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 871° 
F Elliott

Stone upon stone,
the walls were raised;
each block a silence,
each silence a debt
never spoken of aloud.

Within,
the child’s voice echoed,
but the mortar held fast,
sealing grief in chambers
where no light could enter.

From the outside,
the fortress looked steady,
even noble--
its towers reaching upward,
its gates well-kept..
its banners bright.

But within its walls,
rot thickened
and the beast..
undisturbed,
found shelter.

Every silence defended it.
Every smile concealed it.

   Every careful word
   laid another stone
   against the truth.

And though the watchman cried,
the city called the fortress beautiful.

Every fortress defends
but none heals.


Every wall that protects
      is also a wall
    that imprisons.

Trauma builds with silence as mortar. Each unspoken truth becomes a stone in the wall, each careful smile a tower that hides what festers inside.

From the outside, the fortress looks strong.. even admirable. But within its walls, the beast remains untouched. This piece speaks to the architecture of denial: how families, communities, even whole societies build fortresses that protect appearances while sacrificing souls.

And to those who build their fortresses of silence, who entrench themselves in deception and call it strength.. this is for you. There are battles that words alone cannot soften, and for those battles the posture is Headstrong.

This is where the silence ends. The fortress you defend cannot heal, and the fight you dismiss as madness will not bow to your walls.

For those who choose to be self-entrenched.. who make the fortress their stronghold, hiding behind its ramparts a counterfeit “strength” built from the empty pit of unresolved years, dressing up brick and mortar to conceal the hollowness within.. this song is for you--


"Conclusions manifest
Your first impressions
got to be your very best

I see you're full of ****
and that's alright
That's how you play,
I guess you get through every night..

Well, now that's over

I see your fantasy
You wanna make it a reality
paved in gold
See inside, inside of our heads, yeah
Well, now that's over"

I see your motives inside
Decisions to hide

https://youtu.be/hYW5iD6eqM8?si=ye8lzLVMbRkPE63Q


This is not where you belong.
The fortress cannot stand forever

The child will outlast the walls.
Selah

xo
 778° 
CantSeeMe
staring at a screen
it says ‘bad gateway’
what does it mean?

I don't know
but I've seen this before
that's why I'm in
survival mode
it's gonna be okay
I'll just take the next road
left

writing poems...
in my head
 403° 
Lillith
i'm spiralling,
i'm scared,
i called you
sat and sobbed after
not because of you,
you're busy
working
but
no one likes me anyway
so why would you?
i'm sorry.
 323° 
Elena Rosi
When you know you know. You know?

When the world is upside down
But you have peace of mind.
When the world seems to be fine
But you've had better times.

When you know you know. Don't you know?

When a lie is the truth
You never hear it.
But when a truth is a lie
You might just feel it.

You know when you know. Like summer from snow.

When life is a loop of grey,
Color never finds its way.
But when life decides to smile,
It stays  just for a while.

Doubt shall knock your door.
Many times and many more.
And as you live, you will know.
Answer the doubt who won't go.

Oh but if you don't live,
You might as well never know.
 315° 
jeffrey conyers
I can swim the ocean.
I can swim the sea.
I do anything to make you so happy.

I can climb a mountain.
I can walk through the valleys.
I do anything to make you so happy.

Just to see you smile makes me smile too.
I aware of the lovely heart that beats within you.

I can read for days.
And write you poems too.
I do anything to keep you so happy.

I can tear down walls.
And built them up too.

I think you know now there's nothing I won't do for you.
Cause happy are week.
Yes, just you and me.
 308° 
TOD HOWARD HAWKS
Golden rivulets flowing over milking *******,
my lips ******* on swollen pink *******,
moans emanating from one then the other,
farther down I kiss your silky middle,
my eyes are lost in a *****, brown mound.
I seek out magical miracles that bring you
to heights of unending ecstasy that let me
taste Beethoven's adagio composed for
you and me. The moon, you, and I provide
for all three of us a trilogy of love-making
as robins greet the morning sky.

