devon-leonel - Hello Poetry

It’s been quiet for so long. Who knows how much time has passed Since the last strains of melody Faded from hearing Moving through a world full of light and life But still And so I have also moved through this world In silence Making no sound I had almost forgotten the feeling Pressure waves against the eardrums The nervous energy of recognition The joy of song, of sound Until you Resonant, radiant you Brimming and bursting with song Electric, alight, alive And as your music falls on my ears I rediscover my voice

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Feb 5, 2021

Feb 5, 2021 at 12:09 PM UTC

Reawakening

It’s been quiet for so long. Who knows how much time has passed Since the last strains of melody Faded from hearing Moving through a world full of light and life But still And so I have also moved through this world In silence Making no sound I had almost forgotten the feeling Pressure waves against the eardrums The nervous energy of recognition The joy of song, of sound Until you Resonant, radiant you Brimming and bursting with song Electric, alight, alive And as your music falls on my ears I rediscover my voice

19

I only meant to dip a toe in The water looked so peaceful So inviting So I edged closer and closer At every step checking to see If it was really me To whom the river beckoned Step By step Until toes met water So crisp and cool The lap of gentle waves against bare skin And still the river called A little further A little deeper And I answered Edging out away from the shore The river didn’t look that wide Didn’t look that deep The other bank only a stone’s throw away How lovely to wade across and emerge on the other bank Refreshed by the brisk kiss of water on skin Step By step By — Empty space where there should have been riverbed Balance lost, pitching forward Head underwater Into the channel Into the current And all at once Swept away A moment of panic Floundering for equilibrium And then Peace Amidst the thrill of being caught In the water’s flow A germ of an idea Building Swelling Like a growing wave on the current Maybe where the water is carrying me Is a place I want To be

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Nov 4, 2019

Nov 4, 2019 at 4:06 AM UTC

Swept Away

I only meant to dip a toe in The water looked so peaceful So inviting So I edged closer and closer At every step checking to see If it was really me To whom the river beckoned Step By step Until toes met water So crisp and cool The lap of gentle waves against bare skin And still the river called A little further A little deeper And I answered Edging out away from the shore The river didn’t look that wide Didn’t look that deep The other bank only a stone’s throw away How lovely to wade across and emerge on the other bank Refreshed by the brisk kiss of water on skin Step By step By — Empty space where there should have been riverbed Balance lost, pitching forward Head underwater Into the channel Into the current And all at once Swept away A moment of panic Floundering for equilibrium And then Peace Amidst the thrill of being caught In the water’s flow A germ of an idea Building Swelling Like a growing wave on the current Maybe where the water is carrying me Is a place I want To be

46

This castle was made of nothing more than clouds, I know But it seemed to almost build itself Springing more fully into being With each interaction Every look, a soaring tower swirling into being Every smile, a noble wall stretching through space Every touch, a waving banner of proclamation And inside the lofty keep Blazing brightly on the hearth Fueled by the promise of things unsaid The flaming tongues of possibility Burning, growing, feeding on the hope That this majestic vaporous edifice Might be the blueprint For something solid Something real How strange that it could all fall apart Rent into nothing but wispy fragments By a single breath Of air

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May 5, 2019

May 5, 2019 at 2:01 AM UTC

This Castle

This castle was made of nothing more than clouds, I know But it seemed to almost build itself Springing more fully into being With each interaction Every look, a soaring tower swirling into being Every smile, a noble wall stretching through space Every touch, a waving banner of proclamation And inside the lofty keep Blazing brightly on the hearth Fueled by the promise of things unsaid The flaming tongues of possibility Burning, growing, feeding on the hope That this majestic vaporous edifice Might be the blueprint For something solid Something real How strange that it could all fall apart Rent into nothing but wispy fragments By a single breath Of air

