Donations are essential to keep Write Out Loud going    

Recent Comments

For when I am weak, then am I strong

Sometimes, I lack command of cadences, tones,
Sometimes, words tumble from my pen like grain,
At other times words have to be pulled like teeth.

So  I sat down by the Manchester Ship canal,
On a cold grey December day, 
I wept silently because of the curse I carry:

The curse of a glint of a light from Elysium
Or from Zion or heaven-knows-what-you-will.
But I cannot sing the songs of th...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by John E Marks:

PAUL O'GRADY D.L. | All that love can do | An adamantine distress | Day Out | A Love Supreme | Casting stones | GIANT STEPS | STUTTERER | Genocide | Northern Morning | Widows & Orphans | Generation 27 | Parvenu | Vanishing point | Shadows of a broken vessel | Walking solo | Subliminal | Mater Mea |

Second Cup

She stands in the doorway

twisting, turning, and stretching,

intent on informing me of her decisions.

A velvety-smooth approach

I’ve delighted in many times.

 

“I think I’m going to have a second cup of coffee,

and stay in my pajamas a while longer.

I hope you’re okay with this?”

 

“I think you would be foolish not to,” I say.

“The best thing about knowing you’ll ...

Read and leave comments (1)

Also by Mike McPeek:

The Composer | Train Ride | Constant Companion | Personal Notes on Angels | Window Seat | Rain Song | Drift-Away Gifts | Local Weather |

the smell of me in a life

i leave things in other peoples houses on purpose. 

so they remember me.

so i have reasons to return. 

i left a poster in one, 

my sunglasses in another, 

so i stay in mind.

so when they wear the glasses, or the pass the poster,

they think of Nadia. 

me. 

i leave bits of me in every place i go, 

i make sure to share too much, or shout too loud. 

so they remember me...

Read and leave comments (0)

Manifesto

 

Whether it is a war of personal attrition,

Detrimentally involuntary

Or a war of hatred with their neighbour

Muscle flexing showing national pride and anxiety

Whether it’s climate change, wearing thin our planet,

Many single voices spouting climatic rhetoric

heckled and shackled by those likely to lose livelihoods

Not thinking that eventually, we all lose our lives

Wat...

Read and leave comments (5)

Also by JD Russell:

We’ve been there. | It was, and always will be, 1969 | Unsure in love | The mind of a bomber | Does anyone care? | How many? | Winter has passed and with it, love. |

political

Breathing Air on a Wintry Day

The lady

at the drive-through eatery

has a voice like honey

and a smile like sunshine.

She always processes

our order with elegance 

(although we first have to talk to annoying AI at the speaker box), and with a kind flourish passes our food out the drive-up window to our eager hands; 

"Here you go; be careful now, those fries are hot; enjoy your meal."

Well, one particular...

Read and leave comments (2)

Also by Hélène:

To Be Free | Luminescent | Doing | Distillation | Family | Easter | Midnight | A Walk & A Prayer | Prayers for Healing of the Mind | Every | Altar of Our Suffering | Today, Welcome | Learning & Communicating (2 parts) | Faith | Community | Slowly | Freedom | Float | Perhaps | 3 Course Meal | Prayer for Healing | Inexplicably |

Grimoire

Gilded journal in azure for magical studies

The timber house for two, arcane music from the otherworld

Bruin wool blankets gifted from old friends

To keep us warm in this little enclave of dreams

basket of gala apples picked ripe to last us

Makeshift bed on the floor and the moorish lanterns lit

The sylph’s secrets in the paintings beside us enchanting our sleep

We have brough...

Read and leave comments (1)

Also by Mirabel:

The Celtic sea / | Bohemian bride | Venezia |

otherworldmagic

D minor

 
Jazz piano
 Slow
 in D minor
A note that's allowed
 like the pain
 that's caused
 and delivered
the shadowed sound
 from the speakers
 is the sigh
 that pulls me back
 to that place
 that she once held
but I wont respond
 just keep  
 the kerb 2 foot away-
no turning
 back around
 to hear her needs
my wants
 are the rear-view
 mirror
 that cause the
 eye's to blink
 wet ...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Tommy Carroll:

SNIP-SNIP | Spoken breath | Trigonometry | Wittgenstein | Amber's Breath | Ember |

2023: Trev returns to Texas for National Poetry Month incorporating NaPoWriMo: Part 2 Departure day

Image: Part of the in flight entertaimnet system, in addition to music films and games there is an interactive map which show wher eyou areat any given time also says how far you have gone, how far to go, time, height and speed.

