Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
 2467° 
From the ashes
I've never written a limerick.
Thinking of it makes me sick.
Better a sonnet
or a woman upon it.
Maybe, I'll just play with my ****.
lol.  Just having fun.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICWIGqf62Kw
poetry reading on you tube by Thomas W. Case
 977° 
Vianne Lior
Soft hush
a lilac hush,
spilling from heaven’s cufflinks.

Dust-throated wind,
draped in violet lace,
forgets how to whisper.

Once,
a petal kissed my wrist,
feather-light, sugar-spun.
(It melted before I could love it.)

Beneath the boughs
time folds like an origami swan.
A child presses footprints into fallen silk,
calls for lullabies.

Glittering
a secret only the butterflies know,
written in ultraviolet sighs.

Stay.
Stay.

But the season is shifting,
jacaranda knows no permanence.

A lilac hush
soft hush
dissolving into sky.

The ground is a love letter
written in violet, waiting for rain.
 833° 
alison
you cannot just walk in and out of my life.
I am not a door.
I am not a robot, so do not treat me as if my feelings don't matter, because I'm human, not anything else.
what else is new
 812° 
Megan E Hoffman
What draws me in, to this?

Is it love, or something twisted—
Said a mother to her daughter
It's so hard to tell the difference

                            But please;
                                     I need to know the difference

"
I didn't understand then
And I won't pretend to know much more now;
All I can do is try to not be angry
                          
                            And at that, I'll fail.
                                                           ­        But I'll learn

"
I used to believe in the world, with an innocent infatuation for its goodness

Now I believe, with a knowing compassion for its faults

...

I think things that are perfect are easy to love;

         We meet God in our love for that which is not
from my poetry book, 📖 Biting Thorns Off Roses
What if two souls of symphonic stanza
With hearts full of haikus' hope
Met right here on Hello Poetry
By reading what the other wrote.

They'd send messages of meter
With affectionate allusions
This couldn't get any sweeter
Free verses with no conclusion

A poem crafted with emotions true
Was sent to one of the two last night.
It wants to say, "I love you more than words."
But instead reads, "I love the way you write."

They'll figure out in time that they're meant to be together
And I am sure that they'll make the cutest couple(t) ever!
Two poets are almost always meant to be
Especially if they meet on Hello Poetry!
 559° 
Kaiden
You're like a safety pin.
Holding onto life for me
When i no longer can.
To this one special person.
 522° 
Anais Vionet
We’re in a young-love recession.
Gen Zers are slow to trust and averse to risk,
we have, it seems, a particular social nervousness
about interpersonal exchanges and the symbiosis of love.

So we resort to situationships (undefined relationships),
a stratagem for closeness, with zero commitment.

You can flirt; you can kiss; you can dance.
You can have a crush so big it blots out the stars
You can have transformative romantic encounters
you can care deeply and get hurt badly
you can, in fact, be absolutely wrecked by love
All without ever being in a relationship.

Thank God we’re only young once.
.
.
Songs for this:
Die With A Smile by Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars
Busy Woman by Sabrina Carpenter
BLT Merriam Webster word of the day challenge 03/15/25:
Stratagem =  a trick or plan for achieving a goal
 468° 
SHMBLS
H 1
&^% 465 (^^^^^^)   23048 ()()()()()()
      O 8111111
P }{|}{)&
%    57           8           7
  E! 3            8       8
509    7975  8 44{}}|+()*&
             6       9
4 +
)(*   5        {1____1}
Is fall
         i &
% (&%#$@ 90909
          n                E ^%$&^ 55
            g         S 41   5    7        378   38  8
                    I
Stars  will R 96=-++++
987    _)()_|}:{“”.       ()
&6.   321874

&)(}{|}{?>?<       () >8980675
Future Is Fleeting> {{{{8008)

LOST ITS MEANING 876”:}]' (((((~WOE IS ME~)))))


Spinning spinning spinning Am I? *&6.  32. )(&33.     0978”:}}{ L{:{}@%!$

Is? It? Progress? If? I? Spiral? In? The? Right? Direction????? 1248[;
76
HELP PLEP HELP!! *90000.      &&^$ (
&

