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 Dec 2024 Winter
Emma
He eats at my soul with a lover's slow hand,

Each bite a hymn, each wound carefully planned.

His silence, a gospel, his shadow a prayer,

I light every candle, but he's always there.

A feast in the dark where no one can stand.
 Dec 2024 Winter
Jeremy Betts
The only thing one tends to see
Is the person I don't want to be
Silly me
Obviously
The fruit has spoiled on this tree
Despite me
Or in spite of me
I keep coming back but leave empty
Mostly disappointment only
Ignoring the warning from the Canary
I can't stand steady
Amongst a broken levee
I don't have the energy
To be angry
Or for that matter, happy
Both weigh far too heavy
Forced to take a knee
Taken from me
Is the thought of ever being free
Of me
Not even a possible maybe
My full name and bio in permanent ink on generic stationary
There's no further in front of me
That's what's really scary
Trust me

©2024
 Dec 2024 Winter
Jeremy Betts
You want me to remember
Everything you've ever said
While you sit there and pretend
Our issues only come from one end

I need you to remember
Everything you've ever said
I will not defend
Just because you said it instead

From January on through December
I warn I'm seeing red
The monsters under the bed
Fear the ones inside my head

I try to be clever
Struggling to keep one step ahead
Of those oh so familiar thoughts of dread
And write my feelings in poems you've never read
...although
They only contain everything I've already said

©2024
 Dec 2024 Winter
Naomi Fable
The words build up inside like a tumor,
Ignorance will make them mean—
Spare my heart / spare my lungs
The song 'What If' is on repeat.
Regrets of the past / fears of the future / anxiety of the present
A tumor never leaves—
Healing is temporary.
Coughing up blood / letters interlaced in red
It’s a disease to keep it inside,
It’s a curse to let them fly—
I must write outside of my skin.

— The End —