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Gods1son Nov 2018
I just want to ask one question
Is the human race obeying the mathematical rule called BODMAS?
Just a refresher...  
Brackets, Orders, Division, Multiplication, Addition and Subtraction

We have created different brackets
where we enclose people like casket
He's black, she's white, they are rich,
those are poor, she's educated, he's religious, he's fat, she's slim... Brackets

People are treated differently
Based on the class that we've put them in
Some are raised to power like exponents
Others are trapped in like square roots...Orders

The segregation has only intensified our division
I don't fit in here, I belong over there
My group is stronger, those ones are losers... Division

Disunity and absence of love has caused
A multiplication of our problems
Threats, deportation, persecution
We don't like them, we'll bomb them
War, insurgency, terrorism, hate speech... Just problems Multiplication

Every second, our population is experiencing several additions
Our population keeps growing while
Our natural resources are being exploited
And depleting at a rate faster than our population growth
Our resources are experiencing severe subtractions

I just want to ask one more time...
Aren't we obeying BODMAS?
My personal opinion...
Kara Jean Jul 2016
My thoughts shaking
I'm trying to find my composure
Swallow my tears along with the worlds fears

I see a face a 15 year old girl
Arms placed upon her lap laced
Brave and afraid of the unknown
Illiterate she held her own
Freedom was her new home

So many have fought and died, even today for its name

Still I have no clarity of freedom's meaning

Free to love?

Free to worship as we please?

Free from evil and hate?

Or is it equality?

To me it seems we are in desperate need of a refresher
To be reminded what it should be

To have FREEDOM
#PCJuly2016Freedom
Jowlough Sep 2010
It all ends up
realizing that
Every downside,
failures and ruins
has a root cause
of somewhat
related to
a basic foundation of
human society.
At the end of the day,
It sums as the most important,
ultimate essential.

It has no metrics,
though an over-said Antic,
sparks most of the conflicts,
pragmatic.

Mind what you're  saying,
Check what you're doing.


Go back to basics.
Consider ethics.
Refresher - Sept 30 2010 jcjuatco
Kathleen Apr 2013
For the record, I suppose it should be stated I lost my soul in Vegas.
I would love to go back there and find it among those glittering lights and buffet tables of never-ending artful desserts.
It's funny that all I really remember are those pretty desserts and fried mashed potatoes.
I want those things back.

I'm like a raver with those lights.
I want to consume them.
I want to glow in my pores.
Not the cliched glow that wraps itself around the impregnated many,
but the glow that comes from sitting next to neon for too long.
That it could somehow stain you.
Rub off like fairy dust on skin.
That I could fly away due to its energy or wishful thinking.

Take me back to Vegas,
where they still hand that out for free by the boatload.
I need not gamble.
I need not glad-hand.
I would simply sit idly by the buzzing of pinks and blues and greens and reds.
And me and those cheap 1920's lights will have a moment,
a moment I can share with the cocktail waitress who asks me for the third time if I'm sure I don't need a little refresher drink.
Nat Lipstadt Nov 2023
Write like you have already Run out of time…
(what do you want for breakfast?)


the despair heats my wearied blood to near a freezing temp,
and the Hamilton song lyric, fresh on my mind,
haunts my soul, with a modified tense-ion,
running becomes also~ran, already now, is a past tense,
gonna get me a weapon, other than words
cause I want the
satisfaction of taking some murderer~haters down

anyway, future is now past tense revisiting,
and you think can still make a difference, but
optimism ain’t my forte, could be a
genetic POV curse,
a refresher course

BUT it’s past time,

used to worry, still do, that my grandkids
in a decade or less, would not have running,
potable water, electricity for a couple
hours a day, as we transition to a
new world the visionary~isms haven’t
prepared a **** for

and words are cheaper now
than they have ever been,

and the freedom to hate gonna be
added to the new constitution with a
new Bill of Rights revised, approved list,
got no illusions that ‘no preservation’ of
my kind will be a top ten item item

now I worry about the useful idiots, believers in
“extermination of the vermin”
are revisiting  this world, and laugh at the ‘evidence’
that it can’t happen here, and/or anywhere, because
those who call for my destruction are celebrating in
rallies from sea to shining sea, yeah, not that sea,
not the one they chanting ‘bout, no doubt, they’ll
extend the boundless vision
to get us all,
once and for all,
and  please don’t tell me I’m
overreaching
cause war and organized ****** is ONLY
just the same as
politics by another name,
and. your view, let’s **** a jew,
is protected speech,
and land of the free will soon have a whole
new meaning for political,
as on free of people like me…

so let’s go about our day, intensely discussing the NFL,
and it’s never to early to talk about summer plans and
air plane tickets just so hard to get, forget about getting a plumber,
and a now memory resurfaces
of visiting a synagogue in Rome
in the 1980’s and seeing the machine gun toting carabinieri
standing guard outside and swastikas on Parisian bustops
and what an idiot I’ve been thinking the future will be like
the recent past, but weight of ancient Idée Fixe
of  five thousands years duration
and when asked
what do I want for breakfast,
and other
newly pointless questions,
my response
is on point:


don’t give a ***
8:54am
Mon Nov 13 2023
moving on
We had a family meeting
And decided that our tree
Would no longer be a fake one
It would be as real, as real could be

I said that it's no problem
In fact I think it's fine
I truly miss the Christmas scent
Of wet and musty pine

I reminded them that last year
A new, lit up tree we'd bought
They passed off my weak arguement
With barely time or thought

So, with three weeks until Christmas
The search would now begin
For a tree, just full of needles
Not too bushy or too thin

I started with the want ads
Saw the lots with trees for sale
But, most were all on order
I begged, to no avail

My wife said, let's go cut one
In a woodlot, cut one down
I said we're in the heart of a big city
We have to go two hours out of town

I told them, I'm not going
Then my daughter, shed one tear
I don't know how she does it
But, she's got me wrapped....I fear

So we loaded up the family
Drove until we found the place
With so many others out there
There was no parking space

We parked out on the roadway
Half a mile from the gate
When we go there to start cutting
We were told....two hour wait

We'd brought an axe and hand saw
For when we found our perfect tree
Then, we were told...no...only chainsaws
Did I have one...nope...not me

I had to take a short refresher
On how to use their little saw
And of course, this being Christmas
It cost me fifty more

Finally, we started out
There were trees, of every kind
then the fellow said, that this years
Were in the back....way down the line

He said that this year, beavers
Had flooded out the lower plains
And the trees down here were stunted
And would have to start out once again

The ones that we could cut down
Were back a mile up the hill
I wasn't sure then if it was him
Or my family I should ****

I protested, but my daughter
You know. with the one tear leaking eye
Looked at me and smiled
And I said, that I would try

We hiked up to the woodlot,
There were trees of pine and fir
And a spotty faced young helper
Who asked "What kind do you want, sir?"

