Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
 
Jack Jenkins Apr 2016
Glimpsing her bathing on the roof,
He averted his eyes and looked away.

Wondering if his eyes remembered her beauty correctly,
He sneakily took a short glance to see clearly.

And that was all it took for King David,
Who gazed upon the wife of his own soldier.

Lured by a glimpse,
Hooked by a glance,
Swallowed by a gaze,
He didn't know the steep cost to be paid.
A poem about King David from the Bible with Bathsheba
Jack Jenkins Apr 2016
The early sun dawns
Light spreads out on land below
Good morning beautiful
//On nature//
Jack Jenkins Aug 2016
Another day lost
I don't know the cost
Good night
Written December of 2015.
Jack Jenkins Apr 2016
Another day lost
I don't know the cost
Good night
Jack Jenkins Aug 2017
I'm not sure why you're on my mind today
I don't know how my heart can miss you
after the grievous wounds you cut in me
Still suffering from that
Because you killed not only my trust in you
but you've made it impossible for me to trust anyone else
the same way I trusted you.

You were my best friend
the closest companion I ever had
You were a good and loving person once
your presence in my life an insurance that people
were worth fighting for
Though I am still in love with you always
you can never have a place in my heart
or my life

*I'm so sorry...
Jack Jenkins Jul 2019
All these efforts to keep the tide from taking the shore
Change always comes
Sometimes invited but mostly not
So I learned to sit and be still
Til the water took my air
I learned to breathe again
To die a different way
Better days are stuck in the past
Days that never would last
Pain learned to stay, though
Turns out she's addictive too
Or I'm just comfortable
Or tired and defeated
Fill in the blank here
My words are too small
Vocabulary died in '09
Or '12 or '16 or '19
Whatever year I choose, the loneliness is the same
The same slow-cooked ache between my ribs
That only cider or *** or songs can soothe
But today I face it
I face the tide
Maybe I'll go under
But I'll never have died
//On so many lost friendships//
Jack Jenkins Nov 2016
When you left,
The rainbows turned to ashen grey.
Stars stopped glittering off the waters.
Flowers closed themselves up in hiding.
Birds lost their love of songs, and fell silent.
My heart grew sand and become a desolate desert.

I couldn't comprehend living without you,
Without your life welded to my heart,
Earth suddenly lost seven billion people,
And I was all alone, forever.

Suddenly I could care less about moonlit nights on the beach;
Not if you weren't walking them with me.
A movie at the theater was a pointless trip;
Not if you weren't watching with me.
Life became dull, blunt, colorless,
Just a routine of numbness and apathy I couldn't endure.
Written in March of 2016.
Jack Jenkins Mar 2024
i don't sleep well anymore
in this endless cold by the shore
anxiety's tides never recede
inside they churn and impede
a weary vessel battered and worn
with each crashing wave i'm torn
exhaustion a relentless force
draining wearing me off course
in the depths of despair i roam
haunted by shadows never alone
every step heavier than before
beneath the weight of depression's core
my bones ache with fatigue's embrace
as i stumble through this desolate space
sleep offers no respite no solace found
in this relentless storm i'm bound
i long to rest to find reprieve
but the darkness within won't leave
so i drift lost in this endless night
consumed by the absence of light
no sleep can mend this weary soul
trapped in a cycle beyond control
exhausted overwhelmed i endure
in the grip of depression's allure
Jack Jenkins Nov 2019
I'm sitting here trying to write how I feel and yet I cannot find the words or letters that speak in the right order,

I talked with a friend who said that I was growing, but I had to be honest and tell him that what I was feeling was not growth, but a rearrangement of myself; so the holes don't show what I have lost...

