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manlin Sep 2020
Hungry for something
I have never seen before,
my eager eyes scour
pages of books.

Opening several books,
I marvel at the lives and stories
of true artisans of their time:
Xiao Hong, Joy Harjo, and William Faulkner.

I stare at each page,
trying to digest
every word
and imitate their style;

however, my mind draws blank
the moment the blank document
reflects back into
my empty mind.

Suddenly
intrusive thoughts rise
to the forefront of
my consciousness.

“How dare you think
you could ever become
a hero like them
without a single reader?”

I finally surmise that
I’m not a poet,
artist, or
author.

I don’t have the
soulless apartment flat
in the middle of a bustling city,
finding muse in every corner of life.

Nor do I have the freedom
to explore outside’s
blank landscapes
as there’s a spike of missing women reports here.

Instead,
I live in my empty childhood home,
bedroom walls plastered with heroes from video games
as I hide away from my mom’s boyfriend.

Afraid of both the outside and inside world,
I remain still.
I am no writer.
I am no hero.
sickophantic Sep 2020
there's no limit to what i'd do
to keep this little game of ours going.
you don't wanna know how far i'd go.

yes, i'll keep on trailing you;
for although hope lies beyond the finish line
no ending is better than an empty one.

we'll stall this thing a while longer, so please
let go for just a second; i think that you could stand
to take a small lesson. no, you can keep
holding on to the chain. forget i ever said it.

the night sky reminds me of that one time -
i'm sure you remember, you still have the scar -
eighteen thirty-four, the city was on fire
along with our skins; along with your disguise.

i've never seen rage burn so pretty
in someone's eyes before, you know.
you lean in and i'm not quite sure
if i'll survive to see another day.

and i ask you: do you like what you see?
you answer with a blade to my neck.
eloquent as always, my love, although
are you sure you could stand the silence?
i'd like to think this is about a villain that acts suspiciously happy when they're captured by the main character.
Raven Woodfort Sep 2020
Dragon in my Closet


1.
I should write a poem
today. Now. But
I just don't feel like doing so.
Instead, I'm going to write
a story
about why. About the Dragon.
And that'll do.


2.
Once upon a time,
there was a To Do List
that needed to be Done.
It had items and points
and notes and scribbles;
she was absolutely the most
prettiest thing.

This beauty belonged to a Knight,
a pilgrim in the Land of Adulthood.
And I'm about to tell you
why, though he wanted,
and tried and tried
he never could
get the stupid List Done.

So, one day while
he was wooing Lady List,
a thunderous roar stopped him
in the middle of his speech.
He smelled the sulphur before
he saw the shadow fly over,
but it was too late
and the dragon grabbed his Lady lover.

The List yelled for help,
but what could Knight have done?
Before him stood the vicious
Merciless Procrastination Dragon!
With a slice of its claws
and just one breath of flames,
the poor List was done for
and could nevermore be Done.

Well, you can imagine
the scenario that now unfolded:
List gargling on the floor,
Knight screaming like a toddler.
The Dragon wasn't done yet, though,
he still had one more goal:
Keeping the Knight busy all day
so he won't rescue List with CPR.

This was the easy part,
and loads of fun too.
Knight had snapped out of his shock,
but the dragon just had to
keep his paw on the Knight's head
and hold it there until
the Knight got tired of fighting air
and became very still.

Then the Dragon lifted his paw.
Knight fell on the floor with a
THUD.
Dragon flew off with a smile on his face,
happy with the fun he'd had.
The Knight scrambled the strength together
to crawl on all fours to his List -
or rather, what remained of her -
and pretended she still exists.

(But she was dead,
and the Knight was broken.
He would never even look
at another List again.
Until he gets lonely and
tired of Nothing,
then another To Do List pops up
that's in need of Doing...)


3.
This tale is true,
believe me, 'tis so.
I have met the very Knight
and greeted the Lady too.
And the Malicious
Procrastination Dragon
made its nest in
my closet.