Harder to notice, things that aren’t important.
Such as me




S        L
  H   B  S
    M






32 9 876 97 9 8 979 98 465406 42 53 793 8 9­7 53 8 58 7 5 574 6534 865 5 73695647 686 5 64 7 653 75 97 3 ­9754 765 46 685 7 5 0 0 75 7 6 9 9 6 765 59 65 4 5 53 9 64 462­ 7 64 65 23 659 75 3 0 6 7 4 76 65 56 376 49 75 4 08 587 875 807­ 5 3 32 8576 58 5 9 - 906 07564654 5 432 532 543 5647645253 12 ­ 98 977- 7 05437 54 85 6 5 67 5 07 8 786 7 785 6 5 7 7 856 ­ 86596 59 65807 0 876 7 687 5 657 64 96 74 76 46 4 6 875 78­05 874 6 476 34 64 76
 441° 
Marc Morais
She is a good
girl—firm
as a rule

Waits her turn
steps light
knees tight
to the line
she's been given

But rules
have a way
of wearing thin—
like ropes
stretched too long
against want—
like doors
that we can't
keep shut

She is a good
girl
so good boys
always say yes
when she asks
nice
and proper
Songs To Get Railed To—Orgavsm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGKKsbFdp6M
 411° 
Poet
breathe
do you feel your lungs expanding?
do you feel you chest rising?
open
open your eyes
do you see the sun?
the moon?
the stars?
the clouds?
all of them were made for you
you
wonderful
       beautiful
                lovely
                                ­           YOU
sincerely,
someone who cares
 351° 
Lawrence Hall
A     n acrostic
C     an be challenging
R     efining words into patterns
0      f different meanings
S     o we can see the world
T     o be open to new ways of seeing
I       f we've a mind to
C      onsider it so
Anais-approved!
 335° 
Lyle
you rip apart the seams of this family
you are a hurricane and we are the destruction in your wake
you are a wildfire and we are burned
you are an earthquake but you aren't the one rattled
you have caused mass destruction and singed everyone you touched
you hate us
you natural disaster
 322° 
Asuka
The flower needs rest,
so winter tucks it beneath the earth,
letting it sleep until spring.

The sun needs rest,
so the clouds and rain embrace it,
shielding its warmth for another day.
Take care, breathe easy, and give yourself the rest you deserve. Rest well, recharge, and remember, like the moon, even brilliance needs the night to shine again.

— A gentle reminder that even nature pauses to gather strength.
 309° 
Salmabanu Hatim
Is not easy,
You have to give in to your will.
41/3/2025
 308° 
Travis Green
I was enveloped in the dopeness
Of his striking good looks
His raw, glowing machismo
Treasuring the unparalleled appeal
Of his enamoring existence

He made my heart soar
With his alluringly glorious charmingness
Lifted me into a dreamlike state
As my gay world lingered
In his sensational embrace

He was a truly delightful adventure
To savor for eternity
His chiseled chest and abs
Were utterly breathtaking

I loved his sensual, commanding lips
His fresh ****** hair
His dark-honeyed eyes
His velvety, fresh-smelling hair

I meandered through the labyrinth
Of his enchanting dreaminess
Revering his sweetness and supremeness
Everything about him
From head to toe
 263° 
McKinley Flynt
Oh dark eyes
With skin sagging mounts
Feed me your love
If you would remain open.

Cherish your soul
It's tired and dark
I'll feed it my love
If I could bear witnessing it.

Curtains closed
In your bedroom
And I would knock
If you would answer.

You should open your eyes
Open your soul
Open your window.
Because I would give you a world's worth of love.
^_^
 256° 
Soul Searching
And then I sit on the branch of a tree, and things don't seem so bad.
 235° 
Eve
even after i lose my voice,
i will miss you in my bones.
even after my bones are ground to dust,
i will miss you in my flesh.
and when that flesh rots to feed the flowers
that grow above my skeleton,
and the child that will inhale the perfume
of my longing
will know that you are missed.
 202° 
hsn
a circle,
              (closed).

arms reach,
stretch,
but never
quite
touch.

    infinity spins  
                round —  
      no end, no start,  
                  but always moving.  

everything and nothing,
twirl,
dance —
a waltz of wisp and weight.

light glows,  
              soft, gentle,  
                         (but distant).  

the edges blur —
you almost see it,
almost touch it—
                                  but then it's gone,
                                              slipping —

           through cracks.  

completion?
or is it
just a loop —

                   a never-ending spiral?

    your place is here,  
                                        (but not yet).  
                   not yet.  

  the world,  
                  the world —  
         is beyond,  
                       above,  
                   inside.  

in every step,
                       every breath —
is the world.

                   you can see it.  
                   (you almost touch it.)  
     but it’s already gone.  

