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False Poets Feb 2018
complexity bias

how you love to criticize my poems
as too long and overly complex

poor me, I’m no genius, don’t prosper by exploiting
unrecognized simplicities, rather deconstruct the
intricate complexities that I flatter myself are the me-sinews

Writing is a **** temptation -
we focus on the 10% that is complex and ignore the easy 90%

perhaps this once I will surrender my bare bones
put aside the rich, satisfying of cave diving, urban spelunking
word caressing tongue verbiage rich tapestry exploring -

give you the plane of plain where nestles my destiny: nesting near motionless where the couch is my kingdom and cold cereal is
easily digested and there are no consequences

I am a member of a discriminated-against minority
we have no charismatic leader, no marchers anywhere, and government programs say
hey you’re free white and twenty one plus, get the crap out of
our faces,  you useless piece of rhymes with **** and includes dirt, though I shower twice a day to keep myself occupied

25 years old, a high school dropout, of course I’m white,
my occupation is playing video games and making sure
my supply of opioids is adequate in these great United States
where I was born

there are fewer jobs than none that my application survives
a first glance discardation, and now my disability preempts
any demand to pretend there is gainful employment in store in
my future

this reductio ad absurdum is a technique to expose the fallacy,
ah what’s that you say no interest in hanging about,
on your way out, of course, of course,
we are the wrong flavor of downtrodden

my life is simple - simplistic in its a chaotic entropic way,
order slowly declines into disorder

my rituals are a fight against slip sliding down, falling off the
the Herzog continuums
and the poems are desperate hand holds to prevent my
going, gone under

so forgive me if I tax you without possessing not the
requisite taxing authority

you hone in on the obvious disparities and my contradictions

resenting my sending you this bill of extravagant length

compose with me and a mean will be located and to sleep I go,
perhaps to undress my dreams and explicate the wealthy multiples of complexity in the simplicity of a junkies life
pitch black god8 May 2018
are you generally happy?

a semi-innocuous query
now actualized as a two sided bladed poker,
hot stabbing me smack dab in
the chests hollow crown bullseye,
continuously,  as in all life long, and eternal longing for a
“yes”

it fits inside a pubescent aged wound that
refreshes with every breath;
a life long struggle for an accurate definition,
be a general of genuine happy,
that alone would deliver, bringing on bright day satisfaction

as a human, one operates on parallel continuums;
slide slipping on well oiled poles that over the years,
their lengths, increasing with add-on extender poles
formed by
twisty turny slips and falls of sundered hearts and sad loves,
marriages nicknamed Titanic, children found and lost,
complications responsibilities that are denied meeting the words  
  “The End”

a life that many would envy, questioning what’s wrong
with you dude, are you blinded to the riches yours,
reality is
shoulders permanently bent, a spine that’s held together by
spit and solder and curved by wearying wearing longing for
a straightness that is also called crooked unobtainable
and a piece of a peace that comes and goes
like a highway billboard that you pass too fast to be fully read

the body is corroding and worser yet to come and that’s a hand
you selected - luck of the self-selecting-drawing -

the opioids of the mind offers are rejected

the clarity of painful self exploration valued overall -
the place where the poems come from,
and go to die,
a landscape of a scene repeatedly visualized
but never been and never left,
the crazy contradictions come in two flavors;
vanilla smiles and chocolate weeping of tears that have
etched pathways cheek-chiseled

the city is a struggling strife for most,
the next red line on the side
of the measuring cup  and
everyone has a cell, a credit card,
and a measuring cup
<•>
here I stop can’t finish  
someone missing alerts me
to their real worlds troubles
making my complaints super superficial but
the silent running of the stilleto
cuts shallow
repeated hourly
the cut color,

pitch black
demon girl Dec 2013
you only needed two more.
just a couple and you'd be alright
three more because its been a long day
take six with you;
you'll save the rest for later
or finish them off before 2pm

...47, 48, 49, 50.
i counted them all
so very proud of you
we were going to do it this time

but i was gone
and you were desperate
telling yourself, "this is the last time."

next time i pick up the bottle
it looks different than before
i count out six
ignore the obvious again

and we will try again
and we will do better
and we will starve your beast
until it shrivels away inside of you
because you're my daddy
and addiction can't have you
Existential me Feb 2018
I am tired.
Tired of the greed, the materialism,
the artificial realism.
Medicines to cope, false hope..opioids
the killer dope.

I am bored.
Bored with the faithless optimistics, party goers bathing in that sea of chaos...politics.

I am tired.
Tired of the hunger, and the homelessness that at times feeds glory seeking kindness.

I am bored.
Bored with the phones...the internet.
Allowing people to interact without having to connect.

I am tired.
Tired of the why and the what for,
lies of peace masking the truth of war.

