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Dec 2019 · 152
CRAZY/WILD/LOVE
Stephen S Dec 2019
Come with me tonight
my darling
and we’ll ride on beautiful rainbows
Across the expanse of a star filled sky.

The galaxy is our playground.
The majesty of all the planets
awaits us.
It’s an incredibly wondrous sight.

Even still,
I find myself unable
to shift my gaze from you.
As it was surely meant to be.
Dec 2019 · 387
Incomplete
Stephen S Dec 2019
A wooden desk.
An empty page.
A mind that's filled
with fire and rage.

A dash of moonlight,
A lamp on a stand,
Shadows in the distance,
a pen in my hand.

A life shattered inwards,
A stiff whiskey drink.
Endless heartbreak to tell of,
but no drops of ink.

A writer who can't write,
like a groom with no bride.
An unfulfilled person,
with sadness inside.
Dec 2019 · 332
A Simple Request
Stephen S Dec 2019
Your hair looks gorgeous.
And the dress? Simply stunning.
The brilliant red of the lipstick
keeps me fixated on your beauty.

The coat is a perfect fit
and the diamonds tie it all together
so wonderfully.

But maybe
just this once
you'd be willing to take off the mask?
Dec 2019 · 633
The Fence
Stephen S Dec 2019
It's five feet tall and brilliant white.
It is my security.
My comfort zone.
A tidy, convenient barrier
between the darkness
and the world I cherish so much.

I love this fence.
I have worked so hard to protect it.
To keep it pristine.
Why then
am I so tempted
to jump to the other side?
Dec 2019 · 94
Demons
Stephen S Dec 2019
There are monsters in the mist.
Ancient creatures that will never
cease their unending wrath on humanity.

For thousands of years we have feared them.
For thousands of years we have fought back.

Now, there may be no stopping them.

An incredibly old force has been awakened.
And for all our modern technology....

...we are practically defenseless.

So it shall pass that we follow the path of our ancestors
and vanish violently into the night...
Nov 2019 · 70
Madman
Stephen S Nov 2019
He's got a crazy look in his eye.
He's strong and clever and spry.
In the depths of his mind,
There's a twisted design,
and a soul that's gone very awry.

He's holding a thick metal blade,
but this isn't a trick or charade.
He's found prey for his hunt,
and he's brutal and blunt.
Through his body sharp anger pervades.

He's coming for me in the night.
He's angry and wanting a fight.
The game comes undone,
with no chance to run.
He now has me locked in his sights.
Nov 2019 · 83
Fade Away
Stephen S Nov 2019
I can't take you anymore.
Not because I hate you.
But because of an indescribably energy between us.

Like two magnets
pulling back and forth at each other.
Threatening to slip out of control
at any moment.

It's too much for me.
The intensity is not worth the price.
So please forgive me my darling
should I choose to disappear forever.
Nov 2019 · 99
Injustice
Stephen S Nov 2019
It was vicious.
It was brutal.
It was merciless.

We saw the blood.
We heard the screams.
We looked into your eyes.

Everyone knows you did it.

Yet somehow I am the one
who is made to take the bullet.

However wrong his words may be,
the Judge has spoken.

All I have left is the growing darkness.
Nov 2019 · 73
My Favorite Poison
Stephen S Nov 2019
It's hard for me to explain exactly
why she tempts me so.

Is it those deep red lips?
The alluring brown eyes?
Her long, dark and silky smooth hair?
That seductive smile that melts away
all my better judgment?

There's just something she does to me.

And I know I should stay away.

But I keep going back to the bottle.
Nov 2019 · 79
Distant Echo
Stephen S Nov 2019
I thought that I
distinctly heard
the angry voice
of another person
in the shadows.

But in fact it was
my own fears
and failures
being thrown
back upon me.
Nov 2019 · 268
Selective Hearing
Stephen S Nov 2019
They told me I couldn’t do it.
They told me I’d never be good enough.
They told me I wasn’t worth it.

They told me I’d be laughed at.
They told me I would fail.
They told me I was useless.

They told me I was a loser.
They told me no one would ever like me.
They told me I would always finish last.