Long needled, or a short one
Douglas fir, or knotty pine
The choice, well it was endless
And the choice, well ...it was mine

The next thing that he asked me
How big should the tree be?
I looked a little flustered
And then he said to me

Once you cut it down ...you own it
Measure it, and cut it down
Make sure you get the right one
It's a long way back to town

My wife said, 8 or 9 feet
The kids, no help at all
They were both playing on their cellphones
And making plans for later at the mall

We chose to get a pine one
Eight feet high and just as wide
I didn't know exactly
How I'd get it home and back inside

Two minutes, and I'd cut it
We had a tree, and just my luck
They'd started out without me
I had to drag it to the truck

The boy said, they'd wrap and measure
Down front where I came in
I looked down down at my killing
Not too fat, and not too thin

Two hours later I arrived
All wet and soaked and peeved
But deep down, I'd made them happy
And this made me relieved

Once he wrapped it tightly
I was shocked at the tree's price
He said, two hundred forty
In fact he said it twice

30 bucks a foot for pine
That would be dead in two weeks
I was so mad when I paid him
That I could barely speak

I walked back to the truck alone
I left the family with the tree
I thought two times of driving off
Ok...in truth....It was three

They tied it down upon the roof
Said the rope, was free this year
I almost blew my top right then
I saw my daughter....and her tear

We drove it home in silence
Stopped once on the way
I had to spend twenty more dollars
For a tree stand, at the Bay

I dragged it in the living room
Cut it open, let it spread
It, didn't really fluff out much
I think our tree was dead

It took almost an hour
It lay there, dropping needles on the floor
I thought , yep, this is Christmas
Who could ask for any more?

The kids were gone already
When I put it in the stand
I had wired it, into the wall
This was not the way I planned

A simple family Christmas
With a tree is a pain
I've got a fake one in a box
I'll not do this again

There's bare spots at the bottom
It's unbalanced near the top
There's sap all through the hallway
I've got more, just tell me stop

The tree is now all covered
With decorations and with lights
I water it twice daily
So, it doesn't burn up in the night

Next Christmas when they tell me
We want another tree
I'll tell them, go ahead and get one
But, do it with out me!!!!
DeVaughn Station Mar 2020
Slightly less depressing, I guess
that March arched differently,
I suppose. I met her with eyes closed,
no hoes, and overloaded with heavy snow.
She was caustic and firey,
smoke frequently enrolled in her nose;
she was never parched. She would
gather wood, but the pills peeled away
the spark and she never had the fury.

I was not in tune to see flowers bloom,
but I just escaped the want for a boom.
She made me focus on her though,
her eyes so low, her mouth so slow
with ice flows, her tongue rolled
but still my tired eyes glowed.
August 17, 2019: February and most of March continued in the same way. I drank, ate, worked, took pills, cried, and repeat. At the end of March, however, I met someone who changed me.
Lexie Jun 2015
Is it weird I will refresh my email for hours waiting to hear from you.
But,
The moment you send me a message I lose all self control?
and I like you like a paved street
an empty hallway
and a hall pass

and I want you like a refresher from Starbucks
a new scarf
and used books

and I like you like a full battery
a new musical in theaters
a book that we share

and I want you like thick mascara
a new haircut
and change

so stick around
~
January 2024
HP Poet: Melanii
Age: 27
Country: USA


Question 1: We welcome you to the HP Spotlight, Melanii. Please tell us about your background?

Melanii: "My real name is Arianna. I was born and raised around Dallas, TX and am currently still living here. As it relates to writing, my background draws heavily from exposure to the arts as a child and the fascination, I guess, for beauty that this instilled. My parents (but especially my dad) were enthusiastic about music, art, history, literature, and the sciences, and my interest in all of these topics was piqued by association. Growing up I can recall countless visits to the local art museum, watching documentaries in the evenings after school, attending operas with my parents, and running home after school in the early days of each month to see if the latest issue of National Geographic had arrived so I could soak up the pictures and get lost daydreaming of faraway lands and peoples.

With time these influences grew into a general interest in the humanities. I attended the University of North Texas in Denton from 2014-2017 and studied anthropology, French, and Russian after doing a 180 on my initial intention of studying and pursuing psychology as a career path at a different school. At the time it felt kind of reckless, but in hindsight it was definitely the right decision.

After graduating, I was working as a barista and somewhere along the way ended up going to Prague for a month in the summer of 2018 to do a TEFL certification, fell into poetry that fall, and then returned to Prague for 11 months in 2019 to teach English. It was very much the best and the worst of times: I met some amazing people while there, took the opportunity to travel around a bit, and lived and learned from a horrendous relationship that also transpired during that year. I definitely went into that experience without any clear objectives or expectations; looking back, life definitely took that complacency and turned the tables with it, and while it took several years afterwards for the dust to fully settle, I've made it out the other side stronger, more intentional, and more assertive than before.

Since then, life has really just been what it's been. There have been ups and downs, of course, but the lows don't hit as hard anymore. Right now, there's not much to report and I plan to keep it that way. It's nice. Peaceful. It's a new year, and with it I will continue to focus on working, saving money, making a dent in the hydra that my reading list has become, and overall just living well and building towards the future."



Question 2: How long have you been writing poetry, and for how long have you been a member of Hello Poetry?

Melanii: "As a teenager I’d scribble fragments of poems here and there, but never considered writing to be a hobby. That all changed around September 2018 when, for whatever reason, I decided that I enjoyed writing and wanted to dedicate more time to it. As mentioned in Question #2, this was right around the time I was preparing to relocate to Prague. It's kind of hard to describe; maybe it was just the excitement of the unknown, but that whole period of time had a sense of magic and beauty about the way it was unfolding which the “discovery” of poetry as a creative outlet only elevated."


Question 3: What inspires you? (In other words, how does poetry happen for you).

