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POWERED DOWN

I tried to submit my meter reading

For my electric supply today

You'll probably guess where this is leading -

There was just no way! 

 

Despite my efforts across the hours

The message on view was the same

Sorry but failed systemic powers

Are the things that are to blame.

 

No matter that much time was had

To get their systems working,

How could the timing  be so...

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Also by M.C. Newberry:

IT'S NOT ENOUGH - a re-post from other days | PUTIN'S WOMEN | POLITICIANS | A QUIET PASSION | UNTITLED | PESTILENT PUKING | PARANOIA | UNITED | VLAD THE MAD | THE BEST LAID PLANS |

Send Me A Song

With a flip of the wrist 
there’s a song 
directing you on a time warp, 
back to the time you fell in love 
with the girl of your dreams, 
or so she was at the time.

With every turn of the dial 
there she is 
and yet, there you are 
years apart.

It only lasts 3 minutes 
but it’s the one  
that crawls under your skin 
late at night  
when you’re all alone, 
when thoughts run in c...

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Also by kimberly:

Does a man feel more if he’s a poet | Where Does It Lead? | You’ll Want to Sit Down for This |

Our remarkable Monarch of 70 years

To see you at the Westminster service warmed my heart,

Admiring your determination to be there and take part.

A cup I was presented with at school  in 1953 ,

Which began your dedication,which was set to be.

 

Your leadership qualities we celebrate always in your song,

"God save the Queen,"thankfully having been there for so long.

You served us while suffering the effects of th...

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Also by hugh:

An appeal to Russian mothers on Mothers Day | Thoughts of an Ukrainian citizen | Freedom of speech !!! |

Rocket And Flare

More money for our Nurses, you couldn't afford.
But to show our thanks, you asked us to applaud.
So when the next round of MP pay talks are due.
Would you be offended if we do the same for you?
Into the sky we could even launch rocket and flare.
To show Members of Parliament how much we care.
Most of you have second jobs, in some cases three.
Do you need more money...seems like greed to me.
...

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Also by Mike Bartram:

Me And My Girls | A Journey Over (A Poem For Mothers Day) | Wayside | When You're 63! | The River | Until It's Light | Everyday (for my Granddaughter Alba) | Sun, Sky And Birds | A UKRAINE POEM | Still Not Done |

Hot Line

When my dad passed away,

I began to wish for

A number I could call,

To check he was all right.

 

‘All right’ is relative, of course,

But the purpose of this hot line

Would be to spread out and discuss,

To ask the unanswered questions,

To say the things we had not said,

 

And to speak to one that I knew,

Not the wizened, angry, lost soul

I had sat with that la...

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Also by Stephen Gospage:

Refugee | Something New | Memories | The President | Shostakovich's Tenth | Timepieces | Musée des Beaux Arts, March 2022 | Nicknames | Whingers | Agincourt | Madness |

Bursting the Bounds

The snow and ice melted long ago, already the grass returns to fields of gold.  
So why am I shivering? 
Seas and rivers change course and  flow awry.
So why do I turn to stone? 
Faeries and elves stir up their sisters into dance.
So why cannot I move? 
Immortality seizes this man's imagination.
So can I live another day? 
And why do I carry all the hours of all the days of all the years w...

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Also by John E Marks:

Occult-fish-rat | Because the night.... | Êzidî (ئێزیدی) | Why the poor die | Pink moon | M.A.D. | The dictatorship of the bureaucrats | Willesden | Narcissus | Under blue skies | Northern sky | Lent | Poet Thunder | Russian | I have no words | Red Leb | A sonnet for Sylvie | credo | Spring snow | Roads | Smallholder | The yellow and blue | A rose garden at altitude under occupation | Seeing things |

Last Day Of March

The last day of March brings us
a mix of snow, sleet and sun
The day before April fools 
seems to be having some fun

We put our warm coats on
and then take them off again 
Take a seat outdoors 
only to be caught out by the rain

This time of year, the weather
constantly changes it’s mind 
There’s no sure way of knowing 
what elements you may find

Temperatures fall below freezing 
...

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Also by julie callaghan:

Gratitude Gallery | New Spring Lambs | Colours Of Spring | Micheal And Vernon | Hedgehogs | The Baltic Way | Mother’s Day | Mythical Landscape | The Tale Of Covid 19 (repost) | Two Years On | Daffodil | Amelia | Poet Tree | Flag Flying High | How Lucky We Are | Swan Lake Landing | Two News Stories | Bow And Bob | Dawn Chorus | March Mornings | Daffodils | Early, Early Morning | Make Pizza Not War | Black And White | The Piano | Once | Two Weeks Ago | Double Take | Spring Blossom | Cheery Ditty | Blue And Gold | Frogspawn | A Tale To Tell (repost) | Dancing Ducks | It’s A Rich Man’s World (Or Is It) | Fear And Dread | Two Hands |

The Optimist

screaming at the cold 
the mold of a mind so 
useless like a body in
a dark river

eyes crystal blue glaring up
amid the lapping scum
the corpse of who you thought 
you'd become like a future

things will get better 
things will get better

observers shocked back away 
this bloated meat can speak afraid 
too weird to interact with it
easier to laugh tribal simian

the differences...

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A Seed Falls

A seed falls.

It lands, barely audible

it falls from a tree, a 50 year old tree

50 summers

50 winters

50 times around the sun.

Rain and Wind.

Its roots working their way through the soil

spreading

         growing

     anchoring

            for 50 years.

To create a seed to fall one day

to be heard.

That moment.

Unique

And I was there.

 

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Also by Bill Dodsworth:

My place | White Feathers | I did'nt know | Things I can't do |

treesseed

The School Run

 

Young mums of all shapes and sizes,

Stood outside the little school gates,

Superciliously smiling,

At other young mums, as they wait.