20

The tempest did not last long Though while it rampaged it was terrible to behold Stinging sheets of rain falling nearly sideways On the fierce breath of the raging wind A gale force ripping up everything in its path Sharp stabs of lightning, the only illumination Across a dark and battered land And then The storm blew out The world dropped away All that remained Stillness Silence Quiet Spinning through empty space Trying to reorient Moments of feeling grounded again Like feet finding passing asteroids Stability for a time Too soon, the rock floating away in its orbit Leaving only space And darkness Straining to find the next moment of solid footing Eyes that acclimate to the dark Learning to navigate the emptiness Between those moments of steadiness Then, without warning, a blinding flash Remnant of the maelstrom A bolt of lightning searing through space The afterimage, glimpses of times gone by Visions of moments that never came to be Shadows of a future once dreamed of Eventually fading away to blackness once more No way to see what lies ahead Or what direction “ahead” even is Just drifting But Still Trying To move forward Through empty space

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Jan 21, 2019

Jan 21, 2019 at 12:52 AM UTC

Drifting

The tempest did not last long Though while it rampaged it was terrible to behold Stinging sheets of rain falling nearly sideways On the fierce breath of the raging wind A gale force ripping up everything in its path Sharp stabs of lightning, the only illumination Across a dark and battered land And then The storm blew out The world dropped away All that remained Stillness Silence Quiet Spinning through empty space Trying to reorient Moments of feeling grounded again Like feet finding passing asteroids Stability for a time Too soon, the rock floating away in its orbit Leaving only space And darkness Straining to find the next moment of solid footing Eyes that acclimate to the dark Learning to navigate the emptiness Between those moments of steadiness Then, without warning, a blinding flash Remnant of the maelstrom A bolt of lightning searing through space The afterimage, glimpses of times gone by Visions of moments that never came to be Shadows of a future once dreamed of Eventually fading away to blackness once more No way to see what lies ahead Or what direction “ahead” even is Just drifting But Still Trying To move forward Through empty space

41

I’ve been wandering through these hallways too long Staring at the works of the people they called masters Paintings labeled as perfection Every fold of clothing unruffled Every strand of hair in place Even in scenes of struggle and death Moments born not of real life But of fantasy, imagination, hours of unnatural stillness Days and weeks spent in meticulous crafting No freedom, no movement, no life But you You Are art in motion Bold strokes of a quick charcoal sketch Flashing lights and hips in motion in a salsa club The beautiful shapes made by one body on another And you pull me out of the museum Away from the frozen images The false representation of life Into the wild rush of life itself And a new kind of art We are footprints left in wet cement We are graffiti murals on the side of a building We are canvas caught in a paint fight Swirls and splashes and smears of color Captured amidst laughter and lighthearted joy Perfect in a completely different way Perfect And messy And real

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Dec 15, 2018

Dec 15, 2018 at 9:08 PM UTC

Messy

I’ve been wandering through these hallways too long Staring at the works of the people they called masters Paintings labeled as perfection Every fold of clothing unruffled Every strand of hair in place Even in scenes of struggle and death Moments born not of real life But of fantasy, imagination, hours of unnatural stillness Days and weeks spent in meticulous crafting No freedom, no movement, no life But you You Are art in motion Bold strokes of a quick charcoal sketch Flashing lights and hips in motion in a salsa club The beautiful shapes made by one body on another And you pull me out of the museum Away from the frozen images The false representation of life Into the wild rush of life itself And a new kind of art We are footprints left in wet cement We are graffiti murals on the side of a building We are canvas caught in a paint fight Swirls and splashes and smears of color Captured amidst laughter and lighthearted joy Perfect in a completely different way Perfect And messy And real

30

I watched the way you treated her I wanted to ask “how could you be so blind?” I swore that I would learn the lessons of her pain I promised that I would never make your mistakes I lied Turns out the apple Doesn’t fall far from the tree After all

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Oct 9, 2018

Oct 9, 2018 at 1:39 AM UTC

Like Father, Like Son

I watched the way you treated her I wanted to ask “how could you be so blind?” I swore that I would learn the lessons of her pain I promised that I would never make your mistakes I lied Turns out the apple Doesn’t fall far from the tree After all

