"curfews" poems
It's not in the moments where we hold hands and skip
It's not in the moments where we hug and smile
It's not in the moments where we laugh like crazy
It's not in those moments that made me love you.
It's not in the moments where we make faces and wrestle
It's not in the moments where we cook when we can
It's not in the moments where we watch each others' favorite movies
It's not in those moments that made me love you.
It's not in the moments where we share our life stories
It's not in the moments where we get off topic on the phone
It's not in the moments where we miss our curfews
It's not in those moments that made me love you.
It's not in the moments where we call each other nicknames
It's not in the moments where we hold awkward conversations
It's not in the moments where we make plans for the future
It's not in those moments that made me love you.
It's in those moments where lying together I can feel your heartbeat increase and race with mine, while our breathing matches up. This lets me know that together we are one and being with me excites you as much as me being with you.
Jun 24, 2012
Jun 24, 2012 at 8:29 PM UTC
red lights yet, seeing
signs in the green.
are you friend or fiend?
may we both come in peace?
crop circles get dusted off.
all curfews must dissolve.
if our virtue is up to par,
please let us be.
upheld laws
will get disregarded.
cops caught off guard
by gargoyles gawking
at dawn's sweet offspring,
this broad's in a stand still.
villains chill alleys
these foes just can't ****
as the girl cops an anvil
ready to drop her mans
onto a large canvas
full of hurt,
red paint and tequila
as her quills dry up does she
still see city lights as freedom?
curbside dances in the moonlight
earning keeps for a teen son.
Sep 27, 2015
Sep 27, 2015 at 1:27 AM UTC
In the name of democracy
An entire state is terrorized
Decade after decade
Freedoms are curbed
Protests are brutally suppressed
People are brutally oppressed
Education is diluted
In the name of democracy
The Army turns from protector to oppressor
Every soldier marching past
With his head held high
Sounds the death knell
For every man, woman and child
In the name of democracy
Soldiers break into houses
Wielding their massive rifles
As if it is their birthright
As the peace and harmony within
Is replaced by abject terror
In the name of democracy
All morals are flung out of the window
As the women are *****
The men who challenge this unspeakable atrocity
Are swiftly silenced with bullets
As the children begin screaming in terror
They are molested, one by one
Until the trauma overcomes them
Such that, they lose their voices
They lose their minds
They lose their hearts
Meanwhile, the soldiers slip away quietly
Having completed a good day of work
In the name of democracy
In the name of democracy
India and Pakistan, warring for decades
Use Kashmir as a bait
As a means to satisfy
Their unquenchable thirst for power
As the potion simmers on
Fuelled by hate on both sides
Curfews and lockdowns follow with alarming regularity
Schools and colleges are shut down
Political organizations are banned
The Internet is crippled
Mobiles and landlines are killed
Even the most feeble of all protests
Is brutally quelled with bullets and grenades
In the name of democracy
Consent is dead and buried
As nationalism takes centre stage
The world watches on silently
Allowing India, the oppressors-in-chief
To reclaim the moral high ground
And suddenly proclaim themselves as saviours
Leaving the beleaguered Kashmiris no choice
But to bow to their captors
Their dreams of self-determination
Shattered ruthlessly in the course of a mad, mad day
In the name of democracy
Aug 5, 2019
Aug 5, 2019 at 1:18 PM UTC
I fell
[through hugs and kisses,
arguments,
Italian takeout,
suits and dresses,
texts at 2 am,
summer karaoke nights,
missed curfews,
coffee,
****** movies,
classic '70s songs,
stairs,
health food and vegetables,
fights,
antagonism,
test scores,
spaceships,
and happiness]
in love.
Apr 30, 2015
Apr 30, 2015 at 6:58 PM UTC
Tear gas and fear tactics.
Riot gear and semi-automatics.
Our military industrial complex has come home.
The government wire taps your cell phones.
Spies on you with drones.
While bully cops with billy clubs break your bones.
You know the motto:
serve master's interests,
protect master's property.
