Every bill passed
Every law enforced
And every punished person
And every broken door
Every wall built
Every motion managed
And every battered woman
And every mind damaged
Every code of conduct
Every regulation
And every callous worker
And every police station
Every constitution
Every consequence
And every carried hate crime
And every document
Every proclamation
Every orange dictator
And every child taken
And every righteous debater
All of them have suffered
All of them are dead
And all of them are falling
And all of them have bled

When the marriage ends,  
and the child is still too small to understand  
what's been torn,  
why is it that the man tells his friends—  
"She was crazy."  
"She never got off her ***."  
"She was too emotional."  
"She never took care of the kids."  

And no one asks him,  
"Why did you stay?"  
Why did you have children with her?  
Why did you marry her in the first place?  
Why does she have full custody now?"  

No one dares to ask,  
because they already know.  

Men stay—  
for the comfort of control,  
for the invisible chains that bind women  
with babies,  
with promises that were never kept.  

They know,  
the way a child knows their mother’s touch  
but never her heart.  

The man knows his power in her silence,  
in her labor,  
in her sacrifices—  
the ones no one sees but her.  

And yet, when she walks away, they ask her,  
"Why did you stay so long?"  

Because they know the cost of leaving  
was more than she could afford.  

But still she walked.  

Still she left.  

Why did she stay?  

For the love she thought might change him.  
For the chance that maybe—just maybe—  
he’d become the man she believed in.  
For the hope that her children would have a father who cared.  

But he didn’t.  

He stayed because he knew—  
the house wouldn’t run without her.  
The kids wouldn’t be fed,  
the bills wouldn’t be paid,  
and the image of a family was more important than the truth.  

Men stay because it’s easier to claim a woman  
than to be the man they promised to be.  

And when she leaves, they don’t ask themselves,  
"Why couldn’t I be better?"  

They just ask,  
"Why did she stay so long?"

I peep behind the horse chestnut tree
as you run far and wide,
and I begin to count to twenty-five.
1 banana, 2 banana, 3 banana...
Ready or not, here I come!

Are you hiding over there?
I begin to search high and low
wondering where did you go?
Then I hear your stiffled giggle
Ah, I found you and my smile is wide;
Now its my turn to run and hide.

We giggle and run down the garden
and you begin to count behind the tree
1 banana, 2 banana, 3...
I run towards the garden shed
to the side of the house,
as I attempt to be as quiet as a mouse.

I crawl behind the compost bin
and crouch behind the reeled up hose
but, then I hear your footsteps begining to get closer.
So, I hold my breath a little
and I try and keep myself steady...
Oh **** it, how did you find me already?!

©️Lizzie Bevis

Butting heads, locking horns
the difficult child of three
if any one was causing grief
It was always going to be me,
a stubborn chip
from a stubborn old block
never at ease we two
so I left and made a life for myself
far from the one you knew,
you pushed too hard
to tie me down
I went and you felt betrayed
you never saw my need to go
I could never see why you stayed

The years and tasks have taken their toll
Now gray in my beard and shine on my skull
But the nicotine hits, and helps pass the time
Still feel something missing, like I'm out of a rhyme

The friends and music that once filled the air
Now silent, replaced by the burdens we bear
But I've come to accept what the years have unfurled
The past may be gone, but I've got my own world

For in their small hands, I see a love so true
Their future is bright and it makes mine too

Oh, to be a kid again

Aloft in a blissful dream

But now I have lost

The ability to speak

So now I can only watch

As the children go by

And wish I could be happy too

Ah, Arwell sailed the seven seas,
With gusts of wind and salty breeze,
A sailor bold, or so he claimed,
But mishaps followed, unashamed.

With compass lost, he'd oft declare,
"Ah well," he'd laugh without a care,
For Arwell's tales of naval pride,
Had more of humour than of guide.

One day he tried to catch a whale,
But hooked himself upon the sail,
"Ah well," he mused, in tangled plight,
As crewmates chuckled at the sight.

In stormy nights and waters rough,
His skills were lacking, sure enough,
Yet Arwell's charm and hearty cheer,
Could make the toughest sailor veer.

A pirate crew once came to fight,
With swords and pistols gleaming bright,
But Arwell tripped and splashed their guns,
"Ah well," he grinned, "the battle's done!"

Though navigation wasn't strong,
His friends knew where they did belong,
For Arwell's heart was kind and true,
And laughs were plenty, troubles few.

So raise your glass to Arwell's might,
The sailor who turned wrong to right,
With "Ah well" as his motto bold,
A tale of mirth forever told.

Alone sits the tower's bell,
In the glow of lantern light.
Looking out at the town,
Silently gazing upon the night-fell streets.
Every day, the elders yearn to hear it ring again,
They want to hear the sound they know.
From their childhood, they remember,
What it was like to hear the bronze ring echo.
Yet, the children,
Don't have a chance to forget.

so-
A    mb-
        re,
       Sw-
       a-
      n's,
    cu-
    rl-
ing,
ne-                Rarely,
ck. takes, the time, to, longingly,
straighten out. If, it, took, a honking
step, toward; a banal, straight line. Wo-
uld, Lir, hear, his children's; swansong?
Or, pinion feathers, flip, on breezes, as,
              they,
                  flap, about?

© poormansdreams

You were in my arms
Now you're in distress
From all the nights you cried
Still saddened by this loneliness

I'm familiar with that state
And how it takes me down again
Down this rabbit hole of regrets
And the thoughts of what I said

So I'll make sure you never stumble
When you're running up ahead
I'll keep you in my arms
As I calmly brace your head

And if the world has turned to mayhem
And is on its final legs
I can hold you for eternity
Until you're feeling safe again

Before you're leaving me to run
Towards the sun you're convinced is red
Still searching our bluest ocean
As you're laying on its bed

So I'll do everything I can
To make sure you have some friends
Who can be there when it's rough
When your days are blue again