#innerjourney
find your way home—
round the corner,
searching for more...
there's a corner store
where I placed my heart;
not to be bought,
nor priced to be sold—
body,
heart,
and soul.
truly, I could be more,
if I took more time
to find more.
1d ago
Jun 2, 2026 at 3:45 PM UTC
Praying God grants my parents time; not just life,
but long enough to witness what they birthed in mine;
A gift: not wrapped in ribbon, but in rhythm…the gift
of life given, yet still stepping past conclusions of people
judging my feet; paths they’ve never had to walk in.
Before the aura of my aura— I was a quiet kid,
loud with creativity; rich in thought, but opportunities
moved like poverty— a silver spoon on the surface,
wooden on the underside… raised smooth, but still
taught how to survive the rough side.
Told, "never let a man measure your wealth; no man’s
your ruler— only a reference to measure yourself.
Respect all women, like the sister you never had;
stand for yourself as a man. Smile through pain—
because having today to be sad, is a reason to be glad."
This planet gave me breath, but I don’t owe
the world worth if it never fed me any…still—
I stay humble, down to earth— but never bury
myself in the dirt.
From “suburban talk” tags to “cheese boy” names—
funny how labels try to frame you, but your words
decide the frame. A geographer of self, mapping places,
people, pressure; learning to love thy neighbour…
without carrying all their weather.
Because through all this, I’ve come to know:
I was a gift… and I’m still unwrapping myself.
May 3
May 3, 2026 at 4:59 PM UTC
Waking up suddenly
Confused, carried by a wave
Floating relentlessly
Where the blue begins to fade
How did I end up here
Surrounded by an endless sea?
All I can still hear
Is this feeling closing on me.
My vision cannot find the sky
Overwhelmed by an emotional tide
The rising ink fails to fly,
Hindered by the merciless time
Diving deep into the oceans
Embracing darkness, left in silence
Devoured by my own emotions
On the verge of losing my balance
Is there any chance to catch the light?
To see the world I used to know?
What's coming up from the side -
Fear, panic or... sorrow?
- You know, son, we are falling behind
Is it tempting to give up, right?
But what about searching for the light
For the fire meant to ignite?
In such a tremendous ride
Be the one to take initiative
Climb the ladder of your rise
Instead of merely trying to survive.
You are capable enough
To overcome the obstacles ahead.
There's no need to bluff,
To hide your true voice instead.
Step by step, face your fear
Breaking through these cold walls
Follow the path towards the light:
On your way to shine when bravery calls!
Apr 22
Apr 22, 2026 at 7:34 AM UTC
Once,
my thoughts ran wild
like flames in a dry forest.
Everything burned too brightly—
every emotion
every memory
every fear
sparking another blaze.
I mistook intensity
for strength.
I believed survival
meant fighting every shadow
with fire.
But flames that never rest
devour everything in their path,
even the ground
they are meant to stand on.
There were nights
when the smoke inside my mind
felt thicker than the air itself.
Nights when the world
looked like ashes
before the morning ever came.
Still—
somewhere beneath the chaos
a small truth waited quietly:
fire can destroy,
but it can also transform.
Mar 21
Mar 21, 2026 at 7:11 AM UTC
***
The mirror
never lies.
It waits.
Patient.
Silent.
Watching who we become.
And when we stand before it—
everything appears.
The moments we cherish.
The ones we try to forget.
Some reflections
make us smile.
Others
ask difficult questions.
There are memories
we wish we could place
far behind us.
Yet somehow
the mirror keeps them close.
Not to punish us—
but to teach us.
Sometimes pain
speaks through it.
A quiet voice
reminding us
where we have been.
Other times
peace appears.
A calmer face.
A stronger heart.
Proof
that we have grown.
The mirror
does not judge.
It simply shows.
And if we are brave enough
to look carefully—
we find something there.
Courage.
Listen
when the mirror calls.
Learn from what it shows.
Because life
is not about perfection.
It is about reflection.
Falling.
Rising.