 

 

Departure Day

29.03.23 – 19) Rise, dress, coffee, taxi arrives then I’m away

Another poetry tour departure day

Motorways clear, it feels good to be ...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Trev the Road Poet:

2023: Trev returns to Texas for National Poetry Month incorporating NaPoWriMo: Part 1 The Run Up |

Anti-sonnet 1

(Music: "Reprise" - Marcelo Zarvos, Peter Vronsky)

No, I do not feel you close

nor do I think I should

a hope not there to be, for hope abounded always

in knowledge that felt almost fatelike

a hope for you

a you I’ll meet the right time

a you I’ll meet and feel like I knew that moment

since I imagined it too many times

in all its possible dimensions 

of being just a ...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by osne:

For the unnamed | Ephemeral | Stranger | System error | Rictus | Missed call | Walking dead | Expected | Betrayal | One for another | The choice | Sonnet to absence | Lossless | Mishoped | Untitled 5 | Untitled 4 | The one | The classic | Galatea | The name |

Only Beginning

I'm not sure

How relationships work

Or what to say

When you tell me I'm pretty

 

I know nothing

Of the cues,

Hints, and meanings

You put behind your words

 

I don't know how to tell

If the look you give me

Is of disinterest 

Or shyness

 

I have no idea

How anything works

Or how anything stays

So, why don't you teach me?

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by purplemoon:

Yearning |

What Do I see?

What do I see, when I see you?
Beautiful eyes, two pools of blue.
From behind, I see wavy swirls.
Of tumbling bouncing little curls.
Such a pretty face, alight with glee.
As beautiful as a child could be.
Born to smile...that gorgeous grin.
A million hearts to melt and win!
Yes, I'm your Grandad, that is true.
But that is what I see, when I see you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...

Read and leave comments (3)

Also by Mike Bartram:

Windows | Message | Mother's Day 19/3/23 | Through Raindrops | My Secret |

hope my synonyms are right, i graduate soon tehe

Can't wait to be free from the shackles of university. 

The weight of the future is in your hands! It is up to you to save the world from global warming, freezing temperatures and from lightrays that can pierce through overpriced sunnies.

My head aches from the anxitey of university. 

The token of diversity, the physical persona of the 'I have a dream speech', and the face of fake progres...

Read and leave comments (0)

Seeds For Gaia

On waking,

she shivered a rainbow 

upon the knoll where bodies lay.

Yawning flowers took note,

flaunting their colours as a veil.

Her fingers dug deep into the fertile soil

until she could feel the root.

The old oak swaying its gnarly arms.

The moss, so moist and sweet, sang.

She could hear the breeze whistling  the grass.

A lullaby of morning dew.

From the forest ...

Read and leave comments (4)

Also by Stephen W Atkinson:

My Ambrosia | I'm Me! Can't you see? | Tears In The Rain |

I Write In Pen

Expressions of Love: Part XLIII

Title: I Write In Pen

 

I write in pen.

Because, like our relationship,

It is final.

There is no going back,

only forward; ink building

and growing like our connection,

every single day.

 

-Jaxy

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Jason Phillips:

Dad | Consumed | Mi Amor |

loveloversconnection

I Knew the Sun would Shine.

They said I’d never make

A good poet

So I told them they could throw it

To the wind

For all I cared

 

I knew the sun would shine

On those who dared

And so I dared

To share

 

I gathered words

I wove them with emotion

Gently placed them

Into empty spaces

Sat back

And watched the wonder

On peoples faces

 

I took tears

And smiles

Grief

...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Clare:

People Like Us | Indelible. | Stick it where the sun don’t Shine!😂 | Back Into The Grey |

Language Barrier

I’m screaming at the top of my lungs

But she can’t hear me.