They told me I was stupid.
They told me I had no chance.
They told me I was nothing but a mistake.

I didn’t listen.
Nov 2019 · 97
Looking Glass
Stephen S Nov 2019
Such disturbing themes
invading my dreams.
So callous it seems,
As I wake up in screams.

Future wild, not benign
It’s my will, it’s my time.
So don’t call it a crime
When I walk the thin line.

Nothing more here,
But panic and fear,
As I feel the spear,
stare at me in the mirror.

Not joyful, not proud,
Not excessive or loud.
Just a willowing shroud,
That’s out lost in a crowd.
Nov 2019 · 359
The Rose
Stephen S Nov 2019
A rose is a rose.
So they say, as it goes.
It dances around
as the artists compose.

In the garden in rows.
Quite at home, I suppose.
Why do we dream of a rose?
No one really knows.

It moves and it flows.
It changes and grows.
As our secrets expose
the soft scent of the rose.
Nov 2019 · 67
In a flash
Stephen S Nov 2019
I just saw you.
I just hugged you.
I just smiled at you.

I just thought
of all the fun things we'd
for the holidays.

I just thought
about that cruise we'll be taking
next summer.

I thought about all
the memories we would make
in the years ahead.

Now you're gone.

And I can't think of anything
but the hurt...
Oct 2019 · 53
Fear
Stephen S Oct 2019
We are constantly told not be scared.
We are taught it's better to be fearless,
than give in to wanton emotion,
and our primal instincts.

But given the choice between
a dry and emotionless existence
or  being truly human,
I will embrace fear.

It is an inescapable part of who I am.
Oct 2019 · 309
Addiction
Stephen S Oct 2019
If I were to suddenly disappear
into this growing madness that fills my soul
I could enjoy the satisfaction
of completely erasing
what I used to be.

I would have freedom
from silly moral things.
I would dance in the face
of my opposition.

I would give myself over
to any pleasure I found.

Everything would be ruined.
Oct 2019 · 621
Grace
Stephen S Oct 2019
I know I've done absolutely nothing
to prove myself worthy
of receiving anything remotely close
to a second chance.

But I hope
if there's any part left of you
that remembers what was
you might give me one anyway.

Lest I fade into dust.
Oct 2019 · 77
Twilight
Stephen S Oct 2019
What are we tonight my dear?
Except for echoes of our dreams
floating in a magical sea.
Surely as the sun sets each day,
I'll be there on the shore
Waiting for your ship to come in
and then we'll dance together.

There are so many things I had to say.
That I never told you.
But maybe I didn't need to.
Maybe, in some distant, soulful way
you already knew.
And you already loved me for it.
Oct 2019 · 101
We'll take the Flame
Stephen S Oct 2019
You fought so long.
Gave it every ounce you had.
The war is not over.
But your time on the front lines
has reached a noble end.
As you go, do not worry about the battle.

We'll take the flame.
We'll take the pain.
We'll march through rain.
We'll stake our claim.

We know how much
You'd still love to be out there.
We know how proud
to wear the colors you were.
Now, let us wield the weapon
and honor the road you traveled.

We'll take the flame.
We'll fight the strain.
We'll break the chains.
We'll stake our claim.

Rest, mighty warrior.
Rest, great soldier.
Rest.

We'll take the flame.
Oct 2019 · 85
She told me
Stephen S Oct 2019
I didn't listen.
I should have seen it in her eyes.

I should have realized it
by the way she moved her arms.

The way she planted her feet.

It was right there in front of me.

She told me.

But it wasn't until years later

That I really understood.
Oct 2019 · 85
I am the rain
Stephen S Oct 2019
I make an appearance when you least expect it.
Shadows announce my arrival.

I envelop everything around you.
When I am near, I am all you can focus on.

My fury is carried on the wind
and though you may find shelter.
You cannot escape what I am
or the effects of what I have done.

Eventually I will leave
but until such time
that this turbulent world
calls me back again.
Oct 2019 · 228
Sanctuary
Stephen S Oct 2019
There is a place
so peaceful
and comforting
that it endlessly warms my heart.