And stepping forward
still alive
inside the journey.
By Paul Baldry (LongJohn)
Mar 5
Mar 5, 2026 at 3:58 PM UTC
Amidst the whispers of his soul’s deep dive,
a man sketches life,
where dreams revive.
Dolphin’s dance,
yachts set sail in the mind’s eye—
a canvas of hopes
where aspirations fly high.
Lost in contemplation,
he draws the shape of dreams—
dolphins at play
in life’s gentle streams.
Yachts on the horizon
sailing toward the unknown—
in his art,
a reflection of how life has grown.
Feb 13
Feb 13, 2026 at 4:26 AM UTC
“A reflection on obstacles, pain, and the messy journey to healing and self-love.”
THE MANIPULATION
You say I’m ugly…
and no one will love me.
That scar left my heart bruised — and heavy.
I don’t know why you hurt me…
I’m loving you with all my body.
That trap that you laid… it isn’t funny.
I keep on falling for these stories —
Pushing me away when things got intense…
Was this my fault?… This makes no sense.
Keeping me close while inside you’re laughing…
Falling for you… feels so exciting!
⸻
THE MASK
Seeing through your mask… inside you’re hiding.
Won’t let me see the inner child crying.
Opening up to tell you my TRUTH…
That wasn’t easy — my heart’s through the roof!
The way you hurt me… I felt so used —
vulnerable, weak, afraid, and confused…
How didn’t I see your red flags sooner?
Sometimes the abused becomes the ABUSER.
Holding onto hope… you led me to see.
Playing these games — you didn’t want me.
How do you go on without even THINKING?
How manipulation can leave somebody sinking…
My self-respect — it’s slowly dying.
Why can’t nobody see me crying…
Deep inside this guilt… this pain.
I’m still healing — this hurt, this shame.
⸻
DÉJÀ VU
You say I’m short — and handsome.
How could I let your games hold me for ransom…
Your smile won me — right from the start.
Your eyes found a way to my soul’s heart.
Lost in this pain… fighting the dark.
Two worlds torn — perfectly apart.
Holding on to this connection…
Suffocating me with affection.
It feels like lifetimes my heart’s longed for you…
You couldn’t show up — you couldn’t be true.
Stuck in the cycle of your games…
Trying to break free from your fame.
The way you stare — I blush… you see me.
When I look deep — your eyes… they look EMPTY.
This love’s got a grip — it hurts, it’s blinding.
Why can’t I break free… these spells, love binding?
Your words… their spells — it’s like I’m on drugs.
Throwing them around, being spiritual thugs.
The way you came in with all of that ENERGY…
Made me feel seen… heard… and ready.
That really hurt — when you pulled away.
Seeing the truth in NOTHING to say.
This thrill that you get from hurting me… it’s SICK!
Manipulative, psychotic, narcissist…
Constructs of the mind and hierarchy…
Fibonacci spirals — order, Machiavelli frequency.
It’s hard to see what exactly this is…
Twin flame love — or just another karmic?
Even though no words were spoken…
It still felt like my heart had been broken!
⸻
WHERE IT BEGAN
The real question is — how can I feel safe?
All these years later… I’m still caught up in your ****
This home that you built — where I’m supposed to thrive…
Where I spent most of my time learning to survive.
The way that you struck — brought me to my demise.
That blade hit hard — cold, calculated… so precise.
This childhood of mine — when I was blooming…
You mistook my softness — conditioned love… that’s grooming.
Coming down hard with strangulation…
Instead of teaching self-regulation.
When your eyes smile bright — and you’re standing tall…
It’s easy for life to cave… and you fall.
The angels said… when you cry, we cry…
Then they laughed — yeah, that’s right… they lied.
With all of these words flowing through this pen…
I’m still trying to put me together again.
⸻
THE RETURN HOME
How could I be foolish… so naïve to see?
The biggest lesson that you taught me —
Was showing me how to really LOVE me!
Even though this weight is heavy…
Thank you for the blessing you gave me.
