Redux
my feeling is gloom
anxiety tags along
depression innate
doom is imminent today
i can feel it in my bones
Originally posted 4/13/2019 on I Write Her.
Tag: depression
Fade To Black
Redux
life is waiting
for us to appear
lacking strength
once again
this blanket of doom
intervenes
feeling wrapped up
in cold dysfunction
held hostage by fear
it stakes a claim
on our courage
strangles it
eyes can’t face the day
legs won’t move
a body screaming
with electricity
the weight of the world
too much
retreat the only option
back to bed
we grow accustomed to the dark
Originally posted 4/15/2019 on I Write Her.
Abandoned
Redux
where once was substance
a hollow shell
in its place
love bounces off
not even a response
anymore
kindness is foreign
after the tragedy
of betrayal
this voluminous space
of emptiness
is home now
Originally posted 2/7/2019 on I Write Her.
Grumpy
so bad-tempered
i’m not nice to be around right now
so irritable
i might definitely lash out and viciously
so cross and crabby
the whole world irritates me today
my insides want to purge the anger
scream the bitterness away
and level buildings
this emotional state sours my being
clutters my mind with angst
and makes me want to jump out of my skin
GEEZ, i hope this feeling dissipates soon
don’t know if i can take much more
Ennui
Redux
something
someone
please
push me
over the edge
of my disillusionment
to something
to someone
inspiring
propelling me
to care
again
back to being in awe
back to wanting more
back to love
it’s empty here
Originally posted 1/12/2019 on I Write Her.
Carolyn Crossley a/k/a VixenofVerse
I LOVE YOU
I was a foaming, thrashing, fast-moving river.
You were the wild, windswept ocean into which I flowed.
We came together in passionate embraces.
Kisses that scorched our mouths with their intensity.
We made love as if it were the first time and the last time.
As if we could not exchange enough passion from body to body.
I cried out at the moment of orgasm, your name on my lips.
You held me afterward when passion was quite spent.
We had no need of words, of promises, of I love you.
We were soul mates, twin flames who would always return.
Yet, in the end, I sent you away even though I knew you cared.
I needed, I love you, the words and the actions that never came.
SPEAK SOFTLY – ACROSTIC POEM
Speak whispered words of love.
Praise me to all your friends,
Endeavour to understand me.
Ask me for favours I will give.
Kiss me morning and night.
Smile when you come home.
Offer help when I am in pain.
Flirt and compliment me.
Take time to spend with me.
Love me more each day.
You are my last love – stay.
THE YEARNING (Shadorma)
The yearning
Is deep in my heart
I crave you
I desire
You – in all possible ways
You are everything.
You are the sun
In the bright morning
You are light
You are love
You protect me from the dark
That lurks, out of reach.
CHERITA – Mind Flight
stardust children
we were Earth born
gravity holds us here
we fly with our minds
imagination is superb
we return to the stars
CHERITA TERBALIK - Mad
don't leave me in the
darkness of my mind
I shall go mad
I want you to help
me to escape, and yet
I know only I can do that
ON THE SPECTRUM
I try to understand Autism.
But I believe only the Autistic do.
Black and white world with no grey,
Just does not compute with me.
I wish you well in your life,
Even though it does not include me.
But my heart yearns to be in touch,
To know where you live and that you are well.
As an adult, I have to respect your choices,
But my mother's heart aches over that choice.
I only ever tried to be supportive,
I never argued with you, so when
You are ready, please get back in touch.
You are my son and I love you.
My door is always open to you.
LIFE AND DEATH (Skeltonic)
Dance, sing, laugh, and love a lot.
For life is short but death is not.
You have to give life all you've got,
Even when you think you have lost the plot.
Don't overthink, tie yourself in a knot.
Be clear and logical like a robot.
Always seek the brightest light.
Look for it in the darkest night.
Life is learning, it's quite a fight,
But, you know to do what is right,
In the darkness look for stars so bright,
Look! Look with all your might.
Time goes slowly then like lightning!
As you get older it is quite
frightening.
It's like a rope round your neck tightening.
Every experience, every step
heightening.
Your lessons left to learn- enlightening,
As you pass on to the light
brightening.
~~~
Carolyn Crossley, a/k/a ©VixenOfVerse, is a poet/haikuista/writer. Published Work – The Short of It – Vol 1 & Vol 2, Purr-fect Poetry – Cats Protection Anthology, Poetic Vision – Guide Dogs for the Blind Anthology, OWC Publishing – Shadows – An Anthology of Short Stories, Today’s Specials – A Selection of Literary Delights. Blog: Backfromdarknesstolight.com. Carolyn was first featured in 2020 and again in 2022. This is her second feature this year. You can find all her work – reblogged or featured- by clicking HERE.
If you’d like to be featured on The Short of It in the future,
click here for the submission guidelines.
#TheShortofIt – Vol 1 The Sound of Brilliance and Vol 2 Reflections & Revelations on Amazon
Hidden Inside
Redux
panic manifesting
cover required
inside
the world’s gone dark
protection needed
inside
this mental cushion
thoughts held close
inside
blocking out
all the noise
inside
sheltered
by this liquid insulation
inside
Originally posted on I Write Her 12/23/2018.
