"reaffirm" poems
You know the type.
She's probably called something like
Isabella. Rosalie. Ginevra.
and you find her in the sort of novel where
she's outdone by someone called something like
Jane. Agnes. Lucy.
She's remembered in criticism as
Trivial. Silly. Foolish.
She's defined as Shallow. Vain. False gold.
She's analysed as the mirror, the contrast or the foil
and you're supposed to vaguely dislike her.
She'll reaffirm to the reader that the heroine,
whether she be plain or beautiful, is always, in the end,
Rational. Independent. Brave.
She reaffirms the heroine as someone who
learns and grows
while the silly girl is left looking at herself in the mirror.
The thing is sometimes I feel more like the silly girl,
the girl who needs a hand, the girl who reads books
and wants to believe the stories.
Sometimes, I'm looking in the mirror,
chest deep in my own trivial, silly little worries,
looking at the puddles not the lake, and I know.
I know I'd be one of the silly girls,
not the heroine, out there, just surviving.
I'd be one of those silly girls and I hate it - and yet
- what's so wrong with the silly girls?
What's so wrong with the girls who love themselves,
or love the wrong people or love their clothes?
What's wrong with the girls who are
brave but not rational,
independent but trivial,
selfish but practical?
What's wrong with those girls,
because I always find myself preferring
the Ginevras and the Isabellas anyway.
Jan 9, 2018
Jan 9, 2018 at 11:56 AM UTC
I’m definitely Matrixed in,
feel like every girlfriend is a program,
feel like every experience is a dream,
feel like I don’t feel anything at all now,
maybe I’m a machine,
maybe I’m not a human being,
maybe I’m more cyborg than Sapien,
maybe I’m more electron than neuron,
and maybe none of this matters,
maybe we’re cogs in the vehicle,
maybe we’re abnormal cyborgs,
more flamboyant than incog,
more insignificant and important,
and maybe I’m special,
and maybe I do stand out more than most,
but at the end of the day I don’t think it matters,
because when it’s all said and done everything is just dust,
no justice,
it’s justice,
feeling a bit awkward and bazaar,
suspecting that they spiked the fruit punch,
and I don’t know for sure that none of this is real,
but I do have a pretty strong hunch,
want fresh squeezed not pre-made,
want a spontaneous feeling not an automated response,
want to stay here with you for as long as I can,
but I think that might be impossible because I’m probably already gone,
so please say something real or say nothing at all,
constantly trying to find ways to reaffirm our existence,
that’s why I still go out socialize and initiate relationships,
even though every time I do it all feels sterile cliche and pre-rehearsed,
but maybe that’s because we’re living in a Matrix,
I’m definitely Matrixed in,
feel like every girlfriend is a program,
feel like every experience is a dream,
feel like I don’t feel anything at all now…
∆ LaLux ∆
Oct 1, 2018
Oct 1, 2018 at 7:49 PM UTC
Dearly Beloved
by Michael R. Burch
for Suzan Blacksmith
She was
Dearly Beloved by her children, who gather
to pay their respects; they remember her
as they clung together through frightful weather,
always learning that Love can persevere ...
She was
Dearly Beloved by family and friends
who saw her great worth, even as she grew frail;
for they saw with Love’s eyes how Love’s vision transcends,
how her heart never faltered, through cyclones and hail ...
She is
Dearly Beloved, well-loved, sadly missed ...
and, while we mourn the lost days of a life too-soon ended,
we also rejoice that her suffering is past ...
she now lives in the Light, by kind Angels befriended.
And if
others were greater in fortune and fame,
and if some had iron wills when life’s pathways grew dark ...
still, since Love’s the great goal, we now reaffirm her claim
to the highest of honors: a mother’s Heart.
Keywords/Tags: Suzan Blacksmith, elegy, eulogy, epitaph, memorial, tribute, remembrance, farewell, goodbye, last respects
Oct 16, 2020
Oct 16, 2020 at 10:07 PM UTC
Let's write a New Chapter
Let's not forget what we wrote yesterday and what we know about the past
Let's start a new chapter
Let's write new songs and new poems that tell of our love for each other
Let's write what is new today and reaffirm what we knew yesterday
Let's write a new chapter in our lives that makes us not forget about yesterday
Let's write new love songs and write new sonnets that we would use to paint the love we have for each other on this canvas of life
Let's write a new chapter about our love
Let's write a new chapter about our souls
Let's write a new chapter about our hearts desires
Let's write a new chapter about our lives
Let's write a new chapter about .........
