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Feb 2017 · 575
Am I Wrong?
Taru M Feb 2017
They say if you want to keep a secret hide it in a book, so I'm writing these words between solemn pages with the hope that they die quietly, as I am
I saw something I wasn't supposed to today
It was tucked into the margins
All of me says it wasn't supposed to happen, but it did
And I saw it and heard it and even felt it
I didn't do anything though, just kept writing ...
Feb 2017 · 453
Don't Tell
Taru M Feb 2017
I want to part your lips and slip you a secret
Feb 2017 · 710
Fearless
Taru M Feb 2017
have you ever looked into the eye of a storm ,, embraced the calm as turbulence engulfs everything around ,, this is how we are taught to live
Jan 2017 · 494
Fuck You
Taru M Jan 2017
I could care less what you think of me. You are a small person in an ever-expanding universe. My reality is bigger than you, and your tiny world!
to no one in particular
Jan 2017 · 1.0k
Smoke Signals
Taru M Jan 2017
Did you know that if you mix seaweed, almond milk and honey, it's a cure for the common cold?

Did you know that when elephants mate, the male squirts from his trunk?

Did you know that "global warming was created by and for the Chinese, in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive..."

Trevor Noah told me, "We live in a post fact world now"
but on my morning commute I see plumes of smoke
forecasting the end of this earth
and somewhere over in China
mother nature is crying so hard bodies are floating
when opinion becomes reality
we are all doomed
cast away to the whims of the unimaginable
like how do you know hell isn't a winter wonderland
and each snowflake isn't a soldier claiming territory
I get chills just thinking of Greenland
swooning so much over CO2
it's melting its heart out
this planet has loved us since before we were thoughts
but we will be its destruction
not now, not tomorrow
but with the gradual passing of time
slowly, earth will forget us
as we have forgotten it
delete us from its archive
from Rio to Kyoto to Paris
we will be reduced to ash
-and oxygen
-and carbon
-and hydrogen
we will return to mother's womb in a plume of smoke
for all the future to see
we can only hope that the next generation can read the signs

*hell: a couple degrees north; keep driving
Jan 2017 · 639
Lunar Escape
Taru M Jan 2017
there are so many holes in the sky tonight
I wish I could crawl through one
and drop into an infinite drop
explore the nothing in the nothing
freefalling has always felt natural to me
I guess that's why it's so hard to orient myself
with enough space for beliefs and doubts
I look to the moon for guidance
while it waxes and wanes
it is always whole
illuminated or not
it is always present
Jan 2017 · 276
Heart of Darkness
Taru M Jan 2017
I think I'm obsessed with the dark
some nights I find myself buried under covers
no longer hiding from monsters
but from myself
I lost fear of the things beneath the bed
until I tucked my suicide notes there
now I dream of death cloaked in misunderstanding
I nightmare of long days and a longer life
daily-
I awake to the reality that demons aren't confined to the shadows
and no matter how long I withhold
the light will eventually expose me
for
the
monster
I
am
Jan 2017 · 247
Blackout
Taru M Jan 2017
I see myself best at night
in broken mirrors
sharp edged memories
that bathe in liquor

I find myself in a bar bathroom
   with soap and water
scrubbing harder than ever before
but my hands are bleeding now
and they were already *****

I think I ****** up again
at least, that's what this guy keeps saying,
and he won't shut up
I'm bleeding now and he won't shut up
   shouting so loud I can't hear my thoughts

but I swear
   I see myself best at night
   bathed in broken memories
Jan 2017 · 1.1k
Checks and Balances
Taru M Jan 2017
they arrested peace
...allegedly...
held court with no judge
found verdict without burden of proof
when a handful have power
compact enough to be handheld
the laws will always be
unbalanced
Nov 2015 · 560
WoodWick
Taru M Nov 2015
you can find reprieve in the burning of a candle
the flicker of wick
  pure animation of life

