josh-vork - Hello Poetry

Relentlessly The wind blows, whips, and howls The rain pours and pounds The lightning flashes and crashes The thunder booms Most nights this storm is for me Reminiscent Of the storm inside My mind, my body, my soul The wind to warn The rain to cleanse The lightning to shine And the thunder to frighten I am oddly at peace with this storm Tonight This storm is meant for another The wind to breathe life The rain to wash impurity The lightning to reveal And the thunder to jolt Again For me the wind a soft kiss The rain a cool shower The lightning a guiding light The thunder a low rumble Yet For you the the wind steals your breath The rain stings your face The lightning blinds your sight The thunder rattles your cage Suddenly It is over The wind is distant The rain is memory The lightning is distant The thunder is fading Relentlessly It calls upon the next Another soul rejuvenated Another mind convicted Another spirit revealed Another body seized Relentlessly

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Aug 29, 2019

Aug 29, 2019 at 9:33 PM UTC

Relentlessly

Relentlessly The wind blows, whips, and howls The rain pours and pounds The lightning flashes and crashes The thunder booms Most nights this storm is for me Reminiscent Of the storm inside My mind, my body, my soul The wind to warn The rain to cleanse The lightning to shine And the thunder to frighten I am oddly at peace with this storm Tonight This storm is meant for another The wind to breathe life The rain to wash impurity The lightning to reveal And the thunder to jolt Again For me the wind a soft kiss The rain a cool shower The lightning a guiding light The thunder a low rumble Yet For you the the wind steals your breath The rain stings your face The lightning blinds your sight The thunder rattles your cage Suddenly It is over The wind is distant The rain is memory The lightning is distant The thunder is fading Relentlessly It calls upon the next Another soul rejuvenated Another mind convicted Another spirit revealed Another body seized Relentlessly

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Like a Siren’s song Her voice called to me Rekindling the flames Of a past love As her voice reverberates within my skull I imagine abandoning all I have Family, friends, career To follow Innocently it begins Simply acknowledging the beauty of what I hear Slowly it shifts I could support her Musically, of course Creatively, perhaps But my skill is not worthy of her voice We could practice, together I could learn to be better For her We could travel the world, together She could make my dreams come true And I hers As if she needed anything from me Inevitably, I would fall in love With the music, with her We would create beautifully Things would end horribly I would find myself alone With no regret But longing for the embrace Of the wife and children I had left behind To follow this Siren’s song

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May 26, 2019

May 26, 2019 at 11:18 AM UTC

Siren's Song

Like a Siren’s song Her voice called to me Rekindling the flames Of a past love As her voice reverberates within my skull I imagine abandoning all I have Family, friends, career To follow Innocently it begins Simply acknowledging the beauty of what I hear Slowly it shifts I could support her Musically, of course Creatively, perhaps But my skill is not worthy of her voice We could practice, together I could learn to be better For her We could travel the world, together She could make my dreams come true And I hers As if she needed anything from me Inevitably, I would fall in love With the music, with her We would create beautifully Things would end horribly I would find myself alone With no regret But longing for the embrace Of the wife and children I had left behind To follow this Siren’s song

31

A vase of wilting roses Once full of life Bringing beauty to the room A source of joy For those that received them And for all who would smell them Or gaze upon them It matters not how much Nor how little Water, sunlight, or care They received The wilting was inevitable Why do we bother to give a gift That will only grow uglier with time? Why do we delight in beauty that fades In only a few short days? I see myself in these roses Someday, too, I will wilt My beauty will fade Where I once brought joy Eventually I will be thrown out No matter how well I am cared for How healthy I live Someday it will all be stripped away The greater the joy a flower brings The harder it is to dispose of Many a rose are kept well beyond The peak of their beauty For the memory they evoke Let me evoke great memories And I will be held well beyond My wilted beauty

