"pivotal" poems
The mother is first—
she is for all and down to earth.
She, the mother Fathima,
descended from uncharted Heaven—
that pivotal frontier
only the Prophet of all prophets has seen.
Then, there was no Adam, nor Eve, nor even Jibreel.
Every star across the seven skies
wishes to kiss that golden dust.
Not to mention the Moon at the center,
waning and waxing—openly and secretly—
unleashing its longing to rub
this non-sublunary piece against its forehead.
She knows—only then
the rough seas beneath her will calm,
bathed in the soft raining moonlight,
rubbing off upon a lucky, blossomed forehead.
Oh, if only—
scarcely could they ever see it!
The galaxies, since their inceptions,
have longed for it.
The bliss of the eyes—tucked away from the scene.
Paradise lies beneath the mother’s feet!
It finds its core, its resonant lore,
in the shadow of the original feminine—Fathima.
There, the original matter explored;
Paradise breathed beneath her—
but she touched down at the heart of the Earth
without stepping or touching on Paradise,
only to give her stake away to others.
No land she would take on her way back, indeed.
Not in her name.
Do you know where Fathima’s grave is?
Dec 28, 2017
Dec 28, 2017 at 4:01 PM UTC
Laced with ribbons of moonlight
Bangladesh a touched dream at first light.
Land of my father, my mother
sweeter than nectar.
Purer than the driven snow
brighter than raw gold.
Gazing stars’ bumped up bottom
down the untouched moon.
Men and the six seasons
living in one loving fold
our one fertile sweet home!
O Allah rank our martyrs our heroes
up high in paradise in bloom
brought Bangladesh freedom abloom!
Punters cumulus clouds fly
eyes on the sky blue
on a spur hanging low tune into wild coo.
Picture independent Bangladesh
step in on the morning rug
rolls out outside the sun
walk through, the moon is inside!
Bask in, take your time
when the twilight adds a shadow
the beauty spot on your broad daylight
escape to more serendipitous discovery.
Eye on the stars or tuberoses on the ground
our free land is inspiring, beautiful even in the dark.
Laughs free from a tulip glass
across the land, air and the water
upon the reed flute stirred river
flowing downstream to the hilt
from a deep-delved foundation out of reach
her raised high flag flies
over the pivotal banyan trees.
Every flap of our ‘the sun in the green’ shaped flag,
the light of heaven on the evergreen earth!
Ah, sways in the chalice of every flower
on the land cheers beyond the warm South
whispers to our hearts and makes us feel proud.
Mar 1, 2022
Mar 1, 2022 at 10:14 PM UTC
Let me tell you a story about the time you walked me out of work, and how it changed the course of our lives. Let me explain how wiggly my insides felt to have you walking beside me. And let me tell you how I slowed my pace the closer we got to my car, trying not to be obvious. Let me tell you about us standing there, talking face-to-face outside of work for the first time ever, and how good and natural it felt. And let me tell you, time passed so quickly then, and the drizzle started turning to rain but I still didn’t want to go. So let me tell you about how I got courageous again, and asked if you wanted to go sit and talk in your car. Let me tell you how happy I was when you said yes, and how I’ve never been so thankful for rain. Let me tell you about our first of many “car dates,” when we just sat and talked. And let me tell you how it became clear very quickly that we are a natural fit. Because, let me tell you, I was so nervous that I’d be too quiet and we’d have nothing to say and it would become the bad awkward. But let me tell you how that didn’t happen, and we sat for hours in conversation. Let me tell you about our goodbye and how it was getting late because time had become nonexistent with you. And let me tell you about how you drove me back to my car because you didn’t want me walking in the rain, and I was so taken by how sweet you were. Let me tell you about how I was unsure of what to do, because we had hugged many times before, but honestly, I’d spent the whole evening wanting to sample your lips. But let me tell you, I’m not the one to make a move like that, so I just went for a hug as usual. And let me tell you how disappointed I was in myself. So let me tell you how I turned back, determined to kiss you, but quickly lost every nerve I had, and so started to settle for a second hug, this time adding the quickest kiss on your cheek. But let me also tell you how that somehow brought back the bravery, and I went for the kiss I truly desired. And let me tell you, baby, I’ll never know how I got the courage to kiss you first, but **** am I glad I did. Because, let me tell you, that kiss became one of the most pivotal moments in my life, and made me believe there was something worth living for. Let me tell you how your kiss saved my life.