 

Some of them come on bicycles,

Others arriving in flash SUVs,

Walkers with prams or other tots,

There's even one with a taxi.

 

There are some Nannies, not Nannys,

Mind you, there could be one or two,

There are granddads an...

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Also by JD Russell:

Hula skirts, Kisses and Leis | Interior Decorating | Mrs. Lloyds Daughter | A Dutchman Earmarked For Greatness | Dance on, little kite, dance on. | Youthful Love | Thanking God? | That's just crazy | Young Man, Old Man | Just Last Week | Friday Night Is Date Night | Shopping | To Be A Lion Or A Mouse | He's not, he's just missing | She Gasped For Air | The Hunt | Imagination Limited | And God Spake Unto the Snake | Life, A Montebank? | Second Crucifixion Postponed, Indefinitly. | Ballad of Ada Lovelace (December 1815 to November 1852 | Each morning | A late summer afternoon stroll with John Clare | Not the Worst Thing | Road from, and to,oblivion | They Lied, She Died, He Cried, He Died |

Naming It

Swirling the darkness like a smoothie 

Hovering just out of reach

Pricking your attention-what’s it doing

Filling you with a vague sense of fear 

 

You grasp for it with both hands

As it starts to materialize 

Should you run fuck it or eat

This can’t be decided

 

Until you can name it 

Understand its taxonomy

You can’t frame it 

Can’t round it completely 

...

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Also by Robert C Gaulke:

Obviously | Kintsukuroi | Singularities | Bad Actors | everybody (but us) | Pulchritudinous | Bad Art Warning | Growing up alone |

Forever Young

GRANDPA IS MY BESTIE

Is emblazoned across this shirt

Which you used to own.

It looks so tiny in my hands!

A visual manifestation

Of how incredibly tall you have grown

In such a very short time!

It makes me sad, yet happy,

To see it lying there.

A token of the special bond

We shared.

 

And share still.

Time has moved on, Will,

Your shirts are double that si...

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Also by John Botterill:

The Death of a Poem | Homeless | Jolly Fine Words | Soppy Love Songs | Just a Bit of Banter | In Praise of Words | Let Sleeping Poets Lie | 'For mash get Smash' re-hash. | Strong Box | Merely a Player |

childhood

Teacher

 

Teacher means  friend 

And father,

Even classmate

Again tiger.

Teacher means honest

Good man's maker.

they are our guide 

And life's backer.

They are greatest

In this earth,

It honorable occupation

All day, year and month.

 

 

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Also by Sheikh Shanto Bin Abdur Razzak:

Mother Is Paradise | Lack Came | I Came Back | Secret Pain | Sorrow | Blow of Heart | Corona's Birth Story | Money Addiction |

THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE ..

Its mid 70s the families of liverpool they struggle 

Born babies the products of scandal and trouble 

A woman in love at the time with a drinker 

mentality destructive disturbed man dark thinker

He cared not a lot for his sons wife or health 

Inside relives torture he's suffered himself 

The wife didn't know this she cant understand 

This was not what the vows read when gave h...

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Also by Sarah Louise mcnee:

ARCHANGEL OF THE WEEK | CARTER-JAMES WILLIAM MORTON | REVIVAL |

DeviEmpathy80s era90s eracatholic

Goodbye Dante (our dog)

Sometimes you have to push the bully love aside,
out of the way, elbow and shoulder,
so necessity can see through what love fears most,
loss and the damage of absence.

To see what needs to be done
no matter love’s protests,
though they are not unheard.

Love and necessity, formidable forces,
will eventually reunite
as confederates in purpose,
but gently and in time

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Also by Mike McPeek:

Old Clothes |

ONE FOR THE ROAD

Two ageing musicians recount stories

of an inglorious episode shared,

drink does the talking.

They are merely bystanders in a vivid tapestry

strewn like shroud over a past

almost forgotten by the masses -

radio broadcasts, theatre pits,

sleazy nightclubs, outdoor events

where clouds bent their heads in curiosity. 

 

:Lights in the pub reflect off glasses, rose tinted,

...

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Also by ray pool:

ON MOTHERS' DAY | SEWER CONVERSION | THE GARDENER'S DILEMMA | THE M 24 |

Rose-Tinted Vision

And in the beginning, I remember how your hand,

Had reached out to help me,

As you promised me that you would love me,

That you would care for me.

And those promises were not the only things broken,

When you used that same hand to hold me down, to use me, to hurt me;

And bruise my vunerability that I had given to you.

And you left my skin in a state that made my mum sob;

An...

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Also by mylie:

I'm cursed. | Hang in there or Hang Yourself | My own storm. | I'd smile |

abusiverelationshipabusesurvivorsexualabuseawarenessbpdawarenessmentalhealthawarenessptsdsurvivorptsdsavictimsasurvivor

We'll Figure it Out!

There's a lot

Overlaying

of our

Understanding

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Also by New Shoes:

Where the Buffalo Roam | A Stones Throw Away | Waiting For The Summer Rain |

Inspired write

When the time is right

It shall shower again

The blessings of love and hope 

As we go on and on in life's throes

 

Relax and let things happen

In not yours but God's divine timing 

If you have faith within 

Then waiting turns out to be a big blessing

 

Bring me all your sorrows and griefs

All your worries and dreams 

Lay them all on a platter for me 

For I, y...

Read and leave comments (2)

Also by Sunshine:

48. Poem | Friday poetry | Midnight poetry | 47. Poem | A prayer | 46. Poem | 45. Poem | Today, this day | Love meets love | Our home | Cowards |

Gratitude

I'm grateful for flares, sparkles, occasions... 
For colourful heart's and mind's expectations... 
For feelings' diversity and changeability - 
Taking up to cloud nine...
 Or plunging into gloom's hostility.... 

