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110 · Oct 2020
dead end
amanda Oct 2020
so i just sit here
parked at this dead end
of a relationship

because it's still
the most beautiful road
i've ever taken
108 · Jun 2020
blows
amanda Jun 2020
i let you use the back of my throat
as your punching bag
when i know you need
something to hurt for you

but it’s not enough that i gag for you,
you want me to break for you

and though my mouth
may hand them out—
it’s not my heart’s job
to take blows
you don’t respect
my heart, my body,
or my time

so don’t call here anymore
106 · Jul 2020
depression
amanda Jul 2020
there’s a select group of humans
who’ve learned
that it’s easier to bleed
than it is to feel
for the record—
i’m actually thriving
right now

but i remember how bad
it used to be
105 · Nov 2020
just friends
amanda Nov 2020
i've gone from lovers
to strangers
and beginnings
to ends

but the most
painful change
is still best
to friends
we used to be best friends

but somewhere along
the way,
we lost our best
104 · Sep 2020
heartbeat
amanda Sep 2020
she realized
that her heart always
pounded harder
on the climb up
the mountain
than on the stroll back down

and i guess that’s why
she learned to
romanticize the hard—

i guess she craved the sound
of her own heartbeat
really she craved
anything that reminded her
of how rare it is
to be alive
104 · Sep 2020
always you
amanda Sep 2020
the way i love you
makes me doubt
that i ever loved them
103 · Jul 2020
the sea
amanda Jul 2020
i’ve always been attracted
to men who admire the sea;
i’ve found that such a man
is more likely to admire me
i’m chaotic, deep, unpredictable,
and always under
the influence of the moon
103 · Oct 2020
collapse
amanda Oct 2020
i guess we finally
found out

we can't both fall
and not collapse
the second
you started having
feelings for me

we started cracking

i was afraid of that
101 · Oct 2020
consolation prize
amanda Oct 2020
you do not get to
call me

magical

brilliant

stunning


you do not get to
turn those beautiful words
into a consolation prize
you lost the right
to love me
the moment you chose her
100 · Dec 2020
reverse
amanda Dec 2020
what if we woke up to
find the sun rising in the west?

would i be your lover
and her your second best?
if the world started
spinning in reverse...
would you go back
and meet me first?
98 · Dec 2020
constellation
amanda Dec 2020
i wonder how many
millions of years
it’ll take
for those stars to die

the ones that spell out
your name
98 · May 2020
r.t.s.
amanda May 2020
at the end of the day—
it doesn’t matter
how meticulously folded
the envelope is

all i can see
are the big red letters
stamped across the top

RETURN TO SENDER
...
i appreciate
the gentleness with which
you continue to
return my unrequited love
every single day

but gentle doesn’t mean
painless
94 · Aug 2020
walking in love
amanda Aug 2020
for the first time
it doesn’t feel like
i’m falling in love

you and i
are just walking into it

hand in hand
94 · Jul 2020
rocketman
amanda Jul 2020
my mind can turn so cruel
when all the lights go out

but you always seem to know
when i’m trapped in the dark

because you show up
with your smile and a rocket ship

and fly me to my heart
you make me spend
less time in my head
and more time
in my heart

because you’re easy to love

~to ryan~
amanda Sep 2020
i always
respected
the kind of depression
that cut
into wrists
and arms

as i stood there
on a balcony

scared i might feel
the impact
i'm terrified
of physical pain
cause i'm a dainty lil thing

but some people
cut themselves
to deal with
their emotional pain,
and i think that makes them
stronger than they realize

unwell, yes.
but strong.

message me next time
you need to bleed out
on someone, please?
93 · Jul 2020
subtle
amanda Jul 2020
there’s a subtly
to your softness
the starkness of your beauty
almost hides

almost
it’s in her eyes
or is it her smile?

to lili
92 · Jun 2020
pride
amanda Jun 2020
the sad truth is that
many of the same people
who preach that love conquers all
actively try to conquer a love
they don’t understand
you should always be proud
of who you love

and if someone doesn’t
love you
because of who you love...
make up the difference
and love yourself
that much more

happy pride month
92 · Nov 2020
naked
amanda Nov 2020
i didn't feel naked
when you asked me
to undress

i felt naked
when i realized
you asked her to,
too
i dont trust you anymore
91 · Oct 2020
it’s not your fault
amanda Oct 2020
it’s not your fault
that he needed
two women
to make him happy

it’s not your fault
that she met him first

it’s not your fault
that you refuse to be second
90 · Nov 2020
the blood, mine
amanda Nov 2020
the knife in my back was
yours

the fingerprints
hers

the blood
mine
89 · Sep 2020
little pink canvas
amanda Sep 2020
there’s this little pink canvas
between my legs

come

paint your name
all over it,
won’t you?
89 · Oct 2020
starstuff
amanda Oct 2020
it terrifies me—
the thought

if the stars hadn’t made you...

where would all that magic
have gone?
88 · Sep 2020
exhale
amanda Sep 2020
i ask you
if i can breathe in
your air

and normally that would feel
like your lips on mine

but we aren’t normal,
are we?