We don't grow; we just change and get smaller,

Or maybe that's just me,

I feel like I've become so small that I cannot even lift the blankets off of me when I wake up;

I was wild with love in my youth, but as I age and my body rejects me like my mind rejected my heart, I have to confess; I didn't have a clue how to love someone, and I still don't;

I do know I'm scared of it, though,

Scared of love,

Because I gave those parts of me away for a reason, the ones I so desperately rearrange to keep hidden;

And if someone else tried to fill those hollow parts of my heart, I know,

They would never really feel at home.
//On love. On her. On me.//
Jack Jenkins Dec 2016
I'm a lighthouse
I guide so many
And keep them
From battering
Against the rocks

But they also know to stay away
From me

They should
Stay away from me

I'll burn them down
I'll break their hearts
I'll rip their spirit
I'll drown them

So let this light guide you
But don't dare come ashore
This keeper is a hermit
Written 24 February 2016... really hated myself when I wrote this one.
Jack Jenkins Jun 2016
Maybe it will be nice
To cross my legs and sit at the water's edge
Breathe in... Breathe out
Let the water surrounded me
Surrender myself to the rising tide
And let all the thoughts I have of you
All the feelings swirling in my heart
Wash away in the force of the ocean
Every sea creature mourn with me
And my ghost seen on the full moon
Legendary broken heart foretold
For all generations
Jack Jenkins May 2016
You had to have it all
Well have you had enough
You greedy little ******* you
Will get what you deserve
When all is said and done
I will be the one
To leave you in your misery
And hate what you've become
Lyric excerpt from Breaking Benjamin's song "Had Enough."
Jack Jenkins Apr 2016
How could you love me?
I'm a wretched vagabond.
Cast me away, please!
Jack Jenkins Apr 2016
Haiku magic gone
Wish upon a shooting star
Haiku magic here
//On writing//
Jack Jenkins Apr 2016
A haiku captures
Images vivid and large
For so few words penned
Jack Jenkins Apr 2016
My sister, my sister! How I love you so!
A beautiful woman, with a vibrant soul!
Worth a thousand words, and ten thousand more!
My sister, my sister! How I love you so!

You've given me hope and inspired me,
Gave me confidence to come out of my shell,
Show the world the ugly side of me,
Gave me comfort in knowing you didn't judge me.

I get sad when you're sad, and I hug you when I can,
I want what's best for you, for you to be happy.
You're my adoptive big sister, so here's a happy birthday!
From you're adoptive young brother, Jack Jenkins!

<3
//On friendship//
Jack Jenkins Dec 2016
Can't fall asleep when you want,
Then drop off without a warning.

Push your closest friends away from you,
When you're trying to stay as close as possible.

Have a heart torn asunder,
Give up on your hopes.

All alone, abandoned and discarded,
Forgetting how poisonous I can be.
Written 9 March 2016... still just as poisonous
Jack Jenkins Dec 2016
Enchanted by the calmness and healing I recieve from belonging to you.
I'm overbearing. I'm too affectionate. I care about things too much for my own
good and I constantly struggle with thoughts of being excluded or abandoned.
My friends who care about me despite all my flaws will never understand how
much they will always mean to me.
Written by a friend of mine, 22 January 2016. He wanted to remain anonymous.
Jack Jenkins Apr 2017
He had given her his
Everything
And it killed him
Requiem
This is how love kills
Jack Jenkins Oct 2018
heavy is the tide
that swallows lungs and organs
depression inside
//On anxiety//
I have all these **** words stuck in my throat but I can only manage to write 11 words.
Jack Jenkins Jul 2017
A strong crushing feeling on the edge of existence
  Investigating a never-ending black tunnel
A crypt of hopeless souls forever seeking shelter
  Without a lamp to guide their fruitlessness
I see the ghastly faces set upon every person still
  Cold, pale and downtrodden with weight
Devoid of any glow to indicate they are alive
  They are obscure and discarded remains
Theirs is a cell of forgetfulness and tragic pain
  Forever feeling along the walls of torment
Jack Jenkins Apr 2017
Why is it a constant thing
When something works fine
It gets changed?
Not saying it's worse (though mobile and tablet views are not pleasant at all), but was it really needed?