Melanii:  "At first, it seemed like “there was inspiration around every corner”, to quote another poet I read here on HP one time (can't remember who it was or the title of the piece, but they were describing how great poets like Bukowski seemed to find inspiration so effortlessly, and the way they phrased it has stuck with me). Fast forward five years to today, and while I don't write as prolifically anymore the words come when I have something to say.

Inspiration comes from many sources for me: music, art, and nature; random thoughts, feelings, ideas, and observations; the works of other poets; travel when it happens; disappointments in family and other relationships; loneliness…

As far as the actual writing process goes, it's pretty random. More often than not, I'd say the poems write themselves and I just jot them down once they're ready, or as they evolve and refine themselves to fruition. Not the most thoughtful approach, but it comes from the heart."



Question 4: What does poetry mean to you?

Melanii: "To me, poetry is a language — specifically a language of consciousness in its purest, most elemental form. Poetry has the ability of transcending and even defying the typical rules of language without losing cogency, and for me it's this inherent flexibility that makes it at once so unique and so impactful as an art form."


Question 5: Who are your favorite poets?

Melanii: "Federico García Lorca, Li Qingzhao, and Pablo Neruda are the top 3 names that come to mind. I enjoy the unique way that each one of them uses language and imagery to illustrate the pieces of their lives and humanity which they decided to share through their writing. There's an element of surrealism, sensuality, and expansiveness running through each of their writing styles that speaks to me in the way it encompasses the beauty and complexity of life's possibilities across good and bad times alike."


Question 6: What other interests do you have?

Melanii: "I enjoy traveling and would love to be in a place someday where I can do so more often. The urge to explore again has been gnawing at me recently, so after a little bit of research and number crunching, I renewed my passport and booked a flight to Peru for three weeks in March. I had promised myself to visit a new region the next time I traveled, and despite growing up in Texas I have yet to visit Latin America. The plan is to start in Cusco, sightsee there, then head south into Bolivia to tour the Salar de Uyuni, which has been on my bucket list since learning of its existence from National Geographic. I couldn't believe that a place like that was real, and words cannot express how excited I am to finally experience the landscape in person! With March marking the beginning of the end of the rainy season, I'm hoping to still catch some of the “mirror” effect that the salt flats are so famous for. After touring the flats, the plan is to take an overnight bus back to La Paz before heading north again towards Lima with some sightseeing stops along the way and a few days left over in the city before flying back home. So we'll see what happens!

Languages are a long standing interest as well. I studied French for 7 years between high school and college, and Russian for the 3 years I spent at university. Since graduating, I've kept up with both through podcasts, YouTube videos, news articles, and music, and despite being far from fluent in either it's helped a lot with retention and comprehension. Learning ancient Greek has also been an on-and-off endeavor since 2017 after reading Euripides’ plays and deciding that I'd like to read Medea in its original text someday. Time will tell if that ever happens, but I did recently complete an online introductory course to the language which was a nice memory refresher and helped with unpacking some of the grammatical concepts that threw me for a loop back when I first started and which are part of the reason I fell away from Greek in the first place. After Greek, I would like to learn some Coptic, Farsi, and Turkish, and would be satisfied with learning to read at least one sentence in Mandarin in my lifetime.

Outside of travel and languages, I enjoy researching and cooking dishes from various cuisines, reading, taking walks, trying out different exercise classes on days off (recently I've done tai chi, pilates, barre, aerial silks, and kickboxing, but in the past I've tried pole fitness, archery, aerial silks, cycling, and horseback riding), visiting art museums, dropping by the symphony or opera once in a blue moon, and watching videos and documentaries on philosophy, history, theology (not religious, though, just curious), and science."



Carlo C. Gomez: “Thank you so much for giving us an opportunity to get to know the person behind the poet, Melanii! We have loved adding you to this series!”

Melanii: "Thank you so much for having me and for all your efforts conducting this series of interviews! It's truly a pleasure having the opportunity to break the ice and learn more about our fellow poets."



Thank you everyone here at HP for taking the time to read this. We hope you enjoyed getting to know Melanii little bit better. I indeed did. It is our wish that these spotlights are helping everyone to further discover and appreciate their fellow poets. – Carlo C. Gomez

We will post Spotlight #12 in February!

~
Nat Lipstadt Jul 2023
~for my dear, dear friend, T.R.
who tills the soil of Jordan’s Garden,
from which life springs eternal

<>

see your words, sent direct to my ears and all our mutuality of senses,
fingertips tasting the soil, the moisture, the granularity,
the chemical composition and the color, always the colors…

our gardens are our children, each similar but always,
unique, altogether different, altogether similar

how I love the how-work of it;  how the soil, you, suckle each other
with nutrients of tears, Georgia heat, outcomes of
the summer produce(s),
a refresher course of memories, of frustrated endlessness

we see heaven only by looking down, you, me, on our hand and knee,
touching each plant by hand as if soft stroking a cheek of our children

in some spots, the ground unyielding, keeping its riches
stored for another day, only then, when it wills, offer up
its specialty - a surprise, a wind-blown in, seed sprouting

it so many different ways, the work gets harder, and yet,
more tender, more desirable and we do not wonder on it

for this the way, of planting, and planning human desires,
tempered by elements over which we relinquish a
sense of control, yet forever knowing, happily, renewal~marked by

the forever and ever on seasonality
of a rebirthing garden
that sustains
us






6/25/23
Jessica Golich Nov 2014
Each one of us is a set of shifting molecules that transmute in atomic form and are continuously reborn within this anatomical uniform
Composing of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom bonding together at birth - making up a significant proportion of living organisms on earth
Born submerged in the adorner and refresher of the world; the building blocks of life magnifying congenital unification intertwined in this oxygenated blood of mine.
Nat Lipstadt Jun 2015
Refractions of Vivid Emotions

This poem has a story. A few months ago, inspired by
the response from patty m to one of my poems (quoted below,)
I started this poem and never completed it. Stumbled upon it, and asked for permission to post, when I realized the why of the absence of her voice from here, the passing of her beloved, Joey.
http://hellopoetry.com/poem/1195106/for-the-love-of-my-life/

It changed the poem.