It’s time to let go… so I can be FREE.
These shackles and chains — no longer constrict me.
You’ve been a big part of my healing journey…
All this time lost — wishing, hoping, dreaming, anticipated.
Remember the youniverse that you and I created.
I’ve spent too long looking back from afar…
Maybe it’s time I made that wish upon a star.
Now it’s time for me to sit upon this throne…
Hold on, dear child — at last… finally — I’m coming home.
I don’t know if this could be any clearer…
You came into my life — the perfect mirror.
Was this fate? Or natural selection?
This beautiful, perfect, IMPERFECTION!
Although I’m still struggling to navigate this monsoon…
One day soon… my smile will be brighter than the moons.
I’m learning to love me again.
One day soon, I will be free from this hurt — from this pain.
Realising I’d been trapped in these patterns I survived…
WOW! — the way you made me feel so alive.
I never knew it could feel so good to start living.
I won’t ever forget this amazing blessing —
This beautiful gift that keeps on giving.
I’m not sure what’s next — or what I’m gonna do.
All I know is… that I want to THANK YOU!
Feb 7
Feb 7, 2026 at 7:55 AM UTC
I moved because my heart whispered,
quietly, without fanfare.
I stepped into work I never imagined,
to see how far my care could stretch -
to see how deep I could fall for what I felt.
I pulled a friend into my quiet storm,
believing effort could bend fate.
But life hit harder than I expected -
an accident, a debt, a bruise,
a weight too heavy to carry alone.
I called you that day,
not for anything,
only to hear a voice that felt like a small refuge.
You responded as you naturally would,
unaware of the storms pressing down on me.
Not coldness, not anger -just normal,
because you didn’t know the depth of what I carried.
I promised to call again, to give,
but circumstances held me hostage.
Not from weakness, not from a lack of will -
but from life itself, testing how much a heart could endure.
Through all of it, I learned my limits,
and the depth of what I could feel for you.
Every risk I took, every storm I braved,
was measured, deliberate -
not for glory, not from desperation,
but to see how far my heart could fall
and still stand.
Even in chaos, a strange sweetness remained:
the fire of trying for you,
burning bright even
What remains isn’t regret -
just a calm, tired glow,
an unfinished energy I still carry.
Proof that some feelings stay pure
even when the world doesn’t go our way.
If you ever wonder what happened,
just know this:
I stepped forward sincerely,
fell honestly,
and stood up with the same heart -
still warm, still real,
just a little wiser than before!!!!!
WORK FROM ::
To Her Who Already Knows!!!
Feb 6
Feb 6, 2026 at 1:21 AM UTC
The darkness takes me, rises and falls again.
The tunnel opens and stretches along my path.
An angel, perhaps you can stop me from my miserable fate.
You are the light that accompanies me and manages to bring me back to the surface.
Feb 2
Feb 2, 2026 at 4:00 PM UTC
Skin’s breath whispers along a contour, just toward a mask—
I covered all the fears I wasn’t ready to face. No step. No path.
Only the law of this place: the rules you never choose, or chase
and lovers who kiss, and then debate. That kiss that lingers,
then pretends to take shape; and finally collapses into shame.
But I climbed anyway. Dust settled on the staircase, each rise
_slower, heavier_—stare at the case; for this trial to court a love
that never stayed.
But the further I climbed, stretching the definition of luck,
I fell down more than once; the air above didn’t fill my lungs,
it just filled my lungs with nothing— it swelled my chest with
pride, hot air expanding this heart, but it was too fragile to hold.
Still— memory warmed me, heated moments in my pockets
I had to tuck. I spent dreams like coins, a childhood innocence
bought out too soon, those poor kids who spent all their tuck.
And hope bursting like a cannon shot, life demanding I give it
my best shot – _stretching the definition of luck_.
So I climbed, until it all snapped—
I fell, rose, and fell again. __Here we are__.
Aug 27, 2025
Aug 27, 2025 at 3:43 PM UTC
I am
Constantly
Healing.
Still learning
How to overcome
My own birth.
