Inspired by Reena’s Exploration Challenge #150 – Illusions
in our private world
free to be
but in public
we disguise ourselves
masks worn
don’t reflect actuality
hidden behind facades
in plain sight
reality is best served
with illusions
people don’t have patience
for the truth
or we don’t have the time
to speak it
to callous beings
wearing their own screen
Angelique’s piece is a wonderful analogy of how the gazillion individuals lives resembles the gazillion books out there. Enjoy!
I looked out into the world
And I saw it
.
.
.
We are all main characters in our own books
.
.
.
I couldn’t unsee what I had seen
All of us walking around with pages and chapters
.
.
.
With bookmarks to save the important parts
.
.
.
With spines and bindings
Pristine
Or stained with living
.
.
.
I can’t unsee it now
.
.
.
The way our lives play out
Like the chapters in a book
Like stories to be told
.
.
.
With love and heartbreak
With turmoil
And body aches
.
.
.
I saw the words written on everyones face
“He had a rough past, and now he’s struggling to reach his future”
“Her heart has just been broken, but she fought on for her daughter”
“He said goodbye to his dad not knowing it would…
View original post 113 more words
“A three-week trip to India was a real shock to me. This country left a double impression in my soul. On the one hand, this is a magical fairy tale, motley and bright, and on the other, beggarly neighborhoods, areas and entire cities, on the streets of which hundreds of thousands of homeless people live. Looking at the faces of these people, I decided to make a series of portraits in order to shed true light on how the majority of the population of India lives. Most of the people I shot never saw a camera in their life, and what was their surprise when they saw their portrait on the displays. Such sincere delight, I have not met for a long time … Their faces are illuminated by a smile, eyes glowing with happiness, all this and much more should serve as an example for modern society. After all, no matter what, people living in poverty are still able to enjoy the little things … “– tells traveler photographer Roberto Pazzi (Roberto Pazzi).
she lived a hard life
weathered and yet beautiful
soul etched in her skin
Author note: These are six short poems compiled into two linked threads of three poems each, in free verse.
thin as light
holding her
thin as light
as she looks
the other way
there is nothing to do
as the world spins
and we lie there
in the softness of a rug
until the final shade
had sipped the moments of light
into a soft-touch fade
within the arms of night
midnight gardens
in the world
beneath the moon
where secrets
shall never leave
the doors we close
we follow the path
where the spirits play
until we see
neither wrong nor right
unable to leave
until the morning lines
have drawn the world
once more in the mist
of breaking light
Frank Watson was born in Venice, California and now lives in New York. He enjoys literature, art, landscaping, jazz, and international travel. Publications include The Dollhouse Mirror, Seas to Mulberries, and One Hundred Leaves. In the Dark, Soft Earth was just published in April. His work has appeared in various literary journals and anthologies. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok: @FrankWatsonPoet
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Do you…
save meaningful mementos from the people and things you love
or hoard objects that may eventually become useful
widen your mouth into a smile when you see your joy
or walk right on by, indifferent
thoughtfully phrase your worries
or blurt out your hurts
dance in the grocery aisles
or remain stoic doing the mundane
laugh unabashedly
or throttle it down, embarrassed
let the dust pile on while you enjoy life
or frantically control your environment
get wounded easily
or have a breastplate made of steel
shamelessly sing loudly
or slowly build into your confident voice
delicately and carefully plod through life unnoticed
or pronounce yourself a bull in the china shop
take a hard hit in times of crisis
or get surrounded by those looking up at you when they do
share the coolest, latest things with friends
or find yourself at a loss when life changes
understand you can’t know everything
or act the fool who thinks they do
think all the time
or feeling blank most of the time
just hate some people
or only love all
Just a few things I was wondering…
I awoke in dimmed light — the spirit of forging on slightly dampened.
But a new day had begun anew. I owed it to nature to oblige with movement.
Slow slaps of arthritic pain on the laminated floor bore witness to that effort.
The smell of coffee circulating in my nostrils urged me on.
Looking out the kitchen window previewed a gloomy day.
Bare brown limbs prominently on display with the sun hidden behind the white backdrop.
I watched as flat and fluffy white flakes mingled with the ice-encased scenery.
The hard-crystalized nature would eventually shatter, litter on the ground indiscriminately.
Steam from my coffee curled up into view like a typical fog.
This scene of dreariness further clouding my demeanor.
The TV spouted the daily “Breaking News,” breaking me down even more.
“Does anything good happen anymore?” I wondered.
The responsibility of my existence sits on my desk chipping away at my bank account and self-esteem.
Once again, screaming, “I can’t give what I don’t have.”
My ringing cell phone urged a distraction from this misery.
Tears began to flow as another nail hammered in, another in my generation gone.
With trembling hands, I ended the call and stared out the kitchen window.
And with a heaving chest, a wet face, and blurry vision, I broke.
I should have predicted the inevitability of heading back under the covers.
The older I get, the heavier the weight of what life has to offer, the more defeated I am.
capitalism is apathetic
survival of the fittest
fuck you
i’ve got mine
humanism is caring
be concerned
love your fellow humans
take care of each other
It’s tiresome, leading some people by the hand to understand.
we show people
who they want
to respect
we yell
at ourselves
for who we aren’t
it’s out of habit
so they say
damn humans, so complicated
Inspired by VJ’s Weekly Challenge #80 – Habit & by Eugi’s Weekly Prompt 1/20/2020 – Complicated
No, not What Would God Do. It’s all on you.
Much of our lives is undoing the damage we brought forth from our childhood into the adult version of us. For years we reacted from an uncomfortable emotional space, unconsciously inhabited, but seemingly normal. Angry, sad, desperate children trapped in a much taller and larger body. But is it possible we could picture how an adult would respond instead of opting for a knee jerk pitch from our past? Might the outcome be different? Even if we can’t always do the best thing in every situation, isn’t it worthy of a try? It would seem to be a good enough reason to make that conscious effort of saying to oneself, “What would a grown-up do?” precisely because continuing to repeat old patterns of behavior gets us nowhere.
Just a thought.
