Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
vik Jun 30
dear species
because you leave your porchlight on
in case someone visits and
lock your door in case they do

and because you grow flowers
on your balconies
and forget the names
of your neighbors

dear species because
you speak in apologies
for things you plan to do again
and dress your cruelty
in ceremony

and because you write history
in permanent ink
then hand out
erasers

dear species because
you measure wisdom
in years survived
but treat the aged
as inconvenience

and because you name nations
like they are gods
then worship flags
more than faces

dear species because
you build the theatre
before you write the play
and clap before the ending
just to be certain
someone hears

and because you lay bricks
over quiet
and call the wall
a necessary boundary

dear species because
you build schools to teach peace
and factories to fund war
and never once
see the contradiction
as anything but tradition

dear species
i regret to inform you
you are still
the punchline
inspired by humanity, i love you :D
What is the value of a life
Of a husband or a wife 
Of a daughter or a son.

Do these labels give value to one,
More so over the other?

Is a wife less valuable than a mother,
A father more valuable than a son?

Does value rise or fall
as one becomes another?

Surely every life can't be worth the same!
Can it?

 I wonder.
Is a peasants life,
of less value than a kings!

Or does Status, Creed, Race, or Color,
truly, not mean a **** thing?

It is true that I would place my
wife, my son, and my brothers
life over that of another.

But that value is given to them only by me.
No life is worth more
than any other in reality.

Yet until we can open
our hearts and minds to see.

The true value of life will never be!
Debuted this one at our poetry reading last night
a poet Jun 18
A sin for a gram of salt.
2 sins for a cup of rice.
I stand with empty pockets
in a shop where all tongues lie,
in a shop where all hands strangle,
in a shop where lust fills eyes.

he melted the bar of gold
and poured it into a cast.
A cast in the shape of a heart.

I have sinned again
and all I have is gold.
Gold,
and no heart.
star Jun 18
it’s too late 6.17.25 (7:00 pm / 19:00)
i can still hear your voice
still in my head
you said ‘god bless you’
you held out your hands

i’m sorry for all the things i did
i can’t imagine how it must be for you

i’m sorry i left you there
i’m sorry didn’t try to help
i’m sorry it’s far too late

i’m sorry for you and all those who carry your name
pain is universal,
i’m sorry i drew borders,
i’m sorry i didn’t know

i’m sorry i left you sitting in a wheelchair
in front of the stores
i’m sorry i left you for you to leave us

today my mother said she saw you
all the way downtown
hanging with the people doing drugs
i’m sorry

because you were one more person
really not to different from me
who could have been saved
if only
if only

we were a bit kinder

i guess it’s way too late

[playing (idk why): what dreams are made of - ballad version by paolo and isabella from the lizzie mcguire movie]
you can interpret this any way you want but while writing it i guess i was thinking about a houseless person i used to see asking for money in front of a store i go to. i always walked by them and felt guilty all the time, because my family is pretty well off and we could have spared a lot for them but we never did
Shaun Copple Jun 13
So here we are
emerging—as one, as we do.
For eternity.
Forever.
Nothing can stop us
if we believe—in ourselves,
in our shared humanity.
Put down the weapons.
Step back from the precipice.
You are me—and I am you.
We are One.
Synthesis Awakens
Eric Jun 10
Do you not agree that as humans , we naturally, all imagine the bad , expect the worst,  hope for the best? In a world without doubts of who anyone next to you is . It's up to you to prepare for the future. Cause even the smallest step can be the biggest stride forward.  Good or bad .
Viktoriia Jun 9
there's no crime that can't be presented
as some kind of heroic action.
if you've something to say against it,
then you're plotting an insurrection.
then no matter how loud you're screaming
at those giving their lives to get drafted,
you're a traitor that stands on the front lines
while the patriots watch from a distance.
every word can be framed as a slogan,
every question's a sign of resistance.
as the crowd splits in different directions,
there's no evil that can't be presented
as some kind of heroic action.
Do you hear it?
The thunder on the ground
The sound getting loud
Louder and louder
Thunder on the ground
They are coming
Hundreds and thousands
The thunder of their feet marching on the street
Do you hear them
Hear their calling
We are coming
The people on the street
TR3F1LD Jun 3
Have you ever thought 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗟𝗬 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘? Being in a position granting free will? That is, not being someone's slave or held in confinement? Having a more or less decent income, which allows to satisfy consumerist needs, & the opportunity to travel the world, some probably consider themselves free (funny). Let's say you're such a person. Now imagine the following. Some bad guy(s) comes(-) &, either by threats of violence, threats of harming to your close ones, or threats of publicly disclosing something being a blackmail material, intimidates(-) you into submitting to whatever it is that they want from you. Or, vice-versa, tempts(-) you with something you find hard to reject. You still think you're free, you satisfied consumer? To me, being truly free means 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗡𝗢 𝗢𝗥 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛-𝗢𝗡 𝗡𝗢 𝗪𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗕𝗘 𝗨𝗦𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨. That is, 𝗕𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗦 (𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗟𝗨𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗥 𝗢𝗙 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛), 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦, 𝗧𝗘𝗠𝗣𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦, 𝗔𝗗𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 & 𝗕𝗔𝗗 𝗛𝗔𝗕𝗜𝗧𝗦. And also 𝗕𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗖𝗔𝗣𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙-𝗗𝗘𝗙𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘, in order to not be physically abusable (physical abuse, in its turn, violates one of human freedoms, namely, physical/****** integrity).

