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rachel-leigh-joseph
American
Let me scream Let me run Let me fall now from grace Punching the walls until my knuckles bleed Feeling you steal the very breath from me And I stand here alone Trying to dig you out of my heart I never realized You bound me so Softly stealing the light in my eyes Seeping into my skin like acid rain I believed in your lies But I tried to survive And all the glass houses I built Believing to be friendships Are shattering around me Because I believed your lies I believed theirs I believed Someone was coming to save me I gave until I was empty Until I finally noticed You hollowed out my heart Enslaved me to these lies That I could never matter Violation The nightmares of abuse linger still Just when I thought I could rise above them I find another disaster in my heart That can all lead back to you You convinced me It doesn't matter Three words I built my world around And I hate you for it So I cry out to God Humiliated and broken again Desperate For a Savior Free me from the lies Save me from my past Amen
0
Sep 12, 2013
Sep 12, 2013 at 9:46 AM UTC
Raw
I'm shaking today Biting all my nails When I look to tomorrow I have to look away again In my dreams Nightmares You have left a hundred times already But reality Makes me tremble At least this pain This fear, this sorrow This is familiar If there's one thing I know It's how to survive No matter what happens I will Always Survive
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Aug 20, 2013
Aug 20, 2013 at 11:43 AM UTC
The day before you go
A little girl Before her bright blue eyes Faded out to gray She watched the other children play While she hid Under the slope of the slide Beneath the steps She watched the others Climb and fall Staring up at them Through creaking wooden cracks Gaps in the planks A pain tugged at her heart Telling her she should cry Because people cry when they hurt Don't they? She rubbed at her collarbone Feeling a gentle swelling Bruises beneath her t-shirt A dull ache Memories of anger Wild bolts of fear Confusion What did she learn that night? A drunken rage He tore up her artwork It had won her a prize She watched it flutter to the floor Shredded He snarled Words of threat and hate And finally let her go Stunned She barely felt the pain from the blows Adrenaline heightens everything She picked up the pieces And threw them away A little girl Before her bright blue eyes Faded out to gray She watched her best work Fall into the trash Recess She didn't want to play But she didn't want to sit alone Hiding under the slide Her teacher asked her If she was alright No She told the truth My daddy got angry last night About the artwork He always gets angry Her teacher patted her arm And smiled And told her she really should play With the other children A little girl Before her bright blue eyes Faded out to gray Watched as her teacher walked away And still she couldn't cry
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Aug 16, 2013
Aug 16, 2013 at 5:59 PM UTC
Gray Eyes
Jesus I don't even know what to say to You I'm standing here With empty hands And broken eyes Accusing You Of teasing me Of broken promises Scorpions instead of bread My soul feels brutalized Bereft In the wake of such violence I'm reaching out And grasping empty air My hands are empty As though the promise of eternity Has passed through my fingers I tried to hold the light As though I could keep it in my hands Only to find It just fades away I'm searching for You here In these empty places Only to find I'm becoming more lost And more is being taken away I have stood here before With empty hands And broken eyes Searching for a Savior Who never seems to come I gave my whole life to You, Lord Built my world around Your promise Counting on a Sun That never seems to rise My God, I feel so bitter Empty and alone Ripped apart Abandoned How can You possibly ask me to trust When You only seem to hurt me? I don't want to believe anymore I just hide here in my room Blocking out sounds Of lives still in the sun No one is coming Not for me Not for me Don't You see me crying? With these empty hands And broken eyes I just cry I'm not strong enough To be what You want, Lord I'm just not enough Is that why You left me alone?