May 29, 2014
May 29, 2014 at 1:11 PM UTC
What does a man do
On his very last day?
Does he call his best friend,
to lie a hello?
Does he open a drink,
for drunken last breaths?
Does he hug his children,
and say they were best?
Does he hide in a cellar,
just waiting for Death's knock?
Does he write a few things,
hints and advice?
Does he find those who wronged him,
and take them along?
The wise man will sit there,
like there's nothing wrong.
He ponders his days,
things once, things past,
holds his love dearly,
sweet, beautiful love,
giving him hope,
that there is this 'above',
though pain creeps in,
he smiles yet still,
life plays like a record,
1941-1992,
But yet, 1941 is not where it had begun,
He remembers it clear from 1947,
And he has forgotten much from the last 3 years,
but what he did, he does not fear,
he accepts what he's done, laughs a good laugh,
forgetting what he'd do, if given a second path,
So this my friends, may I say it clear,
Do not stare long at that first year,
and do not think much of that last,
for what was done is done, and all in that dash.
Jan 7, 2013
Jan 7, 2013 at 1:48 AM UTC
Bottled up affection
So much more to give.
Bursting to just give it away
Much less than to receive.
A motive beyond selfishness
Logic seams protruded.
Less sensical to understanding,
Yet truly, eternally concluded.
Pivotal to our existence,
Impossible separation from our souls.
Loving another, only to love
Brazen faith like internal coals
A surrendering of hearts
Uncomfortable yet embracive
Doubts exist, but pale in comparison
Love being more persuasive.
The deepest truth
The greatest need
Saddest misplaced reality
Life long searching
Journeying toward
An unconditional love mentality
Jul 23, 2012
Jul 23, 2012 at 6:59 AM UTC
Their lives bleed into mine
What am I becoming?
As long as I'm bleeding in line
I can hear war drums drumming
I feel my purity and youth leave me
As their lack of couth feeds me
And their sweet tooth bleeds me
Until eventually I too am greedy
In this ****** atmosphere
Our ***** past is clear
Inspiring future fears
And hardened tears
Drowned by beers
And empty cheers
Through the years
Until we're here
As a ****** stranger
Head banger
Teenager
In Jesus' manger
This blight
Of life
As a simulation
Of assimilation
Into a nation
Of incineration
In a ****** mire
Lit by the fire
Positioned higher
I call my sire
I fidget in the cage
Of this pivotal maze
Called the Digital Age
I'm in need of healing
From this dark feeling
That I'm an innocent child reading
A book about a grown man bleeding
Always met with a hateful greeting
While sympathy is fleeting
Being replaced by our own jadedness
After living with those who hated us
We develop defensive thorns
Resembling demonic horns
To match public scorns
My first love
Drew first blood
And I couldn't halt the blood loss
Exacerbated by the mud toss
Of the sinister town crier
Exposing my heart's desires
So I said never again
For the bleeding to stop
When dealing with men
Is like meeting the cops
Aware that I'm defenseless
They start beating me senseless
So I become a judge myself
Part of the sludge for my health
I won't budge unless it's for wealth
Accepting the cards I was dealt
They bled into me
Now red is all I see
No way to get free
So I follow their lead
And choose to bleed
As they pray and plead
It becomes my turn
To cause the burns
That I had learned
When I was spurned
And lost my purity
Now blood cures me
Jun 14, 2018
Jun 14, 2018 at 5:09 AM UTC
I erupted through that birth canal,
My mind was never narrow it must of hurt my mama, ow!
I used to hate my cousins how miss them, nephew looks older now.
I promised I will never leave them ,but Chiraq got more dangerous how?
Lost a friend, put a poster up
Have you seen this child?
Bro, can't you just grow up
I redefined existence,
Instead of finding God, I found religion
I am just a product of what my dad, and mom were sippin’
Every second is pivotal, the sand of times went digital
try to pass God my problems, but every play's a give and go
Smacked my face through these walls, fight battles that ain’t mine
spit similar similes sing symphonies to this heart of mine,
But if I pray long enough will I continue to sin
Will God give up or will I give in?
Someone took my innocence, but gave me a voice
Tell free will I am sorry but I never had a choice.
Dec 11, 2014
Dec 11, 2014 at 9:49 PM UTC
At times I’ve believed it
And at other times, scoffed,
One of the oldest of pivotal fears,
Mentioned in scripture and stories and hymns,
The execration is stinging my ears.