so we stand
just close enough
to feel each other
exhale
85 · Oct 2020
alive
amanda Oct 2020
we keep doing this thing
because it makes us
feel alive

torture does that, ya know

makes you keenly aware
of exactly how much blood
is left in your veins
dramatic
but not inaccurate
84 · Aug 2020
rubbing off
amanda Aug 2020
after all these days and nights
we spend together

i find myself making
choices
and faces
and noises
that i never have before

you’re rubbing off on me
and i like it
a little lesbian
double entendre
for you
84 · Jul 2020
size zero
amanda Jul 2020
it’s a shame
that running from
healthy relationships
doesn’t burn calories

i’d be a size zero
amanda Oct 2020
you and i
are holding hands
on the edge
of something beautiful

so you tell me—

do you want to enjoy
the view,
or the fall?
80 · Aug 2020
the scenic route
amanda Aug 2020
his smile
wouldn’t be one
that i’d ever get to kiss,
but his eyes—
those eyes taught me
that there’s no such thing
as a wrong turn

just detours
and scenic routes
80 · Jul 2020
now
amanda Jul 2020
now
i had no idea how to sew
the first few times
love asked me to stitch up
my own heart

~~~

you should see
what i can do
with a needle and thread
now

...
79 · Oct 2020
same state
amanda Oct 2020
at least now we both exist
in the same state

confusion
heartbreak
yearning
virginia
i love being
this close to you

even if we’re worlds apart
74 · Jun 2020
jet bridge
amanda Jun 2020
what if this time
when you step off the jet bridge
and into the next chapter

what if this time
you don't stop by baggage claim
you have this tendency
to carry your past
like a dead weight

when you start over this time,
i want you to consider
letting it go
and truly starting over
73 · Aug 2020
seattle
amanda Aug 2020
i learned over time
that people would rather
the sun
over too much rain

but then you came along
and reminded me—

some people choose to live
in seattle

...
you don’t think that
my constant feeling
and poetry writing
is a burden

you choose to live here
72 · Aug 2020
distrust
amanda Aug 2020
people wonder how
a woman who loves skydiving
could distrust gravity
the way i do

but the difference
between falling from 12,000 feet
and falling in love
is simple

one comes with a ripcord
one comes with rock bottom
i once heard someone say
that human beings
aren’t afraid of heights—
they’re afraid of falling

i didn’t realize how true
that was
until i met you
70 · Sep 2020
pieces
amanda Sep 2020
i didn’t know
how to love you
when you first made
your name known—
my heart was missing pieces
from him

two years later
and i’ve carved your name
into pieces of me
that i didn’t even know existed
70 · Jul 2020
the world stopped turning
amanda Jul 2020
and i know the earth
had to be spinning
because the sun was setting
on you and me

but at the exact moment
your hand touched mine

i think even the world
stopped and stared
68 · Jun 2020
stable
amanda Jun 2020
a rebellious soul like mine
never thought to romanticize stability
until the blue in your eyes
felt like my first cloudless sky
you’re the best thing
that has ever happened to me,
and that will never not be true

-jj
66 · Jul 2020
semantics
amanda Jul 2020
when i came out of her,
i was her daughter

when i came out to her,
i wasn’t
i won’t forgive you
for this one,
mom
65 · Jun 2020
the world
amanda Jun 2020
i've cried oceans for a man
whose words moved mountains
and whose eyes challenged the stars

and as i stand here
and look at the mess we made,
i think...

we really could have had
the world
preston,
four and a half years later,
your name on my phone
still makes my heart
beat out of my chest

my first and favorite love
65 · Oct 2020
you're afraid
amanda Oct 2020
you're afraid
of how far you'd fall
if you jumped

you're afraid
i wouldn’t catch you

you're more afraid
i would
everything about
a future with me
scares the **** out of you

because you're a smart man
64 · Jun 2020
was
amanda Jun 2020
was
the word ‘was
carries a lot of weight
so that you don’t have to
the older i get,
the more respect i have
for the past tense
63 · Aug 2020
walls
amanda Aug 2020
i didn’t even have a hammer
the last time that
love asked me to rebuild
the walls he tore down

so maybe that’s why
i’m okay
demolishing them
for you now

this time i have a power drill
and an entire squad of humans
willing to suit up
in bright yellow construction vests
with me
if you break me,
i’ll be okay

so this is me,
giving you my all,
allowing you the opportunity to
62 · Jun 2020
picture
amanda Jun 2020
it’s not that
there’s someone else
in the picture

it’s that
someone else
is your picture

and i’m the sun in the corner
begging not to set
62 · Jun 2020
transfusion
amanda Jun 2020
on the nights
when my eyes
bleed harder
than my heart—
you let your own
bleed out for me
anna-
every time i cry
about him,
you’re ready to hold me

and i just don’t know
how i’m lucky enough
to have you
62 · Jul 2020
daytime moon
amanda Jul 2020
i feel like the moon
trapped in a sky
not meant for her
every time your sun
comes back around
being your backup
makes me feel
out of place in my own sky
61 · Sep 2020
how to
amanda Sep 2020
i know you
love me
i just wish you knew
how to
amanda Jul 2020
to assign each other
the best intentions

to love with the grace
that only forgiveness indulges

to fight for one another’s peace
armed with the strength of our own
59 · Sep 2020
moon
amanda Sep 2020
i don’t need
to ever touch
the moon

i just need to know
the moon resents the space
between us
like i do
he’s the moon
he’s the sun
he’s the ocean
he’s every metaphor
for intangible love
59 · Aug 2020
timing
amanda Aug 2020
i believe in
wrong places
and wrong people
but never wrong timing

you are never too early
or too late
for all the lessons and beauty
meant for you
58 · Oct 2020
missionary
amanda Oct 2020
you once told me
she’s not that fun in bed...

i’m excited to see
what god you end up
believing in
after all that missionary work
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