The crooked politician is today's slave owner.
Officer his overseer.
That sweet war on drug money armed them up.
Homeland Security bought the armored truck.
Nothing left to do but duck and cover up the evidence before it hits the 6 o' clock media dump.
I stand here today in full protest of toy soldiers in bulletproof vests placing American citizens under house arrest
with evening curfews and death threats.
Until those who are sworn to
uphold the law
begin to
abide by the law,
there will never be peace.
There will never be rest.
The Geneva Convention of 1925 prohibits the use of
asphyxiating and poisonous gases, liquids, and bacteriological
methods of warfare.
The United States has spoken out against countless countries
that have use these tactics on their own people
but has stood idly by as the police use it as a tool to disperse
the peaceful protests of American citizens.
This ******** needs to stop.
No one needs to die.
Not a civilian, not a cop.
America's infatuation with arming itself has come with
zero accountability and a severe lack of responsibility.
A scared nation with fingers on triggers have created
a bigger body count and has widened the gap between
police and community.
Hate and bigotry will never disappear from the human psyche.
It is the responsibility of every individual to
bring positivity into the world.
Ignore the intolerant.
Praise the pacifist.
May future generations reject the appalling actions of their forefathers
and usher in a new age of love and peace based on
tolerance and understanding.
Sep 13, 2014
Sep 13, 2014 at 1:33 PM UTC
we think we’re made of numbers. percentages on tests,
pounds on a scale,
likes on a photo,
price tags on clothes.
but we’re not.
we are made of love and happiness and they way we laugh.
we’re made of good memories and late nights and past-curfews.
we have more substance than numbers.
you’re not what you look like.
you’re the music you listen to,
the shows you watch,
the art you make,
the flowers in your hair,
your favorite blanket.
you’re not the pimple on your nose
or the pudge on your stomach.
You’re not your thighs or your teeth.
you’re the color of your hair,
you’re your favorite band,
you’re the mismatch socks you wear
You’re what you love, you’re not what you look like or the body you are in.
Nov 6, 2013
Nov 6, 2013 at 8:21 PM UTC
For years
the square inner courtyard,
surrounded by sky-reaching apartment complexes,
accessible only through brief
openings
between the buildings
whose windows looked down
soullessly upon our child's play,
contained my entire world,
and I did not perceive any difference
in the hands, faces, and seasonal limbs
of my friends--
But when I returned
the openings had closed,
the courtyard inaccessible
to an unrecognizable Cincinnati child
whose white face and green eyes
brought only memories--
1884, 1929, 1944, 1967,
and angry April showers
that drowned disapproving windows
in curfews of 2001.
And I do understand.
But,
Would the windows open if they knew
there's black in my line,
way back in my line,
from a time when ships like the Delta Queen--
sailed the Middle Passage
monikered in false virtue
granted by titles like Henrietta Marie--
brought African queens instead of slot machines--
when the fields of mud ran with blood
hemorrhaged from Makhulu's
innocence forcibly stolen
by Grampa's lust.
Now I must window
watch my own daughter,
recalling the lesson
on the names of the week:
You know daddy,
someone just made those names up.
And I can see
beyond her blonde pig-tails--
the darkness of her eyes
recalls the act of shame--
coupled with the sharp wit
of a chained matriarch standing proudly
on the auction block declaring:
These waterways are all connected.
Mar 20, 2012
Mar 20, 2012 at 8:22 PM UTC
You are a ******
For happiness
You don't believe me
Do you?
You think, nah,
I'm clean.
Sober, even.
Well, you're wrong.
When you were young,
You got a taste of it.
Happiness.
And it was pure.
It was innocent.
And it was the best
You've ever ******* felt
In your whole entire life.
It came in many forms.
Sledding with your older brother,
In the mountains of magic
Glittering snow
That you would only grow
To hate
Over the years
The back breaking, black ice
********
You had to salt and shovel
Weeks on end
Enough to wage a war
With nature
But then, back then,
You were happy with snow.