And throbbing, echoing, clashing rhythms,
With no beat ...such tension… Distortion’s risings,
A march over mazurka decelerating,
Curious uses for curious things,
Intestinal-pullings, intestinal strings,
Every warping conceived by my kind,
Like tearing of flesh and torture of mind,
Nothing that’s wholesome, nothing that’s good,
The truth bent, the opening crude,
The too-thin passageway out, understood
And my own rotting flesh is my food.
Jan 9, 2015
Jan 9, 2015 at 11:09 PM UTC
Shades of gray will reveal pivotal chains
Mute those parted ways
Self has gone and took the pouring rain
Washed into a futile day
Spinning visions of decadence turn and wear
Those wheels in your mind
Bending and freely waving yet never tear
Their yearning urges yet to find
Transcendental lines are written in rhyme
Understood only by you
Read once before in your other time
Found somehow to be true
Place your silent voice under a hidden rock
Your frivolous wishes upon a star
What once was open has now been locked
Can you still reach that far?
Oct 2, 2010
Oct 2, 2010 at 8:11 PM UTC
haunted by your presence
your imprint in my powder
stamped on my heart forever
everything reminds me of you
I wish you didn’t matter
can’t even see pictures of me
without relating them to how you used to be
changed the way i see
pivotal in my evolution, delusional since rejection
been off the market, been on the grind
been second guessing
my part in the tragic fall, maybe i am not such a victim after all
maybe i am not so young and dumb after all
maybe i am better off
Sep 5, 2022
Sep 5, 2022 at 9:40 AM UTC
From the moment
the tale of her ruin
made itself known,
mankind has
coveted proof
of her existence.
Many a curious hand
has stalked across
the glossy veins of maps
and the cracked vertebrae of books
enclosing information
most pivotal to
her secret whereabouts
and the tragic evanescence
that initiated her exile.
Many a
sailor
explorer
scientist
poet
have perished among
the gnashing jaws of the sea
in their pursuit of
the glory
her exploitation
would surely bring.
In response to such
grievances--
the reality
of losing oneself
in the midst of
searching for what
has already been lost--
imagination--
the belief in magic,
in the seemingly
unbelievable--
was outlawed
within the
human psyche;
now,
they say she is merely
a madman's legend,
a myth concocted by Plato
so as to warn against
the perils of greed.
But never did they consider
that perhaps she did not
want to be found to begin with,
that her seclusion
has always been a necessity
so as not to repeat
the monstrosities of the past--
so she should not resurface
to satiate their earthly desires
only so she can be drowned anew.
{Atlantic}
Jan 1, 2019
Jan 1, 2019 at 9:11 PM UTC
One simple thought
goes astray,
away -
beyond the limits
of decorum.
A mind
goes blind;
Descends
to the realm
of madness.
When reality
is the brutality
of suffering
against all odds
and logic;
The mind’s on
a pivotal perch
of distortion;
Sinking to the depths
of despair.
How to escape?
Where to travel -
unravel?
Thoughts create,
minds negate.
Oh, to make things clear;
to again see
flee -
the insanity
of actuality.
What is real?
how to feel?
shall I kneel
and pray
for forgiveness?
for my mind
to find
its home?
But to whom do I say
my incantations?
Why do my thoughts go beyond?
Who’s to say what is wrong?
What is right
I am strong!
Not insane.
© 2010 Marlene Dunham
Jul 1, 2010
Jul 1, 2010 at 8:51 PM UTC
Elizabeth;
Of immensely esteemed birth.
Highly respected in life,
but more respected in death.
Having a crown that ceased to decay
for many decades long.
A queen of kings, but still a wife,
custodian of traditions strong.
She that saw historic anniversaries,
She that saw millennial discoveries,
She that transcends previous monarchies
in length of days and pivotal reign.
Queen of a realm of historic gains,
where the sun never sets on their plains.
All to Westminster their griefs convey
to our departed who countless smiles gave.
And for your funeral would many for death crave.
Dec 12, 2022
Dec 12, 2022 at 3:09 PM UTC
When patterns repeat, year after year,
And threaten you at your most pivotal hour.
It feels like a checkmate.
May 12, 2025
May 12, 2025 at 9:38 AM UTC
I'm bleeding.
There is no way to stop it
I've done this to myself
I cant break this habit.
It's not physical,
but the pain is real
These next moments are pivotal
I don't want to feel.
The river slows to a creek
and then a stream.
