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 Feb 2014 Artemis
A
Morning Ritual
 Feb 2014 Artemis
A
Paint my eyes with rich black kohl
Butterfly eyelashes
Heavy with fakery
My skin like porcelain;
Every freckle masked, every expression hidden
Lips stained scarlet
Doll-like and wide eyed
The emotion playing across my face carefully chosen
To make you believe what i will you to
I can keep every soul out, stay mint-condition, so to speak
Only if i pretend hard enough
Only if i am perfect
 Feb 2014 Artemis
Devon
Phoenix
 Feb 2014 Artemis
Devon
I knew you once.

We walked hand in hand,
On roads,
Paved with flowers
In colors we did not know.

We hatched a plan.
We were going to start something new,
something we had never done before.
We’d leave the homes we knew,
We’d start over, me and you.

We came to find,
That we could only walk on flowers for so long,
Before they were crushed beneath our wake.
So we made,
new roads
Forged new towns.
Raised new cities.
Cities became sanctuaries.
sanctuaries became nations.
Then nations birthed ideals.
From ideals grew prejudice
From Prejudice grew competition,
And in the pyres of faded glory,
Chaos overran our kingdom.
Riots broke out.

Hand in hand
We watched
As all that we created
Was burned to the ground
Reduced to rubble
And ash

The lives that we had started,
The people we had fostered,
The dreams that we had built,
Vanished with the smoke

You said that you could fix it
You told me not to worry
That all would be okay
You would rebuild the cities,
You told me you had to stay.

I returned the way we came,
Melted in the safety
Of my father’s arms
Evaporated in the warmth
Of my mother’s gaze

Now I watch you from the clouds
Fall upon your face
Roll down your cheek
I am the rain,
The river
And the storm

Let me calm your waters
Dowse your fire
And keep you warm.
I can’t stand
To watch you burn like they did.
 Feb 2014 Artemis
Cruz Ramos
We fell so quick
This summer came and went
and so did you
It started out like a movie
but ended like it always does
Beach nights, phone calls, laughing till the early morning
Good morning babe
How’s work babe?
Goodnight babe
We had it all but you gave it up so quick
It makes me second guess it all but I wouldn’t give it back for the world
It was the best summer of my short life
I loved
You showed me that love exists and we all deserve it
A love that made young people jealous
A love that made old people smile
You broke down my walls
Showed me how to feel again

As summer faded and autumn set in something happened inside of you
Your dark passenger crept up
It took you, it burned you, it engulfed you
Your light dimmed by the darkness of what made you
I couldn’t be there all the time and you knew it all along
I was going away to school and we would make it work
And it did work until the darkness consumed you
You let the darkness consume you
Now I choke at the thought of you

I just want you to know that how you gave it up so easy shows me your true colors
A strong woman in my mind but you are nothing more than a faltering girl
The words you said to me playing on a broken record.
We are the right people but it’s the wrong time
Well let me tell you
Time stops for no man
Nothing will change in time
Its what you do during the time
Time apart from me
I hope you know what you’re missing now
How could I ever love you again?
I can’t ever love you again
Because I still love you

When winter comes
I’ll be home again
We’ll see each other
The future is an unwritten chapter that leaves me hopeful
But how can I do this to myself?
Until then
You’ll be licking your wounds without me by your side
Consumed by the darkness
alone in an empty room
I hope you’re left with the bitter taste of regret
wishing you had done things different
 Feb 2014 Artemis
Megan Hundley
when her toe hit the wood
                the nail split in half
                                                            ­                        in the center
                                        cracked just right
                                                     so when she applied pressure
                                 on her leg to be straight
                                                 up and down stretchy muscle
       the split
       splintered
                   and while falling she pumped
                                            air through her fists, open and closing
                                                         ­          maybe for the tan bar which
                                                           ­                         she could command in practice
                                    which she demanded now
                                   yet the stage was only the light and
                                                             ­                                              pieces of wood
                                                            ­                                                           and nail
                                                            upon­ landing the crowd gasped
                                                          ­             in entertainment
                                                   ­             at how graceful feathers
                                                        ­           flew from her mouth
                                                                ­     black and flawless
                                                        ­                            like the lace of her costume
                                                         ­                                                         envision­ing a swan
                                                                ­                                                   a crow
                                                            ­      it didn't matter at all
                   both could fly
                    but they had wings
                                              and she had faults, deep deep tremors
                                                 opened wide on the great black valley
                        coughing up feathers
                        when she wanted tears
and the crowd just stared
some smiling some surprised
                       all without blinking
                                     when the legs decided to extend some support
                       the mistake took root and gave her a rush of
shame
                               which allowed her to fly
                                          [briefly]
         ­        behind the curtains
                                                        ­                      like the crow
                                                            ­                   like the swan
                                      after the silence
                                     of awed mouths
                                                          ­gushes of applause
                                                        ­                           for the splintered tiny dancer
                               who tried to show the world she
                                                             ­    had something to say
                                                         but instead only managed to
                                                             sprinkle the audience with
                                                            ­            a few feathers.


They all gave it
rave reviews
Books
stories lines pages
numbers letters
form
words
words said and unsaid
left whispered between tongues
trapped in mouths
lost in heads
unable to grasp and say aloud
but what if all words were said
all lines were recited as we had imaged them in our minds
what if everything we thought of came pouring out and we meant it
we didn't apologize for the thoughts left in our minds
sometimes I wish I could say everything and anything I feel and mean it
sometimes I wish fear wasn't a factor of life
sometimes I wish we could all be easily loved and could love easily
sometimes I wish the sun shone forever and that
I had naturally blonde hair and
I never bit my nails
and sometimes
I wish I had the fastest metabolism ever so I could eat pizza all the time
and sometimes I wish my little brother would willingly give me a kiss instead of me having to always ask
and sometimes I hope that someone out there thinks about me
and smiles at the thought of me passing through their mind
and wonders where I am now
and wishes me well
and sometimes
I think about where I'll be in five years
and if I'll be more or less happy than I am now
or if something will have happened that changed me forever
and sometimes I wonder what it will be like to outlive my parents
and if I'll be able to go on
and sometimes I wonder who is out there that pulls the gravitational force of people together
and if some guy I've never met knows I'm gonna meet and fall in love with them
but sometimes
I have to let it go
and let the universe take over
and let whatever happen, happen
and let my thoughts run free and just
accept who I am
and what I'm becoming
and be proud of what I do
and who I will be.
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