Oops I stepped on a crack
now I'm breaking my back.

Now, I'm locked inside the cage
of societies shame.

The voices use to speak to me,
don't be worried about me the
pills go down so easily.

Chemicals dance inside my head,
tipping me over the edge.

Dancing cells on high wires, sparks
fly as my heart beats like a rollercoaster on fire.

Tips me over into reality for a moment.

But the chemicals tie me to the tracks, the trains coming to crazy town. Oh, I forgot my ticket.

Here's the train I'm on my way.

I use to be a chemical imbalance
now I'm just a pile of painful bones.

©️ 2022 By Amanda Shelton

A whisper from the past,
a life leftover from years passed.

Some believe in you
but I find it deficalt to.

Not because I am not open minded
but because I have trouble believing in a phantom life.  

Though I still have an open eye
just incase you decide
to reveal your ghoulish strides.  

I do hope that you will
show me the truth,
come to me when others
can see too.

I don't know if I believe in you.

I believe in God and his deed's,
also the evil devil who
stills faith from all.

I just find it deficalt to believe
in you.

I have seen creepy thing's
but I also understand science
and the possibilities.

Will I some day come back to haunt
the world, like you?*


*© 2017 By Amanda Shelton

Vibrating nerves, scratching
pain traveling up my legs.

Grinding, like sand
gritty mud stuck between
my teeth.

Pounding drums of acking
muscles beating against my
heart.

Burning swollen and red
my pain is a vision of
dreed.

©️ 2021 By Amanda Shelton

Ti’s a dream of mine,
to fly above the mountains and sea.

To be free from the cage
I was born in.

My autistic mind is that like
a tree, it grew into the plot
I’ve dug; my roots are deep and strong.

I have fought infections
and disease.

I have suffered on my hands
and knees.

I sacrificed myself for
illness and family.

What has autism done for me?

It taught me how to be smart.

How to communicate and collaborate.

It taught me the importance of community and guidance.

It taught me how to love
unconditionally, without
judgement, honestly and
openly.

I am a unicorn amounts horses and ponies.

My brain is textured and viscous, it pushes me to the edge of reality. Forces me to
face my fears.

Anxiety and depression are my roommates but never
do I invite them.

To be me, is like being Alice
peeking through the looking glass.

Come have tea with me.

I’m the best hostess because
I always over achieve.

Niceness is like the sweetest candy, I am such a sweet ****.

I’m honest to a default.

Autism and me.

©️ 2021 By Amanda Shelton

You are walking on the road of life,
the sun begins to fade behind the shades of the moon.

They lurk in the dark, the monsters
smile grimly, behind your sleeping eyes lives your nightmares.

Dancing in the dark with skeleton's,
as their clothes watch in jealousy.

The closet door flys open with
a scream a shadow grabs you and
pulls you in.

Good morning.

©️ 2022 By Amanda Shelton

Petty things are a waste of time.

I don't waste my life on petty things.

I've been criticized three times on this website, for
small errors.

I am using a cell phone and spell check is horrible. It's not my fault if I have small errors.

If you don't like it you can unfollow me and leave.

I don't need grammar ****'s up inside my creative space, no one does.

Poetry is supposed to be a free flow of expression not criticized and damaged.

There's many different forms of writing because it's an art form of free expression.

I am proud of myself because I have to work harder than the average person to write like I do. I was born silent and communication is hard for me to do because I am autistic.

If you are going to waste your life on such pettiness you should rethink your destination. No one wants to be around a troll or a pushy Bee trying to sting everyone because they are uncomfortable with being imperfect.

We are living in a time of technology and science, it is
partly our responsibility to keep poetry growing.

We should be trying to renovate and preserve
the medium not attack it
by criticizing the creators.

Why waste time on worrying if we are using ,;'. the way everyone else does?

Why not use the imperfect structure as a character experience instead?

Language is diverse in many ways, it's not set in stone.

That's why we add to the dictionary building upon the mother's tongue.

It brings better format's and opportunity to grow our skills.

If you are going to leave comments in my posts to correct me, I will block you.

Unless I spelt something that is cursing and fawl don't say anything please. It's not my fault spell check is buggy.

People need to think before responding.

Be kind to each other.

Innocence is lost when knowledge is found.

A child is always learning,
so does that make us children
even when we are 40?

At 40 my path has become weathered
but still I find pieces of myself I thought
were useless, yet the pieces helped define
who I am.

I never lost my innocence because
I am ignorant to the outside world,
I have tried to walk amongst the population,
it's scary confusing and shady.