Gypsie-Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
Slipping Away
Slipping away
hour by hour
minute by minute
the second-hand twirling
out of control
Confined by this body
constricted by disease
the pain of movement
the agony of living
not ready to let go
Do not let go
holding on to today
wishing for tomorrow
lamenting yesterday
slipping away slipping away
Where is my lifeline
shouldn’t there be a lifeline
something to grasp to hold
to climb to the surface
keep from sinking into the pain
Drowning in misery
struggling to breathe
keep myself from descending
into blackest depths of despair
send me a lifeline – please
Nature’s Show
Frogs are singing
deep bass croaking calling
calling where’s my mate
Lady frogs harmonize
higher alto answering
I am here I am here
Seagulls squeal above
soprano voices hailing
warning all who walk below
Crows squawk in tenor timbre’s
fighting words to all their foes
battling for bits of shiny treasure
Spiders weave a web of sorrow
for their unsuspecting prey
food or love, it waits in silent ambush
Swaying in her lonely garden swing
moving slightly to and fro
watching nature’s magnificent show
Alone in the Dark
Alone in the dark
of night
Fear has wrapped
itself around me
through me
Heart thuds against
my chest
Slower and slower
squeezing precious
air from my lungs
Terror waits patiently to
for its turn
to sink sharp vicious
talons into my stomach
rending, tearing, devouring
Breath halts
lungs rebel starved
body reacts and sits upright
Eyes open to see nothingness
alone in the dark again
~~~
Gypsie-Ami Offenbacher-Ferris lives in Southport, NC. Published in Whispers & Echoes, 50 Give or Take, Visual Verse, Spillwords, and Wounds I Healed. She received an Honorable Mention in Tales from the Moonlit Path 2021 in their Abandoned Places Halloween Challenge. She has poems published in both the 24-Hour Poetry Marathon Anthology Publications – 2022 and 2023. Gypsie-Ami has recently completed a chapbook merging her two loves, poetry and flowers, titled Reflections of a Woman’s Life. This is her first feature with The Short of It.
If you’d like to be featured on The Short of It in the future,
click here for the submission guidelines.
#TheShortofIt – Vol 1 The Sound of Brilliance and Vol 2 Reflections & Revelations on Amazon
Daisy Green
I Try
If you find my confidence, please send it back
I am the one hiding under a hat, with red curly hair.
I try to blend in, as I am not very good at mixing
I am stumbling on my feet and tripping over my words.
I try to put on a disguise.
If you see me out and about
I am the one looking at the floor.
I try to make eye contact
I am not arrogant or rude.
I try.
The River of My Mind
She sits watching the driftwood crash against the rocks. She braves the fierce waters and steps in. Her feet feel steady in the depths. She takes this moment to observe her own thoughts. Exploring the water, she feels the turbulent river has an inner calm.
The Blackened Library
The blackened library filled with shadows of felled trees. Looking up symptoms, seeking a cure. Each shelf filled with words on dead wood. Sheets of illness and disease. Arms aching, you reach for the book of recovery. Legs throb like a heavy base when you look around for a seat to bear your weight. Feet ache from the invisible mud you have been sinking in. Get out of the building. Go outdoors and absorb the sunlight. On the way out grab a book by Robert Frost or something with forests and talking trees. Take a walk barefoot, feel the moisture of the grass between your toes. Watch the sky brighten as the clouds evaporate. Listen to the cheep-chirpings that echo from a sycamore tree. Rest upon its bark, open your book, and escape with words that rearrange the darkened cloud that has followed you for so long. Be present in this moment.
Follow Your Senses
She sticks to the road, follows the river,
at shore, sets foot on rocky sand.
As waves roar and fish dance, she sits beneath
a delicate pine tree.
It shelters her from the whistling wind
under its protection, she finds
her inspiration.
I Am
I feel as though I am being pulled into the underworld. Roots trapping me, weaving around my feet. I am dropping deeper, deeper in the depths of the dampened earth. The weight of the earth is crushing any strength that I have left. I am lost. I lie still, still as a branch. I am falling, falling further. I am…
~~~
Daisy Green is a Poet and a victor of domestic violence. She is residing in beautiful Wales. Daisy has used poetry to release her fear, sadness, and isolation as a way of therapy. After finishing her Master’s in Poetry, she is now in the process of becoming a creative practitioner. You can find her work https://www.facebook.com/poetryblogs/ https://instagram.com/daisy_greenpoetry1?igshid=YTQwZjQ0NmI0OA== or https://chello03.wordpress.com/ She was first featured in 2020 on The Short of It, and some pieces were published in Volume 1 – The Sound of Brilliance.
If you’d like to be featured on The Short of It in the future,
click here for the submission guidelines.
#TheShortofIt – Vol 1 The Sound of Brilliance and Vol 2 Reflections & Revelations on Amazon
An Involuntary Hold
locked in my mind with all the thoughts
my emotions struggling
to coexist in my brain and my body
medication, therapy, lifestyle changes
one and all free me to live a better life
the doors of my personal prison are opened
yet i slowly begin to realize
i’ve stepped into a bigger cage
**My husband provided some inspiration for this piece. Thanks, Honey!
I Write Her 