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If this appears to be
what it appears I see
then so be it.

Eyes like slits in a fortress
hair in a mess
a paunch?

must staunch the flow
go to the gym'
where fit people go

at present
and presently
fit for nothing is
what I can see or
so it appears to me.
 Jan 2017 S Layaan
Crystal June
Don't fantasize,
Close your eyes.
Your prying lies
Will surely lead to my demise,
For I was born
To be more
Than just a simple wife.

I'm not a trophy by any means,
But I see marriage in your eyes --
Two rings staring right at who you think I am,
The one you want, but I never can
Be the girl that you desire.
You've been confusing my cold shoulder
For an igniting fire.
I'm not trying to call you a liar,
If anything, I'm the one concealing the truth.

I will never be just a wife,
I will lead my own fantastic life.
I'll never wear an apron, curls, or pearls.
I will never be your one and only girl.
I will live for myself and my daughters,
For all those women to come
Who think
All they can ever be is a housewife
Clad in pink.
Honey, there's so much more to this
Than a life in which you depend on a man
For your happiness.

Be your own other half,
Fall in love with your own smile.
I wrote this about a month ago, but it seems relevant now more than ever.
 Jan 2017 S Layaan
Izzy
It’s him.
His hair, his eyes (that he hates), its how he says your name, his smile and those sleepy conversations. The way his thumb grazed your bottom lip and it was all you could do not to lean in. It’s the high from those three words, it’s the first thought in the morning and the last at night. It’s how his name falls breathlessly from your lips and yours from his. It’s the pounding hearts that first time, the breathless lungs and the never-ending smiles. It’s him, head to toe. 

It’s everything, then suddenly it’s nothing.

Then it’s smeared make up and dripping eyes. Gasping breaths and breaking hearts. It’s the crippling pain in your chest. It’s falling to the floor with this crushing weight on your chest as you cry out his name. It’s breaking down and thinking the pain will never end.  It’s the why screamed over and over in the night accompanied by the echo of breaking glass. It's heartbreak, plain and simple.
 Jan 2017 S Layaan
ab
remember
 Jan 2017 S Layaan
ab
i have a hard time remembering
much of our time together.

we were so young,
so foolish.

i only remember the feelings.

i was a hot night,
right before nightfall when the fireflies
did flips in the trees and between blades of grass.
i was the bubbling tar of the street
beneath my skateboard,
the air suffocating everything
but my ability to see what was in front of me,
i was the Fourth of July.
i was the last sparkler in a box,
just waiting to be used,
left behind and forgotten.

but you-
oh, you were the sun
setting behind the trees.
you were the one
that made the fireflies decide to play,
the one
that convinced everyone you were on top,
the one
that could make the Earth explode,
if you really wanted to.
you were an honor,
not a right.
you were
my match to
make me sparkle
my introduction,
my sunrise.

i had to beg the sun to rise
every morning.
i shouldn't have had to do that.
the sun is supposed to rise,
but my sun would not.

i cannot even remember that year.
i remember having fun,
i remember smiling,
but i also remember the tears
and the depression
and the pain
and the scars
that may never heal.

i remember how you looked at me
then down,
then back up,
with this disappointment i had never seen,
and i knew i had blown it.
you couldn't handle me,
i couldn't handle you.

you told me you'd never love me
"like that"
and you were right.

now i see you daily.

i haven't made eye contact with you in almost four years.

there's not much i remember,
but i remember the pain,
and
i
remember
the
tears.

the sun hasn't shone for me
in such a long time,
but you were never the only sun,
and you were never the last.

you were just the one
that never rose
to the challenge.
~this was four years ago who tf cares
 Jan 2017 S Layaan
Wordfreak
Check
 Jan 2017 S Layaan
Wordfreak
I have myself so thoroughly fooled,
I'm not sure what the truth is anymore.
I don't know what's real,
Who I know, who to trust.
I don't know who the enemy is,
And they deigned to give me the ROE.
I don't know who my allies are,
Or where I can hide and still be safe.
There's no list I can read,
No dotted line I can sign on,
Nor a box I can check,
To request reinforcements.
 Jan 2017 S Layaan
zan
I've waited for the past few years of you coming back to me, I didn't know the reason why you left or why you've changed your mind.

For all the years that i was with you, i never looked at anybody else; all the possibilities that i've thought that i can keep you—but that was just a thought.

And then i think, perhaps he found someone better—or he just didn't love me at all.
Broken dreams
And shattered hopes
I walk all alone
Along these slopes
It's a bumpy ride
Full of twists and turns
A road called life
You live and learn
To love and to hate
To give and forgive
To fall and rise back
To be free and to be captive
Some rules maybe followed
Some better be broken
To choose to be silent
Or to have spoken
To be a shining bright star
Or burn like the sun
To be calm like the moon
Or choose to be none
Be a crashing wave of the oceans
Or a ruthless storm
Be gentle like the river
Or be the fire, comforting and warm
Or be the fire that can burn
Everything around
Or the fire that burns
And illuminates its surrounds
Be the guiding light
And learn to be the leader
Or be the darkness of the night
Or you can be the dreamer
So I walk all alone
On this road called life
My dreams in my pocket
And tired sleepy eyes
I need to rest
Can't do it anymore
What's wrong, what's right
So much to explore
It's a long way ahead
This journey full of struggles
And heartbreaks and sorrows
A whole lot of troubles
But how do we endure this
Keep going on
What gives us the strength
To continue all along
I ask myself every day and night
To find answers that I need to know
Maybe this need is the reason why
We choose to fight and choose to grow

S. Mohamad

— The End —