I might as well be yelling in French or Spanish because

She just doesn’t understand me

When I tell her I can’t do this.

 

She doesn’t get it when I tell her

I don’t know—

Je ne sais pas,

Yo no sé

—how I’m going to see this through.

 

It’s like my brain es en fuego from all

Of the información being ...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Elle Shaine:

Understanding | Dead Rat | Hit and Run |

understandingfamilyoverwhelmedteenage bullshit

ALFIE THE INCORRIGIBLE OPTIMIST

I’ve been wondering about ancestral memory recently.

Take Alfie.  He’s my daughter’s little white dog.  She describes him as a bichon frise-something-or-other cross.  I call him a mongrel.

Alfie doesn’t mind.

He’s about 7 years old, although he’s rather guarded about his age.  Vanity, I suppose.

Anyroadup, Alfie does that timeless thing that all dogs have done since cavelady times.  (S...

Read and leave comments (6)

Also by John Coopey:

IF THEY COME | IT'S MY PARTY AND I'LL LIE IF I WANT TO | "SPEND! SPEND! SPEND!" | DEEP THROAT | MATCH OF THE DAY - CANCELLED | THE FANNY PIT | INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY | INTERNATIONAL BUGGER-ALL DAY | "NOT A FUCKING CLUE" | WETHERSPOONS |

Creation

As I write, each line reaches for memories

lost, fallen beyond the edge of the world:

kamarupa dwelling in infinity, fading

 

when my lines do not find them

and my words fail passion and desire.

 

Eons, lost pasts. Which of them

could dream my frail dream of this

verse? Which, thrown

 

across the fabric of time, could make

nothing everything?

Read and leave comments (1)

Also by Chris Armstrong:

Who includes diversity... | Resistant News | Consequences |

memorywritingRumitimedreamingkamarupa

The horse’s leg,a miracle,how did it come about ?

A horse can gallop up to 30 miles per hour,

This involves ingenious mechanical power ,

The muscles in the legs act as dampers vibrating to any length,

A highly specialised muscle design that provides agility and strength.

 

Horses can sometimes be seen standing up as they sleep,

So that they can run away as predators upon them creep.

The design of the horse's legs engineers ha...

Read and leave comments (1)

Also by hugh:

That’s snot very funny!! | A bad move having a meal out with a mate!! | Revenge | Good news for me and you | The spread of kindness | Avoid an unhealthy hell and look after your body well. | A depressed teenager's hope for the future was lifted | Our world is in turmoil !! | Hip hip hooray for women's international day !! |

Milk Bottles

In the great tempest of eighty-seven,

Mum and Dad remembered milk bottles

Bouncing and blowing down their quiet street.

Incredibly, none of them were broken,

Though hordes of healthy trees were smashed to bits.

But soldiers do not escape so lightly:

One bullet shot is easily enough

To shatter for good their unprotected shield.

The broken glass has to be collected

And put...

Read and leave comments (5)

Also by Stephen Gospage:

Pot Shots | Villanelle for a village cricketer | The Reunion Party | Circumstances | Dumb Animals | Bakhmut | Anonymity | Footprints |

Ukrainewar

Dear Emma

Dear Emma

Rember the words you said?

The kind, loving words?

The I love yous?

The I'll always be there for yous?

The let me do your makeup?

The let me dye your hair?

I always aspired to be like you

But you changed

The I love yous

The I'll always be there for yous

The I'll always protect yous

You changed the way you do your hair

You changed the way you held me...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Dolly:

Lynching |

POINTS TO PONDER

Those who deserve respect seldom demand it;

Those who demand respect seldom deserve it.

Those who merit reward rarely expect it;

Those who seek reward rarely reject it.

Those who choose to preen and preach

Can frequently miss the chance to teach.

Better by far to debate and discuss -

And be of far more use to us!

................................................................

