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Mar 18 · 31
Checkmate
Joanne Mar 18
He always said our love would last forever,

Even through the tough times, he promised we'd last

Always looking deep into my soul,

Reminding me I’m seen and loved
Till the day came he left me,

Broken and alone, I felt nothing but regret,

Realizing I thought you knew how to love my soul

Eventually, I understood it was all bound to fade
Advanced in your meticulous technique,

Keen with lies that let down my defenses

Checkmate—you win, and the reward?

Heartbreak
Read the first letter of each line
Mar 18 · 32
Niche
Joanne Mar 18
I’m sick of creating new accounts
To speak to every part of me
My personality split beyond the screen,
Trying to figure out who I’m meant to be—
A poet? A friend? A chef? An architect?
I’m sick of portraying less than half of me.
So as I write my poems,
Aspire toward a degree,
As I travel the world
And learn who I’m meant to be,
This is me:
A niche within itself,
A category few can reach,
A personality that is one of many,
Bundled into the joy I call life.
Nothing more, nothing less—
Just every fragment of my mind
Pieced together, forming me.
Mar 18 · 28
What is poetry?
Joanne Mar 18
Poetry: An expression of what was and is to come formed from a combination of words fitting perfectly together like an unsolved puzzle. The moment when the pieces finally click creating a beautiful picture of something that just started out as potential
Mar 18 · 39
Ofc I wasn’t
Joanne Mar 18
No, I wasn’t thinking about you—
I was just driving past the places we used to go,
Hoping you’d be there too.

No, I wasn’t thinking about you,
But I still remember your favorite meal:
Corn on the side, a large horchata too.

No, I definitely wasn’t thinking about you—
Just dreaming of our next encounter,
Hoping that dreams do come true

No, I couldn’t have been thinking about you,
But when your name lit up my phone at 2,
All I wanted to say was,
"Love, how are you?"

Just stop.

I’m not thinking about your voice
Or that smug look on your face
Right before you call me “my sweetheart."

I need to stop thinking about you,
But every time you ask to see me,
I realize maybe I want to see you too.

Please, I need to stop thinking about you.
I’m scared you'll say, "I love you,"
And I’ll say, "I love you too."

So don’t ask me if I’ve been thinking about you.
I can’t lie.
I truly do miss you.
And I can’t stop thinking about you.
Joanne Mar 18
You are my Egypt—
A place where I was enslaved,
Bruised and broken by your hand.
Longing to be free from your burning grip,
I cried out to God for deliverance.

Then He gave me my Red Sea,
A path to run toward freedom.
Joyous as a buzzing bee,
I praised the Lord for rescuing me.

But as I walked in growth,
Wandering the wilderness,
Airing out my wounds,
I caught myself looking back

Missing the heat of shackles on my skin,
The warmth of your hand in mine,
The comfort of a familiar voice.

You are my Egypt.
No matter how much wrong you’ve done,
I still find myself longing for you.
It’s funny, isn’t it?
How pain becomes distorted by nostalgia?

I am lonely.
I miss being loved.
I miss being seen.
The calls, the laughter—
I miss it all.

Then God whispered:

"My child, stop.
Do not be like Lot’s wife,
Looking back at bridges I called you to burn,
At places desolate and barren,
Where no fruit can grow.

You cried for freedom—
Did you forget?
You begged Me to release you
From oppression and suffering.
And I did.

I know this season feels lonely,
But listen to the Spirit within you,
Not the shifting desires of your flesh.

Come to Me.
Let Me free your mind from Egypt’s grip,
For freeing your body was only the first step.

Look around this wilderness
See how the plants wither,
How the animals thirst.
This place lacks the one thing you truly need:
The living water.

Drink from Me, a well that never runs dry.
Eat from Me, the bread of life,
So you will never hunger again.

Egypt made you a glutton,
Filling you with yeastful lies.
But once you drink from My fountain,
You will thirst no more.

Allow Me to free you.
Allow us to grow deeper.
Trust Me to be your Shepherd,
Guiding you past the horizon
To a land overflowing with milk and honey.”
Mar 18 · 34
Allergy
Joanne Mar 18
Tolerating you is like tolerating an allergy
Hoping that if I micro-dose,
the reaction will be less severe,
that the hives won’t itch,
that maybe this time my throat won’t close.
But if anything,
I’ll have my EpiPen to escape,
time and time again.

