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Jan 2022 · 1.8k
playing cards
lua Jan 2022
my heart's not in it anymore
this tired deck of cards
with bends and tears at the corners
my fingerprints stained across the backs

i've had my fun with you
and you've stayed by my side
but my fingers are numb

i think it's time to say goodbye.
Jan 2022 · 1.2k
teenage romance
lua Jan 2022
i've picked apart myself
the pieces that make sense
looking through a rose-tinted lense
of being content

i'll walk behind them
my friends who dance
along the lines of more than friends
and i'll clap and smile

i'll keep tabs on them
their pinkies intertwined
awkward and flushed, i laugh at their faces
as i feel a pang in my chest

these glasses are broken
maybe, i ask myself
i don't need it, i say
but i know inside that
i will always wonder what it's like

i'm at the end of the bridge
steps slow and quiet
to not make a sound
i give them privacy
as they share a kiss
tender and discreet

discreetly, i sigh
i'm at the bridge's end and they've walked past me
but i lean against the railing and think
"when will i?"
i remember entering highschool with a vague idea about teenage romance, and how much i never really understood what that meant. but as i grew older and progressed further into highschool hell, watching friends of mine grow closer to something more than friends, i began to understand little by little just from observations. i became some sort of a wingman figure, the person they went to for some much needed advice even though i never experienced anything of the sort, all while feeling a weird type of pain in my chest whenever they did. it was only until a classmate of mine told me how confused and shocked they were when i told them i've never been in a relationship before that i realised the pang in my chest was jealousy. now i'm nearly 18, nearing the end of my teenage years with no experience in my belt writing about love and romance without knowing what i'm actually writing. i know i'm still young and i still have much ahead of me, but it's still something that i think about alot.

here's to all the thirdwheels <3 cheers and happy new year!
Dec 2021 · 141
death
lua Dec 2021
when death arrives
it will feel like
a gentle forest breeze
that carries whispers of ghosts in its palms

it will feel like
the earth shaking, ever so slightly
just enough to rattle you awake

death knocks on your door
like a freezing child in the wintertime
and asks for a sliver of stale bread

it will look like the reflection in the water
that disappears when you touch it
rippling into the surface

but it's a warm embrace of soil
the shower of ash into the sea
it's a mother's gentle kiss goodbye
and yet the harsh crack of wine bottles against your head

soon, death will offer you blood and nectar in two hands
but it's not a choice that you can make.
Dec 2021 · 86
out of focus
lua Dec 2021
eyes out of focus
listening to the world through a filter
all i feel is grey fog
and the strumming of acoustic guitar

in and out of sleep
missed calls pile high
blinking back nonexistant tears
as i curl up in bed

there's a weight in my stomach
not heavy enough to keep me down
but it's covered in spikes and hooks
and rolls around

who is that in my mirror?
i never knew i looked like that
or maybe i don't
and i'm just looking at someone who doesn't exist.
Dec 2021 · 299
laughter
lua Dec 2021
my dreams laugh at me
with fingers pointed
a dunce hat on my head when i look up
so i laugh along
laughing louder than the crowd
until there is no sound left
but my own.
Dec 2021 · 1.0k
paint
lua Dec 2021
hey brain, take this brush
and paint by yourself
these hands of mine are rough and calloused
unable to lift and bend my cracking joints
paint your thoughts by yourself
because my arms are limp and weak
and shatter when touched

i've always wondered why you never thought of leaving
voluntarily staying in my withering home
so kindly and destructive
when you paint on my walls
forgetting that lead settles in the pigments
in the lines that drip from excess

though each stroke pains me the longer you create
i'll always compliment you
with a voice tone-deaf and ugly
thankfully, i feel pretty when you do
i feel pretty when i become your muse
and feel a little less incomplete.
lua Dec 2021
who do you reach
my ink-on-paper pal?
in this ink-on-paper world on the brink of tearing

if i had known better, i'd've paid more attention to english class
and leap
from my tower of arrogance
step off this ****** horse
because where's the fun in being smart when everyone believes otherwise?