TOD HOWARD HAWKS
 258° 
Indra L
C’est parce que, dès lors que je touche une note,
J’ai l’impression qu’elle sonne faux.

Parce que je me déteste au moment où je rate un panier,
Un saut d’obstacle,
Un verbe irrégulier.
 210° 
Kai
I've been lately writing poetry!
Oh? What do I see?
A perfect poetry site waiting for me!
First poem, proud of it!
Oh? Someone in my messages?
This guy seems sweet
And he's hoping I don't get beat!
Pretty songs for me to listen to!
And a drunk man messaging me...?
“You're only making yourself a victim because you're cutting yourself"
Oh? Okay- thanks for the paragraph/drunk rant?

Shining lights on all of my latest poems?
Thank you! You're so sweet!
….oh…talking to me about pedophiles…got it…
Why are there so many sad songs?
WHY DOES THIS MAN HAVE SO ****** MUSIC TASTE AGGGHGDGFGCC

Oh? You wrote a poem about the 764 and absolutely humiliating them?
Great! Good job!
…But uhh… why and how did they make a virus only going after your followers that are minors? Not funny!
Why is this man warning me if they threaten me? Is he trying to make me scared on purpose?
Blaming the Japanese for this virus now, huh?
Oh? Now blaming someone else named Pax to be part of the 764? Crazy

…. going to another website? But you're so fun!
May as well click on the link you sent me so I can join you

Drunk rants with me? That's okay!
Giving me gold so I can freely make poems?
THANK YOU SM
Daily texting
2-10 hour sessions
Why are you drinking everyday?
You're making me concerned for your health
I told you to stop drinking, papa
You promised me you'd stop
All you did was keep on drinking

Commenting on every poem I made
Oh? So suddenly I'm a “nasty *****" when I have done nothing to you? ありがとう!
We have a suicide pact now?
I'm going off the bridge first?
Don't mind if I do

Oh? Another poetry site? Okay…
I really don't like the way this site works, can't we just message each other with email?
Yes? Yay!

People bullying you on the internet? That's not okay!
Why would they accuse you of being a *******?
Letting me join an uncensored group to back you up? Great!
Sending me to a Reddit page to back you up?
Alright!
….oh … they warned me and I didn't do anything….
******* this man is an actual *******…..
gotta go fast like Sonic
pack my bags and leave

Oh? I betrayed you? Crazy
We were just friends
Can you stop spitting my name everywhere?
It's like you're so obsessed with me
Stop trying to be the Eminem to my Mariah Carey
Made a poem about you and you HAD to take it down?
Never thought you'd want to hide your identity THAT hard
Oh? Betting on my suicide now, are we?
Sending me multiple emails, desperate for me to come back to him?
I'm not that ******* naive or gullible
It's crazy if you think that about me
…I did tell you to send those photos of your cut open arms but I DIDN'T THINK YOU'D TAKE IT SERIOUSLY AND DO IT

Being racist?
“Japshit”?
Why are you so obsessed with my Chinese genes?
“I thought I can use Kai because of her Chinise genes because the Chinise was known to be very good spies. ☝️🤓" へー! Didn't know that!
Also, that's not how you spell Chinese, my fellow kind sir
Threatening people to come to America with a Katana and slice us to pieces
So envious, I see
You're just mad because we have a little bit more freedom than your drunk *** does

Oh…. Talking to me about ****
Got it
Thanks
I didn't need to be taught about METART or some **** like that
I'm only 12 years old
You ***** *****

Well…this is the aftermath
There it goes out to all of you:
Ghost
RGH
Ryan Geoffrey Hayward
Nephilim Angel
Nephalem
Rose White
Rose Red
Jacob Lives
Hybrid Angel
Tormenter
Bread Crumbs
The Machine
Dirt-In-My-Shirt
Soul Unknown
Unicorns Passing
And etc. ENJOYERS

(Btw, all of these names are RGH's names so if you have these names, please don't feel targeted! The person knows who they are.)

