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d m 5d
—i remember  
the root-spool spool’d & spindled into him (the Tallshoes)—  
his collarbone made of oak-meat & mothjaw,  
his breath a sermon from the century’s throat  
           & he (he?)  
              was all knuckles & psalms, breaking—breaking  

              me  

so gently i could almost not die  

:in the lampdusk, where piecrust dreams go to rot,  
i lived in a hush-jar behind the walls of  
     her (yes–her/ not-me)  
     knitting sugar into skin,  
     biting stars till they bled apologies.  
     this was our manor of hushthings.  

he’d kiss like a rifle.

and somewhere between  
the eighth clatter of china and the third motherless sun,  
the lungs of the house exhaled me—  
                         (twigbone, mossgut, tailghost)  
                         soft ruin squeaking for its end.  

i prayed to the god in the cellar drain.  
i danced with the dustmen.  
i unremembered my own name until it was appleseed, cough, smudge.  

& yes (listen)  

           i saw her  
               (once) peel the sky from a peach.  
           her hands trembled the way old poems do—  
           a flicker//flicker// hush.  

        “don’t wake him,”  
        she said,  
        as if my death  
        were  
        the only dream  
        keeping him asleep.

o! my ribs are a /forest/ now  
      (shhh)  
      (they bloom in secret)  
      (they tell no one)

and the last thing  
before the hush became  
                 forever:  

a child with an empty thimble  
calling  
my name.  

which i no longer had.  

but i answered anyway.
Le Toad Mar 25
Just because you might think me mental
Doesn't mean I want to be
An experiment.
I admit it, I thought Quiet Riot was cool.
What?
silvervi Jan 24
Just experience.
Experience what's in front of you.
See it. Feel it. Smell it. Hear it. Touch it. Taste it. No judgement. Pure exploration.
Reminder for myself to focus on the now instead of the interpretation of the now.
I poured champagne on the garden,
just to see what wouldn’t grow.
A rebellion disguised as art,
too small to leave a bruise.

The idea felt poetic—
a confession spilled like incense,
settling heavy in the soil,
thicker than regret.

By dusk, the dirt turned sticky,
a graveyard for good intentions,
gold on a barren altar,
pearls drowning in sweetness turned sour.

A bee circled the spill,
its wings trembling,
caught between greed and retreat.

I wanted to tell it, Save yourself.
But even the flowers had given up,
their petals folded like apologies
too late to matter.

I stood barefoot in the dirt,
watching bubbles rise slick
against the roots of something already dying.

At least the garden refused me honestly—
its silence more forgiving
than any answer you gave me.

I laughed at how pathetic it felt—
a toast to nothing,
a promise unraveling,
luxury offered to the lifeless.

I’ll wake up tomorrow
and call it nothing,
but the smell of champagne
will linger on my palms.

And you’ll linger, too,
where regret always does—
settled deep in the soil,
refusing to grow.
Todd Sommerville Nov 2024
Wishful eternal sphere formed by emotion
Where shatters come together in love
A new day whispers promises of hope and dreams reborn
As cloudy purple skies dissipate against receding storms
New life blossoms into a new dawn.
I tried to incorporate all the suggestions I received in the comments, please forgive the liberties I took in piecing this all together.
Thank you all for participating and please tell me what you think below.
Amanda Kay Burke Oct 2024
I feel akin to a monster
You should be proud
I am everything
I'm scared to say aloud

Frankenstein's design
Spectacle grotesque to behold
You are responsible
Making flesh cold

You should have caught this coming
Mold I tried to fit
I got angry when I couldn't
Destroyed it bit by bit

You attempted to shape my emotions
Arrange me a little more like you
It backfired and I mutated
Into a monstrosity mimicking your every move

I transformed in front of eyes
Metamorphosis we both took hard
What was pure and picturesque
Hideous and scarred

I now am an abomination
Too horrendous for sight to see
Patchwork quilt of faulty components
Sewn with insecurity

I was supposed to be built in your image
Your perfection I hardly resemble
Lost the sweetness of my youth
Silhouette alone reason to tremble

In your efforts to change me
Into creature of similar disposition
Pushed me far enough to snap
Past point of recognition

I look into mirror and gasp
Not comprehending reflection
Asking how someone could diverge
So drastically the wrong direction?

I've grown talons
Tentacles
Tusks
Replacing my human parts
I don't know how to undo the progression
Revert this revolting reprobate to how it was at the start

I once was a beauty
But became the thing I liked the least
Experiment got out of hand
Now all I will ever be is a beast
Written 1-18-19
There is no huge brain inside of my dome, it was replaced with a slow metronome. It doesn't stop moving, just ticking and talking at night I'm out stalking the streets as my mood swings and sways to the beat in my head. Mania? Yeah, the opposite of dead but in depression I'm just hanging to life by a thread. Swinging back and forth with significant force like a ballpeen hammer, hard enough to **** a horse. Like a blunt force trauma bringing nothing but drama, so I tire of the fire and I suffer but whatever but the flames be growin' higher and it's an oil fire so don't be throwing water or it'll just get hotter and roar louder so dowse me with the baking powder, better yet, a better powder, ya got good coke? Can I get some of that snow chucked into my head sometimes the numbness is better than dead. To quote the great Tom Waits "I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy." I'd say I agree. Though at the end of the day it's not up to me.
Just typed it outta my noggin. Nothing special. Hope you find something of value. I admit it was thereputically fun to express in an experimental way...
Unpolished Ink May 2024
Falling light on springtime leaves
shadowed fingers stroke the breeze
sunlit table, awning up
proper tea in a china cup
supper cooking down the road
a neighbours grass efficiently mowed
cat on a cushion flicks an ear
rock doves calling somewhere near
new clad branches swing and sway
peace at the end of a busy day
Heavenly Lord, thy Spinning Wheele Make mee,
     make mine thy Holy Spirit glorify,
therewith thereon therein T̶h̶e̶n̶  then this thy thee,
     the Webweave   Loomeyarn thy for glory dy.
     I am thyselfe All pinkt with Judgment fine,
     that Then their Words is Ordinances Twine:

Affections make thy Holy to be Reele.
     yee Actions fill shall My apparell may.
My Conversation make and reele thy Wheele.
     Will mine the Holy thy of mine display.
     Affections me with cloath My wayes and quills thy,
     Then make me Then to make same Fulling Mills thy:

Memory Make of Flyers knit bee neate,
     And Swift my Soulespun   Spooleyarn winde before,
Varnisht in Colours Choice That flowers compleate,
     my Distaff Make thine Understanding for.
     And, Cloathd in Holy robes, my Conscience, Lord,
     O Paradise and glory shine thy Worde....
Talon Robinson Dec 2023
i don't feel like,
Writing,
Emotions...
how about
instead
i
Explore?
YOU!

hmm...
with YOUR Permission
continue but be Warned...
May i Explore YOU?
to me YOU are a
Unique, Beautiful, Lovely Being
no matter how Similar we are
we are Different,
i LOVE that.
isn't that Interesting?
well to me yea

back to Exploration
May i Explore YOUR Being?
YOUR Cute Eyes
stealing my gaze,
forced to pay Attention,
trapped to Learn Everything about YOU.

All YOUR Different Looks,
Happy, Sad, Scared, Strong, Weak,
May i Explore YOU?
One-Of-My Rules is i Trust Everyone
unless Shown-Otherwise,
i mean i want Everyone to
Smile!

i don't know where to go from here,
Honest but i Feel i will have more.
YOU will know when i return
i will always ask you for Permission.
there's more of YOU to Explore
i hope i have caught YOUR Gaze!
i guess i capitalized All the words Important to me
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