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 Nov 2021
Thomas W Case
Yours isn't gentle lunacy,
It's hammerhead insanity.
Great white crazy.
I'm not even safe walking on
the sand.
You ******* learned to graze on
the land.
Evolution is a *****.
Check out my youtube poetry channelhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HKJ1zzc77o&t=123s
 Sep 2021
Elizabeth Kelly
My words don’t have arms big enough to hold these great and growing feelings.
They stay in my insides
Crowding out
Grinding down the subtleties
That reside near the edges in the used to be,
that cushiony soft berm.

It was comfortable in here once

The Room for Interpretation,

now lost,
now over-full,
balloon-bright and tumbling one voice and many into and out of supremacy.

These great and growing feelings
and my insufficient words
that fall from me one-by-one into place,
the thudding truth in basic blue.
083021

Lumilipas ang mga araw
Na tayo’y waring mga plumang
Nauubusan ng tinta.
At habang tumatagas
Ang huling patak sa ating mga timba’y
Ayaw pa rin nating magmadaling gumayak
At magpatangay sa mga sinag ng araw.

Sa unang mga paglisan ay nauubos pa ang ating mga luha
Ngunit sa mga sumusunod na kabanata’y
Tayo’y minamanhid ng tadhana.
Kasabay ng pag-usbong ng mga buhok na luma'y
Kumukupas ang mga larawang
Dati'y araw-araw na pinupunasan.

Ang bawat batiang noo'y nakatagas ang ngiti'y
Magiging pasalubong na may ibang palamuti.
Kaya naman ang hamon sa nalalabing panahon,
Ay ating sabayan ang agos
Habang ang lahat ay nakadilat pa.
Pag-ibig na laan at bihis sa ati'y
Maging kumikinang na diyamanteng
Sasalamin at aakap sa iba.
081721

Bagamat dumadaplis lamang sa atin
Ang mga palaso ng kalaba’y
Hindi moog ang ating mga damdamin
At hindi rin bulag ang ating mga pananaw
Sa hayag na pagsasalitan ng mga balang ligaw.

Gaya ng durungawang nakasilip
Ay bukas na rin ang ating mga isipan
Sa mga di kanais-nais na mga patibong
Na ilang ulit inilagan sa katahimikan.
Bagkus, ang mga ito’y nagmistulang mga laruang papel
Na madaling napunit at bumigay
Buhat sa walang awang pamimihasa
Ng mga ahas at linta sa lipunan.

Tila sila’y nakasilid na lamang
Sa kahong hindi de-baterya
Habang tayo’y nagsisilipat
Sa tuwing nagsusulputan ang sari’t saring palatastas.

At habang tayo’y nananatiling panatag
Buhat sa ating mga kinatitirika’t kinalalagyan,
Kasabay naman nito ang pagyurak sa mga dangal
Buhat sa mga ideolohiyang kumikitil sa mga pangarap
At nagsisilbing diktador sa kani-kaniyang mga tahanang
Wala nang makita pang ibang dahilan upang tumahan pa.

Ang mga luhang hindi natin makayang punasa’y
Nagmimistulang mga tinik na lamang sa’ting mga pagkatao.
Syang susulpot at tutusok sa pakiramdam nating
Minsan nga’y malapit lamang tayo sa isa’t isa
At sana’y kaya nga nating patahimikin
Ang walang himpil na pag-usok sa kanilang ipinagbabaka.

At sa ating paghimlay sa ating mga kumot
Ay sabay din silang mangungulila
Sa mga akap at lambing ng kanilang mga mahal sa buhay
At hihilinging huminto na lamang ang mga sandali’t
Makatakbo sila’t makalisan nang walang nakakapansin.
Nauubos na ang katas ng mga bulaklak sa hardin,
Gayundin ang mga dahong tila nagsasayawan sa bawat pagsipol ng hangin.
Unti-unting ring nanamlay ang mga iwinawagayway sa bawat pulong ipinagbigkis.
At maging ang bahaghari'y waring sanggol na nahihiyang magpakita't piniling magtitiis.

Sa pagtikom ng bibig ng tinuturing na demokrasya
Ay nasaan nga ba ang tunay na pagkalinga?
Na sa tuwing gumagayak ang mga nakapilang ekstranghero
Ay magsusulputan ang mga buwayang masahol pa sa nakawala sa hawla.

Sinisipat ang mga bulsang walang laman,
Para bang mga santo silang naghihintay sa alay na hindi naman nila pinaghirapan.
May iilan pa ngang susukli ng lason buhat sa kanilang mga bibig.
Matindi pa sa hagupit ng kidlat, kung sila ay magmalupit.

Doon sa kasuluk-sulukan ng kurtina sa entablado'y
Nagsitikom ang mga buwelta ng mga may puting kapa.
Sila sana ang pinakamakapangyarihan
Na hindi kung anong elemento ang pinagmumulan.
Sila sana ang pinapalakpakan,
Ngunit ang suporta'y wala naman palagi sa laylayan.

Taas-noo sila para sa bandilang pinilay ng sistema.
Bayani kung ituring ngunit sila'y napapagod din.
Nakakaawa, pagkat sila'y pinamahayan na rin ng mga gagamba
At kung anu-ano pang mga insektong noo'y itinataboy naman sa kanila.

