#facing
May your thoughts carry powerful words to Gods ears, as he wipes your tears.
Let peace and bliss continue to give you a higher purpose and courage to face your fears.
If joy is what you seek, I pray you find it in your heart before you find it in others.
A smile is only inches away from uninvited tears led by unconfessed fears.
Old scars that have not healed, once revealed evoke a pain so deep only time can heal again.
Those who relapsed in the field of emotions play a sport they can not win.
If you are lucky enough to confess your fears, do it now or forever lose your peace.
Oct 25, 2025
Oct 25, 2025 at 3:41 PM UTC
waiting for the *** to boil over
waiting for the pain to lessen
looking for a new *** of soil
praying for a second chance
waiting for the miracle ahead
waiting for the river bend
looking for a way to cope
praying for a new pretend
Oct 19, 2025
Oct 19, 2025 at 10:33 AM UTC
There's the wait,
That constant ache,
Moving forward through
The gate,
Your hand in mine,
Let time unwind,
As long as I'm with you
All that's left is the climb--
Up the steps, one by one,
Screams are heard,
the nerves have begun--
But you look at me
and squeeze my hand
I'll try not to make you have
to catch me
Because with that look--
I can barely stand.
You liquefy my core
and it radiates like
the waves of screams
like the parabolas
All stuck together
Laid with track
It's our turn soon.
The turnstiles whir
My stomach stirs,
We both have palms
slick with sweat
But we're here.
We're on this adventure
Together.
So our held hands
Lead us past the back,
Past the middle,
The front seats.
The very front seats.
The first to fall.
And we sit.
And I lean into you
with tears in my eyes
from fear and excitement
and feverish, crazy love
and those clicks start
and the carts budge
Forward
And Forward Again.
And by the time we're
At
The
Top---
There is this feeling of teetering
On the
Edge
Of the Abyss
And you're staring at the only
THING
You can stare at and it isn't
DOWN
It's each other. It's
taking solace
in the ultimate fact
that even in our fear
attempting to face it
Together
we're impenetrable.
Our screams
Are of joy
and excitement
and love
and adventure
and life.
And then it rolls
to a stop,
The air break hiss,
looking at each other
with smirks
and knowing
we're getting
Right back in that **** line
and Going Again.
Mar 29, 2025
Mar 29, 2025 at 2:27 AM UTC
New day, with dawn of rising sun
off the docks, cruising towards horizon
light and breezy all, felt like blessed by Poseidon
Skinny dipping for happiness, hope I find some.
Many I got bon voyage, many I curses,
many were on board, many kraken lurks.
Head straight, high sail,
ignored all, focused on right trail.
Pleasant journey until now, premonitions around,
dark clouds, high tide, ensuing panic in crowd,
blinded became Travis, undermined the upcoming crisis
Darkness engulfed, realized too late, next moment...
**** hit the fan down came the rain,
followed by storm and a huge hurricane.
Bulldozed through, but that's just iceberg's tip,
it's gonna be titanic soon, already feel like losing grip.
Beyond horizon, can't see,
calm sea or whirlpool will there be.
All I know, strength of these sails,
sailors and that mysterious gentle gale.
May 25, 2022
May 25, 2022 at 9:52 AM UTC
-
It is the courage to touch your pain that will transmute it:
The lamb must face the wolf
to become it.
-
Jun 6, 2021
Jun 6, 2021 at 11:13 PM UTC
For my situation in life
I don’t blame my parents
or anything like that,
They may well have been crap
And ****** me up
(Just Like Larkin said)
But blaming others won’t change anything,
It is as it is
And I try and take ownership
Rather than mitigate and delegate
Hate.
Over the years
I’ve met many people who look back in anger,
Blame all the faults they have,
All the problems they’ve encountered,
On their parents
Or others,
How they were raised as kids
Else treated at school by a teacher.
And, you know,
Maybe it’s true
And maybe it’s not,
But I try hard
Not to linger,
To doff
And point an accusatory finger.
Standing naked and alone
Facing with all your faults,
Taking ownership is difficult
And accountability *****
But when the blade of justice swings
It’s important - even for such a schmuck as me -
To face the consequences,
Not to duck!
Sep 19, 2019
Sep 19, 2019 at 2:53 PM UTC
drunk with sleep jotting words down
with the weight of heavy thoughts.
the image, the room, the clapping hands
tie my brain in knots.
nails through my arms, downward spiral
cascading into my head.
lonely space, a clustered room,
my irises were stained red.
the burden of pain seeps into my skin
where potted plants are shattered.
the flesh underneath slowly becomes
heavy and worn and tattered.
the weight of my limbs slowly snakes out
constricting my every breath.
time is against me, legs have grown weak
while running straight towards my death.
the smiles they wore, gingerly placed,
caused my eyeballs to melt away.
that knife in my chest burrowed down deeper,
but tonight, i'll let you stay.
the rain didn't cease, yet the sun was out
on the other side of the mirror.
the images scattered throughout my subconscious
left me feeling inferior.