I indulged in what my body never craved,
but my mind can’t function without.

Until one day,
I’ll be ready to administer a dose of reality,
but it’s too late.
The EpiPen expired,
just like my tolerance should’ve for you.

Cause of death:
You.
Something I knew would **** me,
Something I’ve always known I shouldn’t have.
I guess I can understand people who are lactose
How can something so rich and soothing
**** you?
Mar 18 · 28
Sentence
Joanne Mar 18
To construct a full sentence,
You need to start with a capital,
And end with a period.

Here’s an example:

No.
Joanne Mar 18
Alas, another thing out of reach,
Incapable of grasping the depth of my love,
No matter how fiercely I throw myself toward you
Or brighten up your world,

You will forget—
My constellation,
My place in the sky,
The nights you watched me shoot by

Your beauty made me curse the sun,
Loathing its rise,
For it robs me of the chance to witness the warmth of your presence

But alas, I am only a star.
You look up,
Watching time slip away,
While I hold tightly by your side.

Until I see the sun glisten in your eyes,
And remember
You always loved the sunrise.
Yet you gaze at me,
Wishing for everything your heart desires.

If only you sought what you wished upon,
If only I could shine as brightly as the sun.
Maybe then I would be enough to light your world,

For how could a dying star love you
More than I,
Who would shoot across the sky for you?
Sep 2024 · 165
Ocean
Joanne Sep 2024
Hopeless romantic is what I would call myself
Hopelessly falling in love
Hopelessly giving my heart away
Hopelessly giving you my all
Hopelessly a simp
Now I’m hopeless
Hopeless of the idea of romance
Hopeless of the idea of the one
Hopeless of the idea of not being lonely
Hopeless of the idea of falling in love
I hate it
I’m hopeless
What’s left in romance
What’s left in love
Pain
Sorrows
Endings
That’s love
An endless cycle of pain and hopelessness
Leaving you high and dry
Oh love
Why do you have to be so cruel
Why do you have to leave me in pieces
Leave me clueless
Leave me uncertain and broken
Leave me hopeless
Hopeless that I will find you again
Hopeless that I could fine someone to be romantic
So I guess I’m finally a hopeless romantic
It’s hopeless. Romance
Sep 2024 · 134
Hopeless Romantic
Joanne Sep 2024
Hopeless romantic is what I would call myself
Hopelessly falling in love
Hopelessly giving my heart away
Hopelessly giving you my all
Hopelessly a simp
Now I’m hopeless
Hopeless of the idea of romance
Hopeless of the idea of the one
Hopeless of the idea of not being lonely
Hopeless of the idea of falling in love
I hate it
I’m hopeless
What’s left in romance
What’s left in love
Pain
Sorrows
Endings
That’s love
An endless cycle of pain and hopelessness
Leaving you high and dry
Oh love
Why do you have to be so cruel
Why do you have to leave me in pieces
Leave me clueless
Leave me uncertain and broken
Leave me hopeless
Hopeless that I will find you again
Hopeless that I could fine someone to be romantic
So I guess I’m finally a hopeless romantic
It’s hopeless. Romance
Sep 2024 · 119
Little Red Flower
Joanne Sep 2024
Little red flower standing tall and high
Beams of sunlight shining on me
Wind flowing through my leaves
Someone looks down at me
I smile then stop
They pick me up and pull me apart
Piece by piece
Petals by petal my seeds falling
I grow again thinking it will be different
But again and again they pull me apart
They love me, they love me not, I thought they loved me
I give up and let it happen
But there was someone different
They picked me
Put me in there hair
It was beautiful
Hours passed with a new perspective
Till they dropped me
I thought they would pick me
But they left me
I got stepped on and squished
I was shocked
I thought they loved me
I thought they cared
I thought they really wanted me
Then it dawned to me
They never did
They just used me
To add momentary beauty to thier life
And that was the end of the
Little red flower
Sep 2024 · 49
Embrace
Joanne Sep 2024
The tears rush in without permission
Screaming and yelling
You Push them out and wipe them away
But they still come rolling down
Falling slowly down your face
You keep trying to hide it
Make them go away
But it feels good
Letting the cries out feeling free
You let them come through
Embracing them
Letting the feeling consume you
When you stop you feel good
You get up
Clean your face
Paint a smile
Put your tears and feelings under lock and key
Put them back in the dark till you can embrace them again
Sep 2024 · 53
Embrace
Joanne Sep 2024
The tears rush in without permission
Screaming and yelling
You Push them out and wipe them away
But they still come rolling down
Falling slowly down your face
You keep trying to hide it
Make them go away
But it feels good
Letting the cries out feeling free
You let them come through
Embracing them
Letting the feeling consume you
When you stop you feel good
You get up
Clean your face
Paint a smile
Put your tears and feelings under lock and key
Put them back in the dark till you can embrace them again
Sep 2024 · 63
Corner
Joanne Sep 2024
You’re sitting in the corner
Of a dark room
Complaining that no one cares
No one everywhere
That you have no one
But you don’t want to
Turn the light on so they can find you
Sep 2024 · 39
Mask
Joanne Sep 2024
Why be alone
when there’s a crowd
Why be quiet
when everyone yelling
Why be sad
when everyone happy
Why be you
when everyone faking
Sep 2024 · 47
Smile your on camera
Joanne Sep 2024
Smile and keep it inside
Your pain is too much for this world
And it seems no one really cares
Sep 2024 · 46
From you, to you
Joanne Sep 2024
Got in trouble again? Welcome to the club
We feel to big, and talk even bigger
We cry hard, but fight even harder
We go mute and shut down
Because no matter how much space we take up
We’ve never been seen

