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I grew up with these cliffs
the boundary of land and sea
where rock, exposed and naked
stands before the unforgiving elements
eroding each moment yet stable
a rock face, a solid, changing, evolution of nature
raw, unflinching, unapologetic.
holding a magic none can match.
the beauty of the inner form exposed
present, bold, unerring
Who are we that stand before them?
Do we bare out soul
And allow life to shape us into beautiful magical beings of grace?
Or do we brace against the winds of lifes changes
try to hide our nature, cling onto a redundant view of ourselves
and struggle to conceal our truths
Be more like cliff and rock,
Stable yet fluid. ever-present yet evolving
Embrace your decay, your lines your growth
Rejoice when a part of your psyche tumbles into the ocean
and you are exposed
In newness.
and vulnerability.

Strength is there.
I love those cliffs
Phoebe Woods Feb 2023
I had some bad news to deliver,
So I took her to my spot
The bench under the tree,
With all its gnarled knots

The bench right by the creek,
Right where the turtles like to play
A sacred spot of rest,
And shade on sunny days

I sat her down beside me,
And prepared her for the worst
Something so horrible,
It had taken eight weeks to rehearse

I really wish he'd told her,
Like he said he would
Should have known an aggressor's word
Is rarely ever good

I told her all there was to tell,
I answered every question
And then I found myself alone,
Silence in all directions

She walked so far away,
That I couldn't hear her voice
My story then repeated,
To the person of her choice

I waited on the bench,
And then waited some more
I made a small bouquet,
From flowers on the shore

I tied it up with grass,
And set it to the side
Such a mindless act of beauty,
I'm shocked I didn't cry

Not a sound escaped my lips,
Even after she returned
From the feeling in the air I knew,
The meeting was adjourned

Less than one day later,
She sat me down backstage
Though her conclusions were ill-founded,
Her words stung all the same

Eight weeks of work and "it's not your fault"
She did her best to make undone
Not only did I encourage him,
But I broke the essence of our bond

My dishonesty, my silence,
Can never be forgiven
My every flaw as a friend,
Unasked for, yet still given

Her final words were pure spite
If I'd only told her that same night

But how could I have told her,
What I didn't understand?
In an effort to escape the room,
I may have kissed her man

Four months to process,
Four hours locked away
But I never knew peace,
until I made that bouquet.

There is a responsibility, borne
within an online conveyance
   of the heart
when it comes to publicly posted poetry..

For within the conveyance of words
released into the Universe..
(words once residing  within
the inner linings of heart and soul..   words..
now made seen and known  to all)

is the deeply embedded DNA
of the author,

wherein lies the accountability;
when those words,  bearing
genetic imprint
enter into the heart of another.

I write  specifically
over things touched within me
But try to convey it
in a sense..  Universally

so that it might be taken  in
by any and all

.. That the benefits of Love's beautiful ways
may find access into the parts of the heart
that need it most..
sometimes, sneaken in  and finding root
before the receiver is even aware..
bringing, inside the recipient's skin

    healing

     But also the potentiality
     of becoming hurt.


I am sorry.

You
(and most everyone else in the world)
rarely, if ever..  talk to me.

But I watch you just the same
solely  by what you write.
My existence causes pain.

     That..  I know.

I love you more
than you will ever know.
I would stop writing,  but I don't know how
There's not a 12-step group
for these things

I dream of one day being killed
for who it is that I am.
I dream.. and then I smile.
But I do not smile at all,
the times I see that you are hurt.
I have real arms,  
   ..within this poetic world
   that is so very intangible--

When you cry,
they could not truly show you
it's okay

They cannot show anyone
that it's okay
Everyone's afraid of me
like I'm some kind of perpetrator
So I will die alone..  judged
for things I have not done


So I am sorry, my Beautiful--
It really is all my fault
for ever truly wanting to see.
   All I ever wanted to do
   was become able to see

and overcome the  hurt
that  long ago so horribly hurt me

You've become hurt
by my ability to see.

I'm sorry.

There is a dread
that comes from living this way.
Nonetheless..
everyone is eventually
coming back Home.

Corny or not,
maybe this strange little song will somehow help you to see
just how very sorry..

I am.
For hurting you.

For believing.

He wrote it, just trying to convey  a feeling
he did not fully understand:

https://youtu.be/8sJdqd6v3Z8
If you only knew   just how very much.
                          xoxo


Universalism:
belief in the salvation of all souls.

