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River Wild
Michael Murphy Mar 2016
River Wild
I feel like I'm on a fast moving river

Sometimes I row hard and try to steer

Sometimes I just let the current take me where it will

Sometimes I feel lost

Sometimes I duck the low hanging branches

Sometimes the river widens and the current calms and I can rest

Sometimes the river narrows and the whitewater throws me into the boulders

It is in the turbulent waters that I am tested and my skills are sharpened

Always I try to appreciate the journey and the breathtaking views

I know around every bend, a new challenge awaits

Never knowing around which bend lies the non-corporeal sea of dreams

No more branches, no more bends, and no more boulders

Only calm waters, gentle breezes, and smooth sailing
#life
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Road Rage
Michael Murphy May 2019
Road Rage
Such an ***
Is the fellow
Who crosses the yellow
When solid
And then again doubled

Run the red
So he thought
Cause he'll never get caught
His decisions are
What's making me troubled

Do the rules not apply
To this *** of a guy
So stupid, selfish and vain

I pray for his soul
Cause he's out of control
That he learns to
Stay in his lane
#anger
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Sandwich
Michael Murphy Jun 2023
Sandwich
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.
#love #food #happy
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Second Kiss
Michael Murphy Nov 2015
Second Kiss
As he opened her door, he noticed a tear rolling down her cheek.  It was all so overwhelming, the happiness to be exact.  As he wiped the tear away with his thumb, she leaned her head into his hand. Running his hands through her hair, never breaking eye contact,  hundreds of thousands of years of instinct took over.  When their lips met the world that they lived in disappeared and they were immediately transported into a new existence.  Where there was two, there was now only one.  They were lost in each other, not knowing where one person started and the other ended.  

It could be argued that no first kiss has ever been as deep or sensual as the second kiss. Their experience was no different.  Easily the second kiss in the car was the kiss they would be thinking about every second that they were apart.
Want to turn this into a book
#love #kiss
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Secrets
Michael Murphy Nov 2015
Secrets
I am a seed.
A pebble vault.
Secrets of the universe abound within
my humble form
So tiny and inconspicuous
I know without knowing how tall I will stretch,
How I will bend or not with the breeze,
How I will veil myself in dappled leaves
and invite bees to velvety garnet petals,
or thistles made of silk,
How do I know these things, you wonder, being so small
without wit, without sage?
How can I do this
With no teacher?
The teacher is in me
My secrets are my own.
#nature
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Shades
Michael Murphy Feb 16
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
#poetry
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Shadows
Michael Murphy Nov 2015
Shadows
In whispers I hear the voices of past

So very loud once, I thought they would last

In shadows I see the loved ones I knew

But the clearest of all is the shadow of you

I can still feel your touch, with eyes closed and mind still

As if heaven allows my heart now to fill

The gift of your love was so strong but so brief

The love in my heart has turned now to grief
#lost
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Silence
Michael Murphy Nov 2015
Silence
In her silence much is said

There is no comment on what she read

She can't tell you how she feels

That in your words, there's no appeal

She doesn't hold what you desire

So let your tears now, cool your fire

Your course is clear, just let her be

And in your silence, you will set her free
#lost #hurt
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Six
Michael Murphy Nov 2015
Six
Six babies born
Six babies nurse
Six babies loved

Six children play
Six children sing
Six children loved

Six teenagers driving
Six teenagers dating
Six teenagers loved

Six young adults kissing
Six young adults making love
Six young adults loved

Six adults married
Six adults loving their families
Six adults loved

One is Muslim, one is Jewish, one is Atheist, one is Hindu, one is Christian, one is Buddhist, all are loved
We are not so different!
#love #tolerance
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Sleepy Hours
Michael Murphy Nov 2017
Sleepy Hours
In the sleepy hours, I miss the warmth.  

Body on body,  breathing as one.  I miss the touch, the being touched. The feeling of skin, not my own.  

In the sleepy hours I think on memories,  I imagine making new memories.  Hoping my memories fold into dreams and dreams become real.
Laying alone at night and this is my stream of words.
#love
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Small
Michael Murphy Mar 8
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
#peace
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Smile
Michael Murphy May 2023
Smile
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.
#happy
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Snapshot
Michael Murphy Oct 2023
Snapshot
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
#memory #fleeting
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Soaring!
Michael Murphy Nov 2015
Soaring!
I look to the sky and imagine I fly

