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Andy Chunn Oct 2020
Rusty cans and unknown skeletons
Once useful in structure and convenience
Now sculpture the red clay and pine knots
Of the hidden gateway to the backwoods.

My memory loses the battle
With a toy cash register whose numbers
Still shine black on white and flash higher
As they display, and the bells jingle.

Tires and more tires carry worn treads
With water greasy from time and nature’s
Slow and steady return to her own way
Sloshing willingly into my shoes.

Mats of old shingles once weathering
Storms and sunshine now lie quietly
Clinging to one another like lost children
Cowering in their barren vacuum of loneliness.

Old men with tales of battles
And stories of crops, and cattle, and kings
Probably sat in that old chair
With whittled arms and broken legs.

Sporadic visits teach a wondering history
More mystical and convincing
Than the fact-riddled pages of tomorrow’s assignment
Or the tainted explanations of our teachers.
Ash Oct 2020
The straighten nail gets hammered deep and uneven shaped nail gets it through half way.
Sarah Flynn Oct 2020
you tell your six year old daughter
all about stranger danger.

“don’t get into a car
with someone you don’t know.”

“don’t listen if they say
that they have a puppy
or candy or something fun.
they don’t.”

your six year old daughter
knows exactly what to do
if she is ever approached or touched
by a strange, unknown man.
but does she know what to do
if the man who touches her
has a seat at the Thanksgiving table?


you tell your thirteen year old daughter
that someone who she loves
should never hit her.

“if punches are thrown, leave.”

“use that can of pepper spray.”

“if you have to hit back,
aim for the eyes, or the groin,
or anywhere weak.”

“run away.”

your thirteen year old daughter
knows to never let a man hit her.
but if he yells at her,
and degrades her, and scares her,
and maybe even grabs her
but not quite hard enough
to leave a bruise, that is still abuse.
did you tell her that?
does she know what to do
if he doesn’t leave any marks
and tells her over and over again
that he’s sorry?


you tell your sixteen year old daughter
to yell “fire!” instead of “****!”

“people will care more
about the well-being
of their own property
than they will about your life.”

“they will come running,
but only if the situation
affects them too.”

your sixteen year old daughter
knows that people can be selfish,
and if they don’t want to see something,
they’ll simply turn the other way.
but there is good in this world too.
there are people who will care
and who will love her
and who she can trust.
did you tell her that?
if she stops believing in love
and genuine people,
does she know what to do?
or will she settle for the first man
who gives her any attention,
thinking that he is all
she will ever find?


you tell your twenty-four year old daughter
that one day, you hope
her future is beautiful.

“marry an amazing man.”

“have grandchildren.”

“live happily.”

when you tell her this,
you unintentionally add
your hope for her happiness
at the very end of your sentence,
almost like an afterthought.
your twenty-four year old daughter
wants to get married
and live in a nice house
and give you grandchildren.
but does she know to put herself first?
or will she marry a man because
she thinks he wants her to,
and have grandchildren
because she thinks that’s what you want?
does she know that
she has her own voice?
did you tell her that
she doesn’t need anyone
other than herself
to find happiness?
Owen Oct 2020
This time,
I wont run.
This time,
I'll feel it all
every ounce of pain,
every punch to the gut,
every knife in my back,
in my heart.
I want to remember this.
Brand me.
So I can finally stop
repeating history.
I wont be numb this time .
Jeremy Washko Oct 2020
My need for you to love me far exceeds my ability to let you love me. I get in my own way, it's all I've ever known. I played this card so long I may never find my own home. In me, in you, and the desperation of two lovers. You're the rope that tied my binds, the graceful veil to hide my naive eyes. I always assumed there were others, just not enough for you to cross lines. I watch my light die in your eyes, the way we embrace like fall after summer highs. Longevity may be lost, but those elemental, your whole world, you cant easily toss. My heartache is the new beat. My pain the chorus as it repeats. You have my all so I've got nothing left, just a stupid boy who made his own bed.
Olivia Daniels Aug 2020
Life is multiple games of palace
You do the best you can
with the hand you're dealt
and it all comes down to
the three cards face down in front of you

Some say palace is game of luck
but I'd argue there's more to it
there is strategy in how you
set yourself up to succeed

Only you can put yourself
in the best possible position
to deal with those buried cards in front of you

Sometimes those cards are 3's and 4's,
if you're lucky they'll be 2's or K's
but you won't know until you have to flip them

Othertimes the odds are against you
the best way to combat a poor hand is more strategy.
Unfortunately, strategies aren't always easy to find
the more you practice, the better you get.