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Aug 16, 2013
Aug 16, 2013 at 1:21 AM UTC
Crisis of Faith
I stand face to face with Death And my heart is beating wildly So alive He opens his hands slowly Gently and methodically The hands of Death invite me in There is a kindness in his eyes And a truth I cannot evade forever Right now Death can be chosen or denied He stands there Patiently waiting for me to accept his invitation Or I can turn my head away again And go on Running as hard as I can From the figure standing just in the corner of my eye Never absent Never truly invisible Right now I can live as though I'll never die And fight for survival At all costs Right now The life I choose Can be devoid of Death Who I have cast As the greatest enemy of my soul Waiting to tear me to shreds And devour me forever All these years I have been running Professing belief in a God who conquered Death But unable to trust that victory To believe in resurrection In time I have come to stop running And at last I stand Face to face with Death He has always been there Waiting for me Not physical death to my body That will come later, someday But instead Dying to myself Dying to my fear Dying to so many sorrows in my soul This death is more frightening Than any physical death I am faced with the choice To die to my own will And to believe That I will be raised By the power of God Into newness of life I feel all the fear in my tortured soul Looking into the eyes of Death And I tremble I fear So afraid So weak So pained But I've run out of places to run To Whom shall I go? Jesus followed this path Walked into the arms of Death And He forged a way out again Words of eternal life Yet for now I just stand Face to face with Death And my heart is beating wildly So alive
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Aug 2, 2013
Aug 2, 2013 at 8:17 PM UTC
Face to Face with Death
I stand face to face with Death And my heart is beating wildly So alive He opens his hands slowly Gently and methodically The hands of Death invite me in There is a kindness in his eyes And a truth I cannot evade forever Right now Death can be chosen or denied He stands there Patiently waiting for me to accept his invitation Or I can turn my head away again And go on Running as hard as I can From the figure standing just in the corner of my eye Never absent Never truly invisible Right now I can live as though I'll never die And fight for survival At all costs Right now The life I choose Can be devoid of Death Who I have cast As the greatest enemy of my soul Waiting to tear me to shreds And devour me forever All these years I have been running Professing belief in a God who conquered Death But unable to trust that victory To believe in resurrection In time I have come to stop running And at last I stand Face to face with Death He has always been there Waiting for me Not physical death to my body That will come later, someday But instead Dying to myself Dying to my fear Dying to so many sorrows in my soul This death is more frightening Than any physical death I am faced with the choice To die to my own will And to believe That I will be raised By the power of God Into newness of life I feel all the fear in my tortured soul Looking into the eyes of Death And I tremble I fear So afraid So weak So pained But I've run out of places to run To Whom shall I go? Jesus followed this path Walked into the arms of Death And He forged a way out again Words of eternal life Yet for now I just stand Face to face with Death And my heart is beating wildly So alive
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71
Don't you dare Use religion as a banner You hide your evil deeds behind Have you actually fallen so far You believe these lies are truth? You put on such a big smile for the world You laugh and cry at all the right times Articulate and graceful Dripping piety from your fingertips How could anyone Say you're wrong? You say you're only doing God's work Concerned for souls Following a voice divine You're so comfortable In this tiny world you've built around you Where everything has its place And reality holds no sway It may not be your fault You've had help Building those walls around yourself So many voices Teaching you about this false reality They have put you up so high On this pedestal of decay You think yourself so far above The poor little creatures below you How your heart breaks With false compassion You pick and choose The ones you shower your acid love upon And you disdain the ones Who don't belong in your little world You hiss with venom And you say it is the will of God That they should be blotted out Cast away into darkness They have no place In your little box of false holiness But those walls are cracking The Truth cannot be destroyed You will fight to the death Desperately trying To hold that world together Burning everyone around you as you fall On that day You will have a real choice to make To meet God in the broken ashes of your reality And let Him lead you to the light Or to rebuild in the darkness I pray for those in your wake And I pray you will have the Grace To let the poisoned world around you fall So you can stand on solid ground And that those who still love you Will not be lost Oh, false prophet Such damage you cause To hearts around you In the name of God You bring such suffering I burn with anger for you But I pray with fervor To a God who sees Every action you take Casting down His children Into darkness in His name I pray for them And I pray for you God have mercy