Read and leave comments (4)

Also by M.C. Newberry:

MY MOTHER - a re-post for Mothering Sunday. | NIGHT THOUGHTS |

Grammar Police

I’ll hold up my hand and I’ll freely admit

to my grammar police inclinations,

because knowing your shit and knowing you’re shit

are two quite discrete revelations.

 

And if I make the statement “I’m going to”,

I should follow with my destination,

while if somebody else says “I’m going too”,

I might greet that with some trepidation.

 

To say I want a peace, or I want a...

Read and leave comments (6)

The Pouring Rain

The pouring rain

Erasing the pain

Windows soaking wet

Similar to the Summer sweat

Wiping away all the dirt

From which the trees and grass are hurt

A perfect shower for the road

Vehicles have literally slowed

All cosy and gazing outside

Watching the rain as my guide

A great way to release your soul

Before I get up and go for a stroll!

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Aisha Suleman:

Ramadan |

The Too Tall Tool by LADpoem (story of a 6ft 7 man)

Too Tall Tool by LADpoem

I wonder just how many people

think that it's ok

to comment on a person's height

having only met that day.

Coz so far I have noticed

that there seems to be a rule

that you can say just what you want

if someone's 6ft 7 tall.

 

"Oh my god how tall are you?"

I regularly hear

from rude insensitive people

when I'm out for a casual beer.

...

Read and leave comments (1)

https://fb.watch/j1-jiBMMCT/

Barter Books, Alnwick

Dozens of trains went back and forth daily

to and from the junction in its heyday.

Fifty-five years ago, the last service.

The terminus building still stands,

grand, too grand for just a branch,

but maybe not too high and mighty

for royalty visiting a duke of Northumberland.

 

Now far more browsers than ever waited

on the platforms throng the old parcels

and waiting r...

Read and leave comments (7)

Also by Greg Freeman:

Song of the Ofsted Inspectors | Black gold | No, Minister! or Whatever happened to the BBC? |

No One Understands

Many of my poems are about him

Because I want people to know

What it’s like to love him

It’s like eating sweet fruit

Ripest from the season

If I had to share it with one person

I would only take one bite

And give the rest to my lover

Because I convinced myself

His happiness was mine

No one understands what he meant to me

There are no words in the world

To expres...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Jaded_Jas:

Bipolar Episode | Loving You Not Me | Moral Compass | I Belong To... | This is Bipolar | Never Meant To Be | Dear Love | Prettiest | Poor Minded | Not Love |

Tuning Fork

I lay the knives, sharp, on the table, flat. 
Notes of cinnamon and spices should keep the tempo light,
As I conduct the kitchen, for my dinner party tonight. 

 

Knock knock, they melodically rap upon the door,
I go to greet my fine guests, yet moments before,
I turn back from the handle, for I'm not so sure,
Which of the four seasons should delight my decor?

 

To choose only one,...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Jack Roberts:

Nothing |

light-heartedMusicfunny

Hide brokenness

Hello pal, you okay bud, you alright great to see you 

Am friends with everyone 

A chramer, a smiler,a real disco dancer a real nice guy 

I have all the qualities am likabke all a round

generous to a fault, Nothing can get me down so they think 

But you wouldn't believe that the life of the party is dieing inside his on the brink

My crown is begin to slip, I love a drink 

One ...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Keith Byrne:

War within | My problem | I used to | I wish | A journey | Will you |

Death on the highway!

Death is so jarring, though we are cognizant of it’s looming presence, when faced with it, we cocoon our very beings in a state of stillness…

As a creature of habit, I embarked on a morning walk, silently welcoming the beginning of spring. The wind caressed my face ever so softly with the sun making an inconsistent appearance.

Ruminating over things past and present! 

I walked gallantly, ...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Grace:

Tales Echoed |

RIP

Wounds of liberation

Imagine being totally untethered

After feeling chain linked 

I feel split

That part removed 

That half is trying to renew

But it hurts 

To grow scab over wound 

Missing you is mourning you 

Leaving you is still losing you

And I’m just as lost

As I made you 

If it could be 

I would make it be 

Should I be chain linked again 

I would make it good 

Should ...