I am so very tired and bored but
mostly with me.
More so with myself than with other people, politics and technology.
Sometimes I wish life would just set me free.
Thinking too much...
Michael Marchese May 2017
Addicted to this strain of pen
The pain and rain embraces melt
Away in her oblivion
Still numb to opioids she felt
My love at last is laid to rest
In unrequited sleepless nights
And answers of indifference
To questions of my greatest heights
Free-falling fears I left behind
To see depression's comatose
Was riddled with my lucid mind
Still hers was what I craved the most
A stronger drug I've yet to find
Olivia A Keaton Sep 2016
first it was all about pain
now I actually take you to gain
the sensation that makes me high
boy I'll tell you, with you I swear I can fly
you make me feel like I'm eight feet tall
but honey let me tell you the worst part is the fall
but is it worth it they say
every time I take you I don't know if I'll see another day
so no it's not worth it
but I can't help it
I'm an addict
so don't make the same mistake as me
don't take opioids and good your health will be
For health class at school we have to write why people should not take opioids and get addicted. This is a rough draft I'll edit later
John F McCullagh May 2013
Their names will not be on the Wall.
It’s of the ghost patrol I sing.
Veterans of an unloved war.
Men from the age of Kennedy and King.
They’re dying now by their own hand,
by opioids or shotgun shell.
Some are dying by the glass-
As alcohol kills just as well.
They are victims of their memories,
deprived of sleep that will not come.
Post-traumatic stress some claim
Is the reason they have come undone.
See them sleeping on the streets-
a half drunk bottle in their hand.
The members of the ghost Patrol,
the pitiable legion of the dammed.
a poem about the forgotten veterans of Vietnam.  As a group they have among the highest percentage of suicide in the United States. Inspired by a George Jones song "Wild Irish rose"
Jade Mar 2019
I had my first kiss at the cinema, the contour of our silhouettes illuminated by the glow of the rolling credits. He tasted like Altoids and cigarettes, an ambivalent concoction of ice and fire. At one point, I'd bitten him by accident. Whether this was a manifestation of inexperience or (seductively, with heat in her eyes) hunger,  I'm not sure. But, sitting there in the thrill of My Something New, I was certain of one thing: this was a red carpet moment, the stuff of silver screens and glimmering Hollywood starlets and rows of type writer ribbon waiting to be transposed into something theatrical.

After the film, we sat outside a cafe a block over, the fever of summer adhering to the back of our necks like (giggling) misplaced hickeys. Smoke corkscrewing from the end of his parliament, he told me how John F. Kennedy was addicted to opioids. I couldn't help but think back to earlier that afternoon when he first admitted to being a smoker. How he'd asked me, "Is this going to be a problem for you?" hesitation rising up his throat like bile.

I smiled because 'Everyone's got their poison," I replied.  

And poison? Well, there's something so strikingly poetic about it, don't you agree?

(beat.)

JFK must have been Marilyn Monroe's poison, I think.

"So," I offered, "What do you really think happened to Marilyn Monroe?"

"How do you mean?" he said between drags of his cigarette.

"I mean was it really an overdose or--"

"Was it an assassination?" he interjected.

"Mhmmm."

Another drag of his cigarette.

"As they say, the simplest answer is often the correct one."

"Maybe. (beat.) But what makes for the better story?"

After two weeks of courtship, he took his leave. My mother's obvious, unwarranted disapproval was, perhaps, a source of anxiety for him. Me being freshly eighteen, he was also concerned about that (sarcastically) whoppin' three year age gap. (beat.) Not fully buying it, are ya?

Well, neither did I.

Here's my theory: his feelings (or lack thereof) were the reason he called it quits. And instead of being a man--instead of being honest, instead of owning up to the true nature of his intentions--he spun some relatively believable excuse. A coward's way of removing himself from a situation he doesn't want to be in. Surprisingly enough, I wasn't as disappointed as I would have anticipated, had I foreseen the end of our fleeting romance.

I was (beat.) fine.

It does make for a great story, after all. (wryly) But you knew that already.

Because for every Norma Jean, there's always a Marilyn Monroe.

Tell me then--who are you?

(beat.)

Girl curtsies, transitioning into a tableau of Marilyn Monroe's iconic pose wherein she attempts to hold down her dress as the air from a nearby subway grate threatens to expose her undergarments.

Lights fade out.

{Fin}
Don't be a stranger--check out my blog!

jadefbartlett.wixsite.com/tickledpurple

(P.S. Use a computer to ensure an optimal reading experience.)
Cedric McClester Nov 2017
By: Cedric McClester, Copyright (c) 2017

Am I dating myself
With these words out my mouth?
See, I remember a time
When we flashed the peace sign
And called one another
Sister and brother
Seems we’ve gone sour
On acquiring black power
And black on black crime
Is the new paradigm
When we look in the mirror
It becomes much more clearer
That we hate what we see
Although that shouldn’t be
Remember freedom marches
Before the golden arches

Then ****** entered in
And we start popin’ our skin
Before we shot it straight into our veins
Which probably explains
Why we regressed
Long before the present opioid mess
It was ****** first,
But then it got worst
So let me take you back
To the era of crack
When a nickel or dime
Could trigger a crime
And what really hurt you
Is the women who lost their virtue
But I’m not absolving the men
Who’d engage in all kinds of sin

I remember gangster rap
And how that set the trap
Which brought the stress and strife
From tryna live that gangster life
Then the East Coast West Coast war
That didn’t exist before
Remember when Biggie and Tupac were friends?
Instead of how their story ends
They’ire a classic group today
But I remember when NWA
Used to pull out all stops
When they sang **** the cops
And chronicled their lives
Called their girlfriends and their wives
All kinds of ******* and ******
Then would dance down on all fours

Now let me bring you up to date
Would it be wrong for me to state?
When it was our problem alone
It was the prisons we were shown
There was little sympathy don’t cha see
When it  was just you and me
Who said they had a problem
There were few out there to solve ‘em
But opioids are everywhere
And it’s a disease now, so I hear
That crosses all socio-economic lines
Now there are many telltale signs
It’s now called an opioid disorder
Past the inner city border
And the word is harm reduction
Instead of out and out destruction






















Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2017.  All rights reserved.
she lays on one side,
and he lays on the other.
                                               ✦
she is a beautiful flower against the brutalist landscape,
he, thistle and thorn on a path rightfully left untrodden.
                                               ✦
she is an ornate nib against the parchment, gliding with grace,
he, a metal implement against the wood, etching with fire.               
                                               ✦
she is my first musing in the early morning,
he, my final contemplation at night.
                                               ✦
she is the uplifting ionian in a chord progression,
he, the dark, dissonant sharp iv of the fanciful lydian.
                                               ✦
she smiles,
he frowns.
                                               ✦
i  know i can't keep fetishizing the idea of compromise.
s o  g e t  o u t  o f  m y  h e a d,
and croon the dirge with me.
                                               ✦
no more rifts or ultimatums, please.
please...
i can't be alone any longer.
                                               ✦
don't make me choose right now.
no. NO.
just hold me tight,
and tell me things will get better.
                                               ✦
in my nightstand, there lies a bottle of pills
(some old opioids, i think)                                            
and a paring knife.
                                               ✦
you both are the reason i don't pick up either.
both of you are my lifeline...
no more rifts or ultimatums, please.
just both of you, and me.
                                               ✦
can you love two people at once?
i thought i was better. i thought i was healed. but like a vice that you never truly escape, my past has come back to haunt me. it's alright though. i see a light at the end of the tunnel and writing this helped me get a little closer to it. i just need to wait out the night.

inspired by Scott's "Small Rituals":
https://hellopoetry.com/poem/3081847/small-rituals/
Cedric McClester Nov 2019
By: Cedric McClester

If not for the pills
Doctors once prescribed
The musician Prince
Might still be alive
Along with others who
Sought similar relief
Because their stories too
Ended in grief

If not for the greed
On Big Pharma’s part
The opioid epidemic
Right from the start
Might not have grown
To epic proportions
Because of ignorance
And outright distortions

If not for the relaxed
Government regulations
We might not now
Be at our battle stations
Trying to reverse
What’s sweeping our nation
Because opioids doesn’t
Go on vacation

If not for the prevalence
Of the fentanyl drug
And its purveyors
Who are typically smug
Then we might not have
Gotten mugged
In the way that we have
By this deadly drug


            Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.
It’s been a while since I’ve heard from you, even longer since I’ve seen you,
And although I miss you I’m glad you’re not around,

I’m relieved my phones not ringing at three am, cause every time I thought it’d be someone telling me your body has been found,

My heart breaks every time I see a recent photo of you, the sunken cheeks, the dark circles under your eyes,
Every time I think of how you’ve hurt your body, with every pill that touched your mouth came another string of lies,

I can’t stand the person you’ve become,
I wonder how something so tiny could bring along so much pain,
What Id give to wash away all your sins with a little bit of rain,

The last time you were at my house you promised you were clean,
But your words were slurred, and I could tell reality was less serene,

You fell asleep on my bed within minutes of arriving, I desperately wanted to believe that you were just tired, that this was a result of a year long battle finally won,

I told you I was proud of you,that I loved you, sent you on your way, but in my heart I knew, this war wasn’t done,

Two days later your aunt flushed a bag of pills down the toilet while you cried in the garage,
She gave you your life savings and told you to get lost,
Not because she doesn’t love you, but because she’s tired of the lies,
She doesn’t want to see the child she raised, slowly die in front of her eyes,

That day I knew I’d truly lost my best friend,
You’re living on borrowed time,
I pray every day that you overcome this,
All while knowing it’s close to the end,
If only the judge had ordered you into rehab when you got that DUI,
Maybe then we’d be celebrating your 90 days,
Instead of drying our eyes,

Opioids stole our friendship,
Please don’t let it steal your life,
I don’t have room in my closet for another black dress,
I don’t have room in my heart to fit the grief of another overdosed friend,
Please if there is a god, send her a helping hand,
Because I’ve tried everything I can think of to keep her from ending up in your land,
And honestly I think you have enough angels right now,
don’t take her from us yet,
I promise we will make it up some how,
And lord if you can lend us strength while you’re at it I’d appreciate the gesture,
I don’t know if I can take another broken promise or another “ I don’t need to go to rehab lecture”,