for Patty M.
and Joey,
who I only knew through
the eyes that loved him


~~~

"dayummmm this is amazing.
I love your foreplay,
the wanton ******,
your words tipping words in
refractions of vivid emotions"

patty m

~~

she hits me
sweetly, unknowingly
with a best shot,
a four lined stanza
of expresso appreciation,
while
shhhhh,
I'm at work

everyone, observing,
looking at me,
cause I am instantly
floored

instant cognition,
emotional reverberation
disturb, perturb,
by her phantastic imagery
a language, a phraseology
"refractions of vivid emotions"

slow conniption,
her phrases,
never didactical,
cause my reactionary words
to refract my emotions,
light rays now reflecting,
breaking off pieces of me,
all scattered about the universe,
and I'm learning me a lesson good,
be careful what you read...

grab the cell only to hear:

"currently, none of
Humpty Dumpty's men
are currently available,
so please stay on the line...
you're caller number one,
expected wait time, well,
ha ha ha ha ha..."

fix me woman!
tape or glue,
won't adhere
where you words have cut me,
sutures cannot close caverns,
reverse magma flows,
can you,
is even possible
to bring me back to whole?

you've tapped some
deep watered notions,
split my atoms,
you have refracted me,
vividly

I have here
writ me
down

newborn needy,
requesting more of her words
to patch
up

and heal
me
~
so I search for a refresher course on
The Poetry of patty m,
and am twice trashed,
thrown twice over prostrate to the floor,
her voice gone quiet,
lost from loss,
sometimes loss makes makes the best silence,
sometimes loss make the best poetry

Oh, this wanton ******!

her news upends,
her words tipping words,
each word,
a companion to each tear shed,
and I cry copiously

a last poem, this time
of an endplay
absent he... absent foreplay

my pal Joey,
though our eyes never met,
a debt of gratitude owed,
for you refracted
from your soulmate

words that made this trying world
such a better place

I too,
at loss
how to say goodbye,
this imperfect poem chile of mine,
for I am inconsolable and ashamed
the overt poverty of my words
that offer but a weakened console

so with pride
I will borrow some
patty-words,
hoping that's ok

~~~

**Beware,

life is never fair,

a trap, a clap trap happenstance

leading me in rapid dance

perchance enhanced with vibrant hue

dispensed in advice I'll give to you;  

run don't walk with backward glance,

hide desire wrapped away

and concentrate on dragons to slay.

Rejoice in thoughts if once set free

would join the world

in unity,

but you and I

can never be,

this I say with certainty.  

then sigh. . .