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Jul 30, 2013
Jul 30, 2013 at 12:24 PM UTC
False Prophet
Don't you dare Use religion as a banner You hide your evil deeds behind Have you actually fallen so far You believe these lies are truth? You put on such a big smile for the world You laugh and cry at all the right times Articulate and graceful Dripping piety from your fingertips How could anyone Say you're wrong? You say you're only doing God's work Concerned for souls Following a voice divine You're so comfortable In this tiny world you've built around you Where everything has its place And reality holds no sway It may not be your fault You've had help Building those walls around yourself So many voices Teaching you about this false reality They have put you up so high On this pedestal of decay You think yourself so far above The poor little creatures below you How your heart breaks With false compassion You pick and choose The ones you shower your acid love upon And you disdain the ones Who don't belong in your little world You hiss with venom And you say it is the will of God That they should be blotted out Cast away into darkness They have no place In your little box of false holiness But those walls are cracking The Truth cannot be destroyed You will fight to the death Desperately trying To hold that world together Burning everyone around you as you fall On that day You will have a real choice to make To meet God in the broken ashes of your reality And let Him lead you to the light Or to rebuild in the darkness I pray for those in your wake And I pray you will have the Grace To let the poisoned world around you fall So you can stand on solid ground And that those who still love you Will not be lost Oh, false prophet Such damage you cause To hearts around you In the name of God You bring such suffering I burn with anger for you But I pray with fervor To a God who sees Every action you take Casting down His children Into darkness in His name I pray for them And I pray for you God have mercy
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70
Thank you For sharing some of your heart with me I promise I will keep it safe And I will never walk away I know it seems strange That I should love your heart so fiercely Precious in the eyes of the Lord Is the death of His faithful ones You have died a thousand deaths And the Lord was never blind He has chosen to let me see your heart With the love held in His eyes You are not forgotten And you are not alone Your heart bleeds love until its empty And still you give Desperately reaching For something that can fill you Before you become Too hollow to survive I know you've been betrayed Attacked by those you love And those who were meant to love you More than anyone Your soul shudders from the longing For a mother who doesn't dig Deep claw marks in your heart For a father who doesn't leave Such angry emptiness inside you For a world that makes some sense Because it shouldn't be this way You carry such a burden And you try so hard to hide it These wounds inside your heart Bleed out all the more with fierce compassion You long to protect and rescue others The way you never were And I promise you this day No matter how you wander Or get lost in the storms I will never walk away I know the truth your heart has forgotten I see it when I look through God's eyes You are precious in His sight So you are precious in my eyes You say you are a burden I say you are a gift from God And I give thanks That He let me stand with you You may not understand it Perhaps you never will This side of Heaven But that's alright Just trust me when I say You are God's gift in my life You never have to apologize You don't have to thank me Thank you for sharing some of your heart with me I promise I will keep it safe And I will never walk away
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Jul 26, 2013
Jul 26, 2013 at 1:59 AM UTC
Stop Apologizing
Thank you For sharing some of your heart with me I promise I will keep it safe And I will never walk away I know it seems strange That I should love your heart so fiercely Precious in the eyes of the Lord Is the death of His faithful ones You have died a thousand deaths And the Lord was never blind He has chosen to let me see your heart With the love held in His eyes You are not forgotten And you are not alone Your heart bleeds love until its empty And still you give Desperately reaching For something that can fill you Before you become Too hollow to survive I know you've been betrayed Attacked by those you love And those who were meant to love you More than anyone Your soul shudders from the longing For a mother who doesn't dig Deep claw marks in your heart For a father who doesn't leave Such angry emptiness inside you For a world that makes some sense Because it shouldn't be this way You carry such a burden And you try so hard to hide it These wounds inside your heart Bleed out all the more with fierce compassion You long to protect and rescue others The way you never were And I promise you this day No matter how you wander Or get lost in the storms I will never walk away I know the truth your heart has forgotten I see it when I look through God's eyes You are precious in His sight So you are precious in my eyes You say you are a burden I say you are a gift from God And I give thanks That He let me stand with you You may not understand it Perhaps you never will This side of Heaven But that's alright Just trust me when I say You are God's gift in my life You never have to apologize You don't have to thank me Thank you for sharing some of your heart with me I promise I will keep it safe And I will never walk away