People are selfish and too busy,
I'm always aware and never too busy
to see the bigger picture.

I watch people thumb around bumping
into each other but moving on like
nothing happened.

You zoom by in your fast cars and airplanes,
you are loud causing pollution and forced
shoving and attention.

I think most are not aware of their own
reality, some people move about as if they
are shadow Ninja's fighting an invisible war.

I'm like a fly on the wall, I watch but never talk.

Am I broken or is the world broken and
I am walking amongst the ruin's?

Autism separates us.

I don't know if I ever will
understand your need
for attention and pollution.

©️ 2022 By Amanda Shelton

I am a whisper in the wind,
Gods mighty voice rose us
up out of the dirt commanding
life to breathe.

I am a work in progress,
a broken piece of life
that's eager to live.

My breath and mind
are important for life
to progress and develop
I have helped God to
design a beautiful life.

I might be a tiny speck in time
but my existence is like a powerful force, for the changes I've caused helped lives to progress and heal.

I've become an important piece
of history, I made my mark upon
this life I've been given.

My pieces are widely spread
for I've been sharing myself
on the world wide web since
I was seventeen.

Between the teeth of angles
I am alive grinding at the stone.

© 2019 By Amanda Shelton

Brilliantly the stars once shined,
once the sky opened my eyes to
possibilities of love.

The sun shimmered on my heart,
once love settled beside me caressed
my dreams with its magical kisses.

Like glass my world broke, shattered
at my feet my heart is in pieces.

Love, left me bruised and beat,
it laughed while I cried rubbed salt
into my wounds before sabing me
in the back.

Love, was jealous judgemental and
cruel, it has no mercy, it gave me no
moral ground for me to plant my roots.

Love, forgot about me it didn’t accept me.

I fought to find me, to build my own life, I found myself resting in a forest of possibilities where I am cultivating who I want to be.

Here is where I am ment to be, this moment this breath, this thought
is a poem a plot I am growing.

©️ 2022 By Amanda Shelton

T's corruption that killed a nation
under the weight of a fat felon,
with his forced crushing poverty,
education failed, the laws hurt the
victims, he rapes the land with
construction and unnecessary
deforestation.

A criminal sits where a leader once
sat, now he's crushing us with his
fat and wrinkles of decay.

His face is a reminder of the devil,
he's an orange fat mass of sin,
with his damaged goods
over processed grease and
rotting flesh.

He's a dragon with multiple heads,
with multiple fake crowns, his wife
is the scarlet in red. She's a supporter
of dreed and the devil's her groom.

I can hear the devilish trumpet
playing its tune. The devil's here
he's trying to crush the house
with his massive fat a$$.

He's the bringer of doom.

©️ 2025 By Amanda Shelton

This be truth,
love dreams of you.

You are loves wish
come true.

A kiss so fair, upon
a blushing cheek it
warms the heart even
when freezing winter’s
hug tightly holds your
heart in its contemptuous
embrace.

Love is the victim
of hate and abuse,
it can hurt you or
save you from
loneliness embracing
your fragile heart.

The heart is that like
porcelaine, it’s easily
creaked and tampered by
the pressures of love and
its embracing of passionate memories.

Upon a lovers promise,love
settles with the whispering
wind as two hearts are
colliding.

©️ 2021 By Amanda Shelton

You won't get anywhere if
you want likes and following.

If you don't enjoy your writing
you need to take a break.

Writing isn't about likes,
its about enjoying the process.

A great writer knows how to write
from practice and passion.

Its not just pen and paper,
its a practice of patience
and skill.

It can become a drive that
is like a volcano.

The more you write and share,
more likely others will follow.

Don't give up! Just keep writing.

©️ 2021 By Amanda Shelton

Like a rooted tree
I am firmly grounded
upon this life I was
given.

Sometimes it can feel like
a flood that’s trying
to devour me. Its hands
grip around my neck
choking me as I loose
my breath.

Pain settles beside me
it steals my time.

This struggle is like
painful strings pulling
on me, as if I were
its puppet, moving me
when I least expect it.

It swells and dwells
deep within my life,
it waited until I was
happy to step out
of the shadows.

It’s a painful breath,
exhale after exhale
I am left chocking
on its smog.

Painful breath,
my life was devoured
by its fumes.

© 2019 By Amanda Shelton

Upon my pillow I left
my sorrows, soaked with
tears my dreams drown
my pain.

As the shadows lengthen
and slowly steals the light
I lit my candle as a reminder
of the burning passion
we have for each other.