am i just another burnt out prodigy? maybe
but i was never considered a star in the first place
too small to be a planet, dull to be a star
and yet my skin is torched
flaking with charred ends

i'm not talented, nor skilled
jack of all trades, master of none
and yet i spout my lies like spiderweb
to feel like a predator amongst the ants.
Nov 2021 · 1.7k
looking for the sun
lua Nov 2021
whispers of green that linger in the air
wafting through the grey morning breeze
the sun is shy today, i think to myself
while i hide behind my own wall of clouds

the water is cold and seemingly bottomless
when i dip my toes in the murky black
i watch it ripple
and fogs of blue leak from my lips

jump in
the tide is waist-high
and sends shivers spiraling down your spine
wash away the tearstains of night
and you'll find yourself
looking for the sun.
Nov 2021 · 2.5k
sun
lua Nov 2021
sun
light brown, tanned skin
sun-bleached tips and cracked lips
rough flesh touching flesh
the boy who calls himself the sun is rugged, messy
and handsome
pearly white, dimples in his cheeks
missing a tooth, he grins at me
so bright, i can barely stand him
but something tells me that whatever happens
he'll be there.
Nov 2021 · 124
when was that?
lua Nov 2021
im reminiscing over memories that don't exist
figments of my imagination
vague shards of everything i want to be
that insert themselves into my thoughts
making me think, making me wonder
"when was that?"
Oct 2021 · 1.2k
Untitled
lua Oct 2021
ive seen you puke your soul out
in school bathrooms

ive seen you fade in and out
your fingertips flickering
in transparency

ive held you in my palms
skin cold, prickly with ice
you wrapped your arms around my waist
but i couldnt feel you

maybe youre a ghost
a ghost that seems to follow me around
a lost ghost with nowhere to go
and yet you seem to find me everywhere

maybe youre a shadow
too scared of the sun
hiding behind me for protection

maybe youre a one-off thought
the remnants of late night brainstorms
that thundered and raged on in my sleep-deprived mind

how come you never show your face anymore?
Oct 2021 · 436
nevermind
lua Oct 2021
before i knew it
the pink shatters
the filter of gold disappears
her curves, bittersweet and angular
unlike what i thought before
her soft voice
now sickly
coarse with demand
how come
i never noticed it before?
must have been
the tears blocking my vision

