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Sep 2017 · 301
10:01 am
Matthew Harlovic Sep 2017
i’m broken
i tried holding it together.
but i don’t want you around when I break down.

© Matthew Harlovic
today's a bad day
Sep 2017 · 344
yesop
Matthew Harlovic Sep 2017
i saw the sunrise in mundelein and for the first time, i felt alive.
i plucked a muscadine from the vine, casting aside the rind;
my girl was surprised to find me in a different frame of mind.
she sighed, i hope you remain aligned.
i took her by my side and said, "i made up my mind".
i forgave myself for my past crimes and that was the last time
i brought up my past life.

© Matthew Harlovic
Sep 2017 · 463
Athens
Matthew Harlovic Sep 2017
I swear your wingspan can bring man to his knees
but I’ve learned to withstand what it does to me.
We used to be in love, I used to hold her hand
till someone told her fly free so she left me for better land.
She said I love you like a friend. I hope you understand.
No I don’t but I see how you took a younga’ man
unda’ your wing and pulled a couple of strings
like it was all according to plan.
Now I’m not the biggest fan of your antics
but I gotta stand up even if I can’t stand it.
******* it. I know I’m at a disadvantage
but I’ll manage when haven’t I been up to a challenge?
Time to put your hands in. No I won’t be a stand in
but don’t panic man it’s so outlandish for you to think
that I’ll go ghost and vanish on you in a blink of an eye
before I can wash up what you can dish out
oh my gosh I wish you would just quit now while you’re ahead.
I’ll explore the ends of the Earth for my friend.
I’ll return to her once she earns it,
once she deserves it, once upon a time.
Never mind the prior line just discern it
like you did the verdict.
Yeah you heard it and I’m sure it sounds absurd
but at first you found a thirst for the last word.
I heard you mutter ‘*******’ under your breath
and honestly, I’m flattered
to see how much I mattered to you nonetheless.
But promise me that once this all ends,
we’ll still have the strength to make amends
because I said it once before and I’ll say it again.
I said I’ll always love you just like a friend.

© Matthew Harlovic
The poem hits harder when you **actually** listen to it so if you have time, copy & paste the link: https://soundcloud.com/outtatune-1/athens
Sep 2017 · 552
lucy lucid
Matthew Harlovic Sep 2017
come on baby we can do it

if you listen to the music

and follow the movements.

lose it all to a lucid dream


a fluid stream of consciousness

between another being.

it’s a freeing feeling
to see the ceiling



crash before your eyes.

i find it kind of healing
to witness one’s demise

‘cuz it’s gone in a flash



but it’s feels alright

not to fight the light.

© Matthew Harlovic
what am i on?
Aug 2017 · 543
White Noise
Matthew Harlovic Aug 2017
I used to be a bright boy before the white noise,
disrupted my poise and ****** the joy
out from the world around me.
It’s astounding to see such a change.
No it’s strange but I found a way to get around the grey
but you’d probably say I’m deranged if I told you.
No I’m not scolding you I’m holding you to the acquisitions
you back with whack facts you extract from your fruitless
disposition. Act aloof but you and I both know it’s truthful
the only loophole here is feedback so don’t fear the relapse
and I won’t appear so relaxed to you.

I used to love the sound of white noise while I sat in bed.
I found it reminiscent to the voice in my head.
I counted sheep to the static;
the ratchet put me to a deep sleep.

I used to be a quiet boy before I found a slight noise
coming through the television.
I can’t tell you what it sounds like now
so you’ll just have to listen for yourself
Momma call the technician.
Something’s wrong with the transmission.
I no longer see a picture.
Momma fix it ‘cuz its pixelated.
Momma listen, I’d fix it myself if I had the proper tools
but school never taught me how to.
Wow look at what I amounted to
when you took the time of day to stay around
and watch what I’m doing when you could’ve found out
why I wasn’t viewing pleasure like I used to.

