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 Feb 2021
ZL
The aftershock of love
Always shakes me the hardest.
I pushed you away
Now you've gone the farthest.

A delay in reaction
Is usually my action.
Divided two hearts,
Down to the lowest fraction.

Forgive me most
for I'm usually on time
I ran out of excuses,
Leaving you on my mind.
 Dec 2020
Seranaea Jones
-


i can just imagine how things would
end up, me being a little more than
hesitant to even consider vocalizing
myself "Live" to dozens of listeners

me

starting out on a platform in some school
gymnasium just a short million miles away
from the safety of my writing cubical deep
inside a worm hole underneath my domicile

im sure that a few in the crowd will wonder
what this thing is doing there, my thin, shaky
form walking erratically to center stage with a
tablet in one hand and a cup of water in the other—

well, it could be *****..

the microphone will be way too big for
what little i have to say, commencing
with an unsteady vocal that many will find
indistinguishable from man or woman,

the rhythm should get better after the first
of several stanzas, but i will have already
spotted the ombudsman standing near the
emergency exit listening in—

just as i feared,

and as our eyes meet, his expectation
of structure and rigidity will boil me
down to the hardwood floor, reducing
me to the basic size of a Cornish hen,

spun lengthwise upon his rotisserie,
roasting away as a smoldering torso
from his slow hand-cranked rotations

over the campfire which he will light his
cigarettes from, leaving me choking
from the smoke of his evaluations
as i drip into the cinders and
evaporate along with most
of my self ~esteem..


i realize that he'll just be some ghost
that has haunted my every attempt
at simple boldness,

but i know he is gonna be right there
if i ever climb up to laser like stares
and the wide-open ~hears~ of
kindred poets and curious ears,

an easy fellow to pick out—

he will be the one
holding my neck
in his hands...


s jones
2008-2020


.
 Dec 2020
Mike Hauser
when i was young
i used to dream
used to dream
about some things
now a-days
with what i've seen
i'm afraid
to try and dream
i would find
my mind would run
now my eyes
are open wide
i've seen things
and then some
now i try
my best to hide
from the things
that i've seen
when i was young
and used to dream
 Dec 2020
Lisa Neu
Living with PTSD is like riding a horse, feeling the crisp breeze, the exhilaration of the gallop, the rhythm of the horse's hooves, and the synchronicity between the rider and horse.  The goodness of life captured in the view over fields and valleys, the smell of grass and flowers, and the beauty of the sunset on the horizon.  

And out of nowhere the trigger knocks me off of the horse.  Just before I black out I see the bottom side of the horse, and his powerful hooves, right over my head.  And then there I am, on my back, smelling dirt and manure, and not knowing at all where I am, or how it is that I came to be there.  Panicking and alone, the sound of horses far away.  This can be made more confusing when someone next to me blames me for falling, as if I have fallen on purpose.  This is what it feels like.  

My horse came back today, and I'm not astride yet, but he's standing here warming me, waiting for me to climb back up, nuzzling me with his warm, wet breath, and communicating that the view is great, the air is crisp, and the rhythm of the ride awaits.
 Nov 2020
Ann M Johnson
I some times lose when playing some writing games. I will site some examples ,for instance when I was playing tug of war with my writers block, just when I seemed to gain some ground the block took me by surprise and to my demise knocked me back.
I played catch with some rhymes but just as I was about to catch up with them they sprinted away.
When I tried to find the right words to draft a poem the harder I tried the more elusive the words became.
  I  made a decision that next time I will not try to chase after the right words but instead wait for the right words to find me, If I don't try to force them out they will be free to flow naturally.
When I get writers block it is so frustrating.
 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
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
Francie Lynch
In the North we had the cold war. Sirens screamed; we crouched under desks, thin arms covering thinner heads. We were post Pompeii petrifies waiting for a future dig. We never left an atomic shadow.
This  sums up all life-threatening fears of the Boomers, the Echoes, the A's through Z's. Of course, Boomers then were too young to worry.

We've never had planes or bombs fall from our skies (there was the Arrow disaster).
We've never had a crop blight, famine or drought.
Food has never been rationed.
Hurricanes, cyclones, typhoons or tornados don't happen here;
We get snowfalls we plow through till they melt.
We're non-tsunami. Flooding is seasonal, geographically isolated, and dealt with.
We've had no great fires or earthquakes like San Fran or London.
We've never been drafted, and only go to wars of our own choosing.
We have not been invaded or occupied;
P.E.I. has no extermination crematoriums.
We avoided Inquisitions, Salem witch hunts and Small Pox blankets.
We've had no Race Riots, but a few barricades have gone up and down.

Death comes to us as to all. Car accidents, dumb-*** accidents, and even ******. Though never expected, always anticipated. We grieve, some longer than others. It's not easy, but we manage the shock.

When the glaciers glide past the coast of Nova Scotia, on the way to New York, my generation (and probably yours) will have been replaced.

But now! We're asked to Social Distance and wash with soap and water. In Canada we have plenty of both. I'll occupy my three square feet of space for several weeks (knowing there are only 52 in a year). No complaints. No asinine TP runs. Just behaving myself, HUMANELY.
my generation: Anyone born after 1945 in The North, Canada.
 Mar 2020
Jonesy
How am i?
You want the truth?
I'm broken
Not the type you get when you didn't get your way so you're slightly disappointed. I'm heart broken. My heart is aching deep inside my chest, it trembles because it's now coming to terms with what my brain already knows.
How am i?
I am in pain ...
I have alot of physical ailments but nothing, nothing at all compares to crying yourself to sleep, waking up from sleeping crying, going through your day crying. I've cried for 3 days now.
How am i?
I'm trying to be strong.
Why?  I know if you knew how I really feel you'll be devastated so I lie, I tell you I'm doing okay, I'm great, fantastic...while  having..tears on my cheeks....so you can focus on you. I went to school trying to hide my tears but then I saw my friend and I broke down. I actually gripped at my heart and I told her it hurts soooo bad. My heart was beating like normal but yet it hurt so bad. I cried so much that I accepted it, class mates passed me and asked "Are you ok?" I said "I'm great, ignore the tears I have allergies".
How am i?
I'm hurt.
So so so so so so hurt. You wanted to stop hurting me so much that you decided to break my heart instead. I hate you for that.  You promised me you wouldn't break my heart. Then why am I crying everyday, why does my heart ache, why am I not eating....why am I in such pain.....why do I feel so.... empty.
How am I?
I don't know.
I'm so many things yet nothing all at once.
I wouldn't wish heart break on an enemy if I had any.
It's painful...no one deserves to feel like they're nothing,...
No one deserves to feel broken.




                                                     ­               Jonesy 2020 (c)
This poem is in the form of a journal entry. A story of a girl who is coming to grips with being broken.
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