come and dance on these ponds with me
submerge yourself in scents unknown

have you ever bathed in lavender
come out dripping royalty

this, is the secret to passion:
dance in the wind
dance til the end
and when darkness comes
light another candle
Jun 2015 · 1.3k
A Call to Live
Taru M Jun 2015
If you take a microscope and zoom in, you will find millions of tiny bacteria, reproducing through fission and struggling to survive. If you take a telescope and zoom out you would see the universe ever-expanding. Between those two, bacteria and the universe, there is us- humans. And we reproduce and struggle and grow. Sometimes in life you will feel small like bacteria; sometimes you will feel as big as the universe but no matter where you go or what you do make sure you are always growing. It doesn't matter where you were planted; ALWAYS GROW!
Apr 2015 · 1.1k
10 Words +
Taru M Apr 2015
I'm writing off short poems

how much joy can be contained in 10 words
what kind of grief accepts a Chrysanthemum

the day pain graces this flesh and is reprimanded in 5 concise words, I will tweet my autobiography

Oh how the Mockingjays will echo
A Chrysanthemum is a Japanese flower usually used for bereavement.
Apr 2015 · 771
Erase Me
Taru M Apr 2015
I hate my job. All I do is destroy things - words, hopes, dreams. I used to love life. Watching people make mistakes,  I always felt like I was their second chance, their saving grace. I could help them forget the past, eradicate their errs; sometimes even move on having learned something.  But now, now I think I cause more anxiety than joy. The other day Mr. Thompson asked a student to work out a problem on the board, but they wanted to know if they were right first. No one likes to slip up but they dont realize my purpose is to erase those slip ups. Now days I only get to erase things that are right.  I think the world would be a better place if all the right things were permanent.  I think the world would be a better place if I could create...
Mar 2015 · 767
Lucid Euclid
Taru M Mar 2015
On the sandy shore of a distant memory, Euclid picked up a stick and began tracing the outline of some vague shape. At the first vertices he was interrupted by a hissing sound. Looking down in horror, what initially appeared a stick slowly coiled around his forearm and sank its teeth into his veins. As he watched the ocean spread its depths, he felt the sharp pain of platelets separating from plasma. Euclid walked into the gaping void and awaited reunion. Waves folding around him , his last sight was of a naked woman; she had the curves of a triangle.
Surrealism
Mar 2015 · 564
Relearning the Game (10w)
Taru M Mar 2015
erratic eradication
rationalizing radicals
misled by education
realign your tactical
Mar 2015 · 429
Proper Lighting
Taru M Mar 2015
there is sunshine in the foreground
and foliage in the backdrop
the green is what makes the scene
the lighting is what gives it emotion*

this picture is framed on the wall and has been for some time now. it has been viewed and passed and viewed and passed on countless occasions. this particular day, is the first time he has seen meaning in it. He wonders if it is in fact the first time he's viewed it. There is freedom in this picture. Under the layers of dust it's collected through the years, there is a fresh perspective. That is the meaning. It has nothing to do with the scene and everything to do with the lighting. He has a sudden urge to be outside and so he is. He watches his breath as he exhales. There is snow on everything- the cars, the lamp posts, the fences. He inhales the contrast of the white snow and the midnight sky. And wonders which is more like him.
Mar 2015 · 447
How You Been?
Taru M Mar 2015
I'm ******* **** uuuuuuuuup in the worst way!!!
almost forgot my mom's birthday
drowning in my own little misery
I think I really hate life
liquor seems to stick to me
**** wants to reminisce, dig up all my old ****
sitting in a cloud of smoke, dreaming of my old chick
nostalgic of past days
   wish this was my last day
...yea I wish this was my last day

Now it's daybreak
sun is on the rise again
hiding from the moon to keep the shadows from my irises
ignorance is bliss so I don't wanna see no evil
but I can't ignore a whole world full of people
I can't be blind to my own **** reflection
used to be good but I lost that connection
nother kid murdered, still I feel no connection
-----a common misconception