Read and leave comments (0)

Missmove onpainhurtupsetloveRelationshiphealhealingbreak upfreedomemotionfixgrowliberateimprisontrapindependentidentityadaptsingletwopaircoupleoneuntetheredlossmourngoodbye

Cast Me away

Cast me away on a sea of dreams

And let me float away

I’ll be back later on

Sometime today

 

Cast me away on a sea of thoughts

And let me drift away

I’ll explore my inner workings and try to find

A little peace of mind

 

Cast me away from living people

Let me walk among the dead

And hear their stories from the past:

Thoughts and dreams and memories that last

...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Steve Higgins:

The Big Spot | The Curve of Her Neck | The Godfather Part III |

life

Ouvriers Britanniques en Solidarité Avec La CGT -" À bas Macron- À bas les Tories.

Jeremy Clarkson Said..."Striking Public Sector Workers Should be Shot in Front of Their Families".

Why wasn't he sacked,and arrested for incitement to murder +or grievous bodily harm?

https://youtu.be/ovacofuB63A

 

L'internationale: French; and English below. https://youtu.be/Ptc1c5wi_X8

 

Debout, les damnés de la terre
Debout, les forçats de la faim
La raison tonne en son cra...

Read and leave comments (1)

Also by Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh:

Державний Гімн України State Anthem of Ukraine | Led By Donkeys Sting! | Screwed! | Tory Haiku | Scríobh Amach Os Ard É!-Write It Out Loud! | Illegal Refugees Bill = The Bill that IS Illegal |

Food for Thought (Science Entry) four items

Rat Tank


 

1. Take five live female rats.

2. place in aquarium like tank and tend day and night.

3. keep under guard twenty four seven.

4. tank is size of pen but aquarium so no rats escape.

5. keep at body temperature - akin to daily temperatures in equatorial regions.

6. infect one of the female rats with aids/hiv like condition the animals in equatorial regions are expre...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by ZTK Space:

Ode To The Warning Mocking Bird | Good Move Theresa | Amidst a Cuckold Clout |

Waiting For My Nobody

Tired souls sigh together,

lovers have given up on getting better,

but I will continue to stay with the withered tree until the end of times.

We have exchanged the word 'forever'

and thus I will patiently wait untill we are back together.

I will wait for you, my Nobody,

until my body cannot anymore.

Until my body decays

and my bones slip into Mother's embrace.

Even then...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Yasoda:

Mercy | I Love Myself (Unfortunately) |

lovelifewaitinglonginghopepoetrybittersweettragedypoemPassion

Selected Poems For Mothers

It has to be

large print

not
      too clever
and not too crude

It can't be a sure-fire hit
you have to take a chance
or forget it forever

it doesn't need to be
a cavernous 
          hope 
growing inside 
a Ben Nevis

it just is

Right there in black and white 
     and you all for shading
might two agree to disagree
     and still hear the ring of truth?


You know 
...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Adam Whitworth:

Yes Sir | In Memory | Ecology In Crisis | Words for 'Thaxted' | Mood Of A Season | Between The Ages A Thoroughfare | Aflipbook |

Carpe Diem

Carpe Diem

To be young again, carefree, and be

Only me, free of responsibility.

You see, context is key,

I hope you agree that we

Live and grow like a tree,

Branch out and roots go deep

Which may at times keep us steady,

Ready to go or stay

And after hours, night and day

Passes, months become years,

And age amasses. Our fears

Allay and gray days hide the sun

...

Read and leave comments (0)

The War

Who had waged countless wars

That  have all ultimately become

Pounds of wounds

Sitting on both shoulders

All the wars turned into

Pure exhaustion

And lots of embarrassment

Came into being later on

Prayers can beat off 

The soul's meanigless wars 

 

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Begum Burak:

Evil in them |

war poetry

My Grandson Writes his Name

for Ziyad

 

The first letter he has known for months

in zig-zag lines getting nowhere.

 

Turned on its side and crayoned blue

he can stretch it out like a river;

 

or if he changes colour can make

a mountain, some grass, a fire.