(it was never there.)  

    but you are.  

      spinning.  
             forever
                   waiting.
 190° 
David P Carroll
In the dark shadows
Where evil whispers
And danger lurks in Iran and
A head of state making threats
But Iranian courage will take flight
And chase away the evil tonight
And no peace will be found and
A shadow falls a threat hangs in the air
Iranian anger grows a burden hard to bear.
The American government has
Threatened Iran 🇮🇷
With a nuclear strike.
Evil devils.
 149° 
nvinn fonia
bye bye mr american piee
 143° 
Mark Bell
There was a
young girl
In my life
We grew up
And fell in love
Wow it was heaven
Wow it was tough.
Everyday was a tussle
But this love ran through
Our disabled muscles,
We grimaced we smiled
We were in for the ride
We handled our disabilities
With grace and pride.
 135° 
Anais Vionet
everything’s complicated
everything’s a struggle
have you noticed?
it’s a psychological horror
is this feeling the ‘adult disillusionment’ I keep hearing about?

I mean, things work, if you sit on them like an egg—
if your mother things along and helicopter a result.
I mean, what do people do who don't have
my resources and sunny disposition?

I get America’s increasing paranoia but I think that it's *** backwards. Even if someone's were out to ‘get’ you, no one actually cares about doing their job anymore. There's just so little competence around, that the dysfunction feels intentional. And because you need something and you’re helpless, you can't help but feel targeted.

But I think I figured it out, so let me elucidate—they aren't giving YOU bad service, it isn't personal—everyone is getting bad service, two pieces of chicken in the box when you ordered three, five day delivery when you’re clearly paying for two, failure’s become routine—endemic.

My go-to phrase has become, “What’ll it cost?” (the answer, usually: twice as much) “Make it so,” I say, swiping something with my Apple Watch, and suddenly, everything works!
.
.
A song for this:
decide to be happy by MisterWives
BLT Merriam Webster word of the day challenge 03/29/25:
Elucidate = to make something clear and easy to understand

My ex-navy stepfather always says, “Make it so,” it’s an old navy phrase that means, ‘proceed’
 125° 
Yonah Jeong
Faith
the power to not be
ruled by
everything
that shakes you

And the other thing
we have to live with it
correctly like him
for the people
looking up at us


- devote to Philippe Petit
 114° 
Berrin Yakar
Can't help but wonder,
How cards handed fairly?
While you're wrapped in your lover's arms,
Detached, laughing towards cheerful days.
When my ink still slithers—
Over sticky tears, bleeding onto my paper.
Feeling stuck in the past
 111° 
inverted soul
two guys want the same girl
one married
one head over heels

both taken by others
but want that same other girl
why would you share the same crush?

what is the deal?

to help each other obtain
fifty percent of the same?
play the same game?
please, will you explain?

does my buddy get my girl?

are you both really that for real?

not fight for the girl?

what the fu'ck is the deal?
 109° 
Cary J
Tightrope held with everyone I care about
Attached.
Its on me, hanging off my back.
Sunset beside us,
Beaches and dreams.
Down below is not favorable.

If we all get across
Happiness and sun beams.
The incline makes weight,
Its all on me.

Wake up.
 108° 
Poetato
I'm running
Trying to catch peace that never arrives
Hiding between shadows
So I don't have to remember

I'm running
Erasing footsteps in exhaustion
Convincing myself
That distance will make the pain smaller
But the farther I go
The more real it becomes

No one is chasing
Except the truth keeps waiting
That it wasn't you I left behind
It was me.

Then I stop
Let the heart hurt
Let the pain speak
I won't run anymore
 108° 
Nemesis
I live inside walls of breeze blocks,
Concrete and cinder halls.
My enemies live on the other side.
We meet sometimes—
to negotiate cease-fires
between cigarette breaks.

Still, while he offers peace,
he sets up artillery.
I ready my firearm.
She rings the bomb alarm.
The Luftwaffe ricochets—
while he prays...

He is more religion than a man.
She, more hurricane than a woman.
And I—something like a child.
Only the old and the unkind
keep count: forty-three, forty-four—
we are still at war.

