Our evolution demands introspection, acceptance, and determination.
self-doubt chimes, loudly
at success’ precipice
just drown out the noise
Ghosts and Shadows by VJ Knutson
Ghosts have no shadows
they are unsubstantiated
rumours of a life…
I exist, not because
of my shadows, and despite
the times I’ve been ghosted
Ghosts and shadows –
without them I am two-dimensional
with them, I am poetry.
Sometimes it all just gets to be too much…
Here we go again by Michelle Ayon Navajas
here we are again challenged to confront
the things that we long wish to forget
the obstacles we struggle to get over
the pains we never get to surrender.
here we are again in a world of never-ending
regrets to what was supposed to be a beginning
regrets to what could have been’s instead
if we weren’t dumb and stupid.
here we are again in a cycle of wondering
will we ever get to the end of our suffering
will we ever get to give up
just love forever and never stop?
The Railway Line by Ramblings of a Fragile Mind
I
shouldn’t
need to
tell you
again
You
must
already
know
I
don’t
want to
be here
anymore
Please
just
let me
go
Life is difficult to traverse but so much easier when love is near. When you find it, hold on.
The Light of Your Love by Laura Denise
The light of your love
casts shadows upon
those other times and feelings
I thought I knew
what love was,
or perhaps it was love
but not of the purest,
for the white blooms
that I have been drawn to
now encompass
our joined spirit,
and that is how
I always hoped
love would be:
a spirituality
transcending
far beyond
earth’s reach.
This love of ours
is no fairy tale,
no dream;
it is a reality
that exceeds anything
I could ever
mortally perceive–
holy union,
reunion,
remerging of souls,
the light of our auras
combining to form
the portal home
to the next level,
and in that moment,
love becomes
christened,
and we ascend
as one
into our immortal
beginning;
this time
our fusion
will withstand
all partings,
for we achieved
the highest
form in history.
Come, my love,
let us take this
to even higher heights;
the heavens
have anointed us as
Love’s Very Design.
It’s Always You by Penny Wilson
I wonder why when I dream, it’s always of you
You were the one. The one I said forever to
Years have passed without your smile
I’m resigned to navigate the days and nights in solitude
My heart aches anew each time it realizes that you’re gone
I tend to romanticize the past leaving out those rough times, on purpose
The good times were good enough to live on in my memory
Decades later when I dream it’s always of you
It’s good to know that you really are the forever one
The one I’ll always dream of
Some relationships are awful, and some are great. Love sure is a gamble.
It Takes Two to Tango by Christine Bolton
A tango of emotions
in my heart
My nervous system
runs on high alert
and my mind feels like
it was struck by lightning
Your magnetic force
is like rubbing against
sharp edges
of bad feelings
Revelations come
rushing in
I have had enough
love me
without
limit.
hold me
without
disgust.
kiss me
with
passion.
embrace me
with
devotion.
together
we breathe life
to a new beginning.
Lust, desire, love – it changes us.
Acquiescence by Candice Louisa Daquin
Misused word as it is
Boiled in yellow jars for Winter keeping
Yet without transparence, instead, smoke
Succulent mystery, preserved in silent hem
As the smell of furrier and clay pigeon
Stays memories close to their pinching garter
These spent years darkling, indivisible
Poured too fast, some too slow, caution
A girl without hat in cyclone
Your hot fingers inhabit me, I belch recollections
As stars discovered when rain clouds part
So your claim, a thin chain around my throat
Never let go, whispered as we both, sank
Stones in our mouths, plum forgotten in haste
I possess scripture in my chest, atonement
Rings my eyes in manic luster, you swoop
Past the sun, eclipsing need to breathe nor swallow
I turned to the tread of you on my neck
Staring up at bare branches slick with nectar
Finding your lips on mine, rapt plunging claim
Of your hands running electric across years
I’d you’d carved me open, I’d offer no less
This steaming pained need, unquenchable
Set in annul, your black eyes roave the expanse of my heart
Yes, I breathe, yes I cease
Against the shore you wash against, sore inside for your ruthlessness
Misused word as it is
Pull the string, smother light, kneel low
Here … Here … Yes.
they emerge from stone
a passion hewn from marble
lovers forever
Passion can quickly turn to animosity or indifference. Either way, it’s painful to endure.