Sep 10, 2025
Sep 10, 2025 at 6:13 AM UTC
An abandoned cathedral
where I drag my soul to repent for my
𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨.
A lady appears in a wedding gown-
I feel like I am 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙚 again.
Her dress turns 𝙧𝙚𝙙. She turns her head—
and wicked reads her eyes.
I face my fear and go too near to find that she’s gone 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙙.
She disappears and then appears a puny 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙬-𝙙𝙤𝙡𝙡.
It chases me, I trip, I fall, they drag me to a hall.
“𝘕𝘰! 𝘔𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴!”
I wake up-
deep breath & sweat.
I wonder of what it meant…
To dream of
𝙢𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙩.
Jul 23, 2025
Jul 23, 2025 at 11:05 AM UTC
I’m in a drought for time— yet flooded with ideas.
as the sun rises with the dust, and by dusk, all hope
feels spent, or quietly scattered.
I know destiny calls— even without a map, signal
or a location marked. "Yeah, I don’t know what
I’m doing," I often confess, in quotation marks—
still walking toward the shape of who I’m meant
to become.
Pushing through bruises and bitter slights—real joy
flickers, but most smiles still feel perfectly rehearsed.
To stay above the arrows, but never ahead of myself—
sharp enough, still, to pierce through the soft fabric
of my many, many daily doubts. And I’m learning:
sometimes the cage has no door— but only the illusion
of one, built from fear.
There’s always a world just outside of it— _waiting._
We’re all just finding ourselves day by day.
_And life?_ It’s one day after another— until, finally,
you recognize the person you've been becoming
all along.
Jun 22, 2025
Jun 22, 2025 at 4:20 PM UTC
_Crowded foresight_ —
thoughts stacked sky-high,
cluttered windows of a dreaming mind.
Out of mind,
out of sight…
yet somehow, I keep seeing
the better days of my life
skimming the edge
of a hopeful smile.
That smile —
soft, unspoken —
given with time,
drawn from deep thoughts
folded in silence.
. . .
Any life worth seeing —
any __better__ version of me —
is shaped by what I’m willing
to put light on.
So I
paint my
foresight with
fireflies and sunbeams,
hoping the dark
makes room
for the
light I
keep.
Jun 16, 2025
Jun 16, 2025 at 3:59 PM UTC
Youth—epitome of experience and extremes.
You fall, you seek, you cry, you scream.
You slow down, begin to see the seams—
A vast world quietly opens to you.
You notice the meaning behind the semblance,
And the silence that slowly leaks through.
You finally get the answers you long pursued:
For frustration’s weight, for storms you never understood—
The unexplainable quarrels, the anxious moods.
And at last, you reach the solace you once dreamed.
But—
It’s not the end. It’s not the cure.
This is nowhere close to all your angst, your ache.
“To live is to suffer”—a belief we often mistake.
To live is, was, and always will be to seek—
To validate the silence buried deep beneath.
To let go of the nagging thoughts,
The voice that creeps, claws, and speaks.
Only the brave can release that grip.
It was never meant to be easy—
That’s why it clings,
But trust the process.
You’ll hear the silence—full and complete.
Once you’ve let go of that voice,
That essence of shadow,
No more doubt, no more need to borrow—
You’ll find the peace you sought
Beneath the drought of noise
That once left you hollow.
Yes, I know your agony, your sorrows.
But brave warrior, you’ve found it at last—
The real you,
Untainted.
Unburdened.
Unbound.
-Asher Graves
Apr 14, 2025
Apr 14, 2025 at 9:45 AM UTC
you pay the levies
you grant the deceits
you fall behind
you fall from grace
you freefall
you get what you deserve
you deserve what you get
you take your time
you partake
you mistake
you get the point
you get by
you yearn
you learn
you lone
you moan
you atone
you know the stakes
you do what it takes
it’s all you
Jan 9, 2025
Jan 9, 2025 at 2:13 AM UTC
stream of consciousness
carves a river, unknown -
ego takes a dive.