But can I fix my vision to become a visionary?
Can I find my purpose ******* her in missionary?
in a world full of things, if i buy a diamond ring, Does that mean love is eternal?
cuz that's kinda scary.
Is happiness an illusion cuz it doesn't last?
Is today just a mirage of the distant past?
if a circle always spins, when I do reach my end, Does that mean I was a point in a pile of ash?
TBC
Feb 2015 · 562
It's Such A Beautiful Day
Taru M Feb 2015
Life goes on
each breaking dawn is a bittersweet symphony
each crowning dusk reveals what we were meant to be
each passing day is another passing chance
so be sure to make a mess
and leave a stain on history
If you have netflix you should watch It's Such A Beautiful Day!
Jan 2015 · 867
Rap #2
Taru M Jan 2015
I was born to weigh heavy on your mind
my umbilical was lyrical live feed
inception was the spark
I been latent for too long
cruisin like Noah's ark
but I never chucked the deuces
just been patiently waiting to find my muses
next generation wake up
I heard they raised the stakes up
you feel the pressure
benchmarks been set
barometers there to measure
your progress
ingress
degression
can you feel it
expectations by the pound
you're drowning but is it real yet
concealed tech
he's got death at his hands
the sad part
lil' homie don't even understand
that a bullet's finality
teen homicide has become a normality
I'm on this verse tryna defy a mentality
I hope you heard
tryna defy a mentality
Jan 2015 · 598
Rap #1
Taru M Jan 2015
there's an election everyday
and you choose
     you choose
between contrary thoughts
and you win or lose
be it economy or health care
you can be on welfare
living offa food stamps
exploiting the help there's
like 12 million ways to live my man
choose one
that boy is suicidal dreaming of a shotgun
that girl is suicidal dreaming of a casket
I'm done counting sheep
my dreams is passed that

woke up in Brooklyn
still looking for Wonderland
skipping down the roads of Oz
chasing after Peter Pan
ingesting that fairy dust
climbing up the rabbit hole
nostalgia my drug of choice
I OD on the days of old

now slow it down for the days of new
I'm taking baby steps
scoping out a change of view
I'm a philanthropist
all I want is change for you
so keep the money for yourself
it's too much ado
Dec 2014 · 752
Christmas Dementia
Taru M Dec 2014
sitting at a bar,
Christmas Eve,
solitary.
one bartender.
an overflow of drinks.
no conversation.

at the bottom of each glass
is the question
can I be happy
at the top of my mind
are flash images
-of women
-of ****
-of endless money
...and out of the void comes an answer

Straight, no chaser
NO!

I wake up Christmas morning at the bottom of a cup of coffee. All I can think of is opening gifts.
My apologies for the depressing tone.
Dec 2014 · 1.1k
Breathing Life into Numbers
Taru M Dec 2014
you play God
  manipulating variables
     eliminating constants
   making a mess of simple equations

papers flood with ink
  -mistakes that will eventually lead to a solution
but it's the journey that matters,
                                                        ­ right?
the reminder of why you hate math...
*it makes too much sense to comprehend
Nov 2014 · 412
verve (5w)
Taru M Nov 2014
sunset is a bittersweet symphony
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lyu1KKwC74
Sep 2014 · 403
Number 1 (10w)
Taru M Sep 2014
knows it's all a game
   but gives their all anyway
Aug 2014 · 514
Memories
Taru M Aug 2014
a distant shore
of something old
I visit often
the breeze is cold

the waves have gone
tides receded
I still fight hard
just to keep it
I know there's more but I'm content with this.
Aug 2014 · 795
All Poet's Welcome
Taru M Aug 2014
Truly inspired by Joe Cole's recent writing prompt

(http://hellopoetry.com/poem/818411/young-poets-write-for-mei-would-ask-that-one-of-the-more-computer­-literate-among-you-set-up-a-collection-for-me-for-all-the-wonder­ful-contributions/)

and the positive responses thereafter, I think there should be an optional writing prompt daily. I am in no way volunteering for any responsibility BUT I did hear a very interesting prompt just last night at an open mic so.....


what does today taste like?