We ignited each other
like pipe bombs.
Our harsh words
sailing into one another
like shrapnel…
And leaving nothing
but ragged scars
and bloodied flesh.
they leave
and leave
and leave
and leave again
until we stop caring
about their absence (and presence)
and learn to live
in the home they abandoned
without thinking twice
With or without a disability, life demands we engage, either with the help of others or muster the energy ourselves. In other words, find the strength to carry on, to not fold under the force of circumstances or others.
Touching Words by The Twisting Tail
If we fail to see
⠊⠋⠀⠺⠑⠀⠋⠁⠊⠇⠀⠞⠕⠀⠎⠑⠑⠀⠀
We are blind
⠺⠑⠀⠁⠗⠑⠀⠃⠇⠊⠝⠙⠀⠀
By ignorance
⠃⠽⠀⠊⠛⠝⠕⠗⠁⠝⠉⠑⠀⠀
⠀⠀
If we pretend not to see
⠊⠋⠀⠺⠑⠀⠏⠗⠑⠞⠑⠝⠙⠀⠝⠕⠞⠀⠞⠕⠀⠎⠑⠑⠀⠀
We are blind
⠺⠑⠀⠁⠗⠑⠀⠃⠇⠊⠝⠙⠀⠀
By choice
⠃⠽⠀⠉⠓⠕⠊⠉⠑⠀⠀
⠀⠀
We need more
⠺⠑⠀⠝⠑⠑⠙⠀⠍⠕⠗⠑⠀⠀⠀
Than touching words
⠞⠓⠁⠝⠀⠞⠕⠥⠉⠓⠊⠝⠛⠀⠺⠕⠗⠙⠎⠀⠀
For those who have no choice
⠋⠕⠗⠀⠞⠓⠕⠎⠑⠀⠺⠓⠕⠀⠓⠁⠧⠑⠀⠝⠕⠀⠉⠓⠕⠊⠉⠑
if on your knees
you find yourself
bowing head, hands behind
your back, begging mercy
from the boots that march
trampling those left standing
who dare to not crumble
under the illusion of
their authority, remember
it is your obedience
that gives them the key
to the ivory tower
your bloody knees mean
nothing to them, it is
never enough, submission
breeds only the need
for more compliance
and you will live out
the rest of your days
groveling in the rubble
until they decide it’s
time to bury you
along with the rest
Humans transition from good to bad and vice-versa and like in nature, darkness will lead to light then return to darkness.
After the Storm by Tina Stewart Brakebill
falling from grace, shame
left cold in the dirt, crying
rising, triumphant
Sickle moon slides down the sky
as dawn seamlessly emerges
dominions thin
worlds blend and blur
life simplifies
pace slows
peace begins the day
As writers and poets, our work reveals our response to the people, places, and things we encounter. Sometimes, we provide wisdom too. But mostly, we unveil who we are.
Who You Read On the Page by Penny Wilson
Who you read
on the page
is a process
of excavating
one’s mind
Perhaps
not your
mind
But
the writer’s
You
aspire
to unveil
the meaning
interpret
the intent
I am gregarious
initiator
risk-taker
eagerly anticipating
the unknown
But the subconscious
alights on old stories
gathers sanctimonious
rumours of unworthiness
spits out shame
and rage
Reveals the truth –
I am vulnerable.
I realize that our struggles will affect us differently, but perhaps we keep in the back of our minds to not let the darkness color our hope. Of course, we can’t always control our biology by instinct alone. Do whatever it takes to find your peace.
I never settled on gray…
I settled on viridian.
I settled on a
romanticized intensity
seeped in tender
sophistication,
in hopes to cloak
the darkness and
cravings for desolation…
H.O.P.E. = Hold On. Pain Ends.
I Write Her 