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May 8, 2019

May 8, 2019 at 6:08 AM UTC

My Wilted Beauty

A vase of wilting roses Once full of life Bringing beauty to the room A source of joy For those that received them And for all who would smell them Or gaze upon them It matters not how much Nor how little Water, sunlight, or care They received The wilting was inevitable Why do we bother to give a gift That will only grow uglier with time? Why do we delight in beauty that fades In only a few short days? I see myself in these roses Someday, too, I will wilt My beauty will fade Where I once brought joy Eventually I will be thrown out No matter how well I am cared for How healthy I live Someday it will all be stripped away The greater the joy a flower brings The harder it is to dispose of Many a rose are kept well beyond The peak of their beauty For the memory they evoke Let me evoke great memories And I will be held well beyond My wilted beauty

32

Why would it be bad To have cake and also eat it? Why is that a metaphor of greed? What else should I do with cake? It could be a piece of art Something beautiful to behold But it’s purpose is to be eaten It’s cake Yes, I would like my cake And to eat it as well I want to enjoy The things I enjoy Not simply to hold them in my hands Stare at them upon a platter Wonder what they taste like I want to eat the cake It was made for someone to eat Why not me? Too much cake Will make me fat The sugar and flour Conspire together to build a gut It is not healthy to eat cake daily I cannot keep cake in the house The temptation is too great But everything in moderation A piece of cake here and there To be had and to be eaten Is a nice treat The daily grind of salads and chicken Nuts and fish Avocado and eggs and water Will keep me healthy Grounded So when I feel like cake I can have it Order cake for dessert Or to celebrate a birthday An accomplishment Or anniversary No one bats an eye But order cake for breakfast? Might just incite a riot There is a time and place for cake Society has deemed it so We are not the rulers of our own lives (Though we could be) Instead our culture dictates The rules of life Steak for breakfast or for dinner But not lunch Bread goes with every meal Eggs and bacon are for the morning But at night is a nice treat - on occasion Beer after five But it’s five o’clock somewhere And somewhere Someone is ready for dessert So **** it Let’s eat this cake That I have procured You and me, together Let’s have our cake And eat it too

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Mar 27, 2019

Mar 27, 2019 at 6:19 AM UTC

Cake

Why would it be bad To have cake and also eat it? Why is that a metaphor of greed? What else should I do with cake? It could be a piece of art Something beautiful to behold But it’s purpose is to be eaten It’s cake Yes, I would like my cake And to eat it as well I want to enjoy The things I enjoy Not simply to hold them in my hands Stare at them upon a platter Wonder what they taste like I want to eat the cake It was made for someone to eat Why not me? Too much cake Will make me fat The sugar and flour Conspire together to build a gut It is not healthy to eat cake daily I cannot keep cake in the house The temptation is too great But everything in moderation A piece of cake here and there To be had and to be eaten Is a nice treat The daily grind of salads and chicken Nuts and fish Avocado and eggs and water Will keep me healthy Grounded So when I feel like cake I can have it Order cake for dessert Or to celebrate a birthday An accomplishment Or anniversary No one bats an eye But order cake for breakfast? Might just incite a riot There is a time and place for cake Society has deemed it so We are not the rulers of our own lives (Though we could be) Instead our culture dictates The rules of life Steak for breakfast or for dinner But not lunch Bread goes with every meal Eggs and bacon are for the morning But at night is a nice treat - on occasion Beer after five But it’s five o’clock somewhere And somewhere Someone is ready for dessert So **** it Let’s eat this cake That I have procured You and me, together Let’s have our cake And eat it too

64

It’s persistent, the voice in my head The voice that tells me I’m no good I may have kept it at bay for awhile But now that I’m tired and stressed Now that I feel like I’ve lost control of my life It’s back I am not a good husband Not a good father Not a good coach Not a good friend Not a good employee Not a good son Not a good writer Not a good person These are the words it wants me to believe These are the feelings it evokes These are what will ruin my day If I pretend they aren’t there The power is in the secrecy If only I would keep these words hidden Don’t let anyone know The secret is the oxygen that fuels the fires Of self doubt The voice wants me to suffer alone “No one can know” it tells me “They won’t understand” it bellows But these are lies All have days like this All have weeks and months Littered with doubt and stress and fear The truth is that we are not alone Not in any of it Those lies lose their power In the presence of that truth Share your fears Acknowledge that they exist Identify them by name And you will learn that your mind Plays sick jokes I am a good husband I am a good father I am a good coach I am a good friend I am a good employee I am a good son I am a good writer I am a good person Even when I don’t feel it These are the truth

