Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
Malia 5d
Can I tell you a secret?

Sometimes my jaw hurts from
Smiling
So much.

The room is filled with voices, the din
Of a kitchen in the back of an echo chamber
And none of them know the way I ache
Because all I do is
Smile.

They don’t know—
They don’t know that I go home
Exhausted
From this constant, grand performance.

They do not know I am a liar.

I touch the fingers of the girl in the
Glass as I wash off the makeup and
Study the acne scars underneath.
but actually fr my jaw hurts from smiling too much. stop making me laugh goshdarnit.
Zywa Nov 19
To really see things

you have to look carefully --


slightly beside them.
Novel "**** nu mijn stem" ("Hear my voice now", 2017, Franca Treur), chapter 27

Collection "Appearances"
Zywa Nov 18
The little cottage

transforms me when I enter --


into a giant.
Novel "Verborgen gebreken" ("Crying shame", 1996, Renate Dorrestein), part 2, chapter 2

Collection "Old sore"
Adriana Nov 17
Warped into the fabric of your earthly form
My eyes turn blue at the thought of the soul
Roots of worlds unbeknownst
Cower to the dread well known

Through velvet vails of perception
Burns the fire of deception
Flames spread through ivory towers
Fiery vines crawl between blooming flowers

Let me skin your flesh and break your bones
Even should the fire take me whole
In your mangled body lays a thing we long forgot

Should our forms collapse
Would we find forgotten jewels of the past?
Or should we see unmoving stones?
Choose your fate or break your bones
Zywa Nov 17
The hall is sold out,

because we always remove --


superfluous chairs.
Novel "De leesclub" ("The reading club", 2010, Renate Dorrestein), chapter One

Collection "Old sore"
Jeremy Betts Nov 12
No one paid no mind
To the tears from this man
That land at my feet
Creating a quicksand
I couldn't slow the rate
At which it would expand
Leading to the scars
At the base of each hand
I know what you think of me
But this wasn't part of the grand plan
I tried and as usual
I was not able
To help you understand
That I just wasn't capable
Of being a "real man"

©2024
Malia Oct 17
I long to see me
As you do,
Entirely foreign and
Mundanely beautiful.
I wish to trace
The curves of my lettering,
Attempting to decode
A message I have already
Memorized.
I have already unraveled
All of my mysteries but you
Still startle at each creak
Of the floor, each squeak
Of the door.
Nevertheless,
That elsewise wonder
Is only reserved for
Strangers.
Elsewise:

adj. struck by the poignant strangeness of other people's homes, which smell and feel so different than your own—seeing the details of their private living space, noticing their little daily rituals, the way they've arranged their things, the framed photos of people you'll never know.
Zywa Oct 17
Do I see the tree

or do I just remember --


the image of it?
Poem "Nostos" (1996, Louise Glück)

Collection "Being my own museum"
Lemon Black Oct 8
Wave after wave, a playful gale flurries,
To the outstretched palm of Mother Nature,
Each tamed to a steady caress,
As she tends, lovingly nurtures,
Her arboretums underwater,
Where blooms and seaweed sway, unbothered.

An albatross aloft, above,
Not biting on wind’s game of riddles,
Indifferent to which way comes gust,
Unfazed, steadfast, like sky-held buoy.

Then blows my way, at last,
Someone to toy - I’m not as rigid,
And flutters my lips to swear out dust.
I fall for it so easily. Oh boy.
Interpretation and perspective can paint the same scenery in vastly different colors. In seeking the underlying intent, we may catch a hint of it—even if none exists. The balance between intuitive insight and evoking suspicions of our own making is delicate. Understanding this is perhaps all we can ask of ourselves: observe, learn, and be mindful not to tip the scale too far.
To live a good life that’s effective
You have to be somewhat selective
Your mind isn’t frozen
Your thoughts can be chosen
The truth after all is subjective
This month only, all proceeds from custom limericks ($60 each) will go directly to victims of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina
Next page