I'm grateful for tears - of pain or of joy... 
For errors, experience, sadness, delight...
For dreams and for failures that struggle deploys... 
For shame and disgrace, and victo...

Read and leave comments (2)

Also by Alive_sunflower:

The Sky | UKRAINE |

They Know

The trees stand silent

But they are watching

The earth welcomes

Your feet

But she rumbles

Ready to make her

Retreat

 

The sun shines gladly

Don’t take her smile

For granted

She feeds all

That you have planted

 

The moonlight shines

Tugs at time

But she is ready

To pull the lifeline

 

The flowers bloom

The wheat doth grow

But, they know...

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Also by Clare:

Old Flame | The Humble Bumblebee | Don't! | Like A Passion Flower | I Am To Blame | Missing a Star | An Gorta Mor | Not the right time | Red Kite | I Am That Woman | That Man | Rhythm and Blues | Spring is Birthing | I'd like to be a Owl | The High Priestess | Polina - The Girl With Pink Hair |

Selfish Last Words

Tonight I’d like to write about how lovely it is to hear birds chirping

Or even newfound hope making its way from the distance

However, no matter how hard I try

I’m afraid I’d fail a thousand times

There’s a small voice inside spitting toxic rhymes

I may lack an abundance of qualities

What I ought to be is far from who I am

I underachieve where the average effortlessly exceeds

...

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Also by Jordyn Elizabeth:

Broken. | Speak. | Hazel (1.) | A Friendly Reminder | The Rain Song. |

A turning look

 

The more I see beyond
your reckoning words
and their sweet ache,
I realize you won
You always did
I gave,
You hid.

And this boyish want
has walked its way,
away from you
and despite my stay
and turning look
I was leaving by weighted
line and flying hook.

And this turning to your
wished for face
has piled the wanting
piled the weight
like stones not counted
but hurtful t...

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Also by Tommy Carroll:

Who decides? | Children running and screaming |

Blue and Gold

Harrogate 21/3/22

 

It’s when I see the kites

a family are flying on the Stray

and notice how they glint in blue and gold

belatedly I catch on, how today

the bichrome of the flag of the Ukraine

has never been completely out of sight:

I’ve seen its vivid tones unrolled

 

not just where you’d expect:

flourished on the apex of a pole;

sellotaped to windows or on do...

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Ukrainewarflag

Let Your Heart Sail

Silence is so peaceful and tranquil
like the air at the top of the hill;
you can have the complacency of life
if you cut the head of arguments with a knife;
emotion is there
where the heart is free and without fear;
if the mild petal is the heart of a flower,
controversy is a huge body except power;

be the clouds in the open air
and feel the gifted life in each hour,
be the flowers hea...

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rhyme

GrEEn mAN


The green man is at my gate conjuring up like magic those that sleep in the earth in winters dark days.

 

The larks again have found their voice and soar up in the crisp dawn air , to find favour with a mate so fair

 

Frantic is the air and ground as hoof and claw alert with hearts beating , eyes wide and nostrils flared sense the forthcoming battles ahead , to ensure their line is k...

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Also by Edbreathe:

End game | Hope ? | Z s HELL - ter |

FRED'S FORMULA

It was my dad’s invention; leastways he never told me he’d heard of it some place else.

Picture a load of lousy rotten kids around a cake. 

How to cut it up so no-one complained they’d got a small piece?

Answer?  Fred’s Formula.

Kid No.1 is about to cut the first slice.

“Aha” you say, “the greedy little git will cut himself a big one”.

He might.

But enter Fred’s Formula.

“...

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Also by John Coopey:

FROM SON TO KANE, FROM KANE TO SON | VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA | DES RES | 2 HAIKUS | NOTHING'S GONNA CHANGE OUR WORLD | WE-WON-THE-WAR-IN-1954 | SQUITTERS |

Yes Mum

Cradled kindness

motherhood in abundance

 

Open mind

whatever the wrongdoing

 

Gentle touch

our hearts connect

 

Without you

life becomes non-essential

 

Recognizable voice

abrupt harsh tone

 

Stop snivelling

pull yourself together

 

Just because I

have moved upstairs

 

Does not mean

I have stopped  - - -

 

Loving you son x x ...

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Also by Nigel Astell:

Needle in a Haystack |

love you forever Mum x

On Mother's Day

Peace and serenity surround me 
As I feel her arms around me
Amid mist, her countenance is light
My eyes well up with delight
"You didn't betray me! I knew you'd never ..."
"I live in you; I am with yours forever."
"I want to smell you in real too.
O' Mom, but this vision will end soon.
Hold my hand tight, stay with me.
I seek refuge in your sheltering tree."
The light fades and air gets...

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What’s left of me?

What’s left of me?

When I die?

Or when I’ve 

forgotten 

what to do

with my time?

A form of death 

of the heart 

and other 

appendages.

What’s left of me?

Not politically 

but physically,

personally,

philosophically?

And what 

are these 

meandering 

shadows 

on the tiled floors 

with their simple 

patterns of leaves?

Who are these

...

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Closed Theatre: Burnage Garden Village Players, 1912-2020

It strode across a century, enduring wars,

The shifts of fashion and the scorns of time,

A post-war enclave of a simpler age; but

Not the gulf of Covid, short but absolute.

 

Once, summer evenings in this noon-cool hall

Filled hours with ice-cream, raffles and applause

As year-worn boards upheld performances

And eager actors tried their ways with words

 

And chill Oct...

