"abridged" poems
Our heart burns broken at the ends, they fail us, keep building
my lungs are wax inside my ribs, you’re burning, well I’m breathing
this back breaks walked on from carrying friends, can’t stop now, still working
your life’s like rain drops on my tongue, I believe you, keep raining
and it’s alright, it’s alright, we are not right now complete
and I’m alright, you’re gonna be alright, we might never be complete
but the water keeps rising, it’s rising, everybody get into the water
and hold each others hands and lives, let’s all push our hearts together....
we’re gonna leave these shores right now, be everything we’ve never been
but you gotta swear to promise that we’ll never go back again, ever again
and we’re not just islands lying beside each others shorelines
we’re all bound with veins and hopes, we are not each others ghosts
our hearts are abridged, let's build bridges to each other
so this river won’t take us under
filled with monsters and goblins, they keep dragging the bottom
our life is a bridge, let’s build bridges to each other
and pray we don’t go under, oh these careless waters
I’m trying not to confuse: being used, with giving all I am
by: being used, and giving everything I have, all I am
so I’ll build a bridge with hollow bones filled with hollow teeth
inside a hollow heart, with the insides carved
and let the blood in these veins freeze
let the water in these veins freeze and break and flood the dam
we are all we have, this is all we need, hold on it may never end
and I might have to drink my teeth again if I wash up on the coast
so I’ll build a bridge with all that’s left, & not make any more new ghosts
show me your life, wide and bright, I hope that patience fills the seams
keep what’s inside, dry and right, you arch the frame I’ll span the beams
our lives are a bridge for us to give, I want to build a better bridge
from every wrong we’ve done to each other, if I forgive will you forgive?
cause one day we’re gonna close our eyes for death or rest
and abandon ourself, this weak mind and breath
and the columns we made, and roots we grew down deep
will be pulled and gathered in to firewood, and burnt for heat
but when the tension shifts, and these braces turn
I’ll try and build a better bridge
and when all our piers burn, and the hinges miss
I’m gonna build a better bridge
our hearts are abridged, let’s build bridges to each other
so we don’t take ourselves under
Our heart burns broken at the ends, they fail us, keep building
my lungs are wax inside my ribs, you’re burning, I’m still breathing
this back breaks walked on carry friends, can’t stop now, still working
your life’s like rain drops on my tongue, I believe you, keep raining
our lives are a bridge for us to give, I want to build a better bridge
from every wrong we’ve done to each other, if I forgive will you forgive?
our hearts are abridged, let’s build bridges to each other
so this river won’t take us under, so we don’t take ourselves under
our lives are a bridge, let’s build bridges to each other
and pray we don’t go under, oh these careless waters
our lives are a bridge for us to give, I want to build a better bridge
from every wrong we’ve done to each other, if I forgive will you forgive?
our lives are a bridge for us to give, I want to build a better bridge
from every wrong we’ve done to each other, if I forgive will you forgive?
our hearts are abridged, let’s build bridges to each other
so this river won’t take us under, so we don’t take ourselves under
May 12, 2012
May 12, 2012 at 3:26 PM UTC
Ah magnificence
how temperament will change
the world at large
for they'd abandon these cages
as force fields now presume
their quadrants in June
and search for those left decides
these pastures albeit unknown
while green meadows I've forebode
managing lifestyle as abridged
heretofore these days of being heard
that altogether here's my play
where inflation surely wield
as weird alienation might sprout
importunate places likeness kin
and then shoot gorilla not extinct
these dawns upon gatekeeper
meld, have brought Milwaukee Instagram
with certain flair now upstream
in these gardens is reform!
Jun 7, 2016
Jun 7, 2016 at 6:27 AM UTC
When a love of humanity
Gives way to true grace
And it won’t matter one bit
Bout the color on ones face
Then I will swing high
Hit the heavens in sight
But life ain’t baseball
When a love of humanity
Allows no freedoms to be abridged
And it’s a given not just given
That all peoples have the right to live
Then I will soar prouder than the eagle cliche
When a love of humanity
Strips greed from our cause
Make justice our purpose
And we don’t need a legal clause
Fairness and equality
Success based equity
That each person is giving the same chance
The same education to help them advance
Then I will be happy
When a love of humanity
Reminds all who claim to be just
That it is not just us
Who deserve justice
Not just American because
I don’t see how those borders
Should define us
Then I will show you what it means
To reign supreme
As a good human being
Nov 17, 2014
Nov 17, 2014 at 4:36 PM UTC
Abridged in still uncertainty,
autumn swept up its weeping leaves.
