I open my bathroom door,
Clothes on the floor,
I look in the mirror, but the reflection is not me that I see,
But the people I loathe instead.
It’s crazy to think that the people that hurt me,
The people that I hate,
Are the people that make up me
The reason I wear makeup,
The way I talk how I talk and what I talk about,
The way I see myself in the mirror,
The internal scars they left me,
The lament I feel knowing, they're the people I can’t live without,
Their voices telling me how to feel, think, and look will eternally live in my head,
The voices I hear before bed,
And they may never know that they're the cause for the tears I shed,
The psychological blood I bled,
The bitter taste in my throat and ache in my stomach.
If only I realized sooner that I should surround myself with people that see me how they should,
So that I too could.
And now the people I care about,
Are instead the reason I laugh,
The reason I smile,
And the people, that, when in need I can dial,
People that have impacted you make up the pieces of who and why you are who you are
They make you smarter, braver, kinder, and stronger
While the remnants of those voices will forever be stained in my head
To me, they shall be as good as dead.
Copyright © Zoey Mickelsen | Year Posted 2025
The girl weeps a bruised and bitter rain,
A childhood choked, a garden grown in pain.
My laughter, brittle glass, it cracks and breaks,
Beneath the weight of unforgiving stakes.
They built a fortress, walls of rigid stone,
And left my heart a barren, windswept zone.
No lover's hand to soothe, no gentle gaze,
Just scornful whispers in a hateful maze.
Each hallway echoes with a judging eye,
A constant feeling that I want to die.
They see a monster where a child should bloom,
And fill my days with ever-present gloom.
The books lie open, pages blurred with tears,
School's a torment, fueling all my fears.
A secret festers, a corrosive blight,
Consuming hope, and plunging me in night.
I paint a smile, a mask of purest white,
To hide the shadows lurking in the light.
But when the moon ascends its lonely throne,
The tears return, and I am all alone.
A burden I believe, a whispered curse,
This aching need to flee, to be dispersed.
The razor sings a siren's tempting call,
A fragile promise to escape it all.
The girl weeps, a final sigh,
A whispered plea to simply die,
My childhood dead, a silent tomb,
Lost in this endless aching gloom.
Copyright © Zainab Jabbar | Year Posted 2025
You’re tired, and you’re on your own.
Stopping now won’t find you a home.
Roaming the streets, searching for a safe place to sleep,
Too scared of what strangers might think of you.
Scared it’s always going to be this way.
No one to turn to. No one to trust.
The ones you called friends, the distant family—
They betrayed you the most.
You put trust in others because you don’t trust yourself.
That’s how you got here.
You were used.
Go fall asleep on the campus lawn,
Even if you don’t know if it’s illegal.
You’ve never done it before.
You woke up surrounded by cops—
They didn’t understand the pain you feel,
The feeling of being lost.
You just want love. Comfort.
So far, no success.
Too prideful to ask to go home—
What would people think?
You’ve gone from place to place.
You’ve made it work this long.
How long is enough?
That’s your decision.
Suffering is no longer an option.
No one’s going to feel sorry for you.
They want you to help yourself.
No more crying yourself to sleep in temporary shelter,
Because it’s just that—temporary.
No more relying on others.
They’ll only hurt you.
No more mania.
No more depression.
No more being scared of yourself.
No more people being scared of you because of it.
Put your best skills forward.
People are your skill.
You’ve played the field—got shelter from temporary users.
Use that.
Put it toward your career.
Put it toward your love of perspective.
There’s no need to be scared.
You’re resilient.
You might fail.
But you still have where you’re from if this final push doesn’t work.
There are always more chances.
Just do it.
Please succeed.
You must succeed.
No more failing.
You’re better than that.
I’m all I have, you son of a gun.
There can be no more feeling hopelessness.
Copyright © Zackary Myers | Year Posted 2025
A blank page,
A blank mind,
My thoughts consumed by one thing…
You.
I tried burying myself in organising,
And even then you pop up everywhere,
It’s like my brain won’t stop,
I can’t do anything without you,
Or so it seems.
I’m shaking just thinking about losing you,
But yet there’s a peace in me,
I know you’ll be fine,
I know you’ll come back,
I know…
I don’t know,
I’m convincing myself of what I know,
But I don’t believe it,
Not until you’re safe and sound in front of me.
So for the love of god,
Just come home
Copyright © Yasmine Cherkaoui | Year Posted 2025
This mystic Druid
Soul searcher with windswept eyes
Beckons. Come away.
Copyright © Xoe Celticwell | Year Posted 2025
I was born with cerebral palsy
And did not walk until I was two…
I struggled to stand, balancing on my own legs impossible
crawling forced me to use my right hand for stability.