We are never too far apart,
for the strings attached to
our hearts fell the spaces
between us with
beautiful music.

As the sun sets upon
the night, each star that winks
is a reminder of our love
we have for each other.

Your memory never fades,
for our hearts are rooted
deeply in loves chasm.

© 2019 By Amanda Shelton

Did I take it too far,
when I gave you my heart?

Digging deep, into the dark
the monster waits, there it
seats ready to eat the love
I gave, with its gaping mouth
it opens wide to take a bite.

Was it all a lie?

You play your games
of manipulation and control.

Do you know how to love?

Or is your heart made from ashes
and charcoal, making sure everyone
chokes on your mud?

The fire you kindle
consumes all who take a seat
at your table of disease.

Did I go too deep,
when I gave you the keys
to my heart?

I was forced to watch as you
drowned in your evil ways,
with the devil by your side,
He consumes everything I loved.

Did I take it too far,
when I gave you my heart?

©️ 2021 By Amanda Shelton

Of velvety petals,
thy beauty grows
rising from the night shadows,
a rose blooms in the moonlight.

Thy thorny stem wraps around
the bushes, as thy scent lingers
in the night air, bringing its lovely
perfume for everyone to enjoy.

Your lacy trim and blood red decor
is so divine, it makes you shine
within an enthral sky.

Ode to thy rose,
may you bloom forever
within the enthral realm
of a great design as a poem
plotted and cultivated by
my poetic mind.

©️ 2025 By Amanda Shelton

To my abuser and ex love,

Upon my tears I release
my strife. The memories
of you taste like ash it
rotted and decayed long ago.

You promised me forever but brought me shattered dreams
instead.

I lost your heart to your
selfish muse, your in love
with greed and dishonesty.

I was beaten down until
I felt like I was nothing
but an annoyance an unbearable itch that keeps burning.

But it wasn’t me, it was
your sins that rules your
kingdom of hateful lies
you tell yourself.

You have no one to blame
but yourself, yet still,
still you cry wolf while wearing sheeps skin.

No one believes after
the first lie, each time
you speak to manipulate
you push a wage in between,
your a coward because you
don’t have the guts to be
honest and change your behavior.

I have worked hard to be
strong enough to not blame
myself for the abuse you
threw at me.

I am a good person,
I am a kind smart
and unique human being.

I had to learn how to accept myself while you were lying
telling me I am nuts and I
should take medication that
hurt me and I don’t need anymore.

If you are truly a good person
you would have changed your behavior and show it.

©️ 2021 By Amanda Shelton

Whispers of yesterday linger
on my mind, your presence is
like a lingering perfume.

Upon my lips you always stay,
your taste never fades.

Upon my heart you hold a tight grip,
for you are like a thorny rose
to my heart’s contentment.
It grows.

Oh how like the moon you are,
You make my heart swoon
as you sway my way.

Lovers we are,
companions in this suffering
life we live.

We grow like weeds,
two lovers entangled together
on the vine.

Oh so divine,
are such things as love.

© 2018 By Amanda Shelton

Dancing amongst the stars
my soul flew like a blooming
moon searching for you.

I got pulled into your
orbit, now I am like a
satellite flying around
your heart being pulled
by an invisible string.

Star cross lover
with lazer lips
and eyes only for me,
like the bluest sky’s
and you shine only for me.

I am your orbital lover
waiting for your reply,
the ship awaits, my dear.

© 2019 By Amanda Shelton

I am a introverted extrovert. I got lost in between being overly social and drained from emotional damages society suffers from.

AMANDA SHELTON

Sometimes I feel like
I am living in a square,
I am stuck within a
windowless house.

Sometimes I feel like
I am living in a triangle,
it's getting tight in here
the walls keep disappearing
trapping me inside nothingness.

Sometimes I feel like
I am living in a circle,
it seems internally unfair.

Sometimes I feel like
I am living in outer space,
I keep floating away and
reality comes to rescue me
it brings me back to earth
and my feet touch the ground
reminding me of everything
that is important.

It keeps me here
just for the moment.

This is my shapeless struggle,
it changes.

©️ 2023 By Amanda Shelton

The rose is like love,
it can ***** you
but it can also blossom.

Also

Love is like a rose
it’s rooted strongly
but it’s very fragile.

We grow upon the
foundation of love,
it keeps us grounded
and firmly attached to
our roots.