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60
These are the days of our last summer The days stretch long yet our time runs short And goodbye has already begun My heart starts pounding in my chest When I think about the weeks ahead And all the years we have behind us My tears burn like the summer sun My breath is raspy in my throat Because I know goodbye is coming And this time it's forever These are the days of our last summer And I cry to God with all my soul How can this be? I cling to what is slipping away Because I know this time left with you Will soon be just a memory Forever marred with the pain Of knowing how the story ends I'm so sorry I keep crying when we're together These are the days of our last summer And I know it's more difficult for you Than you will ever let me know But your smiles are like the fireworks They burst so bright and yet they'll fade And somehow you don't mind Burning yourself up Just to give me something beautiful to remember Your cheerfulness so often selfless Always so strong and brave These are the days of our last summer Which hug will be our last? The last time you will hold my hand And chase away the nightmares Our last walk, our last drive together Our last pointless conversation Everything is changing soon We'll say goodbye and you'll be gone I'll stare at your empty bedroom Holding a sunset of memories in my heart These are the days of our last summer And I remember so much we've shared Fireflies lighting up a flooded night Walking with angels by a lake Eating ice cream in the snow Falling, laughing, crying And always your hand to pull me up Holding me across the years Teaching me to stand But I never wanted to stand without you These are the days of our last summer And words will never capture The love I learned from you You taught me the meaning of sunrise And I will not forget No matter how the years may pass I will always see you written across the summer days Brilliant, bright, and burning You brought the sun into my life Which outshines even goodbye
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Jul 18, 2013
Jul 18, 2013 at 12:28 PM UTC
Our Last Summer
These are the days of our last summer The days stretch long yet our time runs short And goodbye has already begun My heart starts pounding in my chest When I think about the weeks ahead And all the years we have behind us My tears burn like the summer sun My breath is raspy in my throat Because I know goodbye is coming And this time it's forever These are the days of our last summer And I cry to God with all my soul How can this be? I cling to what is slipping away Because I know this time left with you Will soon be just a memory Forever marred with the pain Of knowing how the story ends I'm so sorry I keep crying when we're together These are the days of our last summer And I know it's more difficult for you Than you will ever let me know But your smiles are like the fireworks They burst so bright and yet they'll fade And somehow you don't mind Burning yourself up Just to give me something beautiful to remember Your cheerfulness so often selfless Always so strong and brave These are the days of our last summer Which hug will be our last? The last time you will hold my hand And chase away the nightmares Our last walk, our last drive together Our last pointless conversation Everything is changing soon We'll say goodbye and you'll be gone I'll stare at your empty bedroom Holding a sunset of memories in my heart These are the days of our last summer And I remember so much we've shared Fireflies lighting up a flooded night Walking with angels by a lake Eating ice cream in the snow Falling, laughing, crying And always your hand to pull me up Holding me across the years Teaching me to stand But I never wanted to stand without you These are the days of our last summer And words will never capture The love I learned from you You taught me the meaning of sunrise And I will not forget No matter how the years may pass I will always see you written across the summer days Brilliant, bright, and burning You brought the sun into my life Which outshines even goodbye
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60
She asked if I'd looked in the trunk of your car A place I hadn't thought of Since that dreadful, horrid day All the nightmares of my childhood Came bursting into the waking world And desecrated my heart Memories of that day Are seared into my soul With all the malice and menace Of a thousand angry demons Who finally had their chance To clutch and cling and claw And they almost pulled me under She asked if I'd looked in the trunk of your car A question weighted With all the trauma and distrust That solidified that day In a physical proof we could no longer deny And you could no longer hide For years you went on deceiving You lived inside your secret world Where lies and life and pain Got washed away inside that bottle One you insisted had been gone And you made us believe You were no longer its slave She asked if I'd looked in the trunk of your car A question she spoke that day as well After you had admitted to hiding the bottle there But you weren't hiding anymore The lie at last caught up with you When I walked into that ER room And I looked into the face Of everything I had most feared All the evils in my life Were reflected in your eyes Eyes meant to love and protect me Now hollow and burning with hate and pain That haunt me even still She asked if I'd looked in the trunk of your car And the truth