While I am there
I fear nothing.
I hide nothing.
My soul is free.

But this terrible world,
has made it harder and harder
for me to get back to that place.

and I fear it is not long
before I lose the key
for all eternity.
Oct 2019 · 92
Pandora's Box
Stephen S Oct 2019
We didn't just open it.

We tore the lid right off
and smashed it into pieces.

Defiantly eager to unleash
the evil within.

Blinded by our own
selfish desires.

Consumed by our quest
for eternal power.

With nothing to hold it at bay,
the gateway to Hell beckons.

It's something of a titillating descent,
into the endless chaos.
Oct 2019 · 188
Fleeting
Stephen S Oct 2019
On a cool and sunny October day,
I sit on the dock with my niece.
The water is calm.
A palette of orange and red fills the trees.

I pick up my guitar
and together we sing a song.

For three minutes and eight seconds
There is no stress, anger or frustration.
There is no injustice or inequity.
There are no burning existential questions.

There is only the sweet sound of music,
filling the autumn air.
While nature dances around us.

If only more in life could be
this beautiful.
Oct 2019 · 141
Hello
Stephen S Oct 2019
Do you remember me?

Does my soul echo in your mind?

Does my voice cry out to you in the dark?

Does my touch still dance across your skin?

Does your heart still beat in tune with mine?

Or have you forgotten

Every last wonderful piece of what we were?

If only I could know for sure.
Oct 2019 · 123
A Brief Memo
Stephen S Oct 2019
To whom it may concern,

The odd, shiny objects
that you see on the floor.

Are simply the broken remnants,
of the soul that once stood here.

Be careful to walk around them.

Though they may seem damaged and faded,
they still glimmer in the moonlight.

Maybe some distant day,
I'll get around
to putting myself back together again.

Sincerely,
A mysterious stranger.
Oct 2019 · 90
Unload
Stephen S Oct 2019
Let it go.
Just let it go.
Tell me all the things you know.

I won't be afraid,
I won't be surprised.
Show me the mysteries, secrets and lies.

Pull back the veil,
Shine a light on the scars,
Let me for once see who you really are.

Shatter the barriers,
bring down the wall,
Give me everything or nothing at all.

Take off the mask,
Show me your skin.
Let me embrace all the madness within.

Let it go.
Just let it go.
Tell me all the things you know.
Oct 2019 · 74
The Long Road Back
Stephen S Oct 2019
I’m hurt and I'm crying, I want to go home.

There's no use in trying, I want to go home.

I'm injured and scarred, I want to go home.

Burned out and charred, I want to go home.

I'm listless and sick, I want to go home.

Collapsing and quick, I want to go home.

I'm damaged and breaking, I want to go home.

I'm unloved and I'm aching, I want to go home.

I'm twisted and torn, I want to go home.

I'm distant and worn, I want to go home.

I'm shocked and I'm stunned, I want to go home.

I'm defeated and done.

I want to go home.
Sep 2019 · 104
Autumnal
Stephen S Sep 2019
On that day I remember,
In the winds of September
how we danced along the river.

Below the multicolor trees,
The cool of the breeze,
brought about just a hint of a shiver.

The daylight grows shorter,
get the harvest in order
we'll prepare the table for a feast.

We'll rejoice into the night
by the moons reddish light.
and the last echo of summer? Released.
Sep 2019 · 268
Wonder
Stephen S Sep 2019
I wondered why the sky is blue,
and why you love me the way you do.

I wondered, as I enjoyed the view
if all of what I'd heard was true.

I wondered when I'd earn my due
and if I'd ever make it through.

I wondered, would I ever bid adieu
from this path of life askew?

Then I knew.
Sep 2019 · 532
Chasing Colors
Stephen S Sep 2019
In a world
that grows more
black and white
with each passing day.

I am simply not content
staring at endless
shades of grey.

So please forgive me
If I take this opportunity
to go in search of rainbows.
Sep 2019 · 90
8 Hours
Stephen S Sep 2019
Early morning
stuck at my desk.
Combing through endless emails.
Most of which have little meaning to me.

Then to the conference room
for yet another meeting.
What's the newest policy
that will bore my soul to tears?