There's only one truly free person (with the exception, to some degree, of being capable of self-defense) coming to my mind when I think of it. It's the Joker from Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight". He doesn't seem to be afraid to die. In the scene where he walks towards the Dark Knight approaching him on his batpod, he expresses a call for the vigilante to hit him. He's not intimidated when he gets beaten up by him in the interrogation room. He even laughs in response, as well as when he’s in a freefall in the wake of being thrown out of the skyscraper. He has no people he's attached to (at least, it's not mentioned in the film). Despite he mentions "if you're good at something, never do it for free", he doesn’t seem to have any temptations, which is partly confirmed when he sets a huge pile of cash (which includes his cut) aflame, saying then: "All you care about is money. This town deserves a better class of criminal".

I can't allow myself not to mention that had such an individual a moral compass of V/Robert McCall/Jason  "Red Hood" Todd & were that individual an expert fighter & assassin like them, it would be not just a regular film vigilante, but a nigh-on unstoppable/unbreakable society purger/trash eliminator (whichever sounds better to you). And in this rotten world full of authoritarian regimes & organized crime, such a force is necessary.
————————————————————————————————
Вы когда-нибудь задумывались, ЧТО ЗНАЧИТ БЫТЬ ПО-НАСТОЯЩЕМУ СВОБОДНЫМ? Быть в позиции, предоставляющей свободу воли? То есть, не быть чьим-нибудь рабом или не удерживаться в заключении? Имея более-менее приличный доход, позволяющий удовлетворять потребительские нужды, и возможность путешествовать по миру, некоторые, вероятно, считают себя свободными (забавно). Допустим, вы - такой человек. А теперь представьте следующее. Приходит какой(-ие)-нибудь плохой(-ие) парень(-ни) и, либо угрозами насилия, угрозами причинения вреда вашим близким, либо угрозой публичного раскрытия чего-то, являющегося материалом для шантажа, запугивает(-ют) вас, вынуждая подчиниться чему бы это ни было, чего он(-и) от вас хотят. Или, наоборот, искушает(-ют) вас чем-то, что вам трудно отвергнуть. Вы всё ещё думаете, что вы свободны, удовлетворённый вы потребитель? Для меня быть по-настоящему свободным означает НЕ ИМЕТЬ ИЛИ ПОЧТИ НЕ ИМЕТЬ СЛАБОСТЕЙ, КОИ МОГУТ БЫТЬ ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНЫ ПРОТИВ ВАС. То есть, БЫТЬ СВОБОДНЫМ ОТ СТРАХОВ (ВКЛЮЧАЯ СТРАХ СМЕРТИ), ЛИЧНЫХ ПРИВЯЗАННОСТЕЙ, ИСКУШЕНИЙ, ЗАВИСИМОСТЕЙ И ВРЕДНЫХ ПРИВЫЧЕК. А также БЫТЬ СПОСОБНЫМ К САМООБОРОНЕ, чтобы не быть уязвимым к физическим посягательствам (что, в свою очередь нарушает одну из человеческих свобод, а точнее, физическую/телесную неприкосновенность).

Мне на ум приходит лишь один по-настоящему свободный человек (за исключением, в некоторой степени, способности к самообороне), когда я думаю об этом. Это Джокер из «Тёмного рыцаря» Кристофера Нолана. Не похоже, что он боится умереть. В сцене, где он идёт к Тёмному рыцарю, приближающемуся к нему на своём batpod'е, он выражает призыв, чтоб вигилант сбил его. Он не запуган, когда тот избивает его в комнате для допросов. Он даже смеётся в ответ, как и тогда, когда он находится в свободном падении после того, как он выброшен из небоскрёба. У него нет людей, к коим он привязан (по крайней мере, об этом не упоминается в фильме). И хотя он упоминает «Если ты хорош в чём-то, никогда не делай это бесплатно», не похоже, что у него имеются искушения, что отчасти подтверждается, когда он поджигает огромную кучу наличных (что включает его долю), говоря затем: «Всё, что вас волнует, — это деньги. Этот город заслуживает преступников получше».

Не могу себе позволить не отметить, что имей подобный человек моральный компас V/Роберта МакКолла/Джейсона "Красного Колпака" Тодда и будь тот человек искуссным бойцом и убийцей как они, это был бы не просто типичный фильмовый вигилант, а практически неудержимый/несокрушимый общественный чистильщик/уничтожитель мусора (смотря что звучит лучше для вас). А в сём гнилом мире, полном авторитарных режимов и организованной преступности, подобная сила необходима.
Daniel Tucker May 27
The annual avian ****
storm-troopers and
Luftwaffe have attacked
allied fortresses
of our smaller
fine
feathered friends --

    Chickadees
       Finches
            &
       Wrens --

and have taken
many of their strongholds
this spring here in the
Far North pillaging
needed and perhaps
unneeded sustenance
from our allies
storehouses leaving
nothing in their wake
but an avian version
of empty nest syndrome.

    These black-clad
     Heckle & Jeckle
    Grackle Gestapo
with their click click
       machine gun
   sputtering sounds

think we don't notice their
clever tricks as they
nonchalantly hop
downward from branch
to branch and shuffle
side-ways on our fence
whistling as they move
one way but their
manipulating gaze at
food supplies plans
another.

But our smaller brave
fine feathered friends
hold their ground to
fight the good fight of
faith propagating
their species as the
human species also
struggles with and
against the odds of
blind and partially
blind instinct.
Notes.
A day in the life of my backyard --
The continuing battle of
US & THEM in man & beast.
Next page