[Also... holy cow there are a lot of genders in the settings!!!]
Jack Jenkins Dec 2016
Another night without sleep,
Dawn breaks over the horizon.
****...
Written 11 March 2016
Jack Jenkins Jan 2018
Take my silence one step too far
Take my violence and tear me apart
Your words are the cure I need
Your love is where my heart will feed

Indiscriminate demons fill my head
They try to tie my to my bed

The flame in my heart
                              is a smoulder
The only blame falls
                            on my shoulders

Help me find my way out
My eyes show only doubt
Help me find my way out
My eyes show only doubt

I'm pushing back the battle lines
Trying to capture all the lost time
This is just a forlorn endeavor
Forever severed whenever I fall

Help me find my way out
My eyes show only doubt
Help me find my way out
My eyes show only doubt

The flame
is a smoulder
The blame
on my shoulders
I don't surrender
I don't surrender
I don't surrender
I DON'T SURRENDER

Help me find my way out
I don't surrender
My eyes show only doubt
I don't surrender
Help me find my way out
I don't surrender
My eyes show only doubt
*I don't surrender
This is my first song. Of course since I don't write music there are no chords to it, but I intend for it to be played to hard rock with a lot of drums.
Jack Jenkins Jul 2016
The feather pen lifted from the page and, finally, he had written his last. He wanted no thunderous applause or any awards of gold and gems. Neither did he desire to be immortalized in the pages of history for countless generations. Overwhelming admiration is, well, just that: overwhelming. As his works were printed and sold all throughout the land for lords and dukes and earls and even the king himself he knew what he had to do.

He sat up from his creaky chair and gave his work one long lasting gaze before shuffling to the main entrance.
Donning a large coat, scarf, hat and walking stick he picked up the sack he packed throughout the week and slung it over his shoulder. He gave a sad look over his home before passing through the doorway and onwards to the highway.

They say he can still be found if you follow the tears he shed along that road...
Much more a short story than a poem, but I hope you guys like it! :)
Her
Jack Jenkins Jun 2016
Her
Do you know that my heart is with another woman?
As I lay here holding you tight against me, my body is yours.
But can you feel this heart call out for her? Someone who isn't you?
Did you feel me as we made love, reach out for her? Cry for her?
It's her I see when I'm with you. And I don't know how that makes me feel.
You think I love you, but I'm just playing your heart like Beethoven under a moonlit night sky, playing a sonata...

Do you feel that? That warm tear that fell from my eye onto your cheek? Could you possibly know it's for her?
When I tremble alone at night, howling at the moon... yearning for the smell of her breath, the taste of her skin... her...

I barely know you, you're just pretty to me. Not as pretty as her.
Your hair is too long, too dark, too straight, too perfect.
Your eyes foster no depth to them; shallow and lifeless, a void. Hers are like diamonds reflecting a blue moon of a summer night.
Everything about you is wrong, compared to her. Your voice, your arms, your mouth, your heart... you aren't her.

But here I am with you, holding your hand.
There she is, sleeping alone.
Life is cruel.
Originally composed on 3 April 2016. I always meant to write a sequel to it...
Jack Jenkins May 2016
You broke every dream I ever had.
All I ever wanted was you, my love...
All I ever wanted was you.
I'm happy that you're happy, I hope you'll stay happy.
But for my sake, my love...
For my sake I must say goodbye to you.

Nobody has torn me the way you have, straight to my core. Ripping and shredding every part of me that makes me, well, me.
You hurt me; I still kept loving you.
And it slowly killed me, until today.
So here I am, saying goodbye.
Goodbye...
**Goodbye
Jack Jenkins Dec 2016
Waking up, he lets his eyes adjust to the blinding morning sun. Seeing the strange beige walls and red drapes he was confused at first; the redhead in his arms reminds him that he was out last night.
Carefully unlocking himself from her torso and arms, Jack sneakily slipped from beneath the covers unnoticed, as she simply turned over, showing her rather cute face.
What a nice little button nose, and that mouth with those, soft, tender, pink lips...
He should've been looking where he was walking, rather than admiring the sleeping beauty, because he slipped on last night's used ****** and crashed to the floor. Gross! And he bruised his hip. Insult and injury! And that definitely woke her up. So much for a silent exit...

Jumping from the crash, Savannah sits up immediately and let's out a quick, ear-bleeding yelp of surprise at the man scrambling up off the floor. Seeing his face, she lets out a sigh of relief. "JACK! Don't scare me!" She throws off the covers from her, revealing her small ******* and straight shaped body. She picks up and tosses Jack's pants across the floor, winking at him and mouthing the words, "don't go", as she walks to her closet to get fresh clothes. "I'll be taking a shower before I make breakfast." She turns and looks at Jack, grinning, "Feel free to join, if you want. Oh, and, no ******. I'd hate for you to fall down." she teasingly says as she gives a seductive look behind her, and a soft rub on her rear...