© Matthew Harlovic
copy & paste the link below to hear in full
https://soundcloud.com/outtatune-1/white-noise
Aug 2017 · 296
lime light
Matthew Harlovic Aug 2017
if life gives you limes,
squeeze the light
out of it

© Matthew Harlovic
Jul 2017 · 844
some of nothing
Matthew Harlovic Jul 2017
I’m avoiding a void, Freud warned me of
by worming my way in to the apple of my eye
I know it sounds paranoid as above so below
ground zero dark thirty where I heard the well runs dry.
Hell, I wonder why I try to quench my thirst for knowledge
from any ***** puddle when I’m at a cow college
‘cuz nowadays I rather cuddle up with a good book
than be-fuddled by how to transgress, ring a bell hooks?
Well looks deceive and I can guess
by the wings you have yet to receive
we have come to the some of nothing
from something I thought we were far beyond
but maybe I was wrong at the end of it all.
You said it wasn’t my fault but then again,
Freire taught me how to lock
away my thoughts in a vault.

I’m hemmed in with Hemingway in the corner of the café.
We spend half the day laughing at our neighbors savoring
their lattes but condemning how they stray away from nature
‘cuz labor’s not their taste.
He says, “What a waste of time.
Do you see a better paradigm?”
I agree because I was scared at the time
to embarrass myself in front of an idol of mine.
I know it’s futile to rival a dead mind
but when they’re better than the headlines
I don’t mind if I never shine brighter than a dying light
‘cuz it only really matters in the end if I’m trying right?
but what am I trying for when I lost a friend to love and war?
Cut the ties, I’m alive.
Who was I dying for?
Who was I fighting for?
Who was I writing for?

Shelby tells me where the sidewalk ends
and well, he’s been a better friend than you’ve ever been;
ever since you left me and met he who shall not be named
nor blamed for this game you played against us.
Again trust was just a part of it all.
I was miserable like Margaret Hall.
Withdrawals always reinforce walls of remorse
and of course, I’m the source of all your problems
but who took the time to resolve them?
You weren’t forced to endorse any course of action
except follow the laws of attraction.
Perhaps gravity magnifies abreaction
or the severity of abstraction.
Yet Apollo would swallow
all his pride and passion
hollow out his home
and throw a match in.

© Matthew Harlovic
i cannot equate myself as a rapper when i write poetry.

copy and paste the link below to listen:
https://soundcloud.com/outtatune-1/some-of-nothing
Jul 2017 · 611
july's junkie
Matthew Harlovic Jul 2017
she stabbed a cig in her lips just to sip the smoke
as i tripped off the second hand secrecy she spoke
i was choked up. i couldn’t cough out a comeback
for comfort as she drew a new one from the pack.

those ivory black irises lacked pigment.
they looked as bleak as the stars in the distance
or was it just a figment of my inhibitions?
or some innocent incident that kicked in my skepticism?

in an instant my instincts clicked in again,
it was getting late so we made our way down the bend
and in the end, my intent was never met
but she did teach me something that I’ll never forget.

she said "a habit is a habit, somehow we gotta have it.
i know it may be tragic but somehow we gotta have it.
a habit is a habit, somehow we gotta have it
and someday we’ll drag it down to our caskets".

she tried to play a queen in a king’s reign
but you can’t share the wealth if you’re the one who pays.
we’re drawn by the waste, we’re taunted by the taste
but maybe someday you’ll get your life straight

and so we laid waste beneath the marble moon
as the tar tore off her taste buds as the ashes bloomed.
as her charcoal perfume loomed in the moonlight
as my hands laid on her waist, waiting for a goodnight kiss.

but with a bit of luck, i could’ve caught
a little more than smoke in my tear ducts.
aw shucks, i should’ve known a lot better.
she may have had a halo but her wings were severed

and never will i ever make the same mistake twice.
if you break my heart once, i’ll be gone by daylight.
i promise that you’ll wake up all alone tomorrow
and i know for sure you’ll light another Marlboro.

smothered by my sorrows, i know how it’s tragic
but a habit is a habit, somehow we gotta have it.
a habit is a habit, somehow we gotta have it
and someday we’ll drag it down to our caskets.

