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5d · 203
The Bullet
On the other side of the bullet
You hope the crooked road to straighten

I fear the fog remains
With path unclear

Fix it here
Or
Fix it there

My prayer for you
Seek help here
A friends brother committed suicide over the weekend. I hope he find peace in his new life but...
Dec 7 · 304
Into the Light
Into the light,
Into the night,
Darkness abounds,
Faint are the sounds.
A sliver of light,
So ends the fight.
Freedom at last,
No air, then a gasp.
Soiled, degraded,
My cries unabated.

LIFE

My cries unabated,
Soiled, degraded,
No air, then a gasp.
Freedom at last,
So ends the fight.
A sliver of light,
Faint are the sounds,
Darkness abounds.
Into the night,
Into the light.
My first attempt at a reverse poem.  My inlaws are in a nursing home. The similarities to the beginning of life are striking.
Nov 27 · 865
Sadness
I wrote a poem

I wrote it twice

Seeking words expression

Clouds roll in

My shadow hides

Exposing my depression

Pressure mounts

Weight so intense

No strength to set me free

Shallow breath

A whisper utters

Is this the end of me
Every day, a new obstacle.  Enough!
Mar 17 · 222
Sympathy
Words there are not
to express how I feel

Hearing your words
of your sad ordeal

My heart reaches out
to shoulder your pain

Hoping this song
has a happy refrain

My angels are yours
to carry you through

Til happiness blooms
like a flower anew
Searching for words for a friend facing the death of her sister
Mar 8 · 228
Small
I rise above the earth
The noise transcends to silence

Darkness giving birth
As peace replaces violence

If only from up here
The big becomes the small

Gently falls a tear
The absurdity of it all
I long for the world to be civilized
Feb 22 · 157
So Much
So many thoughts
Not shared

So many words
Not read

So much music
Not heard

So much beauty
Not seen

So much time
WASTED!
As I get older I feel like I'm running out of time to experience everything.
Feb 21 · 323
Rearview Mirror
Looking in the rearview mirror
To a simpler time and place

Everything much clearer
A smile on every face

Peace, love and Innocence
So safe in mother's arms

A time when every thought made sense
Sheltered from the harm

Looking up each day
My vision filtered child

Buried life, now packed away
Once lived, recorded, filed
Some days I miss my youth.
Feb 16 · 200
Shades
I wrote a book
And all it took

Was the love and support from you

Thank you to everyone that left a kind or constructive comment over the years!

Michael James Murphy
I know this is shameless self promotion, but I do sincerely appreciate my HP friends. 'Shades' is up on Amazon. One less thing on my bucket list. Thank you
Feb 2 · 169
Tree Swing
Mighty swing tree
that carried me
through summer days of yore

To-and-fro,
each pump I fly
higher than before

So strong, you stand,
with single hand,
you hold me safe and true

With me here now
in rocking chair,  
from wood where you once grew
This is a rewrite of an earlier poem
Jan 30 · 352
The Process
I wrote a word and then another
A thought I did provoke

A feeling buried deep within
Asleep but now awoke

So many words I can't contain
Spill out upon my page

To illuminate so bright with light
My soul I did engage
I am self publishing a book of 100 poems and was playing with this for the back cover.
Dec 2023 · 445
Fire
Michael Murphy Dec 2023
Long after the fire
The embers are too hot to touch
Nov 2023 · 484
My Dream
Michael Murphy Nov 2023
No money
No war
No hatred
No more
No color or creed
No taking
No greed
No left and no right
No reason to fight

Just love
Was thinking that we will never be truly civilized until we embrace love.  The Beatles had it right
Nov 2023 · 588
Fleeting
Michael Murphy Nov 2023
I'm  living on a Bubble

Floating, flying free

Each wind I change direction

High above the sea

Colors burst around me

Just  rainbows you'll agree

Loving my existence

Fleeting

as it may be
The older I get the faster time flies. Trying to pack in as much happiness as I can
Nov 2023 · 158
Epiphany
Michael Murphy Nov 2023
The entire universe is a fantasy