© 2018 By Amanda Shelton

When you roll back the tongue
of a poet,
you will find their inspiration,
the likes of
Edgar Allan Poe,
Emily Dickinson,
Stephen King,
Anne Rice,
and broken hearts,
broken mind’s eager to write.

Music is nothing without
the poet who chose to write
lyrics, strumming each line,
drumming and screaming each line.

Emotions explode,
like stars
and planets,
they build and
birth poetry and word’s,
leaving behind a raw format.

When you roll back the tongue of
a poet,
you will find secrets of the universe,
the Galaxy’s grow,
life planned its path,
upon the tongues of the poets
who wrote the possibility
of creativity.

It blooms upon the tongue of a poet,
creating the formats,
structure, and plot,
poetry is a rolling tongue spitting out emotions and struggles.

Sometimes it cuts like a knife,
leaving its ghostly scares
upon my poetic skin.
Leaving me with a tougher skin.

**© 2017 By Amanda Shelton

My heart is wrapped in barbwire,
it makes me bleed poetry.

Once I grew roses, but now
I grow barbwire with weeds.

Wildflowers of agony bloom
for me, around my ruins it
strangles hate and pain for me.

Like porcelain, my heart is shattered
laying at your feet, but my barbwire
came to release me from your damage.

Barbwire that's me! 😘

I'm a reminder of everything you lack,
your my ruins and damage, you are my bruises, you are the scars that
make me stronger.

Barbwire kiss, I have your wish
now bleed for me and leave.

My roses are fresh, my weeds are
just as deep as my barbwire kiss,
and my pain is on your lips.

You'll never forget me,
I'm barbwire baby.

©️ 2025 By Amanda Shelton

Under the moonlight,
I shine bright, my ink smears
are evidence.

My ghosts come out,
my thoughts are
set free.

Oh what crimes they plot,
it's poetic justice.

This is my crime scene,
my favorite haunt.

Line by line, don't cross the
line until you've tasted my cookies.

Crumb by crumb, I leave behind
evidence of my shshsh!
Its just between you and me.

Poetry!
Poetry!
Poetry!
Poetry!
I'm the poet, your minds beacon
to possibilities.

I'm a vivid dream waiting to be
written, waiting to be read by you.
My muse!

©️ 2025 By Amanda Shelton

I dreamed I was slow dancing with
myself under a pale moonlight,
as you're shadow watches in the
corner.

Shivers shimmied down my back
as I realized you were watching
my back.

I had to lose you to love myself,
I had to let your memory go
into the passed where you
came from.

I tried surfing your waves but
you kept crashing into me with
no remorse or concerns for
my life.

I was drowning in your depths,
lost my sanity and self worth.

While you lied and accused me,
you left me in the dust choking
on your pollution.

Love, you forgot about me,
you neglected to love me,
you never cared about my
fragile heart.

©️ 2022 By Amanda Shelton

The Cheshire cat once told me
I am lost only if I forget
I have several ways to get
where I am going.

Nothing is in black and white,
on no, it’s vibrant colors
full of passion and waves
of blues and greens and
billions of fish.
I am one of them.

I am like a net
I cast myself out
into the wide open
seas, bring in my little
fishies. Sometimes I come
back empty so I have to
try again.

Never forget you’ve got
several ways to get where
your going. Just keep going.

You are only held back
by your forgetfulness.

The path has always been
in front of you. Just take
the first step.

© 2020 By Amanda Shelton

Upon the sun kissed beams,
you came to me as I rose
from my slumbering dreams.

My diamond shaped heartache,
tougher than nails but just
as sharpe, it cut me deep.

My porcelain heart cracked
and started to fall apart.

I bled black, as the moon
swoons and gets drunk off
my pain. The moon is always
smiling in his orbital bow.

As the shadows stretch and
the light dims we say goodbye,
once again.

I watch as my love sail’s off
into the ocean of time.

©️ 2021 By Amanda Shelton

Dream I live,
life I dream,
visions of me
like a shadow
of my former self.

I can fly but only
in my mind, its a
metaphor for survival
I will rise above the
struggle.

To dream is to live,
to live is to dream
about the possibilities.

My matrix is poetry
waking up to a cool
breeze of words floating
above my head, slowly
line by line the words
begin to design the tapestry.

My reality is ink smears,
stains of poems are
scattered about my life.

One line is blue,
second line is red
third is green,
fourth is black.

Poetry is the color of
my life, a poetic matrix
streaming from my mind.

This is the poetic matrix,
blue or red pill?

©️ 2022 By Amanda Shelton

Oh how much I love you.