8

I had no idea how easily the bridge would go It seemed like we had built something so solid Already constructed on the ruins of failed attempts But this one, this was going to be the one A moment of fear, a few thoughtless words Thinking as mine what should have been ours Those words flying with unerring aim To the bases of the pillars on which this bridge was built Sitting, deadly as dynamite, armed and waiting Too late in realizing the danger of those words Too late to reel them back in Now understanding that the damage was done The disaster a matter of when, not if, The only question the size of the explosion Merely awaiting truth, the detonator There was no massive flash, no fireball No scorching wave of heat Just silence And then A shifting A crumbling Watching in horror as the pillars groan Then buckle The agonizing descent of the bridge’s collapse The only thing to do: Get down into the dirt Amidst the rubble And start rebuilding, brick by brick Praying that one day you will trust it To hold you again

0

Oct 9, 2018

Oct 9, 2018 at 1:07 AM UTC

Broken Trust

I had no idea how easily the bridge would go It seemed like we had built something so solid Already constructed on the ruins of failed attempts But this one, this was going to be the one A moment of fear, a few thoughtless words Thinking as mine what should have been ours Those words flying with unerring aim To the bases of the pillars on which this bridge was built Sitting, deadly as dynamite, armed and waiting Too late in realizing the danger of those words Too late to reel them back in Now understanding that the damage was done The disaster a matter of when, not if, The only question the size of the explosion Merely awaiting truth, the detonator There was no massive flash, no fireball No scorching wave of heat Just silence And then A shifting A crumbling Watching in horror as the pillars groan Then buckle The agonizing descent of the bridge’s collapse The only thing to do: Get down into the dirt Amidst the rubble And start rebuilding, brick by brick Praying that one day you will trust it To hold you again

30

Closer and closer we've been creeping The view from the edge is supposed to be amazing So I've been told Even more thrilling, the joy of freefall If you have the nerve to throw yourself into the unknown Long have I avoided the edge Bordered by a deceptively steep slope That has caught many unawares And sent them, off balance and stumbling Over the lip and into the vast expanse And I have sat, unwilling to test my footing On the treacherous ground But now You You, who have been to the edge You, who have experienced the thrill of the flight Take my hand And sit And suddenly I find I can remain still no longer I want to know what life is like Down the hill Walking the divide between land and sky And so, after years of sitting I rise, your hand in mine And together we brave the hill It's not so bad, I find My feet are sure with each step And you You, who have taken this journey before You don't take the lead Don't pull me along You follow, matching me stride for stride And each step makes me want to take one more Until we find ourselves walking-- Not walking, dancing-- On the brink of the precipice And I realize our steps are sure There is no danger of an accidental fall How long will we resist The urge to make the jump?

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May 31, 2018

May 31, 2018 at 5:51 AM UTC

Dancing on the Cliff's Edge

Closer and closer we've been creeping The view from the edge is supposed to be amazing So I've been told Even more thrilling, the joy of freefall If you have the nerve to throw yourself into the unknown Long have I avoided the edge Bordered by a deceptively steep slope That has caught many unawares And sent them, off balance and stumbling Over the lip and into the vast expanse And I have sat, unwilling to test my footing On the treacherous ground But now You You, who have been to the edge You, who have experienced the thrill of the flight Take my hand And sit And suddenly I find I can remain still no longer I want to know what life is like Down the hill Walking the divide between land and sky And so, after years of sitting I rise, your hand in mine And together we brave the hill It's not so bad, I find My feet are sure with each step And you You, who have taken this journey before You don't take the lead Don't pull me along You follow, matching me stride for stride And each step makes me want to take one more Until we find ourselves walking-- Not walking, dancing-- On the brink of the precipice And I realize our steps are sure There is no danger of an accidental fall How long will we resist The urge to make the jump?

41

And just like that The wall between us fell Turns out We're going the same direction After all

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May 29, 2018

May 29, 2018 at 2:38 PM UTC

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