"mystified" poems
the people whose job is to
understand the multiverse
can't figure this world out
rid·dle ˈridl/noun: riddle; plural noun: riddles
1. | a question or statement intentionally
phrased so as to require ingenuity
in ascertaining its answer or meaning,
typically presented as a game;
a person, event, or fact that is difficult
to understand or explain.
"the riddle of her death" [puz·zle
ˈpəzəl/verb: puzzle; 3rd person present:
puzzles; past tense: puzzled; past participle:
puzzled; gerund or present participle:
puzzling
1. cause (someone) to feel confused because
they cannot understand or make sense of something:
"one remark he made puzzled me"
synonyms: perplex, confuse, bewilder,
bemuse, baffle, mystify, confound;
faze, stump, beat, discombobulate
"her decision puzzled me"
perplexed, confused, bewildered,
bemused, baffled, mystified, confounded,
nonplussed, at a loss, at sea;
flummoxed, stumped, fazed, clueless,
discombobulated
"a puzzled look on her face"
baffling, perplexing, bewildering, confusing, complicated, unclear, mysterious, enigmatic, ambiguous, obscure, abstruse, unfathomable, incomprehensible, impenetrable, cryptic
"his explanation was rather puzzling"
antonyms: clear
think hard about something difficult
to understand or explain;
"she was still puzzling over this problem
when she reached the office"
| [ ] think hard about, mull over,
muse over, ponder, contemplate,
meditate on,
consider, deliberate on, chew over, wonder about
"she puzzled over the problem"
solve or understand something by thinking hard;
synonyms: work out, understand,
comprehend, sort out, reason out, solve, make sense of,
make head(s) or tail(s) of, unravel, decipher; informal: figure out
"she tried to puzzle out what he meant"
noun: puzzle; plural noun: puzzles
1. [ ], [ ] ( );
a game, toy, or problem designed
to test ingenuity or knowledge;
short for jigsaw puzzle (see jigsaw)
a person or thing that is difficult to understand
or explain; an enigma:
"the meaning of this poem will always be a paradox"
synonyms: enigma, mystery, paradox,
conundrum, poser, riddle, problem, quandary;
"the poem has always been a puzzle"
late 16th century (as a verb): of unknown origin:
synonyms: puzzle, conundrum, brainteaser, problem,
unsolved problem, question, poser, enigma,
quandary; informal: stumper
"an answer to the riddle"
verb/archaic
verb: riddle; 3rd person present: riddles;
past tense: riddled; past participle: riddled;
gerund or present participle: riddling
1. speak in or pose riddles.
"he who knows not how to riddle"
solve or explain (a riddle) to (someone).
"riddle me this then"
Origin
Old English rǣdels, rǣdelse ‘opinion,
conjecture, riddle’; related
to Dutch raadsel,
German Rätsel, to read
Jul 23, 2018
Jul 23, 2018 at 12:19 AM UTC
*i was looking at an old and tattered black and white photo of my grandfather
a man i never knew and wondered about
his existence
like a horizon of dissolution
his soul enshrined in my own
and like him and all creatures
ultimately i remain defenseless
against realities magnitude
while my father loved me as a child
he grew unkind over the years
and we where set bitterly against one another other
his tyranny and my disobedience
as i gathered strategies craft
by machinery of thought
and festering gall
he, the bully
got bullied back
by me and old age
as we in tandem set fire
to his sadistic golden age of disillusionment
and here we are now the living and the dead
still locked in a grudge
a recurring spirit of revenge
in a valley of tears
before i myself join the ephemeral legions
in a pile of stones and ashed corpses
are we not
a procession of long struggles and short pleasures
a history of terrors and creatureness
stooges bound by the wheel creation
crucified by desire
and the apathy of obliterations aftermath
an archeology of death
ruin upon ruins
has God
sinned against man
or bestowed his grace
mystified
perfect and beautiful
beyond measure
yet to be discovered
in an alternate reality?
Nov 4, 2017
Nov 4, 2017 at 10:26 AM UTC
As a college freshman
I find myself time traveling.
I close my eyes and
I appear
in the classroom where a group
of over-confident, lazy, too smart
for their own **** good
students stood on the precipice
between leaving and staying
regretting and dreaming.