 

Cut back to its simplest form

and laid out in rows like ghosts,

 

he follows the dots over and over

before he does it on hi...

Read and leave comments (1)

Also by David Cooke:

Shadow Boxing |

The Self-Fulfilled Prophecy

The Self — Fulfilled Prophecy

Baby— I know they hurt you bad

It makes me mad

 That one person's actions

Could leave you feeling— so small and sad

 

My darling— it’s not just my view 

How you were treated— was not your fault

Please belief this

It’s true

 

But you can’t shake it

You think the way they behaved

Was because of you

You were made to question ever...

Read and leave comments (2)

Also by Rasa Kabaila:

These Jeans Do Well |

Beauty of Mind

 With a highly volatile temper

A person may lose the beauty of mind

Just like a sweet flower in the winter.

With all sweetness a flower blooms,

But the warmth of the sun

Does burn the soft petals.

The air does fade its aroma away.

The water hits the soft petals

With a mighty splash

Time and again.

But

If the beauty of mind blooms once,

Neither the sun, the ai...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Ujjal Mandal:

The Beauty of Earth | Beauty in Ugliness | Life, the Thrill of Infatuation | The Song of Beauty | Mother, My Muse! | Religion of Water | What a Mother Really Is! |

mind power

Repetitious...

The millenia lurk

by the rafters

in the sky, marvelling

at the choices

of marionettes trying

to illumine a prophecy, 

infuse it with fact;

epochs poke through,

to peek at the calcifying 

of evil-doing, all 

in the name of good;

not a name, of course, 

but a pseudonym, cunningly

whispered by the dreaded,

hydra-headed, shapeshifting 

free-will-usurper...

...

Read and leave comments (3)

Also by Holden Moncrieff:

Dream-woven | Pantheon | Tick-tock... |

Winchester's Mystery

This is a testament to my will

I'm jumping ship and swimming home

All the way to Winchester, where the doors lead to plaster

To neither here nor there

Nor any hereafter

There's commotion on the other side

Interference on the other line

I can't tell where I am

Where I'm situated 

Whether I was written into the grand plan

Or an afterthought somewhat estranged

From th...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Katherine Page:

Impatience, Prudence | The Defender | In the Midst of Dying | The Silent Toll |

Rain

Rain on my window 

Hissing like black and white interference

Unable to tune in

Searching the dial for a glimmer 

A flick of a picture 

A glimpse in the mirror

A speeding car

A lovers kiss

Peering into another world 

The other world

A world of madness

Brainless humanity 

Busily going nowhere 

Chasing dreams

Or chasing reality

Pursuit of perfection

Or ...

Read and leave comments (2)

Also by Edbreathe:

Our friends |

Posts

I put a post of myself on again

And then think of all the critics

Those so called friends frowning in consternation at my narcissistic tendencies 

As if am putting a mirror up to their own insecurities 

That need to nuke the system sings in my synapses

Normality makes me mad

Friendship can’t be had

I am miles away from my mission but closer than most

God is not the Father, ...

Read and leave comments (0)

Social mediahonestyadhddepressionmental illness

Her Reflection

She walks past the icy road.
She floats by the freezing sea.
She carries a cold heart inside
Her expression is the reflection I see.

She laughs as it passes by 
She haunts the rolling, painful cry.
She goes for the treasure that hide
Her expression is the reflection I see.

Her tears are made of Howling Blood
Her face reads out for help.
She would tell if her mouth wasn’t filled with ...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Zola Eppenger:

I Brought | Day Dream | His Bucket List |

வாழ்க்கை பயணம்

வாழ்க்கை என்ற ஒன்றில் பிறப்பு முதல் இறப்பு வரை அனைவருக்கும் பயணம் ஒன்றே ஆனால் அவரவர் தேர்ந்து எடுக்கும் பாதை வேறு . . . . . . வளைந்து செல்லும் பாதைகளில் திரும்பி செல்ல தெரிந்துகொள்ள வேண்டும் இல்லையெனில் வீழ்வது நாம் தான் பாதை அல்ல . . .. . .. . . உடன் வருபவர் உனக்காக வரவில்லை ஊருக்காக வருகிறார். . . . . உனக்கு தேவையான உணர்விற்காக இல்லை அவருக்கு தேவையான உதவிக்காக வருகிறார் ....

