I look back at my footprints,
Which showed my progression.
A better one indeed,
Learning how a life proceeds.
Know that yesterday isn't tomorrow.
The past chapter is closed,
A new one might start soon.
Put on a smile and go.
True colours comes out
When a problem arises.
A sudden courage appeared to solve
Those one by one, it brought peace.
Heart untangled from the ties
Which were knotted very tightly.
Unraveled one after another,
Till the heart was set free.
Now, a happier era has just begun.
Where people I trust are around me,
Jovial and sprightly,
Which makes me persist freely.
Copyright © Thanishka Yogesh | Year Posted 2024
TELL ME WHY NOT YOU
It has always been you
Looking into your eyes
I wonder what good I did in my past life
Tell me why not you
You embody perfection in your imperfection
I see
Nature must have had a hand in our connection
Tell me why not you
I feel a surge of happiness
Me with you is a powerful force
Standing against the extremities of the world
You question “why me”
With a smile that lights my face
Staring into the eyes that drowns me in love
I ask, why not you?
Baby, there is your answer.
Copyright © Maame Yeboah | Year Posted 2024
I remember when you once loved me
And showed me that you care
We only had a short time together
Though my heartstrings have a permanent tear
Your absence was heartbreaking
Both our daughter and I missed you very much
I raised her the best I could
She added such a beautiful touch
Now that we are all older
I still feel that familiar crush
And let you know again
That I miss you very much
Copyright © Julie Worthington | Year Posted 2025
To be a tree or be the sea,
I don’t know what I would be,
A tree stands tall, but the sea flows through it all.
I would be a tree in a ball,
While the sea is still at call,
I could be a tree with my roots in the bay,
Or a tree dark at night, and the sea another day.
Maybe I’d be the sun,
I’d shine so bright; I would give people light.
I could be the rain wash the sun away,
I would provide a good amount of clay.
I do like the idea of the wind,
But compared too the sun that idea is dim.
I don’t know what I would be.
I guess I’ll be any force of nature,
So, I could mold the earth’s structure,
Like a child is molded by its mother.
If I was a tree, I would soon die old,
Where if I was the sea, I would spend three months frozen cold.
Where if I was the sun the clouds would steal my shine,
That would make poor sun cry.
So down comes the rain and there just wished away.
And if I was the wind, I would just cause a struggle,
So, papa would get mad so I would be in trouble.
This is why the force of nature works as a team,
So why can’t we.
Copyright © K. Woods | Year Posted 2024
How can you cry when your hurt, if your numb to the fall,
How can you win a race , if you can only crawl,
How can you smile at the world if the world let's you down
How can you swim in the sea if you will only drowned,
How can you speak if you don't have a voice,
How can you choose if you don't have a choice,
How can you breathe when you've got no life to live,
How can you die if no one will forgive.
Copyright © Danielle Whitford | Year Posted 2024
When Eros shoots the heart of one
The piercing point of Beauty’s son
Borne of love and lust and loss
To pine for one’s a lover’s cost.
Eros with his quiver filled
Leaves a trail of hearts he’s killed
For the one that can resist the bliss
Is one that Eros’ arrow missed.
One cannot avoid their fate
Eros is most tempting bait
When you’ve been blessed with heartache’s kiss
It sends you down toward raw abyss.
Power drives to seize and pay
But love desires to waste away
For Eros shoots not more than one
The villain strikes and knows he’s won.
Eros built of marbled stone
Sat atop a church or home
Our pray to him to hear our call
That Eros’ arrows find us all.