Leaving would give us freedom
Leaving would fill the creases of
our palms with sweat
We kept our palms outstretched and empty
not daring to grasp anymore of home
because the weight would only
anchor us to the vines
we spent 13 years unraveling from
our ankles.
Maybe we should not have been
so eager to leave, maybe this is a mistake.
The girl with the mermaid hair
The boy with books stacked in
a corner of his desk
They both, we all, sat dreaming
about the same thing while
Ophelia drowned herself in the river
Shores of the ocean and city skylines
Classrooms that did not feel like cages
and eyes that did not reflect a memory
every time you glanced into them
In a high school English class,
a group of over-confident, lazy, too smart
for their own **** good students,
stood terrified and mystified
stood united in there persistence to become
something more than test scores and
the ability to memorize facts.
Fact:
Some mornings I walk to class
and I can feel the girl with the mermaid hair in Los Angeles
walking beside me and when I sit down
I can see books stacked on a corner of a desk somewhere in Berkeley.
I wonder if they wake in their bed and hear airplane engines roaring
somewhere above a valley.
The engines roar with warning.
sometimes it sounds like hope.
Baby, something is coming, we promise
We all began at the start,
dreaming as one and fearing as one
Today, she is five spaces forward
He is ten spaces forward
The others are halfway down the **** board
and I find myself back at the start
every few weeks.
Four spaces forward then three spaces back--
I don't know where I am going.
But I know where I have been.
I open my eyes.
A college freshman.
I hear the engines roar above me.
Something is coming.
Mar 20, 2013
Mar 20, 2013 at 8:42 PM UTC
I have been conditioned
To submit
To sacrifice
To shut up and take it.
From the very first advances
That were a little too aggressive
To the subtle denying of my wishes
When I said stop and you said “shhh…”
When I said no and you said “why not?”
When I said I can’t and you said “please”
When I put my hand up and you pushed it away
When you thought it was romantic
To push my limits
When you thought coercion was normal
And submission was expected.
When I stopped questioning
Why your needs were more important than mine.
When your mouth said “I respect you”
But your hands said you didn’t.
When your sudden coldness
Sent chills down my spine
When your charming side disappeared
And your true self mystified me.
When I thought coercion was normal.
When I started to feel like nothing.
When my body was used
But not satisfied
Touched
But not felt.
When your laugh in the dark
Made me feel like a victim
In a horror movie
Up until I finally decided
That you are the beginning and end
Of my objectification.
May 10, 2015
May 10, 2015 at 2:12 PM UTC
This nebulous life is like a puzzle dissipated,
When you can't comprehend what's real, fake, clear, or faded.
Clueless, mystified, seeking inspiration,
Meaningless alliteration,
Inadequate concentration,
Diligence and dedication,
What I need is a vacation.
Aug 16, 2015
Aug 16, 2015 at 6:49 PM UTC
*There's a certain rush in my veins
When I see your face as it lights up
With bliss and content
While we come together
Face to face
Against a world real pressed
With tears and lies and torment.
The idea of you, just you
Is enough to becalm
The raging ocean of emotions
That has long run wild
In the sketchy corners of my mind
Our destiny, such uncertainty
But amidst it all, you're my sanity.
You showed me truth, my fears subside
You painted my blues with a shade of life
My loneliness, I can perfectly fight
With you right here, nothing's mystified
This is the reality we are facing now
Branded feelings, shall we allow?
We kept each other standing tall
We were there together in every fall
Yes, we could be the perfect match
That the whole world shall have to adore
Afraid, we may seem, but we both know
Keep hiding the truth, but our eyes plainly show.*
Jun 19, 2016
Jun 19, 2016 at 5:20 AM UTC
Author: Kristen Stevens
Current mood: frustrated
Anthony got a firetruck Lego set. The packaging says "ages 5-12". It also makes the claim "designed for easy building and instant play." Now I know he's only 4 but he's smart and not that far from 5 comparatively. I on the other hand am 28. Well outside the parameters age wise. Yet, this smallish box of tiny toys baffled me for over an hour. I have the directions, I've dug through the pieces, and am still mystified on occasion. As I'm searching for yet another microscopic piece of siren or whatever it was, I'm thinking..."5 years! I can't see any 5 yr-old sticking with this for this long without losing his mind. Then Mom would take it away because of the temper tantrum and never gets built. This is stupid! Where did that tiny loopy thing go?...etc" What part of an hour is "instant play" do they not own a dictionary? I could tell them.