         as I softly whisper

goodbye.
"For Patty and Joey: Refractions of Vivid Emotions"
Started April 2nd 2015,
Finished June 27, 2015
~~~
How it all began.

On May 12, 2014,
I wrote:

Patty M (Read the new poets here)


I have never been published
or won a prize,
except, yeah, yeah,
the one in the
Crackerjack box

but from that cheap plastic surprise,
much was learned even as a young boy

cull the chaff of life
from amidst the wheat

plant it well and deep,
then forget all about it,
except where,
t'was seeded

when eyes yellowed,
hair turned a color Disney repackaged as
frozen
white,
normally a gift of a hairdresser,
called mother time,
and your pink skin scaled smooth
now kin and kith of the kitchen grater,

then time is in,
cull your plantings

go back into that yards,
pull out the weeds,
uncovering what only time
can provide -

poetry planted and born from
the summary addition of thousands
of days of life,
well felt,
well received,
well recorded,
drawn from earth and water,
well lived

sometimes my nyc sidewalks uneven,
cause a toe snagging tripping,
this loss of balance,
adrenalin hot flashing,
similar to tripping upon a new poet

every time I say no mas,
I must choose tween
left or right,
one can
read or one can write,
but not
both

a voice on I stumble,
making me ever so foolish,
ever so humble,
ever so confused

so at 12:31am
at it again,
reaping what others have sowed

this woman by her own confess,
Trouble with a capital everything
T.R.O.U.B.L.E

only a grownup chile
writs me a poem
re crackers in her vegetable soup,
a naval battle akin to that of Midway,
that makes me crackers with delight!

saucy, that poetess
you better love her well,
she tells you outright
or she'll sell you, the reader out,
for the next one cruising along,
hence this poem, her good graces sought!

but to get certain memories I want,
but can't recall for I never had them,
she, for me doth record:

*Imaginary space within a dream
floats in a subconscious sea.
Our affection grows from
tremulous beginnings
its dramatic unfolding
vestige of the soul whispers
and lingers in twilight and ice

Shared breath,
in time our leisured rhythms
savored sweetly match kiss for kiss.

Words in parody drop,
one by one.
enmeshing me in rippling sorrow,
once again you've moved
just beyond my reach.*

curse the teachers and the genes
and my plain vanilla simp vocabulary,
that don't let me write like this,
but to my backyard I go,
where I cull what other's have planted better,
and harvest the new fruits of
crackerjack superior poets
James Nieves Mar 2011
Dropped like 50 cents into your wallet for later, passing the time hitting the pay phone. You turn to the pier ancient and stone, fumbling through your coat pockets feeling for your cell phone.

You hate calling long-D, but right now it’s a necessity. You take your call along the ocean standing at the present, wondering where the waves went. An old city bell rings this somber lick through the air, touching upon the ears cuddling annoyed peoples leers. You walk past them letting the dial tone drum at your auditory nerve, letting the sounds penetrate your mind to observe.

You function down some steps, closer to the ocean break. Rubbing your hands together, waiting for the warmth to take. You feelings conduct your pace, a slow and steady race. Waiting for the rose to thorn, the sea swells against rocks where mist is born.

You stop and look out at the water, a storm is seeking land. And yet you look upon that storm with love—you give it your command. You jump onto a rail, the line between the firm and wet, and you balance upon that rail, brushed black by white turned Violette.

You spread your arms and smile, in denial of your dying love. And fall down toward the raging sea—Heaven sent from above. You smash the water with loosing gasps, and rapture all around. Of water swirling temporal doom your hearts first beat at ultrasound.

In drowning you’re alive, the struggle helps you survive. And as you give it all away, your heart beats further from decay. Your veins can take the pressure, your conduit charges—a refresher. You breathe in water, to wash your lungs from the inhaled bull, and as the salt washes away the lies, you finally open your eyes.

Dropped in the wonder years, sea of brine and You change gears.
well it seems I forgot how to rhyme
so it’s back to writing basic lines
though I cannot be confined
by simple words and bars
I got to use ideas to set the mind free
and understand this poetry is a piece of what’s inside of me
it’s not an outer shell or disguise
what others think doesn’t matter
what I think shouldn’t matter
rather
it’s what I feel that matter’s most
emotion is the soul of a poem
without it it’s just an empty dome
a skull without a mind
a painter who is blind
now my eyes have opened
and now i can see
that to write poetry
is more than just words and rhymes
it’s the revealing of the soul
the person deep inside
Rob May 2014
Five years ago
Upon this day
For “Training” I did go away
To London’s noisy buzzing heart
Then after I took in some Art
An hour’s stroll around the Tate
Came three o’clock and I’d not ate
So rang a friend who worked in town
“Fancy food?”
“Yes! - come on round”
“Place nearby at half past four”
At quarter past I’m at her door
So pasta, chat and many smiles
Nice to do once in a while.

So Five years pass
What comes my way?
Refresher training; exact same day
My friend had since set up alone
Another city, laptop, phone
If lunch seemed off, don’t pity me,
For strangely synchronicity
Means the venue’s somewhere new
This course has moved to her town too.
So I make the call hoping to see
If this five year anniversary
Can be repeated as before
She agrees, we’ll meet at four.
When course is done, I make my way
Not noticing it’s damp that day
Slip on the path, my arm goes numb
And “****** it!”; a broken thumb
So instead of chats and smiles and tea
I spend the time in “A & E”
Rang my friend , “I slipped on grass”
With stifled laugh, “You silly ****”

And the course that damaged me so gravely?
A specialist branch of “Health & Safety” :)

RD©2014
True story. Six weeks in plaster and sling= extremely inconvenient. As for my friend, we all live in the same village so luckily we see each other fairly regularly anyway – no doubt our families will all end up together, with a few bottles of wine, on Mayday.
Alice Burns May 2013
I have been shallow, I realize that now
Considering my impact on others first
Leaving the concerns of materialistic importance for myself.
In this double life I have been leading I have fooled myself
Trying to find reason to believe in others
I ignored that it is myself that needs believing in.

My critical eyes have become my enemy
Rendering me blind to obvious faults
Without knowing, I have trapped myself  deeper in their clutches
Focusing on disconnecting from my mind
Backfiring because I'm back in their world
Unintentionally, it's all I think about.

It's time to rethink my strategy
Take a refresher course on my mission.
Attempts to suspend the command unwanted have been countless,
And unknowingly, I have deserted control of the living, breathing, me.
I blindfolded myself, but still peered through the gaps
So I'm closing my eyes, and pray sleep stays for a while.

Keeping finger and thumb apart
That is the one connection we shall still share
But no longer will i try to believe in my two selves
No, I will start believing in the person
The being that my movements and choices will give effect and reward to.
Me, out here. Living and breathing.

The ghost of me will never cease to exist
She will float, and I will let her continue for a while.
Don't fret, my beloved enemy, I'll be back soon
A Wendy to this Peter Pan story
Returning with needle and thread to sew my old shadow to my feet.
But now, I'm flying, no, walking back home.
Farewell.
Apachi Ram Fatal May 2017
echo red hot chili peppers

countermeasure pleasure leisurely treasure

liquid tether zephyr never sever

like the weather adventure bell heather

however in low pressure encounter endeavor

have a refresher recover nether clever dresser

band together sea feather transfigure aesir aether
Nat Lipstadt Oct 2023
with each passing day, I understand less and less, for
who could ever claim to know it all, yet, the simplicity
of our base-ic basest instincts makes evil so easily attractive,
that now, I forgive almost nothing, anyone for the cruelty