Except for

Is real
Never write poetry after 8 beers
Nov 2023 · 532
Writers Block
Michael Murphy Nov 2023
It's Blank

                   My heart

It's Blank

                   My mind

It's Blank

                       My words

It's Blank

                                         The canvas of my life

Sorry!
Nov 2023 · 351
It Was Me
Michael Murphy Nov 2023
If ever there was a man
Who sought to understand

The trouble in your heart

It was me

To apply a healing touch
To comfort and as such

To curb the flood of tears

It was me

Now the time I fear has come
My work complete, must run

Just remember as you smile

It was me
I have been the turnkey in many a life, with no regrets
Oct 2023 · 327
Snapshot
Michael Murphy Oct 2023
There was a moment
There was a time
You in my arms
Your heart beat with mine

I thought that I knew
I thought you were mine
I thought it was true
But only to find

It was only a moment
A snapshot in time
I look to that moment
To see I was blind
What you believe to be true might only be true in that moment
Oct 2023 · 452
The End
Michael Murphy Oct 2023
No more wick to light
The candle lost its fight
It actually is about a candle that I couldn't light. Lol
Sep 2023 · 157
My House
Michael Murphy Sep 2023
I built a house of many rooms
Each different from the rest

The threads of time, each memory
are woven through my nest

The room of youth
Just windows now

I peer but
Cannot see

So many rooms of love within
I feel the memories

Each room is filled with lessons learned
The staircase as you will

I'm still building strong and true
New memories UNTIL...
Thinking about life
Aug 2023 · 486
My Muse
Michael Murphy Aug 2023
Be my muse
If you accept
I'll immortalize

Your beauty
Forever in verse

With words
Will describe
The ecstasy

Of a fantasy
I would love
To traverse

Be my muse
And feel the
Passion I feel

Surrender to the
Moment sublime

Take a leap and let go
Be my muse and you'll know
The love you will feel

When you're mine
Certain people move me to write
Jul 2023 · 379
New Roles
Michael Murphy Jul 2023
It happened fast
In a step, a stroke

Happened shortly
After he awoke

From very clear
Fog, confusion, weak

Once strong and vital
Now cannot speak

Still sees the world
With healthy heart

Can't express
Where to start

For me,

Yesterday morning
I was free

Yesterday child, now
Parent be

Role accepted
For tender care

Cooking cleaning
Cutting hair

A smile required
To ease the stress

Parent, child
Needs me to dress

I play the role
I play it well

My role an honor
I'm here to tell
My father in law had a stroke a few weeks ago. It is amazing how life can change in an instant.
Jun 2023 · 399
Music
Michael Murphy Jun 2023
When did you stop singing
Where's the music that I knew
I hear echoes of a melody
You sang when we were new

Where's the smile and the laughter
That filled the empty room
Is it gone forever, tell me
When will your flowers bloom

It slipped away unnoticed
In the middle of the night
I should have held on tighter
Should have kept you in my sight

If I told you that I love you
Would it spark your inner flame
Or are you gone forever
Fearing I hold all the blame
Jun 2023 · 192
My New Hair
Michael Murphy Jun 2023
My dilemma this day
Should I cut
Or let stay
The new hair
That is driving me mad

It grew out of nowhere
On my forehead
I thought bare
You'd think a new hair
I'd be glad

It's two inches long
Should I style it
Is that wrong
With two more
I think I would braid

It looks like a tree
With both eyes
All I see
Crosseyed I am
I'm afraid

Snip
Then that happened!
Jun 2023 · 487
Sandwich
Michael Murphy Jun 2023
I wish we were a sandwich
Simple would suffice

Smooshed between the slices
with you would be so nice

You could be my jelly
your sweet as sweet can be

I am simply nuts for you
Crunchy PB's the one for me

We go so great together
I know you feel it too

I offer you this sandwich
to show that I love you
I don't know.
Jun 2023 · 466
Catching up with my Father
Michael Murphy Jun 2023
When I was born my father was 100% older than me
He was 40 and I was brand spanking new

In ten short years, I was 20% as old as my old man
He was 50 and I was 10

It increased to 33% when I was 20, but I was too busy to think about it

I believe I told him when he turned 80 that I was finally half his age

I wonder if I had told him that I would be 99% as old as him if he lived for 4000 years; Would that have made a difference? Would he still be here running the race?