Copyright © Gretchen Wertlieb | Year Posted 2024
We wander in the smoke
Of the fires we never should have fought
But we thought we knew
A thing or two, about calamity
Having burned the world around us
So many times for such small reasons
That when the rains came
Like a transcendent ritual
To clean out the sky
Of the cinders of our sins
You’d think that would have been enough
Of a miracle to rehydrate
Our choking spirits
But maybe we were meant to burn
In the unexpected beauty
Of these Armageddon sunsets
Full of imbalance and entropy
Where the dead wood of you and me
Needs the lightning
And the imagined ending of everything
To find a place
To let the green things grow
Copyright © CK Wendell | Year Posted 2025
Voices yelling my joy they are selling pain begins dwelling deep in my heart I cry and I weep my face like a storm every day comes with rain am I even sane I wish to travel to a happier place but yet I face an awful place called real life you would think it was nice it’s not a little so I'll fiddle with a fidget feeling fear and im still here
Copyright © Josie Weinberg | Year Posted 2024
Listen to poem:
The Thresholds of Tomorrow
David J Walker
It is 1959 and
the television
is my constant companion
Comforting me during breakfast
Praying at noon over meals
Saying good night before
Turning out the light sparkling
Over its ghostly screen
Flickering gray & green
Retreating into infinity
Speaking of the expanse and
The advanced enhancements
Of 1960
When new math counts life by
the numbers 1-0
there will be no returning from
the thresholds of tomorrow
Copyright © David Walker | Year Posted 2021
Take my hand
and let the tingle that
sent a shiver up my spine
when our fingers first touched
spread throughout my entire being
until I shudder with pleasure
in the joy of two bodies
becoming entwined
Take my heart
and let the joy that
your humor brings send me
into fits of laughter until my eyes
weep with happy tears that
run down my cheeks blinding me
from that which may
bring us down
Take my mind
and sculpt it gently
with your thoughts and let it bask
in the kiln of love until it becomes
as beautiful and solid
as our journey
together has been
so far
Take my soul
and softly caress it with
whispers that I will remember always
as they become secret memories
to bring a smile to my face
and happiness within
left to linger when
we are apart
Take all of me
keep me safe and
warm within your arms
for without you I no longer
have worth for anyone else
as your love has spoilt me
for this I will remain
forever yours.
Copyright © Ron VanHooser | Year Posted 2025
Cry out longing
Waiting long for response
To continue to wait
To long for return
What returns is strange
Distortion setting in
The words spoken not heard
A game of telephone
Play to find twisted words
You may have never said
Regret for speaking under risk of echo
Similar to a synonym
Similar
Not quite exact
A repetition of an assumption
Without way to know were it began
Where did it began
A concept spoken to word
Travels by sound
Caught be the echo
Changed by the echo
Passing through time and space
Copyright © Nia Tunduwani | Year Posted 2024
"...in spring, the most delicate feathery yellow of plumes and plumes and plumes and trees and bushes of wattle, as if angels had flown right down out of the softest gold regions of heaven to settle here, in the Australian bush."
— D. H. Lawrence, Kangaroo
Paraboloid totems of evergreen hope, upside down,
Sparkling white trinkets, sparkling white dears;
‘What do we need to do now?’
You ask;
I got my husband’s winged blue stone gift around my neck, a dragonfly,
Isn’t my green dress an ornamental kingly shroud?
Both stormy and luminous, the cuts on my arms are still caked in dried blood,
You are sad: your heart bleeds into mine with a bit of emerald dust and ruby red sunrises;
The Doctor is the Rose; I am the Flame
You are all marble, Plato, self-contained,
I am grotesque, decaying, Lilith-born,
My scars are trim poodles
Whose slightly wolfish eyes
Will bleed a blazing cornucopia of yellow wattle sprigs;
Doctor, your heart is a gold mine and joyous as Spring
Copyright © Diana Thoresen | Year Posted 2025
My Teacher Is The Light Of My Life
Birds sing sweetly in the morning
The sky is clear without clouds and blue
My teacher came riding a bicycle
Bring useful knowledge
For our beloved ones
My teacher gave me a role model
Without tiredness or time
The light of your lamp will always live
Illuminates every step of the journey
Your knowledge will be useful throughout your life
My teacher told me
When you grow up you will become a useful person
To the nation
I pinned the message in my heart
All your services will never be forgotten
Copyright © Abdul Syayidin | Year Posted 2024
Yeah, I don't like you!
Is that why I help you with your assignments?
Yeah, I don't like you!
Is that why I get mad over you for silly reasons?
Yeah, I don't like you!
Is that why I want to bully you and enjoy it?
Yeah, I don't like you!
Is that why I get possessive when you have a conversation with others?
Yeah, I don't like you!
Is that why your sadness makes me sad?
Yeah, I don't like you!
Is that why your happiness makes me happy?
Yeah, I don't like you!
Is that why I feel happy when you approach me?
Yeah, I don't like you!
Is that why I always want to be there for u?
Now let me ask you
Do I really don't like you?
Copyright © Moni Srinivas | Year Posted 2024
Oh life, what dost thou hide for me next,
What tricks await, what trials dost thou test?
One day brings joy, the next doth sorrow reign,
Yet here I stand, through sunshine and through rain.
Thou twist and turn, thou never dost stand still,
Thy hand doth push me up another hill.
Thou mak’st me laugh, then mak’st me weep and sigh,
Yet still I soar, to reach the boundless sky.
Thou givest dreams, so sweet, they charm the heart,
Yet with thy hand, thou tearest them apart.
Thou givest love, then tak’st it swift away,
Yet I rise up, and greet another day.
Thou mak’st me run, thou mak’st me stumble, fall,
Yet from the ground, I rise again so tall.