Apr 2, 2016
Apr 2, 2016 at 4:53 AM UTC
He was an elderly man, clothed in desolation,
a gray man fading into the stoop on which he reclined
as if he were already turning to dust, disintegrating.
He coughed, and coughed again the rasp of an ailing
man, a rattle vibrating from the fathoms within,
and he fumbled for his pack of cigarettes
as if to reaffirm his intention of dying should his
bottle of cheap wine not propel him into oblivion. He
was muttering, muttering secrets to himself, or of himself,
or perhaps proverbs to show someone, anyone,
how enlightened he could be there on the gray stoop
as dust and the remainder of his life swirled about him.
--
Sep 9, 2011
Sep 9, 2011 at 5:40 PM UTC
You can run away from bullies,
Go home after school and rest assured you're safe
From whatever torment they may bring,
Whatver distress they inflict upon you.
You can turn on the lights when it's dark,
Illuminate rooms so you can reaffirm
That your closet doesn't have a murderer in it,
Or that dust is the only thing residing under your bed.
You can run inside when it begins to rain,
Cuddle up in bed with tea and listen to the thunder
As a storm rolls through your neighborhood.
You're safe and sound under your comforter.
You can close your eyes in scary movies,
Plug your ears, hide behind a friend.
You can say "It's all fiction, it's not real."
Because that's true. Movies aren't, no matter how convincing.
You can avoid circuses
If clowns do not delight you.
You can abstain from seeing their big red shoes and noses
As long as you do not attend a circus.
You can defeat most frightening things within your life; Don't acknowledge them, abstain from encountering them, conquer them, reduce them to nothing.
The most frightening thing in my life is myself, and I cannot simply go home, turn on a light, or avoid a circus.
It is always me, myself and I cannot simply pretend I am comfortable with always being in the presence of my biggest fear.
Jan 31, 2013
Jan 31, 2013 at 3:21 PM UTC
At this point she remains a specter
Nearly unnoticed, yet vital as the pole to a tethered ball
At this point I remain oblong
Punched from behind, yet to reaffirm my true form
I orbit her essence, chasing the wire that holds me
Not to have it, but to outrun it
Racing him to her, in a hapless homage
To every failed romance before
In a binding performance
Painfully predictable twists and turns
Leading me to her in a victorious procession
Slaps to my face and blows to my head
Strangely entertaining
I rest atop her, fully requited now
Forced there by some unknown hand
I’m committed, torsion of the wire pulsing
Ignore it now for this one day
Until we play again
May 4, 2010
May 4, 2010 at 9:58 PM UTC
When I dream, I dream of you alone;
Perhaps in some far-distant, time-forgotten place
That once existed in the days of youth.
And there, some dim, faint memory of the mind
Is stirred, as waters rise before the wind.
And here, adrift from life in realms unknown,
I see the incandescent beauty of your face.
I draw you to me, and I know the truth;
The past means nothing, for in your eyes, I see
The future only, and all else is lost to me.
* * * * * * * * *
Farewell to tortured hope, to misery and doubt;
The vow I made to you, I kept throughout
The dark, disastrous years of desolation.
Mourn not for days that lie beyond recall;
For hours withheld from us, no tear should fall
To blur the joy of love’s sweet affirmation.
The time Fate stole from us was not in vain;
For, now that your heart is joined with mine again,
We find the very reason for our own existence.
At last, we see that Faith’s reward is shown;
And know, as other dreamers well have known,
Love triumphs by the reason of its own persistence.
* * * * * * * * *
Our time draws near now, and my love, we find
The paradise we made here must be left behind.
All that we take with us are memories;
The flame of life expires, the clock unwinds.
Now we unravel, and with dying eyes, we see
That to perish miserably accords with life’s decree.
The mind must falter, and the flesh must die,
And turn to dust beneath an angel carved in stone,
So that the soul may rise unfettered to the sky
To seek some wondrous Eden of its own.
And swiftly, through beckoning, bright infinity,
We soar on wings of light toward our destiny.
* * * * * * * * *
And surely, somewhere amid the vastness
Of the universe, we find our place and time.
So dear one, come to me, and let my fingers trace
With love, the sweet perfection of your face.
