"quietens" poems
.
*… and the look of fear
co-existing with pain
on a contorted face
that knows
it is in mortal difficulty,
as ragged fingers
clutch,
clutch,
at a fire they cannot reach,
ripping agonies react,
to an enforced cardiac episode,
as blackness closes in
gravity heaves its hardest,
but the fall is fake,
a red herring in the event,
and the weight of the world
presses down, searching,
retracts
waiting,
presses down, searching,
retracts
waiting,
as breath is given freedom
in exhalation to the light,
that slowly rolls back
the pitch hue of the void,
returning back images,
feeling,
a new belief,
and the fire inside quietens,
and the fire inside quietens,
to the intense glow
of a burnt aching heart.*
© Pagan Paul (2018)
Jun 14, 2019
Jun 14, 2019 at 5:45 AM UTC
Every time my father is late from the front line
Sickness strikes my mother
and I tour with her the hospitals of Najaf.
I write to him ‘come back to us now,
Make your sergeant read my words: I am about to die’.
He returns my letter, laughing:
‘We are the amusement of the blindman’.
Oh, you River of Jasim, you tore my years
Between my father’s assumed victories
And my mother’s wishes in the emergency room;
They used to plant hope in her mind
By sticking on the glass door,
Two notices confirming: (awaiting death certificate).
Her heart ages so fast
And I ***** from hearing the chants.
Every time the presenter says ‘Victory is on the horizon’,
My grandmothers’ eyes rise to the ceiling -
She hides a mocking smile.
With rage I scream at the screen ‘no victory’s coming’.
She whispers: ‘god is generous’.
‘You sound like my father when I asked for new toys’.
She quietens and we contend,
Awaiting his return before a new battle,
Fearing that a last fight may end the life of a dove.
May 27, 2016
May 27, 2016 at 12:54 PM UTC
She's real smoochy
She's my hoochie *******
She's my sweet little Koala Bear.
She's so cute
And she's a total hoot
Keeps me smiling throughout the day.
Nice and cuddly
She's bubbly wubbly
Soothes all my troubles away.
She's kinda kooky
She's my nooky wooky
My little Koo Koo Koala Bear.
She climbs my tree
And she talks to me
Ever so softly.
She holds me tight
Through the darkest night
Quietens me when I'm afraid.
Don't you ever leave me, will ya
My lovely little sweet
My sweet little lovely, Koala Bear.
May 28, 2018
May 28, 2018 at 9:37 AM UTC
Never to have felt the wind of change upon your flesh,
to dazzle and dance on the precipice.
One jolt after another, character un-built..
Rarely to have left the bed unmade,
After nights of raw abandon, to gaze in a lover or a strangers eyes.
To let go and curse the parachute.
Teeth not brushed fail to bring forth the doom that was promised.
Un-cut grass does not shield waiting monsters.
Chipped paint and failing wallpaper tell a story.
A brush with the law wont quell the gossip mongers.
Alas, to be so safe quietens no mouth.
For they will talk anyhow and the sun will still rise, regardless.
Aug 4, 2018
Aug 4, 2018 at 12:12 AM UTC
my mind never stops,
a whirlwind of emotions rage inside me
wave after wave
the slam into me without notice
I’m speechless
my mind never stills,
unwanted thoughts consume me
sparks ignite new ideas
overthinking everything
I’m on overdrive
my mind never quietens,
songs blast constantly
reverberating, resounding within me
countless stories and jokes and memories
I’m tired
my mind won’t relax
and I’m trying
but I’m tired
Mar 1, 2016
Mar 1, 2016 at 3:10 PM UTC
Like you,
But with no filters around your mouth
Not stopping midway when you reach out for me.
Like you but before my demons got to you.
Like me,
But with my heart not swelling and crashing,
My lungs not elating with hope and deflating with reality
Like me, but before i fell in love with you.
Like you,
But with strong hands that feel like fluttering of butterflies against my skin when they touch me
Your footsteps sometimes syncing with my heart beats,
Like you but when I could read your eyes the way I read poetry, never getting enough of either
Like me,
But me talking to you, rather than bringing up your name as the room quietens and my friends look anywhere but in my eyes
Like me but when I had you, instead of these metaphors, and hyperbole, smilies and allegories, arranged in the shape of you so I could still have some souvenir of you.
Like me but with our names that you scratched on my back not faded.
Like you,
But not thinking that you have had me figured out now, so you could casually go down your library and put me on a shelf
Like you
But not finding me to be a waste of breath.
Like you but when you thought my light was worth the long period of eclipses it comes with
Like me,
But going on walks with you to the beach
Instead of me going on and on trying to kiss the horizon or the bottom of the sea,
It depends on the mood actually.
Like me but happy.