"Yeah, I'll be there in a second." I walk over to pick up my pants, and other clothes strewn about. I'm not feeling it, right now. I really enjoyed how this girl loved last night. Very attractive and skilled. But I'm not going to stick around for seconds. I have a sick feeling in my gut and it's like my heart is shattering. I grab up my phone and keys and step into the hall and sneak down the stairs, keeping an eye out for used condoms. I hear, barely, her asking if I was coming in yet. I stop, and let out a sigh. I step up the stairs, then stop... I turn around and write a note on the refrigerator door. I head out, eyes in tears for reasons unknown to me and I drive home...

*I'm tired of just ***.
I'm not that kind of man, anymore.
You were a great one night stand.
Sorry
Written 13 February 2016... Valentine's Day
Jack Jenkins Dec 2016
Hiding who he is, he doesn't want shame
So he plays his part in the game
Dating the same girl for five years
She has no idea she's his beard

Yes, it's men he loves
Especially the straight ones
There's something they have
The gay half doesn't have

But he's alone right now
With the woman he "loves"
Laying in bed, wishing he was dead
Every time they have ***, he's misled

Some day, he might come clean
Tell the world he's really a queen
But until then, he'll just lie
Just like he lies next to her.
Written 3 February 2016
Jack Jenkins Mar 2024
in our folly we embrace a fatal flaw
to believe in death as if it's what we await
yet most of death has claimed its silent draw
each fleeting moment by its grip sedate
forever young I gaze upon the night
dreaming of hands that'll touch the world's span
i dream to touch the world though flames blast
for in that touch true life i shall perceive
anger emptiness loneliness deceit
in each of us fear builds its museum vast
yet in the end we're atoms in retreat
seeking solace clinging to the past
for me no greater yearning could there be
than to gather wounds each scar a tale
in misery a strange form of ecstasy
wherein lies my joy amidst sorrow's veil
the world's end holds no sway over my mind
for each dawn births anew its tender light
alone i whisper to the void resigned
in search of solace in this endless night
Jack Jenkins Nov 2016
Why can I not give up?
I have nothing left here.
I fight on and on and on and on and on and on and on and...

I never have anything left, but always enough to keep going
Of hope I am bereft, my direction is unknowing.

Stepping down the stairs of time
Every minute I can't rewind
Looking through the glass of existence
All I see is my persistence

Not a guarantee that all will be well
I may have to rush a gauntlet in hell
But I will press on, because that's all I know
My life was meant to live, and I want it to glow.
Written 4 January 2016... boy was I so wrong...
Jack Jenkins Dec 2016
I want you in this embrace
You're all I think about
Hold me tight, hold me right
I want to fall asleep with you tonight
No more empty bed for us
Arms around your waist
Feeling you breathe in my arms
I want you in this embrace
Hold me right, hold me tight
Let's fall asleep tonight.
Written 4 February 2016... guess she didn't hold on...
Jack Jenkins Nov 2016
And there is the sound I dread to hear:
    Losing the thing I never found.
Seeing love fade to ashes and pebbles,
    Swallowed by a cave, forlorn.
Oh! To never see another sunrise!
    To be at peace with myself.

All of my whimpering cries be ******,
    Turned to a glassy silence, fogged over...
Jack Jenkins Aug 2017
my heart is hollow glass
a beautiful crimson shell
with a void inside
Almost an unintentional haiku. That's a first...
Jack Jenkins Dec 2016
We wouldn't light up our passions
And make love til sunrise
We wouldn't explore our bodies
And pleasure each other to new highs
I would just hold you
We would just be
Hollow together
Written 1 March 2016
Jack Jenkins Aug 2019
It's dreams that keep me going
Dreams that keep me awake
Trying to capture that moment
That feeling stuck in my ribs
Love is not supposed to be caged
Is it?
Unless the love is unwanted
Boundaries
Just to be on the safe side
Alone
Just to feel safe in pride
I always know better
And walk my talk
Spare some change for an old feller
Who didn't win in the end
Fought the good fight
Only to learn fighting isn't good
Tragic // comic
Pushed too far over the edge
Forced ink on ragged paper
To say a million reasons
Not to fall in love
She's one in a million reasons
To fall again
//On her//