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Burnage garden village playerstheatre

Old Man

 

This far down the road, a cloud of dust 
raised and stirred by writhing dragons
is his history, should he care to look back.
Today he will focus on frozen explosions 
flowers, solely for the beauty. 
Truly enthralled thus, the old man 
is not yet so foolish to imagine
he grows to understand them, or himself
any better. A certainty is
the power of good taken to heart
wilderness kept ...

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Also by Adam Whitworth:

What It's All About | Planet Queen | Thought Experiment | Thank You |

A NO VOTE

Imagine when scientists find the center of the universe 

And how does all this space and time fit

Watch for the surprise of the politicians when they realize 

That they are not the center of it 

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Joe Marcello:

SEEING IT THROUGH | INSIDE AND OUTSIDE | THE INNER LIMITS | THE REAL KNUCKLEBALL |

Nature Poem

I adore our Sun for it brings me cheer.
It takes my angst and takes my fear.
It makes me happy and it sends me peace,
I then believe this feeling shall not cease.

I relish the great, green rolling hills,
And with so much joy - my heart it fills.
And I love the sky when it is blue -
I then rejoice at this delightful view

With wildlife one sees all around,
Such beauty it must to us asto...

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Also by Stuart Vanner:

Ukraine |

Stuart VannerSpringtimeSunshine

Is it me?

 I used to believe that it was me.

That I was broken.

I used to believe that I was the reason you left; that I was too dark to be loved.

That I deserved to be left behind.

I used to believe it was me!

I looked in the mirror everyday and I cried praying to God that he fix me.

Thinking that there was something wrong.

Praying to God that he would make me worthy of your love.

I...

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brokengriefloveself-loveheartbrokenheartsadnesslightgive up

Deliverance

 

She said,

It's all for free: 

The air 

The trees

The drifting breeze

The luscious grass

The hidden pass

The moonlit sand

And sun drenched land

The cooling rain

To cleanse the pain

 

Of never seeing you again.

 

 

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Also by Stephen W Atkinson:

Starlight (re-post) | What is it I see? | Fantastic Women! |

Not arrogant

Not arrogant

Thursday,10th Mar 2022

 

Not arrogant

but present

yourself as humble

and noble too

 

the achievement is the final goal

we can't call it temporary

one should strive hard to maintain

and retain with the passage of time

 

if you fail to digest

and not deliver the best

the world shall leave you behind

and land you in the miserable condition

...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Jadia4708au:

Country & honor | Love & nature | Don't pass the buck | My words and | O C E A N | Unnecessary thiking | Where are we heading? | Be grateful | W O M A N | The light is within | Attraction-Love | Go to love | W O M A N | O,women | Gender & Parity | Soldiers sing | We are peace lovers | Without Any Reason(WAR) | Mad chase | End your quest | (untitled) | No curse | Love & Heart | Not infatuation |

Jadia4708au

The Ferryman

Will you be the ferryman?

Will you take the helm?

Will you steer the cautious?

To an unknown land

 

When the sea grows wild

When a harsh wind roars

When the boat is rocking

Will you take the oars?

 

When a fragile cargo

Fearful of their journey

Grows both tired and weary

Will you give them cheer?

 

On that final journey

When alone I stand

Will you...

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Also by Brenda Wells:

Stay With Me | The Western World Watches |

Gus

I

Goodbye 

 

The way the lightning taunts me

makes me cower in my home

folded paper walls surround

as the rain falls on and on

 

Here I'm warm

with comforts near

More than enough

so safe and dear 

 

Still, I can't evade the storm

as it pours

it pelts

it blows

into my pillow

quiet grief

spirals from within my soul

 

 

II

Tuesday E...

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Also by Kelly Chang:

Karori morning (draft) | Chamomile | Tangelo (10 Jan 2022) | Goodbye, again (19 September, 2021) | 'Molten hour' (September 2, 2021) | HASTY BEETLE! (draft, 2020) | Golden hour rain (draft, 2020) | That time we saw the moon (2020) | I fell in love with the sky and tried to make sense of it (draft, 2019) | Waiting for Santa Claus (2019) | PLACE + ANIMAL + ACTION (2019) | The Colours of Hungary (2019) | The day awaits (2019) | The window in the store room (16/6/19) | A long walk with you (16/6/19) |

catlovegriefdeathpets

Being a parent

Jump in puddles and make a mess 

This life is to be lived at its best

Play in the sunshine and dance in the rain

Share in the joy and guide them through pain

We teach them to listen, we teach them to talk

We carry and hold them and teach them to walk

For all the manners we teach them use 

We must remember to use them too

We must stop and listen and see through their eyes

...

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Also by Dean Murray:

Forever and always | Small moments |

Childparentlovebabykidsadultsharefeelemotion

Shadows

My life seems all about living in shadows broken words wounded heart thoughts that have turned hollow At every age the shadows returns From care to fear they keep turns

They are sometimes my friend sometimes my foe sometimes they are just living next door

Though these shadows do come handy at times When we need them they do just fine At times they are a heavy burden At time...

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Also by Sleepy Rabbit:

Every Night |

advicelifesuggestionsguideshope

Lost

I am lost 
Lost in the fact that I no longer know what the future holds
Lost in my ability to be good partner
Lost in my ability to perform at work
Lost in my thoughts 
I have crashed my ship into rocks 
Stranded on this figment of reality we call life
Drawn between comfort and risk 
Will I ever find a way to mend this sickness
 

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Since you’ve been gone

Since you’ve been gone

I’ve not written a single line

How could I pick up a pen?

What would I express?

 

Since you’ve been gone

It’s been very strange

But also quite familiar

Returning to our memories

 

Since you’ve been gone

What has been the point?