Like us,
But when we knew exactly who it was that we wanted us to be,
Instead of clinging to whatever vague ideas our mind comes up,
Doing anything to distract us from the aching hollow heart we carved ourselves out of
May 27, 2017
May 27, 2017 at 1:20 AM UTC
As soon as the forest surrounds me I feel it;
Enclosed, safe.
The softness of nature envelops me.
The sound of my mind quietens
And the forest noises come alive.
Birds calling, droplets of rain pattering on leaves,
a click or a shuffle.
Leaves fall like snow
Softening the heart of the weary.
I dare not move
But with the forest exhale
And acknowledge myself as one amongst the trees.
Would that I could sink my limbs into the earth
And join this silent gathering
Change with the seasons
And know my place on the Earth.
Sep 3, 2015
Sep 3, 2015 at 5:14 AM UTC
It's 1939 and Hitler's on the rise,
He's invaded Poland and fancies another prize,
In the way is Churchill, and the Armies of the Allies,
He marches straight through Europe, while they plan his demise,
Each night the siren sounds and our curtains are all closed,
Although we are concealed, I've never felt so exposed,
I live in this war-torn land, where bombs fall from the sky,
When they fall on the houses, I hear the children cry,
When the bombs have fallen, and the hell is over,
I watch the Luftwaffe fly away, over the white cliffs of Dover,
They come each night and I feel their deadly wrath,
What if I my house is on their next bombing path,
Every time I see them coming, I run and I do hide,
But one night I do not make it, and for my children I do cry,
For a bomb has fallen on my house, and taken away my life,
That bomb it took away all that I cherish and left me filled with strife,
I have now decided to join and fight, for all that I have lost,
I have chosen to take up arms, and fight no matter what the cost,
Now I am overseas, fighting finally for a cause which is my own,
All of the death and blood around me, chills me to the bone,
I survive, day in, day out, all night long for months on end,
I do not have long left to live, I will soon be god's friend,
As the battlefield quietens down and all my friends are dead,
I realise that I'm in hell, and never shall return.
Aug 29, 2010
Aug 29, 2010 at 6:59 PM UTC
I remember I was dead..
The moment is finally here
My prayers have been answered,I've eternally dreamt
That here with peace I rest
and all is well.
My soul quietens from the rest it has been given since it's been ever oppressed.
Daily bricks are thrown my way.
Each day obstacles accumulate on my path.
A sigh is all that's spelled from me since these acts signify a cliché.
But tonight here on my bed I rest.
Peace will be regained as I pray for my subconscious to ascend to a serene place. Here, I am temporary dead.
Goodnight.
Jun 7, 2015
Jun 7, 2015 at 1:47 PM UTC
*Each night I watch the world wind down,
traffic quietens then falls still.
People, ready for bed slow down and amble away.
To sleep, hopefully dream.
Birds stop singing, sirens stop ringing,
night's peace pervades, and stillness takes hold.
The earth is holding her breath and tongue.
Clutching the silence is akin to touching God.
Calming, reassuring, meditative and childlike.
Lightness of the soul takes hold,
like flight you want to soar up, up and up
until crystalline clarity within the silence shows you truth.
The truth is that the silence is deafening,
we humans need sound in order to drown out any form of truth*
Aug 17, 2014
Aug 17, 2014 at 8:16 PM UTC
You snake around me.
I never see you coming.
Appearing in the tall grasses of people,
and disappearing like vapour,
You are not a rattlesnake, aren't you?
Your hushed strikes do not startle me anymore.
I am too numb by the hustle and bustle of the crowd.
I am too tired of this struggle to fade away.
Are you going to sink your fangs into me?
I should never have turn my back on a viper.
Your lethal venom surely brought on this illness that I am unable to heal.
This mental disease entered my bloodstream,
traveling so unobtrusively that I have not notice it take complete control over me.
You wreck me up inside
immobilising me in every conversation
every question that demands an answer I cannot give.
Is there an antidote to end this slow sweet torture?
Are you going to hide behind a corner?
Your forked tongue can sense my fear as i draw nearer.
I do not want to find myself falling into your embrace.
You will entwine me further into yourself,
Tangle me in your web of fear, anxiety and self destruction.
And even as you crush and constrict harder,
As I suffocate slowly and my lips turn blue,
I cannot find my voice.
I cannot ask for help.
Anxiety is like a python after all.
Its steals your breath and quietens your heart before swallowing you whole.
Slowly.
Painfully.
Soundlessly.
Feb 20, 2014
Feb 20, 2014 at 9:46 AM UTC
She’s at a loss.
Her voice quietens, weakens.
She’s not herself.
She’s been transformed, absorbed into someone else.
She’s a fishing boat in a stormy sea.