EDIT: ILY ALL SM!!! I DIDN'T THINK THIS POEM WOULD GAIN THIS MUCH ATTENTION BUT I'M HAPPY THAT IT DID!! (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠) I'M GOING TO VIRTUALLY KISS EVERYONE ON THE CHEEK ONCE THEY READ THIS... or just virtually hug you, yk, whatever you're comfortable with
 196° 
ebonymarie93
My longing for you is beyond words;
tears say what I can't.
 195° 
Nightingale
You dance around with the words in your mouth
You don’t actually dance
They roll around your tongue
Like melted icecream lingering
You dance around with the words in your mouth
Yet you do not dance
Like a bee sipping the nectar from a new blossom
Words wedding words
Are we waiting for the vows?
 192° 
Madeline
sweet like honey
sting like bee
cloak down —i’m swimming in
lost in like fireflies into matches
drizzle drip —got me craving
scrambling like an addict gambling
limelight got me fighting
I can’t help —I’m craving it.
 177° 
Dr Peter Lim
Don't say:
' what's wrong with the world?'
  That's not your concern
   rather this:
  'What's wrong with myself?'
 170° 
Princess of Heart
...and these weightless willows
now weep in a wounded white voice ~
their tears unshed,
            silence unheard...
what aligns beneath
this asymmetric amalgamation
of alabaster ache,
i n h a l i n g me
   as an ageless apocalypse
                that never ascended?
~ inhale me as an apocalypse ~
 154° 
Blue Sapphire
Shapeshifting sand dunes

sculpting floating desert landscape

Wind —the creator.
 122° 
Lynn Stillman
Fools are abundant.
They come a dime a dozen.
Don't push them too far.
 107° 
Paul
Life can be tough
Life can be hard
Life can be unfair
Sometimes it only brings us despair

Life's challenges come in waves
Sometimes you laugh
Sometimes you cry
But you just gotta push and try

When everything feels sad and dark  
You gotta figth with all your might
Because you are the the brigth light in your life

Dont give up!
 101° 
Nat Lipstadt
be ever gentle to thy words
treat them, your tools, well,
cleansing and protecting,
wrapping them in cloths of chamois and moleskin
that they may be well conditioned and
pour forth with a temperament clear and viscous,
reflecting their high honors and a noble lineage,
they are well-intentioned to exist far longer
than your meager temporal life,
upon this ever hasty, ever perpetual, orbit

give them all respect, their fair due,
they are treasure immeasurable,
for which you have been granted guardianship,
custody received from others to be gifted onwards,
yours, but for the duration

so oft we trifle words,
expel them from the country of our body,
without passport and earnestness,
as if they were the cheapest of footnote filler,
day tourists, to be treated as leavings,
refuse for daily discardation,
barely noting their fast comings and faster disappearance,
but leaving not, a mark of distinction

more truffle than trifle,
find them in the dark forest of your life,
use them sparingly, just for soaring,
take them from the roots of your trees,
shave them with a paring knife,
counts them in bites and measure them in grams,
even in grains,
for words are the seasoning of our lives,
agent provacateurs that can modify the moment,
bringing out to the fore
the flavor of the underlying

speak them slow and distinct,
for they arrive slow to you,
a trickling of refugees for your sheltering,
harbor them as full companions,
protected by natural law,
provision them well,
prepared and ever ready for a quick departure,
moor them at the embarcadero,
for the next restless leg of endlessness,
which they themselves will inform you
will last longer than eternity,
long after there are no humans to speak them
Oct. 6, 2015
4:30am
Manhattan Island
I lose at love
I’m feeling stupid
I’m proud enough
I call on Cupid

When life is draught
There’s nothing to it
Lose your bluff
Summon new recruitments

There’s nothing wrong
Desire is human
The wing man’s fletch is drawn
Come on, trust the music

Love on an aerial path
Surrender is useless
Be my wrath,
Be my justice
 51° 
The Gray Wolf
Stolen glances and veiled desires
A burning love with hidden fires
Through it all came a spark
A forbidden bond within the dark
Whispered secrets hearts aflame
Meeting in shadows a love untamed
People condemn a cruel decree
But loves embrace sets them free
Stolen moments bittersweet
Love is their treasure but incomplete
Both yearning deep within their souls
For loves destiny now takes control
Love will set them free
 49° 
Solaces
M
During the battle a presence was felt.
A first light in the darkness shined.
The stars begin to sing to my sword.

