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I remember the author during
A boom reading mentioning
Not to edit yourself for other people
That is why I am one hundred percent
Me
With my tattoos and piercings
With my unique heritage
And my even more unique brain I see that I am
Unedited
By nature….
Don’t edit yourself for other self
For other people!
Just be you!
If they don’t like it
That’s on them
Archer Feb 3
The words that you’ve forced upon me are sad
I’ll take them anyways but you should know
That you can’t take them back
Archer Feb 1
One of them is hoping
The other one is moping.

The one that isn’t moping
Wishes they were coping.
Archer Jan 31
I pull up grass and feel guilty about it
I know it’s not bad.
So why can’t I stop?
The blade just keeps looking up at me
“Why did you do it again?”
“It hurts”

There’s scars on the yard from the last times
It’s fine.
I’ll water it when I feel better
So why can’t I stop?
The silver just keeps looking at me
“Why’d you do it again?”
“It hurt”

I pull up the grass and feel guilty about cuts
The lawn will grow back
I cover up my arms and legs
The ground is barren and mowed to dirt
So why can’t I stop?
The blade stares
“Again?”
“…”
At some point
the pills stop being for you.
They become gifts for those
who care so much
that they don’t want you to die.
They are for the therapists
the doctors
the psych nurses
the health techs
the ER staff
and psychiatrists
desperately rooting for you.
Take them.
Take them until they’re for you again.
Sara Barrett Jan 31
My strength is not borrowed—  
it was forged in silence,  
hammered by pain,  
and tempered in the fires of survival.  

It does not come from borrowed fabrics  
or shallow wells of comparison;  
it is carved from my marrow,  
stitched into my skin with my own hands.  
You cannot wield my wounds against me.  

I have held them like stones—  
felt their jagged edges,  
their weight pressing into my palms—  
and I have built something greater than suffering.  

Vulnerability is not weakness;  
it is the raw truth of my existence:  
the mirror I no longer fear,  
the voice that does not waver,  
the heartbeat steady beneath scrutiny.  

Speak of me if you must—  
but your words echo only within walls  
you have built to contain your own fears.  

They do not define me;  
they do not alter my course.  
Compare me if it soothes you.  
Measure my steps against your own.  

But know this:  
my journey is mine—  
unshaken by your judgment,  
untouched by your doubts.  

I walk with confidence—  
not from arrogance, but from knowing:  
I have faced myself in the darkest hours,  
and I did not flinch.
"Cartographies of Resilience" is a powerful and unyielding exploration of strength forged through pain and survival. This poem is a bold declaration of self-ownership, where vulnerability becomes a source of power, and scars are transformed into the foundation of something extraordinary. With unwavering confidence, it dismisses judgment and comparison, celebrating the beauty of an authentic, unshaken journey. A reflection of the soul, it resonates deeply with anyone who has confronted their darkest moments and risen unbroken.
In the depths of 30 years gone by,
Buried feelings, stoic, never seeing eye to eye.
Pulled in multiple directions, a weighty load,
Like Atlas, the world upon my shoulders bestowed.

Three relationships failed, a heart left torn,
The pain of one affecting those I have sworn,
To protect and shield myself from my despair,
Alone I must stand, solitude is my only prayer.

Leaving my family behind as an act of protection,
In the darkness of uncertainty, seeking connection.
Hoping to find a lifeline in this barren land,
To light my way or be consumed by darkness grand.

Abandoned by hope, anger festering within,
Anxiety grips me tight under the shadow's din.
Confusion reigns as I navigate this desolate space,
Fear and frustration etched on my weary face.

In this dystopian world rife with disappointment and failure,
I wander lost, swallowed by the void's dark allure.
Hopelessness and pain echo through the silent night,
The stress of solitude chokes out all light.
I struggled with this for 30 years.  Always doing for others, never myself, but now, that is in my past, and my future is mine.
Asphalt night
by red dawn’s light
descends into deepest fog.

A glimmer of bright
on the edge of sight
shimmers blue: I begin to walk.
Inspired by this photo I took in thick night fog: https://bsky.app/profile/jackgroundhog.bsky.social/post/3lgavecz3q22j
TheJhondelion Jan 22
My ill-filled mind adrift on winds ethereal,
Hopeless, I muse on my own burial.
I dug six feet in foreign lands immemorial,
As ruminations run wild, rabid, and feral.

Imprisoned self, reborn as antisocial,
Past cohorts are now strangers, fantasmal.
Depressing illusions intensify suicidal,
Knocking on doors of the heavenly celestial.
Yet kneeling at the pulpit feels nothing special.

Words misunderstood, deemed uncolloquial,
Unbothered to learn, It's deemed impractical.
Learning the language they use in their imperial,
To make my plea resound consequential.

𝒩𝑜𝓌 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝓂𝓎 𝓅𝓁𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒶𝓃𝒸𝒾𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝑔𝑜𝒹𝓈 𝒷𝒶𝓃𝒶𝓁!

"𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒌! 𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒈𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒄𝒉 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒆,
𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆.
𝑻𝒉𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒍, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆.
𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖 𝒐𝒍𝒆' 𝒈𝒐𝒅𝒔, 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒆.

𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒍𝒍?
𝑨 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓, 𝒂 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏, 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒚 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒍.
𝑫𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓?
𝑶𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓?"

For endless ages, I wait in vain,
Enduring this stone-hearted disdain.
Forsaken and lost, your silence profane—
An eternal ache, my solitary refrain.
This poem explores themes of despair, isolation, and the search for meaning in the face of divine silence. It embodies a deeply introspective and somber tone, reflecting the inner turmoil and sense of abandonment. The tone is gothic and melancholic, with a distinct sense of frustration and hopelessness. The musings on mortality, the futility of prayer, and the feeling of being unheard give this poem a tragic, almost existential quality.

Plagiarism Notice: This poem is an original work by TheJhonDeLion. It has been submitted for plagiarism checks to ensure authenticity. Any resemblance to other works is purely coincidental. If you find any similar content elsewhere, please notify me immediately.
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