Jan 7, 2025
Jan 7, 2025 at 1:20 AM UTC
Through veils of twilight realms, my steps align,
A pilgrim bound by questions yet untold.
Between existence planes, I seek to find
A purpose veiled in shadows, bright yet cold.
The liminal expanse, a fleeting seam,
Where echoes hum with truths beyond the light.
Unfinished whispers weave my fragile dream,
A cosmic hymn that calls through endless night.
In this in-between, I find my soul,
Where stars ignite the cosmic harmony
Through shifting mists, I glimpse the infinite
Within in its depths, peer into a dark hole
The dance of shadows, darkness, and pure sea
And in its rhythm, my heart finds ecstasy
Dec 13, 2024
Dec 13, 2024 at 12:06 PM UTC
a fog, i saw,
in the mist of night.
humble, it led me
to the ***** of the beast -
who pet me, and held me, and licked me,
until it, and i, were one.
my restless heart would not let the
beast be at peace…
‘what lies into the night?’, i insisted.
‘i must know. tell me now, i say.’
and the beast shook its head - nay.
‘travel not, nor inquire, into the sea of despair’,
it groaned, ‘it leads good men astray’.
‘but i’m not scared’, i said.
‘look at me… i’m you. i’m mighty.’
‘what could possibly hurt you?’
‘what could possibly hurt… us?’
‘you mistake me for my appearance, young man’,
the beast hummed from within.
‘i am but a vessel.’
‘i do not possess the might you seek.’
‘i was sculpted in your image,
and scores of such valiant seekers
who carrowed their poise for pride’.
‘but if you must -'
'i’m obliged to warn you, as they would -’
‘you may not forget what you see;’
‘you may not like what you hear;’
‘the sea is not forgiving to men
who trespass upon the realms of solitude’
‘hope you’re ready - ’
‘it gets colder as we get nearer.’
and as we passed the bay of deadly sins,
where tales of woe would barren lay -
sure enough, i heard a faint
rallying cry from far away;
‘the captain must’ve lost his wits...’,
sighed the beast -
‘his compass must’ve failed to obey.’
a requiem followed the shipwreck,
as the shallow winds kissed the
waters grey.
Dec 10, 2024
Dec 10, 2024 at 3:40 PM UTC
he lost his way, he knows not when.
chasing false idols he mistook for men.
he'd lose the child, if he only knew then -
he'd find a way to be a man again.
Nov 18, 2024
Nov 18, 2024 at 1:24 PM UTC
they say its easier said than done.
i say, not poetry.
it's easier done than said.
Nov 18, 2024
Nov 18, 2024 at 1:12 AM UTC
give me a break!
sometimes, it’s too much to take.
the winds have not been kind to me,
for i am the dark horse in your wicked games.
i’m making my way, often slaving away
given a chance to start over,
i’d choose not to play.
‘it is what it is’, i say, and let it be.
i sacrificed my youth at the altar of perfection, thinking,
‘how bad can it be?’
i try to be, more than eyes can see.
but I’m just a shadow of a terrified kid,
hiding behind my fallen dreams.
it’s all so dull, the colours have faded -
i couldn’t do much when the demons invaded.
i’ve been dragging their chains for far too long,
never whole, never free.
i’m sorry!
i’m just not used to it, like i used to be.
yet i see a light, though not as bright
it flickers every night, telling me to put up a fight.
i must protect it from the ungodly winds,
lest it should die somewhere deep inside.
but i'm only human, my friend.
please don't be so hard on me.
i'm tired of losing sleep over
the promises I could never keep.
there's no way out, it seems.
guess i'm in too deep.
**** it!
i’d rather be the dark horse
than the black sheep.
do me a favour,
please don't lose your faith in me!
i locked away the things i loved,
and now i can't seem to find the key.
i'll be back before you know it,
ready to go again, on the count of three.
just give me a break!
i’m not used to it, like i used to be.
Nov 17, 2024
Nov 17, 2024 at 11:13 AM UTC