#burdens
The Seawise Giant is dragging behind my feet
Tethered to the days I'm trying to leave behind
I try to swim upstream
But I'm inching farther back
Suddenly, my blood begins to boil inside of me
A fireworks' worth of adrenaline
An urge to swim faster to the island
On my far-peripheral vision
To lock my body against the abyss of the ocean and claim the crushing dark as my own
Tearing the current into boiling foam with strokes that could fracture stone.
My heated pulse only rising,
As my palms whip the water into whirlpools, forcing that anchor to rise.
And when I reached down to bite that rope apart,
My canines crushed a glass bottle instead.
I look up to see that island of homes, shops, and people before me.
It isn't so far anymore.
May 19
May 19, 2026 at 9:36 AM UTC
Yes
We are gross
In the same gross way
It’s gross that you wrote me
It’s gross that I read it
That I read it and didn’t delete it
It’s gross that I care
What some stranger thinks
I hate my sensibilities
And my capacity for self sabotage
It’s gross that I play volleyball
With my own projections
That I love myself more
Because of whatever you see in me
That I love the fictional version of me
You made up in your head
It’s gross that I toy with the disaster
You represent
That I feel burdened
By my strongly held convictions
It’s awful and gross
That my shadow and I play bingo on the weekends
That our discussions have turned into mutual ************
I wish I didn’t care
I wish I didn’t wish I didn’t care
Freedom is gross
******* is gross
-cole, 10 Nov 2025
Nov 9, 2025
Nov 9, 2025 at 8:54 PM UTC
Put on right out of the womb, a crown was placed on her head
5 diamonds are placed to represent each burden
Perfection
Therapist
Extra parent
No remembrance of her childhood
And giving when there's nothing left to give
As the years go on, she will make mistakes
Hers being the hardest to forgive
She will take the pain and burdens of the ones who brought her into this world and others without a second of hesitation and still feel as if she is not enough
She will me extraordinarily mature for her conquest asked of her
But not nearly mature enough for what she wants
She will put every person before her
But when she does something for herself, she's called selfish and lazy
She surrounds herself with books to take her to a place that expects nothing but the flip of a page
Countless times,
She will compare herself to others
She will stay up late working on that paper to get extra points just to please her parents
She will have impossible expectations to meet
Do you know who she is?
She's the eldest daughter
She won't want to have kids for the fear of putting her oldest through the same pain
But most of all, she won't get what she craves the most
Unconditional love
Apr 22, 2025
Apr 22, 2025 at 10:30 PM UTC
Our burdens are lifted—it’s spring break, after all.
Though ocean breezes, surf sounds, the smell of sunblock,
fresh tans and bottomless margaritas at the beach can be healing,
we decided to vacation on campus and find joy in small, everyday things.
Yesterday, we went to the farmer’s market, where one coffee vendor was making real cappuccinos and another was baking fresh breakfast pizzas. The combination reminded me of the 'Antico Forno Roscioli' caffe, near Campo de' Fiori, in Rome.
Then we hit the gym pool, climbed a rock wall (slowly) and played racquetball (rather poorly). We tried a dance & fitness class too—I thought I was in shape but ugg, it was hard to keep up. Peter (my 27-year-old bf) practically collapsed, but maybe he was angling for mouth-2-mouth.
Straight brag: Peter and I are getting new laptops today—MacBook Air M4s—mine’s baby blue, his is silver. So today seems like Christmas.
I don’t know if you people have computers, or use the Internet, but if you do, you’ll get it. I don’t know exactly when it’ll arrive, of course, so I’m pacing our suite.
I’ve always loved tech. My brother started teaching me about computers when I was 10—you know—hard drives, logic boards, power supplies, all of it. I remember it taking about two days to set one up and move all of the data. Today all I’ll have to do is set the new computer next to the old one and click migrate.
You gotta doff your hat to the tech wizards that came up with that, but the hours spent doing it the old way were fun.
“Something’s lost yet something's gained” - I think Joni Mitchell sang that.
.
.
Songs for this:
Am I the Same Girl? by Swing Out Sister
Mountain or a Molehill by Kris Berry
.
.
our cast: A reader once asked, “Who are these people?” (a solid question) So now I do a cast list:
Peter, (My bf), is a bearded, 27-year-old from the sage hills of Malibu, California. He’s 6’1, too thin, his jet-black hair is perpetually uncombed and his skin is pale from over exposure to fluorescent lighting. He earned his PhD in Applied Physics last year and now he works for CERN in Geneva. He’s smart, quiet, awkward and he can be too serious. I’m unreasonably cRaZy about this guy.
Your author, a simple, multinational, upper-crust, trust-fund baby from Athens, Georgia who's also a molecular biophysics and biochemistry major (pre-med).
Mar 12, 2025
Mar 12, 2025 at 12:34 PM UTC
My shoulders are burdened
by the weight of all the lives I'm living.
My head hurts because my neck
supports all the people I’ve become.
Laden with hats, my hair hides
underneath the tokens of every job I do.