i think he's noticed it too

nevermind.
Sep 2021 · 700
void
lua Sep 2021
there is no echo
when i scream into the void
only a linger in the air
the tension of letting go
the snap
of release
of freedom at last
and when i peer beyond the steep cliffside
the void will listen
when i cant hear myself.
Sep 2021 · 302
zone out
lua Sep 2021
i zone out
when i find myself
falling in a rabbit hole
mid-comment scroll
to think of nothing
and everything
to think of where i am
where im headed
and where ill stop
to think of who i was
who i am
who im being
and who ill become
to think of why i do the things i do
what my purpose is
what it is to be in love with myself
like how all the other girls seem to be.
Sep 2021 · 2.4k
good morning
lua Sep 2021
wind chimes in early morning breeze
the sizzle of shadows
from the blazing sun
kisses my skin
all sticky from sweat and heat
i twitch
the whites of my eyes are painted with tears
take a step
and jump
plunge myself into the blue
and bathe in the grey afternoon clouds
til i wait
for the sunset.
Sep 2021 · 747
the last day of summer
lua Sep 2021
are you the last day of summer?
the final whisper of the sun
soon
i'll let you go
and see you again
but for now
let me cry
and hold you tight.
Aug 2021 · 904
bulantubig
lua Aug 2021
i ripple
with each touch
from your fingertips
in constant motions
that glide
hover against my skin
i tremble before you
goosebumps litter my flesh
and yet you say
you're not a god
but your eyes tell me otherwise
each pupil holds the sun and the moon
in warm pools
and with each flutter from your downcast lashes
paints my waters in glints of gold.
bulantubig is the 17th century classical tagalog word for orange/yellow, and it literally translates to moonwater (bulan = moon, tubig = water).
Aug 2021 · 1.5k
anyway
lua Aug 2021
my heart hurts
it squeezes
and bursts in my chest
as i cough up petals
she talks to me in flowers
and the sweetest of curves
but not about me
not about me at all
not me and her
and im left to yearn
yet to smile for her
bring the balloons
answer her questions
and watch them together
this is how it always ends
anyway.
and ill never tell her
how often i explode for her
i never will
anyway.
Aug 2021 · 1.0k
ghost
lua Aug 2021
i cast no shadow
beneath the white sun
amidst the sea of swaying green
and my skin is see through
and passes through
the blades of grass
like a projection
a hallucination
in no one's head
am i
even
real?
there is no colour on these sickly bones
but i feel the warmth of red
seeping through my transparent mind
am i
even
real?
i feel like a ghost
with no grave
a ghost that has not died
just yet
a ghost
trying to look for
something
for anything
for everything
while having
no eyes.
Jul 2021 · 1.4k
i dont understand
lua Jul 2021
no one really understands
but i get it
i dont understand either
why this ghost in my body
why this ghost in my body writhes
and tosses
and turns
and makes me sob and weep
shrill and high
yet silently, unobserved
i dont really get it either
why this ghost in my body falls in love with everyone it meets
and makes me green with envy
and a chilling blue of loneliness
that makes it hard to see anything
other than red
and rose
no one really understands
but thats okay
i dont understand either.
Jul 2021 · 251
envy
lua Jul 2021
it's hate
that burns
quietly
silently
unnoticeable
the flicker of a candle's flame
bleeding into a bonfire
that swells
into a beast
so large
it swallows cities whole.
Jun 2021 · 96
guilt
lua Jun 2021
there's so many things i want to say
but every single letter
that slips through my lips
are stained with tears
and gasoline
i want
all these thoughts
into a burning pyre
set them ablaze
maybe that way
i can feel happy
without feeling guilt.
Jun 2021 · 559
hatred
lua Jun 2021
im not
in the right mental state
to say
'i love you'
back
because im scared
that ill dye
those words
with my own
self hatred.
Jun 2021 · 350
how i learn
lua Jun 2021
i like to put myself in the shoes
of people who don't exist
in order to feel things through their hands
and see things through their eyes
to know what the earth feels under their feet
and to know what pain—
all pleasurable and tragic,
all heart-wrenching,
all that gushes blood and sweat that drips down to be swallowed by the sun—
is like
in a metaphorical sense
that's how i learn.
Jun 2021 · 589
magic
lua Jun 2021
i'd like to feel that feeling again
the one that sets my soul on fire
and fills my veins with magic
leading up to my fingertips
leaving fingerprints lined with gold and glitter
that feeling of pleasant pain
the ringing in my ears
and the butterfly garden in my stomach
the feeling on the cusp of being called love
let me feel it again.
May 2021 · 1.5k
Rose-tinted
lua May 2021
I like to fantasise
Romanticise
Every single part of my life
I like to walk through the streets
Wearing rose-tinted glasses
With little swirls of blue and gold
That engulfs each thing I touch and see
In rippling hues
Of pure fantasy and beauty
Even the trash along the sidewalks.
May 2021 · 1.7k
Seaside
lua May 2021
Crashing waves against the crunch of sand
Touches my feet
Sinking into the softness beneath me
As the water stains my toes blue
And paints goosebumps
Paints chills
Across my legs
Up to my stomach
Full of the same crashing waves
Those which curl
And spin in whirlpools
Up to my chest
Into my lungs full of seasalt
And the bitterness of the morning sun
Down every branching vein
That reminds me of mangrove roots
Yet pale and blue
So small and delicate
It reaches my own shaking fingers
And to the rosiness of my cheeks
All I hear is the soft ringing of windchimes in my ears
And the splash that dissipates into nothing but tiny droplets
Maybe that’s what keeps me awake at night.
Apr 2021 · 1.5k
in a bottle
lua Apr 2021
my words
might wash up
against your shore
in torn up shreds
each scribbled letter faded
obscured by time
obscured by rippling waves
that thrash and tear
each piece left vague
dowsed in mystery
and a lingering
a longing
to be read

soon
maybe
next time
i'll be mature enough
to put them in a bottle.
Mar 2021 · 1.1k
i could be yours
lua Mar 2021
let me be your girl
your world
and all the inbetween
ill be the the moon, the sun
the stars and the seas
ill be the rain, the snow
the hail, and the heat
i could tell you all i know
and all youll ever feel
ill be your crash course
the cause of your all-nighters
ill be your wake up call
and the whisper in your dreams
ill be everything i could ever be
ill be yours
i could be yours.
lua Mar 2021
i've long thought this
how sunsets no longer captivate me

