#shell
~for shell~
the doctor wants
world peace.
ok
not too much to ask for, I guess,
by the just in case
that’s a little late
e~arriving
so,
just letting you know
she enjoys
cooking too;
scratch any human (99.999%)
you’ll scratch a gourmand gourmet a
lover of food
mmmm
wonder if that could
somehow
be
connected to,
world peace?
😉
wink, and
et un salut
😑
fini
Apr 21
Apr 21, 2026 at 4:18 AM UTC
here, in the night
a star's a crowd:
she leans towards
the moon's dance-
digging in the space
of a shell, for
remembrance.
Jan 22
Jan 22, 2026 at 4:30 PM UTC
I remember when I felt real
I remember when I felt I could do no wrong
And then I never did
Now I feel like a shell
A shell of nothing
I can’t do anything right
I can’t do anything worth applause
All I have left is my feet on the grass
I want to live in the times of “My Mindset is Beautiful”
I want no doubt
I love to speak my mind when people take interest in my speech
They tell their family about me
With the words of “She’s so peaceful,”
I want to feel that way in myself
I want the unreal feeling of applause and miracle
I want to be the He of life.
I want to be a shell of love and peace
I want to be earless to the negatives of my shell
I want to feel whimsical
I want to feel of the times where the shell is peaceful
That’s where I want to live and die
-Kat.J.K
Dec 26, 2025
Dec 26, 2025 at 7:03 PM UTC
A world of fears,
Full of tears.
Joy is no more,
Chaos is everywhere.
You are just a shell,
In the tears well.
Nov 22, 2025
Nov 22, 2025 at 4:40 PM UTC
Love is the shell of the oyster
The caramel centre
The worrisome weather
Coast coasting shooter
Cyanide chaser
Hand with the feather
That beckons, bats, pressures
Love is a dream without dreamers
The real thing
Love is the magical realm of beauty we wanted to lift...
A waterfall pounding
All streams of past to the place...
Love is everything missed and remade
Aug 20, 2025
Aug 20, 2025 at 7:17 PM UTC
A shell stands in the wind
unsure of what it is
but first
a man walks up to it
pick and ****
pick and ****
"Why are you so hollow?"
pick and ****
pick and ****
"Do you not like me?"
pick and ****
pick and ****
but, a piece of the shell
broke.
Satisfied, the man left
The broken shell stands in the wind
still unsure of what it is
A woman in the distance
walks up to the broken shell
she jabs at the pices
"Why are you so lazy?"
jab and stomp
jab and stomp
"All you do is act lazy!"
jab and stomp
jab and stomp
the pressure
breaks another piece
and satisfied
the woman leaves
the shell
hollow and empty
crumbles to dust
it gets swept off a mountain
as a powder of crust
now the shell is no more
and all that remained
was a beacon of hope
that one day
the shell
won't be empty no more
Jun 3, 2025
Jun 3, 2025 at 5:40 AM UTC
I'm I crazy
I'm no longer in sync,
With my thoughts
Neither with my words
My emotions are of no consequence either
I'm I crazy
I smirk instead of cry
I chuckle at tragedy
I shrug at despair
I turn at disappointment
I'm I crazy
Can't remember how to truly smile
Oh this is rich coming from a soul
whose laughter was contagious
Whose smile was worth the hassle
Yet I wasn't spared
I'm I crazy
That I can only discern
Hunger and thirst
Save anger
The rest are a blurr
Yes I'm crazy
But I'm also a shell
Whose smile wasn't worth fighting for
Mar 10, 2025
Mar 10, 2025 at 6:44 AM UTC
It's a real struggle for me
To be near you, and truly be myself –
Sometimes I feel like I'm either breaking free
from my shell or retreating back into myself
Yet, one thing is clear:
I'm like a timid pet turtle, gradually falling
in love with you – _not knowing what to do with itself._
Oct 27, 2024
Oct 27, 2024 at 4:44 PM UTC
Break open
Soft shell echoes
Terrorized
Capatulted darkness
Pillowy landing
You break my fall
Caged eyes
Beckon
Home
Dec 27, 2023
Dec 27, 2023 at 5:36 AM UTC
** Xuan Huong English Translations by Michael R. Burch
** Xuan Huong (1772-1882) was a risqué Vietnamese poetess. Her verse, replete with nods, winks, ****** innuendo and a rich eroticism, was shocking to many readers of her day and will probably remain so to some of ours. Huong has been described as "the candid voice of a liberal female in a male-dominated society." Her output has been called "coy, often ***** lyrics." I would add "suggestive to graphic." More information about this provocative poet follows these modern English translations of her poems.
Ốc Nhồi ("The Snail")
by ** Xuan Huong
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
My parents produced a snail,
Night and day it slithers through slimy grass.
