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Piyush May 31
You see that line,
soft and hollow,
where skies turn gold
then fade to yellow.
The light grows thin,
but don’t be scared—
I go there when
I’m unprepared.
When noise is sharp
and pain is near,
I walk alone
to disappear.
The world feels cold,
my heart feels small,
so I just leave
away from all.
No voices call,
no eyes can see
the quiet place
that waits for me.
Where shadows stretch
and thoughts grow deep,
and even sorrow
falls asleep.
No one looks back,
no words are given—
I’m finally home.
That’s the edge of heaven.
Calvin Graves May 31
“Be a man.”
Not just a voice—
a chorus.
Television scripts, locker room laughs,
teachers with sharp smiles,
uncles at funerals.
The world said it over and over
until it echoed in my chest
louder than my heartbeat.

Toughen up.
Men don’t cry.
Grow a spine.
Don’t be weak.

They called it growing up.
I called it disappearing.

So I swallowed softness,
one emotion at a time—
compassion, fear,
grief, joy.
Tied them in a knot
and buried them behind my ribs
where no one could see.

Pain was a private ritual.
Shame, a second skin.
I learned to laugh when it hurt.
To bleed in silence.
To treat vulnerability
like a sickness I couldn’t afford to show.

They told me I was strong.
And I am—
but at what cost?

There are days
I touch my own reflection
and feel nothing.
There are nights
when I want to scream,
but all that comes out
is a breath
too tired to be heard.

This is what boys are made of:
wires where nerves should be,
mirrors that never show weakness,
and fists
clenched so long
we forgot how to hold anything gently.

I survived.
I adapted.
I became the man they wanted.

But sometimes,
when it’s quiet,
I ask myself—

what did I lose to become him?
Piyush May 31
Hope is a lie,
It stays within a die.
No one sees it,
No one needs it,
Yet you feel it.
Your wounds plead it,
But you just bleed it.
Hide it, confide it,
Still, you seed it—
Cause you need it.

Don’t disturb her,
Don’t absorb her,
You don’t deserve her.
You hear it,
You bear it.
Don’t say it,
Just obey it.

You rely on others,
You cut your own feathers.
A lie it is,
Yeah, that’s all it is.
You want it—
But you already have it.
World in chaos
life must go on
I planted tomatoes this morning
Haiku
Norbert Tasev May 31
It was not enough that our spiritual stigma wounds repeatedly opened up after experiencing a more serious tragedy of fate, but it was as if our invisible fate had secretly taken revenge on us, simply by turning against us; how many times is it necessary to pay an eternal, untimely debt?! Money, work, nature may no longer be enough, because souls must and must be devoured here and now, because will and humility have ceased to exist, just like sincere trust.

Like a bottomless pit, one time continuum provides a passage to the other; Anger and fear, as well as nagging anger, nowadays often enter into a pact with each other in the name of harmfulness, because the flavors of intoxicating kisses now have the smell of rotten apples, from the distance of time, an unsolicited whisper slowly trickles down, warning the weak person: wake up to Reality!

Their pathetic self-pity has been deliberately slowed down, its second round will only come when each person learns to value themselves enough to not have to dig their daily well-deserved dinner out of the stinking piles of garbage containers, because there was no other.

The lady also prefers to scrape the pretzel from her fried meat, because it increases the risk of cellulite and then she will no longer be so supermodel-perfect in her fierce bikini. A complicated struggle in the soul is the result of deepening pockets, which everyone keeps to themselves and cannot show to anyone; Even manipulable mistakes will become completely human, as long as there is always at least one person to make sure they understand!
Breann May 31
The sun leaks in through glass and dust,
8 a.m., warm, golden, just—
enough to stir, but not to move.
My chest still bears a weight I prove
can pin me down through morning light,
then lull me back to lazy night.

I blink—and thunder shakes the frame,
rain drums the glass, it calls my name.
I reach again for glowing blue—
7 p.m. It can’t be true.

A whole day lost in linen seams,
swallowed by half-conscious dreams.
I whisper what I always say:
Tomorrow, I will not decay.
Bobbing
that is what we know,
not controlling the flow
the river turns and off we go
floating or still,
following every curl and rill
every drip,
every rippling shaded shallow
every stately wallowed williow, calm and still
every bump and gravelled hollow
each of us is bound, to follow in its wake
each reflected new direction that we take
is not a vast and empty ocean
or the gentle forward motion of some shimming mirrored lake
it’s a gentle stream of bubbles,
that we have caused to be
bobbing ever on onwards, always looking for the sea
Reece May 30
Summer starts soon,
Junior year is on the horizon.
Childhood dried up by the drought.
I believe things will turn out well,
Yet, I doubt.
Just stop thinking and enjoy,
The last summer before life starts for real.
There never seems to be enough time.
Viktoriia May 30
there is peace to be found in stillness,
watching life play out from a distance
like a belated guest that joined halfway through,
like none of this pain belongs to you
and you could stand up and walk away
anytime if you wished to.
when you see yourself on the screen, does it move you?
do you want to step in and interrupt it,
knowing exactly what's going to happen?
of course, you can always edit it later
before it gets sent to storage,
before you decide which one you like better.
for you are the viewer and the director,
making commentary on your own lack of skill;
an omnipotent deity, if you will.
now that's a comparison you could get behind,
but it's all taking place inside of your mind
and the next scene's coming up soon.
it's a shame you've missed on so much of the plot
worrying about small mistakes.
now you know that nobody else seems to care,
so just take a seat and enjoy the view
like none of those fears belong to you,
watching life reveal itself in the distance.
there is hope to be found in stillness.
Xnarf May 30
A primordial spark beckons consciousness to forge its way
Sensations so vivid breathing color into his gray
The spiral of change leading into ascendance of the prey
He welcomes this radiant spectrum of life to stay

Paths collide and intertwine
Follow and he swears to make you shine
Aiming for the peak where only gods dine
At grandeur’s frontier, shadows and doubts quietly align

Within his mind, a battle of virtue and vice, always in clash
Glimpses of what should be sheer happiness pass in a flash
Too occupied with the violence, the world offered him more than any hoard of cash
Help him find a way to let his weary mind refresh

It seems he wrote of this tale a hundred times before
No less expected of a man bruised at his core
He coaxes life for a dance once more
Haunted by his own ghost, he’ll never be alone on the dancefloor

Countless quests, yet the golden apple remains out of sight
Dwelling in the lust for that which brings naught but blight
He could be crowned in gold, raised to a dazzling height
He could be a rich man, if only he’d learn what is worth the fight
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