Deep within, I still fear that this is not enough.
Will it ever be enough?
Mar 7, 2025
Mar 7, 2025 at 7:48 PM UTC
Let the weight of the world go,
Like morning frost
Beneath dawn's tender touch.
Spread your worries over the earth,
Not as stones, but as seeds.
Watch how fresh roots
Will comfort your despair,
Nurturing it into strength.
Then emerge with resilience,
As daybreak’s first steady breath
Calm, enduring and inevitable.
Do not dwell on others' requests;
Your heart knows its needs,
Longing to become more
Than just something.
Wishing to be whole and unbroken
By time's constant haste.
While adrift with your name
on the wind's tongue,
Carried by the breeze
That understands the truth.
These winds have carved mountains
And have ridden the tides
Of wild, untamed oceans.
Take a moment to compose yourself.
Your respite is not submission,
But the gathering of thunder
Within the lull before the storm breaks.
It is a deep breath before your voice
Awakens the sleeping sky,
The dawn holds its breath in waiting,
As the burden lessens with time.
©️Lizzie Bevis
Dec 5, 2024
Dec 5, 2024 at 2:49 PM UTC
Put your burdens down, right here
Not forever, just for now
Let them know you hear their cries
See the blues under their eyes
Tell them there’s no need to fear
You’ll return to mop their brow
‘Til their tears are running clear
They’ll be waiting low, right here
Biding silent, softly weep
Strike a bargain, leave in trust
Then before they gather dust
Greet them as you reappear
Warm them gently in your keep
Carry kinder, hale and just
You have earned your journey pause
Try to graciously ignore
Any loud imagining
That you could be squandering
Chances that are there because
You are shrugging ache and sore
In your weighted wandering
It’s alright to take a break
Not forever, just for now
You are burden-carry strong
Muscles steel and journey long
Listen to your body ache
Needs a rest, if you allow
‘Til your steady ache is gone
Nov 10, 2024
Nov 10, 2024 at 6:55 PM UTC
Release me from these shackles,
I don't need to be contained,
away from the guilt of it,
I don't need to be constrained.
Release me from the burdens,
Release me from all Fears,
Release me from these Hardships,
That I have dealth with for so many years.
Release me from Constraints of sorrow,
of shedding so many Tears,
Wishing that someone would save me,
Wishing that help was near.
Release me from Trail and error,
Release me from all doubts,
Loose me from the thought of thinking,
If the fact that there's no way out.
Constrained from Financial difficulties,
Constrained from the ware and tear,
When you're feeling down and low,
When Life is treating you unfair.
Release me from ALL CONSTRAINTS,
This is my beck and call,
Oh, Please Release these shackles,
To be unconstrained FROM IT ALL!!
B.R.
Date: 10/1/2024
Oct 1, 2024
Oct 1, 2024 at 1:36 PM UTC
i ask you to repent, for me
come clean, for me
and tell your dad,
no, i wasn’t 18
i was
mature for my age
Feb 7, 2024
Feb 7, 2024 at 3:26 AM UTC
Rendered offenses
Sweat in the opinion, sakes
And due attention, to reason amends
Acting only a little saner, the stark stare a host makes...
Do you notice, evermore?
Anyway, the truth we prepose of...
Has a callous beginning, too sore
For a challenge of wisdom, that even does?
Prayers of dour anger...
For the aspire and means we favor
With a realm to a touch, tough knowing you and life's danger...
The reality of another fight, with sin as the futures flavor?
Speed has a question, dwindling in the wind
Suspect days, to redoubt and list the scope of an argument
That has the silence we afforded it, to keep the shadows of kin
Proper is as proper had, the hush of simple tomorrows, a problem to relent...
Toward sharing, the taste of a hoping kiss...?
That when recognized, sympathy is an answer; only a heed can tell...
The prayer of estrangement, has become a chastity's wish
Will a savior in love, know the better of kindness; here's your hell...
With a baring lip, that has suggested a toothsome reply to quips
And hearts to accept the solace of terror, a harrowing finish to past lies...?
That began and ended with a promise found in the bolting and gray wits
Of a dread simplicity, still running to wisdom's charity, which requited...
Sep 21, 2023
Sep 21, 2023 at 8:55 PM UTC
When happiness fades
faster than a stranger’s smile,
Only love can make your darkness weak
and your burdens light
Apr 14, 2021
Apr 14, 2021 at 10:55 PM UTC
DEAR PENPAL PEOPLE, the burdens that we hold are for our backs to curve years of wisdom---to reach peace:}
hard for me to express
the things you left in me are in mess
the buildings so high scared to my *******
believed things come now to their bests
acceptance of the unknown faces that bloom on the yellow stairs
moments I found it a burden to bare
then you another ranger in those brown tiles
made me drink that blue liquor made me smile
laughter in the wooden walls I will uncover soon
even when the visits brought a past gloom
searching is something I was meant to do on those borders
never will I know or remember unless I read the folders
feel the flies in the green lands
a tingle plastered on the hands
but nothing more than that stance you ******
put a lot of grace because of a simple caring lace
is it okay if this while took a late
that mere second has been stuck written on my fate
those arms gambled with my noes
even though a little lie
didn't hurt
didn't go
far from the beyonds
that red sweater
a path to the wallpaper
to the given weather
-------ravenfeels
Apr 6, 2021
Apr 6, 2021 at 5:22 PM UTC
Your may have hurt her,
But you did not break her.