A voicemail from Bob in marketing.
In that shrill and grating voice.
Angry that something was incomplete,
even though I'd actually done it.

In an after lunch performance review,
I float adrift in a sea of numbers.
Slowly tuning out the voice of a boss,
who never bothered to learn my kids names.

Five o'clock comes and I clock out.
Thinking of what little I accomplished,
and resigning myself to the fact,
I have to do it all again tomorrow.
Sep 2019 · 397
Rose Petals
Stephen S Sep 2019
The other day I saw
some red rose petals
slowly floating along a shallow creek.

I sat down on a nearby log
just to take in the peacefulness
of it all.

And in that moment I was reminded,
of where the beauty lies in life.
Sep 2019 · 111
7:00 AM
Stephen S Sep 2019
I woke up all alone in the morning,
with an empty spot on the bed.
Your car was not in the driveway,
a thousand thoughts entered my head.

I found none of your clothes in the closet,
and none of your shoes on the floor.
The fridge was almost cleaned out,
an empty hat rack sat near the door.

The TV is in the main room as always,
but the Playstation 4 is MIA.
I never thought I'd end up in this moment.
I never thought it'd happen this way.

There's nothing but a wall, cold and barren
where all your sports stuff used to be.
This hallway is desolate and sterile,
only filled with the pieces of me.

Broken, I went back to the bedroom,
and I sat in a corner to weep.
The tears came down like a rain storm,
and I wished that I was still sound asleep.
Sep 2019 · 126
A Disturbing Thought
Stephen S Sep 2019
How exactly does a Cannibal decide
who becomes his next meal?
Sep 2019 · 125
Amidst the Waves
Stephen S Sep 2019
It is so very easy
To get swept away
In the chaotic flow of the ocean.

The tides aren't always pleasant
and much danger lurks in the deep.

But it is my hope
that even though the water
can be turbulent.

You never forget
how much you love to swim.
Sep 2019 · 228
Towers
Stephen S Sep 2019
Do you recall the day the towers fell?

I remember it clearly. The pain, so well.

People running, a cascade of tears.

A nation gripped by anger, fears.

Heartbreak and sorrow, when terror spoke.

Freedom and honor, engulfed in smoke.

But when it cleared, Old glory there.

Waving defiantly in the air.
Sep 2019 · 92
What is a smile?
Stephen S Sep 2019
The body mimicking what the heart feels?

A doorway to love and affection?

A brief moment of wonder in an otherwise joyless life?

A child's way of saying: "I'm okay"?

Another way to mask the pain?

Or perhaps, the subtle beginnings of happiness?
Sep 2019 · 681
I Trusted You
Stephen S Sep 2019
And it was wonderful.

It was magical.

It was power.

It was love.

But now I see

as I stand amidst my own ruins

that it was the stupidest thing

I could ever have done...
Sep 2019 · 113
Twisted
Stephen S Sep 2019
In the great hall of shadows,
I found myself
Viciously face to face
With my worst fears.

It was as dreadful
and beautiful
as I thought it would be.
Sep 2019 · 108
Frail
Stephen S Sep 2019
These bones are weak.

What of my powers now?

I was once the king of the world.

Now I am mere dust

on the outskirts of the castle.

Left to ponder my many failures

as I await the western winds

that will ******* into nothingness.
Sep 2019 · 1.1k
I was a Flower
Stephen S Sep 2019
Before the wind wounded me.

Before my petals broke.

Before my roots withered.

Before the cold silenced me.

I was a flower.

Now I am nothing.
Sep 2019 · 210
The Last Question
Stephen S Sep 2019
How is it that you managed to do so much
and yet do nothing at all for me
all at the same time?
Sep 2019 · 141
September Blues
Stephen S Sep 2019
They say when autumn rolls on in,
beneath the reddish leaves,
There's a melancoly wonder that lives
just beneath the trees.

You won't find it there in August,
but as the calendar moves on,
There it will be waiting,
In the deep and early dawn.

There are some who love the harvest,
on the farms this time of year,
But there are others out there who
find only empty fear.