If only getting clean was as easy popping pills,
If only loving someone with an addiction didn’t leave me with constant chills,
If you’d have told me that by my mid 20’s half my friends would be dead or dying,
I’d have rolled my eyes and told you to stop lying,
But I guess we are all dying- you’re just dying faster than I am.
loving people with addiction is hard.
NeverAgain Jul 2018
Have you ever wondered why we go to war,
or why you never seem to be able to get out of debt,
why there is poverty, division, and crime
what if I told you there was a reason for it all
what if I told you it was done on purpose
what if I told you that those who are corrupting the world
poisoning our food,
and igniting conflict
were themselves about to be permanently eradicated from the earth
you might think that an idealistic fantasy
well let me tell you a story
we acknowledge there are criminals of course
they rob your house, they steal your phone
they can ****** you too if they think they can get away with it
we have all experienced criminals in one way or another
criminals as we know are those who choose personal gain over the rights of others
with no regard for the law
but here is where you need to expand your thinking
criminals can also succeed in business and politics
and can be elected as our leaders
if a criminal became the president imagine what they could achieve,
they could use the full weight of their executive power to commit much larger crimes
and ensure they and their friends were enriched to the fullest extent possible
a criminal president could make alliances with other criminal presidents
and collaborate on more global activities
anything goes drug running, human trafficking, whatever makes the big bucks,
the 20th century was turbulent with war economic disaster famines and displacement.
we have always accepted these things as just human nature
and simply the way the world works, something inevitable
and due to the weaknesses of human nature that drive us to these actions.
this is where we were all tragically wrong,
you are not a criminal, i'm not a criminal,
so how can we just assume that it is human nature that is driving all this pain and misery?
What if it wasn't human nature at all?
and as a result of something more deliberate.
we were taught that capitalism was the cause of a massive rich poor divide
and the reason for poverty which in turn is the reason for war crime and starvation.
others were taught that communism, the system of equal wealth across all people
was really to blame for the mess.
but you see folks, it is none of these things
it is not our nature to fight and be racist
it is not in our nature to rob from others
what you must learn is that it was the criminals all along,
yes they got power, more power than a criminal should ever have
they rose to the top of media companies that control our news and entertainment
they ascended to the top of the banking system,
also to the oval office, to brussels, to the vatican, to the crown,
they crept in quietly.
they became leaders of agricultural companies that have control over our food supply
also big pharmaceutical companies, the ones we trust to help us when we are sick,
nobody stopped them, they just recruited more criminals to help.
first they accumulated the worlds wealth,
they invented a system of money called central banking,
which lends money to government with interest that places countries into eternal debt
peoples death got less their wealth got more, much more,
when a criminal is already as rich as they can get,
protecting their ill-gotten gains becomes the priority.
angry citizens tired of being poor are a major obstacle
and can revolt if they suffer enough
the criminals needed to prevent this
so they diverted attention to the last remaining competitor,
the people of the world, you and me,
we were not happy being ruled by criminals
and having to work 3 jobs just to survive,
they know we won't accept it,
they use their control of the media to set black against white
woman against man
young against old
muslim against christian
they convinced us we were the ones who were the problem
so we would fight and destroy ourselves.
to get it done faster they attacked all aspects of humanity that make us strong,
like family,
using their influence over culture
they popularized lifestyle choices that led to a surge in broken homes,
lost youth, and substance abuse.
i could talk all day about how else they deliberately weakened us
and it would turn your stomach we were just trying to get on with living.
so where are all the good guys?
good people just want to get married, have kids, make a living, and enjoy their liberty,
well there were good guys, many, one became the president of the united states
in january 1961 he knew about these criminals and wanted them gone.
he knew their intentions for us all and he wanted to fight them sadly,
he had no idea how powerful they had become.
reagan also had good intentions for the american people,
he knew this criminal mafia controlled almost everything by this stage
including powerful rogue intelligence agencies
his economic policies were promising
but these criminals needed a weak america to hold on to their power
reagan was shown with a bullet
that a growing us economy and prospering citizens were not what the criminals wanted.
it was looking pretty grim for good people,
every time someone wanted to stand up and do the right thing
they got stopped.
were we ever to be freed?
these criminals are also known as the deep state or cabal
because of how they control things behind the scenes.
every president after reagan was one of these deep state criminals
and their empire got even stronger
with each bad president came new depths to which america and the world would sink.
the world collapsed into darkness,
do you need me to tell you how?
destroyed factories,
declining job numbers,
sicker people,
opioids,
destruction of iraq,
syria, and yemen with pointless war,
displacement of people into europe,
isis, terrorism, collapsed governments, poverty and genocide,
total misery, do you think that was inevitable?
Hell no,
well here is where things start to take a new turn
when the full picture becomes known,
it will easily be regarded at the greatest story ever told.
well here is the top line.
some good people still held positions of power,
they valued humanity and the rule of law,
while criminals discussed their game plan at bilderberg meetings
the good guys were making plans of their own,
the information age was coming to change history forever.
as the internet flooded into every home
and appliances became smarter
and when people started carrying tracking devices,
an opportunity to put an end to criminals all over the world was emerging,
we became connected, trackable, and surveilled,
but so did they.
they became dependent, just like we did, on email, sms, instant communication,
it made crime much easier,
but it also put them on a grid that if accessed by the right people,
would expose their crimes to the public and end their iron grip on us once for all.
in this new age of information
it was thought that the military should also have its own intelligence agency
to focus on cyber crime and espionage,
they called this the NSA, the national security agency,
the relevance of the NSA in the story cannot be understated,
here we had every phone call, email, and text
from every device stored and archived
whether it be someone making a doctors appointment,
or the deep state setting up a massive ****** purchase from the taliban
in the right hands, it would be enough information to expose the entire sinister criminal plot
to rob us blind and wipe us out.
hold that thought,
now I need to explain, the plan,
the good guys were devising a plan,
to reclaim the world from the cabal,
return it to the people,
it would involve alliances with multiple countries,
since the criminals had global ratlines to train
and other infrastructure in place that would need cooperation.
it came down to two choices for america,
one, a military coup to seize the government
from whichever cabal puppet was in the whitehouse at the time,
or win legitimately,
take control of the nsa,
expose the criminals for what they are,
and arrest them all,
obviously the first option would be very troubling for the public,
with people still preoccupied with cabal engineered social issues,
they would likely revolt, and hurt themselves, and others,
no, it would have to be the latter,
so they needed a candidate who could win, and win big, many states like california had been so heavily inundated by criminals
that even the voting machines were electronically setup to swing votes whichever way.
it would need to be a very decisive victory.
good patriots in the us military and their global partners
asked trump to run for president
so they could take back control of america legitimately
without alarming the public,
trump was a good choice, obviously,
because he overcame the voter fraud and won
but he was a patriot, and he was loved and admired by the public
he was not interested in joining the cabal
mainly because they hated america and did not agree with them
on that point as soon as he showed interest in taking power,
they activated their media assets to viciously turn on him
thats when we saw the sudden hatred emerge
even when he won the cabal still had no idea what he was a part of
and the sophisticated plan that was about to unfold against them
shocked at their loss they mobilized their full arsenal
of intelligence, media, money, and technology
to try and take back power.
their people at the top of the doj and fbi put together a plan to frame trump
and have him impeached.
this is where we come back to the NSA again,
all the messages were stored and could be used to expose this plot
and prevent trump's overthrow.
and entire book will be written about the first two years of trump's presidency,
false flag terror attacks, downed planes, missile alerts, assassination attempts.
here is the point,
the world is currently experiencing a dramatic covert war of biblical proportions
literally the fight for earth between the forces of good and evil.
i can't put it in simpler terms,
but I can say it appears that the good guys are winning
the cabal had complete control over north korea,
they hijacked the kim dynasty took them hostage,
and worked to build up a nuclear arsenal to threaten the world,
kim jong un, suddenly embracing peace
was simply because the deep state was beaten and driven out.
isis was also destroyed in the year following trump's win
we are all starting to see the pattern
now that enough time has passed that our biggest global concerns are starting to recede
and peace is returning.
it is all evidence that the good guys are winning the war,
but we are still in the middle,
while a lot is improved,
it still puzzles many that known criminals are still free,
especially the higher ups like hillary clinton,
the bushes, and obama,
that is coming in the next chapter of the story
that's why we have Q,
the good guys with control over the NSA began the Q intelligence dissemination program
to invoke online grass roots movement that came to be called the great awakening.
it started on underground internet channels
and moved to the mainstream.
q has been a fun distraction for those who follow world events and desire truth
but it is about to begin a much more important and necessary phase,
keeping the public informed when the deep state war breaks out on the surface,
by this i mean high profile arrests, yes folks,
the criminals i'm referring to are famous politicians, actors, singers, ceos and celebrities.
people who have earned our trust, respect and admiration,
they have done very bad things that are all fully known and documented
and they will be severely punished,
those of us who have followed Q since the beginning
will be here to help you make sense of the coming events
we are among the first to realize that our petty partisan divisions are trivial distractions
and we are all enslaved by a hidden enemy
we realize that the problem was never capitalism or socialism, democrat or republican,
black or white, muslim or christian.
we realize it was criminals who had too much power,
fellow slaves, it's time to buckle your seat belts,
recognize your true enemy,
and embrace a new future that we all owe to the brave patriots who risked their lives
to achieve this victory against the greatest force of evil the world has ever known.
-Anon
#WhoIsQ
Months ago I awoke
to an almighty hypnopompic brain-zap
provoked by dreams of lisdexamphetamine-laced cereal.
Forceful, shocking, agonizing; strange to have felt this
when I lack any acquaintance with Vyvanse, and
when I am clean of residuals. That a dream
should cause real pain, such reaction
in my being, I wonder how
my brain contoured
the experience.