“You’re the red leaves on the tree,”
paused, breathed in,
“and I’m the green.”
Of the fall, you thoughtfully said,
“one is dying; the other, dead.”
Oct 19, 2015
Oct 19, 2015 at 9:52 PM UTC
I usually fall asleep with the light on
Because in the morning it seems like the darkness never came
My body is a perpetual light switch
Always swept up in a rapid shift from darkness to florescence
Giving someone like me mania after long spells of depression
Is like giving an alcoholic a shot of whiskey
I need it to feel like I am worth something
I need it to feel like I can get anything done
Why did God, whoever the hell they are,
Decide I needed the super power
Of dragging myself out of the pit of my bed
Only to be blindsided with some sort of dangerous drug
See, most of the time I only reach an abridged version of that mania
But when it peaks it is just that:
Dangerous
It is my favorite brand of tequila
And the last drag of a cigarette
The one where the backlog from the filter gets lost in your throat
But it keeps you buzzed for a while
You see, mania sends you spinning
A trip only a certain kind of acid can take you on
You are constantly carnival
With lights and sound and fire
That no one can calm down
You are never quite at home in your body
Which might be why others can make it theirs so easily
Most days you binge on ***** and **** and ***
Are manic days
Manic depression is like losing control of the car
And other days, forgetting how to drive
Mania is like ****
You don't need to sleep when it's got you
Mania after depression is an abusive lover who knew you were coming home
Knew you would be back for more
It was only a matter of time
Before you collapsed into their arms
Oct 4, 2016
Oct 4, 2016 at 11:31 PM UTC
a woman who stands
between day and night
with sunset hair,
and eyes the color of leaves
that will never know autumn
sees me standing in the slowly
dimming light of life,
words in the shape of a man.
your voice
like that of an angel
calling me to prophecy or worse, prayer
uses words that redefine me
like the lyrics of a memorable song
i can't even hum when you ask.
your slight accent
is faded by years
of wearing it in a foreign tongue,
like the colors of your favorite clothes
worn too often,
as i am all too often
worn too thin
by the heavy accent of your body in my thoughts.
you see me standing alone
between night and day,
an unabridged dictionary
of hope and despair,
being methodically abridged
by the great condenser of time
and his imitators,
as i am slowly reduced
to a man in the shape of words
like loved and remembered,
and later still
missed and forgotten.
Sep 14, 2016
Sep 14, 2016 at 10:03 PM UTC
Happy New Year!
Reflection
"He made the team!"
*Lots of basketball*
Back to school
Time to decide on a college
"Hey, you want to join Speech and Debate?"
Instant best friends
Lots of practice time after school
"And 2nd place goes to..."
"Hi, my name is Max"
Lots of foreign kisses and adventures
Time to apply for college
Mom, I got a scholarship!
Prom is just around the corner
*Would you go to the prom with me?*
Graduation is just around the corner
No tears, I'll see you soon
Job interview
"We'd love to have you"
Difficult work days
"One of you kids is throwing up in the bathroom..."
Tears
I can't do this
Smiles
"Sit by me!"
Saying Goodbye
"You made my trip to America. I can't forget you"
Buying textbooks
*It's how much??*
First day of college
"We're in this together"
Several coffee dates later
I'd punch myself in the face if you weren't here
Feeling disconnected
"Welcome to the BSU"
Finals week
Ingest coffee. Cry
The pay-off
4.0
"Let's go to a theme park!"
Park closed until Wednesday
Let's hang out!
"I'm in Denver..."
"Let's hang out!"
I'm on my way
I missed you.
"We'll hang out before I go back"
"I miss you!"
You'll be back soon, love!
Happy New Year!
Reflection
Jan 1, 2014
Jan 1, 2014 at 2:02 AM UTC
been a-while
spring abridged;winter night
each layer of snow colder n' heavier
earth lay frozen and I frostbitten
icicles of gloom
lining my chest,eerie chill creeping
heart benumbed;slowly melting
basking in apricity,duly warmed up
awaiting spring
anew
Nov 3, 2020
Nov 3, 2020 at 9:50 AM UTC
The Ugly Duckling
*quack?
yuck?*
QUACK!