But it’s ok, just pray
Maybe one day God will send someone
To love, to hold, to hear, to see you truly
And fight for you no matter what
We’re still waiting but have hope
Your a little me, after all
Sep 2024 · 45
Open up
Joanne Sep 2024
Cheer. Dance .Cook .Create
Nothing could take the guilt away
It’s not your fault it never was
Stop crying alone, tell them the truth
Let them see the real you
It will hurt, but it gets better
Let them in, let them love you
You deserve it I promise
Sep 2024 · 40
Control
Joanne Sep 2024
Don’t let anger control you
Let your emotions be big, but not bigger than you
Cry. Breathe. Relax. Control… smile
Everything will be ok
Sep 2024 · 42
Belmont St
Joanne Sep 2024
From afternoon in the laundry room,
To endless nights on the balcony
Looking to the moon for inspiration, and
lighting paper on fire to burn away the bad memories

Never stop writing, reading, releasing
Because one day you’ll write letters
stories, poems
of all of the thoughts untold

One day you’ll write a poem
and they’ll understand you
No screaming or fighting
No more aggression, just you

Don’t listen when they say your emotions are too big,
They just don’t know the love you're capable of
So be a simp, fall in love, give it your all
But please never stop being you
Sep 2024 · 46
Shattered
Joanne Sep 2024
The broken pieces of my soul
Shattering and falling to the ground
As each piece hits the ground
Creating a symphony of pain
Crying out for help
Harmonizing the different cords of anguish
Till there’s silence
When there’s nothing left to say
No tears left to cry
They lie there broken and silent
So welcome to the noises unheard
Watch your step
As you walk over the broken pieces of my soul
Sep 2024 · 39
Perhaps
Joanne Sep 2024
In English we say
“maybe we weren’t meant to be”
But in poetry we say
Perhaps.

Perhaps, in another universe
The stars would have aligned
And our fate would be reconstructed
Creating a perfect constellation of our love

Or perhaps, if we met under a different sky of stars
Maybe we could have seen how fleeting our love was
As we gazed upon a shooting star

Perhaps, in another universe
We were the right people
At the right time
In love one more time

Or perhaps, we were the right people
Under the right sky
Meant to be falling for someone else
Whose love would burn brighter then the sun

Perhaps, as I wished upon that star
Asking it to take the pain away
It will grant me peace because
What was once love burning for you
Is fueling my anger not at you, but myself
For allowing my feeble heart to break again

So as I look upon the same bed of stars
That once brought love many years ago
I wonder
Perhaps you are looking at them too
Perhaps I’m still in love with you
Or perhaps we weren’t meant to be

— The End —