But it never stops flowing,
it fills my dreams.
I'm never safe
from myself it seems.
I'm bleeding.
Dec 4, 2018
Dec 4, 2018 at 10:04 AM UTC
There wasn't any pivotal moment
No explicit epiphany one morning that changed things for me
It took me years
Years of dark lonely nights,
Saying to myself " I'll wait one more day, maybe tomorrow it will get better."
Just to see if things would change
I did this over and over again
For years
Usually i won the battle against myself
But a few times I failed
And I tried to let go
3 times I survived.
3 times in 3 years
The last time I had those horrific thoughts
I thought to myself
I survived myself 3 times
I shouldn't even be here today
But here I am
Still alive
Still breathing
And instead of convincing myself I wasn't worth it
The way I had so many times before
I screamed to myself
"I HAVE TO BE WORTH IT. I HAVE TO BE HERE RIGHT NOW FOR A REASON!"
I put the bottle down that night
I cried myself to sleep
In the morning I thanked God I was still here
I started focusing on the little moments
Like my best friend telling me how much she loves me
My mom thanking me for listening to her worries.
My brother calling to ask for advice about what to get mom for Christmas.
One of my students asking me if I was going to be around until they graduate
Because they dont want me to leave them.
The conversation I had with the server every morning at the coffee shop.
And it was when I started noticing and appreciating those little, positive moments in my life
That things began to turn around
It was all those little bits of human connection, interaction
That is how I survived.
As humans, we live and breathe for human connection
We need to feel valued and we need to feel understood
To any of you still stuck in that darkness,
Connection is the answer.
And to any of you who may know someone in that place
Send them a message.
Tell them you love them.
Smile at a stranger.
Walk to quiet girl from your drama class to her next class.
Compliment the bully on their new shoes.
Help the old lady across the street carry her groceries inside.
We all have a story.
Throw kindness out there even to the people who don't deserve it.
They need it the most.
We need to connect with each other.
Love is all around us.
Connections are everywhere.
Let's survive this world together.
Let's save some lives.
Dec 16, 2018
Dec 16, 2018 at 4:44 PM UTC
I know this is what
I was born to do
Electronic, Classical
Analog or digital
Do we understand their meaning?
I find it pivotal
WAKE UP KIDS
From this crazy mind-fuck!
We never have to grow up
Collide, collide, collide
Cause when we come together
We’ll blow up space in time
Cause I know my crazy mind
Rules this space in time
Science, binding energetic mesh
Orb of fervent, atoms, matter
Forever brings the universal commander
Kaleidoscope dreams too heavy to stop
What’s the **** argument
Let’s raise the frequencies
Then drop
May 2, 2014
May 2, 2014 at 3:59 PM UTC
~
on an evening dark,
in a garden afar,
eternity settled,
in a pivotal hour.
a son on his knees,
a cry out for grace;
an angel dispatched,
is a father's embrace.
in flesh, see him grasping,
wrestling with fear;
in spirit, triumphant,
as death is laid bare.
a struggle intense,
sweat running as blood;
salvation begotten,
conceived out of love.
in example embodied,
such a terrifying word;
forever redeeming,
my fallen world.
in that moment defined,
the cup is embraced,
a purpose divine,
restoring this race.
submissive love;
"not my will but yours."
scandalous love;
my hope it secured.
~
*post script.
endurance of the scandalous,
the rescue of the scoundrel,
full measure of the marvelous,
to re-ignite in us His candle.
Good Friday, my dear friends!*
Apr 2, 2015
Apr 2, 2015 at 9:05 PM UTC
wake up, feel terrible
for all the right reason
it is all too easy
this augmentation
this grandeur of emptiness
it is silent
a car traverses
another road
humans are out there
alive and breathing and asleep
still asleep
eyes open
the humans are just
as empty
in seventeen years
they will be as empty
in paris
or new york
or moscow
their eyes will still speak
as their mouths curl
and their children cry from
their cultured gardens
the unfixed faucets dripping
in their marble slate bathrooms
in the shower
they still wonder
what happened to their lives
their dreams
and how they'd changed
with every pivotal moment
they'd passed up
for comfort
or a new dream
conveniently forgetting the rest
they'll think back
to the faces of lovers
they lost to the road
or to chance
or to themselves
and cry
in the shower
if they haven't
forgotten how to
recollecting
how once
long ago
in a dream
they had learnt
dreams don't mean anything.