Through tempests wild and trials thou dost send,
I stand unbow’d, and fight thee to the end.
Copyright © Akash Solanki | Year Posted 2024
Spanning time and seeming often
Immortal in its teeming,
Enveloping elements abound like the
Sunshine in its beaming!
Art, love, music, prayer,
Greed, color, hate and religion,
All needed as an implement
As if an elaborate contagion!
On the canvas, on your chaise,
In your ears and in your pose,
In your heart and on your skin,
In your mind and in your soul!
Be they visual or elusive,
Or emotional in their presence;
They appear and carry substance
Making entrance to our conscience.
Copyright © Lena Smith Carter | Year Posted 2015
DARK PART OF THE SOUL
Take me away
To a place unknown
A place of comfort an unknown zone
Tear me apart
Ripe my soul
Hand it back
Ripped to shreds
Take my life, take it hard
Find a way to bring me back
Dark part of the soul
My darkest time, give me love give me joy
Accepting me as I am
Broken hearted in discord
My darkest hour, filled with pain
Bringing me down to the lowest point
Have I ever been here before
Have I ever got back up
Bringing me down to my lowest point
Your love ripped me open
Torn me apart
Showed me pain right in the heart
Take me back to the love we once had
Lifting me higher towards the light
If only you seen
Me as I am
If only you cared
To take a chance
Only then will I ever survive
The darkest part of my soul
Copyright © Rebecca Smith | Year Posted 2024
Do you know what to do
Can you stay true
When your life’s falling apart
And yet I try to open my heart
Wishes are fading
I always seem to be waiting
And even after ranting
Do I know what to do?
Does this answer your question,
Because every time someone seems to mention,
Legends always seem to make a mark,
But last time I checked I didn’t have to share that spark
You talk to my friends
You come without ends
And when its said and done
I guess I want to be number one
Because when they ask this question
I start to feel tension
But when I look around
Everyone else is also on the ground
Do you know what to do
When your feet are stuck in glue
Because there’s someone inside that chews and then spews and then skews,
Until you finally get that clue
That you’ve become quite blue
I got pried,
And then I just cried,
Cause when you’re stuck in the middle,
You just start to shrivel
I suddenly start to swivel
As you suddenly start to drizzle
Into the cracks of my life
Where there’s about to be a whole lot of strife
But now I have to be true,
And simply admit to you
That I just don’t know what to do
Copyright © Channing Sleater | Year Posted 2024
Morning Fog
This morning
when there is much to do inside,
there is fog outside my window.
The fog I sought two mornings ago
that caused me to dash to the car
in hopes I could grab a coffee
and sit by the lake,
witness to the softening of the world,
treetops indistinct, not yet awakened from their dreams.
By the time I reached the street
rain had dissolved,
captured,
drunk up the tiny molecules
of water playing fog.
I like rain, too, so I stayed on the road,
found myself coffee and a breakfast
by a temperature controlled fireplace.
Despite the rain, the little cafe
quickly became peopled
and I had to move on.
The soft shield of fog
was what I was hungry for,
not the food I left half eaten.
The desire to be
fogged in, alone or companionable,
putting thoughts to paper
or contentedly one
with the downy view,
the lack of detail,
the absence of certainty,
the enveloping moisture
making all things
remember
what it was like to be born.
We are all born
In some kind of moisture --
pushing through the dark damp soil,
or squeezed through a tunnel of flesh,
causing someone pain
for the first of many times.
Or we peck our way through
a fragile/sturdy shell,
wet with possibility,
or we're loosed with a hundred siblings
into a salty waterscape of danger,
calculating our chances.
For all of us,
our first vision must be a little foggy,
our possibility of success unclear.
But
every foggy morning
crawls into my soul
to whisper
what it could be
to be reborn.
Copyright © Erin Sim | Year Posted 2024
I gave you my heart, fragile and frail, and begged you to handle it with care. But you looked me dead in the eye and dropped it, shattering it into a thousand pieces. Now, hollow and heartless, I'm left to pick up the fragments.
You come begging for forgiveness, trying to mend the pieces of my broken heart. But I told you, my love will return only when you've fully repaired the damage. Yet, even then, our love will never be the same. It will be bare, like the patches inflicted on my heart
Copyright © Elsie Seckley | Year Posted 2024
I came face to face with time
It was all sublime.
Nothing was as it seemed
For I thought “surely it must have been dreamed.”
I was shown the past, present, and future.
Then I heard the words, “are you ready for an adventure?”
As I stood there looking into the face of time
I heard bells begin to chime.
He spoke, “What do you see?”
I see destiny.
As I came face to face
I could see His grace.