If you love me, remove my shell,
But please don't jiggle my little hole!
The Breadfruit or Jackfruit
by ** Xuan Huong
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
My body's like a breadfruit ripening on a tree:
My skin coarse, my pulp thick.
My lord, if you want me, pierce me with your stick,
But please don't squeeze or the sap will sully your fingers!
Bánh trôi nước ("Floating Sweet Dumpling")
by ** Xuan Huong
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
My powdered body is white and round.
Now I bob. Now I sink.
The hand that kneads me may be rough,
But my heart at the center remains untouched.
The Cake That Drifts In Water
by ** Xuan Huong
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I was born virginal and beautiful,
Yet my life's been full of struggles.
My fate rests entirely in the hands of the elites.
Yet still I shall keep my heart pure.
Ode to a Paper Fan
by ** Xuan Huong
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
One ring receptive enough for any rod,
Coyly alluring since ancient times…
Your employment is to cool down sweating heroes,
To cover gentlemen’s heads whenever it rains.
Behind the bed-curtain, let’s tenderly ask him:
Panting like a dog in heat, are you satisfied?
***** You!
by ** Xuan Huong
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
***** the rule that makes you share a man!
You slave like maids but without pay.
Unplanned Pregnancy
by ** Xuan Huong
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
My yielding resulted in this chaos;
Who can understand my anguish? …
However, this love-load I’ll soon be lugging,
Despite the world’s condemnation
(To have child, without a husband)
Is a an exceptional feat!
The Unfortunate Plight of Women
by ** Xuan Huong
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Hey sisters, do you know?
The baby bawls at your breast
While your husband slides onto your stomach.
Both demanding your attention,
Both endlessly tugging.
All must be put in order.
“Hurry up with the flowers!”
Such are the demands of husbands and children.
Hey sisters, do you know?
Questions for the Moon
by ** Xuan Huong
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
How many eons have you been there,
Endlessly transposing from slender to pregnant? …
Why do you orbit, aloof, the loneliness of night,
yet blush — so pale! — when seen by the sun?
Awake, long past midnight, whom do you seek?
Why so enchanted with hills, rivers and dales?
At the Chinese General's Tomb
by ** Xuan Huong
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I see it there — looming, alone —
the General's tomb, so impressive!
But if I could be reborn, become a man,
with such advantages, couldn't I do better?
Advice to a Lamenting Widow
by ** Xuan Huong
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Why are you wailing, boo-hoo-ing, mourning a man?
Can it sister! Desist! Don't shame yourself!
O my ear sister, I should have warned you:
Don't eat meat, if it makes you ***** blood!
Wasps
by ** Xuan Huong
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Where and why are you wandering, foolish wasps?
Come, your big sister will teach you to compose!
Silly baby wasps suckle from rotting stamens;
***** ewes **** fences when there’s freedom in the gaps.
Lament for Hô Xuân Huong
by Nguyen Emperor Thieu Tri's brother
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Here the lake overflows with lotuses;
Allow the flower girls to gather some,
While not trampling Hô Xuân Huong's grave!
For in the Golden Springs beyond,
She still anguishes over lost love.
Her lipstick desiccate, her rouge faded, her tomb unattended,
Xuân Huong is gone…
Most of Huong's poems were written in Nôm script, a complex Vietnamese adaptation of Chinese characters employed from the 15th to 19th centuries. Through her Nôm poems, Huong helped elevate the status of Vietnamese poetry. A century later, she was called "the Queen of Nôm poetry" by Xuan Dieu, one of Vietnam’s greatest poets.
Huong was more than a mere penner of ****** verse; she was an "outspoken proto-feminist: an irreverent wild card bringing a new voice to Vietnamese poetry while marking out a bolder trail for what it means to be a woman."
** Xuan Huong is an improbable figure in Vietnamese literature. Vietnamese historians are virtually unanimous in acclaiming her as the 'most special ' poetry writer who ever lived in Vietnam. … She wrote poetry which, for all its playfulness, may have been the darkest assault upon Confucian ethics ever delivered by a literate scholar of a classical East Asian society. Most modern Vietnamese writers agree that she often went too far, to the point where her contemporaries regarded her as a 'monster ' whose influence should be obliterated. — Alexander Woodside, Vietnam and the Chinese Model
Confucian ethics decreed that a female should obey: first her father, then her husband, then her son after her husband’s death.
Huong was apparently born in the Quynh Luu district of the north-central province of Nghe An. Xuan Huong means "Spring Fragrance," "Spring Essence," or "Scent of Springtime." Her father, a scholar named ** Phi Dien, died young. Her mother remarried, as a concubine. Huong grew up near Thang Long (modern Ha Noi), in a male-dominated society in which polygamy was permitted and men were more privileged than women. Huong may or may not have been a concubine herself. Very little is known with any certainty about her life.
