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Selwyn A Nov 16
Maybe it’s time to let the old ways die.
No,
Not a gentle passing,
Not a quiet fade.
I will **** them,
Lay them to rest beneath the weight of who I must become.

But who am I, really?
A pale imitation,
A shadow too scared to meet the light.

I count my failures like rosary beads,
Each one a prayer to the hollow god of “not enough.”

The mirror lies.
It shows the surface:
Eyes half-closed—
From exhaustion?
From fear?
Or to hide the split-second shame
That flickers behind them.

A thought, raw and bare,
That what I’ve done,
What I’ve built,
Will never be enough.

I despise my own reflection—
The way it clings to mediocrity,
The way it swallows excuses
And spits them back as reasons.

Yet here I am.
Climbing a wall with no summit,
Straining toward a light
I’m not sure exists.

But still I climb,
For fear of falling
Is greater than the hunger for rest.

And in the echoes of these empty days,
I wonder:
If the old ways must die,
Will I mourn them?

Or will I simply replace them
With a newer, sharper hatred,
Polished and waiting,
For the next time I need someone to blame?
Valentin Eni Nov 15
Sometimes beating hard, sometimes at rest;
my heart knocks softly at the door of my chest.

As if in pain, as if to die,
As if it begs to break outside;

As if it fears the weight of my sorrow,
as if it hopes to see you tomorrow.

My heart knocks softly at the door of my chest;
sometimes beating hard, sometimes at rest.


a. (Literal Translation)

Listen to My Heart

sometimes stronger, sometimes softer;
my heart beats at the door of my chest.

as if it would hurt, as if it would die,
as if it would ask to come outside,

as if it would fear to die with me,
as if it would want to see you tomorrow too.

my heart beats at the door of my chest;
sometimes stronger, sometimes softer.

b. (Original poem in Romanian)

ascultă inima mea

când mai tare, când mai încet;
inima-mi bate la uşa din piept.

de parcă ar doare-o, de parcă-o să moară,
de parcă s-ar cere să iasă-n afară,

de parcă s-ar teme să moară cu mine,
de parcă ar vrea să te vadă şi mâine.

inima-mi bate la uşa din piept;
când mai tare, când mai încet.
The poem explores the interplay between physical sensations and emotional experiences, using the heartbeat as a metaphor for love, longing, and the vulnerability of existence. It conveys an intimate dialogue between the heart and the self, reflecting fear, desire, and hope.

The repetition of the opening and closing lines creates a cyclical structure, mimicking the constancy of the heartbeat and reinforcing the poem’s reflective nature.

The poem reflects the human condition—torn between fear of loss and the longing to love and be loved. The heart becomes a symbol of both physical life and emotional depth, embodying the fragility and resilience of existence.
Lizzie Bevis Nov 15
In the mind, where memories fade,  
A once-bright mind is sadly betrayed.  
A friendly face, but whose is unclear,  
As echoes of love dissolve into fear.  

Time, a thief, with a fragile hand,  
Steals pieces of life, like grains of sand.  
Familiar paths turn into foreign trails,  
Lost in a maze where confusion prevails.  

Each brief moment, an unfamiliar song,  
Ties us to those we once held, now gone.  
Though the curse may linger, love remains,  
In the hearts of those who bear the chains.

©️Lizzie Bevis
I can imagine that quite a few of us can relate to the misery that dementia brings, watching their loved ones regress through their memories, slowly forgetting their friends and family, eventually taking away their ability to function independently.