Look at me now I'm two miles high

Above all the clouds the sky is so blue

I'm soaring and gliding and all of it new

I'm looking at trees, way down below

The air is so thin, light headed I go

I'm falling to Earth, still not a care

I'm higher on Earth, as long as you're there
Read it to someone and she said I should try to  write about sad things?
#love #happy #fly
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So Much
Michael Murphy Feb 22
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.
#life
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Soul
Michael Murphy Apr 2023
Soul
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
#heaven
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Steam!
Michael Murphy Nov 2015
Steam!
The train of despair is rolling now
It's building up steam
Faster and faster the tunnel approaches

Just a passenger, not the engineer
Powerless to stop my descent

The darkness now envelops all I once saw
There's a cold dank odor in the air

If this be my end, and my end this might be
Throw coal on the fire and build up more steam

Take me fast to the wall, don't linger, don't wait
It's the trip that I dread, not the crash at the end
#depression #dark
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Stories
Michael Murphy Aug 2016
Stories
Unlike in a book, the chapters of
my life arrive unannounced

The birth of a child, the death of a loved one, the passing of a season, bring subtle change

New memories are made as old ones fade into the mist of time

Each day arrives full of possibilities
New adventures evolve into new stories

It is the stories, told and retold, that woven together reveal the fabric of my life
Sometimes a word triggers a thought.  I could rewrite but sometimes I like to just let go and let the words fall.  If it reads like a stream of consciousness, it is because it is. Something very personal and honest about the unedited word.
#life
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Stranger on a Plane
Michael Murphy Dec 2015
Stranger on a Plane
Oh, Stranger on a Plane, we connected right away

Confiding all our deepest thoughts, the love game we did play

Through intimate words and loving glance, as we flew we did romance

In fleeting flight and fantasy, in moment loved, now memory!
#love #lost #fleeting
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Sweet or Sour
Michael Murphy Nov 2015
Sweet or Sour
The next words that I write could go sweet or go sour

They could last for mere minutes or go on for an hour

There's a power I have when I start to create

It can be somewhat awful or truly be great

I try to pick words so a picture they paint

Sometimes there is color and sometimes there ain't

I hope what I write, in the end, makes you feel

Like a diner who's about, to consume a great meal

If you're happy and full when you leave from my table

Then I'll continue to write, as long as I'm able!
This is what happens when I get no sleep!
#happy #art #create
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Sympathy
Michael Murphy Mar 17
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
#sad
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The Cold and Hardened Ground
Michael Murphy Oct 2016
The Cold and Hardened Ground
Let go and I will catch you
I would never let you

Fall
To the cold and hardened ground

Reach and I will reach you
Together we will forge through

Pain
Will die when love surround

Call and I will hear you
Feel my love within you

Joy  
In our once lonely hearts abound
#love #safe
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The Day I Died
Michael Murphy May 2023
The Day I Died
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.
#sad
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The End
Michael Murphy Oct 2023
The End
No more wick to light
The candle lost its fight
It actually is about a candle that I couldn't light. Lol
#death
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The Gift
Michael Murphy Nov 2015
The Gift
Two years ago
I didn't know your name, I couldn't see.
My world was dark, so very dark,
And then you came to me

One year ago
I didn't know the friend you would come to be
My world was light, so very bright,
Your love had set me free

An hour ago I didn't know the power of your touch
I think heaven made a mistake today
I'm smiling way too much
#love #friendship
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The Man with the Cans
Michael Murphy Nov 2015
The Man with the Cans
Sometimes I start to crack a small smile as I slowly open one eye

I smell food in the kitchen, so I stop my itchin, and off the couch I do fly

He's opening cans, he's opening cans, I'm so happy I'm up on my toes

I haven't eaten in days, what's a day anyway? I'm not sure that anyone knows

Scoop it out, scoop it out, oh wow, he's mixing it in

He's looking at me, he's smiling at me, so I know my feast will begin

I could give him a kiss, he's the one that I miss

When he's gone it's just not the same

He's the guy with the food that brightens my mood

If only I just knew his name!

Dave? Nope, Jack...hmmm or
#happy
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The Path
Michael Murphy Apr 2023
The Path
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.
#belief
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The Perfect Anchor
Michael Murphy Nov 2015
The Perfect Anchor
A perfect Anchor will hug you on calm seas as you travel and explore.
When the winds blow and the sea pitches, the same
Anchor will dig in and hold you steady!
It is always in the background, it is strong and understands its role!
#anchor
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The Prettiest Girl in the School
Michael Murphy May 2023
The Prettiest Girl in the School
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
#love
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The Process
Michael Murphy Jan 30
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.
#write
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The Ruse
Michael Murphy Nov 2015
The Ruse
It's only a ruse, I know its not right

I'm keeping my feelings way out of sight

You're mad and so crazy, is that venom I see?