inherent in on the surfacial skin of our normalcy, so easily,
revealed, and reveled in, wrecks me, and the poetry
sparks are not doused, but wick and ember shriveled

oh the irony, that foolish me should write of the
commandment to love just as the world displays
old levels of hate historically deep… .I am hated,
to many who would know me only as Jew,
and this refresher course in my brain, reminds me,
that love thy neighbor as thyself, can morph into a
generational opposite, that my former degree of comfort,
beliefs, was only skin deep…and Tolstoy was a naïf, a romantic,
a royal, who hoped for the best in each man, and that
cannot ne achieved for hate is so easy digestible, so sweet a treat
for humans, who desire no compass other than simple baseness
to know which direction to take….

————————————————————————————-
”There can be only one permanent revolution—a moral one; the regeneration of the inner man. How is this revolution to take place? Nobody knows how it will take place in humanity, but every man feels it clearly in himself. And yet in our world everybody thinks of changing humanity, and nobody thinks of changing himself."

Tolstoy

”To perform evil deeds a person must discover “a justification for his actions,” so that he can regard stealing, humiliating and killing as good. “Macbeth’s self-justifications were feeble,” and so conscience restrained him. He had no ideology, Solzhenitsyn observes, nothing like “anti-imperialism” or “decolonization” to allay pangs of guilt. Solzhenitsyn concludes: “Ideology—that is what gives evil-doing its long-sought justification and gives the evil-doer the necessary steadfastness and determination . . . so that he won’t hear reproaches and curses but receive praise and honors.

**Solzhenitsyn
https://hellopoetry.com/poem/2237741/secret-jew-of-my-heart/

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/20/opinion/moral-luck.html?campaign_id=39&emc=edit_ty_20230921&instance_id=103278&nl=opinion-today&regi_id=17556971&segment_id=145313&te=1&user_id=0e2bfe72b2cf96f30ceaa6e616d59ce6
Jupiter May 2019
fondly remember your grandmother's house
as I share with you mine

a pantry, tall as a mountain when I was six.
a forbidden box of sugar cubes that was never really off limits
cookies, warm and soft. how does she always have them?
sitting in the rocking chair, toes miles away from the floors
strange stories you hope aren't true
ice cubes made of lemonade
an afternoon refresher
a sunday spent at home, at your grandma's house

always drawing and painting
playing in the yard
her cats in your lap, warm and fuzzy
she braids your hair with her wise, experienced hands
does she always smell like lavender?
gumdrops and hard candies
playing dominoes on the floor
there's nowhere else I'd rather be
than at home
at my grandma's house
reminisce.
Sean Fitzpatrick Dec 2013
(I)
Here on top of a windy mountain path,
you will pass by, and if I could, unspeaker
I would give you my coat.

(II)
Here, up so high, where the sky brushes cheeks
cold blades, mountain dew
falls, sprinkles on your shins,
celebrated by the cold refresher,
I will owe you, I will owe you the newest.

(III)**
Luminous danger dragon fly,
addle bright as your might, you've given me nostalgia,
Has it been that long? Wind might not tell you
it takes millions years to fill in that
one
shining
hiney.
Inspired by The Autumn Wind by Yamabe no Akahito, which I found on this site. Hi Dustin.
Mike Hauser Sep 2015
I'm not the only one I'm guessing
Who needs a refresher in this lesson
Not to have it stuck in but out of my head

These thoughts I can't escape
From mornings dawn to daylights late
Can someone please teach me how to forget

The ghosts of memories past haunt me
Not sure of the reason they want me
I just hope they don't keep trying my heart to the bitter end

All I want at this point is some peace
Not the daily reminding of me
In the desperate need of the lesson in how to forget

As I try and tackle time all I find
Is this tangled mess inside of my mind
The thought would be gone by now if left unsaid

But more or less remains the same
As these mind games they never seem to change
I just wish someone could teach me how to forget
Charlie Renaud Apr 2017
Being a teen today is no easy task,
being self conscious and wearing a mask.
We see our feelings as a meaningless curse,
holding them back as our problems get worse.
I'm not an angel, nor am I a saviour,
I'm only here to question human behaviour.
I'm a chocolate cream soldier in a futile war,
but I'm making amends because I'm done keeping score.
When most think of us teens they might think of anthropology,
maybe some others might think of biology,
teens aren't that complex I mean it's not oncology,
allow me to decode the teenage ideology.
There are problems aplenty that teens today face,
including myself as I try to keep pace.
The list is quite long so I'll keep it brief,
if I talk for too long I'll be causing much grief. The first problem today is how we all act, in very odd manners and that's just a fact. From the totally false and the half witted claims, the calling of names and the fighting at games. We're only like this because we're afraid, of what others think and we're easily swayed, to make bad choices and succumb to the pressure, maybe some days we just need a refresher. A small reminder to help us unwind, to help us think straight and to open our minds.
Next on my list is the fear of our image, constantly caught in an irrelevant scrimmage, we always fear other people's opinion and become someone new as they form a dominion. They change who we are what we like what we do, making us in their image as we become someone new. Someone we're not like a fake personality, I think it['s time that we end this brutality.
Shifting gears to a more personal note, a problem to which I can deeply emote. Our performing arts department is constantly shrinking with every new year and that got m thinking. Why everyone thinks that sports are so nice, turning their backs while we pay the price. Well I've had enough now it's my time to shine, it's time I fight back as my stars align. Because this is who I am it's a big part of story I like to be on stage and I don't do it for the glory. I like stage performing I like to put on a show, despite having been cut the past 2 years in a row. But that's taught me dedication not to give up on my dream, to power through the fear because this is my kind of team. It's a battle I'll fight even if I'm alone, feel free to join or I'll go on my own, because this is who I am, performing is my cornerstone, things feel more natural with my hands around a microphone. My poem has concluded and now that you know, my name's Charlie Renaud, on with the show!
Dakota J Dawson Jan 2018
Cultivating jealousy next to a gay man
Not for everyone
But just right for some

Tons of gossip
Lots of lip
Twisting of tongues

I the square of reality
Phone in hand
Stella at the ready

Fitness girl texted me
Says she is sick
Possibly dying

I don't care
She is number three
Or four

I offer a drink
Celebratory waffles
But to no avail

Church was given
I needed the sin
And received a gun

It had my name on it
With a wet rose
The color solid gold

The texture was cheap
Made in China
Sold to a sucker

I sit spinning and wondering
A question is asked
Does 2018 seem like a refresher?

My reply
In a solemn voice, wicked glance
Hell no
Cardboard-Jones Oct 2020
She took everything from me.
There was nothing left to identify.
She replaced all my insides with a darkness I can’t hide
And whenever it came down to my needs,
It was “What else have you done for me?”
My momma said
Love should be a treasure.
My momma said
Love should give you pleasure.
Well I guess I’m new to love.
How do I get lovin’ like that?

You say you’re what I’ve been missing.
You say you can get me feeling so high,
And we’ll never hit the ground, that this high won’t come down.
Gave a wink and blew some kisses at me,
Mmm just sweepin’ my feet.
My momma said
I just need a refresher.
Well maybe you
Could be my professor?
I’m sorry, I’m new to love,
I can’t take much more combat, no.
If you’re not new to love,
How can I get lovin’ like that?
DC raw love Jan 2015
How does one's thinking actually work. Should I explain, yes I will. You can call me Dr. Phil if you like, my friends do.