After the cigarette burned out
The house burned down.
They say, "Child, take this to the grave."
If you made it out alive from the battle of Crete
Parents, I survived the friendly fire.
While you bombarded, I built the Roman Empire.
 106° 
Joan Zaruba
Hello world
You may not recognize me
though now I finally recognize myself

I made a difficult choice
freedom over familiarity
I ran to a new beginning
Shedding all those who attempted to control
through lies and vitriol

I have found my voice
I will use my voice
to be a truth teller,
a mirror,
a fierce catalyst for wellness

I have found my voice,
so I sing out
with rebellious joy
Hello world
Hello
 106° 
simmer
Your name brings me comfort
All these year later
I say it to myself when I feel most alone

For then another presence enters the desolate space between my ears
Warmth and familiarity replace lack there of
And just for a moment, in a time where I am lost
I am reminded of when every aspect of my being felt fully known
 103° 
Lulu Sarmiento
En el silencio,
En la música,
En la luna en el cielo,
En la lluvia del día.
En el viento de verano.
En el sol de invierno.
Eres mi deseo,
Eres mi oración.
Eres mi fortaleza.
Eres mi esperanza.
 100° 
Damiano
To be a piece of paper
Thrown at sea,
Crumpled—furiously
Unable to be.

To row against
Undaunted waves,
Tall as mountains,
Jagged as nails.

Oh, to wish
To greet the sand,
Just to meet
Some reader's hands.
 99° 
Mari
The house with the terrible smell of cow's blood,
And their hot manure, which would stain the house of my childhood,
Where such things happened,
Horrifying colorful images.
And not the kind that comes from Doris Lessing's words,
This flesh is not for charity,
It’s livestock for sale at the market,
Impossible to regulate...
The dried pork my grandmother saved for me,
Which I never eat,
A bite of my lunch.
Wrapped in newspaper, a good piece,
Redirected to the neighbors,
Little young calves,
With eyes wide open,
Their meat cooked with herbs,
Their skins salted,
Their cries hide in my heart,
Death is coming,
You turn into a dead corpse,
But their eyes stare in vain,
And the feet of the calves hop involuntarily,
It's a sad morning, says my uncle,
And with peasant manners, he smokes a cigarette.
The corpse, loaded into the car,
Dragged for sale,
My uncle brings water from the well,
Drinks it like a pig, burping,
I feel nauseous,
And I wonder where the black birds are,
But my uncle doesn't die in an accident,
The days repeat,
The pear trees that cover the yard with their branches,
The window panes reflect their shadows,
Why doesn't my heart stop,
During the ball game?
Weighed down by someone else’s sin,
I approach the ******* stone,
While my uncle urinates under the tree.
This text is not well-structured; I just wanted to say that.
The life of a poet lives on
through all their poems,
but the day I do depart,
I want to be cremated.

I will entrust family
and some fellow poets
to let my ashes sink
into some deep black ink.
And I'd want them to write
the stanzas I secretly saved
just for the occasion.

That way
they can say
that I put
all my heart
and my body
into poetry.
Literally.

My soul,
on the other hand,
would live on happily
as an eternal poet
having fun rhyming
while everyone's crying.
(and I'd wish they'd stop.)
I wouldn't want my loved ones to be saddened.  I'd want them to rejoice, knowing that my dream of becoming an eternal poet finally came true.
 95° 
Sia Harms
I stirred with tired arms,
Knowing my life would burn
If I dared leave it unattended.
I did not see the loving arm
Covering mine, ready
To take over so I could take
A break and enjoy all that
He had gifted me.
 95° 
Ewan
I once had a mind filled with gold
I know it was a tale so old
Words underneath your mind
Made me feel blind
I was struggling not to leave the tribe
I might have just brought the bride, underneath the moonless sky
Your heart is so old and grand
It made me feel like I could leave the band
Underneath your exquisite hand, I just want to place the band
 92° 
Sherri Woodman
There's nothing left between you &I                                                                ­                                                    I don't know about you, but I tried                                                           You don't love anyone but yourself                                                         ­                                                You broke me & put me through hell                                                Our whole lives I gave you my all                                                              ­                                                  When I needed you , you let me fall                                                             ­                                                     I closed my eyes & forgave you still                                                            ­                                                      While you busy breaking my will                                                             ­                                                  
I bent until I was broken in two                                                              ­
I see it all now, it's in clear view                                                             ­                                                   As I walk away from you
After a lifetime of marriage, betrayal & lies, its's over.
 89° 
Ione
They say go with the flow-
but I'm just a stagnant water.
Not a beauty, nor a worth-
all the fishes have left the water.
Next page