Then once it's together, somehow Anthony keeps taking the windshield off. He's not actively disassemble it. He's just rolling back and forth on the floor going "whoo-whoo!" Lego's the most touchy toy on the planet. Maybe he'll get some more when he's 15.
Sep 21, 2010
Sep 21, 2010 at 7:52 AM UTC
Elegance personified
Grace everlasting
Feminine beauty and might everlasting
I see you before me
I see your skin displayed before me
As I gaze into your eyes
As you gaze into mine
Its like my soul is mystified
By the grace
And strength
And power
That I see in your eyes
That I feel each time I am near you
You hold my essence in your hand
My heart with a simple utterance of your voice
I can feel my soul fluttering
Even at the anticipation of your touch
I know you are out there my queen
And I will be your king
And treat you like the queen that you deserve to be
I know that we haven't met yet
But I know that you are out there
Waiting for someone to share your elegance
And to share your strength
And to share your power with
Our souls just haven't met yet
Jan 29, 2012
Jan 29, 2012 at 2:42 AM UTC
procrastinating is my hobby,
ask
someone if you don't believe me ,
baby i lay around
as i please
&
work at my own leisure,
incredibly you fail
to understand i am me
and
i love more then like the way that i am- gorgeous courageous
coco golden skin,
painfully
i know you feel the threat of
my momentous appeal
keeps
you you & yeah you -- mystified.
guaranteed your days are filled
with shock and frustration,
haa haa hee
how very exciting to me seeing your not as experienced as I,
unlicensed to tame what i'd never give
freely,
repetitiously you've played the game,
failure must be a sweet pill sallowed whole huh?
adequately i compel my strengths -- my naivety makes
my appeal that more interesting,
call me uniquely imperfections
rarely made in to what many can never comprehend,
my life is my dialogue to my very own daily soap opera
la di da da-- it's more then my sultry walk
as i pass you on bye.
in this corrupted jungle
you have to win or be inhibited by
what others may call taboos,
whew weee your so serious,
chasing prey only to tease-- lingering doubts?
catch me-- i bet you can't.
innocently the line's been crossed
yet
speak not of what should be!
only-- this--
is what you'll know ; procrastinating is my hobby!
I Am The Lioness!
(some may be lost on what i wrote&say; but ok lol)
Always Me Ayeshah
Mar 24, 2010
Mar 24, 2010 at 8:38 PM UTC
Tipsy daze were just foreplay
for the passionate midnight sexcapades.
Every Sunday
Drinking champaign,
Not practicing self-restraint
Sneaking into privet estates
Dive into the grotto pool.
My late night wicked pagan lover,
Two lonely hearts bonded over confessions in the dark.
We were nympholepts in retrospect.
All clinquant, in gold light
But turned to heathens, in the night.
Dancing in rhythmic eruptions of fevered delight.
Wondering eyes are tantalized
You are luxurious, feral, **** boy personified.
I was mystified by the wild & eroticized by the style.
A Huckleberry Finn identical twin, ohh but of corse
-You had a Porsche.
Oct 18, 2016
Oct 18, 2016 at 4:34 AM UTC
As leaves of crimson fall,
& bleed like cherry wine
sleeping parrot greens,
they overtake mind,
I quietly approach,
set up a sneaky blind,
I spot a toucan looking tree
in colors rarely seen
it takes my breath away
in soft & brilliant sheens,
showing off the beauty,
& creating quite a scene,
Amber hues of mustard,
blending in with rust,
others look like wheat
that was baked inside a crust,
so telling you about it,
is something that I must,
Burning up the sky
in flamingo sunset pink
as if I'm in the Tropic's
just sippin' down a drink,
look at all the colors,
just amazing,
don't you think?
Like a lovely bird of paradise
is landing in my hair,
so I can write it down
a story we can share,
I'm jotting down the words,
like Ginger & Astaire,
Out arift upon the skies
I hear the weeping willow
I close my eyes to dream
& lay on leafy pillows
like sheets of iridescent,
quoting as they billow,
I stand in admiration,
a journey that I applaud
sent to me from heavens
from hands, a loving God,
leaves today are burning
stand mystified & awed
So beautiful & grand
your plumage is at peak,
waving me dear willow
I softly hear her speak,
Listen to the sounds
as they open up their beak
Go press a few examples
to savor every day
listen very closely
to every word I say
you take 'em out again
when the skies are turning grey
Cherie Nolan© 2016
Oct 21, 2016
Oct 21, 2016 at 9:03 AM UTC
I went into this with
eyes and thighs
wide open.