Upon the rays of the
burning sun you came,
you crashed into my chasm
of darkly lit rooms
and lit up the dark
like the candle you are.

You brought me a river of
love and change, you reminded
me I will never be alone again.

You are as a cloud to my rain,
you are a wick for my flame,
you are the missing piece
to my puzzle, you are
the breeze to my calmness
and weaves.

You cary me in the safety
of your arms, you keep me
dry upon the falling of
the rain.

You are my love.
My best friend till the end,
my true love.

© 2019 By Amanda Shelton

(Verse 1)
In the quiet of the night,
when the world is fast asleep,
I look up to the heavens,
secrets that they keep.

A billion tiny diamonds,
scattered in the black,
Each one a distant memory,
never looking back.

Oh, the stars,
they shimmer softly,
in their cosmic dance,
Whispering of wonders,
given half a chance.

(Chorus)
And how they shine,
a beacon bright,
across the endless void,
Reflecting all the feelings,
time has not destroyed.

Like a hope that flickers,
when the world feels cold and gray,
Guiding every lost soul,
lighting up the way.

Oh, the stars and how they shine,
a promise from above,
A canvas painted brightly,
with strokes of endless love.

(Verse 2)
Sometimes in the darkness,
shadows start to grow,
Doubts begin to whisper,
quiet and slow.
But then I see the starlight,
piercing through the gloom,
A gentle, steady reminder,
chasing out the room.

For in that steady glimmer,
a warmth begins to bloom,
Dispelling all the worries,
conquering the doom.

(Chorus)
And how they shine,
a beacon bright,
across the endless void,
Reflecting all the feelings,
time has not destroyed.

Like a hope that flickers,
when the world feels cold and gray,
Guiding every lost soul,
lighting up the way.

Oh, the stars and how they shine,
a promise from above,
A canvas painted brightly,
with strokes of endless love.

(Bridge)
From constellations ancient,
to the nebula's soft grace,
There's a magic in their brilliance,
time cannot erase.

And in that grand design,
a simple truth I find,
That even in the vastness,
true connection's intertwined.

(Chorus)
And how they shine,
a beacon bright,
across the endless void,
Reflecting all the feelings,
time has not destroyed.

Like a hope that flickers,
when the world feels cold and gray,
Guiding every lost soul,
lighting up the way.

Oh, the stars and how they shine,
a promise from above,
A canvas painted brightly,
with strokes of endless love.

(Outro)
So let the stars remind us,
as they glimmer from afar,
Of the light within our spirits,
no matter who we are.

May we always find our shine,
and share it with the rest,
Wrapped in gentle moments,
of eternal love confessed.

©️ 2025 By Amanda Shelton

Inside my mind I live
in a dimly lit room
full of lost dreams.

I am the only shadow
but my dreams follow.

©️ 2023 By Amanda Shelton

Upon the morning beams of light
glistened due drops on top the leafs.

The morning greeted the trees
with her seasonal embrace.

As the breeze began to blow,
the air woke and gently rose
as a leaf on a lonely branch
began to wave and the breeze
set it free.

The leaf flew up and around,
swooping and diving as the wind
carried it off to distant places.

It traveled across the roads
barely missing car’s and people
passing by.

Dancing between bike wheels
and rolling across the grassy
park.

The leaf danced with gay delight
free from branches and crowded
plot’s, imagine the possibilities.

As the night slowly creeped
its shadows lengthened and
crawled across the ground devouring the light with its
claw like void.

The leaf landed on the ground
underneath the same tree that
birthed it’s brothers and sisters.

It slowly crisped turning
yellow then brown.

©️ 2022 By Amanda Shelton

I bent down to reflect
upon the gaping hole you
left.

The chasm is deep and dark,
it devoured your memory
with its monstrous tentacles.

I am no longer your victim,
for I declare victory over my
heart.

I fell the chasm of my wounds
with poetry and my endless prose
hold together the gaps you created.

I stitched together the wounds.

Love, you stole the joy and
mystery from the journey
we started years ago.

You left me with pain and
deep bruises upon my heart.

©️ 2021 By Amanda Shelton

How can I become an autumn when my grief has yet to shed its leafs?

I suffer through the heated
summer of my pain,
eager for winter
to break the fever.

Oh life, how I strive to please you,
sadly you are not too pleased
with my lack of measure.

I am stuck in between
pain and stress,
being squeezed
slowly by its movement.

Don’t feel sorry for me,
instead enjoy what you have.

If anything you should
be motivated to do your best.