The grand azure blade gleamed in heaven glow.
As the darkness was now pushed away by the weapon and it's ultimate presence resonating  in my soul.
I swung the blade of new creation and vanquished the eternal night.
 22° 
Em MacKenzie
Life’s just a riddle that none of us can answer
we’ve got some leads, we’ve got some clues.
Still the answer eats alive like a cancer,
and the treatment is something I’m like to refuse.

It was raining
as always in September.
They were complaining
about what; I don’t remember.
Reputation staining,
or maybe full dismember.
In need of some training
or my tempers need to be tempered.

It’s true you can never go back home,
being on your own doesn’t need to mean being alone.
You can gift the people silver, gold and chrome
and they’ll still ask you how to skin a bone.

Life’s just a puzzle that’s missing a piece;
you can try your hardest to fit in another,
or you can accept it and leave the picture incomplete,
and spend the rest of your time left to be frustrated and suffer.

It was a cold December,
some would say you could smell the ice.
I only seem to remember,
the nerve of those celebrating, bleedin’ Christ.
Start a fire but end up with embers
I think a spark or light would be nice.
So I go in search of vendors
but they’re charging far too high of a price.

The nightmare had a nightmare of its own
never learned to share even though it’s full grown.
You can gift people blankets and tapestries that you’ve sewn,
and they’ll still ask you how to skin a bone.

Life is like a flower
it blooms out until it drops.
Each day hour after hour,
until time’s ticking then stops.
For treasure I still scour
moving so fast my steps are hops,
and the floors filthy; needs a shower
but I think I’ve broken the brooms and mops.

It’s true you can never go back home,
the path is covered by weeds and stone,
and to each town and city you roam
there will be those who ask how to skin a bone.
 22° 
Amisha priya
Nail polish
Polish
Your
Nail's
Which
Polish
Will
Polish
Mad
Brain ?
               - Amisha priya
 21° 
Nina
that’s all
 20° 
TOD HOWARD HAWKS
I will keep you from dying
by caressing your heart
and letting night's moonlight
brighten your being,
and letting night's moonlight
brighten your being.

I will keep you from crying
by drying your tears
and letting night's moonlight
brighten your being,
and letting night's moonlight
brighten your being.

I will keep you from sighing
by kissing your lips
and letting night's moonlight
brighten your being,
and letting night's moonlight
brighten your being.

TOD HOWARD HAWKS
 19° 
Salmabanu Hatim
Every successful man,
Is a woman ,
His mother not his wife.
His wife comes after he is successful.
25/8/2025
 17° 
Qualyxian Quest
I like postcards
       stamps
       tramps
 17° 
nivek
to find unending love
first believe that it is there for the finding
-after that
its all icecream in the most amazing and unusual flavours
 16° 
Laura
If you break my heart.
Will you mend it.
Will you wipe away the many tears.
That I shed for only you.
Will you replace the light that shone forth.
As my eyes lingered only on you.
Will you fix this broken vessel.
That was perfect when you met it.
Or will you walk away.
And say, let's just call it a day
 16° 
onlylovepoetry
“poetry choose you for us to sheaf through and find love among your words” (Pradip)

did you think that I forgot your message,
which is more than mere message, more a significant missive,
****** upon my shoulders, again, even more, a mission,
an owner’s responsibility that I choose to herein bare,
but a charge, too onerous, too awesome, to willingly bear

what skilled knowledge of this in my possess is narrow based,
more gained by loss or absence, or even conspicuous struggle,
than any vast success, thus, to be viewed with skepticism,
rather than any glory gained through a vanquisher’s scepter

more and better have essayed and assayed the
requisite sheafs that may give forth results useful to yourself,
this itinerant investigator’s ramblings are not to be deemed trustworthy or investable