I cannot sanitise my position
My legs astride
Your waist.
I cannot analyse our predicament
I sympathise truly
With her.
But, this affair started together
both to blame
no shame.
I'm beautified by your attention
Call it love
I'm mystified.
I only know I cannot
I will not
Give up.
I'm sorry that you're married
as am I
that's life.
Or is it oversimplified lust?
just never leave
I'd vaporise.
But, before we go back
to our partners
glide inside.
Again.
Apr 30, 2014
Apr 30, 2014 at 7:08 PM UTC
~
*When Pharaoh
checked out at the Red Sea,
odd circumstance made a grab for his vacant scepter,
and kingdom collided
with plague to paint a mural
on the palace wall (or maybe, it was the hotel lobby),
of a dreamer's garden,
his wife in veils, her dance a cordial
invitation to a great many unmentionable things,
the feral sky had blown
itself out, and in muted candle
nightshade, the mistress of war disembarked,
and so somewhere
in those upper rooms, ruler
and consort, hearing the sound of running water,
mystified their carnal
senses by infusing themselves
with a little vigorous morphine of the soul*
~
Jul 26, 2021
Jul 26, 2021 at 2:45 PM UTC
Forgetting about that uptight blight.
Emanate apathy
Unapologetically.
Cheers to you Baby Jesus,
I'm all jacked up on pink Moscato; by noon.
Without a clue of what to do
Retreat to a beach
For a gala beset by an erubescent sunset.
What marry monarchs,
All clinquant, in gold light
All turn to heathens, in the night.
Perpetually transfixed
By a curious mix of
Rhythmic eruptions & fevered delight
Like fairies & nymphs
Amidst the moon of misbehaving.
Wondering eyes are tantalized
You are luxurious, feral, **** boy personified.
I was mystified by the wild & eroticized by the style.
A Huckleberry Finn identical twin, ohhh but of course
— You had a Porsche.
But we were far from bonafide.
All is well,
Who really gives a **** about a relationship cuff…
I was inherently drawn to the effervescence, of your soul.
Together in disconnected bubbles
Like a glass of champagne,
Sparkling to the surface effortlessly.
Daytime friends and nighttime lovers;
Nympholepts in retrospect,
Carefully tip-toeing around
Blossoming curiously & compromising cantor.
Over winsome side-long looks
The burgundy hardtop drops down
Into my body & out of my mind
Tipsy daze were just foreplay
For the passionate midnight sexcapades.
A midsummer’s night moonlit dream
Manifested midst the trysts of Spring.
Every Sunday
Drinking champagne,
Not practicing self-restraint
Sneaking into private estates
Dive into the grotto pool.
Worshiping the Sun, not the saint.
My late night lover show me your wicked pagan birthright.
Two lonely hearts bonded over confessions in the dark.
Oct 17, 2016
Oct 17, 2016 at 10:11 PM UTC
From afar
With that elegance
Mystified simplicity
It's irony to
Wear the rainbow
Until the end of light
If the rain drop
Into the face
And you find no where
To hide
You will too, left
Black and white
As a mirror
To me
After all
The Color of your soul
Casts celestial vibes
No one resist
Without complimenting
"One of a kind"
Beauty fades
But not like yours
Yesterday
And
Always
Phenomenal
Mar 8, 2020
Mar 8, 2020 at 10:46 AM UTC
Why do they appear so mystified?
As if every little thing must be justified
Moved to fit inside their small box
And look away when their key couldn't unlock
What they aimed to achieve
Does it ever make you giggle
When people call you fickle
But they're the ones whose eyes are fixed
On an object not quite literally applicable,
Something regarded as abstract, typically unseen
You see: I am a metaphor
And people stare at me.
© Melissa Carlson 2015
Oct 6, 2015
Oct 6, 2015 at 4:36 PM UTC
You run your fingers up my thigh
I sigh at the delicate touch and
Inwardly shudder at my multiplying
feelings, I try to say stop but
the cry dies on my lips
this I want
My body belies my shyness
My body electrifies my senses
no shame is felt as those fingers explore
the stimuli they bring, crash into me
like waves upon the shore.