The point seems to be

That I need to carry on

 

Since you’ve been gone

I need to carry on

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Memorial Park

 

A bronze, winged man holding an olive branch

emerges from his fountain and war-torn stance

 

Deco fence reflects St. Johns River ripples

Cotton tops reveal taut nipples

 

Weary jogger sucks the air

Bluejay announces his high-n-mighty affair

 

Golden Pup sniffs the grass for savory gems 

His human on her phone fights for amends 

 

River sparkles do a dance m...

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WWIsoldierangelmemorialpark

Be what you are

https://youtu.be/uJLSaE-RNJU

 

 

O Dear, be what you are 

For this is what you should be

There isn't  any perfect recipe 

Be what you are meant to be

 

O dear let people think what they need to

Your life is yours to live through

Be happy with your skin and colour

For no one will ever know what's best for others

 

O dear find a lesson and a Moral in everything...

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Also by Ghazala lari:

Veiled forever | Thank you | Craziness overdose 😉 |

Tanka: The Worrier

Looming housework: dust, dirt, grime
Attack my eyes each
Day I peer here, there.
Get broom, mop, soap, dust rag more
Worry is tiring. Postpone.

 

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by K. Lynn:

A First Poem |

houseworktankaworry

encounter with an old friend

Where have you been?

   Around and about.

Where did you go?

  Here and there. 

What did you?

  This and that. 

Did you have a good time?

  Yes and no. 

Are you glad to be back?

  Maybe, I’m not sure. 

Will you be leaving again?

  Probably. 

Soon?

  Perhaps. 

Do you have time for lunch?

   Ok. 

Ok.

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Lisa C Bassignani:

Waiting On The Storm |

The bird of promise

I have felt insincerity breath out of every pore and

The wind blows in on cue

As seagulls wing and float askew

Bending the air to suit their mood

The perfect patterns of history burst in upon the day

With all the predictability of unseen coves of hidden gestures

And secret codes waiting on the tip of a tongue

Never really explored until it’s too late

And I begin to wonder...

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After Eleusis

The morrow after genesis, 

marrow infused with

mysticism imbibed at Eleusis,

Demeter's blessing granting

a novel softness of tread, 

antidote to dread, yet

sharpness of spirit 

that might look upon

every sunrise as analgesic, 

and will no longer delimit

in accordance with cowardice, 

nor the convention of artifice, 

but will allow the sheer 

cheer of being to...

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Also by Holden Moncrieff:

History | Marked Deck | Faded | Guessing Game | Stricken Hour |

I'd rather it be a hundred times worse than have Russia win than have Russia win

What was in the deal that Zelinsky turned down?

What was even worse than they bomb his home town?

What was in the deal What was on the table?

When they killed the deal they killed a new world fable

 

I read in the news how all the chaos ensues

Fire fired madness lit by his refuse

Would people on the streets of Kyiv really be in pain

To bare some Russian oversight yet keep a...

Read and leave comments (5)

Also by Jed:

(untitled) | Call (or pile) Of Duty...Peekaboo |

The Epitome of Evil

you must think we were born yesterday
a charade of saving a country from evil
lies to your people and the world
you send your young men to die in vain
but not a Nazi in sight
just the bombing of innocent people
children dead, blood on your hands
a theatre, school, a nursery
a baby just 23 days old

your people can see right through you
afraid of democracy you arrest your own
you could ...

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Shadow Puppets

We cast shadow puppets 
on the bedroom wall, 
in the circle of light we’ve made, 
the lamp angled up so it beams across 
the single mattress, and us. 

I can manage an adequate rabbit, 
and a Homer Simpson that’s good, 
or bad, enough to make her laugh. 

Like this, she says, feathering my palms, 
turning me into an eagle. 

Together, four-handed, 
we figure out ways 
to create fant...

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creation none

We stand tall. The unforgotten sun. Crowding in the walls. She not told the truth. Of days in harvest moon. Standing bout in arms of empty moments. Creation. Hello, do not forsaken. The truest being new. Stuck by hollow weapon. Created by the creel in doorway. She did not hold in moments true, the child ever lasting.

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Superbly Pretty

Superbly Pretty

Pretty dance of laser fire

Multi coloured megawatt beams

Frying all they touch

Superbly pretty yet evil

Beyond Hell the capability

Fired from orbiting spaceships

 

Close to a planet

Or a galaxy away

Up close is good

See the results

The planet melts

People are gas

It's over fast

 

 

 

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Also by NICK ARMBRISTER:

Shed No tears | Missile Ways | Tupolev 141 Drone | All Putin’s Fault | Ongoing | By Sixes | Vivid Orange | 20 Cents | In Silence |

futureweaponsdestruction

THE PROMISE

Looking in the mirror,

I am starting to love you like never before, although the first wrinkles appear around your eyes.

I promise that your chatting eyes are going to bright more often

If they don’t have a reason to bright, I will find one for them.

 

I am going to treat your skin like the most expensive dress,

The kind of dress that only you could watch it, through the glass w...

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You birthed Me

I don’t know how to feel. You birthed me, but who would have known. Your method is one of a stranger. Nurtured, not I…I’ve overdosed on the pain before. Therefore, today my feelings are paralyzed. I’m free to love my self and free to be loved. My strength has carried me ahead and has empowered me to nurture my own flesh….they will flourish in this vicious world and overcome this journey with the u...

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Also by Sherri’:

Missing you | Me | My Bliss | Free | (untitled) |

Six One

He sat alone in the

Corner of the room

On a well-worn tired

Armchair. 

Working boots kicked off, 

While current affairs

Aired on. 

 

Tired eyes stared into wonder

As his right hand cradled

His weary head. 

I wondered was he tuned in

When he looked

Miles away from home. 