And that's why
I'm not writing a poem.
If you find the dragon, tell me. It's gone, out of my closet...

Inktober 2019.
Lyn-Purcell Aug 2020

Prophecy foretold
When golden rain meets her womb,
a hero shall rise


New day, new haiku!
This one is for Danaë, the mother of Perseus, one of the greatest heroes of Greek Myth.

Long in short, her father, King Acrisius was visited the Oracle of Delphi due to not having any sons and wanted to know if it will change in the future. It was not to be as the Oracle prophecized that the King will die at the hands of his daughter's sons. Hoping to avoid this, he imprisisoned his beautiful daughter in a tower of brass [it was either that, a tower of bronze or chamber of bronze depending on the myth].

It was a prison of great fineries befitting her regal right, but a prison none the less. There were no windows or doors. Of course, Zeus saw her and desired her as she was a great beauty and through a tiny crack of the ceiling, became a shower of golden rain, impregnating her. When her father found out, she had already given birth to Perseus. And of course, he didnt believe the story behind his conception either. Furious by the child, and fearful of the prophecy [as well as stirring the god's wrath should he harm his own kin], he sealed his daughter and grandson in a wooden box and cast them into the turbulent sea. By Poseidon's hands, the chest eventually arrived safely to Seriphos, ruled by Polydectes. And the king's brother, Dictys, found them, took them in and raised him as his own. And well, the rest is history, I guess! ^-^
I've always liked Danaë and frankly, the story of her father can be condensed into a quote by Oogway, "One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it." This quote can apply to other myths too so it's really apt. I played around with the haiku with this quote in mind!

