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I thought we were strangers
As much as we were strangers to
Everyone around
I thought you were just a story untold,
A future ideal
My little self dreamt of you
Pretended you were a hero
She saw you under the bed
In the backyard
In the furled faces
Of a million flowers
I knew you were of this universe
Well-known
But wasn't convinced
We'd ever meet in the flesh
But we've met many times
You and I
In the corner of my shoe closet
Running down that street, bruised,
We met in a cafe on Rue de Seine
On the 4-hour bus rides at 3am
We sat together, content,
On the floor of old libraries
Inhaling stories and scents
Of cedarwood and vanillan
I saw you dancing
When I was dancing
Awkward nerds
You took my hand, pulling.
I've seen your kind, fractalled face
A thousand times
And your voice saved my life
In awe at the depth of your knowing,
I'm grateful we're still alive.

X
Vazago d Vile Jul 15
You say your demons haunt you.
But I’ve stared into worse —
and they blinked first.

If yours would face me,
I’d burn them down with truth and fury,
one by one,
until your name was free.

But they don’t.

They wear your face.
Speak with your voice.
And you…
you still call them home.

So I wait.
Not because I’m weak —
but because this battle is not mine to win.
It’s yours to start.

But when you do?
I’ll be there. Sword drawn. Fire ready.
Not to fight for you —
but with you.
This piece is a vow — not to save her, but to stand beside her. A battle cry wrapped in love.
Inspired by watching someone I love wrestle with pain, trauma, and inner demons they call home.
I don’t fight their fight. But when they rise… I’m there.
— Vazago
Lynette Jul 12
(a poem for the women left holding the dustpan)

I remember when my children were small—
eager hands reaching for the broom,
begging to help.
They’d trail behind me,
half-heartedly sweeping,
missing corners,
scattering crumbs.

But they wanted to try.
So I let them.

I’d guide their tiny hands,
show them the rhythm,
and still end up doing it myself.
They’d get tired, bored—
drop the broom mid-sweep
and run off laughing
while I stayed behind
to clean it properly.

That’s what this felt like with you.

You insisted.
“I want this. I can do this.”
So I gave you the broom.
I showed you the way.
I slowed down, waited,
offered my heart like a home.

But the minute the work began,
the minute the dust stirred,
you handed it back—
too heavy, too much,
not fun anymore.

And like a child,
you disappeared into yourself,
while I stood there—
hands full of splinters,
heart full of ache,
sweeping up the pieces
of everything you couldn’t carry.

You wanted the broom.
Until you didn’t.

And now I’m here,
again—
cleaning the mess
you made of me.
Remembering the men who wanted to play, but not clean up after the mess they made.
In A Corner
Utterly mine, in the deep silence,
in a house of purest white,
On the cusp of a morning,
with my soul utterly serene.
In the garden of the soul,
among the butterflies,
softly fluttering,
gently whispering,
poems,
within me.
For me,
sighs,
tranquil and hushed,
from that weary breath,
that still persists,
whispering poems,
even as I drown,
in this life that is not mine.
While I await my flight,
to soar from my corner to another place.
That distant realm where the soul takes wing,
where peace knows no end,
where living no longer burdens,
where I shall never tire,
where all is beautiful,
on the very wings of God,
in my own place,
so far away.
Meanwhile,
time softly slips by,
and I still gaze out,
from this beautiful corner,
of a soul that has grown weary of living.

EN UN RINCON

Muy mío, en el silencio,

en una casa blanca pura,

Al borde de una mañana,

con mi alma sosegada.

En el jardín del alma,

entre mariposas,

revoloteando,

susurrando,

poemas,

en mí.

Para mí,

suspiros,

tranquilos,

de ese respirar,

cansado, que sigue,

susurrando poemas,

a pesar de ahogarme,

en esa vida que no es mía.

Mientras espero despegar,

y volar de mi rincón a otro lado.

Ese sitio lejano donde el alma vuela,

donde la paz nunca se acaba,

donde ya no cuesta vivir,

donde ya no me canse,

donde todo es bello,

en las alas de Dios,

en mi lugar,

lejano.

Mientras,

pasa el tiempo,

y yo me asomo aún,

en ese rincón tan hermoso,

de un alma que se cansa de vivir.
VERY SLOWLY
How many years have drifted by,
Time rushes swiftly on.
And I, at times, pause myself,
So very slowly I go,
And in myself get lost.
Very slowly,
I take my time,
To lose myself,
Within my being,
Deep in thought.
I take my pause,
So very softly,
I look and listen,
I lose myself within,
Cease thinking,
And only feel,
That beating heart,
That soul,
That throbs,
That feels,
And I forget,
Of everything, no more.
I turn to me,
And let myself just sleep,
Within those dreams.
Sometimes I read verses,
So very softly,
Just as I like it.
Very calm,
I stop my clock,
And rest.
Cadmus Jun 17
🎭

What I truly feel
doesn’t survive the telling.

It breaks
on the edge of language…
leaving only
a softened version
for others to understand.

while the real thing
keeps burning quietly
where no words can reach.

🎭
Some truths are not spoken - they are endured in silence.
Spicy Digits Apr 2024
You never took up space,
And raged only in private.
I know, I was there.

I heard your natural voice
Before it was edited and rebranded.

But you've always been magnificent.

Back then your innocence was
hazardous to your health.
I was there.

I loved you enough to hide you.

I held closed your wounds in
The quiet embrace of the closet.

You're older now,
Outpacing the daydreams
that kept you alive.

Brandishing a loose razor
To cut only through the dogma.

You held on to life then,
And you hold all the power now.

I am there.
There was a voice that called deeply in the night.
There was a thickening of life,
that slowed one's inner thoughts.
There was a suspended pendulum,
that ceased its free swing,
and all at once, it seemed,
there was motion in grief.
There was a single drop of rain, that caught the passing days.
There was a forward movement,
and inside the fray of life,
I could feel a light begin to take shape.

-Rhia Clay
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