DUCK!
The Emperor's New Clothes
*new?
yeah?*
BLUE!
BARE!
Hansel And Gretel
*bread?
coven?*
DEAD!
OVEN!
Little Red Riding Hood
*eyes?
ears?*
LIES!
SHEARS!
Goldilocks And The Three Bears
*hot?
cold?*
COT!
SCOLD!
The Three Little Pigs
*huff?
sticks?*
PUFF!
BRICKS!
Jan 24, 2015
Jan 24, 2015 at 4:36 PM UTC
A gentle vision, that,
The girl who stabbed me with a stiletto-
Half lucid entangle, enforced, but not pleaded,
Such expense at the offer of a lude game conceded.
Tense hours wandering, unlaundered and restless,
to the ripe desert fruit, found snared and defenseless;
felled by the brute who enforced vanity.
The frigid and harmless might stand to agree.
Now rigid in darkness, at the face of your palm-
two islands are bridged. Awaken embalmed!
Silence, abridged like the unclaimed draw sweat
splattered in the fallout of our budding duet.
A matter, devout; raconteur be concise.
But no pestilent drawrings of a frail soul suffice.
Nov 14, 2011
Nov 14, 2011 at 3:07 AM UTC
People tell me
I came pretty close to dying
Now I just sit and think about why I'm
alive anyway
I can't think of a thing to do during the day
but then again maybe I'm not trying
I've been seeing time as
A strange, madras garment
Memories, strewn together in a sloppy, random, make-shift way
At their most detailed
They are incidents given a slot on the
nightly news
But we can never be there again
whether we are the ones falling from the burning building,
being interviewed about it
or glued to the couch watching
Everything, just snippets on the cutting- room floor,
Melting frost on a window
"I love you" written in the middle
Something overheard in a smokers' annex
A person you bump into on the L
That sweater you had to have but lost at the 92nd Street Y
A flash in a pan
A view from the top
Our lives are abridged versions of some greater path, that only those who walk truly upright are unlucky enough to perceive
Mar 20, 2013
Mar 20, 2013 at 3:50 AM UTC
See Found Poems but these are my favourite.
1. without some for you
and your music
and also had pasta
2. 7 mm,
one of the major cities,
you
3. search process
which look, it recognizes us
and what is the function ?
4. bread, espressos
:any
isolated
5. of all conferences
and finish eyes gazing
into Cancun East
Nov 2, 2013
Nov 2, 2013 at 4:35 PM UTC
Inglorious light
To strand light from darkness the greatest victory Jesus said I am the light of the world it was fixed and
Sure no dividing nothing to confuse but then man’s desires arose as in all instances when he would
Dismiss God’s sovereign authority honesty is missing they don’t say initially the truth spoke thusly no
They craft well their superimposing disfigured light it has to appeal it must have the essence of
Misrepresentation with this you will be enlightened and thankfully you can do it by a measure that you
Can control you will be god and have the authority see all the lights draw them together into a super
Beam they are outer bold strokes of genius variable dreams exists in this bright coexistence with
Darkness you can blatantly satisfy all manner of appetites and keep you heart from alarm you are
Walking in light there is a supreme being and he too is known as the angel of light that is filled with all
The arts of deceit he will dazzle and from his inner light you will fall from heavenly heights the same as
He there is no end to your trouble nor his but what a ride to control thoughts and destines of others that
Innocently trust your words the breach know the true word was abridged to fit a morality that didn’t fit
Into true and right nobility no matter substitute your own please make it glowing the greatest
Subterfuge must look closely like the original we are speaking of eternal verities fine tune the sphere it
Must pass the acid test for the casual adherent only the best divisible means must be employed you are
Substituting bedrock truth with the illusion of truth never say the devil won’t give you your do even he
Plays fair to a point you are giving up a kingdom your right as an heir not to mention love will be changed
To murderous intent the death of a soul is not a minor undertaking you laid the ground work so expertly
Now to keep up the pretense it’s not really like its hard we are all rebels just play into the general feeling
That is maximized when you add the poison of deceit its the drug that will never fail love be dammed see
You in Hell
Jan 9, 2012
Jan 9, 2012 at 7:17 PM UTC
he had internal conflicts
to contend with
demons
that wouldn't be subdued
or suppressed
he had a career
mapped out
in the entertainment industry
future fame
making it even bigger
on the American music scene
the day he passed away
nothing was straight in his mind
the woes of his personal life
came to a head
he was found hanging
on a motel room door
a young man
with much to look forward to
yet his woes
wouldn't disband
the music stopped
for him...