Have at it!! and if you respond please copy the link into your reply AND hashtag it #todaytasteslike (no spaces)
Taru M Aug 2014
we are roaches of men
burnt down to bare ***
discarded in the gutter
with the flickering cool of ash

flames tasted
and wanted nothing to do with us:
the filtered pull
the long inhale
(don't forget to breathe)

we were once
part of something bigger
more meaningful
now we're just the grime leftover
the scraping at the end of the day
we are roaches of men

----------------------------------------------------

we­ are roaches of men
scuttling about vast voids
(especially in the dark)
searching for damp corners
and damp holes
moist places to rest our soul

but you object of our nature
raid us with Raid
don't you know:
we can survive the apocalypse
atoms mean nothing to us
nor bombs

flick the lights to find us on our backs
the sight of us struggling for life
we are roaches of men
Writing prompt:
We are roaches of men

Z Turner's Edition:
http://hellopoetry.com/poem/810369/cockroaches-will-eat-your-soul/

Quentin Briscoe's Edition:
http://hellopoetry.com/poem/815566/roaches/
Taru M Aug 2014
we are all of the same matter
cells and ****
swelling into different sizes
some fat                                            
                 ­          some obese
some                        grotesquely                 skinny
but we are all of the same stuff
pigment variation splayed along a spectrum
what makes you better than anyone else

either we all matter or none of us do...
In the grand scheme... everyone of course has individual talents which they are better than others at but no one is holistically better than anyone else...been watching a lot of Orange is the New Black
Jul 2014 · 1.9k
The End of Summer
Taru M Jul 2014
a sober rooftop and the city skyline**

I hope to never feel this view again
twilight drifting overhead inevitable
still not enough space to hold this heartache
   not enough space to capture this silence
I saw the city collapse in mere seconds
bulldozed by a swift five words
then the silence...

                              ...the silence was an eternity
by the time I responded
  you were gone
  along with everything we ever built
only the stars and I remained
but there was nothing left to wish for
nothing
     but a stiff drink
This is fictional
Jul 2014 · 897
Single Barrel
Taru M Jul 2014
when you're on your last drink:
   find a crowded bar
   with a dark corner
   on the upper level
          and seep into the wood
          like the spirits
          you swear are consoling you
Jul 2014 · 2.0k
An Above Average Life
Taru M Jul 2014
we are the average of every single moment

We are the sum of every single average

We can be great

if We do the math right
Taru M Jul 2014
stir
stir vigorously
stir until the handle knows it's purpose
feels vs knows... which works better?
Jul 2014 · 1.0k
Armageddon's Agenda
Taru M Jul 2014
I hate the idea of next steps
as if life needs planning
as if it won't undertake the future
without consulting your intentions

next steps:
float into oblivion;
become the dying star I have always wished upon
next steps:
graduate from a static state;
become a 3-dimensional character
next steps:
explore the southwest part of town;
find a structure that speaks to me
long enough for a 10 minute conversation
next steps:
take a shower;
prepare to step outside
next steps:
contrive an appropriate line for the end of this poem
next steps:
Next poem is #100, a major benchmark. Look out for that poem. It's definitely a notch above.
Jun 2014 · 704
High Line (10w)
Taru M Jun 2014
artificially inseminated trees sprout from train tracks
**the concrete jungle
http://www.thehighline.org/galleries/images/high-line-flickr-pool
Taru M Jun 2014
the technicalities of technique
find cracks where there is no fault
in cracked faces etched with smiles
and written so it is
that syntax is but confused hindsight
that youth is but confused ____
                              ...well just confused
Jun 2014 · 674
Morning Wood (6w)
Taru M Jun 2014
man in all his glory:
flaccid
Jun 2014 · 3.4k
Cum For Me
Taru M Jun 2014
*** for me!* I shout
She flashes her pearly whites
the brightest smile I've ever seen
(She likes it when I talk *****)
gets wet off it     ...     soaking
                                               the streets
                                      flooded in every nook
rivers gorging car tires
     thunderstorms are our communion