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Mar 10, 2019

Mar 10, 2019 at 9:01 AM UTC

The Voice

It’s persistent, the voice in my head The voice that tells me I’m no good I may have kept it at bay for awhile But now that I’m tired and stressed Now that I feel like I’ve lost control of my life It’s back I am not a good husband Not a good father Not a good coach Not a good friend Not a good employee Not a good son Not a good writer Not a good person These are the words it wants me to believe These are the feelings it evokes These are what will ruin my day If I pretend they aren’t there The power is in the secrecy If only I would keep these words hidden Don’t let anyone know The secret is the oxygen that fuels the fires Of self doubt The voice wants me to suffer alone “No one can know” it tells me “They won’t understand” it bellows But these are lies All have days like this All have weeks and months Littered with doubt and stress and fear The truth is that we are not alone Not in any of it Those lies lose their power In the presence of that truth Share your fears Acknowledge that they exist Identify them by name And you will learn that your mind Plays sick jokes I am a good husband I am a good father I am a good coach I am a good friend I am a good employee I am a good son I am a good writer I am a good person Even when I don’t feel it These are the truth

49

Though our time has come and gone Our moment together has passed Still I remember you fondly Though the good times are no more And the catalogue of memories is complete Still I remember you fondly Even though I opened myself fully And you seized the opportunity to hurt Still I remember you fondly The source of great joy And cause of great despair Still I remember you fondly Despite my efforts to chase the past You pretend that I never existed Still I remember you fondly You mean a lot to me More than I ever did to you And so I remember you fondly A revolution inside my soul Set aflame by your belief in me So I remember you fondly You encouraged me to feel fully again Then plunged a sword into my tender heart Still I remember you fondly You were my best friend And I was merely a game to you Still I remember you fondly I am not who I am today without you The joy or the pain you brought So I remember you fondly I choose to build my life based on the lessons you taught Not the cuts you gave So I remember you fondly

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Feb 27, 2019

Feb 27, 2019 at 6:33 AM UTC

Fondly

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Your touch is not foreign to me I have known it many times Mysterious the origin of it remains I can sense your presence Before even the physical touch Today you are near Will I feel your gentle caress along my cheeks? Will I taste the sweet sweaty salt That accompanies your touch? Will I hurry to brush you aside? Or will I linger in your presence? Will I find comfort in your touch? We spent many nights together Intimately so Simply for each other’s sake I fell asleep in your embrace Night after night after night You were my safe haven I pushed you away Afraid of our connection Of who I was becoming I miss the times we had together The long nights in your embrace The knowledge that what I felt was real Today I feel your presence Behind my eyes, as you always begin But will I feel your touch?

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Feb 20, 2019

Feb 20, 2019 at 6:03 AM UTC

Tears

Your touch is not foreign to me I have known it many times Mysterious the origin of it remains I can sense your presence Before even the physical touch Today you are near Will I feel your gentle caress along my cheeks? Will I taste the sweet sweaty salt That accompanies your touch? Will I hurry to brush you aside? Or will I linger in your presence? Will I find comfort in your touch? We spent many nights together Intimately so Simply for each other’s sake I fell asleep in your embrace Night after night after night You were my safe haven I pushed you away Afraid of our connection Of who I was becoming I miss the times we had together The long nights in your embrace The knowledge that what I felt was real Today I feel your presence Behind my eyes, as you always begin But will I feel your touch?