Weeks ago I grappled
with a prolonged tension headache
so I administered paracetamol, ibuprofen/codeine,
And buprenorphine/naloxone. Those opioids
provoked strange daydreams, to countenance the many idioms
I've grokked over.

I used to think my superpower was depression,
I'd go around seeking pain
because nothing else would sooth me; and with each pang
I came a little closer, chasing it
like a true addict, savoring my damage,

Exalting in my lonely conscience.

When I awoke the opiates were leaving my body
so I lay in their dark waves of intemperate sensation
among what thoughts etch onto the inside of my skull
and found myself driving with a concussion
towards a home for misanthropes.
Marissa Jan 2019
alone on the floor again
with a razor as my only friend
tracing the outlines of the veins on my arm
like a child’s coloring book
trying to find a calm deep within

my body becomes a canvas
covered in blue, purple, red
a symphony of shades
like a rainbow for the depressed mind

but it is morbid, an inhumane sight
so I have to keep them hidden away
behind barriers of bracelets
and constricting long sleeves
even in the blistering heat

they will never understand how it feels
on the outside it’s destructive and ugly
a permanent reminder of the pain
but the chemical rush is a relief
that no amount of opioids could match
so it’s a good high to chase
and a harder habit to kick

dont ******* believe it’s beautiful
like a classical masterpiece or
a heart-wrenching ballad
because if you saw me behind that door
shivering, naked and lifeless
you would not call it a work of art
but a tragedy

it is an addiction like any other
in all of its ugly glory
and it will push people away
and make their stomachs turn
and you’ll be alone
on the floor
again
currently 9 months clean of self harm, but it will forever be a part of my body
I buried one friend last August,
I buried another one last month,
For a year I’ve struggled to help another friend over come addition and failed,
Another person: who kept me sane through my wild teenage years, buried his girlfriend recently, and in turn he buried his feelings with drugs and alcohol, we celebrated his one year of sobriety only a few months ago, no one ever mentioned how morbid your 20’s could be.

So inclusion I think pharmaceutical company’s should have to include “ heartbreak” on their labels, as a side effect too opioids.
I know death is just another part of life, but I never thought I’d have to deal with so much of it before I’d even lived a quarter of a century. Reality is a harsh mistress.
Satsih Verma Apr 2017
It was not the worth
of a cloud,
your garden, sitting
on the lake.

Refresh drops, in the
dry eyes of the rope, which was
wounding around your neck
like a snake.

You want to become
a blue god now, on
opioids. A living ruin, attracting
the tourists.