© Matthew Harlovic
I'm not your every-day, run of the mill rapper. I'm a story teller.
In essence, I think rap is rhythm AND poetry.
If you want to hear my poem to music, copy and paste this link:
https://soundcloud.com/outtatune-1/julys-******
Matthew Harlovic Jul 2017
i am leaving soon
so forgive me if i speak bluntly
but what are we achieving in this country?
to think, we hung the moon and stars.
i’m stung by the pungent stench of cars.
fix the carbon sink or tend to the garden.
lend a hand out to those who are starving.
Darwin would loathe our progress.
i thought old growth was both
a blessing and a curse
but things only worsen
the more we nurse them.
clip the wings of a serpent

© Matthew Harlovic
watched A Day The Earth Stood Still and was inspired
Jul 2017 · 539
buried sunshine (5w)
Matthew Harlovic Jul 2017
i found
light in dirt.

© Matthew Harlovic
Jun 2017 · 429
MUMBLE
Matthew Harlovic Jun 2017
momma said not to mumble. be humble.
keep it under your tongue - like a secret -

only seek it if your time has come.
otherwise you’ll succumb to the sequence

- as frequent as most -

weakness engulfs
those who loath
to oppugn
the approach.

i encroach upon
the broken ones
with cloven tongues
woven from hell.

i tell them when the moment comes
open your swollen gums and yell.

© ?Matthew Harlovic
Jun 2017 · 385
peaked
Matthew Harlovic Jun 2017
i kissed the sky on a windless night
and tasted sunlight on my tongue.

i peaked on a wingless flight.
some might say i’m mystified

by the mystery of happiness and misery
so i retrace my history

to a time when i was young
and held a hunger

for the wonders of world
before i was thirsty for some girl.

sundered by the sunburns;
one learns to discern his past

and turn to the hands of time,
turning sand into glass.

© Matthew Harlovic
Jun 2017 · 362
Untitled
Matthew Harlovic Jun 2017
how could i delude someone who
put themselves through and through
black, blue and purple hues
hurtful words and the certain few
who circulate skewed conclusions
illusions and preconceptions
on the dimensions of perfection
when such a mention doesn’t exist
because tensions persist and fits
are thrown as much as fists.
i wish beauty didn’t consist
of “haves” and “have not's”
when this image is all i have got.

© Matthew Harlovic
Jun 2017 · 290
worse
Matthew Harlovic Jun 2017
i didn't think things
would get this worse

to where discourse
turns to discord.

we thought with force,
we fought with sources

when we were taught
to endorse reinforcement.

© Matthew Harlovic
Matthew Harlovic Jun 2017
to the one who knows or examines his existence
explain the relativity of time and distance
from the instance of creation;
the expansion of self
to the bold bearing of a life lived well.
now picture the presence of a proclaimed faith
through the face of a Galilean reference frame
but refrain from the mention of preconceived notions
which pertain to gnomon-wise motion.

© Matthew Harlovic
May 2017 · 1.0k
backtrack
Matthew Harlovic May 2017
i think back, i think back
but i never think forward.

© Matthew Harlovic
Apr 2017 · 649
somezero
Matthew Harlovic Apr 2017
i know i’m a werido but half my heroes
have pierced earlobes so i don’t fear those
who rose from someone to some zero.

© Matthew Harlovic
Apr 2017 · 650
stir
Matthew Harlovic Apr 2017
eyes fume,
tongues stir.
we're young
and unsure
but among
dark skies
sparks fly
with her.

© Matthew Harlovic
Feb 2017 · 910
waste audit
Matthew Harlovic Feb 2017
you called me trash, a piece of garbage
so i collected myself and analyzed what
i brought to the table.
i thought about what i could manage
and determined the effectiveness of
my current strategies
but i concluded that i wasted my
time sorting through my problems.