And know that, in this simple act of mine,
I reaffirm my vow in all its fastness.
Apr 29, 2013
Apr 29, 2013 at 5:59 PM UTC
A fighting feeling, only felt, in my nervous tree, from the air I breathe which becomes hotter and faster, speeding up the pumping of O2, within me, giving my blood a chase from my pump factory to every branch and stem of this nervous plant, feeding each one charmingly, leaving them spelled.
Perhaps better said Possessed.
My eye's can't but show how I feel"
Thereby revealing my weakness
This I fight always because I gat to be the Girl with the jazz not the Girl possessed with his bass
Oh! What a feeling!
I war against it, but I love it, and never want it to stop fighting me
A Love War not a seduction; a battling feeling that keeps me going
How long is it going to continue? I don't want again...
Oh no please don't stop
For how long?
As long as my flag is not put down
As long as I'm not out of fighting emotions
As long as I never get hurt again
As long as I'm not with you when I'm weak
Sometimes
The best way to reaffirm your feelings
For each other and end the Love War
Is simply spend time together
Doing what each other loves or
Simply doing nothing together
What matters most is being
Together
Aug 15, 2013
Aug 15, 2013 at 2:03 AM UTC
Your name.
Your sweet name.
Even when I hear it from someone else
it has a particular sonority
that affects my soul, weakens it,
and surrenders to you.
And it haunts me. And it follows me.
Wherever I go someone calls your name.
Oh, your name.
Each letter hurts me, digging in my heart
like seven tiny daggers,
bleeding out.
It hurts to know.
Reaffirm day after day the fact that you are not mine,
and that you never will.
Far away.
I want you far away, but not distant.
The pain of your absence is greater than the pain of your presence.
Violent convulsion that my heart suffers every time I lay my eyes upon you.
You.
Visual representation of a name.
A name that kills me and gives me life.
A name that moves me and paralizes me.
A name.
Your name.
Apr 24, 2015
Apr 24, 2015 at 5:28 PM UTC
"Uuh, dude, your Hubris is showing.
Watch your fuckin' tongue, man.
It's cool to express yourself,
but now you're just being a ****
Hold thy beloved charientisms,
thy ****** knives in velvet sleeves:
You don't exactly seem to understand
the true power of those Words
you propagate so 'knowingly,'
as if a monkey with his own ****
but, if you do realize what you say:
you're a ******* *******
Well, which are you:
a tactless, spiteful,
foolish hypocrite,
or
an affectatious egoist
of a hypocrite?
I'd wager
an unhealthy balance
that it's both.
I've seen it for years.
You assume a lot
for how little you know.
You step on other people's sentences
with a mastered matter-of-fact tone
regardless of how true
those facts you spew
even ******* are.
There you go again,
borrowing other people's ****
without expressed consent
nor explicit intention to return;
we have a word for that, I think.
Either your behavior and morality
totally adapt to your surroundings,
and/or you're a ******* Hypocrite Fool.
Either way,
you cannot be trusted
once a back is turned.
Honestly,
if I had to guess,
I'd be hard-pressed to give you
the benefit of the doubt
by assuming the level
of consideration required
for maliciousness.
You just want all of your stuff for you,
and all of everyone else's for you, too,
and the crux is
you'll feign being pleasant
just until you get it,
then you come out of your ******* cocoon
and get all high and mighty, entitled, and condescending.
Last one on the bandwagon,
first one to throw a stone;
you're a real fuckin' winner!
All you tend to do
every time I chill with you
is berate others- oh, I meant "advise" others,
who may well be better off than you,
for having many problems
which you either could not understand,
or with which you find yourself,
you ******* Fool.
Every time I wonder
if I've become too indignant
as a direct result of your antics,
you remove my self-doubt
and reaffirm my reservations
by eating all my ******* cheese
or talking **** on my friends
behind the back of whoever it is
who has their back turned at the moment.
When will you learn?
When will you mature?
I guess nothing changes
if we tolerate **** in our faces.
Tread lightly, Elephant,
for you tread 'pon thin-ass ice."