The terrible change,
we are dragging our dead body
under the shadow of
the toes.
John F McCullagh Jun 2017
The bar was nearly empty as the barman cleaned a glass.
This establishment is closing. Its glory days long passed.
The jukebox sat in silence; A regular nursed his beer.
Before too long they’ll put another drugstore chain in here.
My Uncle and my father both worked here and tended bar.
Its heyday was in the 50’s when the boys came home from war.
A friendly local tavern; an essential spot in life
Where you came to drink with buddies and escape your scolding wife.
This place of refugee now succumbs. We all know that its true.
Cold beers are in less demand when opioids get you through.
With the cost of the insurance, the wages and the rent,
It’s been run as a nonprofit for so long that all’s been spent.
The awnings lights extinguished. One last toast for old times’ sake.
Let there be tears of joy and sorrow; This is an Irish wake.
Thinking about my Dad and Uncle  and a place called McCullagh's hilltop tavern that has been closed for many years
Ben Crump May 2018
Bullies
By: Ben Crump

I feel their judging glares
As i am walking down the hall they stare
People boasting about themselves,
But i sit back and conceal

I hear the people talking behind my back
Being hit with a brick, but i try to stay on track

The ones who pass me
They don't know my story
But they will never know
How much it can hurt

It starts to get worse
Teasing turns to bullying
Pushing me when they notice me
Their intentions unknown

I try to ignore them
But they just get harder
It starts to turn more physical
They start to hit me
I feel the bruises forming
I try to tell the counselors
They say “There probably just playing”
I try to tell my parents
They say “You’re overreacting”

Stress builds up in me
I cry myself to sleep
My grades start to drop
The pain keeps growing

I try to tell them to stop
But they just get harder
One by one they join
My friends see right past it

One day we got in a fight
Throwing punches, pow, slap
It ended up badly for me,
On the floor bleeding

The color of the blood
Was a rising sun
The blood was gushing out
As fast as a geyser
I laid there for what felt like hours
But it was only minutes

I pick myself up out of a puddle of blood
Excruciating pain rushed through my body
The fighters were gone
I limp and wadle my way
To some help, because i can't stay

I crawled my way to the nearest door
I juggled the handle
It didn't move
I try the next the door, the same happens

I start to panic
Fear spikes through me
Blood still spilling
I let out a scream

Blood curdling scream pierced the silence
Echoing through the halls
I start to hear footsteps
They were coming closer
I start to black out
The last thing i saw was a face

I wake up in a hospital bed
An IV stuck to my arm
Stitches everywhere
Bandages everywhere

My mom walks in
She sees i am awake
She says i am going to be ok
But am i truly

The police rule the injuries as just an accident
When i heard that i was enraged
I try to tell everyone it wasn’t
But they don't believe me

I don't know what happens
In the outside world
Because i am attached in a hospital bed

I start to become transparent
I start losing friends
The doctor prescribes me opioids
Hoping addiction doesn't add to injury
I take them anyways
Because i can't bear the pain

Yes it sounds like i am whining
But i am telling my story for a reason
Bullying is the worst thing in our schools
And only you can stop it
I know i will remember everything
And i hope they will never forget
Because i now have scars for life
And am in a hospital bed
At the age of 14
Not based on true stories.
Cedric McClester May 2022
By: Cedric McClester, Copyright (c) 2017

Am I dating myself
With these words out my mouth?
See, I remember a time
When we flashed the peace sign
And called one another
Sister and brother
Seems we’ve gone sour
On acquiring black power
And black on black crime
Is the new paradigm
When we look in the mirror
It becomes much more clearer
That we hate what we see
Although that shouldn’t be
Remember freedom marches
Before the golden arches

Then ****** entered in
And we start popin’ our skin
Before we shot it straight into our veins
Which probably explains
Why we regressed
Long before the present opioid mess
It was ****** first,
But then it got worst
So let me take you back
To the era of crack
When a nickel or dime
Could trigger a crime
And what really hurt you
Is the women who lost their virtue
But I’m not absolving the men
Who’d engage in all kinds of sin

I remember gangster rap
And how that set the trap
Which brought the stress and strife
From tryna live that gangster life
Then the East Coast West Coast war
That didn’t exist before
Remember when Biggie and Tupac were friends?
Instead of how their story ends
They’ire a classic group today
But I remember when NWA
Used to pull out all stops
When they sang **** the cops
And chronicled their lives
Called their girlfriends and their wives
All kinds of ******* and ******
Then would dance down on all fours

Now let me bring you up to date
Would it be wrong for me to state?
When it was our problem alone
It was the prisons we were shown
There was little sympathy don’t cha see
When it  was just you and me
Who said they had a problem
There were few out there to solve ‘em
But opioids are everywhere
And it’s a disease now, so I hear
That crosses all socio-economic lines
Now there are many telltale signs
It’s now called an opioid disorder
Past the inner city border
And the word is harm reduction
Instead of out and out destruction






















Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2017.  All rights reserved.
They all approached the Colosso  from Apsila, from where the eleventh star began to make the quantum leap of conformation of twelfth aligned stars. The combat explorations in multiple routes showed the compliance of the identical Eddaphos or the sacred homeland of Patmos in the significant profile as a strategy by Eddaphs that seemed seas of prejudice and confusion of the farmhouses around which was not conquered by anyone, nor was anyone immolated. It was only the magnificence of the Colosso of Apsila that gave the saddles to empower itself from the detonation of atomic light, which was fired from Tire and Gaza on the riverside where today was the residence of Mardiath; Vernarth's lieutenant of the lights of the capital of Memphis, where he temporized areas that were worthy of an atrium of predilection to repopulate all the areas from where Persephone would sprinkle cinnabar for the Persian yokes, to compensate the Oracle of Siwa in the interstices of a god Hellenic Egyptian Zeus-Amun who would reside between his gums. When capturing the highlands and the lowlands, immediately joining the triangulation of the Beit Hamikdash temple and all the currents of the Euphrates, in the direction of Susiana where Vernarth was sitting on the gold horse, after dismounting from Alikantus, glimpsing luxuries and becoming of specters with the Manes Apsidas, congenializing before entering the Pasargada entrance parapsychology, since these succulent areas of gold managed to cross the Euphrates in parapsychology of annihilation, but when bilocating in the supply units insufficient flow, to divert the Attention from the stubborn Persians who still wanted to pursue their siege vows.