© Matthew Harlovic
Feb 2017 · 420
liquified courage
Matthew Harlovic Feb 2017
i'm no alcoholic,
i'm discouraged to drink
but when i drown, i think
the liquid is symbolic
for how i frolic
off the brink.

© Matthew Harlovic
Feb 2017 · 513
poor lighting
Matthew Harlovic Feb 2017
you "like" what i write if it is to your liking
though if i write about your bad side,
you loathe the poor lighting.

© Matthew Harlovic
Jan 2017 · 593
steer clear
Matthew Harlovic Jan 2017
what a day, what a week,
what a month, what a year.
what a time to be alive,
what a time to drive off the pier and disappear.

i thrive in fear so don’t revive me,
it deprives me of what i hold dear.
let me lie beside me, my friends,
my family and peers.

© Matthew Harlovic
Jan 2017 · 594
counted out
Matthew Harlovic Jan 2017
forgive me for my outburst,
i have a tendency to run wild
so from here on out, i'll live on
the outskirts of my inner child.

© Matthew Harlovic
Jan 2017 · 395
we woke
Matthew Harlovic Jan 2017
i woke to darkness,
alarmed by a starlet.

charmed by her starkness,
we embarked on our parlous
journey.

but have you learned we
marked our awakening

by taking the chance to dance
with a groundbreaking
circumstance?

© Matthew Harlovic
Jan 2017 · 704
sue real
Matthew Harlovic Jan 2017
you are surreal
from what i see, i feel.

kneel before me, i'll reveal
the brush i paint the faint of heart with.

i give color to the artless,
i give color to the darkness

but you my darling,
you are my artist.

© Matthew Harlovic
a light in the darkness.
Jan 2017 · 1.1k
vitamin d-arling
Matthew Harlovic Jan 2017
i miss my sunshine
on a day like this,
she could lift my
spirit with
the light
of her kiss.
at night
we would lay
and reminisce
of a simpler time
when we were kids.

© Matthew Harlovic
Jan 2017 · 525
date night
Matthew Harlovic Jan 2017
perhaps if we bring our fates
together we will create
a date with destiny.

© Matthew Harlovic
Dec 2016 · 563
watchdogs
Matthew Harlovic Dec 2016
every dog has its day,
every day has its dog
if you claw your way
into the lap of the gods.

© Matthew Harlovic
Dec 2016 · 596
twenty:sixteen
Matthew Harlovic Dec 2016
love is impermanent
as all things of nature.
i could never hate her
because i think of her
of as my creator.

© Matthew Harlovic
recap.
Nov 2016 · 572
remember
Matthew Harlovic Nov 2016
when we were tracing
constellations, chasing
stars and drinking sun
tea from mason jars;
thinking our time
would never end
as we embraced
infinity as the
best of friends.

© Matthew Harlovic
Nov 2016 · 475
man made
Matthew Harlovic Nov 2016
i was fathered by time
and nurtured by nature
but man made a creator
who claims he's my savior

© Matthew Harlovic
Nov 2016 · 346
eraser head
Matthew Harlovic Nov 2016
i write to remember all
the memories we made
because without them,
i'm afraid you'll fade
within the next decade.

© Matthew Harlovic
Nov 2016 · 370
weathered friend
Matthew Harlovic Nov 2016
come rain or shine
hail, sleet, or snow.
you always know
which way the
wind blows.

© Matthew Harlovic
Nov 2016 · 318
test of time
Matthew Harlovic Nov 2016
i'm sorry if i hurt you
but you deserve the
best and i'll take the
time to study for this
test of virtue.  

© Matthew Harlovic
Nov 2016 · 326
818
Matthew Harlovic Nov 2016
818
eight's a mis.
seven's a felon.
i was six feet away
from the gates of heaven.