There is so much more than meets the eye.
Yes, to sanctify.
But there is so much more,
Not only to restore.
To be set free from sin and death,
But to breathe His breath.
To walk in the elegance of His Bride
And from His Kingdom to preside.
As I stood with time face to face,
I was shown the human race.
From the first to the last,
Seasons went by fast.
What began as perfect and undefiled,
Turned dark as they were beguiled.
Down through the ages,
I heard the voice of sages.
Curtains rose,
And curtains had come to a close.
From the great flood,
To the shedding of His Blood,
There is a sound going out across the land,
That our Father God had planned.
Kings rise and fall
But only one will forever rule them all.
There will be a great division,
Everyone will have to make a decision.
Choose this day whom you will serve,
No one can merely stand and observe.
We are called to fight
And not by sight.
Put on your armor
And don’t listen to the voice of the charmer.
Keep watch and do not slumber,
Be ready to be counted in the number.
In the twinkling of an eye,
We will be caught up into the sky.
We have a supper to attend,
So with the things of God do not pretend.
For those left behind
There will be no place to hide.
As I stood face to face with time,
I saw justice being served for every crime.
Then I turned to look
At all those that had their names written in the Book.
All the tears had been dried,
And we will be with Jesus forever by our side.
© Deborah Seale 2024
Copyright © Deborah Seale | Year Posted 2024
If I tear myself apart,
Will you be there to build me back up ?
Will you take the time to repair what’s broken ?
Even if it can’t be repaired ?
Even if it happens again ?
I could never promise you peace.
If I did,
I would be looking at myself in the mirror,
And my eyes wouldn't be the only red painting that covers my body.
What am I even supposed to tell my younger self ?
I’m used,
I’ve been used to people breaking me,
And leaving my pieces on the floor.
I had to gather it all up and build it back up
On my own,
I didn’t know where the pieces belonged to.
I would give up and break it all down,
again and again and again.
Some of them had been broken down so hard that they could never be repaired,
That they could never do what they were made for,
Feel the things they used to feel.
It’s been a while now,
Since I started breaking my own porcelain.
I lost many pieces,
So many holes that can’t be filled,
That can’t hide
The ugliness that is inside that vase.
Copyright © Tyfaine Rouaud | Year Posted 2024
A Vulcan's volcanic rage erupts from deep within –
No matter where or when it roars and it spits.
A shattered mirror reflecting my every flawful flaw –
Bleeding shards of grotesque glass...
that slice through my skin.
The past sears me like a branding iron,
Desert land thirsts for rain and green.
Iceberg hides more than meets the eye –
Hidden book waits for someone to read.
Broken tune repeats the same old song –
Raging storm spiraling, out of control.
Toxic waste courses through my veins and mind –
Clipped wing trapping me, a hawk confined.
Nightmares haunt, shadows lurking in the night –
Onion tears peel off layer by layer.
Pearl of light sought in the depths, a dark sea –
The waking warrior is fighting battles,
yearning and crying for freedom.
But rage can be cool just like lava finding repose
Creating a new land of hope and peace...
And the flaws can be mended like....
a stained glass window that is
Radiating rainbows of beauty and grace.
And scars, they can be healed
like a healed broken wing rising up.
Burning with a fueling fire of
passion and strength.
And life can begin to grow again...
like a cactus in bloom.
Surviving with a spirit of resilience and faith.
And songs can be changed
...like a soft guitar tune.
Playing a soothing melody with...
harmony and love.
And calm can be found like...
a lake of tranquility that is
Reflecting with a mirror of clarity and truth.
And dreams can be hopeful just..
like a starry night sky this is
Sparkling with a light of wonder and joy.
And smiles can be joyful like...
a child’s laughter that is..
Bursting with a sound of happiness and fun.
And love can shine brightly
like a diamond in the rough.
Reflecting with a value of worth, respect, and dignity.
And grace can live fully grow...
like a lotus in the mud.
Flourishing with a beauty /
of purity and serenity.
This is how I cope with trauma,
but it’s not my whole story.
This is how I seek for healing,
but it’s not my only goal.
This is how I write my survival,
but it’s not my final chapter.
This is me, in all my river of tears,
but I’m more than words.
Can you see me? Can you hear me? Can you feel me?
Do you know me? Do you love me? Do you accept me?
Are you with me? Are you for me? Are you beside me?
This is me, asking for help, but I’m not weak.
This is me, breaking free from the chains of the past.
This is me, finding peace in the present at last.
This is me, creating beauty from the ashes of pain.
This is me, living fully toward sanity, a passion, arcane.
Copyright © Daniel Henry Rodgers | Year Posted 2023