Stormy then calm.
Stormy then calm.
Her mind is a whirlwind of easy offences.
She is a pit of jealousy;
a lustful late-teen.
Her mind is a television
broadcasting her desires:
Eight red lines upon a pale back,
Shoulders indented with two curved rows
from clenched teeth.
Morse code embossed on sweet flesh.
Love bites around *******
on thighs, on buttocks.
A fictional programme.
Turn fiction into non-fiction
and rescue her mind; a mere sailor.
Reach the shore and rescue her.
Find her again.
Find her voice, her strength.
Evaporate the stormy sea and leave her,
wholly herself.
Mar 9, 2012
Mar 9, 2012 at 12:55 PM UTC
I'll listen to a lullaby
Dance around my brain
And try to think of you
Without seeing rain
*hush now my love
You are everything to me
Let me fight away your demons
Pull you closer while you sleep*
As my old favourite song lyrics
Get stuck inside my head
Tied tightly to the image
Of us curled up in bed
*hush now my love
I'll keep you warm
As we hold each other tightly
And keep at bay the storm*
Cloudy smiles bright
As first dew morning sun
Flit around like butterflies
Reminding how no one
*hush now my love
Your hand trembles in mine
Find peace in our warmth
When our hands intertwine*
Has seen that side of me
Since the day that you left
Prooving once and for all
That love truly is deaf
*hush now my love
Times are growing cold
I am still here watching over
No matter what you're told*
So now I hear the lullaby
And sing its sorrow's tune
Knowing all love is lost
But that of me for you
*hush now my love
When dawn comes I will be gone
I'm sorry I can't hold you
And keep you safe and warm*
As when the night quietens
Right before my eyes
It's the image of you I see
That drowns out my lullabies.
*hush now my love
Your hollowed eyes grow dark
Just listen as I whisper
The story as we part*
Sep 26, 2015
Sep 26, 2015 at 8:25 PM UTC
As we gather round
crackling fire
All talk hushes
quietens
And finally dies.
In this world you say as little
as possible
While the doors of perception
are closed
opened wide
and deliberately
left
ajar....
Mar 15, 2014
Mar 15, 2014 at 4:36 PM UTC
In the waiting room,
the walls are white
Scrubbed with a strong chemical weekly.
The people are white
The chairs are white
My room at home is white
When will I be called to go in?
Soon.
It's the longest memory,
this coming and going of pain
(Though the pain never really goes away)
It just quietens.
The hospital blinds are white
Her face wasn't white
(It was yellow)
But I am white
It is the most terrible colour
Wrapping it's arms of sickness around me
It is the most surreal memory
(Who am I?)
Was that me?
It was me before half of me left
When I was whole
When I was not white
But
Pink
And red
And all things hopeful.
Jul 11, 2011
Jul 11, 2011 at 2:00 AM UTC
All night long
Below a darkening sky
Comes a howling wind
Drowning other sounds
Each gust stronger than the one before
Finally the rain begins to pour
Growling thunder in between
Heaven's anger seeming
Insatiable as lightning,
Jagged, burns
Knifelike slashes in the sky
Lighting up the darkened
Midnight hour
No end in sight
Only a brief occasional silence
Passing through
Quickly come and gone
Reverberating
Sound
Throughout the night
Until morning is slightly
Visible over the horizon
Wind quietens, rain becomes a drizzle
X-it the tempest as the sun's
Yellow rays bring the morning to lavender
Zinnias and sky-blue Forget-me-nots
May 20, 2018
May 20, 2018 at 1:05 PM UTC
betrayed in a dream I see an inner conflict unresolved
do they ever resolve completely an on going battle
quietens for awhile after death stalked a little closer
than usual leaving the discomfort of the effort to survive
but cleaner now more free to face the oncoming tragedies of life
to be more accepting that joy never really leaves us
Jan 23, 2015
Jan 23, 2015 at 12:09 PM UTC
Where does the smoke go
when it’s done drifting ?
Where does the music go
when it’s been played ?
Where does the wind go
when the storm quietens ?
Where does the scent go
when petals fade?
Where does the taste go
when food is swallowed ?
Where does the peal go
when bells have been rung ?
Where does the moonlight go
when the sun rises ?
Where does the song go
when it’s been sung?
Where does the rainbow go
when you stop staring ?
Where does the morning star go
when it’s night ?
Where does the colour go
when the night’s fallen ?
Where does the darkness go
when the sky’s bright?
Where does the lust go
when it’s been sated?
Where does the youth go
when folk grow old?
Where does the wave go
when ocean levels ?
Where does the story go
when it’s been told?
Where does the memory go
when it’s forgotten?
Where does the prayer go
when it’s been said?
Where does the love go
when it’s rejected?