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Conflicted

Naieve and trusting

Ignorance is bliss

Until things go awry

Things go amiss

 

Caring and encouraging

Servitude's the attitude

Until taken advantage of

Taken your good mood

 

Brave and strong

Fight the good fight

Until the time when alone

The time to cry

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In a Dark Place

Can't focus
Hard to breathe
Hurts to feel
To frighting to look
Hiding feels secure
Mute just keeps hurt quite
So I will mute
Don't speak
Don't blink
Look straight 
Look down
Never show your window
They will see
They will know
Keep them down
Out of sight out of mind
The shadows feel safe
No one sees
Here but gone
You deserve this
You earned it.

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Also by Reno Coladangelo:

Set the night on fire | THEIR PRESENT, OUR FUTURE |

Dust to dust

Souvenir from the Sahara.

Terracotta sand washed down

by the rain, collected in gullies

on our bins and stepping stones.

Reminder that, isn’t nature

wonderful? And that it knows  

no boundaries. Shared with

France and Spain. And yet …

what other dust might be

blown in on the wind?

The answer, my friend …  

 

 

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Also by Greg Freeman:

The big chill | Shortages | From Reykjavik to Kyiv | The little green man of Berlin | Death among the conifers | The news from Ukraine | The football scores | The morning after | Tallinn |

Actually, I do have words... (for T.)

You don’t want to be rescued.

 

I want to rip out the pain

the damaged flesh

of bloody violation,

and smear the face of he who cut you

in the mess he makes.

 

So that he suffocates.

 

I want to hold you

together -

not that you need me to,

or would want me to -

but to give you safe haven.

 

So that you can breathe.

 

I want you to know agency

...

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Also by Olivia Devi Carroll:

A walk from Anydri to Paleochora |

Dear husband

We are poles apart,

Too different, from the start.

With nothing to offer,

Or help each other,

Each other’s joy we smother.

 

Our lives are together now,

Where you go, I go in tow.

Let’s live the best we can,

I'll try my idea, you follow your plan.

 

We'll see each other and smile.

And continue another day.

Another mile.

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Also by pallavitryingthings:

Silence |

Never ending currents

I am in the sea.

I feel pulled under, my left arm ripped off,

My head so heavy with words of everyone except my own

This world makes me feel like I'm so unusual, that I'm a visitor. 

Everybody sees a portion of me, but never all of me. 

In an ocean I am drowning, with the way I'm "meant to be" pulling me under

I have fallen into a pit of cement 

 

 

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Depressionaloneprocessing emotions

9 am.

My eyes are shut

my brains going wild

That feeling in my gut

Makes me want to be a child

 

I think back to yesterday

It was the very same 

I wish it would go away 

In the end I’m all to blame

 

My heart beats too fast

As the clock turns nine 

I’m giving today a pass

But I’ll be out of line 

 

Where’s the fresh start 

The one I dream about 

Even th...

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mental healthsurvivaluniversity

Greenland

The bell clatters ‘Time’ on another quiet night
tucked off the shore front
In the precious warmth of a Sisimiut tavern
I take another jar, tilt it back and drain
but still there are no answers waiting
Slouching on the bar stool
and licked by shifting shadows
lulled to doze 
by the constant comb of a shuffling sea
An absent-minded shiver washes over
and, suddenly, so softly
your pale arm...

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running awayregrethauntingoverwrought emotions

Redundancy

They have found 

my replacement

he is sat there with a

finger up his nose 

watching a cartoon 

about a talking cupcake.

 

He can recite the alphabet 

print his own name 

and his an expert in the 

sauropods of the mesozoic era.

 

Just this morning he 

recalled the names

of the planets, 

listing each one by size

and distance from the sun

 

Rememb...

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Also by Tom Harding:

Golden Age Poetry | Dark Matter | Ritual | Another Spring |

Falling in thaw

I hear them chirping

My brothers in love

I see them roosting

On boughs above

 

Jumping felt easy

To heed the call

Leaving the nest

Once and for all

 

The winds won't lift me

On wings too small

But mom, I'm flying!

Don't mind the fall

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The hungry dogs

How many individual cups of grief sit on this counter alone 
holding pictures of their sons and daughters
The distant sounds of shelling 
Dreadful walk of a slumbering, evil giant 
drunk and wheeling
A galvanizing hate, one that grinds teeth to gum
drives all tears from their spring eternal
dries one's soul into shriveled reeds 
dry, crumbling thistles 

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That last piece

Fighting a hundred battles, every damn single day
unable to help myself, with no one around who can aid.
Battling these invisible demons, but falling down each time
wondering how others can cope like this, or appear completely fine.
Twenty-Four years pass on and on, before they catch the cause
but it turns out that I'm not at fault, for all of my many flaws.
Today my struggles are validated,...

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Mental healthautismanxiety

HOW TO BE PERFECT

How to be perfect?

I ensure you, by reading the body of this write-up, you won't get the answer to that question. It's not too late to quit reading this piece.

According to the conventional, optimistic and successful societal bunch; or the elderly, who've set up the basic definitions and criterion for a top-notch nob; or the best-selling self-help crap, that is just veiled propaganda on how ...

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The Souls Of Three

What is it that drives my fear 
The way it’s Scaring me 
Is it my last breathe, with family near 
Inviting death to see 
With no other thought, than not to take
My family and their own souls of three 

I saw my life and my wife’s life 
In a kingdom of the light 
And angels wrapped their wings 
that held and gripped us tight 
With a choir that peacefully sing 
I could see my children wi...

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Also by Robert Shersby:

The Hard Goodbye | Is this justice? | Speaking Up (Confidence) | Can you see me? |

parental nightmaresNightmaresdeathAnnabelle Lee

Resonance

In the run up to world poetry day, I've been reflecting on why I enjoy reading and hearing poetry so much. I guess it's that 'I've felt that too' experience you get when a piece resonates so well. So here's a short little poem i've written just about that!