One day I saw a lonely girl,
On the edge of the rolling fields.
In a quaint moment of sadness,
a truth of the soul revealed.

Tell me darling, what's the news?
Is it summertime medleys
or September Blues?

She didn't say a word to me,
just stared long across the grass.
As if searching in the distance,
for some innocence long past.

A hint of coolness in the air,
carries echoes of the pain.
drowned out in the misery,
of a dreary morning rain.

Floating not too far away,
Is a lonely maple leaf.
Perhaps that's mother natures way
Of sharing in the grief?

At once a tear streamed down her cheek,
and the mystery overcame her.
It was as if right then the entire world,
had sought it out to shame her.

What road now, is it you choose?
The path of wonders
or September blues?

The little morning song continued,
the sun peered out from the clouds.
And in the middle of that field,
A desperate spirit tore the shroud.

The one that had ensconced her,
The one that shed her blood.
Trapped her in that inner prison,
and dragged her through the mud.

And here now the same girl, young,
but clearly somewhat broken.
Filling the sky with distant dreams,
and memories unspoken.

She looked back at me and smiled.
In her hand, a frail clover,
And one wish for a brilliant ride
On the fresh winds of October.

Do you see now, the misty ruse?
Is it a trick of the shadows
or September blues?
Sep 2019 · 110
Indignity
Stephen S Sep 2019
It seems the vows we made
mean different things to you than to me.

I thought you the one.
I thought you'd treat me better.

My scars say otherwise.

All of this pain. All of this madness.

What did I do to deserve it?

The answer, it appears, is nothing.

It was merely your overwhelming desire
to control every part of me.

I don't doubt for an instant
that you would have denied me the benefit of breathing

were it in your power to seal my lungs...
Sep 2019 · 444
Definition of Self
Stephen S Sep 2019
I am just a number.

I am a statistic on a corporate spreadsheet.

I am a data point for marketers to sell.

I am a profile for the government to monitor.

I am a nameless figure for cameras to track.

My life has been reduced to mere

ones and zeroes.

File names and report headers.

Here in the digital dissonance

I am no longer human.
Aug 2019 · 256
Peaceful
Stephen S Aug 2019
I'm alone down by the river,
but that's quite alright with me.

I'm alone down by the river,
where it's calm and clear and free.

I'm not much of a city boy,
I hate the smog and crowds.

It's busy and it's hectic and
it's chaotic and it's loud.

I'm alone down by the river,
there's a gentle summers breeze.

I'm alone down by the river,
there's nowhere else I'd rather be.
Aug 2019 · 163
The Kid on the Tracks
Stephen S Aug 2019
The wind rips through
my meager clothes.
As I walk down the
long wooden rows.

The forest is dark
and dense.
My pain is severe
and intense.

There's little hope
to be found.
In cold
and desolate ground.

If I go back to school,
they'll beat me.
Out here natures wrath,
may defeat me.

Still I plod on,
Awake and alone.
Hundreds of
miles from home.

Staring at a
weathered old map
to keep alive
my hope to go back.

But I've got almost
nothing to give.
Very little of my life,
left to live.

I wonder: When
everything's over
will they remember
the kid from October?
Written about Chanie Wenjack, a Canadian Inuit child who ran away from a religious school where he was abused and tried to hike 400 mils home in very cold weather. He made it only 13 miles before he collapsed and died on the tracks. You can look him up in Wikipedia for more info.
Aug 2019 · 258
HERE
Stephen S Aug 2019
I am here, but you can't see me.

I am close, but you can't touch me.

I am thinking of you, but you don't know it.

I am praying for you, but you don't hear it.

I care for you, but it may not be obvious.

I cry for you, but keep my tears carefully hidden.

I am here.

How different would things be if I weren't?
Aug 2019 · 526
Self Aware
Stephen S Aug 2019
I am here.
I am breathing.

Blood flows through my veins.
The warmth of the sun touches my skin.
A soft breeze wafts through my hair.

I can see that which lays before me.
I can hear the sounds of the world around me.
I can smell a faint sweetness in the morning dew.
I can touch the petals of a delicate flower.

But I do not feel alive.
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