that poetry hath chosen me, if correct, woe-betide me
this be more curse than blessing, for the secrecy of love
yields not its clear and present insights to my declining sight

the sheafs of which you speak so numerous
that a whole lifetime such engaged could not dent its
maidenhood and here do I both confess, here I do plead guilty
to trying and to failing, and in the confines of words,
honestly advance to all the proposition that I know nothing

to recognize and diagnose the symptoms almost too easy,
thus I designated myself foolishly as onlylovepoetry,
but recognition does not yield easy the cure of real cognition

nearing midnight and it is easier to pen than to sleep,
even a dreamless sleep, the great restorative,
make not the pen mightier than the wounds love inflicts;
both my scars and my many smooth, unused unpierced skin patches
speak only of the abscesses of true trials and
the too long absences of emotions that make
life unbearable, bearable and the happy exhaustion of near misses,
the try in try, try again

finding love in words a fool’s errand, though words offer us
seduction and definitions to our errant emotions, words
are just words and by definition, a hallmark of failure,
a precursor to cursing failings

only this I know, that to make love occur, do not hope to
stumble into it, or to find or mine its riches, for it requires of you,
both somber preparation and wild optimism,
and this contradiction controversy so inherently embedded,
will provoke more pain infusions and more poetry in
a human chain that came from the smithy new and yet, nearly broken

pay attention to thy surroundings and thy attitude and altitude
love is above ground though deep buried, the mystery scent
so faint it missed by most, myself a chief of mistaken mistook

meanwhile the pile of sheaves grows deeper and despairing

what I thought I knew I mistook and what I thought I felt,
well, let it suffice to say love can n’ere be found in thought
but lives in deed and actions and happy disbelief

put down the pen, gown thyself in coats of many riotous colors,
banish ‘never’ and ‘hope’ from thy lexicon, and begin with a smile always a smile as you walk the streets as if to say
open open says me, open sesame and let the
good works begin, for having found your captains of the muses,
your Calliope, your rosebud, lucky you,
you will need not write another word


11:37pm  January 14
 16° 
Em MacKenzie
Witchcraft and wine
it comes so naturally,
and now that you’re mine
I’m going to actually
try my best not to lose it.
If there’s a bomb then I will defuse it.
If there’s an offer I’ll just refuse it.
If there’s a card to play I’m going to use it.
Because you’ve got me under

Your blanket of stars and mysteries,
connecting our scars and histories.
In parked cars both sighing mystically
and back to the park where I was to shy to try anything.

Sorcery and scotch
you put me in a trance.
If you took it down a notch,
I just might stand a chance
that I’m not going to lose my head,
even with my cheeks burning red
getting brighter as you quietly said
“I’ll meet you tonight in our bed.”
Depriving me of slumber

With your healing touch and cosmic skin,
I’m within your clutch and freely giving in.
It’s too much and you have yet to begin,
removing my crutch and cleansing me of each sin.

I was warned of street magicians
and cautioned with tales of gateway drugs.
To not take my eyes off no matter the conditions,
because that’s when they tend to pull rugs.
“If you fall for one,
you’ll fall for them all.”
But this time I’m done,
I think it’s last call.

With your witchcraft and wine,
you make it look so divine.
This one poured out like a rose,
within minutes cause I had so much to say.
I think I love you like….a cat that plays with string
Or a dog that hides its bone in the backyard by the swing
I think I love you like…. a small mouse with it’s cheese
Or a bear that needs a hug, just hoping it don’t squeeze
I think I love you like…. a falcon with its prey
Watching night turn into day
While watching the sun rise by the bay
I think I love you like…. a squirrel in its tree
Or what honey’s like for bees
Or things that come in threes
And things that come with ease
In any way you please
I think I love you
 14° 
TOD HOWARD HAWKS
If only one man
walked across a barren field
and with each step
a bloom of hope arose,
then all who had the courage
would walk behind him
leaving fields of fortitude
and forgiveness and love.