*** for me! I shout
and She moans like a god   ...   boisterous
my legs pump faster now
Her cries are electric
   I can't help but feel the jolt

louder baby
She indulges
and I come
                    full stop at the corner of Broadway & Covert


one day...
              She will tire of my obscenities
  all my ~*******'s~
in a final flash She will smite me
and when I reach home
  He will be at the gate
crooked finger a compass pointing to hell
*** for me I will cry
reverent in nostalgia
I will have played the game past the final quarter
still taunting His existence

but I'll smile
content in knowing
that every action has a consequence
content in knowing
  that I learned that pre-god
   pre-conservation of energy
content in knowing
    that life taught me to run in thunderstorms
and the first time I shouted back
I felt enough energy to risk hell for it
There's a blend of two distinct and loosely related ideas in this one
Jun 2014 · 793
Internal Conflict (10w)
Taru M Jun 2014
Sniffing magic from a Pokemon cartridge can be so fun
I witnessed people snorting coke off a game boy ds tonight....I did not partake
Jun 2014 · 405
Just the Right Frame
Taru M Jun 2014
art is what we made that night
the moon clinging to your ceiling
mediating between crescent and full
shadows        
splayed around our shoulders
release was the sheets tossed aside
the emptiness of your loft
seemingly brimming
there was no headboard from which to shake the dust
but we sounded through
moaning between sepias
sweating between echoes

I would love to capture you someday
to remove these moments from the dark room
and add them to a collection
as something to truly admire
This first line pleaded for me to write but unsure how I feel about the result
Taru M Jun 2014
Love Always
the tunnel
the end of it all
bursting through like shrapnel
the city lights singing the perfect song
as the wind snaps along

Love Always
the Glory Days
and the songs that capture them
and the stages that make them
and the plays on the field
that will be played and replayed for a lifetime

Love Always
the island of misfit toys
where bubbles cause as much awe
as the eighth that inspired them
from the Big Boy to the eighteenth green
you will all make my typewriter

Love Always
the holidays
the people around the table and the t.v.
too stubborn to speak their cares
both the M * A * S * H  episodes
and the long rides home

Love Always
the books
the books and the characters and the morals
and the books
and the teachers that shared  them
we accept the love we think we deserve

Love Always
Charlie
Jun 2014 · 2.6k
Moist
Taru M Jun 2014
moist moist  moist  moist MoiSt mOisT moIsT MOIST
now stop reading it, say it
                                                           moist
it's a weird word
------------------------------------------------------------­-----------------------------------

a storm is coming
  and I can smell it, feel it
     MOIST
on my skin- slick
it wisps into my mouth
  dirt patches aren't meant to be stoic

the storm approaches from the north, northwest
I am headed that way- north, northwest- approaching it
we have not yet converged but I can feel it
    moist
it tastes of dry dirt
not local
       nomadic

the clouds are foreshadowing --- foreboding
  parting only to show more grey
we have yet to converge but I can feel it
the grey
           the parting
                          the moistness
I am not yet there but I can feel it
  wisping through me
     I am not meant to be stoic
       nomadic

the first d
                r
              o
                 p

                     refreshing
I can feel it. really feel it.
moist on my skin. weird.
the clouds are parting
lightening [effect]       thunder [effect]       convergence [effect]
I am the storm; its core
  moist
            grey
                    parting
       ­                          wisping
can you feel me
                            approaching...
May 2014 · 395
3-D Printing (20w)
Taru M May 2014
Do not fret for the future

you'll never get any further into it

          than right now

                                             or now

                              or now
Wisdom from a local at the neighborhood craft beer store... I take no ownership, these are words I heard.
Taru M May 2014
how far does your empathy stretch
does it do calisthenics every morning
before humoring the sun
can it bend the distance of light
or traverse the waves that crash into your ear

how far does your empathy stretch
has it learned to overcome muscle memory
does it still read newspapers daily
or is it colorblind to the flavors of this world