Anyway, thank you all for growing followers, I'm forever humbled and grateful for the support🙏🌹💜
Here's the link for the growing collection:
https://hellopoetry.com/collection/132853/the-women-of-myth/
Be back tomorrow with another one!
Much love,
Lyn 💜
Simon Aug 2020
Fantasy wasn’t always grim! It used to much more lighthearted than ALL facts put together into one fantasy collaboration. Which is exactly what’s happening in this very tale. This world. This setting. This… Well, there was once this one clan of people, who shined more than all other clans originating from the very same species who reigned as the “capital power”! An interspecies. A subspecies. Something that was greatly interwoven for many generations. Until one day, all clans became suddenly quiet. Distancing themselves from the very same who reigned as the capital power. One who merely outshined ALL the rest into complete seclusion! Doing something that was just part of their charm. Their charismatic behavior. Something that was docile (at first). Later on, showing it was entirely shameful of what they’d done too deserve whatever it was that gave them that very “capital power” to begin with. Seeing as how they control one of the most beautiful creatures that dominate the high mountain tops the world had ever looked up upon when kneeling down right at the setting foot of a monstrosity looked up to as a god! These very high mountain tops were where the most beautiful of creatures lived. Soaring higher than anything to have ever bear witness towards. A Griffin! The clan of the very species that was connected to all the other clans, are made up of the same originality! They are all related. Once. But entirely spread outward with benefits too ONLY…their own people. Their own clan. A testament to a claim willing to tear each other apart… Until there was nothing left but the once memory that echoed throughout the land. The world. Nothing but “ash” in the coming times would make this truth more fruitful than it truly appeared to be. A truth that would test this very clan that shined more brightly than all the other’s combined. The one with the so-called “capital power” would rather dethrone themselves completely! Than to give into fear of the contempt for their very actions. Something that tempts them (very much so) …. Another clan (so to speak). An enemy! Full of much more variety then the one who stood above the rest. The one (who in time) would come to be known simply… As the “Questionians”! Their very name comes from how they are a complete mystery. That may not exactly be what they essentially are called. Or refer to themselves (alone) as... Except when they do some unspeakable horror that claims witness to a crime that’d free every other clan put together (of the very same “original species” among different factions). If this exact thing actually took place, then everything would be put in complete shambles! Showing that they are the “shadow” of this very (“capital power”) clan’s democracy! A thing or force too GREATLY fear! Or else…. Or else, they would do something that would pave the groundwork for even truer fear to come about (sooner rather than later). Then what was actually taken seriously, previously. The clan that’s MOST “threatened” upon the arrival of the sudden “impending doom scenario” … Is none other than the clan known better as “the people of the Griff”! A very peaceful and agricultural people who don’t take anything out of account officially… Unless it truly meant something for them to bear witness to within their entire selves. Since there’s something very potentially “meddling” going on within these very people. First off, they keep too themselves “happily” alone. And unaided from the outside world and the rest of its (once) interconnected species that have spread out too wide to care (anymore) about coming back to the so-called “old days”. Old days when it was of the MOST prideful! Also, where the most of prime “examples” could be made and smoothed out for the better! But what the people of the Griff value even more (upon themselves directly) … Is the most beautiful creature in the land. The Griffin! A Griffin is perhaps the people of the Griff’s most prime example to the status of a mere god! The very homeland where they grow and stride and nurture their very motions upon the mountain tops that are also referred to as gods! But not to the people of the Griff…. O NO! They don’t look upon the mighty monstrosity that is their very “worshiping” deity. They worship the very creatures that live among the very tops of that very worshiping deity (that the other “separated” clans essentially worship). As time passed, they somehow were able to bind their very free will to this “blessing” that is these magnificent creatures! Binding also their very tolerances (to the Griffins itself). Just as life itself had also binded the people of the Griff (in time) to each other. Which is where the enemy comes in. The Questionians. Finally becoming “questioned” for why they’d have one of the most bizarre names for a “impending doom scenario” ever imagined! That’s because the enemy is literally questionless. They don’t have that which the people of the Griff just seem to (conveniently) have that they themselves…do not! Forcing the Questionians to claim (what they don’t have, to officially seize otherwise) for themselves…ONLY! But that was only apart of the tale that is made to be grim among ALL fantasy collaborations put together. As fantasy wasn’t always grim. Until the collapsing of a once (friendly) confrontation had already happened…long ago. Which sparked countless dangers that are totally unheard of… Until a hero was finally able to rise up above ALL others and risk the very land the people of this world breathed truthfully for themselves and themselves…alone! A hero who would (in due time) come about changing all specifics in a world that was once wholesome. Now it’s just a teetering land on the brink of war! War that was (more specifically) a mere illusion made to justify an even worse crime made to happen. The war effort was just a downplayed diversion not really bright for “comfort” itself to take rather seriously! However, the hero who’d come to truly redefine the locals of this land and its very world back into (seemingly) “ceremonial” times… Is a young man named “Salivardt”. Who apparently, is a member of the people of the Griff. Accompanied by the strongest heroine that would be this hero’s “go-getters” type guidance. Her name was that of the very feisty “Fabian”! Who has a very mysterious past (that is said: to be hinted at being a member of that very questionless clan group)? One who is on the brink of utter disorder from also (within themselves). And together, they would reach a very “breaking point” of how each of their very destinies “securely” …come together. (And how “linear” it must seem…) Would literally reintroduce the once (“interconnected”) state that each clan of the same species once shared. ALL coming back together into one singular species! Introducing a global front that is a respectful… “unifying whole”!
A “fantasy” testament of willpower both doesn’t a-and can’t agree with itself. Unless it’s politely willing too argue against something it’s never come across before… Until (once upon a time ago) something merely told it too…of a certain “destiny” going around!
PS… Would you certainly then start to argue against something you never came across before…?
CC Jul 2020
Truly I have the will inside me
To push my chest out and bare my dignity
Like a thumping paw of an elephant
The sound of who I am beats the ground
Every thump like a chanting
Every chant like a battle-cry
Break their bones if they strike you
Their throws are soft and formless
A fog that poisons
You are protected by the bear in the woods
A massive presence of teeth and claw
Bear in mind
Conquering the battle is not complete without armour and sword
Use your sword with caution
Sparing them for when the season is ripe
Struck whence the shield lowered
You seek for bleeding
You seek for victory
Joy is in the skin scarred without fright
Victory is in the timing of each strike
The sword has discipline in its swift blow
Should not have trace of megalomania
Should win every ****** in order to teach
Lessons to heed the definition of honour
Two victors will defy the battle
When one wins on honour
If the other triumphs pride
Zywa Jul 2020
Underwater under pressure
from mama, I have a constrictor
around my neck, I'm in danger
of dying without a life
I'm a born heroine