Eventually, you'll know and perfect them all.
With all the strategies up your sleeve,
statistics would say your odds of winning are the highest
While it's still possible you may fail, the likelihood
is so much lower.

Life is like multiple games of palace.
You may not know the cards face down in front of you,
but after perfecting the strategies
the likelihood of you winning is so very high
Big Virge Sep 2020
Ya Know....
I Write About LESSONS...
In... Most of My Rhymes...

The... Lessons In Life...
That Can... OPEN Your Eyes... !!!
And Sometimes SURPRISE... !!!!!!!!

Some That... TRULY...
AREN’T That Nice... !!!!!
When Dealing With GUYS...
Who... CHOOSE TO LIE... !!!!!!!!

The... Type of FAKERS...
CLAIMING... Gangsta’ Status... !?!

Talkin’ Bout' THIS....
And Talkin' Bout' THAT....

Talkin’ Bout... Clips... !!!
And Talkin’ Bout GATS... !!!

NOT EVEN HALFWAY Thugs... !?!

... Who DO SHOOT GUNS... !!!!!

The Type Whose GUMS...
Just... LOVE To RUN... !!!
To PROVE They’re BAD...
When IN FACT... It’s SAD... !!!

The LIVES They Have... !!!!!
... Caught Up In HYPE... !!!
That... “ Flirts With MIKE "... !!!

But... NEVER EVER...
... Touches HEIGHTS...
That Prove They’re CLEVER... ?!?

... REAL Peter Pans’...
With... NO Labyrinth... !?!

The Type of Man... ?!?
Who Think They’ll WIN...
Because They Live...
By ALL KINDS OF TRICKS... !!!

THREATENING Things...
From......... FAR Away... ?!?

Because What STINGS...
Is The... FACE TO FACE... !!!!!

“ You wanna **** me, go ahead son, DO !
What makes you think, i’m AFRAID of You ?
My Spirit is STRONG, so, make your move ! “

Maybe Like... “ Pac’ “... ?!?
What I Now Speak On...
Is... FUTURE ATTACKS... !?!

If It Is Then... COOL... !!!
Cos’ I’m TIRED of School... !!!!!!

These Types of Lessons...
Just Lead To STRESSING... !!!
When People Be Attempting..
To DESECRATE The Blessings...

That The MOST HIGH Gives... !?!?!

It’s THE DEVIL That Be Resting...
In THESE... ADULT KIDS... !!!!!

Conscience BURNING... !!!
Because of Their YEARNING...
To BE.... TOP DOG.... !!!
of... FAULTY Cogs... !!!!!

Their... Wheel of Fortune...
Has Them SCORCHING... !!!!
WITHOUT REAL FIRE...
That Takes Them HIGHER...

Firin’ BLANKS....
But They AIN’T Tom Hanks... !!!

You See They Like To ACT...
But DON’T GET Call Backs... !!!

My Lesson HAS BEEN...
DON’T Get Caught In...
Their... Web of SIN... !!!

Cos’ A Spiders Web...
TRAPS You Like DEATH... !!!!!!

Taking... DEEP BREATHS...
To... Find AN ESCAPE... !!!!!!

FAKE *** Meths’...
Who DON’T... " Bring The Pain “... !!!

They Just Wanna STRESS BRAINS...
Time And.... AGAIN.... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But The Lesson For Them...
Is... “ NO PAIN, NO GAIN “... !!!

What They... MAINTAIN...
Will Bring... PROBLEMS... !!!

These ARE LESSONS...
That... DO NOT Strengthen... !!!

They May... ASSUAGE...
What They Feel Today... ?!?
But Tomorrow’s SORROW...
Leaves Them Feeling HOLLOW... !!!

Because... Their Game...
Is... FILLED WITH SHAME... !!!

... Courting DRAMA...
As If It’s Their PARTNER... ?!?
They Should Keep CALMER...
Before They See KARMA......

CONTROL... Them...
Just Like A SNAKE CHARMER... !!!

They LOVE To RATTLE...
But Have... NO BITE... !!!

When It Comes To The BATTLE...
They’d... Rather NOT Write...
Because They KNOW That’s A Fight...
That They... CAN’T Contrive... !!!

The BATTLE That Comes...
When It’s IN THE MIND... !!!

As BIG MAN Said I’m READY TO DIE... !!!
Just... NOT BEFORE My Time... !!!

Because of The Guys...
Who KEEP ON MESSING...
With The MOST HIGHS’ Blessings... ?!?

By NOT Taking The Time...
To HEED... Life’s...

........ “ LESSONS “....... ?!?
They are what form and build us, if we are wise enough to learn from them....
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