To transform your pen in to a wand

To enter lands far, far beyond

To weave a word

In to fabric of mind

To express emotion

Lef...

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Also by Ruth O'Reilly:

Borrowed |

Poetry magic

Hiccups

 

Are a real pain
when you have them
you can't get rid of them
try drinking water
try deep breaths
try a bag over your head
try any remedy but
they refuse to go away
they are stubborn hiccups
and put up a good defense
so acquiesce to hiccups
consider yourself
a hiccup in life
you came along unexpected
but there you are
son of a ...

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Also by d.knape:

The Path Of Least Resistance | SICK | Now That I Am Old | Role Reversal | Plastic Bags | Newsboys | MOSEY | GOLD | Reclining Fortunes | Reclining Fortunes | Till Death Do Us Part |

The French Mistress

I remember the days of schoolboy French

When one day along came a comely wench

She made me all tongue tied and caused a certain distress

At least that’s how I remember the French mistress

 

She used to sit upon my desk

All long legged and short skirted

I could have sold my seat a thousand times over

But I sat there happily disconcerted.

 

The l’autobus est parti

I ...

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Also by Steve Higgins:

Let's Show This to Putin |

frenchteachers

The mouse and the Lion

How much harm is inflicted by ambition and power

that carrying war in itself,

sheds blood,

tears and grief

 

How little does evil and hatred care about

slaughtering children and elders

or the present and the future of a country

 

How absolutely insane may corruption and ego become

to smother, desolate and crush a garden

 

Ukraine, you have been orphaned,

but ...

Read and leave comments (1)

PeaceInjusticeUkraine

March 2022 Collage Poem: The Lost Prophet

Strange handshake, borrower

Plugs into deep sea darkness

 

John the Baptist turns

On the aluminium kitchen taps

The River Jordan has turned radioactive

 

Vultures in the gym flex and strain

Through cluttered concrete layers

 

Vultures pounding dents from floor removed

No electricity in the gym

Nigel talking about milkshakes

 

The monsters under the bed

...

Read and leave comments (1)

collage poemstockport wollost prophet

The Fourth Happiest Place To Live in Surrey

 

Hardly ever visited before I started pub going
Even though I lived 2 miles away
But I only got to know the town well
When I started working there one day

Pollution was worse than the M25
They tried to cover it up
Masks are advised - Covid or not
In "Nam" you might have to cough up

The town's bins are a veritable treasure trove
Look at what they throw away!
If you want to go bin ...

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farnham

Can I?

I know I'm not supposed to

But can I?

I know what I should do

But can I?

I know I want to

But can I?

I've waited for so long

But everytime it seemed right

It wasn't

Here I am again

Teetering on the edge

Of what I should do 

And what I want to do

I know what I want to do

But can I?

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anxiousindecisive

Aqua Bizarre

I'm grinning while swimming, The hard crashing waves provided solace, Don't abandon your surfboard, And Shelby sold Shelley seashells, Mutual bright exchange, You can not whisper to new heights, The devil is limited, The bizarre aqua experience, Surviving under h2o, In a river I flow, In a lake I can't grow, Brownskin wrapped around my bones, I don't feel the pressure of the water, I was happy bef...

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aquabizarreebulientpoetry

Broken Hearts Will Cry, Broken Hearts Will Sing

 Where have you gone?

Where has your mercy fled?

Do you see the tears

 drenched upon my bed?

 

Do you hear my cries for shelter?

Do you remember me at all?

Please tell me you’re not just watching

As my kingdoms rise and fall.

 

One hundred and twenty days

And still I cannot breathe.

Have you buried me beneath

A burden that will not leave?

 

I know you s...

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Also by Jenre35:

Unrequited Belief | Love Not Fully Understood | My Bleeding Mother | Dark Nights |

LoveGriefFaith

The Love Unsaid

As it lay there bleeding upon its death bed

Breathing it’s last few breaths , was love unsaid

Like a seed watered with hope that it would sprout

As it laid there still not green and ready to rot

All the nurtures unheeded and gestures ignored

Like a stone on a trodden pathway unheard

No wreaths to signify the passing away ,no prayer to be said

Or a tombstone to record the littl...

Read and leave comments (0)

Blessings

Sometimes we are so busy
we don't see them changing our lives
Too many things that are stealing our attention
so many blessings are going unmentioned

Let's stop to acknowledge some
or rather make time for one
It will open our eyes to the miracles
hiding in a simple blessing from above

When I breathe a sigh of relief
realising blessings are mine to keep
How could I ever miss this on...

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Blessingsgifts

Dear Heart

I can remember you giving me your time, mind, body, and heart; and, when things were good, things were really good. We used to talk about anything until the sun came up--laughing, joking, and having heart-to-heart talks about the future and life. But, after a short time, you started noticing a change in my attitude toward you and the way I treated you. I became disconnected and distant. You would ...

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Also by Veronica Jones:

Untitled | I SEE... | IF I'M NOT YOUR FIRST CHOICE | I LOVED YOU TOO MUCH! | You wanted to be ME |

Unusual Customer

A Fox runs across 

the road covered in rain

to a car showroom.

 

(Based on a facebook post by Matt Dalby)

Read and leave comments (2)

Bigger Trees Near Warter

after David Hockney

 

Through tangled centuries of ownership

and rights these trees have always survived.

Each one in its turn reduced to a stump,

they came back stronger, earning their keep.

 

The harsher the husbandry, the sturdier

they grew, for what do we know

that’s more dependable              

than roots, bole, and branches?

 

Retaining the vigour of ...