Mar 12, 2014
Mar 12, 2014 at 1:49 PM UTC
Once again we welcome here
With arms held open wide,
A very special time of year;
Choose presents, wrap and hide
A Christmas gift is waiting,
We're hoping it's 'the one'
There'll be no more hesitating,
Unwrapping's so much fun
Truth be told it's more than that
Yes, presents pass the time;
At dinner we each wear a hat
Eat turkey, drink the wine
But Christmas is a chance to show
Our loved ones that we care,
A time to reaffirm, although
We hope they know we're there;
If ever they should need you
Your arms are open wide,
At any time, the whole year through
You'll be right by their side...
This Christmas, when you sit there
With gifts and cards aside,
Remember there are those who care;
You're treasured in my life
© Karen L Hamilton, 2015
Dec 28, 2015
Dec 28, 2015 at 5:37 AM UTC
hough aiming forward we are losing ground
hearts may be filled with hope but our hard fate
is to be weighed and valued pound by pound
as the remainders of a great estate
the counters' duty it is to collate
what goes to storage and what to the worm
what will be buried to build up the berm
and what parts of the fortune they might keep
those who are watching are the very firm
our place is taken and we have to sleep
so much of what is said is to confound
the ones whose task it is to count and rate
the complete measure within proper bound
they aren't allowed to lie nor to inflate
the tiny parcels into something great
but must agree the winner is the germ
that strikes the mighty hard as they might squirm
and into every corner seems to creep
it's certain victory we can't affirm
our place is taken and we have to sleep
we wanted to astonish and astound
win the reward of gold and silver plate
have banknotes piled up in a giant mound
cart off bright jewels in a well-made crate
these are not the conditions we instate
we find ourselves most rotten and infirm
unable now to generate a therm
nor over lowest bar ever to leap
our weakness any fool now could confirm
our place is taken and we have to sleep
prince you may rule us for a certain term
since none of us has power to reaffirm
just what we were nor what we had to keep
within our power nor underneath each derm
our place is taken and we have to sleep
Jul 6, 2011
Jul 6, 2011 at 5:20 AM UTC
It’s too easy to trust God,
when Life is good, pleasant
and free of everyday strife.
When we’re comfortable, joy
is often experienced; lost is
sight of Him, Who gives Life.
Unfortunately, tragedy’s pain
is released upon us, whereby we
succumb to despair, unbelief
and the darkness that envelops
a World with sin’s rebellion.
We’re now unfocused; no relief
is available to our sad souls;
we’re swallowed by an evil that
stabs us… with merciless grief.
Calling Christ now, that is Faith-
when we choose to move forward,
rise up and reaffirm our beliefs
in the One, Who truly saves us.
.
.
.
Author notes
Inspired by:
Rom 8:28, 38 and
To trust God in the light is nothing,
but trust Him in the dark — that is
faith. -C. H. Spurgeon
Dedicated to the memory of D.J. Breunig
1 March 2016
Learn more about me and my poetry at:
http://amzn.to/1ffo9YZ
By Joseph J. Breunig 3rd, © 2016, All rights reserved.
Mar 28, 2016
Mar 28, 2016 at 6:16 AM UTC
Have you been praised recently?
Has anyone told you today
that you did well
or that you're doing your best
or that you've done so much for them
or that you deserve your rest?
Do you believe them?
When they thank you, do you ignore it?
When they reaffirm their opinion,
that you did something good
do you lash out against yourself?
I don't.
Not because I don't believe them
nor do I think they feign sincerity;
It's mostly just from my experience
that just as easily that they praise you
for such a remarkable ability
that they will turn around and say otherwise
at the drop of a hat.
I am not here to tell you to believe
those who mean well when they say
"Thank you."
I am here to tell you that
the one you should be thanking
is yourself.
So from the bottom of your heart, please take a moment
close your eyes, and ignore everyone around you.
Feel it within your soul, and say
"Thank you."
For living.
For breathing.
For being here.
Thank you.
Nov 6, 2017
Nov 6, 2017 at 3:56 PM UTC
Know that your brokenness can be healed
and that your wholeness can be restored.
Reaffirm your divine covenant today,
by completely trusting upon the Lord!
Seek a vital relationship with God now;
be thankful for His daily grace and mercy.
Realize and understand His intentions for you;
Open your eyes and observe what He sees…
regarding His plans, already laid out;
through prayer, request spiritual guidance.
Recognize your heavenly position this day;
know that you can overcome any circumstance.
Develop with Christ a genuine fellowship.
Remember! You’re still… called to worship!
.
.
.
