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JL Smith Aug 2018
Please don't attempt
To presume what they want
Inspiration may lead to action,
But sharing heartache
Evokes warmth

You so easily judged and labeled:
"Woe is me"--imaginary fluff,
But let me remind you
Job and Shakespeare coined that phrase
Knowing well, how this world is rough

I'm reflected within these words
You can't choose which I share
Not all of what you read will you comprehend
For your shoulders are inexperienced
Of the burden mine bear

© JL Smith
JL Smith Aug 2018
Seven billion people
Seven billion faces
Scattered across our globe
Composed of beautiful races
Some rough around the edges
Others smooth as velvet,
But when pieced together
Form a puzzle if we solve it
From first glance, you look different
And what's unknown instills fear,
But my heart knows better
For all of humanity bleeds a red so sincere

© JL Smith
JL Smith Aug 2018
I sit down at my desk
Placing trust in these keys
My world comes alive
As blood surges through me

Every letter I punch
Each stanza I create
Transfers a piece of my heart
Across this paper--my stage

An audience who relates
Commending acts of my play,
But never a witness behind scenes
To an emotionally intoxicated Hemingway

For the performance you see
Is my truth and it takes toll,
But reliving memories while writing
Is worth touching my readers' beautiful souls

© JL Smith
Lyn-Purcell Aug 2018
What you feel cannot be said
can always be written.
The power of the pen knows no bounds.
Any grief or frustration in you, write it all out.
Lyn ***
JL Smith Aug 2018
And her eyes shared a story
Her lips never would
Hazel glistening like glass
Just as fragile
Exposing her past

© JL Smith
JL Smith Aug 2018
Ticktock,
Drip drop
The voices of this house
Speak to me
And yet,
More comforting
Than the silence
We lived in
Before you left
Your key

© JL Smith
JL Smith Aug 2018
It's 12:27 a.m.
And my postman's fast asleep
As I should be,
But I lie awake while you're also
Counting sheep

This distance between us
Cements my eyes to a map
Questioning the miles
Upon miles
Worth a hitchhike
And knapsack

For now, I'll write you poetry
Stamp and seal it
With a kiss
Until my mail carrier arrives
To deliver these words
Of how much you're missed

© JL Smith
Darison Strange Aug 2018
Monday, March 19, 2018
1:04 AM

I once loved to laugh,
and though I still do,
hidden beneath the ripple of joy
An echoing scar,
A teardrop of pain.

Once So loud and so free,
things hilarious to me,
Were projected for all to hear,
But now I've reflected on my laughter of past.

Of how many times that laugh was a tool,
to cover the pain caused by all of the fools,
The cruel words that were spoken,
and jokes left me broken,
As they all fell so close to home.

Leaving me weary and wary,
And oh so alone,
I comprised a charm to protect me from harm:
"Fools cant hurt me if I laugh along",
I'll steal their power with one of my own,
I'll laugh the loudest,
and i will laugh last.

While all of the while leaving a piece of it there.
Until one day none was left,
An empty and broken and hollowed out laugh,
A cruel joke of it's glorious past.
A reflection on my childhood of boisterous laughter, and how over the years, I used it as a shield against self doubt, and cruel words, and cheapened my laugh.
JL Smith Aug 2018
I remember--
I must've been a little younger than five
The first time I learned of letting go
Peeking around my mom's recliner
Staring tearfully at the screen
Dorothy said goodbye to the Scarecrow

We formed a friendship, an unlikely pair
Me poking fun at your lack of brains
You encouraging me as I followed a dream
Down my winding, yellow-brick lane

You were there for me first
Seeing me through every storm
Communicating in the darkest of nights
As I hid fearfully from a tornado that formed

A journey full of memories
A bond strengthened through time
I've always found you most intelligent
And whether I stay or go--
I'll remember there's no place like home
When your love is mine

© JL Smith
Ian Aug 2018
That morning, when I awoke, I had not a clue,
That the things you claimed you'd never do,
Were exactly what my day was leading too,
Though, as we shared that bed, my alarm was right on cue,
And as I got up, I noticed I smelled like you.

I told my best friend about that night,
That for once, holding someone was comforting, felt right,
Laying there, with you clinging to me so tight,
Was the first time intimacy didn't come with a shock of fright.

But, of course, the truth comes out,
Stunned, standing, the visage of a lout,
So lost in all that's come about.

That afternoon, when I got home, what was I to do?
So many thoughts, so many feelings to get through,
I turned on the shower, watching the dancing water spew,
And, just before the water touched me; deja vu,
I noticed that I smelled just like you.

This couldn't stand, and I scrub and washed till I felt alright,
Dirt, regret, and your scent wash away in the dim daylight
At last I didn't smell like that night,
And didn't reek of lack of foresight.

Now, I'm left with only an internal emotional bout,
Wondering if I can even shake this doubt,
To decide whether or not to keep you in, or out.
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