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 Oct 2017
r
I kneel in a field of wheat grass
catching grasshoppers.

I scoop underhand into my jar, another
at the height of its jump, a third.

I put my jar by the stream, pull one
out and I grab it, force my barbed steel
hook through the belly still trembling.

I cast long loops of line into the drift
below rocks where current
froths and whirls.

I stand mechanically slightly ashamed, uncomfortable on that shaded bank
where trout strike hard.

I let them swim, then hold fast, reeling one, exhausting him, wrenching him
into air, his tail drumming against the sky.

Hanging  from the line
his fat belly flinches.

All his life of riding rapids, hiding
in flats embraced by waters’ fast flow,
by red rainbows in his scales.

I didn’t expect that open mouth,
that whiteness, the gills stop twitching,
the eyes caught in that open stare.
 Oct 2017
PaperclipPoems
I remember the rainy night I showed up on your door step begging for answers

It was 2 years later and I cried like it was yesterday

You invited me in and even though I hated you, in I walked

I remember feeling brave
I remember feeling broken, shattered
I remember how easily you brushed my tears off
But you acknowledged how **** I was
Such causality
And I wondered why you had asked me inside with no feeling of remorse.

I left shortly thereafter with fewer answers than I came with
I left with the feeling of regret all over again like a fresh coat of paint

But something happened that night
Somewhere between following you from room to room
Talking about insignificant memories
You reminded me that people move on
You reminded me how sometimes strength is a deep rooted pain, disguised.
And in that night I learned that I don't want your excuses after all
Even if you had any to give.
She has been fighting herself,
Holding herself back.  

The urgent innate feeling
To release these emotions
That she hides,
Is so strong.
It is eating her alive.

She is struggling
To keep these burdening,
Painful,
Heavy,
Emotions
Buried
Deep
Down
Inside.

If she were
To be overpowered
And defeated
By this feeling,
And if she went ahead  
To begin to try to transfer
These disturbing feelings
From her heart,
And from her soul,
Into her mind,

Where she would then
Transform them into words -
Words that would surely struggle
As they drip through her pen,
Staining her paper
With blood-red ink--tears...

These words would surely
Be too dark -
The ink would surely
Run through every page,
Beneath the sheet
In which she writes;
Soaking through each one of them,
Right down to the desk
In which they rest--staining it;
Hence, draining her pen.

They would surely
Be too heavy  -
The paper would not withstand
Their hefty weight -
The ink would dampen the sheet,
Tearing it,
Beyond repair.

The same way
These emotions
Have torn through her heart -

The same way
They have tattered
And stained her delicate soul.

The same way
He broke her lively spirit
Into peices
With his crushing words.

By Lady R.F. (C)2017
 Oct 2017
Jamison Bell
Here's a something y'all should know.
About women in general.
When they garner you a piece of their heart or the whole thing.
It's a precious item.
It is not to be handled like a ****** forty.
You don't put it in a bag and use it to quench your thirst for attention.
You cradle that ****.
You keep it safe, warm, and dry.
Make sure it doesn't want for anything.
Don't be an *** and take it for granted.
It's not guaranteed to be yours forever.
She can and she will take it back.
Point is my slack jawed friend.
Whether she's a friend, a lover, a relative, what have you.
Be gentle with that thing.
Even if you don't want it.
Take care not to damage it.
Someone else might want it one day and they don't need you ******* it up.
I long to write of shimmering translucence
Of gentle thoughts with gossamer wings
That float above breeze rippled fields of serenity.

But what comes from my pen is how to bake a cake
And what I see through ***** windows.

I long to write of Hollyhocks and Jasmine,
Of exquisite Orchids blooming in exotic places
That suddenly appear to delight the passing eye.

But what grows from my pen are Dandelions
And vast fields of very common Clover.

I long to plumb the depths of human spirit
Searching for the essence of that magic thing called soul
To set it free in glorious transcendence

But my pen spits out confusion not perception

And it maps a path that only goes in circles.

I long to create music from the written word
To build crescendos that fade into lullabies
And obliviate the need for language.

But what thunders from my pen is mostly noise
Without a beat and lacking any melody.

I long to write the words that cause the world to cry-
That opens them to vistas that were hidden
And shows them landscapes of a better place to be.