Probably not. Who wants a kid that's the same age?
I think there were many times when my dad wished I would stop talking
Jun 2023 · 168
Intuition
Michael Murphy Jun 2023
The gun barrel burned into her temple, still hot from the two shots he fired into  the wall.  Lydia lay naked on the bed, paralyzed.  Tears clouded her vision.  Fear blocked all feeling, noise, thought, pain.  Time stopped.  Literally!

A bright light from the archway to the hall filled the room.  Lydia lifted from her bed. Walked without walking into the light.  Back in time to her family home, four states away.  She sat in the kitchen of her youth across from radiance.  A glowing figure, not a man, not a woman, just happiness.  

Without words Lydia knew she had made the wrong decision. She always was uneasy around Jake, but she thought he would change if she just loved him enough.  She heard that voice, that we often hear, the first time he asked her out.  She ignored it.

Suddenly the room began to spin.

"Lydia", Jake hesitated, "I was hoping we could get dinner sometime?"

Lydia had to catch her breath before she responded, " I really don't think it's a good idea, I'm sorry!"
I was thinking if it would be possible to take multiple paths in life just for the experience.  Maybe intuition warns us of a mistake we might have already made.
Jun 2023 · 282
The Urinal
Michael Murphy Jun 2023
Standing at the ******
I really gotta go

Starting to get ******
Cause I ain't got no flow

I feel the eyes upon me
The pressure starts to mount

A line of guys behind me
More than I can count

If only I were younger
I could **** a hole through steel

Now I just go drip, drip, drip
Seriously what's the deal

My prostate's like a grapefruit
I go five times a night

I haven't slept in fifteen years
It really kind of bites

When I close my eyes the final time
The biggest gift for me

Is when I get to heaven
I won't have to ***
Jun 2023 · 564
Proposal
Michael Murphy Jun 2023
T ime

O ur

U nion

C ombines

H earts
Not sure where I was going with this but I was thinking about how poor my sad proposal went to my now wife. My car was smoking and I practically threw the ring at her when she answered the door.
May 2023 · 885
How to Hold a Fragile Heart
Michael Murphy May 2023
Broken and mended with the finest of threads, her heart still bruised and tender

I seek to hold it but how

A callous of wasted time and broken trust protects the innocent flower within

No earthly force can penetrate

Only Heaven holds the elixir I will patiently deliver

Take the patience of the mountain stone on its journey to the sea

Add the golden love of angels hearts and unending loyalty

Mix with all the beauty of every flower ever grown

Deliver with the brightest light the sun has ever known

Then maybe just maybe her heart will mend and then
with all our love and strength combined
she'll learn to love again
I closed my eyes and hoped to finds words to comfort a friend that I really care about. Time will tell
Michael Murphy May 2023
Average I'd say
she presented each day
makeup smoothing the rough

By some standards plain
Would never complain
and her size was more than enough

Then she smiled her wide smile
Oh and she moved with such style
To reveal her beauty within

When she laughed at a joke
Or her angel voice spoke
Every heart in the school did she win

I fell so in love
Prayed to God up above
That the prettiest girl in the school

Would just look my way
Words of love I would say
To the prettiest girl, such a jewel

Our love would not be
Still I learned how to see
The prettiest girl in the school
May 2023 · 480
Embracing Change
Michael Murphy May 2023
If you paint your canvas white
embracing just the light

Keep neatly out of sight
the wonders of the night

No colors on your page
No red expressing rage

No blue to show your mood
Your emptiness conclude

You're missing all the splendor
your magic brush could render
Just a short one. I was thinking about how so many people want everything to stay the same.
May 2023 · 210
I'm Not Shakespeare
Michael Murphy May 2023
To be or not to be
Is that one question or two