In 1962, Nguyễn Đức Bính admitted, "I don't know anything about the poetess Hồ Xuân Hương and other people don't know any more than I do." And yet legends do take on lives of their own!
Keywords/Tags: ** Xuan Huong, Vietnamese, English translations, snail, grass, shell, hole, breadfruit, jackfruit, tree, skin, hands, sap, stain, dumpling, body, powder, powdered, sink, bob, swim, pond, heart, center, red, nom script, spring fragrance, spring essence, concubine
Dec 11, 2022
Dec 11, 2022 at 8:17 AM UTC
You in your wait,
me and in mine,
we've brought to a halt
our whole LIFE for awhile
your garden sprouted new seeds
I don't want to live nor die
without you
You've gone willow on me
I blame only me
Hear my plee and re-appear
bless me ágain babe
Pick me up from this dessert land
where only evil passes by to steal
my last portion of bread.
my last earned dime.
I am homeless near your
gold mine and frozen wind
turbines
in your power bless me.
Please fortune maker
build me an abode.
Save me from this homeless
exiled purgatory.
I've paid for my mistakes
I am only human spare me.
~~~~~~~~~~
Karijinbba
Nov 20, 2021
Nov 20, 2021 at 1:06 PM UTC
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder..
That's only skin deep though,
what's a common rock to someone,
is another's treasure.
Beauty is the light that shines when you talk, when you walk,
when you do what you love.
Beauty is the way you express yourself,
beauty is loving and accepting yourself
for who you are
and making the best version out of yourself.
Beauty is self love,
self care,
self discipline,
beauty is self respect,
self worth,
self improvement,
beauty is good manners and behavior,
beauty is your hungry mind,
your loving energy,
beauty is the way you view the world,
beauty is knowing when you're wrong
and knowing when you're right,
beauty is honesty,
beauty is humbleness,
beauty is authenticity.
Beauty isn't just one certain type,
beauty is the diversity in mankind.
Beauty is so much more than
just a canvas to change colors and fabric on. Beauty is meaningless if it's just an empty shell. A shell found on the beach is beautiful;
because it holds something precious inside.
Aug 20, 2021
Aug 20, 2021 at 11:30 PM UTC
Sleepy blue ocean
Hiding in a cowrie shell
I heard her snoring
Jul 14, 2021
Jul 14, 2021 at 5:18 AM UTC
Hope for more
Than individuality
Amongst the throng
Of arachnids
To be the organism
And know what meaning means
Power and fame
Provide the human ego
With fleeting satisfaction
Love is a connection
Outside ourselves
If real
Not man evolved lust
Energy between us is palpable
Passion amplifies
Yet we are all lonely
And yearning souls
Trapped in a shell of life
Mar 3, 2021
Mar 3, 2021 at 3:33 PM UTC
i am not a shell of a man
in fact
i'm looking for my shell
not having a body
means not feeling anything
and i find myself
missing the cold
Feb 26, 2021
Feb 26, 2021 at 9:55 AM UTC
It's never about How strong the cage is
Or how high the bars are;
I have seen people
Spending lifetime
In their 'own shell'
Jan 1, 2021
Jan 1, 2021 at 7:27 PM UTC
living in a way to
avoiding the word failure
in your epitaph,
for a foreseeable reward in heaven,
is like walking on eggshells
without ever breaking out of your own shell.
Nov 30, 2020
Nov 30, 2020 at 8:58 AM UTC
You
Are like a flame. And I am highly combustible household furniture.
And so you move close to me, and touch me.
And set me on fire.
Slowly,
Then all at once
You multiply and engulf me in your love, in you. All of you.
And we burn
A beautiful hot blaze, wrapped in desire and hunger
And we burn
Illuminating the room, the house, the street.
And we burn, your flames multiply and grow and we are tangled in heat and desperation.
And we ignore the: warning highly flammable sign
And dance till we’ve scorched through the floor,
Leaving burnt out embers
You consume me, all of me.
You search my heart, my soul, my body. A house, room to room
Stealing all my possessions,
All my highly flammable household furniture
And I let you.
I watch your flames dance to me and I feel your heat.
And I let you burn me. Enveloped in the pleasure of your flames I burn.
Hot. Desire. Hot.
Until you’ve burnt through it all.
Left my reflection a wobbling photo of grief.
Exhausted. No more oxygen to eat on.
Just C 0 2.
No more me and you.
And I’m just a shell. A frame.
Filled with burnt furniture
And black.
Nov 12, 2020
Nov 12, 2020 at 8:47 PM UTC