror
is the most beautiful art
anyone should appreciate."

Answer my own question
swallow my own lie
lay here and die

Get up to pie
and toast
and coffee

Heave a great sigh
settle around
death's discomfort

Riddle me why
we husband these lies
paint 'em so high

they are nigh
to the wind
on scuppers of rye

all out
we cry
lay here don't cry

She said "I'm falling in love."

I said "I'm falling apart."

I love him
I tell myself
I know that
We will be together forever
I don’t believe that
We could be separated
My thoughts tell me that
He’s the love of my life
Sometimes my heart lies and says
I could live an eternity
Without him
Like my friends say
“We’re perfect for each other”
And you can’t tell me
He’s not the one.

Now read from bottom to top.

we do not write poetry
we write mirrors
which are held up
to curious faces
who read
looking for their
own reflections

Quand j'étais jeune et fier et que j'ouvrais mes ailes,
Les ailes de mon âme à tous les vents des mers,
Les voiles emportaient ma pensée avec elles,
Et mes rêves flottaient sur tous les flots amers.

Je voyais dans ce vague où l'horizon se noie
Surgir tout verdoyants de pampre et de jasmin
Des continents de vie et des îles de joie
Où la gloire et l'amour m'appelaient de la main.

J'enviais chaque nef qui blanchissait l'écume,
Heureuse d'aspirer au rivage inconnu,
Et maintenant, assis au bord du cap qui fume,
J'ai traversé ces flots et j'en suis revenu.

Et j'aime encor ces mers autrefois tant aimées,
Non plus comme le champ de mes rêves chéris,
Mais comme un champ de mort où mes ailes semées
De moi-même partout me montrent les débris.

Cet écueil me brisa, ce bord surgit funeste,
Ma fortune sombra dans ce calme trompeur ;
La foudre ici sur moi tomba de l'arc céleste
Et chacun de ces flots roule un peu de mon coeur.

Sorry,
I love myself more.

your name is
forbidden in
my mouth
or in my heart
because when
i think about
you;

i'll cry a little more,
hurt a little stronger
love a little softer
because you no longer
make me feel sober

i'm drunk on the
memory of you

As the sun reveals her
glowing boosm, the star’s
fade into the darkness
as the sun lights
the world bringing life
to the shadows.

Upon the dew drops of mornings
breeze, I am pondering as I am
left wondering within the forest
of ideas within my mind,
and the beauty of the season
breaks the struggle from
the heat of summer.

Adieu to summer, Autumn has arrived.

©️ 2021 By Amanda Shelton

Saw it all,
One last time...
Slowly, pressed "DELETE"
Swore to myself,
This mistake shall not repeat.

But I know, you know
I was bluffing.

It happened again.
I saw it all one more time,
One last time.
But this time, my hands don't tremble
I press not slowly, but swiftly "DELETE"
And I know, for sure,
It won't repeat.

The poet lives two lives.
One on the outside,
And one in their mind.

When you look in their eyes
You could see an abyss.

If you looked long enough
You could sink into it.

But most people don’t see it.

Take the time to read the words, though,
And you would know for sure.

The poet lives in two different worlds.

i do not sing the storm. i do not sing rage, wrath
the lightning bolt, the scream. Despair i do not sing
i do not sing struggle–revenge poisonous blast–
the hurricane, the quake that tears the city of peace

i do not sing no border. i do not sing no flag
i do not sing no warrior but she that fights all fear
Poverty & sickness-night, the blade, the club, the trap
blows, wounds, cries, lies, bursts & war-blood i do not sing

i do not sing despise for any thing or being
i do not praise no richness no governors, no kings
From all this flower-garden i pick one single rose:
creation is just dew upon the rose of love

i celebrate one flame. i only sing one blues:
the flame of endless loving with you & only you