abridged
cut short
from life he did abort
Oct 8, 2013
Oct 8, 2013 at 6:02 PM UTC
Rhapsody Told
The wild tempered without with a demure conscious knowing with the slightest effort a
Flame explodes from the red hair to the soul of her feet extolling virtue that is volcanic at anytime
Eruption the fire sprays out over everything for a time it consumes then with the act of a fiery dancer moving
To the somber beat the longer she twirls it begins to subside the super charged body retreats into
Mellowness but the facts are known now you prize her more but with caution you both hold the reigns
As hearts race with excitement in moments it could be continued calm or white water either way life is
Enriched you don’t have need of searching for the next thrill just look into those deep burning eyes
There not to be trusted for ordinary display they say come and ride the wild wind a tempest stirs within
My breast hold my hand we will escape together to the islands of the sea stand at the edge darkness just
Beyond the natives savage fire match his moves as he sways and then more violent his actions become
There is the time when you let go and become prime evil raw gratitude expressed brings life full circle
You return to the accustomed expected norm but on the inside the beat of drums that are foreign
Continue to hold you fascinated and bound customary moors are abridged the soul quickens with
Delight bring on the night it just feels right when I hold you tight the grand totality of freedom gives us
A soaring we leave the plainness of earthen ground behind to catch the wind in our teeth take out large
Bites the night air stirs up what could be if you have the courage to grasp it is it thunder or is our hearts
Exploding what vistas we behold canyons and rivers lie below somehow there is a story being told it comes into our
Knowing freeing minds no guessing now articulation speaks with clearest words some never know this
Reality lies dormant all you do is stoke the coals and say come with me dear wife the night is alive it
Belongs to lovers bold the day is for working the night is for loving bliss
Nov 24, 2011
Nov 24, 2011 at 1:37 PM UTC
Dear Mrs. Timetable,
I'm writing you
From the bargain bin
Of a local bookstore,
Eating a peanut butter then jelly
Sandwich.
...
I must admit
It tastes pretty good.
...
How about we go out
For ice cream this evening?
...
We'll put on clothes,
And our best designer mask,
And head over to 31 flavors.
...
So long as it's chocolate, of course...
Aug 11, 2020
Aug 11, 2020 at 7:54 AM UTC
the belief that
The depth of cruelty ,
Can only be deepend by kindnes
Illuminating a path to seek evidence to rebuke this
The deeper you fathom
The more you find less....
Sep 22, 2025
Sep 22, 2025 at 3:51 PM UTC
have you heard that animals
come in more than one form,
not just covered in fur or lined
in scales, in shirts and jeans
they walk, talk and conjugate
have you heard that diseases
are more than just viruses, they
have names like thomas, luke, jeff,
scribbled in notebooks, sipped through
cocktail straws,
this is no friendly cherokee parable
spoken in elderflower and feathery
folklore,
the wolves are here and have always
been, you know they rarely come in ones,
curtailing escape, the abridged version of
all-them-who-called-wolf because we don't
cry wolf, we seek wolf.
speak wolf.
so surprised to have them at our throats
when we have been no angels--
neither devils
just another injured animal
trying to make peace.
Apr 15, 2017
Apr 15, 2017 at 7:53 PM UTC
When I fell back into the cramped nook of your shelf,
you didn't even acknowledge me amidst the other knickers and gnats vying for your attention.
You overlooked the viscous hatred glazing my bronze porcelain.
And after you spit-shined me in an attempt to erase the set-in stain
that so starkly contrasted all of the work that you had put into the cocoa complexion nurtured in the heated vacuum of your built-in incubator,
you showed me off to your friends,
your little nesting doll that had shrunk down to its true form,
so cute and abridged that you could fit its summation in your pocket,
doomed to eternally room with your dusty love shields and dingy photocopies of past mistakes.