Desperate to know if I should find a way to reach out. But what would it cost?
Jack Jenkins Oct 2024
here, the air is too heavy
i wake with mountains draped in dawn
whispers of beauty painting the sky
but my heart is a storm, always gray
i used to call this place a sanctuary
each street familiar, like an old friend
but now they cut me
memories woven into every corner
reminders of what i cant escape
how cruel it is
to live in a place so beautiful
and feel nothing but ache
the pull of the horizon calling me away
i used to belong here
now its just a ghost of what i loved
and im trapped in its shadows
the mountains stand tall, but i cant
the streets are hollow now
everyone i once held close
has drifted away, like leaves in the wind
and im left behind, drowning
in the stillness of this empty goldfish bowl
limited, transparent, suffocating
the streams still run wild
the rivers still sing their ancient songs
and the rain still dances on my skin
but these things can’t heal the wound anymore
even the mountains, standing proud
feel like prison walls instead of promises
its a beautiful cancer
spreading through my veins
reminding me of everything i loved
but no longer can hold
i love it here
i hate it here
and i think, maybe
its time to let go
Jack Jenkins Apr 2016
Cold rain falls from sky
Homicidal man below
Woman walks alone
Jack Jenkins Apr 2016
Hopeless Romantic
It's all that I am, promise
Hopeless Romantic
Jack Jenkins Dec 2016
Do you give the horse his might?
    Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
Do you make him leap like the locust?
    His majestic snorting is terrifying.
He paws in the valley and exults in his strength;
    he goes out to meet the weapons.
He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
    he does not turn back from the sword.
Upon him rattle the quiver,
    the flashing spear, and the javelin.
With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground;
    he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’
    He smells the battle from afar,
    the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
From the Bible. Book of Job.
Jack Jenkins Jul 2017
warm rocky outcrops
lead to hot springs below
a pleasant respite
Jack Jenkins Jul 2016
"How do you know you love me?"*

For a moment, a lone moment in time you loved me.
Close your eyes and don't pay any attention to what you see,
Images and dancing dots are not what to look for, my love.
Close your eyes and feel my voice in your mind,
Softly trickling down to where you don't want me to see;
It's okay.
Trust not in the pain you are feeling, but in the words that are healing.
You have seen my heart reflected through my words, through my actions.
You know I won't recoil and flee from you, my love.
It's okay.
Keep your eyes closed and focus on the warmth of my hand.
Feel as I draw hearts across your knuckles and breathe.
The air is crisp and sweet; keep your eyes closed, my love.
Open the gates of your heart and peer into the portal.
Peer into the portal and see that moment in time.
It's okay; open your eyes, my love.

Do you see how I love you, now?
A very personal poem that, if she ever reads, might make her see.
Jack Jenkins Jun 2017
You've moved on
You're living life
I'm still counting days
Since my heart died

the pain
the numbness
the subtle suffering


I've lost track
How many days?
I know you're gone
Never coming back

the lonesome tears
the fragrance you left on my heart
the empty beds


Just know I miss you
My wish upon stars
Sparkle of gold
Killer of my heart

*the shock of loss
the bitterness of loss
why did I lose you?
Jack Jenkins Jul 10
why do i weep for what i should condemn
why does mercy pull tears from eyes too used to burning
why do i shudder when the hammer falls
on those who once raised it
high
over my own head
why does His kindness undo me
when i am not clean
when i have rehearsed rejection
like a psalm
why do i tremble
when the hand still reaches
jerusalem still stoning the prophets
america still bowing at her own altars
and i
still learning how to love
those who hate
still hoping for beauty
where nothing but dust grows
should i not rejoice when justice is done
and yet
i mourn
i mourn the fire and the ashes
the ruin and the ruiners
as if some echo in me remembers
eden
and how we all fell at once
thorns cannot yield figs
brambles do not feed the hungry
but oh
even the cursed ground drinks rain
so what am i
bitterroot
or beloved
a cracked jar that still catches light
or a shadow wearing grace like borrowed skin
is longing holiness
or just hunger
am i crooked
or just reaching
still
i pray
for the ones who will not pray
and for the One who still waits
in mercy
on the hill we raised to **** His Anointed
the hill where He stays
I never expected to weep for the Sadducees
Never expected to mourn the ones who crucify
But I do