Higher and deeper, they amplify
the lullaby that in my head sings my
shyness away and magnifies my delight.
Detoxified, I soar like a dragonfly
mystified at the brazen me
lying spent in the moonlight.
Apr 26, 2014
Apr 26, 2014 at 8:33 AM UTC
The last few days
Have been strange
I haven't been eating
My emotions
And I always have
I am NOT
A thin girl
Nor medium sized
And I can't help that
But this is odd
Nausea replacing my
Urge to eat away
The stress or sorrow
A rumbling in my stomach
Screaming
Please no food
I'm a eater
My mother and father too
So why have I not been hungry
I've been thinking about
Dieting soon
Could this be my
Subconscious saying
*You don't have to
I'll take care of that for you*
I'm mystified
Usually I drink endlessly
Always thirsty
And always drinking more
Than anyone else
And yet I felt less thrist
In these last days
Completely ignored the full cup
Even when my mouth was dry
A sip would satisfy
Somethings wrong
But I'm not gonna ask
It's okay not to eat
At least not like I use to
Maybe this is a blessing in disguise
I just hope everything turns out okay.
Feb 23, 2013
Feb 23, 2013 at 7:32 PM UTC
I was always afraid to climb trees.
Not that I wasn't mystified
by the wisdom of branches.
Not that I didn't want to see the world
from the perch of a blackbird.
Not that it was impossible
or that I had no worthy tree.
It was that imminent fall
the broken arm
the bruised ego
that so reminded me
of why it’s scary to climb
anything at all.
Jun 8, 2013
Jun 8, 2013 at 4:22 PM UTC
So beautiful
now can't touch
no more.
Maybe just maybe
after the clouds
spread their black throw
up to the horizon.
And the deep singing sea
beneath it showers down
upon the beautiful rose.
The scene is all a bright show
yet mystified even more.
The finishing line is drawn
in a ring of rainbow.
Sep 24, 2023
Sep 24, 2023 at 9:50 PM UTC
I plucked a shamrock for him,
Beautified with the glamour of the green,
Mystified with the aroma of the wild.
I am keeping it for him to give,
May love & luck shall be his,
With all the shamrock blessings.
Mar 17, 2019
Mar 17, 2019 at 3:57 PM UTC
Do you not know, I am a Phantom?
That catches your quiet thoughts,
and wishes for a kiss.
Who lives in Dark,
just to
feel
inspiration,
Nay, you are be-spelled
oh Light Seeker.
You sought my Fire
for your own,
Thief.
Liar.
Yes, Prometheus of my soul
I watched the stars.
They said, Find.
And I found you.
And in black clouds
of Hate and Anger
did Lightning strike hard.
Electrified, Terrified, Mystified.
Then it was gone
like a bird choked of song,
a Memory in folded paper.
Oct 31, 2012
Oct 31, 2012 at 1:20 PM UTC
Everything mystified, the colors of the atmosphere merged into one another and all I could focus on was how good you made me feel.
May 7, 2016
May 7, 2016 at 9:38 AM UTC
I understand now
Why I have always been a reminder of the ocean
The ocean because you can almost always tell how I'm feeling
The ocean because you can almost never see how I can be so blank
The ocean because I am always laughing or smiling
But the ocean because I am a sad person
I see how much I am like the ocean
Because of my anger
Because of my strength
Because of my weakness
The ocean and I are two that are destined to become one sooner or later
I am one with the ocean that has beauty just as I do
That has mystified all those who come across us
I am a sad person who laughs all the time
Who is angry but is always smiling
Who is strong enough to keep her emotions locked inside but is too weak to hold it all together when things start to crumble
I am apart of the oceans crashing waves
I am the one who brings peace in her front pocket and the one who brings destruction in her back pocket
I am the walking waves of the oceans wrath
I am the walking beauty that holds death
I am the walking prison that holds everything in its path captive
I am the walking waves that no one can get behind
I am the one who's mind and heart go as deep as the oceans floor
If you see me please run and find shelter because once caught up in in the roaring water you can never escape
I am the ocean and the ocean is me
May 16, 2015
May 16, 2015 at 8:44 PM UTC