Under chairs under the table
I am saving the whole world
with the utmost courage
every day. Just wait
until I'm grown up, a heroine

Under warm sheep's wool
under stars and clouds
I awake bleeding, defenceless
like a lamb, I sink
into my fleece, like a heroine
Collection "Mosaic virus"
Gunnika Mehra Jul 2020
Oh great hero
The legend we all look up to
Oh my friend
Now look at you.

I remember when we were kids
How often we played
I recall the memories
The waves have taken away.

Slowly you drifted away
And I did not know
Gradually you vanished
From the place WE called home.

Now home only has me
Waiting for another tomorrow
Home is now a house
Full of sorrow.

I wait for you
Please come visit
I won’t ask you to leave your mansion behind
But just to this poor house bring a smile.
izi Jul 2020
I am a hero beyond imagine,
Soft velvet red cloak, the medallion resting in my throat,
My heartbeat stomps through my ribcage,
I am here to rescue the princess.

I trudge through the forest and I remember,
I remember who I was before when I came here,
Cape swishing at my ankles, feet in gilded armor,
I grip the glittering blade between my hands.

White marble penetrates the darkness,
I march up to the mossy stone wall, the crooked, tarnished sign,
“No trespassing,” it says, and suddenly
I am standing at a fence, copper, russet, faded gold.
Barbed wire tangles like Christmas lights, family dinners,
I remember and my heart aches.

I see the shrine, the elegant masterpiece
of quartz and precious stones,
I remember the way she used to stand at the bottom,
Defiant and angry, she threw rocks and never shattered,
It’s only a pile of pebbles, grass, dirt, in my eyes
But to her, it was the world and more.

I have to remember I am not her anymore,
What was her world is no longer mine.
I see a possibility, an opportunity, a path,
I take one last glance and I know it is the only way.

I am Prince Charming like no other,
I slice my way through the bushes,
I am arrogant, I am of diamonds and steel.

The green crisscrosses like a net,
I realize someone must have put up a new fence,
I see paint cans, old bottles, moldy shoes.

I see the life that once was my existence,
And I turn around and climb over that wall.
Softly touching down on the carpet of twigs and needles.

The trees wave in the dizzy sky,
The dragon’s snarling mouth is the last image I see,
Burned into my brain with a fiery blast,
Suddenly I am thrown backward.

I stand in front of the tree,
There is something tied in its branches.
I lift my sword and bring it down,
It is just a slender branch.

I place a boulder the size of my heart, my fist,
I flee because I am a coward
I may be a prince but I live only with jewels,
Not the stench of blood and panic amidst battle.

I am here to rescue the princess,
But I can’t even rescue myself
From the past that seduces me.
Am I a hero beyond imagine?
The anti hero is a zero,
Because is only really needed to make the hero in the fictional story a hero,
So lets be honest, the anti hero is only needed in fictional reality for the adventure,
So movies, books and TV series need the anti hero,
You have The Master in Doctor Who,
You have Khan in Star Trek,
You have Darth Vader in Star Wars,
You have General Zod in Superman,
You have Ming the Merciless in Flash Gordon,
You have The Joker in Batman,
You have Count Baltar in Battlestar Galactica,
You have Diana in the V series,
You have Princess Ardala in Buck Rogers,
Because really the anti hero is a zero,
Because really the anti hero is a zero,
Because really the anti hero is a zero.
15/7/2020
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