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vircapio gale Jan 28
my kindness has now been commodified
whereas before it triggered hate
--seen as weakness, as cruelty's plaything--
still, i saturate to what extent i can
my daily happy-dance with honest friendship,
compassion's ease, delight and pet-store equipoise.
yet my sincerity is sloganed, emptied of its worth:
trained to say 'rewards program' in stead of 'membership, account';
'guests' in stead of 'customers'
'team-players' in stead of 'employees'
'long-term relationships' as first and foremost mission statement's goal--
slither-scripted to promote a highest bottom line
as language euphemizes baby mice as 'pinkies,
fuzzies, hoppers': 'feeders' for a petted multitude
of scaly, fang-ed maws.

pre-thanksgiving christmas-trees
on either side of automatic double-doors--
styro-snowflakes hung
by wrapping-papered end-cap shelves on sale
to swipe our plastics to a higher debt--
to tinsel out the shame of maybe giving less?
reminding 'gift-time soon' and 'this could be a gift'
to ward off never having given childhood its due?
or of being less than cheerful
at incessant jingled tunes?

november fifth--decorations up;
guy fawkes night of trick-or-treater-candies
tweeting hallowed flu-shots
as my manager in elf-cap-antlers squeals in glee:
says she starts promoting christmas back in august.
i tell her that's appropriate!
given jesus was perhaps born in august.
says she didn't memorize the bible.
i tell her that part was left out anyway--
i don't mention the holiday's titular meaning;
or the waiting gnostic manger,
royal transhistoric camels,
mary on her donkey, joseph's wind-blown face
las posadas... the loneliness of exile
O mary... in her starlit tears of unknown pain and joy--
the unremitting love for barnfloor bodyheat,
todos santos
nonhominin humanity...
earthling rights day
a stranger's kindnesses
of yule-tide warmth and evergreen,
solstice-fulcrum festivals of lights
veteran's day's existential loss
and bureaucratic selfhoods shelved;
gurpurb at a gurdwara
the martyrdom of guru tegh bahadur
the garifuna settlement day
the tazaungdaing festival
fasting over christian as well as buddhist lent
the five days of deepawali, diwali:
bodhi day
découverte d'haïti and vertières
jamhuri day
chalica
zamenhof day
sadeh
pancha ganapati
malkh
soyal
mithras day
osiris, adonis and dionysus day (all dec. 25th)
humanlight
--republic day! national day! and proclamation day!
in the maldives, brazil, northern cyprus, chad, yugoslavia;
in the central african republic, burkina faso, kenya, malta, kazakhstan, niger, south sudan...
chahrshanbeh soori
modraniht
the dongzhì festival
the saturnalia of pagans (lit. "country dwellers"; "those of the heath")
dies natalis solis invicti
newtonmas
kwanzaa
watch night
hanukkah
boxing day
malanka
the day of goodwill
wren's day
quaid-e-azam's day
yeni il
guru govind singh jayanti
international solidarity day of azerbaijanis
fête du vodoun
hogmanay
Iemanjá
darwin day
milad-un-nabi
lohri
pesach
chocolate-egg-laying fertile-bunny-day-- or ishtar day
butter week, crepe week, or cheesefare week-- or maslenitsa
happy holidays to all in particular

on November 24th, 1675, "Guru Tegh Bahadar, the ninth Sikh Guru undertook the supreme sacrifice for the protection of the most fundamental of human rights - the right of a person to freely practice his or her religion without interference or hindrance."

http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Martyrdom_of_Guru_Tegh_Bahadur
Leocardo Reis Sep 2022
my favourite description of love
comes from a curt confession from bukowski:
"love is a dog from hell".

what more does one want to know?
if one has felt love,
and i mean,
really felt it;
suffered for it;
felt the brunt of despair;
known the sleepless nights;
the restless nights;
the doubt;
the belief;
the constant flip flop
between the two;
between heartbreak and happiness;
the will to endure all sadness;
the knowledge that such strength
will only bring about sadness;
the horror of seeing in real time
love end
from the eyes of another;
to have been crushed by a weight
which could leave you without air
for years
and yet oddly
still have the presence of mind
to look back on it with tenderness;
to know that lust and love
are entirely separate;
and one needs only a memory
to keep the embers alive.

then i believe
a dog from hell
sums it up rather nicely.
Torin Jun 2021
How could learning how to let someone love you be so personal
When its like the rain?
Everyone feels it fall
But not everyone feels it the same

Some take no notice and move along
Some hear the rain falling on the roof as a song

Some see the lighting before it strikes
Some hear only thunder
But still others...