was, I had Just the smell of the car brought the memories back I've borrowed your car and I can't help but remember That day so clear in my mind Trembling I glanced inside the trunk And found it exactly the same as it was that day A tattered notebook and some junk And the same empty bag I pulled that bottle from I had thrown it away with shaking hands These hands are shaking still Barely believing we have survived Your journey to rock-bottom She asked if I'd looked in the trunk of your car And this bag is all that remains A proof that contradicts your insistence That's what is past is gone And can be discarded Like this empty plastic bag Yet it just won't go away Even when I put it back Tightly closed inside a hidden space And I walk away You proved to me that day That nightmares may fade But they never really die She asked if I'd looked in the trunk of your car And I could hear the tension in her voice Strained with hurt, hope, and pain Wrapped so tightly in her expectation of betrayal And my own heart hardened Even as I reached out to hers Bitterness seeped just a little deeper in my soul As I pushed the idea away That she should comfort me for once I smiled and brightly reassured her I had looked and all was well There was nothing in that trunk Except a past that binds us still
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Jul 9, 2013
Jul 9, 2013 at 3:22 PM UTC
She Asked
She asked if I'd looked in the trunk of your car A place I hadn't thought of Since that dreadful, horrid day All the nightmares of my childhood Came bursting into the waking world And desecrated my heart Memories of that day Are seared into my soul With all the malice and menace Of a thousand angry demons Who finally had their chance To clutch and cling and claw And they almost pulled me under She asked if I'd looked in the trunk of your car A question weighted With all the trauma and distrust That solidified that day In a physical proof we could no longer deny And you could no longer hide For years you went on deceiving You lived inside your secret world Where lies and life and pain Got washed away inside that bottle One you insisted had been gone And you made us believe You were no longer its slave She asked if I'd looked in the trunk of your car A question she spoke that day as well After you had admitted to hiding the bottle there But you weren't hiding anymore The lie at last caught up with you When I walked into that ER room And I looked into the face Of everything I had most feared All the evils in my life Were reflected in your eyes Eyes meant to love and protect me Now hollow and burning with hate and pain That haunt me even still She asked if I'd looked in the trunk of your car And the truth was, I had Just the smell of the car brought the memories back I've borrowed your car and I can't help but remember That day so clear in my mind Trembling I glanced inside the trunk And found it exactly the same as it was that day A tattered notebook and some junk And the same empty bag I pulled that bottle from I had thrown it away with shaking hands These hands are shaking still Barely believing we have survived Your journey to rock-bottom She asked if I'd looked in the trunk of your car And this bag is all that remains A proof that contradicts your insistence That's what is past is gone And can be discarded Like this empty plastic bag Yet it just won't go away Even when I put it back Tightly closed inside a hidden space And I walk away You proved to me that day That nightmares may fade But they never really die She asked if I'd looked in the trunk of your car And I could hear the tension in her voice Strained with hurt, hope, and pain Wrapped so tightly in her expectation of betrayal And my own heart hardened Even as I reached out to hers Bitterness seeped just a little deeper in my soul As I pushed the idea away That she should comfort me for once I smiled and brightly reassured her I had looked and all was well There was nothing in that trunk Except a past that binds us still
Continue reading...
78
I didn't know That there was life outside those cramped walls Of the hell I called my home I stand here now Where open sky surrounds me And this freedom Feels more constrictive Than those walls ever did I didn't know That I wouldn't know how to stand When I was no longer being forced To kneel before the lie That broke my heart These beautiful spaces Are too bright for my eyes That only knew the dark I didn't know That the cruel lessons they taught me And those I had to teach myself Those things that helped me survive Weren't going to help me live Here on the other side Of this"happy ending" In a world I never thought was real I didn't know That there would come a time When all of my pretending Would have to come undone All the wounds of battles past Would have to be bled dry Of the infections and lies That never let me heal I didn't know That I would ever find Someone to believe in Who could peel away these lies And hold me as I shake With the fear I couldn't show And the tears I couldn't cry Please don't walk away I didn't know That when the battle passed I would still be fighting It's all I've ever known Not knowing how to give up How can I surrender now I thought I'd run forever But you speak to me of rest I didn't know That I was still human Still allowed to feel That anyone would ever want me Or that I could be good enough So speak the truth to me But be patient As I learn to believe it I didn't know
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Jul 7, 2013
Jul 7, 2013 at 12:24 PM UTC
I Didn't Know