Tangay nila ang armas na posibleng lunas sa kamandag,
Sila na rin mismo ang dedepensa't aawat
Sa paparating na mga kalabang hindi naman nila nakikita.
Ano nga ba ang laban nila?
Ano nga ba ang tagumpay na maituturing
Sa labang tanong din ang katapusan?

Samu't saring lahi na may iisang kalaban
Ngunit ang tanong ko'y, may iisa rin bang patutunguhan?
May iisang sigaw ngunit ang tinig ay wasak sa kalawakan.
May iisang mithiin ngunit ito'y panandalian lamang.
Pagkat sa oras na ang giyera'y mawaksian na rin,
Ang medalya't parangal ay tila isasaboy pa rin sa hangin.
 Oct 2020
Traveler
A couple of rats laughing
In the height of rodent prime
Just inside the walls
In the panelling confines

Sour milk and cheese
The sent of rotten meat
It’s freezing in the alley
Behind the trash pile heaps

Dwellings made of boxes
House the forgotten meek
Closed face and forbidden
As we pass them on the streets

A polite yet impaired man
Stays deep in the forest down the road
I gave him a ride from his tent
In the woods to the store
Behind his eyes he was broken
As he spoke of happy things
He asked me to come back and join him
But I had to run away
Traveler Tim

It’s true
rats laugh proven and a science lab.
 Oct 2020
Ann M Johnson
Magical
The first snow fall
Sparkling like diamonds
Even though it comes year after year
It seems magical

A newborn babies first cry
The look of Love in the parents eyes
It seems magical

The excited expectation glittering in a small child's eye on Christmas Morning that lights up a room more than the lighted tree
It feels Magical

The seasons changing from fall to winter
Spring to Summer
The preparations it brings
It seems magical
The blooming of flowers after a harsh winter
The fragrance they bring to the air
Makes me stop for a moment and stare
It seems magical

The first sunrise of each day
The rays of the sun
The moon at night to light our way
The starlight sky
So beautiful I could cry
The feeling that anything is possible
It seems magical to me, does it seem magical to you too?
 Jul 2020
Ann M Johnson
These are the things that scare me most:
What I fear most are not the things that go bump in the night.
The things that frighten me are often times things that at first you can not see.
These things that first start with someone else thoughts can too often be turned into negative actions. These things can seemly spread faster than any virus,infecting the heart. What may start out as a passionate thought, or cause, can too quickly turn into a destructive action. This is why I fear insensitivity, crude jokes,  and apathy.
Other things I fear, are people that talk without thinking about what they are going to say first, or about how others might interpret what they are saying.
I fear selfishness, which may lead to uncaring actions.
I fear crude jokes that do not respect ones fellow man, or women, because it could subtly desensitize ones perception of those around them. They may get defensive and say it is just a joke.
The constant violent images on the news and on television, may further desensitize others to think that violence is normal or okay, or worse still, that it is a normal part of life. It don't have to be perceived as normal, we can chose to limit our own exposure to violence on television. We can let others know that we don't condone violence, whether it is on television, or in reality, or in our own community.
I fear all these things that at first hide inside the deepest darkest recesses of someones mind, long before it is publicly seen. This realization of this hidden darkness,makes me cry, or scream, if I thought about it all before going to bed. I would cover my head and sleep with the lights on, and every noise would make me jumpy.
This is why I fear those things that I can not see the most.
 Apr 2020
Sourodeep
Above this cloud of madness
flows a gentle cool breeze
drifting  away all the sadness
striped butterflies flapping at ease

sound of the waves are heard
once suppressed by the chaos
rhythmic crashing no longer weird
silent therapy broken by the gentle dose

If only one drowns deep can one taste
the salt can be the much needed sweet
where there is no emotion to waste
and only generous soul to greet.
More lonely writing sitting by the window.
 Apr 2020
Ann M Johnson
How many times have plans been carefully made
then drifted away when faced with the problems of
real life.
What good does it do to worry or fret it takes away from what I can do today.
When I watch the news I feel the blues
I can choose to limit my exposure to maintain a sense of serenity
I don’t need to plan every moment after all
I can choose to let go of some of the stress before I become a mess
I don’t have to continue setting myself up with such a hurried pace
It can be such a waste draining too much energy
I need to breathe and think
Talk to friends and reconnect with family that I have not talked with in awhile
Take time to laugh when something tickles my funny bone and smile
Take time to cry and grieve when I need to.
My Contentment can be found when giving up on previous plans
and taking things one day at a time and living in the present moment.
After all, I don't know what joys or sorrows tomorrow will bring.
I can choose to live life in the moment this day.
I can choose to make the best of this current social distancing take time to slow down and live in the moment today.
 Mar 2020
LN
With my hair unleashed,
strands fall to meet the crevices
of a sweaty neck.

See the black dye mirrored,
hands stained with disdain -
she watches.

A rendez-vous so scented,
slick with gazes squandered
loose after I wandered.
 Mar 2020
Splashes of Surreal
If tomorrow we could be friends. Would it be end of an eagle's life. Or the beginning of a vibrant communication among the little birds. I write and feed the birds. I need time to think and I know that I do not hope to see a brighter future. Why should the aged eagle stretch its vapid feathers blanched in age. Why should I be sorry for my speed demon.
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