27

I am no one’s hero, no one’s savior I am only me I am but one man with one man’s ideas I can only control myself I have a particular way about me that many find off putting And others find inspiring I have not come to save the day If that is what you’re waiting for, you will die I can lead and guide I can make suggestions I can lean on the wisdom of those that have come before me But I cannot save you Your salvation is your responsibility Take control of your own destiny Chase the life you want I will be here to support you I am not Superman nor Spider-man I cannot hear your screams above the noise of night I cannot fly through the air at great speeds to rescue a damsel in distress I have not superpowers with which to emancipate I am but a single human man And a frail one at that So do not look at me with those eyes Do not await my triumphant entrance When I arrive, it will be humbly You will make me out to be more than I am You will tell stories of my great deeds that are grossly exaggerated You will make a hero of me in the hearts of others But I am just a man I implore you, please, take control of your own life Your own decisions, your own path I can be of much more help if you do I am but a weak man And cannot bear the weight you have asked me to I am not your savior I am only me

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Feb 6, 2019

Feb 6, 2019 at 6:24 AM UTC

Just A Man

I am no one’s hero, no one’s savior I am only me I am but one man with one man’s ideas I can only control myself I have a particular way about me that many find off putting And others find inspiring I have not come to save the day If that is what you’re waiting for, you will die I can lead and guide I can make suggestions I can lean on the wisdom of those that have come before me But I cannot save you Your salvation is your responsibility Take control of your own destiny Chase the life you want I will be here to support you I am not Superman nor Spider-man I cannot hear your screams above the noise of night I cannot fly through the air at great speeds to rescue a damsel in distress I have not superpowers with which to emancipate I am but a single human man And a frail one at that So do not look at me with those eyes Do not await my triumphant entrance When I arrive, it will be humbly You will make me out to be more than I am You will tell stories of my great deeds that are grossly exaggerated You will make a hero of me in the hearts of others But I am just a man I implore you, please, take control of your own life Your own decisions, your own path I can be of much more help if you do I am but a weak man And cannot bear the weight you have asked me to I am not your savior I am only me

36

The gods have conspired They have a message For me, for you, for us: Slow down Wake up Pay attention We coast through life Rushing from here to there Life a blur Our focus on what is next The next dollar The next function The next day The next Slow down Rushing is fruitless It gets you not to where you want to be Nor where you need to be Any faster Only more flustered Wake up Stop drifting through life As if a dream The worst of all dreams Until one day you are forty With only hypertension As proof of life lived Pay attention Look around at all there is The world is your oyster You’ve shut out all that is beautiful All that is worthy In order to rush Snow has covered the earth Bitter cold has enveloped the air The wind is screaming Slow down! Wake up! Pay attention! The gods have conspired.

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Jan 30, 2019

Jan 30, 2019 at 8:04 AM UTC

Polar Vortex

The gods have conspired They have a message For me, for you, for us: Slow down Wake up Pay attention We coast through life Rushing from here to there Life a blur Our focus on what is next The next dollar The next function The next day The next Slow down Rushing is fruitless It gets you not to where you want to be Nor where you need to be Any faster Only more flustered Wake up Stop drifting through life As if a dream The worst of all dreams Until one day you are forty With only hypertension As proof of life lived Pay attention Look around at all there is The world is your oyster You’ve shut out all that is beautiful All that is worthy In order to rush Snow has covered the earth Bitter cold has enveloped the air The wind is screaming Slow down! Wake up! Pay attention! The gods have conspired.

40

The wind, she howls Cold air bites The tips of fingers Noses and ears A clear sky Is a fickle friend Allowing warmth of sunshine And bitter cold Tiny hairs Within my nose Freeze with every breath I am alive Eyelashes, too Frozen in time From the tears The wind has caused The air, dry Almost thirsty Pulls moisture From my skin Frigid temps Extreme conditions Our world goes on Unapologetically

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Jan 22, 2019

Jan 22, 2019 at 6:12 AM UTC

Frigid

The wind, she howls Cold air bites The tips of fingers Noses and ears A clear sky Is a fickle friend Allowing warmth of sunshine And bitter cold Tiny hairs Within my nose Freeze with every breath I am alive Eyelashes, too Frozen in time From the tears The wind has caused The air, dry Almost thirsty Pulls moisture From my skin Frigid temps Extreme conditions Our world goes on Unapologetically

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