"if this is the lowest i've ever been
the only way out is up."
my innards were spilling into the room
but i gave up on acting tough.
i lowered my fists and admitted defeat
my white flag proudly waved.
the various poisons that coursed through my veins
would escort me to my grave.
they say, when you're bit, you cut yourself open
to rid yourself of bad blood.
i've ****** myself dry but at this point in time,
i fear it isn't enough.
to escape with my life, to live everyday
as if to steal it from death.
i sit and ponder my existence
and wonder about what's left.
if this is the road carved into my core,
i'm uneasy to say that i'm ready.
i wipe tears from my face, brace myself
to try to hold my hands steady.
my palms grazed the surface, my fingertips yearning
for something hidden in me.
my hands clasp the handle somewhere in my being
to try to tear the knife free.
the crimson blood emerges, too,
and paints the air with pain.
if this i my life, i can only fight
to not live it out in vain.
Feb 4, 2020
Feb 4, 2020 at 2:19 PM UTC
Living an unhappy
life with fake smiles.
A cowardly way to
avoid your trials.
Much like hiding
behind brick walls.
Your simply not living
at all.
Feb 21, 2019
Feb 21, 2019 at 10:36 PM UTC
I am everywhere, the shadow remains of the girl I was supposed to be.
This amazing girl, full of life and oh so sweet. She whispers to me sometimes in my sleep.
I wish I could see her again, hear the silent voice before it cracks like a tweak underneath your shoe.
In the park without trees, I remain still. I made my bed, crushed underneath my anxieties.
The hope that washes away from me little by little, the sparkle in my eyes replaced by a deep understanding of nothingness. A hollow shadow that can only see.
I am nowhere not now here.
I once lived, really lived once.
But once is not here now and once is not me.
I am the shadow of something that was supposed to be me.
Sep 19, 2018
Sep 19, 2018 at 5:45 AM UTC
Hello everyone,
I'm so very sorry … I feel horrible doing this, but I have no choice. You see, I have published my first book on Amazon/Kindle! This piece (and many others) had to be taken down because they do not allow published material to be available online for free. (Go figure) I wanted to leave the shell of the posts because I felt compelled to leave all your helpful and loving comments. (Silly sentimental, I know), but I also didn't want to just have the pieces disappear without an explanation. I feel bad enough as it is!
I owe ALL of you so, SO much for all of your reads, love, and support. It was YOU that gave me the gumption to FINALLY get off my **** and publish! Thank you all for the warm comments, camaraderie, and encouragement! I will still be here, reading, uploading and just being the Rascal that I am. How could I EVER leave you guys?
The book is called “The Way I See It – FictionPhilosophySoul Food” and it will be FREE for the first few days on Kindle Select, so watch for it, if you are interested. I hope that you go and grab it. If you do, I would also hope that you find it worthy, you would leave me a good review. That will help me get in the public eye! Soon afterward (2-3 days or so), it will be available in paperback.
Find the book(s) here: www.amazon.com/author/jeff.gaines
Or find the book(s), and all about me, here: www.JeffGaines.world
Soon after, I also hope to have my first novel (a supernatural thriller), called “Wanderer” available as well!
Wish me luck!
Big, Biggest Love,
Jeff Gaines
Mar 4, 2018
Mar 4, 2018 at 5:53 PM UTC
There comes a moment
Fear looks differently
And my pain seeps towards you undoubtedly
I open my eyes
With reason to fight
My first chance at love is nearing in sight
Couldn't do it then
When it was just me
The quiet grew loud and I would just flee
I'm sorry my dear
I'm just not so good
Wasn't until now that I understood
I was lost before
No reason to try
Until your smile lit up my whole life
So if not for me
But for who I love
My reason to fight and lift us above
Nov 9, 2017
Nov 9, 2017 at 1:28 PM UTC
I Am Not Afraid
Many years I have fought the fight
Crying silent tears into my pillow at night
But a miracle has come to pass
I have begun to reap healing at last
It has been a long hard road with many pitfalls
I wasn’t sure I would survive at all
But I am a strong woman, full of power
I grow have grown in my lust for love of life by the hour
Has it been painless, an easy process I went through?
No, it’s hurt like hell, but what else could I do!