when i walk in a crowd
no face is left unblurred
each passerby drab and uninteresting
nothing to catch my eye
nothing to tear my heart in two
or ever leave my mind

what is beauty to someone who can't see?
or to someone who sees
that nothing is beautiful anymore.
as an artist, i like to find the beauty in everything, no matter how grounded or detached it is. lately things just seem grey and uninteresting, as if im viewing life through a black and white filter.
Mar 2021 · 430
butterflies
lua Mar 2021
let me tend to the butterflies in my stomach
so when you step into my world
you'll see a garden full of colour.
Jan 2021 · 3.8k
i wanna be
lua Jan 2021
i wanna be a fairy girl
with see through wings
so thin and frail
that glitter and flutter
jingling like a bell
humming bird girl
small sweet sounds
drink the nectar
from the flowers
nymph in the woods, deer girl
tree girl, mermaid
with magic in my veins
i wanna be a goddess girl
bow down
the sea licking at my feet
i wanna be.
Jan 2021 · 2.3k
unburied
lua Jan 2021
i'd like to live in my mind
of fantasy lands
and overgrown worlds
bustling and shaking with life
in all forms
of giant snakes that zoom through the air
of witches and wizards in constant war
of golden knights and fair-headed dames
princesses wielding swords off to battle
and magic coursing through my veins
my blood is liquid dreams
and my heart beats to the melody of a lullabye
oh how i wish to live in my head
untouched by the grime of time
unburdened by the weight of my reality
unbroken
unburied.
Dec 2020 · 442
jealousy
lua Dec 2020
my hands bled
small red crescent moons
etched deep into my palms
that drip onto my lap
when i watch
                 i    c a n ' t    s a y    i t
and i breathe
shakey
spelling out your name
across my skin
in goosebumps
but my blood goes cold
and boils too hard
bubbling into my temples
popping in my brain
a banging
a raging
anger
my vision goes red

and yet.
Dec 2020 · 232
forgetting
lua Dec 2020
it had slipped
from my grasp
that warm toned memory
                        a   l o o s e   t h r e a d
                    t h a t    s n a p p e d
yet left its indentations on my mind
its fingerprints behind my eyes
i can still remember how bright the sun was that day
and the tilt of someone's lips towards the sky
someone i can't seem to recall
someone that doesn't ring a bell
but whose laugh still floats around in the air
i can't seem to
               remember.
Dec 2020 · 322
feel
lua Dec 2020
it's the ache in my chest
and the tingle in my palms
the ***** of tears at the corner of my eyes
that makes me think
makes me wonder
what it is to truly feel
what love is like
as young as i am
and as innocent as i seem
amidst the world
desensitised
and numb
i don't understand
and maybe that's okay for now
because from my own experience
from what my own fingertips feel
from what my eyes have touched
and from what my ears have solemnly listened
it is a kind of pain
we often yearn for.
Dec 2020 · 379
yellow
lua Dec 2020
you feel like the colour yellow
bright and harsh against my eyes
like sun rays
in the noon sky
like etchings of gold
that drip into my hands
or the soft petals of a wildflower
growing in a field
or even the celestials
the divine beings dripping in light
all that's holy and whole
once again.
Nov 2020 · 188
below the surface
lua Nov 2020
lately ive been dreaming of red
of swimming in the dark
and the roots of trees that snake around my ankles
in the cold
lately ive been dreaming of a shore
of mangroves in the deep of night
and the burning silence that fills the space
fills my ears with water
a peaceful demise
below the surface.
ive been having a recurring dream of being pushed into a dark inky ocean, and trying to swim to safety towards an island of trees. but ultimately, drowning.
Nov 2020 · 430
speak
lua Nov 2020
take them
the words i long to speak
that lodge in my throat
these words of mine
take them out
so i can breathe.
Nov 2020 · 97
one day
lua Nov 2020
one day
maybe
i'll meet someone
who writes
their heart into a page
just as i do.
Nov 2020 · 356
romance
lua Nov 2020
i find it funny
how often i speak of love
when i myself
don't quite know what it is
and don't quite know what the difference is
between romance
and romanticised.
Nov 2020 · 473
the patient
lua Nov 2020
"hello, what is your name?"

