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Zelda Jul 2024
“What do you want?”

I am
the double braids;
the sunshine in the tutu dress
The linear path
The yellow line
Didn't lead where it was supposed to
(where I thought it would)
I was just trying to catch up

From the McDonald's to the escalator
From the escalator to the McDonald's

I am
An ever-changing labyrinth; A sunflower
Caught in the dead of winter
Suffocating in a sea of strangers
Home isn't where it's supposed to be

From the McDonald's to the escalator
From the escalator to the McDonald's

I know
I can't afford to;
I know
It's best I don't:
Lose my ears
Lose my head;
Lose my feet;
Lose my breath;

But they're not where they're supposed to be
And I can feel myself lose my eyes;
What happened to the linear path?
Where is THAT yellow line?

Third time’s the golden ticket
Get me out of here
Please

From the McDonald's to the escalator
From the escalator to the McDonald's

Ears heard you call my name
Head spun
Feet pushed against marble
Deep breath

Into your warm, comforting embrace
Lift me off the path
Show me the yellow line
Take me where I'm supposed to be

I am
The path less traveled
The yellow line unwinding

“A Happy Meal”

Epilogue
______

Little Miss Sunshine
Sit awhile
Happy Meals turn into ice coffees
We'll wait
No need to worry
We'll be found
Eventually

"Can I steal a fry?"
Edoardo Alaimo May 2024
Come nebbia,
Nebbia sparsa

Che divien acqua,
Poi torrente,
E poi per sempre

E forte e rapida e turbolenta
Cui vien la vita, la gioia, i colori

Il nostro scopo é
Ma non era niente
A translation of "Like mist"
Joshua Phelps May 2024
Here we go again.

Another poem focused
on the past, focused on
sins.

Another stanza of a
pain so deep inside,
that there’s no way out
from within.

Days go by and it never left,
Depression, obsession, and
a little possession,

It’s demonic,
and not right.

But suffering
never ends.

Breathe. Inhale. Live. Die.

Smoke and mirrors,
all the time.

Here we go again.

Another poem,
another line,

Written and signed

By the artist who lost
the will to live and survive.
Edoardo Alaimo Apr 2024
Like mist,
Sparse,

Becoming water,
and then a river,
and going forever

And strong and fast and turbulent,
growing life and joy and colors,

Our purpose is,
and was never.
Very concise poem on existential nihilism

2024-04-04
EA
maria Mar 2024
Typically greeted with clanking dishes and crumbs on the counter,
this week, I was alone.
Cleared out was my eclectic apartment;
it was just me who I greeted at the end of the day.
I didn't speak out loud as I would,
but my mind had a relentless narrative
of look at this and what about that.

It was natural,
it was lovely,
and it was calm.

Leave me alone for too long
and dim shadows start to look like ghosts.
But make way for me some space,
and I flourish in my own company.
Francis Nov 2023
Reminiscent on eras?
Or errors?
Reminiscent on the past,
Always eyeing the past,
The future,
What could have been,
What could possibly be,
But never a glance at the now.

“The now,”
As she always preached.
“Be in the now,”
She’d whisper,
As I angst over then and later.

I now look back on her,
Back on them all, really,
All of the eras in which they are placed,
All of the errors of that were committed,
And see it all, them all, as clear as crystal.

So many jewels of then,
So many… “hers” to treasure,
Yet here I am, in “the now,”
Wishing for nobody to fill that vacancy,
Nobody to hold that candidacy,
Because how can you love again,
When you haven’t truly loved before?

Nostalgic of an error, lost in eras,
That got whisked away, in the wind of life,
Dreaming of… “what will be,”
Reflecting on… “what could have been,”
Failing to… embrace the freedom,
To laugh, for a change,
After so long of being their court jester.

By my lonesome,
I worry not remotely,
It’s my sole duty, to be of duty,
To myself and myself,
Alone.
They all had special meaning. The times were special too.
Francis Nov 2023
The logic fascinates me,
How a perfectly fine bundle of bananas,
Is just thrown away,
Simply because,
Nobody wanted the inconvenience,
Of having to peel.
Francis Oct 2023
What does it matter?
These thoughts,
Feelings,
Concerns,
Are merely passers-by,
In this life of uncertainty.

No thought goes unforgotten,
So why do I think so much?
Francis Oct 2023
Bobbing and weaving,
Slipping and jabbing.

The fighting stance against a thousand opponents,
All of whom, look like me,
Is a stance I can only articulate,
In a mirror,
Shadow boxing that guy,
Strangely looking like me.

Pop-Pop BANG,
I throw punches at the air in front of me,
This bull can rage like Cinderella in a cage,
A square, roped cage,
Where life’s uppercuts put me in a daze.

The fighter in me,
One stubborn little *******,
Iron-jawed and iron-clawed,
Always taking one to the gut,
I fall down and so ruthlessly get back up.

24 and 0,
I’m the undefeated world champion,
My opponent remains consistent,
But I’m not afraid,
I got this far,
You think I can’t go a few more rounds?
In Corrections, they used to say “Stay in the fight,” when it came to enduring the strenuous work hours and horrible conditions. Guess I applied those words to my every day life.
Francis Oct 2023
Many hats on my head,
Many titles to claim,
I find it fulfilling to be,
Everything that motivates me.

One day I’m a fireman,
Another day I am a jailer,
This day I’m a poet,
Tomorrow I’ll be a mailer.

What’s funny is this,
A name and a shield,
Is merely a buck for a meal,
My ignorance is so bliss.

These paths are not me,
They are merely a guide,
For me to find whomever is me,
On a security guard’s salary.

To make films or to weep,
To keep jails or to sleep,
To fight fires or to leap,
Into this pen of little sheep.

Why is it that I,
Aim to be that guy,
Who’s career should imply,
That I’m “something” till I die?

An artist,
An actor,
An experiment of all factors,
I try hard to be somebody,
When I’m already my own everybody.

I’m exactly what I need to be,
In this world of all these faces,
Masks grow tight around these cheeks,
Why aspire to climb mountains,
And reach such heightening places?

I’m a detective one day,
An electrician by night,
A silly little dreamer,
Always ready to take on flight.

I’ll pilot this aircraft,
And spread my wings a’sailing,
Without prejudice or hesitation,
I may not always succeed,
But I’m never failing.
Between graduating high school to present day, I was a filmmaker, private investigator and aspiring police detective, volunteer firefighter, correction officer and now government-paid security guard. Today I write poems, while I wait for inspiration to make another film— yet I also want to paint and write novels, poetry, and more stories. I have always defined myself based on what I do and my accomplishments. Yet why I can’t I ever define myself based on me? Either way, I always seem to accomplish my goals.
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