Feb 2, 2013
Feb 2, 2013 at 8:45 PM UTC
Beating hearts lay beneath,
where souls, dead, from love awaits.
Armour as toughened emotions,
chained and beaten.
Yet, hope, holds quietness of mind.
Waning torment and time.
Eventually comes peace.
Strength resolved.
Pivotal.
Resolved strength.
Peace comes eventually,
time and torment waning.
Mind of quietness, holds hope yet.
Beaten and chained emotions,
toughened as amour, awaits love.
From dead souls,where
beneath, lay hearts beating.
Jun 28, 2010
Jun 28, 2010 at 9:01 PM UTC
You waited until I was at my most vulnerable
And then just shut the door
And closed me out.
You waited, you *******
Until I had exposed myself in every possible way, to you,
Despite terror, despite doubts,
Despite insecurity, anxiety and guilt,
Despite resisting and denying and holding you at bay.
You waited until THAT MOMENT
And withdrew.
You could have chosen
A thousand and one better moments
I would have been fine.
I would have agreed, and even felt relief
But no,
You had to pick the pivotal painful point
Of you and me
And you had to choose SILENCE
You had to just STOP
Inviting paranoia
Self doubt, and all these tears.
These **** tears
I am sick of these tears.
It was the wrong moment.
Perhaps that's the whole point,
The wrong moment was the right moment,
Because this way, it really is the end.
Aug 26, 2013
Aug 26, 2013 at 11:35 AM UTC
Have you ever heard the term
"The grass is always greener on the other side"
I'm going to assume you have
But I think the better question to ponder is
What happens when there's no more grass?
What are we doing to our earth
There is trash heaps the size of this city
And our society should feel guilty
When the only one that bats an eye
Is an incoherent ****** hippie
You know anybody can make a difference
This disparity must be stopped
So let's take a stand
Because my generation, our generation
Will face the greatest threat that has ever faced this nation
And that is climate change
AND if you ask me it is very strange
That so many people remain caged
In a cell of disregard
Acting like our earth isn't scared
Around the world we're facing
Irreversible drought
A rising sea level
A midst the sixth mass extinction
So why is our society
Not showing the distinction
That this is a pivotal issue
As teenagers we're
Watching environments be
Wrecked by our forefathers
While your sons and daughters
Will face the systemic problems
We forsake.
So the burden is on me,
Its on you, on all of our shoulders
To fight with a rage
To end climate change.
Dec 22, 2015
Dec 22, 2015 at 8:58 PM UTC
I kept her to myself; peacefully, after all this time. I kept her silent and calm. I thought that if I could shun her away from the outside that she could still develop into the beauty I’ve always seen in her. I didn't believe that this world was ready for her. They’ll never be.
She was my little secret.
Why should I share my serenity with the rest of the earth?
Why give them my happiness when I know that they can’t protect it?
I begged her to not to let me relinquish her. I told her that the world will just abuse her and won’t understand her needs, just stay here when I feel that its time. She grew restless of being kept a secret. She no longer wanted to be kept in a shameful place. She knows that time is pivotal and no more of hers will be wasted. She knows what she needs.
Jul 18, 2016
Jul 18, 2016 at 12:12 AM UTC
Stripped of concealing luminous wrap
and glorious elongated tail -
what a bizarre visitor you are!
Highly disfigured in shape
and as blemished as our moon
you are nonetheless a local resident
with a niche in the system
and possibly harboring a key
to understanding the phenomenon
of life on Earth.
Thus by cosmic equity,
you are further proof
that even the most
unpretentious
may become the pivotal
center of attention.
- fr
Sep 3, 2014
Sep 3, 2014 at 1:06 PM UTC
Silence is golden,
And I am breaking the barriers,
Silence in golden,
And I am coming with the chariots,
Silence is woven,
And I am untying the labyrinth,
Silence is golden
Call me a maverick,
Silence is broken
And I am bleeding the floor,
Silence is golden,
I am like a fly knocking the door,
Silence is olden
I am rewriting the history,
Silence is golden,
I am unfolding a mystery,
Silence is interwoven
The message is subliminal,
Silence is golden,
But keep your words minimal,
Silence is golden
Every night I turn a criminal,
Silence is golden,
Every verse is pivotal,
Silence is golden,
For those willing to prey,
Silence is golden,
Only for those who don't know what to say*
Oct 3, 2014
Oct 3, 2014 at 1:40 PM UTC