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The Lamb

I wish you meant 

What you said

I wish you said

What you meant 

I wish I 

Didn’t know 

This half life

Between the 

Shadows 

I wish I could 

Read you 

Like a 

Book

I wish you weren’t 

The magazine 

I didn’t buy 

Because 

I’d read it 

All 

Before 

 

There are things 

I could tell you 

(And have)

Which I could tell

No one else...

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Rest in Memory

in a present time somewhere,

you tell me not to sing the song of the blue folks blues
nothing could have torn me from those words. 

not even you.

 

you said "oh, go ahead and leave."

but i refuse.

 

you cut out my heart

and ran.

but threw it out anyway.

you dig your own sanctuary

and forget about me.

Because you knew i would be too tired to dig.

so i let you...

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heartbreak

Battle with Beauty

The concept of beauty has consumed my entire head space.

Not a day goes by were I don't gaze into my reflection until it's deformed.

My mind on a continuous loop of self hatred and self obsession.

Am I pretty or am I delusional?

I seem to want to gain validation more than sanity.

Looking intently into the eyes of those who peer my way to read their mannerisms around my presence.

...

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selfimagementalhealthinsecurebeautyvalidationbattling

As I Progress Through Life

As I progress through this thing called life,

I detach more and more from strife.

I rejoice in simple pleasures taught,

Because I fill my heart with love sought.

 

I still my mind and meditate,

Searching the universe in an ethereal state.

The peace I gain keeps me balanced and sane,

Ascending above this mortal plain.

 

The more I learn about this station,

The more ...

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Also by Michael Barker:

Twin Flame |

my lifelifelife's reflection

Armchair Generals

Armchair generals
Firing other people’s bullets
With other people’s sons
Express sympathy
With the refugee
Who would be welcome here
If they weren’t such a risk to national insecurity
And Lincolnshire is full, says Leigh
Even if they’re willing to pick fruit

What has Liz’s dressing-up box
Got for us today?
Fighter pilot? Tank commander?
Recruiter for La Légion étrangère?
She’s unlik...

Read and leave comments (4)

Ukrainewarpolitics

Me

I play the flute

And get into fights

And defend my rights

I cheerlead and dance

My boyfriend's name is Lance

I go to therapy

School is too much for me

I fear heights

And a world without light

I have five friends

And life without them would be my end

So this is me

And you see

That I am quite crazy 

Read and leave comments (2)

Also by A songwriter who doesn't sing:

Tears |

Beating Seeds

It’s eating

Beating

It’s seeding inside

Its dreaming

Hoping

Its pushing inside

Its what we are believing

And directing our minds

Its everywhere around us

That keeps us alive

Its stemming 

Growing

Its maturing inside

Its accepted

Rejected

Hiding inside

Its finding 

Found

Its living inside

Its growing

Everywhere around

Into the outside

...

Read and leave comments (0)

Part 2: Lost

The sparkling mirror caught my eyes
Its’ force pulled me into;
A world beyond constants,
A world I hadn’t been into.

The autumn breeze warmed me up
As distant voices lingered around;
Each spoke unveiling the growing temptation,
Each spoke effacing where I had been bound.

The scattered paths lighted up on their own,
Having a reason to pursue;
A warning to behold the future,
A warning...

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In the world of her

On the threshold she stood,

Of the house where her life smiled.

Waving wildly her small arms at him,

Of whom she was the only child.

 

Inside sat the lady of the house,

Silencing her sobs and drinking up her tears.

Careful not to let the the happy bird know,

Chasing her was the worst of her fears.

 

All laiden with arms covered under his coat,

To not let the little...

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war to peaceinnocencepeacelifehumanityloveukraineRussiacrisisworld wars

one to far

How far have a gone 

 

How far i have cum,

 

How far am i falling 

 

Other angels bed, other lost soul 

 

A hidden Gem not enough to satisfied my soul

 

I pretend to be deep, but run every time

 

Never asked for love, i wouldn't know what to do 

 

A monster rob that from me caused my soul to be damaged for evermore 

 

And i missed the morning sun aga...

Read and leave comments (0)

I’d really like to write an angry poem

 

but I am on the path to spiritual enlightenment.

I am supported, square, girdled by self-care

and the knowledge that the now is ever-present.

I am centred, level, and I never give an inch

to unbalanced or irrational aggression.

 

But I would really like to write a ranty rhyme.

Perhaps an incandescent ballad, a vicious villanelle,

enraged acrostic or a livid limerick.

...

Read and leave comments (6)

Mourning…

I wake up to coffee

My failing eye sight

Classical music  gently calming down

The beats of the coming day

 

My cat encircles me

Wanting food

And then with trepidation

I turn on the news

 

 

They are waking up to

An underground shelter

Darkness all around them

 

Hearing in the distance

The slow thunder of tanks

 

And the loss of thei...

Read and leave comments (0)

Ukraine

hope

We sat in silence

in Room 1220,

the bustling of the nurses feet

and the machines

around us filled the space. 

beep, beep, beep. 

On other sides of the room 

as we awaited 

your final return. 

The hope from his mother

filled the air,

his life flashing before her eyes,

and all she wanted for his future,

her bright, shining boy. 

I wish I could have 

share...

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Also by Leah Voelkel:

cold | it went by so fast that i couldn't keep up | colors | the fall | wonderland | the end. | words I could have said | directions |

griefmourning

Never Give Up

Whatever happens, never give up

No matter how empty that cup

Fall, but stand back on your two feet

Regardless of the sweat, burn and beat

Face those obstacles through your journey

Every experience is priceless and worthy

Don’t get put off if you lose a battle

Just let go and shake like a rattle

Behind every face, there are ups and downs

Many beautiful smiles, but equally...

Read and leave comments (1)

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