It was stand up and fight the feelings I held down
Or allow the pain to win, and in the sorrow drown
I hope to this world to leave a legacy of hope
To use the pain of my history of life as a scope
That people can look through, and grow
The freedom I have found, I wish them to know
I will proclaim my gratitude for those who have seen me through hell
I have watched, listened and learned life’s lessons well
I am marching into my future, boldly joining life’s parade
Facing all the uncertainties of my future, and I am not afraid.
Sep 30, 2017
Sep 30, 2017 at 5:30 PM UTC
There's a limit to your love | There's no limit to my love
Like a waterfall in slow motion | Like the floodwaters in motion, or
Like a map with no ocean | A vast and placid ocean
There's a limit to your love | There's no limit to my love
Your love, your love, your love | My love, my love, my love
There's a limit to your care | There's a limit to your care
So carelessly there, is it truth or dare | I thought it was there, is it truth or dare
There's a limit to your care | There's a limit to your care
There's a limit to your love | There's no limit to my love
Like a waterfall in slow motion | Like the tidewater in motion
Like a map with no ocean | Adrift on this calm ocean
There's a limit to your love | There's no limit to my love
Your love, your love, your love | My love, my love, my love
There's a limit to your love | There's no limit to my love
So carelessly there, is it truth or dare | You had it for years, these are my worst fears
There's a limit to your care | There's a limit to your care
Aug 4, 2017
Aug 4, 2017 at 1:53 PM UTC
they are infinite in number
from our most frightening childhood dreams
to terrible nightmares in our later years
born from guilt, disillusionment, trauma, shame
they glare at us all of a sudden
apropos nothing they flash into our minds
disrupt what little peace we may have found
in our busy lives
when they arise from their sealed chambers
undo the locks we put on them
to keep them quiet and remote
we have to face them
eye to dreadful eye
face to frightening face
then gradually
surprise
the closer our stare
the more we are aware
that all these faces share
what we find hard to recognize
they look
quite disconcertingly
like us
maybe we should
rather than banish them away
acknowledge them as what they are
the different facets of our selves
that we present to our world
from day to day
Nov 4, 2016
Nov 4, 2016 at 5:00 PM UTC
One of the many secrets,
for facing Life’s adversity
is a change of perspective;
adjusting the lens, we see
things from a Heavenly view-
whereby old problems are seen
as new opportunities, teeming
brightly, unsullied by routines
of dull, antiquated thinking.
Address all challenges head on,
without any semblance of fear;
employing some spiritual brawn
ensures that final solutions
can be found and implemented;
real satisfaction comes, when
by God, you’re complimented.
Oct 28, 2016
Oct 28, 2016 at 1:46 PM UTC
Brother,
Let this be a consolation
That there is no Great Battle
no Mighty Beast
to defeat
no bloodied soldier
to be redeemed
--only pitch darkness
where hideous dragons
seem to dance in circles
around you
Open your eyes
Again and again they call out
"Look at me!"
Like a child
needing your love
Your thoughts can only echo
their mad howling
With no end
-abandon them
for the original fear:
To see the altar within
Defiled
Open your eyes
This is the only step
that needs courage
Watch and release
Watch and release
Until peace is restored
And pain ceases
Light never remembers darkness
And all the monsters
You have made
To fill it
Mar 16, 2016
Mar 16, 2016 at 3:59 AM UTC
Today I'm feeling inspired
Ready to write what I've been too scared to say
To let my keyboard take it away
My fingers dance over the letters
Fighting to find how to say what has to be said
Fighting to find a way to speak what has never been spoken
To break down the walls that hold me back
The chains that hold me down
To open the door to the cage that has kept me captive
For so long
Today is the day I start over
And leave my pain behind
Today is the day when I finally show my true colors
Hello, my name is Sophie
And I'm done hiding
Nov 7, 2015
Nov 7, 2015 at 11:50 AM UTC
She was born into a red dress
Because the day was passion and strain
Her father kissed her while
Her mother bore the pain
She had a white blanket
Because she was calm
And she hugged it so
Tranquil and amazed at what she saw.
Her school uniform was grey
Because she missed her mother
And people talked to her
On the playground.
She graduated in a black gown
Because she was scared of what was coming
And was lost in the night
School had not taught her how to expect.
She met him in a blue dress
Because her feelings were between
Some loathing and comfort
And she managed to smile.
They married in yellow
Because the sun could not stay smug
And the moon was her companion
Like him that night.
She gave birth in a red dress
Because the day was full of passion
And she bore the pain
While her husband kissed her new one.
And she gave her a white blanket
And she saw her away in a grey uniform
And she watched her graduate in a black gown
She saw her marry in yellow.
And she died in white
Because she was calm
Because her old one was there
Because she had done well.
Feb 2, 2015
Feb 2, 2015 at 9:43 PM UTC