Maybe even
In love with it.
You got a taste.
Your favorite ice cream bar
Every lick.
Insatiable. Delicious.
The perfect ending
To a gorgeous summer afternoon.
Of course,
As the months peeled away
You'd learn that
Ice cream makes you fat
And sugar is a disease
Before you know any better
You're counting calories
And carbs
And pounds
And inches
And everything becomes
A ******* number
Suddenly you focus so much
On your body
That you lose your soul
But then, back then,
It simply didn't matter.
You were only a kid.
With a sweet tooth.
You got a taste.
Your mother's arms
Warm, welcoming
You could tell her any secret
And she would fight off
Every demon
Chase the closet monsters away
And craft a dream catcher
For all those nightmares
Then the days crack apart
Your calendar flips over the decades
And the woman with the title
Mother
Is nothing more than a stranger
You can't even remember her age
Anymore
Torn apart by trivial fights
Over mall money
And curfews
Mother?
What mother?
You have no mother,
Only a **** with shared DNA.
But then, back then,
It was blissful
Her kisses were the only medicine
You needed
You got a taste.
And now,
You spend your whole life
Searching for the
Glitter in the snow
And the heaven
In the ice cream
And the warmth
In your mother's arms
But
Everything is dull now
But
It's all bad for you
But
Her arms are six feet under
Happiness.
You are a ******
You are addicted
And you will never get your fix
Because all you ever got
Was a taste
Just enough to keep you searching
But never satisfied.
* You got a taste.*
Feb 10, 2013
Feb 10, 2013 at 8:15 PM UTC
It's a party where all the guests are young and wild
The night is still young
Drink until your problems drown the pressure of the alcohol level
The night is still young
Make it a night to remember dance until you you feet spark flame from your deepest desires that are boiling up inside your chest
Let's have a hell of a night even if the fire might be too much there can never be too much alcohol
Thoughts that have the tendency to make you question yourself should go for a swim
Take another pill cause it's all the healing you need for tonight
Stay awake cause a wishing star is passing by to promise you that can always get better
It's your life , you don't owe it to no one
Take a pull to pull yourself out of the worries
Get high
We can lend you wings to reach for the heavens
Take a sit for you are gods and goddesses
You don't need when you go
Why leave when you still got moves for the crowd
You can be a freak
It's a party so get wasted till you drop
Curfews are for the chosen few
The bottle and drugs will solve your problems
That extra puah to get you started
They'll never understand you
You don't need to know why your here just know your not lost
There's nothing we don't have here
Your favourite posion is at the table
Razer's are available open up we won't judge
Make mistakes until you gain experience not scars cause you fell to many times
Take the weight 9ff and rest
Your tired , drained and put your feet up
The sun is always shining cause it's a cold world outside
The outburst of kIds are evident from the popped balloons
So just put on your mask so no one can know the real you
.
Nov 2, 2021
Nov 2, 2021 at 9:37 PM UTC
A young woman closing in on independence
Like it is a dreadful thing
Other young women
Excited, mesmerized, elated by the sense of freedom
She can taste the separation like food
Sadness permeates the flesh of youth
Spreads into the arteries of life
Almost a feeling of suffocation ensues
Others happiness caresses the flesh
Spreads into the arteries singing with fire
Unable to contain the elation!
Clouds form all around as separation is coming
A time of exploration and inhibitions weigh heavily
Loneliness, isolation, and unbearable anxiety overwhelm the brain
Happiness, exaltment, and a sense of power explode inside the other
The girl enjoyed life so much until now
Parents are much older than most
Fear encases the once boisterous heart
Everywhere talk of blossoming, answering to no one
Boundaries erased, getting older, wiser, excites
Dark thoughts of being alone fill her with anguish
Parents dying before she begins to live plays on her psyche
Children not knowing their grandparents, No! Turn back time
Please she cries!
The other cares not of these things only to get out
Into the world of money, jobs, romance, parties
Parents being a chore now just having to appease them
Loving them but finally FREEDOM!!!