Once I began to take steps
in truth it became easier to ignore my right side
but then I had to learn to tie my shoes.
I stayed up late the night before my first day
of school scared I was going to fail
kindergarten before I had a chance
to show the teacher how I could succeed despite my
disability; I was very determined to prove my handicap did
not impede my ability to learn.
Success slipped through my grasp with the laces!
Copyright © Veronica Hosking | Year Posted 2024
Inspired to write. Right?
Rise up Queen ?? Take in the Scene you have everything you need to succeed no more heartbreaking, blood flowing, anxiety filled recollections of the past.
Coming into my womanhood letting go of the pain at last??
This is the year I no longer fight the devil on his level. His ceiling is my floor NO MORE
Virtuous woman?? don’t look back??
That rearview mirror will only make you crack. My God is still the source of my strength! Strong Woman ???? I will not crumble but remain humble
because of who you are, I give you glory for you alone know my story.
He will be a spirit of justice for those who sit in judgment.
Would you cry out for Jesus like you do your favorite team? Floating down the stream you scream! Streaming live! You’re drowning all at once taking in your surroundings filled with hope and aspirations you blink and breathe again, I promise he’s your friend ?? protector, provider, supplier of all my needs this peace ?? you give me that surpasses all understanding.
Vivacious woman grab that rock and climb it’s your time don’t forget to keep a sane mind your enemies want to see you fail
but I’ve got another story to tell??
I don’t get paid to argue with you??
Hold on wait ??? I’m just about through ...protect your peace and guard your heart, and remember he loved ?? you from the start ?? ??
-TR
Copyright © Theresa Taylor | Year Posted 2025
I can hear your heartbeat inside me
Even though you're gone.
I prayed for you my whole life.
You finally came,
So full of love and light.
We were always together.
I thought we always would be.
I took care of you, and you watched out for me.
Then one day, everything changed. You didn't look at me the same way,
You were always angry
You were cruel.
You wanted to hurt me with your words
Like a thousand cuts.
I sat there bleeding,
Blood no one could see.
I thought I would never recover and I was right,
I never did.
I wondered around by myself,
Watching you with your new best friend
Laughing, so happy.
I tried to numb the loneliness,
The emptiness the jealousy.
I missed you. I missed you.
My world turned dark.
I sat there empty, ready to leave this world
Because mine was gone .
I had a dream
you were a leaf in the wind
Floating away from me,
I ran and I ran and I tried to catch you
But you were just out of reach
I couldn't touch you ,
Even one last time
I just wanted to you touch your hand
Tell you I love you,
I love you.
I stopped, standing motionless
Watching you.
it was too late,
I waited too long to reach you,
To hear your heartbeat again
when you were part of me.
I could hear your voice
An echo in my memory
whispering in the wind,
bye bye Mommy bye bye.
Copyright © Tamie Hill | Year Posted 2025
You remind me of a synchronized play of violins
Soothing to the vibrations they play
Your touch is the rhythm of a string
hold me gently with similarity
Copyright © sun dazer | Year Posted 2025
Standing in the library of lives.
Trying to decide which one to learn from.
Picking up each book, reading the lines that have yet to be.
This life lies, this life hides, this one dies.
Which one is brought out of its slump?
Which life needs careful care?
This life cries, this life tries, this one looked me in my eyes.
Is this the life needing to roam?
Which ones has a home?
This life feels, this life heals, this one is real.
Making the decision that this life will be me.
“Welcome home!” I hear echoing off the wooden rails of the brand new cradle.
Copyright © Sophie Gresham | Year Posted 2025
I’m bound to a bowl of rusted paint.
Why don’t they relate to my disabled state?
Is it the way I row the boat?
Or is it the way I carry cows and goats?
I will faint,
And they will pray.
But someday…I’ll say,
I won’t duck into their pepper spray.
Cauce, I know the way to Heaven’s gate.
I’m stuck in a fate that keeps my feet astray.
They pluck the thing crawling in the bones of my poster.
She mourns when they make her eat corn.
Torn into a storm
A storm that rips apart the norms.
Worms buzz,
And women fuss
But I’ll still debate the other gate.
They will pray she will stay.
Then everything will turn gray.
Yet eventually the sun will spray across the globe so that every broken hoe will feel releveled by the glow.
They’ll yell,
Go to hell.
Death breaths on the weak so go ring the bell.
They’ll save you from hell,
But they won’t make you well.
The rhyme doesn’t make you dwell
Yet it will still make you unwell.
Everything you have to gain.
Is the thing that caused you pain.
Every shirt you own has its own personal stain.
You watch as their dreams go down the drain.
I’d be swallowing all the pity until it turned into sympathy.
Stars are swinging their legs and singing to the symphony.