Some scurry for cover

And still others
Still there's others that dance

So howl at me wind if you would like
Bend the limbs of the trees that line the streets
Move swiftly as you must
Soft upon my skin
I've been waiting long before
The storm ever began

And I've been dancing ever since
I've been dancing
Its been too long since I had an onion ring. I like the big thick ones that are fresh cut. Flaky yet crispy, the crisper the better. And I like when they are fresh out of the fryer and very greasy. Maybe some thousand island dressing as dipping sauce. Mmmmm sounds delicious. I could sure go for some about right now
Unpolished Ink Apr 2021
A shiny halo can work loose
and when it slips
it becomes a noose
your sainthood lasts until the day
the rest of us see your boots of clay!
If you feel hopeless and lost
Don't panic
Anxiety disorders can pass
They love you
I wish you could see it
Since you can't feel it
Look at the Bright Side
And never lose sight
If you're insomniac
Count your days
You can't count them all
Like the stars of heaven
Make some for me on the comment section.
Safana Aug 2020
It's our day,
harken back
to our
progenitor
who spread the
the seed of our
Becoming,
A legend who
let fearless man
to fear,
A prince who
left his crown
For a war invasion,
A great, who caused
100 million
natives and
homesteaders,
he was an instituter
of religion and
culture, he was
a constructor
of the,
North and south
East and west,
Nigeria and Niger
Ivory cost and Benin
Cameroon and Sudan
Chad and Ghana
Eritrea and Togo
Congo and Gabon
Algeria and Burkina Faso,
with or more
100 million speakers
of Hausa language.

was a hero,
Named BAYAJIDDA
Abu yazid bn Abdullahi
son of king of Baghdad
True Hausa state ( Hausa Bakwai) Daura, Biram, Gobir, Kano, Katsina, Rano, and Zaria (Zazzau)



Hausa Outline satellite (Banza Bakwai)Zamfara, Kebbi, Yauri, Gwari, Nupe, Kororofa (jukun) and Yoruba,
Peter Rogers Aug 2020
I play songs that make me happy
I play songs to keep me down
I play songs to keep me laughing
like you’re here
But who’ll hear me laughing out loud?

I had friends I could speak my mind to
I had friends that couldn’t care
I had friends that I did wrong to
in high school
And college, boy was I even there?

We had fun, you and I did
We had fun apart from ourselves
We had fun when we were younger and tighter      
together, so why
Did we run from our wealth?

We were silly, inside and outside
We were silly simply for a laugh
We were silly to think you’d get over it
and were silly
To think it would last

You’re still here and so am I, friend
You’re still here only in a different town
You’re still here and time is your friend
let’s end this and
Make amends while we’re still around

You’re afraid, how do you think I feel?
You’re afraid and I’m nervous myself
You’re afraid of the future
and past hurts
We can heal after we forgive ourselves
Oh yes, we can heal after we forgive ourselves
song from the EP - Apart from Ourselves
Muria Miedema Aug 2020
Last night I went to a closed down circus in the city.
A sad clown came up to me.
He kissed me till I had his red lips.
A kiss from a clown is so bold and bright red.
After that you cannot possibly look sad.

So I will go back another night to see if he would be there again.
In my dream later he tells me that this was something between me and him.
Next time bring your tutu dress and I will wear my best suit.
We'll be dancing all night and I'll promise to make your lips bright red.

As I write it all down after last night I hear the neighbours wake up too.
I paint my eyes like his eyes, at least I try to.
But I can't seem to get it right.
So what will I do about tonight?
I shed a little tear, I feel so helpless.
But then I notice it looks good now and I put on the tutu dress.

I take a bus to the city and stare somewhere.
The sad clown must be already waiting there.
At the empty circus.
To give me a clowny kiss.
Only his.

I call for him as I pass the entrance.
Sad clown, sad clown, I'm here for romance.
And so we dance.
Like it's the last night.
It will be the last night...
Red lips, red stains, red, all red, red red, pain.
Don't leave me bleeding, but he goes running as I am dying.
10-08-20
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