Read and leave comments (1)

poemlifeselflove

never ever

 

 

~ imPRESSions ~

 

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Red Brick Keshner:

skyward | exist-inguished crises | going, not gone |

LOST IN TRANSLATION

LOST IN TRANSLATION

 

It didn’t hurt if he stayed alert,

and kept on top of the pain.

Some days were better than others,

but I never heard him complain.

When asked why he went, he’d just say,

‘someone had to’.

But I’m not sure if he’d do it again.

 

So, what do you see when you look at me?

I’m curious to know. Is it someone whose father

fought for this countr...

Read and leave comments (1)

VISION

I heard the song right then I had a vision 

I put it on paper added colour locations down to actors precision 

Out of my hands 

God's decision 

Next thing I'm watching it back on the big screen television 

It all started with a vision 

When I realised it realised it became my mission 

This is my special gift of which God has given 

And for a long time yes it was kind of hid...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Sarah Louise mcnee:

STRUGGLING THESPIAN | BLUE TICK HEART | HOLOGRAPHIC | ARMOUR OF GOD |

Visionmanifestbelieve

Live in life

Sometimes it seems to be a cake walk

Other times it makes you to stagger

 

Sometimes it is a bed of roses that soothes you

Other times it is like thorns and briers that prune you

 

Sometimes it will give the love that reaches the sky

Other times it will give the hatred that is deeper than chasm

 

Sometimes it will pour riches and glory

Other times it will make you ind...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Persis Alabaster:

A lake of 2 worlds |

Sputnik

Why do I keep coming to these places?
Attempting to siphon something into this void
Vicarious joy, vicarious hope, still dream of the rope
Can't cope with this anymore, the wound is forever sore
I'm getting sick of trying, lying to myself a bit more
Fuck your good health, choke on your worthless wealth
Burn down another Newport, the tenth or twelfth

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by sandbar:

Menthol memories |

Tree Blossom

The tree blossom is starting to appear
the braver trees go first
Soon there will be an explosion
as pinks and white hues pop and burst 

Plus the bees are beginning to buzz 
which is exciting to see 
Today is the first day of spring 
which gifts these precious sights for free

Read and leave comments (2)

Also by julie callaghan:

Glory Of The Snow | Lighter Mornings | Happy Lambs | Brand New Day | Snowdrops | Brisk Morning | Blossom | Frogspawn |

Meet Me By The Shore

A sequel to Walking Down To The Lake

There she is, a former glow 
that once filled a room the moment 
she granted it with her presence, 
a memory of what used to be.

The frigid air blowing through the trees 
on this winter night reminds us 
that the warmth we used to know 
left us long ago.

What would it take 
but a grasp of her hand, 
an inviting smile, a long embrace 
to shake ...

Read and leave comments (2)

lovehoperejection

A bird, mountain and sky

It's a beauty to see a bird bouncing from the fields
to take a flight with its mighty wings... 

One of them can fly just over the mountain, 
and hastily come back to its hollow nest... 

The other one has the power to kiss the sky, 
and fetch the pearls of heaven... 

Their King let's the former to exploit its mightiest might, 
and the latter is left to fate with paralysed wings...

Read and leave comments (0)

birdmountainskyKing

Blue sea

The cold dew in winter,
Ice cold drink,
Blood in the window.

Holiday gathering,
Red cascading falls,
Nor the way a tone makes me.

Imagine dream by a bedside,
Holding in one hand a child,
Sunkin deep in the sea.

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Alita Moore:

Behind the screen door |

ghosts of my life (sinking in a stream of consciousness)

 ACT 1 
MELTING into the crucible
of her sapphire and steel stare
i felt myself turn into liquid
in the most lucid fluid stream
where my outlines disappeared
with my insides dispersed on the table of a roadside cafe
plucked out if the nineteen forty's. 
lost in the smooth swing of background 
Glen Miller big band jazz
& a chorus of old man monotone conversation
volume turning up a few b...

