It's cool to be sad
Be hip
Be trendy
Be alone

And you'll be popular
In theory

Red like the regret,
lying around as ashes
from the blaze of the
fire that caught up
in your lies, deceit.

Red as the sky bleeds
her despair raw,
as the wound deepens,
into her veins.

Red like the memories,
spilled like the blood
of the innocent.

Red as the regret
consumes the sanity
away from the sane.

I never knew you were hurt
Because you never wept
But as you stayed longer
You became colder

You made a promise
That even if you go
You won't be gone forever
But that was a lie

You never wanted to stay
So you slipped away
You've left me all alone
But I'll see you in the afterlife

i love sunday
gotta love sunday
just love the sun
and the day
but nothing comes between sunny day
or sundae? am i right?
i can rest in peace
and my hands with ease
because today is sunday
today's the day
sunday it is. rest day today.
tomorrow should be sunday.
but that means today is not sunday.
so what would rather sunday be?
if sunday isn't the day of today?
so rest your mind
and touch the sky
because today's sunday.

Vowels and consonants

Pool together into words

As my emotions rain down

The grim and grit

Of every memory clings

To each sentence

Until I step in

Then they collect on me

Dampening fingertips

And soaking my tongue

I jump in

Splashing out thoughts

Until I am coated in my imagination

I stomp through

The puddles of letters

Saturating me with words

And sentences are dripping

From my chin

the days may seem long poetry,
but ive lived more in
the words i write, than anywhere else

And the obsession is endless (for me)
With a Death of a Nation across the sea.
For its overdue respects and just desserts tonight,
May authority fear to stand outside.

driving home to you
unfortunately I died
~ text said I love you


driving and texting
new car for graduation
~ guys guess what . . .


busy city streets
need to text spouse I'll be late
~ pedestrian hit


can't wait to see you
didn't see car stopped ahead
~ text never sent




© 2020 Mark Toney.  All rights reserved.

https://www.stoptextsstopwrecks.org

Nothing is wrong
when I am young
and you are beautiful
I can't wait too long
to listen to your song
when nature is wonderful.

No, maybe it's wrong
when we're unknown
and not committed
I wouldn't sing for you
Now I need to know you
and we should be committed.

Okay then alright
Give it up tonight,
Nothing has happened yet.
Yeah, you were wrong
let it go and wait a long
for a true sky light.

he wrote
“Please understand...”
apologetic words blurred thereafter
swimming in a dark murkiness that I
simply could not face
he still waits for my reply
but I had no words
all skill of literate communication
left me
just a tearing of heart
a silent scream
he still waits for my reply
so do I

If my fate is to love you
From a distance
Then I'll burn for you
Like a star in your night sky
Bright, steady, reliable
Unwavering
Until the end of time.

Heaven rained on me,
I breathed in the petrichor,
Bathed in the downpour.

it enters
without

resistance
everything

is accepted
in this

moment
the sky

is bursting
with color

past disappears
into dust

I blow it
away

imagining
dandelions

I am a child
a happy child

playing in
a wild field

where

bees don’t
sting and

snakes don’t
bite

some nights of sin
lead us astray
away from our roots
repent the next day,
i come to you my lord
for maximum light
wash away my radius &
cleanse the circle of life,
my main priority
the only one,
i worship none
none but I
still i see myself
behind that moon
when you are present
in my heart &
not just beating...

Healing leaves are now disrobed branches
on the edge of this wilderness.
Many tall Douglas Fir stand sentinel
over 100 foot tall amazing grace — the fleeting leaves
expose the beauty of the moss clad scaffolds
adorned with a lime-grey lichen lace
Nature is my refuge — solid ground to stand
in this harmony and peacefulness.


Jesse Stillwater — December 2018

i really


r e  a  l    l    y



just want to feel less

You left, I turned out right.

I freed your heart
I unbound your chains
I turned on your light...open your eyes now!
Do you still see demons?
Or are they gone now, like you?

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

Break my bones;
cut my throat.
Pull me open,
learn the ropes.

Breath me in;
taste the fear.
Shank my skin;
stand and cheer.

Kick my head;
let me bleed.
Unbolt my veins;
enjoy the read.

Gouge my eyes;
punch my face.
Wrap me up
in your embrace.

Have you ever liked someone so much you regret meeting them?

Awakened by the scent of angry winds...

her heart thrills in anticipation

Others flee

but not she

Instead...rising to

greet the hysterical storm below

Spreading  her wings

welcoming the screams
closing her eyes

as she’s lifted

by raging winds

to soar with grace

across bemused skies

There’s a universe inside of you,
But I’m just a little star.
Once my light is out,
There'll be none of me.

I scroll my way through life
Cause I don't have to feel the pain
With all the smiles on instagram
I don't hate my life when I'm distracted

Poetry that animates
   Your own creations

Poetry that stirs up
   Your own recipes

Poetry in motion
   Taking you somewhere free

Poetry, a passing stare
   Made you do a double glare

Poetry in locomotion
   That made you map out crazy

Agitates, oscillates, fluctuates
   Darkness, light or in the shadows

Tempestuous because you like
    The moody and absurd words

Poetry, the outlet of imagination
   For things that need to be written

i'm sentenced to house arrest
by my own fear

It's neither right nor scorned,
It's finding your light to pour.

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 have failed myself with such absoluteness
That not even death
Would be of any use

If you could read my mind,
You’d see a thousand papers
Filled with broken poetries
And deadbeat proses
Full of woeful verses
With mournful pieces
Of unfinished stories
That are yet to be written
And failed to be spoken;
If you could read my mind,
You’d hear horrible screams
And earsplitting weeps
From shattered dreams,
Kept in a nasty notepad,
Scribbled on a bed
Of bloodstained words,
Ringing in my head.
If you could read my mind,
You’d see the shadows
That lurk within me;
You’d hear the bellows,
Screeching the words
“I’m tired,”
“I’m a failure,”
“I’m stupid –”
I know it sounds stupid,
It’s pathetically foolish
And seems too *******.
If you could read my mind,
You’d feel the tears
I had ever failed to cry;
You’d see the people
That make the weak weaker;
You’d see the monsters
That consume my head;
You’d hear the hollers
That failed to be freed;
You’d see the heart
That still bleeds and bleeds.
If you could read my mind,
You’d see the face
I’ve failed to show back then,
The face I’ve faked back then.
If you could read my mind,
You’d see a character
I had ever failed to become
If you could read my mind,
You’d be able to read
A book you never wished
To touch and read,
But sometimes I still wish
Someone could read my mind.