© 2018 By Amanda Shelton

Upon the surface of the waves
lurks darkness.

Chaos lives within the oceans eyes,
under tow it pulls and tugs on
the devil's leg, biting kicking
scratching, his way is damage strife
and weakness.

He's lurking within the sin of
many a man and women.

The devil doesn't sit unless invited,
Donald Trump got a mirror and sat
in front of it and called himself
the devil's friend.

He's the devil's reflection, and
there has been many more before
him.

The devil told his victims, don't be
frightened I've come to save you.

I asked him, what do I have to fear
but fear itself Satan?
I don't trust someone that brings
rumors of fear but shows no
evidence of something to fear.
The devil knows nothing but lies,
his mouth is always gapping wide
with flies coming out.

There's no silence for the wicked
but he does silence the victim.

Rambling gambling,
ready for the role,
dicy micy he's chopping the block
with his wicked breath.
Now throw the dice!
For the devil is a gambling man,
he likes the chaos of random chance
and a long grift into flooding poverty.

He'll steal your sanity and replace it
with fear and hate. His lies fester
and fume, eating away at life's core
leaving emptiness where love was
born.

Donald Trump is the devil's reflection,
he loves the devil's salad
the foot lettuce is his favorite
with toe jam dressing.

©️ 2025 By Amanda Shelton

From the poet,
I bleed ink so you don't have to.

My pains are smeared across
this post, splattered shattered broken
and shredded, for all to see and
witness the choke.

Chained by society,
held down by anxiety,
depression thinks I'm a joke,
laughing in my face reminding me
of everything I lack.

My abuser is a shadow,
doesn't matter how far away
they are, their ghost is my enemy.

Suffering is my companion,
like a knife it stabs me to remind me
its never far behind me.

Though I struggle, I grow stronger,
I grew a thicker skin, my scars are
a reminder of where I've been.

From the poet,
I bleed ink so you don't have to,
I grow poems through my heartbreak
and strife. I became the knife and my
struggles are my scars.

Its my life.

©️ 2025 By Amanda Shelton

Upon the rising of a blood red moon,
a cold chill is in the air.
I am standing in front of a large
window on the top floor of a hotel.

As I stair out into the darkness
I glance at the window and the
reflection shows a man tall
dark and pale wearing a suit
and tie with red blazing eyes
is seated on the couch.

The man looks like a flame reflecting
light from the reddish glow of the
moon as he rises and approaches
from behind, I can feel his energy.

Its a push to my senses and a shove
to my mind, telling me to run.

As I begin to panic I quickly turn
around to face him, but nothing is
there.

I turn back to face the window and
he's standing next to my reflection.
With his sapphire gaze he disappeared in a foggy red haze.

The blood red moon from my
imagination brought me a dream,
a lucid trip through the
Twilight zone.

©️ 2022 By Amanda Shelton

The pounding in my head,
the throbbing and burning,
pain settles in.

I never thought
I would suffer so,
I thought I fought
and won my battle
with pain a long time ago.

But pain had other plans
to sneak behind my back
and stab me over and over again.

These frivolous dreams
of beating the pain
has gone down the drain,
with allergies and useless
treatments.

I once was a star
but now pain takes the
center stage.

It’s painful!

© 2019 By Amanda Shelton

I have gazed upon the softest petals
deeper than the night, its perfume
lingers on my mind.

Of the greenest stem and leafs of
heaven's groves, a bud like no other
in black velvet under cover,
for the others are painted red.

Ode to my black rose, it grows
in the deepest depth of my heart.

This thorn of beauty and
night is plotted in rows
to grow my poetic design.

I hope my black rose brings
you peace and comfort, and
reminds you beauty is in
the design.

©️ 2022 By Amanda Shelton

I am dust and ashes,
I am beaten and broke,
I am fearful and stricken
by emotions that darken my days.

I am sadness,
I am weakness,
I am creaked
and brittle from use.

I am consumption and its
dust I leave behind.

Ruin is my name,
I am ruined by time
and shame.

This life was not designed by me,
instead it’s a design built for
disaster and pain.

Such struggles I suffer,
always wade by the constant agitation of my heart and soul,
pulling me under it’s heavy gantt,
which never slows.
Steady as it goes,
nothing changes it’s scheduled path and codes.

I am painful and slow,
I am living but cold fire burns
within my heated mind.

I am alive this I know,
this life I have weaved
and sewed unit my
very last breath
I will feel its bite
and its bitter sweet taste
I crave.

© 2018 By Amanda Shelton