You did not destroy her.
She will always be stronger than you,
simply because its just true.
You are nothing to her and to me.
and thats just what you will always be.
Feb 20, 2021
Feb 20, 2021 at 6:17 PM UTC
I know how a strong woman cries-
and I also know why.
A hidden lump deep in the heart that festers
into a cancerous demise.
People do not stand on thin foundations,
nor lean on paper walls.
They use up space and add more weight
then you're left alone to bear it all.
Jan 28, 2021
Jan 28, 2021 at 9:22 PM UTC
She called out severally
And cried out bitterly
Wishing for a hand,
To untie the band.
The bars stood still,
And stole her skill
Leaving her in pain,
With nothing to gain.
Darts stroke her mind,
Deep enough to bind
And sculped her sight,
With strings of fright.
The past was awake,
Sharpening its old hake
And spreading its sheets,
Engulfing her in ****
Dec 11, 2020
Dec 11, 2020 at 12:39 AM UTC
No one
Will understand
That when they complain to me
I don't tell them of my burdens so that I can
listen
No one
Will understand
That when I offer advice
to them
All I want is for them to listen to me, too
Nov 14, 2020
Nov 14, 2020 at 12:02 AM UTC
stars align in
a blanket of
future snow
dusting time's
plateau with
a smear of
red paint across
the fallen angel's
face shedding
tears in the naked
light from the
hollow of a
mirrored heart
playing shadows
like a work
of art
it's an expansive
drama of forgotten
leagues keeping
memories in silence
between the ravines
of what has and
what has yet. digital
ridges serrate the
landscape of quiet
burdens borne by the
beings of beastly
countenance
counting seven in
perpetuity in honor
of the bell that
tolled so long ago now.
there is a low roar
bellowing from the
womb of novelty
coming to upset the
balance bristling with
charged particles
of transmutation and
flashing in a dance of
lightning from
the void. born from
eternity to create in
time those wildest
dreams from the
darkness of God's mind.
Oct 10, 2020
Oct 10, 2020 at 7:03 AM UTC
I wanted to carry your burdens with me
and show you the joy of this world
that you no longer believed in.
how could I forget your sweet words?
and oh my heart ached
the silence filled with dread
"oh god, please don't be dead."
Oct 1, 2020
Oct 1, 2020 at 12:22 AM UTC
Poetry.. The bed of repose.
He once thought.. He has forgotten the pathway to the bed of repose, where he deposites all weight of his troubles, uproar, burdens, aches and miseries, a bed of repose where he finds peace, a reflection from the divine stir. But literally not, cause even a blind man will not forget the scent of his bed of repose, a place where he has no worries of crashing, stumbling or falling.. Despite all the constant tumultuous stir, the gigantic upheaval upon upheaval, Quasi-typhoon from the resulting uproar beneath, aches and miseries, he always creeps, crawls sometimes even rolls and feel his way to his bed of repose. There he lays all his burdens, cause at the end no room or heart is actually enormous enough to accommodate his burdens.
Sep 9, 2020
Sep 9, 2020 at 2:12 AM UTC
Give me your pain
Your deepest sorrows
And your loveliest gains.
Give me a part of your heart,
Give me some of your kindness,
Give me your hatred of everything.
Give me your burdens so that I might
Lighten them in hopes of
You finally sleeping peacefully through the starry night.
I am your friend,
And I can assure you I always be here,
Until the very end
My beautiful, beautiful Oreo.
Sep 4, 2020
Sep 4, 2020 at 11:58 AM UTC
A handful of pills stared me in the face
Looked me in my eyes and asked
“Do you have the *****
They tumbled across each other
As I turned them in my hand, thinking
“Do I have the *****
I chose one
And broke it in half
And put the rest of them back
I stared a handful of pills down
Looked them in their eyes and said
“I guess I don’t.“
Aug 30, 2020
Aug 30, 2020 at 9:29 AM UTC
Of course you don’t understand.
You don’t have to.
This doesn’t affect you.
Burdens inside me, rarely seen or heard.
Often alone.
Writing suicide manifestos every other night
Feeling bright when I forget the weight that I carry.
Destruction behind me wherever I go.
The weight of my family’s misfortune in tow.
Blame myself, hate myself.
Never really had the ability to show what is real for me.
Difficult to please, ducking and dodging reality.
Everything to nothing.
Memories I can’t bury. No hand to hold
Maybe my purpose is just this.
Can’t change the past, only learn from it
And let it grow old.
Aug 22, 2020
Aug 22, 2020 at 10:19 PM UTC