But my pen seems locked In every-dayness
And I can only write up what I long to do
And blur the words with wistful tears.
ljm
Written before I went on vacation.
 Oct 2017
Born
Hate is a strong word when your surrounded by lunacy
that crippling mentality that's  been woven to entertain us
or you, who's entire existence relies on fantasy
created to suffocate your intelligence
with a programmed 'urge' that'll always be there

Goals and dreams have been replaced by dalliance
do you know the meaning of dalliance
probably not cause your brain is too confined
to notice that it has lost control of its own self
but still, reluctantly have to ask you to
Care enough to think

Learning and creativity has been distracted by entertainment
a society that is willingly slaving their way to
a chained ignorance
so yeah, before I sleep I better check my fantasies
seeking instant gratification of some kind

Do you ever wonder what keeps you in mediocrity
is it the job that you hate, which your stuck on
Is it your failed relationships
is it because you cannot desert distraction
is it your inability to be creative
or is it because you don't know what to do
 Oct 2017
Jackie Mead
Seasons they come and go

Winter is long and cold
Log fires burning to warm your bones
Children singing carols in front of altars
Chestnuts cooked over open fires
Christmas Day comes then into New Year, slowly bringing optimism and cheer for the following year

Slowly Winter changes to Spring
Eternally hopeful with all that it brings
Lambs being born in open fields
Cattle outdoors grazing, milk and beef is their yield
Flowers starting to open up, daffodils, tulips, and buttercups
Brightening the landscape for all to see, days warming up nicely

Along comes summer
The sun is strong and days last ten hours long,
Children have no summer school, playing outdoors is the rule, splashing in pools, playing in the park, allowed to stay out until almost dark
Barbeques in the garden with friends and family, day trips to the beach and splashing in the sea.

Slowly, slowly the season changes to Autumn
Leaves change colours, dropping to the floor
Animals go in hibernation finding safe places to store; food for them and their young
Now the days are shorter we don't see much sun
Days shortening, darkness ascending upon us all too soon as the sun disappears to be replaced by the moon.

Soon it will be Winter again, central heating, heavy duvets, thick jumpers, raincoats and hot chocolate drinks, movies on Netflix all good reasons to stay indoors, snuggle up to a loved one and wait again for the Sun.
This is very typical of the English four seasons
 Oct 2017
Amy H
If I could be a photo
I'd be hers;
with sand-kissed cheek
and golden curls dancing with her eyes.
Her gaze is cast
into the sun,
or something far beyond;
in the shadow of a hand
raised to brow
because her hat was left behind at breakfast.

Beside her a shoulder
strong and warm
adoring each caress
of golden tresses.
He smiles on her profile.
The curve of her cheek
to her squinting eye
show where he
made her laugh
so many times.

There, in warmth of sunset
meet my lover
with the breeze,
a poem in a picture;
just the ocean, him, and me.
I had the first stanza of this in draft, forgotten these 7 months.  Finding it this morning was serendipity maybe, but today the longing inspiration is full.
 Oct 2017
Amy H
Mike Hauser had a brilliant idea to “Pass the pen” and see where it got us.  This, Friends, is the result.

I write of the stars
I write of the moon
I write of the things
That I love to do
I write of the lies
While telling the truth
And when I am through
I pass the pen to you


I read the things
that went before
and add my thoughts
for you to write more
of things we love
and things we hate
so here's the pen,
now contemplate!


I wait like a kid
the anticipation
breaks my quiet
like a train in station
with thoughts
pouring out
like the traveling weary
so here's the pen
"now what's my hurry?"


While looking at this
And studying that
As our poetic peruse
Comes up to bat
With much more in store
From the writer's’ knack
I jot down my last line
Then pass the pen back


and now it get's fun
with my lines and yours
at least it keeps me
from doing my chores!
fingers be nimble
brain be quick
I finished this part
now here's the Bic.


With words tattered and torn
I have you here to mend
Don’t know where I’m going
Brain lights on dim
With little or no warning
Here it comes again
All on a whim
I hand you the pen


*so who will care
if we make no sense
“these poets here
must have the bends!”
but all the same
we’ve had our yen
it was a good run
let's retire the pen
Thanks Mike!  That was fun.  Now maybe some of you can grab a buddy and see what happens.  To put this in context, all the stanzas went round in under an hour.  A dizzying frenzy.
 Oct 2017
wordvango
I gotta
say a few things
before I go
to sleep

I gots this urge
you know
this welling up
inside me

I wish I could hug everyone
every soul every ****** one of you
I want to kiss  
a few

I just don't have time
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