© Matthew Harlovic
hit & mis
Nov 2016 · 628
stupid me
Matthew Harlovic Nov 2016
you used me
beautifully.
truthfully,
the abuse
suited me
because
stupid me,
stupidly
refused
to lose
you.

© Matthew Harlovic
Nov 2016 · 495
do tell
Matthew Harlovic Nov 2016
i often wonder where the time goes
when i watch my calendar
like a slide show.

© Matthew Harlovic
and yet the show must go on.
Oct 2016 · 800
di(stress)
Matthew Harlovic Oct 2016
she's not a damsel,
she doesn't need help.
she lets her hair down
for herself.

© Matthew Harlovic
as you should.
Oct 2016 · 631
it varies
Matthew Harlovic Oct 2016
i have not heard your variation
in quite a while nor have i seen
a laugh in your smile.

© Matthew Harlovic
Oct 2016 · 1.0k
worried sea sick
Matthew Harlovic Oct 2016
stress builds up in the chest when you're left behind
to fend for yourself. when all else failed, you sailed away,
promising you'll return someday. but let me tell you my
friend, you're blessed. there's no need to dwell on the past
because at long last, my little castaway has found
herself back at the bay. but if you're gonna' stay
you better tie down. if you stray from the shallows,
you'll surely drown. this small town carries bigger lies,
there's much more here than meets the eye.
and i was worried sick about you,
ever since you left it was all i could do.
i can't control the tides, this i know.
but sometimes, it's so hard to let go.

© Matthew Harlovic
am i out of the blue?
Oct 2016 · 824
(man)age
Matthew Harlovic Oct 2016
i was taught to be a man
and manage my emotions,
but i wonder if i can just
get through the motions.

© Matthew Harlovic
Oct 2016 · 995
poseidon
Matthew Harlovic Oct 2016
i miss having someone to confide in,
someone to provide a bit of guidance
when i'm riding the trident to the sirens.

© Matthew Harlovic
Oct 2016 · 511
all american
Matthew Harlovic Oct 2016
only a bic lighter
can raise my spirit.

© Matthew Harlovic
Oct 2016 · 1.5k
broken ribs
Matthew Harlovic Oct 2016
remember when we laughed
until our ribs hurt on adam’s
street? that was our genesis.

© Matthew Harlovic
Oct 2016 · 1.1k
dukkha
Matthew Harlovic Oct 2016
though all things in this mundane world
are conditioned, subject to cessation,
and objects of impermanence,
i will be more than happy
to suffer on the behalf
of inevitability.

© Matthew Harlovic
Oct 2016 · 892
iou
Matthew Harlovic Oct 2016
iou
you cannot equate my fate
with the likes of yours,
you cannot narrate
what i might endure,
you cannot gestate
the weight, nor labor,
because it predates
the state of our nature
but moving forward is
predicated on behavior
so i'll be a good neighbor
and do you the favor.

© Matthew Harlovic
Oct 2016 · 334
leaves of absence
Matthew Harlovic Oct 2016
you can waver with the leaves
of absence from your giving tree
but you'll outlive the doubts
you once had for me.

© Matthew Harlovic
Oct 2016 · 1.7k
love me tinder
Matthew Harlovic Oct 2016
i love her tender,
i hold her tinder
i told her as her
cylinder smoldered
keep the cinder.

© Matthew Harlovic
Oct 2016 · 660
bottom's up
Matthew Harlovic Oct 2016
you can call it self-help
but all's relative in kelp
when you tell it like it is
and whelp give up
what you lived for
sedatives that have yet
to set in so you betta’
help yourself or let
someone else into
that little capsized world
of yours before you hurl
or wash up on shore
so take the boardwalk home
when you wake up in the
morning toward the nearest
port that is still storming.

© Matthew Harlovic
Oct 2016 · 633
cravings
Matthew Harlovic Oct 2016
you reminded me
we have to eat a peck
of dirt before we die
but why on earth save
the pie in the sky?

© Matthew Harlovic
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