Isla Vista Killing Spree Claims 7 Lives, Including Suspect

4 People Killed in Taiwan Subway Stabbing Spree

32 Children Dead in Columbia Bus Fire Inferno

Nigeria's Boko Haram kills 28 in three village attacks

Afghanistan landslide: One of the country's biggest natural disasters kills up to 2,700

3 dead in shooting at Belgian Jewish museum


did you flinch? did you feel anything?
anything besides the mechanical itch of a
number
maybe you should stand up
maybe you should shake it out
how far does your empathy stretch now?
does it bend towards justice?
*news headings all spanning the past month
May 2014 · 406
Weak or No Signal
Taru M May 2014
we are static on these channels
rushing to be heard
whipping through empty space like a fast current
         where are we flowing?
just trying to stay current
         what are we showing?
currently nothing
                         we are static
can you hear our unintelligible pleas
      please...
   listen
can you hear us
      rushing
we just want to be something
rushing
   can you hear us

listen
         listen
    listen to the static
we are more than just noise
hear us
                           please
we are changing
May 2014 · 1.4k
Carnal (15w)
Taru M May 2014
shadows prey like a mantis
after *** they will consume you
welcome to the wild
It's actually 'praying' mantis...I'm just wordplaying
May 2014 · 1.3k
When the Future Knocks
Taru M May 2014
She lays there a pregnant woman
the future a burden
kicking from the inside
    begging for its time
        pleading for fruition

hush now
                     I lullaby
you will come just like I came and my dad came and my grandfather came

                                   loud and after two minutes

she lays there a pregnant woman
and I swear
                      I can feel the future kicking
I am coming it echoes
...and so it was
    ...and so it did
May 2014 · 1.8k
Teenage Angst
Taru M May 2014
you talk to me as if suicide isn't an option
as if I haven't cut myself six million and one times
      there are only so many ways to count to death
dreams
   can only be ****** for so long

I felt the first crack
                             the day
                                       you called me
                                                              a mistake
to think
   I mistook you for a parent
but you never learned to bare your heart
just gnashing fists and clenched teeth
love
      has always had gaps to escape through
   you just didn't let it

but before I get to note's end
I want you to know
            that I love you
            that I speak it every night into the
                                                   s                           n         e
                                                            l  ­           e
                                                      i        ­                    c
like a prayer
            that I pray that someday it will be enough
   to put cracks in this reality

depression is not the only thing I drown in
under all the blue
I am gushing with red
it's just sometimes I forget I'm breathing

I guess what I'm saying is
   **Eventually...
                             I will flood
but I'm holding off as long as I can
~it would be nice if you at least tried to help~
Not about me ...written in response to one of my student's poems
May 2014 · 438
Teacher Daze
Taru M May 2014
How was your day?

                                       it was a day....except




this kid in the last row of class
shrouded in his own personal forest fire
actually took the time to cool into his seat

he settled down like a tree stump
as he listened to the murmuring of roots
                      y = ax^2 + bx +c

how could he not be captivated
in this wasteland for numbers and adolescent brains
how could he not be cultivated
                       this is my job

for the first time
he raises his hand with answers unpronounced
stumbling through parentheses
   as if they were brackets holding him together
               it is harder than it looks

he approaches the board
   -paper in hand
      and turns to face his audience

****! * it's a lot of people in here

I later ask him, when was the last time you went to the board
he says * never
It's the little victories that count
Taru M Apr 2014
the proof is in the pudding*
                                    irony is in the jello
                                              just eat it all
Check out the history of this oft misquoted phrase...
http://www.npr.org/2012/08/24/159975466/corrections-and-comments-to-stories
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