The South Side
(a song)
*Three young boys just living their lives
Grew up poor learned how to survive
Never had much never asked why
That's just how it was on The South Side
All three were happy where they were
Thought they lived the life they deserved
They all had hopes and they all had dreams
But they wanted more then they could see
Three best friends for all of life
Would each move away and take a wife
They all had children of their own
But they'd always call The South Side home
The South Side is where they'd go back
When they'd tell stories of their past
How lessons learned stayed with them
And helped three boys become best friends
The South Side is where they'd go back
When they'd tell stories of their past
How lessons learned stayed with them
How the South Side made them into men
Then one day two friends would call
And find one friend not there at all
All three together one last time
Two friends now must say goodbye
Two friends carry the one who died
Who had given them so much in life
They share the memories held inside
Of the life they lived, on the South Side
The South Side is where they'd go back
When they'd tell stories of their past
How lessons learned stayed with them
And helped three boys become best friends
The South Side is where they'd go back
When they'd tell stories of their past
How lessons learned stayed with them
How the South Side made them into men*
Poem by: Carl Joseph Roberts
Feb 26, 2015
Feb 26, 2015 at 2:37 PM UTC
eyes closed, back arched.
neck up, self still.
mind loud, unsettled.
voices rough, self filled.
cringing, struggling,
hesitating, relaxing,
stiffening, softening
click
i'm floating, body weightless.
i'm fading, self latent.
noise canceled - no plugs.
self silenced, everyone.
all connected, it's mine
it's me, i'm it -
with it, without it,
disconnected, soul in.
inhale, exhale
back lowered. eyes open.
i'm radiating, i'm reaching
no effort.
i'm here.
Feb 26, 2015
Feb 26, 2015 at 2:02 PM UTC
You.
you have betrayed me
and underestimated me
and overestimated me
and hurt me
and abused me
and took me for granted
and hated me
and laughed at me
and tempted me
and taunted me
and shut me out
and hidden me
and drowned me
and suffocated me
and wronged me.
What you don't know,
my idiot friend,
is that you are loved.
You are getting all that you deserve.
You receive what you put out.
If you want happiness,
therefore,
all you need to do is put it out
for everyone else to grab.
If you want love,
love everyone and everything.
If you want trust,
give it.
The more you give,
the more you receive.
Mar 18, 2013
Mar 18, 2013 at 11:48 PM UTC
My breath comes shorter
as my eyes darken.
I see most nothing.
The soles of my feet feel like
I just landed on the jagged rocks
of the ocean floor and my head
feels like it was slammed against
the asphalt.
My hands are so dry the skin is
cracked and blood seeps through.
My finger tips are dripping blood.
I reach out, searching for anything to grab onto
but there is nothing.
I grow cold.
I hear twigs snapping and leaves brushing
and a croak of a chuckle
lurking behind my fog.
I scream a piercing scream,
somehow silent to all my memories,
everyone I once knew,
everyone who thought they knew me.
Mar 18, 2013
Mar 18, 2013 at 11:46 PM UTC
It's over.
After all the fights.
After all the laughs.
After all the tears.
After all the photographs.
After all the memories.
After all the yelling.
After all the connecting.
It's over...
Feb 19, 2013
Feb 19, 2013 at 11:44 PM UTC
It came and I was happy.
I let everything go,
dropped my baggage and danced
like the rare sun showers.
But now the sun has set,
leaving me in the rain,
in the cold, trying to breathe
through the blistering air.
The sun must come up
just as the grass must grow.
But until then,
I stand shivering almost alone.
Feb 15, 2013
Feb 15, 2013 at 6:08 PM UTC
Bursting and floating, an open bubble.
Never falling, never popping,
she went and went, along with the wind,
carried by the swiftness.
Storms had hit before- yeah they were long and cold.
But she never popped.
She was fluid, she was careful, she was carefree.
A storm.
Louder, and colder,
longer and harsher,
it whipped her layer by layer,
snapping her bursting, floating self.
The bubble scattered.
A piece here, a piece there,
and a brick somewhere far.
Left in the rain, under the shady trees.
Left in the cold, in the bare field.
Where did she go? they ask.
Away. Far,
far,
away.
Feb 13, 2013
Feb 13, 2013 at 9:36 PM UTC
He hears an annoying tick,
telling him I'm broken-
not working properly-
not like the other toys.
I don't hear a tick,
I don't feel it,
I feel fine-
like the other toys.
He picks, and picks,
looking for a way to
fix me. But
I need no fixing.
My springs spring fine,
I have enough oil,
my screws are *******
Yet he picks,
and searches,
for the broken piece
he will never find.
Feb 11, 2013
Feb 11, 2013 at 9:38 PM UTC
Yesterday we laughed
and smiled
and talked for hours
about everything
about absolutely nothing.
Yesterday we ran together,
hand in hand,
throwing our heads back
at those who couldn't touch us.
Yesterday we danced
and played
and watched and listened.
And today?
Today we scream,
deaf to each others' roar.
Today we push,
shoving each other down,
stepping on everything we can.
Today we are angry,
hurt because of the betrayal,
fed up with trying and failing.
Tomorrow?
Tomorrow is blank.
Tomorrow we might not be there,
onto our own lives,
hands incapable of reaching each other.
Tomorrow we look at each other
meeting eyes, divided by windows.
Either we turn away,
or punch through the glass,
jump out of the window,
and look for a different route to yesterday.
Jan 31, 2013
Jan 31, 2013 at 4:48 PM UTC
They smile and laugh
and smile
and laugh.
They toss their heads back
and smile and laugh.
Their smiles are big and bright
blaring down on me,
blinding me,
hurting my head.
Their laughs are loud and roaring,
obnoxious and taunting.
They slap me this way and that.
Rub it in my face.
I scream as loud as I can,
but they don't listen.
I hit has hard as I can,
but they don't feel it.
I want it too.
They keep laughing.
They keep smiling.
I want to wipe it off their faces
and keep it for myself.
Jan 30, 2013
Jan 30, 2013 at 3:49 PM UTC