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"Ideally, I’m at a nice desk in my home office or a library or a cafe somewhere, but I really try to train myself to write anywhere and at any time."
Author Rebecca Kuang (1)

<nml>
bus stops, airplanes,
soaking bathtubs, any couches in every room.
driving, jitney riding, back of taxis,
bed, beds, anywhere I rest my head,
airport lounges, (hotel bars, very har-d)
in backyards by the water,
where serenity and serendipity,
order me motionless, stilled, and yet,
doggedly pursued by the
emissions of the observable,
anytime anyplace,
while making love,
while taking love
giving love,
in motion, at rest,
reading yours, stumbling over fab quotes,
in restaraunts,
or sidewalk quotes,
on either
paper or cloth
napkins,
(but not tablecloths)
soft places, watery places,
(but not pewed hard benches,
unless the sermons are just god~awful)
tears on face
privately and publicly,
Yankee Stadium,
did I mention the subway?
long drives on horrible highways,
upon seeing beautiful people,
little children, streets full of couples
holding hands, arms around shoulders
d r a p i n g

theater where the spoken  lines enunciate incite me,
walking on the street and music earbuds
issue me ten commandments,
'round children, anytime or anyplace,
in fact, in deed,
the most difficult place
is at my desk,
where the pressures of composition,
brings an ill disposition,

watching ballet dancers twist my soul,
by watching the human body unfold,
did I mention the Metropolitan
Museum.
Opera
Transit Authority,
yeah yeah
pretty much anywhere inspirations lay
littered on sidewalks, in the air,
***** underground stations,
in motion, or in emotion,
places and moments of devotion
wherever they are detectable,
in streams of conscious unconsciousness,
walking by river esplanades,
central parks,
overhearing drama spoken on city streets,
where things said, cannot be unheard,
and never forgotten...

that pretty much covers all the places,
most of all the fresh faces,
and the tired old shuffling bodies inclusive


did I mention doctor's waiting rooms?
especially in silent elevator trips of long duration,
trapped within by **** looking human beings,
and you compose witty ditty
opening lines
that die on vines unspoken

or kids with outrageous, flashing lights on sneakers,
inside department stores
not much,
but those Fifth Ave. windows at holiday seasons,
plenty writing inspiration,
bunch of bunches

where the Towers fell,
where blood innocent was felled,
in snow, rain and slush,
over good bad desserts,
near Good Humor and Mr. Softee trucks,
upon openings  of refrigerators
with nothing but moldy cheese,
or freezers overstocked with no room to breathe,
in the dark to a symphony of tiny multi colored electronic dots,
in rooms with tinny roofed ceilings during Florida hurricanes,
walking down unending hallways with no exits signs
for miles and miles

well that about covers it,
if you had a few spare weeks, you would find a poem from
each and every one of these situational places,

so the point well made,
you write in you head,
which you take pretty much
everywhere


>nml<

on the couch,
where else?
6:12am
…un clogging my head...
(1)
https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/rebecca-kuang-r-f-katabasis-yellowface-dc5fdab6?mod=mhp
There was a man not so very long ago, working as a mail man,
he hated his job,
hated his life,
barely able to survive.

He went home every night,
not a child or wife in sight,
spent his money on cable ****,
nothing in the cabinets but kernels of popcorn.

The end of his day was his pride and joy,
he had loved writing since he was a boy,
wrote books no one wanted to read,
publishers looking only for money and greed.

No one took chances, so he continued in his strife,
one day committing to taking his life.

An inbox message pings red,
he was surprised he wasn't dead,
a publisher willing,
to take a chance,
a simple offer,
a forever dance.

He said “I have one of two choices—stay in the post office and go crazy…or stay out here and play writer and starve. I have decided to starve.”

He wrote and wrote and worked to finish life as somebody,
finishing out his life on a high,

Yet the note on his gravestone reads

"Don't Try."
Why?
Based on Charles Bukowski's life.
Aishi Jun 1
She screams
a raw  sound,
Ripped from her throat swallowed by shadow.
Her cries are strangled in the air,
Lost to the silence where no one cares.

His eyes cold and cruel and still confused
As if her terror was something strange like a game to break.
Her tears bleed red, her sobs choked dry

A storm raging inside a throat too tight to let out a cry

She runs or tries to but fate strikes fast.
Hands like iron pulls her back
And to the earth she’s dragged

The ground devours her like a grave,
Cold, hard, and undead

She fought
oh, she really fought

Nails clawing, fists flailing,

She screamed until her voice turned to rust.
She bit, she begged, she burned to break free
But fate answered only with silence.
But was it fair or simply faith
What did she even do to deserve this?

She longed to vanish, to shrink, to dissolve in the dirt she lay in.
But the only thing that disappeared
Was her power, her pride, her peace.

An evil deed, dark and twisted

An evil no eyes dared to witness.
No savior came, no voice called out
Only shadows, only silence.

If someone had seen
Maybe if someone had heard...
Perhaps she’d still have her pride
Perhaps she’d still have her light.

But no one saw, no one came
And now she lies still,
Her spirit crushed beneath
The weight of what was stolen from her
The gut wrenching feeling of memories that stay
I S A A C May 12
causes to cry for
underwhelmed and unsure
kept option open but what for?
my ego is bruised and buried
the fruits of my labour vary
some are prey to predators
some merely didn’t deliver
i should’ve invested in my vigor
not invested in my triggers
causes to try for
Beneath the weight of starless nights,
He carved his path through fractured light
A scholar' s heart, though hunger gnawed,
In lecture halls, his dreams he thawed.

No coin to claim a bed's embrace,  
Yet courage etched his weary face.  
Cold floors, stale bread, and borrowed showers,
But hope persisted through the hours.

“Define your goal,”his voice now rings,  
“Let every step to purpose cling.”
Through storms of doubt, he held the flame,
And grit became his middle name.

No grant nor state would stake his claim,
Yet social media fanned his aim.
Strangers became his steadfast kin,
Their faith a balm for wounds within.

Now standing tall, degree in hand,  
He maps the way for others’ land.
“Your trials are seeds” he softly shares,  
“For blossoms thrive through unkind airs.”  

Resilience wrote his story’s creed
Not born of luck, but planted seed.
A testament to hearts that fight,  
And turn the darkest voids to light.
Jeremy Betts Mar 19
Where do I go nooow?
Why don't I know hooow?
If I giiive eeeveryyythiiing?
I'll be less thaaan nooothiiing?

What is this really about?

If I give up nooow
Take my final booow
Will it meeean aaanyyythiiing?
Will I still beee nooothiiing?

I don't think I'm willing to find out

©2025
Mina Feb 24
Pretty birds in a cage
Little birds in a rage
Red, yellow, green and blue
All bonded like a glue
They try, cry and weep
They fly and forget the creep
Young friends of Earth
Flightless friends from birth
Wish they were never born
Until they eat sweet corn
I don't remember the original poem but I tried to write something out of a stanza
Mrs Timetable Jan 19
Try
Every day
Feels like,  
Ok now,
Try
Again
Try:  make an attempt or effort to do something
At least I still get the chance to.
Jeremy Betts Jan 17
Sometimes it's better
To not have ever
Even tried
"Never say never"
Should come with a disclaimer
Spread wide

Watch for the tide
Current's make a deadly ride
Try to remember
More people than not have lied
Wrong and right often mingle on the same side
A good person's not even a contender

©2025
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