TOD HOWARD HAWKS
 14° 
TOD HOWARD HAWKS
Writing poetry is like making love:
if you have to force it, stop.

TOD HOWARD HAWKS
 13° 
Nat Lipstadt
"Now I look for her always
I'm lost in this calling
I'm tied to the threads of some prayer
Saying, When will she summon me
When will she come to me
What must I do to prepare
When she bends to my longing
Like a willow, like a fountain
She stands in the luminous air
And the night comes on
And it's very calm
I lie in her arms she says, When I'm gone
I'll be yours, yours for a  song
"

Lyric from "Night Comes On"
by Leonard Cohen

<.
the morning comes on,
the blackbirds mark my Coming
with vociferous, unmelodic caw~cawing,
whisper a quick one line prayer
to whom, if anybody, who guardians
my soul & body combo
for one day more restoration

yes, you guessed, sitting before
the water's and landed tableau,
painter's tablet on lap,
wrapped my fav big ugly brown bathrobe,
coffee in my right, left pointer finger doing all the work,
of rat~tat~tap,
shedding my *****'s contents

yes, again, wish you were here, too
especially those who are long past their expiration date,
who I failed in ways inexcusable,
but don't linger for the heart reminders me,
probability states, I-won't have to wait too much shorter,
my due date unspecified, but we all knownow it ain't in the
far distant future
~
all this buys a way of introduction,
please consider yourself fully induction,
get you a pillow, and we both admire the movie
soundtrack of the goodly good of a stiff breeze welcoming us,
the bird empire gone quiet mostly, but the dutiful osprey parent,
wanders, floating, eyes by practice sharpened, for their are babes in
the nest that possess needs that must be attended to, for that is their
calling,

mine?

if it be your will to let me spill,
a moment the same, yet so wonderfully
different, sharing this day in all its specificity
have learned from its predecessors of thousand millions what
combinatory natural excesses it is duty bound to present us with,
for this I suspect, be my calling, waking to be an official greeter of
the miracle we so casually call good morning,
to be burdened in this manner, writing mad hatter style
of all the varied and variegated sensational sensoria overload,
I accept,
the anxious urgency of burning~some need
to capture every detail, without fail, to satisfy our
mutuality of wondrous awe that we have all arrived
in the same place, identical when's and where's here,
but no answer have I as to the Why, nary a clue, but here
I end, this poem dies, its calling  fulfilled,
and I am lesser for it, poorer too,
am disgorged, expunged,
having given, forgiven,
but low on excuses,
all I can, is that my
calling to, calling from, has
both been answered and filled,
leaving me satisfiably
pleasured, satiated

and called,
yours for a poem
.>


silver beach
Sun Aug 24
En el recuerdo estás tal como estabas.
Mi conciencia ya era esta conciencia,
pero yo estaba triste, siempre triste,
porque aún mi presencia no era la semejante
de esta final conciencia

Entre aquellos geranios, bajo aquel limón,
junto a aquel pozo, con aquella niña,
tu luz estaba allí, dios deseante;
tú estabas a mi lado,
dios deseado,
pero no habías entrado todavía en mí.

El sol, el azul, el oro eran,
como la luna y las estrellas,
tu chispear y tu coloración completa,
pero yo no podía cogerte con tu esencia,
la esencia se me iba
(como la mariposa de la forma)
porque la forma estaba en mí
y al correr tras lo otro la dejaba;
tanto, tan fiel que la llevaba,
que no me parecía lo que era.

Y hoy, así, sin yo saber por qué,
la tengo entera, entera.
No sé qué día fue ni con qué luz
vino a un jardín, tal vez, casa, mar, monte,
y vi que era mi nombre sin mi nombre,
sin mi sombra, mi nombre,
el nombre que yo tuve antes de ser
oculto en este ser que me cansaba,
porque no era este ser que hoy he fijado
(que pude no fijar)
para todo el futuro iluminado
iluminante,
dios deseado y deseante.
 12° 
Yonah Jeong
healthy heart
when hurt
shine.
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