Possibilities of superior authorities remained in the infra predominance of their overexcites that encouraged them to deviate from their points of despotism to become from on high in the stream that shone by making propaganda of two ascars in the breadth of the plain, only leaving the cessation of first admission in front of Zefian and his four arrows with the Scythian Archers, in counterbalance to the contingents that were already in full risk of the target territory in the Eruv of Saint John the Apostle, which had demarcated the lines of pachyderm tracks in the frenzy of an oracle that sneaks in from teleportations of audio-sensory iconographies, discovering the mantle of Saint John where he would lead the garrison that would supply the majestic and triumphant portico of the Souls of Helleniká, taking possession of the paragon of quantum in the portico of Susa, from where shimmering looting of capital increased, helping to minorize the territories that would make it possible to aid the gates balance of the accesses of universal connection between Skalá and Susa, from where thousandths of a dorus would already begin to fly for a Macedonian king reference in the doors that would unite both geophysical zones, after attempts that make retentive in images of the struggles of the spectra to the see them, who then dissipated in advance from the cataclysm by convincing themselves of the eternal refuge where battles that had taken place between two rogues prevailed that never had to confront a conjured and assassinated sovereign, after an attempt to rebel in the Battle of Patmia, unable to avoid the recognition of a Satrap like Bessos like the horror of Artaxerxes.

All had been thrown into the possession where the light was present on the elytra of flying organisms, from where the imperceptibility of time and its aetoí or raptors were made free of some prey from the sky that was uncaused unable to support themselves, in means of the Salpinx and Shofar who heeded the voices of angelic *******. The tenors were stewed in stormy queens that dwelt in the mesosphere where Geburah resided for causes outlined in advance, attracting Hellenic claws that were actually a serpent-bearing Ophiuchus that was the thirteenth of the zodiacal sign of the dragon that was stratified in the Opioukos u Serpentarium opioids to settle that it was teleported by Captain Mardiath from Shots by the Wheel of Animals. The celestial groupings were constellated by lurching incontinence of their wills that were not able to advance and attempt what had already been lost. It was already the point of Aries or Vernal as the equinox was marked, from here with the twelve divisions of the zodiacal of Ophiuchus, where the astronomical limits that were in Vilorta were constellated, embracing the iron that held the thalamus of the plow at the helm of Vernarth, tri meaning supposed datas that could correspond to the limit of the quadrant of Aquarius with four new signs since the twelfth signs were distinguished in the wheels of the animals; being Apollo's oxen, having this spelling of the Dodecanese of Saint John after having toured the twelve churches in Turkey, where the collection of the stations would carry the Kouvalíthike se Vódia, "carried by the Oxen" leaving the precipice of the escarpment to Capricorn as the definitive wheel of the twelve divisions of the Dodecanese in the cardinals of the Shemash, making stations of Capricorn and Vóreios of Hyperborea with Wonthelimar, in the extreme north of this dawning night and of the projected equinox, which would be the tangent of the Sun through the celestial south returning again in the fused iconography of all the innkeepers that the astonished swords possessed in their assistances without being able to detach themselves from the reckless image of the scorpion or of an ***** that is illustrated by the ecliptic of the captains of each military squad. The league of fuss and perplexed reactions left them in the limen that became gaseous behind the ecliptic that transpolated the ends of the decision-makers, in these same with the ecstasy of the limits where each cycle appeared in its stunning sponsorships, related of the uncrossings of the bearer that made the cardinal points vary by the ecliptic of Notós de Borker and Dyticá de Leiak, leaving the dawn in the firmament below the mesosphere and the sunrise that was based on the thirteenth zodiacal abode of Ophiuchus, unraveling the gloss of the first postulate of light that was transferred from the unnameable transit of the Apocalypse's declaration. While everyone looked at each other and did not stop wondering when the Colosso of Apsila rose towards the ecliptic of precessional time where she herself detached herself, emerging in her imperceptible time, and carrying seas in the rivers, and rivers over the mountains where the serpentarium more than the sidereal opus that was distorted in the tertiary scale of Aurion, taking them to the Hebraic ladder of Judas Iscariot. The intertestamental analogy would throw the treatises between the Hellenes and Achaemenides and the Mashiach with his multi-consciousness in Judas Iscariot. In this instant of florilege of the heavenly palaces, it was summed up in the female that spread through the nets, hecatombs and afflictions, with crusts of arches that held the quiver from the claws of Beelzebub, which was not imperative for a Geburah who constrained himself to the tension of a god Íblis,  that if he asserted about the temptations of Judas destroying all the temples in the world and the post-captivity of intergenerational breeds, that they would go to the mercy of the host of fatality and inverted horror, that is, with the onslaught of pseudo-Christians who covered themselves with the mantle of the Ofiusco, creating outpourings of the flood that would extol severe genocides of the universe with the immature Apocalypse, which was protected in the ravages of the devastated territories with plagues and morbidities of septem saecula, which would be the execrable legacy of those who did not know that centuries would be born from these spoils of the escapes of the body by the body, only leaving bizarre souls that would reap the inverted step of the genocide, for escapes in the desert of Jerico where if they saw crimson Ophiuchus of the valleys that are from the boiling thesis of who always sees the twelve Giant camels dragging Judas, and clutching camelid legs where he was never safe.
Battle of Patmia Part III
Cedric McClester Apr 2019
By: Cedric McClester

The biggest drug pusher
That there ever was
Never did half the things
That Big Pharma does
But they get away with it
Primarily becuz
Of the billions they make
For their chest of drawers

The biggest drug pushers
Don’ t live in the hood
But they]re the ones
That get locked up for good
But they’re not the ones
Who ultimately should
When the disparity
Is fully understood

