Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
 
 Sep 2018 JL Smith
Semicolon
Hey mom-dad, listen.
Hit me, hate me, throw me out,
But don't shut me up.
My dear mom, my dear dad,
Please listen to me talk.
You're the place where I can unveil myself and be true to who I am.
You're the place where I can pour my heart out and expect to be heard.
You're the place I want to spend my life talking and being heard.
Please don't tell me to shut up
Because I talk too much,
Because no one likes what I speak,
Because I talk *******,
Because no one would listen to me,
Because I need to stay silent sometimes,
Because nobody likes the stories I have to tell,
Please don't tell me to shut up,
Just because that's what I need to do.
Listen to me.
Please.
 Sep 2018 JL Smith
Brandon Conway
It’s best to wait a while
and live
than to take a chance
and die
these were the words
my mother gave
when she taught me
how to drive
She also taught me
to do what she says
and not what she does,
now I see why.
 Sep 2018 JL Smith
Diana
We are poets
We possess a power
Different from one another
But unlike any other

We are like musicians
Some of our best pieces
Come from heartbreak
Or sorrow
We might not add beats in the background
But our words
On paper
Speak for themselves
And no tunes are needed
To add to its potency

We are like artists
We paint pictures in people's minds
Maybe not through oils or watercolors
But with our thoughts
With our minds

As cliche as it sounds
Our paint brushes are our pens
We create masterpieces
So unique
So intricately complex
Or powerfully simple

Just as a painter brings to life
An image that's never been seen before
Through strokes and brushes and smears
We possess the power
To do so
With our words

Through the emptiness of one's thoughts
We bring to life
Images
Emotions
Memories

We are poets
You
And
Me
We possess a power
Different from one another
But unlike any other
Weirdly enough, this poem was inspired by a scene from Sara Burgess Is A Loser.
Side Note: I believe it's a better film than To All the Boys I've Loved.
 Sep 2018 JL Smith
Laurel Leaves
I’m lost in the game of pretend, everything is fine. I waste time and breath and life to just get far enough away from the pain and disappointment, so it doesn’t hurt anymore. I’m fine...

It’s not about you stealing my life, precious years left of my precarious youth. You showed me I’m still weak and broken. You’ve shown me I still can’t walk away from the burning red flags you waved. I am not able to walk away from being hurt, over and over!

I made excuses for your beast, I hide from him as I did my own feelings of revolt and fear. I stayed, I should have left, as soon as I met you. I should never have let you tear away so much of me, to ruin so many precious memories.

Unfortunately now I’m still running and I’m still hiding from these feelings inside. I don’t want to admit that I’m the one that’s broken and I’m the one that can’t seem to walk away from the fire, no matter how much it burns.....
 Sep 2018 JL Smith
pri
it’s getting cold.
her work begins to pile up on her desk,
paper cascading around her off the table,
sitting ignored as she thumbs through a book,
humming softly.

and she feels ever colder,
because though she knows the sun will touch her face one last time,
she feels the impending sense of everything changing.
her freedom, her sleep, and all those books
-piling up around her in dizzying towers she can’t seem to hold upright.

each poem has become an ode.
no longer does she right those summer love poems,
notes of dreams and pining and romance.
she’s grown lonely,
and grown up.

each ode is to who she was
-the kind girl with the widest eyes and strong opinions,
this new girl with no focus,
drifts and watches the ink run down the page.
she’s so worried, because she doesn’t care.
and doesn’t care about that.

tomorrow will be better,
she says, sighing with tiredness repeating over and over again.
tomorrow.
tomorrow.
tomorrow.

but the pounding in her head won’t go away,
and all the doubts sink in
-you’ve lost your edge.
-you’re not doing enough.
-you’re never going to do enough unless you break.

her heart seems to beat colder,
slow down and she’s not that old.
she’s young, and she feels herself,
the brightness and ambition disappearing,
and they’re replaced by content and a sense of emptiness.
i was feeling depressed yesterday. luckily i'm feeling better today!
 Sep 2018 JL Smith
Andrew McElroy
How many
years had it been?

I
couldn't
remember...
wow. what a thing life does to you when you stop holding on to so much and step away from things. it has been a crazy ride. but I'm still here.

somewhat.

somehow.

i've missed you



all
 Sep 2018 JL Smith
MicMag
|      two       |          |   a nation   |
|      twin      |          |   built on   |
|    towers    |          | ideals and |
|    rising      |          |  grandest   |
|    so high   |          | immigrant |
|    up into   |          |    dreams    |
|    the sky   |          | (and yes...   |
|    repre-     |          |   on slave    |
|    senting   |          |   labor too)  |
|    soaring   |          |    a nation    |
|   ambition  |         |  of mighty   |
|   & wealth  |         |  paradoxes  |
-------------------------------------------------­-----------

                       and then
                      ...BOOM...
                  world changed


             all                              all        
        reduced     ­                broken    
      to heaping                 by hateful  
    piles of rubble          brainwashed
  and raw emotion     men drowned in
tears & fears & rage.tears & fears & rage
------------------------------------------------------------­


we rose from the ashes
united in mourning
national pride swelling
emotions still swirling

we warmly embraced
neighbors and friends
overwhelmed with grief
paralyzed by anguish

we explosively cursed
those enemies who'd hurt us
simmering in anger
engulfed in fiery rage

we boldly surged into war
to defend and protect
blinded by our deep-set fears
dead-set on vengeance

we let the years pass
we still remember
we still recover
we still rebuild

we still rise

from what is clear
but to where?

please let us be wise
Written quite a few years ago reflecting on the terrible, world-shaking events of 9/11.

Still left wondering the same questions.

How will we remember and honor those who died?

How (and to what) will we rise?
 Sep 2018 JL Smith
Gabriel Bonney
You're an angel fallen down
Won't you tie me to the ground?
You're a blessing from above
Won't you stay with me, My Love?
You're falling far from the sky
Won't you tell me just how high?
Grieve is the price that we paid for love,
As we lease our hearts to the wrong suitors
Without an written agreement,
We accepted deals
Consist of temporary arrangements,
and lots of physical attachments
As our body and soul flow into depth of ecstasy
Making the path clear for broken hearts
The truth was always there
Somehow it
Cloud our judgment
Because love is the state of insanity
And throughout time
it have done nothing for humanity.
Love is the state of insanity
Grieve is the price we paid for love
As we mourn and cling to our hearts
While our suitors, move on to they next
Seamlessly unaffected by they actions.
Not much for a consolation.
Just a reminder that love stinks.
Sweet and wonderful in the beginning
Devastating when it come to an end.
Grieve is the price we paid for love
Next page