I feel for all those that have had to go through this awful disease.
this fear well known to me,
for my truth is captive held
within, fearing the honesty
that seeks to liberate it
from the cages where it’s hid

lesser my mettle, the truth periodically
spills over. and my fleeing is not
freeing for the fear travels fast,
spine, legs, hands trembling treble
honesty a disease,  never a by your leave,
or a pretty please, just a bandage ripped,
and the skin, rawed from within,
and now from without, and I pray
til the fear in me subsides
Sometimes When We Touch
Song by Dan Hill

You ask me if I love you
And I choke on my reply
I'd rather hurt you, honestly
Than mislead you with a lie
And who am I to judge you
On what you say or do?
I'm only just beginning
To see the real you
And sometimes when we touch
The honesty's too much
And I have to close my eyes and hide
I wanna hold you 'til I die
'Til we both break down and cry
I wanna hold you
'Til the fear in me subsides
Romance and all its strategy
Leaves me battling with my pride
But through the insecurity
Some tenderness survives
I'm just another writer
Still trapped within my truth
A hesitant prize fighter
Still trapped within my youth
Sometimes when we touch
The honesty's too much
And I have to close my eyes and hide
I wanna hold you 'til I die
'Til we both break down and cry
I wanna hold you
'Til the fear in me subsides
At times I'd like to break you
And drive you to your knees
At times I'd like to break through
And hold you endlessly
At times I understand you
And I know how hard you've tried
I've watched while love commands you
And I've watched love pass you by
At times I think we're drifters
Still searching for a friend
A brother or a sister
But then the passion flares again
And sometimes when we touch
The honesty's too much
And I have to close my eyes and hide
I wanna hold you 'til I die
'Til we both break down and cry
I wanna hold you
'Til the fear in me subsides
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Barry Mann / Dan  Hill
Jasmine Rose Nov 14
If you hear it just once, then it's an air strike.
Twice, means it's just a sonic boom.
While we wait anxiously,
deadly silence fills the room.
Those moments in between
feel like a lifetime.
Especially when
someone's life maybe on the line.
If we end up hearing the second sound
relief fills our hearts,
even though they just skipped a pound.
For at least we know that 2 sounds are just meant to entice fear.
While 1,
is meant to tear down
maybe a few lives
or maybe an entire town.
So, with windows open,
we wait
we hope
to hear that second sound.
This is what a normal day living in Lebanon currently feels like.
Sam S Nov 14
Fear
The first dark breath we take,
a shadow that grows as we learn its name.
It lives in quiet corners,
where thoughts echo back our doubts,
and we wonder—are we truly alone?

Afraid of what’s lost, afraid to hold on,
we spin in loops of overthought,
making prisons from our own doubts.
How strange it is to long for touch,

to carry the weight of endless what-ifs,
a reel of past and future fears,
afraid to step forward, afraid to let go.

But somewhere beyond this haze of worry,
beyond the walls we’ve built so high,
a light breaks through, soft and true.
And deep down I know, one day I’ll find you—
So I can say, I got you;
everything’s gonna be okay.
Fear—
why do we let it grow?
Born without, yet taught to know,
Of futures that might never be,
Shadowed by what we cannot see.
Lena Nov 13
One becomes
two. becomes
three, becomes
Us.
I got diagnosed with DID recently. I hate that the others are real, but I don't hate you guys!
Nnenna Nov 13
We teeter at love's edge, paralyzed by fear. That sometimes I wonder if it's the height that terrifies us or the fall into love itself? knowing that our survival is beyond our control.
Reuben F Nov 13
Bed is a vehicle
Without steer or veering wheel,
No two wings or a keel
Make a bed typical.

Coitus, Dream and Day
Inside a bottomless trunk,
You drive it when you’re drunk
Or any other way.

An eye-opener
And a commuting teacher,
Your bed's not in Future
Nor is it Past’s inner.

On a one-way road
And a carpeted sanctum,
Your bed holds you welcome
'Til your eyes become sewed.
Claire Kowal Nov 11
I stare at the lonesome creature in the mirror;
The dull blue eyes share stories,
But they will never be told again.
The sickly pale skin yearning for the light,
The cracked lips that remained in a frown,
Limbs that looked out of place,
Hair that was wild in the worst way,
The clothes that felt like they never fit,
Was this who I was supposed to be?
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