The biggest drug pushers
Wear white lab coats
And often are seen
Tacking copious notes
To justify the opioids
That their scrips conote
That we see them issuing
Out like by rote

The biggest drug pushers
Seem to get away
None have been sentenced
To a prison stay
They’ve been successful
At keeping at bay
Law enforcement
To this very day






Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.
Suresh Gupta Jul 2019
A Temple is desecrated
07/01/2019


When all other means of care are gone
And WOMAN lays her body bare
A Temple is desecrated

Where knowledge is withheld and suppressed
And MIND bares its ignorance
A Temple is desecrated

Where opioids and syringe are the only urges
And BRAIN is left dysfunctional
A Temple is desecrated

When human actions leave all creatures vulnerable
And EARTH cannot heal itself
A Temple is desecrated

When creation itself is misunderstood
And CREATOR cannot be found
A Temple is desecrated
Bard Jun 2020
Ten thousand years and we're still peasants
Now the ruling class hunt us like pheasants
Presently they act like their oppression is a present
When we act ungracious get gassed till we pleasant

They never cared when opioids hit the street
Why would they when their the pusher
Catch you with drugs they sold and they're the punisher
Arrest an addict and then in the cell they **** her
Evil ******* in the force enforcing like predators
Live life proper and you'll still end up behind bars
If blue stars decide your life offend theirs

Armed like the military and they declare war
On the peasants fighting brutality and alls fair
Might mace a kid cause his skin aint fair
So much pain and I'm no believer but I send a prayer
For every Trayvon Martin and every Tupac Shakur

If we're being real police have never helped me
All they do is spread fear and imprison the free
They'd shoot a man for taking a knee
But let a murderer walk free
Police cause chaos in the street
So defund the police and lets see
If we can have peace, finally
Yz Doo Apr 2019
Unleash my tendons from my spine
Opioids death from my addiction issues
Green smoke billows into my core
Mother Nature grows it it naturally
Green smoke I can feel the release
Calm waves , magic liquid gold
Green smoke, chronic pain
Addiction free
Go green as science overwhelmingly
Implode the sickened FDA,
As money is not controlled
by natures way,
Go green
Toxic yeti Feb 2019
Some people
Take to
The bottle
To deal with their loss

Some people
Take to opioids
To relieve themselves
From life’s
Emotional
And physical pain


Some people
Take their lives
To free themselves
From suffering

I don’t do those
Things
For I have Buddha.
Misty Meadows Sep 2020
I **** spiders in the basement,
Think my palette's going tasteless.
Wine gets finer by its aging,
Everything between is wasting.
Call it bodies in the cellar.
Does the smell get any better?
Swallow opioids together
Just to fight through stormy weather.
Walk through Hell and make it drizzle.
Spread the pain and let it trickle.
****** a soul out by the nickel.
Nothing's done coincidental
Bible stories not my answer.
Has it ever cured the cancer?
Wars and ****** still the manner.
Call it blasphemy or slander.
Naomie Sep 2021
Dear America, I watch your movies
Not really yours,but ones your citizens make
I see so much, through the glasses they give us
The potential to grow there,the opportunities
The success others get there,the prosperity
The freedom you give people,to say just anything
The high standards that is the way of life
The wonderful life that's not so wonderful
And of course the vices,the pronounced vices

I want to visit America, to see the vices
I want to see the epidemics
The opioids that plague low income neighbourhoods
The teenage pregnancies,the many single moms
The runaway baby daddies owing child support
The anti vax campaigns causing more deaths
The racism,the police brutality that never ends
The gun violence,the schools that were shot at
The corruption that impedes crime reduction
Maybe see the jails that look so nice in movies

I want to visit America,to see the life
The hard work,the 80 hour weeks
The hard life,the two and three job workers
The posh life,the rich and famous entrepreneurs
The wanna be life,the glamourous famous celebs
The fake life,the not so famous influencers
The tough life,the expensive parenting options
The long school life,the lifetime student loan debt

I want to visit America,experience the government
The tough,manifesto or is party driven elections
The many legislative houses with all the power
The complicated levels of government
The many types and divisions of police
The thousands of investigative bodies
The powerful uniformed and  ununiformed forces
The well trained millitary and intelligence agencies
With others that don't work inside the country

I want to visit America,to see the law
To experience the precious 1787 constitution
To see the thousands of Acts of parliament
To see the high,or is it low,taxation rate
To see the ease,or is it difficulty,in doing business
To see the rights that y'all keep talking about
Maybe even get to say 'I know my rights' too
See the liberal,or is it conservative, court system
The just jury system, the courtroom theatrics
Maybe even get to sit and watch

I want to visit America, see the healthcare system
The huge well equiped hospitals,
The well oiled health insurance machine
See the doctors who spent a decade to be an MD
The many specialist professionals in healthcare
Maybe even get what y'all call a physical
The exuberant cost of getting treated
Maybe understand Medicare and Medicaid
The strong powers of the medical boards
Maybe even see the need for malpractice insurance

I want to visit America,see American products
Feel the prestige y'all place on labels
The one word labels that say it all
The extensive creative marketing culture
The brands  that don't need an explanation
Target. Mcdonalds. Macy's. Prada. Walmart.
The pricing that's always exclusive of tax

I want to feel American life
The good looking, desirable social amenities
The importance of zip codes and school districts
The restaurant,swipe right, smart devices culture
The borrowing, property ownership loan culture
The credit card,cashless freeing bill payment culture
The creditworthiness of good credit
The judgements on criminal record holders

I want to experience
The feeling your actors exude so well
Someday. Maybe.
From an American movie watcher's point of view

— The End —