One leaves home feeling weight of life crushing dreams
The other so happy to get away from meddling, curfews, and eager to carve her own mark.
Which will live the better life?
Who will be happy?
Free?
Love and be loved?
Will despair turn to death or endless fulfillment?
Will elation turn to destruction and loneliness?
Do you know which is a young woman you know?
Written by: Jennifer Humphrey 10/12/2014 copyright 2014
Oct 13, 2014
Oct 13, 2014 at 1:29 AM UTC
Fall is the season that I hope to make it
Seen a thousand green leaves and I hope they're changing
Cause the color red is one that's more attractive
Seen them hit the ground waiting for someone to rake them up
Winter is a time that I know far better
Sliding down the frozen hills much faster
Wishing that the snow shines whiter than last year
And then maybe my angel can fly up to you
In the Springtime when it's warm but rainy
The seeds in my hand will float down to daisies
I can pick em out when the sun comes saving
The light of my life looking like a lovely lady
Only in the Summer when I'm free and happy
We'll lay together in the sunlight laughing
No curfews to keep us in for mischief
Time will stand still and we can imagine what if...
When all the seasons come together, I'll be praying for lovely weather
But if the world should end by noon, I'll cuddle up and die next to you
May 15, 2012
May 15, 2012 at 1:50 PM UTC
being an adult feels like a joke
as if cigarettes or **** will change much
as if lotto tickets and *** and no driving curfews
will make me feel mature enough
to be considered an 'adult'
but being 18 feels pretty alright so far,
spending my first day of this new age
with you
Aug 10, 2014
Aug 10, 2014 at 1:31 AM UTC
4 years ago today i was riding the high of a first kiss 3 months in the making
we fell in love amidst curfews and open doors and a tendency to semi-slow dance between half truths and part lies
Jun 15, 2018
Jun 15, 2018 at 9:34 PM UTC
Remember the past? man, those were the days,
Where the hardest decision was what games we would play.
Our biggest worries were scraped knees and curfews,
Now we have to worry bout late fees and work blues,
We'd get our boo-boos kissed and healed by our mothers,
And spend countless hours playin Mario with my brothers.
those were the times, I wouldn't trade it for the world.
My childhood was awesome, I can't put it into words.
Apr 1, 2013
Apr 1, 2013 at 9:30 PM UTC
Let me stay warm
bask in your walls of life
hold tight till stars exchange long glares with sunlight
And tell the moon of blue skies
mistaken as true lies
with the hues of red and purple
between the hours of midnight and noon
I'll never hurt you
only love long pass curfews
Until we sleep clutched in an embrace
awaken by the same love on a new day
Sep 12, 2017
Sep 12, 2017 at 4:02 PM UTC
Time.
We need more time;
No sleepy eyes or scratchy contact lenses.
No interruptions or pain.
No curfews or plans for the next day.
I want to feel your skin under my fingertips
And kiss you until you shake.
I want to fall asleep on your shoulder
And (supposedly) murmur in my slumber.
I want to wake up to find you looking into my eyes,
A soft smile illuminating your face.
And I want to be able to say,
"Good morning, love."
Without it being a digital message.
I love you.
Sweetie, Dear, Honey Bunny.
I always will.
And I will dream of the day when
My wishes come true.
Aug 25, 2013
Aug 25, 2013 at 11:59 PM UTC
Eden is a place where all things grow,
Sometimes the moon glows
where all shadows go.
Freeing the moss hands
dance eagle legs, go,
Show the king how to jig amongst
Shivering blooming ferns.
Easily among us and
shown from far to few,
We live in a land where evening rises
and curfews shift from view.
Great lights dance across the sky,
these follow the lights among the cloud layers,
the lights among the earth.
I gather'd the minstrels for a time of crying,
and they lamented upon birth,
gave thanks to the dying,
and knew from heart spilled worth.