Thinking, we all know comes from the mind, yet reacts in different manners. There acts of movements, there thoughts of desire, reaction that some say it's not a thought, that *******. How long does it take for a thought to get to your heart, the biggest decision maker. I know, some of you are going to think that the heart has nothing to do with it. If you think your right your heartless.

Let me not get off the point.

Thoughts come into your head, you have about 70,000 thoughts a day, give or take.  With these thoughts you think of your experience from the past. Things that made you feel good, bad, sad, pain, hurt, all the norm. Before you can ever decide what you have to do, you have to think about it. Some will say no, I will say ******* again. Example, you go tho the store with a friend, to the candy isle. You each get something different, you get what has pleasures you in the past from what you desire. Desire is something you want based on past experience or it could be from something you heard that stimulated your mind. With desire brings pleasure. Like *** maybe, haha.

I don't want to make this long:

Boolean Logic:
((((Information brings  thoughts)+ (( past feelings)+ (rationalize))
                     (Divide by heart = outcome))))

I know most everyone know this, but we sometimes need a refresher course in life. Especially when we start making mistakes, again.

I can rest assure that you had to use your mind and think about this one.

Thanks for following me as I follow you.
God Bless
David
Poetic T Jun 2016
I drive on highway 26,
            Old tires are discarded
Automobiles are coffins of what was.
             An old refresher still swings in a
Windowless void, welcome to dishevelled  highway 26....
Sk Abdul Aziz Jan 2017
You are like the air
You are never visible
But your presence is vital for my survival
Sure there are days when you can be a bit harsh and challenging
At times you push me to the limits
But on most days you're just such a soul refresher
On those hot and humid days you're like a source of positivity
Honestly...I don't know what i'd without you
Laying in my bed
Praying for help

The voices in my head
Telling me to Die

Thoughts of suicide
Revolving rotating in my mind

Try my best to be kind to
everyone i meet

But i'm just some ofbeat
*******

Hit my walls with my fists
till i bleed

Blood dripping from my knuckles

I buckle under all this strain and pressure
Try to forget
But there's always a refresher
I treasure the few i have left
Suicide is preventable
There is never a need to harm yourself
Just remember i love you and there's always someone somewhere rooting for YOU
DC raw love Dec 2014
Do we distract or react
To or from a situation

When things become unclear
Control your mind and be sincere

Hold your emotions be real
Think things through
No ones out to get you

These are not poems
They are writings

Writings about real life
That you may already know

But a refresher course
Is always good to know
Lenora Jul 2017
Why do i feel as if my heart will soon break•
I feel the gut alerts run through my body like an earthquake•
How can i have so much love to give•
But be scared of the thought of love and to be able to live•
All because she destroyed my outlook on love•
I tried to pray and look to the most high above•
But even still in my chest i felt the pressure •
Noone in my life can give me a refresher•
I try to explain my emotions but just cant•
Going around going on inside me an emotional rant•
Imagine the feeling of drowning 10 ft underwater•
While slowly sinking farther and farther•
The way your chest tightens•
And you are so frightened •
Then you get your last glimpse of light•
So dim but in your eyes so bright•
While the darkness closes in around you•
You pray to god someone finds you•
But nobody comes•
While you feel your slow last heart beats beating like a drum•
Waiting for another love but your scared•
because what if they bring you to the ocean of emotions like someone who never cared•
You try to say you dont need this•
But this love thing you cannot dismiss•
Funny you want this when you dont want love yo destroy you like it did your family •
But towards this love thing how am I supposed to be•
My heart truly breaks everyday •
But you cannot see cause i got these stubborn feelings in the way•
Happy is was people think of me all the time •
I fake it so good everyday it should be a crime •
I sit here and pour my heart of through this pencil •
Cant speak these things they only come through this writing utensil•
Alone•
Soul on a pedestal heart should be on a throne•
Shes aching and crying•
Moaning and whining •
She feels for you but it scared to go on•
She wouldn't have a care in the world of the feelings were gone•
You always say the right things•
No wonder i never miss a call when it rings•
My heart grows sadder as feeling grow stronger•
I really can decide if this can go on any longer•
You with a girl•
And me with this hatred of the world•
Why did i even get myself attached •
Thinking about you day to day today myself becoming a latch•
I feel like a line•
But i know imma dime•
Just dont wanna be waisting my time....
Mateuš Conrad Dec 2021
what a mismatch, i'm currently sitting on a wheeled chair
from the box / office room of the house...
it's much taller... the keyboard is sitting on my
bedside table: much shorter...
to what i'm used to... a comfortable leather chair
that's below the side table the keyboard is usually
placed on... i'm almost double hunched over...
perhaps i should think about sitting on the floor
in a Turkish akimbo... or kneeling...
my elbows are firmly rooted into my legs
as i try to get some balance... my legs are spread out
so they don't slide about on the wooden floor...
woke up late, had some things to discuss with
someone... i guess i sleep longer hours
when i know i have a peace of mind...
might have gone to bed at 4am... woke up at 12pm...

i didn't start doing **** well until... after 8pm...
proper... i.e. painting the ceiling all white...
with a flashlight...
how else would you paint white on white
during the winter months if not using a flashlight?
why? to see which areas are wet...
and which areas are dry...
the normal lightning was turned on...
sure... but it doesn't give you the required
perspective...

**** VALSPAR! complete and utter...
überscheiße!
what the hell was i painting with?
balsamic vinegar... a mixture of ***** and milk?!
splattering everywhere...
usually decorative paint is reminiscent of
custard... it doesn't stink...
this stuff was splattering everywhere...
i ended up cleaning dots of drool almost every
second stroke...
oddly enough i had some left-over VALSPAR
in the shed... someone should do a quality control
on this company... their older product is perfect
for ceiling decorative painting...

well... ****** of a light in the ceiling...
i rarely turn it on... if i lose something...
the crackling was creaking...
it was found to happen...
****! the ceiling light blew out the fuse...
down i go... to switch the fuse box on...
seems like i don't need a flashlight
to spot the wet paint anymore..
when i turned my bedside lamp:
in a cloche... apparently dry paint casts a shadow...
wet paint... doesn't: wet paint absorbs the light...
but old, dry, paint... even if it's white on white?
as clear as day...

it took me about an hour and a half to "horde" out
my possessions from the bedroom to the box / office
room... as i was taking the books out,
piling them on the floor, memorising how they were
ordered... no, not alphabetically,
my own idiosyncratic system, i won't go into the details...
but i asked myself: why do i own so many books?!
come to think of it, what's the point
of owning so many books one has already read?

i already have a project in mind...
i'll take a ruler... measure each line... measure each
paragraph, measure each page,
then multiply each page by the number of pages...
i want to know what the "metaphysics"
looks like... of reading a... 1000+ page stunner...
when compared to... walking a marathon...
or cycling for 40 miles..
after all.. Heidegger's Sein und Zeit (on and off)
took me about 2 years to complete:
an amalgamation of reading and thinking...
then years later: putting dasein into practice...
the right sort of dasein...
stewarding a football match...
it takes time... oh ****... the wine i started making
almost 2 months ago...
i checked up on it...
looking good... a nice rosé:
a pink resembling something akin to
embarrassment...

so many books... it almost feels like a Roman Polanski
film: the Ninth Gate... i don't care
about the personal tribulations...
i appreciate the work... a film for any bibliophile out
there... Kevin Spacey to boot...
come on... who can't side with Lester Burnham?
a much more invested role than that portrayed
by Michael Douglas in Falling Down...

i own so many books that... to be frank?
my local Romford library ought to be shamed...
ashamed... they own trivial stuff:
i, on the other hand: own the juice...
****'s sake... i own books from the 19th century!
funny side-note...
the older the books are... even though they might
have hard-covers... they become lighter
than... fresher print... perhaps the ink dries out...
the paper dries out...
or... perhaps the knowledge contained in them
weighs more...

two pristine examples...

1. desiderii erasmi
      roterodami
    colloquia familiaria
   et encomium moriae
LIPSIAE
sumtibus et typis car. tauchnitii
  1829

it has become such a fragile piece of work...
why? the binding has gone to ****
since i wanted to read it... in Latin...
i did likewise with a 19th century first cheap edition
of Dickens' the Pickwick papers...
the binding gave way.... because i was reading it...
i had to buy a cheap paperback edition
to: not finish reading it...
last time i heard: you can't reread the Pickwick Papers...
great... i don't reread books...
if some critique suggests that rereading is impossible...
finishing the first Dickens novel serialisation
should be a problem... also circa the 1800s...

2. the beauties of Sterne
(and some accounts of his life)
London: printed for J. Walker... 1811...
W. Wilson, printer,  st. john's sq., London...

3. the rubaiyat of omar khayyam..
   printed by chiswick press ltd.
  new soughgate, N11... 1944...

i have some cheap *** edition of a Rumi collection...
now... that's Islam... that's the sort of humanity
i admire... transcendental, clenching for the universal quest...
together, or not at all...

like with the current advent of superhero movies...
comic books translated into the medium
of movies...
i could do with just one, simply based on the soundtrack...
Unbreakable... that's it... i'm done...
well... with one exception...
X-Men Apocalypse...
hearing a ****** accent being lent...
it's kind of refreshing to not hear...
EVIL GENUIS RUSSIAN
or... FOREVER **** GERMAN /
RESURRECTED WEIMAR TRANSGENDER ******
ADDICT PUFFED-RICE...

my own private library would put the local library to shame!
out from the supposed night of socialism...
within the confines of capitalism....
ah... a private affair... private ownership...
but now that i've emptied the room
from my gems, these books... some newspaper pages
i use like i wouldn't use toilet paper...
because i like to keep my bed-sheets clean...
it's so... empty... the room is really readied for
showcasing the property for a sale...
weird... it's almost like i wasn't even there...

oh, by the way... X-Men Apocalypse...
last time i heard... Julian Tuwim was a Jew...
but he spoke perfecto ******...
perhaps knew some Judeo-German Yiddish slang...
too bad for the Hebs that integrated too much:
too little... the Holocaust is minded within the context
of a re-established Jewish-State...
no... they were living in Paul's Land...
they were Polacks first, Jews: second...
i'm going to rob these refresher... revisionist pseudo-historians
of their weight of argument...
****** citizenry.... poets, engineers...

first comes first, second... comes second...
**** me... what wild thoughts... when simply panting & decorating...
tomorrow when i finish the walls in green...
second time, green... i tried crimson "tide" several times...
a welcoming colour on the walls...
once the night comes... but not during
the day...
i tried white... thinking... what could go wrong....
cream: white room... almost everything...
i woke up each morning... exhausted!

this now emptied room, with all the books, the vinyl records,
the paintings hanging on the walls... "missing"
(just moved to the box room):
i like to appreciate the space i will leave behind,
i like to appreciate the then, the when, some variation
of now of a when: of my mortality...
i might be drinking, i might be drunk...
but... this spectacle is sobering... ha!
i don't require a lineage prestige... ooh dear gwandpa...
blah blah to explain RE-AH-LI-TY for me...

clenched teeth... some things are just looking at
you...
as a man... working my way around inanimate objects
was a compensation for...
the inanimate earth, supposedly...
but the animation of clouds!

- the first paycheck i get.... i'm ******* off to a brothel
period....
and while painting the walls of my bedroom
green, like the colour of my iris ...
i'll think of "you"...
and i'll count the number of books in
my private collection, and...
i'll bemoan the state of the public library's choice
of literature... i suppose i''ll giggle a while...

i now see, my absence in this world, prophetically
ascribed to Yeats..
the centre cannot hold..
vanity conquers pride...
should i return... my lesson was not learned?
i've devolved from PRIDE...
but acquired.... like the rest of "them":
submission to vanity!

you wanted an equal among equals...
where did that leave you?
i will not be part of your choir!
you should have kept me sleeping...
don't burden the light
with too many cognitive shadows!
as much as i adore the plethora of dis-inhibitions
of doubt presented by man

i will watch... regardless of your tirades...
dearest... man-quasi-woman /
woman-pseudo-man... deity...

i'm tired of writing, therefore..
such a a day is closele approaching;
these people are not my project...
you supposedly left them...
hanging on a crucifix...
     i will leave them: in the night...
guiding their shadows....
to... i hope... a reclamation of their
own bodies... do you even want
to concern yourself with a repeasted
care for them?
personally? i wouldn't...
leave them to their own devices...
if you supposedly gave them free-will..
let them express it...
however good, or however bad...
let these children have their freedom!

there was only one proof worth being given:
once, is enough... i inquired after you...
don't allow yourself to rekindle your with
the same caring you showcased the first time...
filthy, firsty... thirsty..

yes, i will paint the walls, somewhat green....
enough's enough...
i knelt for much too long....
i'm willingly becoking ...
tired... the world can leave traces
of a roman empire..
easy excess ****.... easy access ****....
a sort of Orwellian: oh well...
a sort of oops...
      a best sort of:
a time (i) ought to forget.
Another crack appears shedding a little more light on the wasted years, it's not a pretty sight, but the urge to look overtakes me and suddenly I'm speeding down some dark deserted byways and triggering some memories that I barely recognise.

What caused the crack?
probably
an earthquake in Manilla
which is still a
lovely place,

an inner voice calls out,
it could have been a
tsunami,
I think
probably
but not likely.

I also think that
life's just a refresher course
for the big adventure
to come.
Mohamed Nasir Nov 2017
Night is for day to repose the female gender mate a complete opposite of what masculine day is.
Refresher of mind and body when day is work but night is restful to sleep be at ease for love and peace.
Dangerous stealth fearsome sinister foe killers rapists predators stalk and prowl be very very careful ladies!
Socializing indulging nightclubs dancing ***** theaters concerts movies sports and games at the door a goodnight kiss
Seductive passionate ***** copulation excitement the animals howl and the owls hoot the time of beasts.
The mantle of secret criminal lawless ways racketeering vices smuggling whatever deemed as illegal activities
Eerie silence darkness mysterious anxious worst nightmare a bat in the foggy night is there a taxi to take me home? Please!
The writer's friend accompanying him her in lonely wait quest for wisdom answers and inspiration in the wee hours like this.
Night for solemn devotional prayers reflections regrets repentance weep in contemplation or immersed in quite bliss.
Night is a friend or a foe, good or evil. Night is for animals insects looking for food or being food for predators. Night is God's gift to mankind to use it wisely.

— The End —