I weep for our government like one grieving family
I pray for addicts because I am still one
Every breath a borrowed mercy
Every prayer a reaching hand
From a trembling place

The light shines into my cage
Clear and holy
But I don't test the bars
Because if it is open
And I walk free
I don't know who I'll be
When I'm no longer who I was

Maybe mercy is more frightening than judgment
Maybe freedom costs more than chains

Still
I'm watching the light
and waiting
Jack Jenkins Dec 2016
It gets easier
But you gotta do it everyday
That's the hard part of it
Written 17 February 2016
Jack Jenkins Feb 2017
There's a lot left to say;
Not a lot of time to say.
I'll be dead before I'm 30,
And I wish I could stay.

I have given you all of my heart,
For I have loved you from the start.
Your eyes look through my soul,
You see your name on my heart.

I don't know when, where, or why.
I know one day we'll be together.
I don't know how long, but I'm sorry
That you'll have to live with losing me.
Written in one of the few times I have clarity. All the noises of life became still, and I just wanted you to know that I still believe in us. I'm a tormented soul because there's bigger things going on then I ever tell you. But one day I'll show you everything about me, and I'll trust you like I once did. For now, we'll bear our scars and carry our crosses until you finally decide to take a chance and I finally decide to be faithful to only one.

I love you.
-Jack
Jack Jenkins Dec 2016
So many words in our language,
Yet the most used word,
In our vocabulary,
Seems to only be,
Three lettered,
Huh...
Written 15 March 2016
Jack Jenkins Sep 2019
You're an unknown,
An apocalypse waiting for someone to say "yes"
When the storm brews and bruises everything you know,
What is there to show or to tell?
Battered hearts strewn at show & tell;
Go tell the teacher we're all hurting down here;
Our pride keeps us from looking up, so we look down and let our tears water the grass and we call ourselves gods for that;
Like surviving a broken heart is a supernatural power
that surviving love transforms us into super heroes;
Nothing about us is super or heroic;
We're just all broken to varying degrees
//On life//
Jack Jenkins May 15
Have You forsaken me
or did I walk backward into the dark
pretending I didn't see the light behind me
I called You Lord
called You in the night
when the silence echoed so loud it sounded like judgment
Did I not cry out
Did I not beg You to see me
even as I turned my face away
Please do not remove Your Spirit from me
Not that last thread, not the final warmth
Let me carry the weight, yes
but let me carry it with You still near
Why do You say I am a worker of iniquity
I said Your name, I said it with trembling
I built altars in the ruins
I tore myself open to be filled with something clean
And still
You say, "I never knew you."
Then know me now
Not the mask, not the myth
but this bleeding thing that won't stop reaching
I am begging
Not for comfort, not for favor
just for nearness
Just for the mercy of being seen
and not cast out
If there is wrath for me, let it be honest
If there is silence, let it not be forever
But if there is still a whisper in You
let it come
Even now
Even to me
Forgive me
and my unfaithfulness
Jack Jenkins Dec 2016
Breakfast...
Breakfast without you,
Like trying to eat ash from cigarettes,
Like chewing the food and then spitting it out.

Springtime...
Springtime without you,
Seeing all the animals in pairs,
Sadly reminds me you're not by my side.

Television...
Television without you,
It is not entertaining at all,
It is pointless without you snuggled into me.

Bedtime...
Bedtime without you,
Not embraced in the lover's song,
Not holding each other and saying sweet nothings.

Words...
Words without you,
Entirely meaningless and hollow
Entirely without purpose, impact, softness, or point.

Poetry...
Poetry without you,
Enters a somber grave deep within,
Enters a rest from which it will eternally slumber.

Because I,
Am without,
You.
Written 11 March 2016... another year gone without her...
Next page