They sang of beautiless oceans,
bountiful wealths that sprang within,
Gladly to be swirled to bits
so that beneath then would be real.
And I could only see them play
by the fire light so bright,
They knew to pack their instruments
and travel when came May.
And so I follow...
Jun 1, 2014
Jun 1, 2014 at 6:30 PM UTC
Running and Hiding
We spent the night in the darkened playground
The silent burial ground of our childhood recollections
Filled with happy ghosts of the past
We played hide and seek with our memories
As we ran from the ticking hour
Trying to escape time
We spent the night
All running from something
All hiding from our own demons
Trying so hard to disappear from the pain chasing us
We almost forget the others
Running just as fast beside us
From their own personal hell as well
Hiding our faces in the dizziness
Induced by the dreaded tire swing
And running headlong into challenges
Of balance and strength
Of anything less personal than the conversation
That follows, “hey, you ok?”
Just to forget for a bit
Then lying in the darkness and smiling
Laughing, talking about anything but the truth
Hoping maybe it won’t find us here
But time doesn’t stand still
And the sheltering blackness of the night
Shatters under the weight of the oppressive curfews
Into the car
Into the fear
Return to the place you hid from
Return from the running
And wait for dawn
So you can run again
Jul 1, 2013
Jul 1, 2013 at 4:00 AM UTC
Move aside, let me put this mic to use
Your purpose on the stage is just to amuse
My next trick, some lyrical abuse
Pay attention now, no excuse
You think you're a bomb? Well I'll just defuse
Be a good sport and be in time for your curfews
I'm the captain, watch me navigate (Gorillaz reference)
Words to fabricate and rhymes to calibrate
Eradicate everything until you're forced to abdicate
If you're going against me, you'll need a magistrate
Activate the **** switch, we can't let him retaliate
Ready for arms men? It's time to annihilate
To me, this talent I have is innate
And you lack it, great.
Aug 9, 2015
Aug 9, 2015 at 11:05 AM UTC
i
She was sick of hero's,
of the boys who tried to save her from herself.
Her world had become a constant blur
of innocent liplocks and hair neatly parted,
of well-made beds and early curfews,
of speed limits and no trespassing signs.
She was trapped within the parameters of goodness,
condemned to the ideas of sweetness.
She wanted to succumb to something,
to submit herself to the darkness of a boy who didn't want to be fixed. It was a realization she had the night she saw him,
truly saw him,
a boy who had been a stranger in a bar
and weeks later became the fixation she couldn't manage without.
ii
One night he appeared in the doorway of the bedroom,
soft blue light illuminating his face,
nestled behind his nose
and under his lashes.
The crease of a smug grin forming at the corners of those lips.
He knew exactly what he did
and it tempted her all the more.
He was a villain, a cold blooded creature, a criminal.
His mouth reminded her of the demons in all of her nightmares,
the hooded figures reaching out to grasp her hands
and pull her in with only the gentlest touch
to let her think she was still in control.
Those haunted sheets and his pouted lips
were enough to keep her stirring until dawn.
He hadn't even touched her,
but he managed to keep her squirming under the thought of him.
He was salt in her eyes and sugar on her tongue.
He had shown her the true meaning of corruption.
iii
And then it was over.
She wasn't sure they were done,
but she left anyway.
He screamed and told her to do what she wanted,
but she chose to live.
His tousled hair had become too messy for her,
his temper didn't exclude her anymore.
She was not weak,
she was terrified.
She was drowning.
And when the sea had finally come for her,
he didn't follow.
The swells pulled her deep beneath the surface,
invaded her lungs
and the strain on her heart felt like his fingers across her ribs.
He let the seas foam lap against his toes
and then watched her foam at the mouth,
her pupils dilated,
skin pale.
She was swallowed by the swift currents,
consumed by bursts of blue,
his eyes no longer defined the color.
He wasn't there.
Those nights spent over the bathroom sink,
perched on the fire escape,
hidden beneath sheets,
he wasn't there.
She knew the feeling all too well
and that things lose their shine under water.