         <3
nina Feb 2023
sometimes i lie awake and think about
the way the pads of your fingertips
once felt against the softness of my skin
the way your tongue brushed my lips
and i once used to crave every touch
however, when i recall those nights
i am left feeling empty and numb
they no longer offer me an escape
they no longer offer an indulgent fantasy
i sit and think and no longer feel a thing
i was once so afraid to fall out of love with you
but i no longer feel afraid
i feel no pain or longing for what once was
what once was, simply happened
and i realize how much i hung on
to avoid feeling this emptiness you've left behind
however, all i am left thinking is
i have so much room now
to fill with things that make me happy
to fill with self-love and kindness
to fill with gratitude and peace
so much room without you
sometimes i lie awake and think about
how i wish i fell out of love with you sooner
i guess i was wrong about this being unconditional
anotherdream Feb 2023
If I held the world for you
Would it even be enough?
Would you leave me in the dark
Like darkness is all it was?

Would you let go of my hand
Just to see where you would land?
If I had not been the one to catch you
You would have fallen into sand

It was only my mistakes
That could ever make you feel this way
I know I am not perfect
But since I know you cannot stay
I'll be running a hundred miles from here
I'll be standing in the rain

Thinking back to when it was us
And there was nothing but our love
When we would race along the shoreline
Until I'd tell you to give up

When we would listen to my music
And I would smile when you knew it
Our tastes were simply the same
And no one could dispute it

But I guess there are some wounds
That can never truly heal
I gave you so many scars
That I forgot how they used to feel

How they felt when I was young
Being cold and losing love
Knowing that the day would end
With my tears as my only friend

So can you see the stars in my eyes
As I try to say goodbye?
I don't know if I can keep smiling
But I know I have to try.
Just one of many poems describing how I felt when I lost her. I'm very close to letting her go but the memories are still there :P
Janna B Feb 2023
When the abuse doesn’t look like it
then it can’t be recognised
and it parades around
in broad daylight,
in pyjamas with spots instead of stripes,
but no-one is alarmed.
When the abuse doesn’t look like it
the victim goes under
piece by piece
but it is quiet, and she feels so much empathy
and she doesn’t recognise
that she’s taken over.

When those spots look like illness
the abuse is asking for pity
and all of her effort and soul,
with nothing in return
because it doesn’t feel well.
Before she knows it,
she’s adjusted herself,
to manage behaviour, anger and the ‘illness’.

When the abuse doesn’t look like it,
it can be quiet, insidious control and
a gradual, unrecognised ceding of power.
Better not rock the boat,
there’ll be a wall of silence to dance around
for days.
It feels like responsibility, entrapment
but in just having those feelings
she feels so disloyal.

When the abuse is gone
then it takes a long time
to wake up from the stupor
and look with fresh eyes.
To change behaviours,
expect more from the new.

That was a quiet,
sticky,
suffocating,
trap.
Just some reflections, I’ve been coming a long way and this is so therapeutic. Not bitter, just can’t believe I was in that and I didn’t even realise. Thanks for reading.
Jennifer DeLong Jan 2023
Wild & Windy
She was free
It felt like magic
She was alive
Her fire was a flame
She looked so happy
Wind blowing through
her  hair
Her soul was dancing
Each gust felt so fresh
Her mind so peaceful
Her eyes where the truth
could be read
She was alive
Wild & Windy

© Jennifer L DeLong 1/28/2023
Last night for just a few moments
I could feel my heart.
It was a shock
To feel so
Whole

Like the monochrome
Became
Colour
And
Just for
Those few

Moments

I
Felt

Life
I was breathing mindfully while trying to fall asleep and my heart came to life. It was wonderful. Written feb 2022
"You tower - me castle"
Said Tarzan to Jane.
Lets ******* collide
and let these prisons
fall to the ground.
What will be left
when those old worn structures
are lying in pieces on the earth
the relief of a stone returned to its source.

No longer suspended in mid air
Balanced and cemented in
by a strange cruel force of society
of institution,
of creating safety.

There is relief, and sadness, and letting go...
in this holy - unholy mess.
This twisted mass of rubble, rock, moss and wood.
These rocks should be lying on the ground.
Nestled into the earth
and connected to soil.
Let's make it so.

Lets tear the whole ******* lot down.
Those old prisons of boarding madness
Expose them for the toxic dens they are
and set others free to rediscover their colour
the flower of their youth.
love letter
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