Should I suffer
Hell no
What a dumb thing to do

Would I fight for an outrageous fortune
It depends
How big is the other guy

If he's slinging arrows
There's a chance
I could die

Swimming in a sea of troubles
Making trouble bubbles
Of course I want them to end

But, "Not to be", really
I don't know
Have to ponder this again
I don't know
May 2023 · 260
Don't Judge Me
Michael Murphy May 2023
You're old and yellow
A crooked fellow
and still support me so

I keep you covered
Like a secret lover
I guess that you should know

When you're in pain
I cry too

I hate to see you
black and blue

I love your friends
You keep them close

Just know it's you
I love the most

I can barely see you
far away
I gaze down towards the floor

I can't reach you
as you lay
Can't help you anymore

I hate to say this
but I need help
to keep you nice and neat

My Right big toe
I love you so
You're the anchor of my feet
If I won the lottery I would pay someone to tie my shoes.
May 2023 · 444
Euphoria
Michael Murphy May 2023
A calm release
Morphine drips

No lucid thought
upon my lips

The pain now dull
Once beating strong

The dream world waits
It won't be long

I'm flying now
I cannot lie

Such a trip
I'm so **** high
I've had my share of operations where I was introduced to a myriad of narcotics. I have to say that I am fortunate to not have an issue with addiction because it was fun.   I wish I didn't turn in the unused drugs. There are days!
May 2023 · 416
Yogurt with Chopsticks
Michael Murphy May 2023
You can't eat yogurt
with chopsticks
Believe me I know
I just tried

Not a spoon was in sight
We had Chinese last night
Saw chopsticks and had
to decide

So I plunged with the stick
In the yogurt...not thick
My first scoop
was less than desired

I could be here all day
Yes eating this way
was definitely
making me tired

So I picked up the cup
The chopsticks did chuck
With a slurp and a guzzle
so quick

Lesson learned
Lesson lived
You can't eat yogurt
with chopsticks
Mostly true
May 2023 · 805
Protection
Michael Murphy May 2023
"Young child"

As mother's will do
In my shoe
Was a dime

To call from a payphone
If out
Past my time

"Teenager"

In my wallet
A ******
Tucked neatly away

With the hope
Some young girl
Would invite me to play

No luck
On that though
As the ****** expired

Wore a ring
In the leather
New wallet acquired

"Old man"

Protection remains
In my wallet today

It never expires
Never throw it away

I just changed the brand
No more Trojan for me

Imodium now
When you're old, you'll agree
I wish this wasn't true.
May 2023 · 962
Bipolar
Michael Murphy May 2023
You're talking in circles
And ever so fast

Lie after lie
You're trying to pass

Drinking and Drugging
Are making it worse

You think that it's helping
It's really a curse

You want money from me
That I can't do

You think that it's love
If only you knew

True love is resisting
Your pleas in the night

Your angry words hurt
I don't want to fight

If I ever give in
To your devils I fear

It will **** you for sure
And we'll both disappear
My adult adopted daughter suffers from bipolar.  She is usually ok until she gets bored and turns to drugs and drinking.  Hard to help, and hard to watch.
May 2023 · 212
Imagination
Michael Murphy May 2023
The luxury of the imagination is the
dream without boundaries.

I am the keeper of time
The universe is my domain

Flying through time
is simply a thought manifested

You're mine again
You're here in my arms

I have total control
No broken hearts

Smiles and laughter abound
I can feel you again

Touch you again
Your spirit fills the room

Trying hard to hang on
Reality is the battle I'm fighting

If I let go, you're gone
If I hang on, I'm gone
May 2023 · 494
Smile
Michael Murphy May 2023
O                   O
U

S                           E 
M                   L
I L E S M I
This was harder to do in this simple editor than I had anticipated.
May 2023 · 496
Attention Defi...
Michael Murphy May 2023
I have a little Attention Defi... what?
Lost my focus, I can't see

Not quite done with A
Now I'm moving on to Z

I cannot master anything
My interest starts to shift

I know a little bit of everything
Believe me, not a gift

If only I could focus
I'm afraid that isn't me

I might still have a chance
If I can master OCD
May 2023 · 234
The Day I Died
Michael Murphy May 2023
I didn't think it would end like this
I couldn't catch my breath

Gasping, I could feel my blood run cold

Time stopped
Feeling stopped, even pain

I heard someone say, "time of death
2:34 am."