But at least she had found a home in the abyss.
Sep 4, 2015
Sep 4, 2015 at 1:37 PM UTC
Protest WWW..Global
Our Cries World wide..
From the USA even to the Mother lands..Africa..
Cries reaches US.
Paris France. Vancouver Canada, Germany
Visions and dreams have shown my stove is burning..
I often wondered what it could mean.
There's a fire in my kitchen, the center of where I live.
Theres a burning. In the heart of the land..
The place that feed my family.. food to survive..
As I look around my land now right in my homeland. There's fires burning..
In the hearts of man. From Injustices in the land. The killing OF another Now George Floyd Openly. Strangely for the world to see.
Now cities are burning, grenades are throwing, rubber bullets are shooting..
At us in our pains. They are arresting any and every one of us. Why..
Because we are Bleeding, so they arrest us. because we don't wanna go home.
Suffer in silence unseen. Hurt and die in our sorrow.. Obey curfews.. Used as tools to control.. what needs to be seen.
Our rights to be heard, our rights to walk it out, shout it out, All day and night with each other.
See us we want to protest, stop shooting your rubber bullets, because we don't wanna hide behind closed doors. Between 7 and 11..
We are risking Our Lives for this cause.. Risking Our health for Liberty.. Equality. Marching until our feet are bruised.
For the Rights to be free, Our Lives Matter, Our Rights matter, Our Equality Matters.
Our Humanity Matters, Stop Killing Us, Trying to Silence us.. STOP And.. Prosecute The guilty for abusing Us.
Overthrow The Powers in Authority That rule with cruelty to humanity. Especially to People like me. I want the rights to Express myself Openly, Our tears for the world to see. I want all people to have liberty.
In Our Pains why must you treat us so roughly, so disrespectfully. rubber bullets, gas grenades, smokes and flares, We people are already wounded, already feeling down, already fed up, already exhausted, already disrespected already getting killed.. You won't lift us up give us a caring hand.. Us against those racist against us.. Way Over fed Up.
We are Thanking every color in America and world wide.. that Protest On Our side. Thank You.
Willing to fight and be heard and demand for changes for our kind, and all of mankind.
That's been denied..
Justice for US.
Jun 6, 2020
Jun 6, 2020 at 10:14 AM UTC
blossoming love and blossoming flowers
the nights are sweet, smelling of
lavender and cherry lipgloss
this may just be skinny love
but it’s summer and I want to kiss
under the stars and drown in the
undercurrents of our affection
I want to dance freely at 3 am
with friends in the backyard
playing our mixtape and forgetting
curfews
I want to be held under the mist of a
waterfall ( we can spill all our secrets )
and I want to make this summer last
skinny love only lasts a year
but the summer is all I need
Mar 20, 2014
Mar 20, 2014 at 10:52 PM UTC
powder in a rush catches your eye, seems to be an issue
on a roller coasting slope, slipping in the mud
let's arrange a contest with our fans to see who's brighter
you love the limelight, yes you do
no more tea on trays, someone's ego got shinned in
they're on bitter stilts
rides dry up and curfews throw back some
silence is a great peacemaker, learn to schedule a good cry in the shower
Aug 28, 2014
Aug 28, 2014 at 11:04 AM UTC
I am sick of the stares that follow me everywhere
And of the letches I find on the street
I am sick of being catcalled on roads
And then asked to be silent about it
I am sick of the curfews that my parents impose on me
And their fears about my safety which it reflects
I am sick of the **** cases I hear about everyday
And the threat that i might be its victim too
I am sick of acid attacks
And of one-sided lovers whose love isn’t actually love
I am sick of listening about dowry victims
And of how people burn their brides for money
I am sick about not being treated equally as men
And the discrimination I see everywhere
I am sick of being judged by my clothes
As if they aren’t my clothes but my character
Yes I am a woman
And trust me I am sick of it
Feb 13, 2018
Feb 13, 2018 at 12:55 PM UTC