the familiar vibration in my ears
that creeps its way into my blood
a buzz
a hum
constant
beneath my skin
when days were louder
like the crash of pots and pans
in my grandmother's house
where the ceiling was littered with butterflies
like the static from empty radio stations
akin to that of crunching snow
and the harsh grating of metal

they are the memories dipped in sepia
and overexposed flashes of light
dripping as they walk on
leaving footprints
a silhouette

it is the fear of our wrinkling hands that drive us closer to the edge
to the end
as the sun and moon rewind in a never ending cycle
a loop
right before a leap of faith
towards that never ending youth
the desperate sliver of summer at the end of a blurry december's haze
when nothing is recognisable
a restart

"hello, what is your name?"
a poem based on The Caretaker's Everywhere At The End Of Time
lua Oct 2020
how does it feel to be loved by the gods?
that in every movement
the swirls of your hair around your face
the flutter of your eyes
and the shake of your shoulders when you laugh
sends shivers down even the gods' spines?
yet you don't know it
the longing stares that they send you from above
how the vines of the earth seem to crawl towards your feet
to graze against your skin
and kiss against your knees
you don't even know it
how your smile is ever so radiant
that even the sun has to shield his eyes
how every step you take
sends the earth rippling beneath my feet
or how every word that escapes your lips
makes the sky tremble
as the gods swoon
and yes
when i look at you
and when i touch you
and when i laugh with you
and spend my days and nights with you
i might as well call myself a god.
Oct 2020 · 348
love
lua Oct 2020
it's the whisper of a weary goodbye
caught in a sea of hellos
the faintest touch against your lip
from a manicured hand
or one so callused
it's fingertips rough as they glide on your skin
it's that feeling of familiarity
in a place so foreign
where no one knows your name but you
or who you are
and when you wander around at night
to stumble into your kitchen
making the pots and pans rattle against each other
it's the burning in your chest that goes down your throat
and into your stomach
birthing butterflies that flutter around
it's the cold splashes of water on heated skin
the tear stained pillowcases, the tear stained sweaters
the near-bleeding red scratches of the night before
and the deep blues and purples of a bruise
and when you've had enough
it's the mind-numbing ringing in your ears
and the sudden wash of everything at once
when you take those rose-tinted glasses off
maybe it's love.
Oct 2020 · 562
crave
lua Oct 2020
it's a vibration in the air
that leaves tingles in the back of my throat
as my hairs stand on end
it's the electric currents in my veins
the magnetic pull of all that i touch
which draws me in
and yet
it's like a shiver down my spine
a hot mist through my nostrils
with a scent and stench
as drool and blood dribbles onto the floor
splattering
from the corners of my lips
when i wheeze and cough
and it comes in waves
that shake my knees,
my hands
and the flesh that binds me whole

a craving.
Oct 2020 · 839
escapism
lua Oct 2020
gasp
heave
pant
the ringing in my ears
the lump beating in my throat
the sound of my heartbeat caught in a flame
that burns bright and angry
in my lungs
as i taste iron on my tongue
and blisters bloom
on the soles of my feet
like flowers in a summer's field
and yet the stench of sweat
the cling of cloth against my skin
raw and pink and thick with grime
but i'm running out of time
i won't ever stop to breathe.
Oct 2020 · 682
without a sense of purpose
lua Oct 2020
i think i've lost the feeling in my fingertips
and the words that
graze my lips
slip
and dissipate
into meaningless thoughts
onto a page
it's the banging against my window panes
the clang and drip of rain
it's the constant reminder of the sun
that 'yes, i live'
'yes, i am here'
'yes, i will stay'
'for as long as you will let me'
it's like listening to the sound of crashing waves
against the shore
as i dip my toes
in the moonlight
but
there is that fear
of the unknown
the slippery tongues of the abyss
that lap and lick against my heels
the tremble of my lip
the shudder down my spine
as it snakes around my legs
it's the longingness to runaway
and disappear
to leave without a trace
no new names, no fake identities
not a smidge of existence
no footprints left behind.
it's been hard to do anything lately.
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