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 Dec 2017 Dave Cortel
KJ
strangers gathered around a table
talking and laughing
smiling at each other like they have a secret
an inside joke
a bond

they are surrounding me
the cheerful mood is intoxicating
makes me feel as if everything will be okay

the mirage shatters
the illusion disappears

I do not belong here
I have never belonged here

I have always been on the outside
looking in

I often catch myself wanting
and wishing
to be in

to feel at peace
and happy
is all I have ever wanted
to be included

but I will always be on the outside of everything
and never truly belong
family makes me sad sometimes and I can't write anything good when I'm this anxious and upset but I will post the garbage anyway
I have scorched lips
Ashes in my hair
And burns on my arms
I did this to myself
I saw the fire raging
In your soul and wished
To be apart of it
I didn't think about
The pain you'd cause
I only though about your soul
And how it matched mine.

I reached for your hand
And you pulled away
Claiming that you'd only hurt me
But I thought that
I could withstand the pain
I reached again and this time
You pulled me into your arms
Desperatly wanting to feel wanted
I kissed you with such fiercity
That it scorched my lips
And left them chapped
You pulled me closer scared
That id run away
when in the end
It was you
That ran
I didn't think my heart would scare you.
 Dec 2017 Dave Cortel
Jane
I am both flames and snowflakes.


I'll explode into sparks then I'll calm down like the falling snow.  

I will challenge your comfort zone, but I'll fight to stay in mine.  

I will feel fire in my heart when I am passionate or angry,

I will feel a blizzard when I am curious or afraid.

I will always rise, even if I fall.

I will roar louder than the mighty lion or slither quieter than the sly snake.

I will forgive without thought, or I will wear revenge with grace.

I will become completely attached to you, or leave without thought.

I will tear my barriers apart or build garden gates.

I will be bold, or I will never speak.

I will authentically be myself, or what I need to become.



I am simple, I depend on you.
We're all constructed within a spectrum of opposites. Stay out of the extremes, explore the black and white, but do not remain in them. Know yourself and your limits, but learn them, you are your greatest teacher. Either build you up, or become your destruction.
 Dec 2017 Dave Cortel
Leah Oviedo
Walk to the edge of the forest, take off your shoes.
Let your feet dance on the earth, toes squiggly in rich, fertile soil.
Place your hands on a tree and feel life flowing through you both.
Walk through the cool, dark forest to the meadow, glistening in rays of sunshine, feel the warmth.
Lay in the grass, admire flowers, whistle with birds, make friends with bees.
See, feel, taste and smell what the concrete is foolishly trying to keep out.
Connect with your old mother, protect her as she has protected your ancestors.
Remember how you were created by her nurturing grace.
This is a work in progress. I want to make it longer, with more rhythm and a well rounded story
In dreams I've died countless times but when I open my eyes I'm still here

I've felt the cold embrace of ocean depths crushing my lungs as I drift deeper into darkness

Felt the jagged edge of blades and watched my blood spill onto the ground

Felt hollow steel pressed against my head and warm tears fall from my face

I've felt the rope snap and blood vessels burst beneath the surface of my skin

Yet every day I wake to this broken world the ghost of my dreams, lingering and longing to close my eyes once again
 Dec 2017 Dave Cortel
Matt Walls
Oh Christmas comes but once a year
Waistlines swell with good food and beer
Mince pies, chocolates, nibbles and nuts
Watch vintage TV, with no 'ifs' and no 'buts'

Wrapping paper deal, 2  rolls for a pound
Sneaky wrapping later, shhh, don't make a sound
Christmas tree needed you know what to do
Get a last minute deal down at Rhyl B & Q

Got the presents sorted, a job that so hard
That sinking feeling from a last minute card
A phone call and text is never too much
A welcome long chat just to keep in touch

Christmas day approaching are all the jobs done?
Eat drink and be merry is the way it should run
But often a snooze can be the best part
That can end with a grunt, a snore or a ****.

Turkey all gone but there are sandwiches still
Three helpings of trifle can make you quite ill
Then cheese and fine biscuits with coffee and cake
Might slow you right down on the After Eights

So off to the sofa  where you sit if you dare
Waistbands all loosened on the reclining chair
A tea or a beer shows who's still in the race
While a quick 40 winks puts a smile on your face

Well there it was done and soon off to bed
You sleep like a log having been so well fed
In the night you are gasping you must have a drink
You make it to the bathroom and drink from the sink

The next day is hellish, there are wrappers gallore
With crisps, cheese and crackers ground into the floor
Red wine in glasses fermenting and mulled
You turn and retreat with your senses quite dulled

So no breakfast needed just a whole lot of quiet
After indulging on what was a plain liquid diet
A quick clean around is a job for us males
As your partner heads out for the Boxing day sales!
-And I told her I needed it
    -All of that as to what she is
 Dec 2017 Dave Cortel
Katie
the night was thick
with expectation: heavy lidded smiles
frosted chain link fence, creak

fingers found their way along
wedge foot in and pull up, lost
balance before

boots into snow, iced velvet
caught on every step
stole warmth from our toes

his nose was pink that night
and every word spoken
crystallized in the winter air

it made me wonder
if we were to return in spring
would the melting ice
spill our secrets into the earth

or evaporate, rise with warm air
and travel with the breeze
winter memory
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