No bright light, just nothing
Asleep and awake coexist.

Back in our home, I turn in bed to kiss you goodnight, as I have done for a thousand nights

Your side of the bed is cold, so cold
Great loss comes with great love. This was written after witnessing my father's reaction to my mother's passing. I felt part of him die. She passed peacefully.
May 2023 · 177
Writing Rules
Michael Murphy May 2023
Don't think too much
For filters sake

The rules are there
For you to break

Speak your mind
Your thoughts reveal

Though some will say
There's no appeal

You own these words
You choose to share

Be true to you
Do not compare
When I read my poems I can say that it is hard to identify a style.  For brief moments I worry that I'm not following the rules. I then remember why I write. I write to express what I feel. I do hope someone else can identify with it. I cannot let that be my driving force.   I write with low expectations and I am never disappointed. Still, I write!
May 2023 · 355
Private Notes
Michael Murphy May 2023
Diary, journal
Recorded thoughts
eternal

Private, locked
Sifted feelings
blocked

Ink  smears
On pages
tears

Memory recorded
Life neatly
ordered
Does keeping a diary lead to writing poetry?
Apr 2023 · 762
Breakups
Michael Murphy Apr 2023
First cut

Such pain
Stomach punched
Doubled over
Couldn't breathe for weeks

Second cut

Such pain
Stomach punched
Couldn't breathe for days

...Fifth cut

Pain
Trouble catching my breath

...Tenth cut

Nothing
You can get used to anything!
Apr 2023 · 460
Wisdom
Michael Murphy Apr 2023
Stay in your lane
It's not your fight

I know that it's tempting
You're thinkin you're right

The wisdom you'll find
In the days you look back

Was knowing when to retreat
And when to attack
Apr 2023 · 498
Apex
Michael Murphy Apr 2023
I'm an apex predator
You better pray

In my hunting ground
That time of day

I'm hungry now
You're my meal

Circling above
Soon you'll feel

Ours lives now one
I devour you

Nourishing me
You're born anew
I was watching a bal eagle and trying to imagine what it must be like to be such a force of nature.
Apr 2023 · 499
After I'm Gone
Michael Murphy Apr 2023
Read these words
Read them well

In these words
I do tell

My legacy
Is scribed you'll see

When I die
What's left of me

Are words of feelings
Failings, pain

And triumphs rising
Smiles again

Hearts so touched
The touched returned

Loves forever
And bridges burned

When I drift off
In endless sleep

These words I've sowed
Are yours to reap
Sharing poems is very personal but I think often that it may be the only way to not disappear completely.
Apr 2023 · 249
The Path
Michael Murphy Apr 2023
See the path
It's right there

I see it not
Tell me where

Close your eyes
Believe it now

So hard to see
Show me how

Hold my hand
The darkness clears

Release your thoughts
Let go your fears

I see the path
Revealed and clear

So clear to me
Now you are near
This came out of a time that my son couldn't find the sugar that was inches from his hand.  I told him to believe it was there and he couldn't see it until he believed.  We have to be ready for the reality in front of us.
Apr 2023 · 284
Soul
Michael Murphy Apr 2023
Is it just me and
The people you see

Could it be frogs and logs and
The bumble bee

How about flowers, turkeys, and crows
Could it be them, does anyone know

It has to be puppies, and kittens I bet
I keep asking, but no answer yet

What about creatures from planets unknown
Forget that last thought if you think we're alone

What about rocks the inanimate type
You know what I mean, no carbon in sight

Do they all have a soul, a spirit like mine
Do they they all go to heaven at the end of their time

I hope so
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