Where does the spirit go
when it’s not fed?
Where does the thirst go
when it’s been quench-ed ?
Where does the silence go
when the talk starts?
Where does the footprint go
when wind’s passed over?
Where does the life go
when soul departs?
Where does the truth go
when lies are accepted ?
Where does the vow go
when marriage is dead?
Where does the thought go
when it’s not written ?
Where does the poem go
when it’s not read ?
Trish Lambert
2010
Jan 20, 2013
Jan 20, 2013 at 5:03 AM UTC
When first it comes it roars in your heart,
it dances through you and no
mighty deed may hold it back,
it sings a song of joy that lights the dark corners of your soul that adds new rhythms to your sombre life.
But when it goes it leaves a discord in you, life's beat is off and chords are missing
It's harmonies fade but a tune still remains, you learn new song's but the first melody stays true, it quietens but never goes away and in the darkness of the night when new tunes don't have the hook that you once knew you remember that roar and hope to dance to that song again
Mar 17, 2010
Mar 17, 2010 at 7:04 AM UTC
the floor digging into curves
i did not know by body had
with my body curving absurd
my hands full of realization
that my shapes are awry
off-the-mark
my legs sit ahead
lax tired filled with exhaustion
of not enough miles walked
enough sitting around day
to day and working on
support of my sitting body
i feel sorry to have taken
away their purpose
a life should be better
lived but it's owner
weary and filled
with excuses
works day and night
on sitting or sleeping
not doing much but
just a floater
focused on
a sky always cloudy
a pathetic soul
one of many
just a sad sad soul
in its generalizing
with the many
and the soul has no
shine
but hit escape
life has its
own rhythm and groove
but the groove that once
made itself known
seeps into the silence of
trees, nights, stars
rarely seen
words barely written
unartistic
unassuming
arbitrary
uninteresting
invisible
screaming heart
quietens under
burden of
weightlessness
of existence
May 2, 2017
May 2, 2017 at 4:22 PM UTC
All talk hushes, quietens,
and finally,
dies.
We all tune into...
nothing but,
war, and its
proclamation,
Of death.
false
lies.
Mar 11, 2014
Mar 11, 2014 at 10:20 PM UTC
Death has a voice, it whispers
From birth, a scratching
In the back of your head
Days,
Months,
Years
Flutter by, but still that
Lost voice from birth, an echo
Getting louder as time passes by,
You are of the
Flesh
Skin
Bone
But as all things it grows old,
"You hear it clearer now"
As it speaks not in whispers
But that moment you know
That life will cease
It has been telling you since birth
Till this day,
20.
03.
2019
This is your last breath, it quietens
With those who understand,
Who know there is a time and place it must end
But those who scratch that itch
The voice becomes
One
Two
Five
All screaming, the end, the end,
As they scream
You scream, insanity takes hold,
The insane don't fear death, the voices
Speak through mixed tongue, an
Enigma,
Puzzled,
Voices
Spoken, They all say the same thing
Even though not spoke
"DEATH IS COMING FOR ME"
Tears of joy, tears of fear, tears for
The moment is near,
That voice you hear louder through age
Its been telling you the moment,
That moment it will take you away..
Nov 9, 2014
Nov 9, 2014 at 2:46 PM UTC
Amid the darkness
In the midst of gloom and misery
She is contemplating life’s essence.
Between Light and dark,
Are any of them wholly good or bad?
There’s the darkness that frightens
There’s darkness that calms
It also quietens
All those fears of distress which we've
In those long nights of trepidation
By savoring our isolation
It exposes us to our own bygone reflection
likewise, light brings joy by illuminating the world
In the form of fire, extinguish everything as well
With an unmatchable wrath
It silences everything, shutting all of life in a split flash.
The world always stays in balance
Both light and dark coexist in congruence
It’s us who manipulate.
They become, what the bearers always wishes it to be
No one but night with tears on her face
Watches besides her
Witnessing a world filled with forever despair
Life burn, souls get humiliated on its funeral pyre
Ashes intensified the darkest desires
She immersed herself in fire to let the light grow
Fire doesn’t hurt her anymore
She is blessed.
Deep in the dark, the gleam would fight the endless night.
Aug 25, 2017
Aug 25, 2017 at 2:30 PM UTC
my head is going to burst.
the thoughts are too crowded in my head.
the storm brews,
it shifts and turns,
rearing it's ugly head.
but i'm the only one who sees it.
my mouth is so bitter
the dryness of my throat slowly engulfing me.
the storm quietens,
slowly sinking to the floor,
not moving.
a corpse of what once lived.
my reprieve comes in intervals
the paranoia entrapping me till change makes it's way.
Jun 14, 2019
Jun 14, 2019 at 1:15 PM UTC