Jun 9, 2015
Jun 9, 2015 at 9:35 PM UTC
cavern alit with
cascading twilights
of imagined particles,
an array of twinkles
like mist,
only softly.
reflecting off an endless iris
like an eternal cartwheel
of light and dark
and in and out
and that boundless space in between
that passes like a
fault line in a blink
that dissolves
the one
before
and greets
the one
after.
abridged by the procession of
catena that
o
l a
t
f S
away.
The spirit of adventure springs eternal
where shimmers reflect in
swirls like ammonite
and ripples like none.
and back again.
in a unified braid,
that weaves together
blendings like this and that
to discern and disregard
and that boundless space in between.
May 16, 2014
May 16, 2014 at 4:37 PM UTC
Music
Busted by the groove the Wolf man’s got your ears Johnny Mercer brings tears throughout the years
Kissed by the lonely lullaby it embodies the empty spaces draws from shadows and evokes gentle sighs
Hear the pleading moving soul of one tortured by a memory through the instrument and voice it bleeds
In the cold world a tune decidedly changes moods brings unquestionable comfort a safe harbor it buys
Trade the dull the common for the images set to pace they spill they emerge they dance freeing to all
Torn air in this space the wayfarer the drifter slips on the invisible current anytime or hour its glorious sunset
The inner called it listens with formable grace it blends all to magnificence and lives in highest taste
The source abridged by your convenience it can say more or less your interpretation decides its state
Fix the volume find a tucked away place the room fills with all manner of trips and promises of returns
Listen to that horn blown out of the delta or those sacred streets of the greatest cool bourbon Street
A little Sacmo what a wonderful world and don’t forget to honor and extol the other horn Lena Horn
Slides and rifts they were and are the greatest gifts every one given a stage all leaves lasting wonder
The crescendo reached then the fall what imagination stirred to the maxim highs and depths what awes
Take stir my heart give it all you’ve got don’t give it back in a few make it last only return it when it’s full
Hard as stones soft as Eddie money you get a thrill they show you the road it used to cost a juke box dime
I hear one in the dorm grooving to the Cat all space filled as the waves sweetly moved by a quiet storm
Dec 1, 2011
Dec 1, 2011 at 9:25 AM UTC
Busted by the groove the Wolf man’s got your ears Johnny Mercer brings tears throughout the years
Kissed by the lonely lullaby it embodies the empty spaces draws from shadows and evokes gentle sighs
Hear the pleading moving soul of one tortured by a memory through the instrument and voice it bleeds
In the cold world a tune decidedly changes moods brings unquestionable comfort a safe harbor it buys
Trade the dull the common for the images set to pace they spill they emerge they dance freeing to all
Torn air in this space the wayfarer the drifter slips on the invisible current anytime or hour its glorious sunset
The inner called it listens with formable grace it blends all to magnificence and lives in highest taste
The source abridged by your convenience it can say more or less your interpretation decides its state
Fix the volume find a tucked away place the room fills with all manner of trips and promises of returns
Listen to that horn blown out of the delta or those sacred streets of the greatest cool bourbon Street
A little Sacmo what a wonderful world and don’t forget to honor and extol the other horn Lena Horn
Slides and rifts they were and are the greatest gifts every one given a stage all leaves lasting wonder
The crescendo reached then the fall what imagination stirred to the maxim highs and depths what awes
Take stir my heart give it all you’ve got don’t give it back in a few make it last only return it when it’s full
Hard as stones soft as Eddie money you get a thrill they show you the road it used to cost a juke box dime
I hear one in the dorm grooving to the Cat all space filled as the waves sweetly moved by a quiet storm
Dec 20, 2012
Dec 20, 2012 at 12:46 AM UTC
They sweep into the cave, swirling about the abridged quietude of their presence;
Constantly smiling at all events that may occur or not, and the testing of resolve;
Dark air pervades, and hangs still, as perfidy nibbles at the feet of a companion;
A hot dizzy essence enters the mind of an exhausted, prostrate,pleading traveller;
Nor is the dweller moved by the entreaties nor realities of other existences within;
Sweltering sobs penetrate all those who enter the self-contained residence-beware;
There is no caring force amidst the eerie egocentric joys-the megalomania here in;
Habitually unmoved and mired in the smugness of some perceived elevated state;
Only terror flows as the bats eye and circle the treasure of impending importance;
A blinding light impels the occupant to stagger toward the entrance-the issue lost!
May 12, 2014
May 12, 2014 at 10:07 AM UTC