Author Notes:
Loosely based on:
Deu 7:9; Heb 7:11-22; Jer 29:11-14; Prov 3:5-6;
Rom 8:37; 1 John 1:7; Lev 17:11; 1 Cor 12:27
Learn more about me and my poetry at:
http://www.squidoo.com/book-isbn-1419650513/
By Joseph J. Breunig 3rd, © 2013, All rights reserved.
Dec 12, 2013
Dec 12, 2013 at 10:51 AM UTC
C'est la belle vie
the words escape quietly from my lips
they float silently to the floor and settle there
the words are so quiet, so small
I can't be sure they ever really left my mouth
But there they are, sitting comfortably on the floor
They look up at me from below, questioning them self
I think about repeating them, maybe to reaffirm their meaning
but the sounds don't quite make it past my tongue
So I sit there in silence
with some fallen words
laying on the floor.
Jul 30, 2016
Jul 30, 2016 at 2:26 PM UTC
O Lord, how much of this reality
has no earthly bindings on me?
Help to shape my perception,
regarding the things, that I see.
As an intelligent person,
it’s obvious to avoid indifference
and fear, especially when there is…
a clear choice with a sure preference.
Although the future is unknown,
there's a proven solution to help one cope.
The guidance of the Scriptures reaffirm
that in Jesus, we should have our hope.
Finding genuine comfort within The Word
secures the foundation of Life’s course.
Through patience and regular prayers, one…
ultimately realizes the one, True Source.
We’re promised to have our needs met;
so avoid being overcome by despair.
Peace of mind is attainable, when remembering…
The Children of God remain in His care.
Author Notes:
Loosely based on:
Rom 15:4
Learn more about me and my poetry at:
http://www.squidoo.com/book-isbn-1419650513
By Joseph J. Breunig 3rd, © 2012, All rights reserved.
May 23, 2013
May 23, 2013 at 8:58 AM UTC
I never knew what a house on fire felt like
until i felt the bees in my bones rumble in full force.
Thinking of losing myself puts me in distress and sets
flames on a course unstoppable.
I feel like it leaves burn marks on my skin
or a rip in the seam of what holds my soul together.
Mirrors are out of the question,
even if they reaffirm existence.
They shout,
“You are here. You exist!”
They polarize
and objectify the things I cannot face.
May 11, 2013
May 11, 2013 at 12:11 AM UTC
He didn't know that he invested in being left and getting cheated on, bereft of commitment, suddenly it all went wrong; I took a turn back to what I had before, just to reaffirm I don't have that anymore. Vows: we never said them and I don't know that we will, but I'm honest as can be when I say I love him still.
Apr 12, 2015
Apr 12, 2015 at 4:37 PM UTC
I used to pine for you.
Your acid flesh saturating my hair
Your naked crystal caressing my skin
And when I was scared
I would remember how it felt when
Your tide would gently and forcefully pull me out
How the twisted tree trunks of your love wrapped their branches around me
And I would think of you in rhymes that did not make sense
Prayers that made it seem like I believed in something
Maybe you were my God
Because part of me almost wanted to be impregnated with your love child
At one point or another
So maybe it would make you care.
That part of me disintegrated pretty quickly
As your words became synonymous with the crackling of fire
The snapping that bones make when they break and turn to dust
Your voice could decompose me in an instant
And you never seemed to mind.
So now, that I might have your offspring
Living inside of me
I don't know how to feel.
Taking a test would just reaffirm the fact that my future could be in shambles
Wires wrapped around themselves
A construction zone ready to ignite and explode
So I wait for my monthly offering
That Mother Nature so graciously delivers to my body
Reminding me that I am the only inhabitant in it thus far.
I fear for any child that even has a chance of existing
Because while it would be beautiful
It would be ****** into the middle
Of this beautiful toxicity.
Nov 28, 2014
Nov 28, 2014 at 12:18 AM UTC
*what remains is magnificent
liberation is simplicity
infinitely refracted
and luminous
survival is imminent
dominion of the elements
mastering our domain
and knowing our own identity
as often as the rain falls to earth
we must frequently reaffirm our self-worth
celebrate our existence
in silence and in kisses
symbols abound
that ground our existence
allow us to move upon the ethereal waters
feel me here
in love’s embrace
satiated as space
is holding us together*
Apr 29, 2017
Apr 29, 2017 at 12:05 AM UTC