Please swallow, then speak, you're spitting on me

Bad chemicals, I know, it's not all your fault

Your brain, at this time, is under assault

You're yelling and screaming and out of your seat

Is met by the same with a mighty chest beat

I can be louder than you, if that's what it takes

I'll stop your train by applying the brakes

The truth is I'm acting, I'm not really mad

The truth is I love you and I know you're just sad

Now you are silent, your anger did cease

My ruse it did work, and now there is peace!
#anger #fighting
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The Swing
Michael Murphy Nov 2015
The Swing
Mighty swing tree that carried me through summer days of yore

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

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

With me here in rocking chair,  from wood where you once grew
#childhood
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The Urinal
Michael Murphy Jun 2023
The ******
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 ***
#old
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Thinking
Michael Murphy Dec 2015
Thinking
see                      arranging                               ­                 puzzle
        do                   all                   web          posterity                       for

                                      is                                         my
                       sow                 for                   answer                   synapse                
                                                                ­                                                          
               the               filtered                   which     I    in     words            
                                                          to                                                           
                 flow                thoughts                   ­                       of*                      
                ­                                                                 ­                                
In synapse web my words do flow
Arranging thoughts of which I sow

Filtered puzzle for posterity
The answer is for all to see
The idea of how a jumble of words can come together to become something beautiful is always amazing to me! They take on a life of their own!
#words #fun
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Three Rivers
Michael Murphy Dec 2015
Three Rivers
The first river is the river of lust, it is a narrow turbulent river, full of hazards
The ride is fast and fun, but brief, destined to wash you ashore cut and bruised, the river's end is seldom seen

The second river is the river of love, only calm waters
Also a narrow river where beauty abounds
Very easy to forget you're alive, floating towards the rivers end,
a spring fed pond

The final river is the river of love and lust, the widest of all, and the most diverse
Navigation is tricky and requires a skilled hand sailing towards an ocean of wonders
Your attention is required, but rewarded with the most amazing journey
*There is time to ride and time to rest which is why I love this river best!
Inspired by John Lennon
#love #lust
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Transformation
Michael Murphy Aug 2016
Transformation
Love isn't about *** or money or tricks. It is about a feeling that grows from deep within the soul. With constant attention it grows until it cannot be contained.  When it bursts from its cocoon,  the metamorphosis is complete. The transformation ushers in a new life, with all new possibilities.

True ecstasy can only be achieved when the whole heart commits
#love
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Tree Swing
Michael Murphy Feb 2
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
#old
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True Love
Michael Murphy Aug 2016
True Love
A rush of sweetness in my brain
Your sugar lips are so insane

The sight of you just makes me weak
The touch of you is what I seek

The thought of you it makes me high
Away from you I think I'll die

You invade my dreams all day and night
I tried to battle but lost the fight

You loved me once then said no
I truly loved you so let you go

Find another my friends did say
But no other would feel that way

Now I'm old and now I'm grey
With loving memories I smile each day
When it's perfect, you know it!
#lostlove
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Waking World
Michael Murphy Nov 2015
Waking World
It is in waking moments, before thinking intrudes, that true happiness resides

With remnants of dreams still governing my reality, I fly, I love, I am invincible.

You are still in my waking world, we are still as one in my waking world!
#love #dreams
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Who am I?
Michael Murphy Nov 2015
Who am I?
The brightest candle seeks the darkest room
illuminating perceived demons of night
exposing them as the floor lamp in the corner
the window cracked with fluttering curtains
slippers on the floor

Every corner, every crevice now reveals the true beauty of the room
As the room warms and daylight breaks the candle fades under the power of the sun
Still lit but now hidden from view as the room wakes from from its long slumber

I am your candle!
I could say what this means to me but it is more interesting to know how others understand it. Always an education!
#love #depression #light
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Wisdom
Michael Murphy Apr 2023
Wisdom
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
#wisdom
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World Full of People
Michael Murphy Aug 2016
World Full of People
Billions of people
Roaming the earth
Every day, every second
A woman gives birth

So how is it
I ask you, am I here all alone

In a world full of people
No one's calling my phone

In a world full of love
No one's saying my name

Is it them, is it me
Tell me who is to blame

Is it too much to wish
On a star in the sky

That my wish will be granted
Or is it a lie

In a world full of people
I will remain all alone

Not one of those people
Will I have for my own
#sad #alone
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Writers Block
Michael Murphy Nov 2023
Writers Block
It's Blank

                   My heart

It's Blank

                   My mind

It's Blank

                       My words

It's Blank

                                         The canvas of my life

Sorry!
#nothing
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Writing Rules
Michael Murphy May 2023
Writing Rules
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!
#writing
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Yogurt with Chopsticks
Michael Murphy May 2023
Yogurt with Chopsticks
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
#fun
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— The End —