Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
KE Apr 2019
we talk, but we’re not saying anything; we’re
just tracing circles with our tongues and hoping
it somehow it says enough.  maybe if we say
the same things over and over again, we can
make something out of our endless nothing
--but darling, i don’t think it works that way

we write, we teach ourselves to talk in tongues;
reciting words we cannot say out loud, twisting
them into some sort of meaningful display of
the truth.  maybe we’ve been dancing around
our lies too long, making fires out of matchstick
promises. apologies are hard, sure, but it’s even
harder to mean them, darling.  

you can ask me over and over again:
“what is it that you long to hear?”

and i’ll keep saying:
“if you don’t know by now, what’s the use?”

we talk, but we’re not saying anything.
we exchange apologies like handshakes
--and darling, i don’t think it works that way
2/30

Written for NaPoWriMo 2019
KE Apr 2019
sometimes you’re so busy trying to mop up the mess of someone else’s grief, that you forget to spill your own tears.  sometimes they dry up and fade away before they ever find courage to fall.  yet, they come to laugh when you’re not looking, haunting the back of your tired eyelids.  

don’t spend your life trying to swim in someone else’s ocean.  not when you’re drowning in your own.  

and yes, maybe they cry louder.  maybe their heartache bleeds a deeper shade of red-- but don’t let it quiet your own cries and don’t let it paint over your own hurt.

and if no one else has told you this, then hear me now--

     1. you’re allowed to feel what you feel
     2. you don’t need anyone’s permission to grieve

own your tears. they have value, even if someone else’s pain has made you believe otherwise.
1/30

Written for NaPoWriMo 2019
Connor Apr 2019
Mom,
I love you.

When I was holed up in my room,
Silently dying inside,
You were the one that noticed the
Vacant expression on my face;
You were the one that coaxed me
Outside because you knew how badly
I wanted to feel the sun,
Its warmth, and to simply lay
In the grass under the dogwood tree
Again, the sun's rays
Making my vision go red
While I stare through my closed
Eyes, to be able to feel s o m e t h i n g
For a while.

You were the one offering to
Help with homework when you noticed
My grades dropping to F's and D's,
Even though you barely understood
The material.

You would leave bright orange Post-Its with
Reminders like
"Remember to drink water, you need it" and
"Take a nap, you've earned it" and
"I made your favorite sandwich, you deserve it."
Peanut butter and honey with banana slices-
Our favorite.

I never told you how much I
Loved those Post-Its;
Sometimes the sloppy semi-cursive handwriting
On the blindingly orange paper and
Its loving message were the only
Things keeping me
Going.

You were the only
Thing keeping me
Going.

Your taste in music
Isn't actually that bad.
Some of my fondest memories are
Of you half-singing, half-yelling the lyrics to
"We Will Rock You", your disgustingly contagious
Enthusiasm convincing me to half-sing, half-yell
With you,
While we drove along the highway
At 60 miles an hour.

Sure,
you're almost exclusively into
Queen and Earth, Wind, and Fire,
But I'd jam to "Radio Gaga"
Anytime- as long as you're there
To sing off-pitch with me,
Dancing our way through
Our list of chores,
Watching the music video to
"Take on Me" while
Racing to finish folding the laundry.

And, when the upbeat music
Stops, and it was time for
Little me to sleep,
You would sit by my bedside, and
Lull me off to sleep with
Your take on "You Are My Sunshine", with
Me humming along until I
Drifted into the realm of
Dreams.

I'm listening to your lullaby loop
Over and over and o v e r
In my mind as I
Write this, but the
Temptation of staying to
Listen to your
Heart-wrenching melody just
One more time. . . I can't.

Mom,
I made our favorite sandwich.

Mom,
I love you.

Mom?
Goodbye.
I'm auditioning for a slam poetry contest at my high school, and I have to compose three original slam poems, so here's the first one, which takes up three pages in my notebook.
EmperorOfMine Apr 2019
People.
They're like the weather.
Not all sunny days are warm.
Not all rainy days are relaxing.
Not all stormy days are intimidating.
Not all warm days are enjoyable.
Not all foggy days are thick.
Not all snowy days are ugly.

People...
They can be extremely predictable or not predictable at all.
EmperorOfMine Mar 2019
I am not air.
Don't neglect me, but also acknowledge my presence.
Don't take me for granted, and use me as a way to avoid others.
I am not water.
I am not here to shower you with energy.
I am not here to be polluted with your bs.
I am not dirt nor rock.
Don't assume i'm easy to kick around.
I have my bugs, but that doesn't mean i'm unappealing.
You will not walk over me, damage and destroy me for your own interests.
I am not fire.
Although, I may have a temper, don't assume I'll burn you.
I can be warm, but don't take my warmth for granted.
I am not your element.
But I am your friend.

If you learn to love me as who I am, our bond may never end.
Ben Mar 2019
Wonderful sun-kissed skin
Blissful rushing winds
Birds chirping hymns
'Tis a beautiful spring!
Happy.
Realeboga M Mar 2019
Normally all they expect from me is strength. They expect the bravest face with the brightest smile.
But 2019 has been throwing more than just hurdles my way.
2019 has been creating more than a disruption to me.

2019 started out with the biggest amount of hope, finally I was going to face most of my dreams and definitely at long last make sure that I complete them.

But when it came, I got a stab to the heart, losing the one person who I thought would get to see my empire rise.
And I understand that relationships end, I get that we need to let go of toxic behaviors but when she walked away. Everyone that held a special significant place in my heart walked out.

I became overwhelmed with pain to the extent that I became toxic.
I tried to run to someone who I thought would stay there but they just couldn't bear to watch me so fragile and bare, they walked out. Making sure that the remaining components of my heart turned to dust.

My environment grew dark, People started fighting for some form of job security and I took it in me to carry their pain while worrying for myself. I survived, they didn't so while relieve was evident in my face their pain was eating at my soul.

I had other hopes, It'll work out somehow.
But the deeper into the months we get the more drained I get.

I am not okay
2019 is taking a huge toll on me.
J B Moore Mar 2019
Call me ugly, call me dumb
Say I’m boring and no fun.
You can say that I’m a mess,
You don’t have to be impressed.
Just tell me that I’m lazy,
You can even say I’m crazy,
‘Cause it may be somewhat true.
But please, whatever you do
Don’t tell me I’m too sweet,
That my company’s a treat.
Don’t say that I’m too nice a guy
That’s not a reason why.
If you’re not interested that’s fine,
Rather stay friends? Well, I don’t mind.
You could let me down easy,
Or you can say I make you queasy,
Just give me a reason, even blame it on fate
Just don’t blame it on one of my positive traits.
We’re all deeply flawed, you can take your pick
Just don’t choose something I don’t need to fix.

3/20/19
Slipped the whole way to the train,

Acted and taught about what it means to be you,

Walked over lakes back from the train.
work , needs men, was one era,
environmental limitations
ruled it all
so…
she learned to mask men
with somewhere a lost SHE as HE
her shadow became reality .

21st Century
as environment transformed
she could see back some of SHE
but
the challenge was bigger now
world got stereotyped
and hence continued …
SHE disguised as HE
her masking and unmasking
the switch between shadow and self 

Now
with stage all set for equal opportunities
and diminishing environmental challenges
women to be women
waiting only for that knowledge to flow…
that Era to come…
when she can unmask herself
and
SHE is just SHE.
Next page