But moons are rounded their way to an epiphany.
I have found peace within the industry.
Sometimes everyone thinks differently.
But I still stick with simplicity.
Copyright © Sophia Khan | Year Posted 2025
The sun ascends with golden rays,
Blessing the earth on winter days.
Fields of green now turn gold,
Stories of harvest joy unfold.
Oxens plough the ancient field,
The seeds is what the farmers wield.
The pot is placed, the milk rises,
Bubbling under open skies.
''Pongalo, Pongal!'' the voices sing,
Gratitude flows for all it brings.
Let Kotravai bless us with golden crops,
Let Mariamma bless us with falling raindrops.
Oh, Bhogi flame, burn so high,
Carry our prayers to an open sky.
May your warmth in every heart stay,
Guiding us toward a brighter day.
For Bhogi is more than a festival's art,
It's the fire of renewal in every heart.
Surya, the giver of life and light,
We honour you on this sacred night.
With pots that brim with milk and grain,
We chant your name our hearts refrain.
Surya Pongal, a celebration divine
Of nature's bounty and gifts that shine.
From plowing the fields to guiding the cart,
These noble beasts play a sacred part.
Mattu Pongal, a time to say,
"Thank You" for the blessings every day.
On Mattu Pongal, Let our hearts unite,
In gratitude, pure and bright.
The sun above, the earth below,
Shine on us with love aglow.
Kaanum Pongal, a time to bless,
Our hearts, our homes and our success.
Together we stand, together we sing,
As the joy of Pongal continues to bring.
O Pongal, a festival of cheer,
A promise of bounty year by year.
With thanks we sow, with hope we reap.
In your warmth, out traditions we keep.
As rice hail down like snow in our palms,
Let the success be recognised by farms.
Copyright © Siddharth Satheesan | Year Posted 2024
i fell in love with you, like falling asleep— slowly, then all at once.
my heart warms everytime i look at you, my gaze lingers, each time you walk past.
now i find myself remembering you at every chance.
all the love songs and late night scenarios, they seem to be masked with thoughts of you.
though, i cant help but ask myself, am i helplessly in love or is it just a fleeting phase?
Copyright © serene faery | Year Posted 2025
Everyday
My beautiful forever, where do I begin,
Not having you in my life would be a sin.
Every waking moment you’re on my mind,
You my love, are truly one of a kind.
For every morning when I wake,
My very first thought is to send a text.
Good morning dear I say to you,
Days cannot start without a response from you.
The response of your text sets my heart aglow,
For the love I feel for you, I’ll continue to show.
You brighten my morning with simple words,
Of friendship and love and usually something absurd.
For every day I wish you joy and happiness,
My love and respect for you is endless.
To have the strength and seize the day,
Is what I wish for you and I pray,
Throughout the day a friendly text,
All the while I’m thinking of the next-
Words to say for I think of you,
Every hour, every minute, of what you do.
The evening comes and the day draws to end,
I can’t wait to text and hit send.
Wishing sweet dreams and a good nights rest,
Thinking of you giving all of my best.
If you ever think I don’t care,
My heart with you forever I share.
This bond we have is eternally true,
You’re stuck with me, I used gorilla glue.
Scott W
Copyright © Scott Worth | Year Posted 2025
"And my thoughts are all sensations"
And my sensations are all my thoughts.
The sun controls the moon,
and the moon controls me.
She said she was a she/they/we,
and we just laughed. Not
her we, just us.
And my thoughts are all sensations,
we'll only ever be as smart as your sun.
But the sun controls the moon,
and the moon controls we.
You've heard this before, haven't you?
And my sensations are all my thoughts,
arbitrary thoughts, facetious thoughts,
as we see my body walking into the ocean,
but we're only on dry sand, dry land,
with a pen in our hand
writing down the same words,
over and over again -
Copyright © Sam Luna | Year Posted 2025
“How do I start?
How do I start, the story of the end?
It starts after you going away,
Leaving me astray,
Going through it all was a long haul.
But now I have arrived at the shore where I don’t feel anything no more,
I’ve travelled a long way from you
And from new possibilities too,
After you I never intended to be secluded
But after you I had no place to feel included.
It is bitter it is sweet, you are away but I am at least on my feet.
I have learned which I can’t share,
With you it was magical, it was sweet
But feeling it all again, I wouldn’t dare.
It’s true you’ll never be erased from my stories,
It’s true I wanted more of you,
It’s true I am left with nothing of you,
And it’s true you’ll always be there in my memories.
It’s not reminiscing that I am doing It’s my life without you that I am showing,
Since you have started appearing in my talks,
You have vanished from my thoughts.”
"
Copyright © Sachin Bisht | Year Posted 2025