Read and leave comments (1)

Also by Rob Cohen:

Peyote Flavoured Fables | Combustion & Creation (portrait of a paranoid artist, smoking) |

The Covert Narcissist

Hidden behind a perfectly prepared cloak of invisibility

Personalised meticulously for this latest victim

Expertly woven from the delicate and fragile fibres

Of their current victim's soul.

 

Interlaced with personality traits

Vulnerabilities plucked, deepest secrets stolen

Intimate thoughts intertwined in the fabric

To be worn by this charming illusionist.

 

A victim...

Read and leave comments (2)

abusecovert abusenarcissisticnarcissistnarcissistic abusevictim

It was not easy (Don't you think?)

Has it crossed your mind a sense of lust and us in the afterglow? Have you used your power to lose my north in your wonder’s world? Have you ever thought of me while you save sinners with some stitches? Have you ever liked me? Did you fake your smiles? Did you mean that? Did you know me, or it was just your spells disguised with that hero essence?

It was a counterfeit, and I was a puppet in yo...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Dilsonn A. Mejía:

My best friend | What I want (something to dream about) | In a dark room |

THE TOASTMASTER'S FLY

Toastmaster toastmaster, where have you gone?

the bride and her father await,

at the threshold they stand exactly as planned

awaiting your welcoming call

like a preening bird in black and red

on an aristocratic estate. 

 

Is it perhaps you've forgotten your lines

is a crisis of confidence striking,

your plumage gives you a right to speak

is something not to your likin...

Read and leave comments (4)

Also by ray pool:

COSTUME DRAMA |

Death Of Joy

Every time you look at me

You make me shiver  

Not in joy but in pain

Like suicidal impulses

 

Before the ages of God

Before the invent of clothes

Stars were brighter

We were the happiest

 

There was no word in between

Nor any sentence to form

Only a touch was enough

To feel each other within

 

Now the laws and the oaths

Rule the hearts and the mi...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by NilavroNill Shoovro:

Children Of Paradise |

deathjoysorrow

Trenches and Toasts

Trenches and Toasts

 

Lives are being taken every single day

at the orders of those who are not in harms way.

Many struggle through mud filled trenches

whilst those at home enjoy splendid lunches.

 

Gun fire threatens as missiles fly by

as the politicians continue to deceive and lie.

The fearful, the brave go to do their duty

whilst others take home their undeserved b...

Read and leave comments (1)

Also by keith jeffries:

A Canopy of Darkness | The Presence | Framed | The Perennial Jackboot | Not all are the same | The Last Journey | Through the Gate | Behold |

Recognition

Is it important to get recognition
For all our achievements and ambition?
Is it important others know when we are good?
Not have our names dragged through the mud

Is it important for us to be seen,
And have people know just what we mean?
Is it important to be highly praised
And in all perceptions firmly raised?

Is it important to have popularity
To be understood with total clarity?
I...

Read and leave comments (1)

Stuart VannerRecognitionJustice

“Resolution Mountain

Follow the signs to the trail, I'll be right there because I know no one showed you the way last time, as we take heavy steps in our merrel boots I am elated for our journey to commence, the air filled with tree bark aroma, and the wind tickles the Devine grass, I am grateful to be in nature, naturally I spend time around 4 walls, climbing this tall mountain I'm in search of resolution, it's time ...

Read and leave comments (0)

Forgetful Flu

as spirit shadows of the past wait children of the sunlight remember - - -but there was this one time.

Forgot the card

Forgot to visit

Forgot to say

just how much

I love you Mum.

 

Facing Mother's wrath

Spirit wind blows

Icy cold blast

shivering fever strikes

giving me intolerable flu.

 

Coughing and spluttering

Mum's ghostly voice

whispers in delight

...

Read and leave comments (3)

putting it right prescription says don't forget

Sun Shines All Around You. (The nurture of nature)

A trickle of sweat, runs down your face, it won't allow your emotions to embrace,  you are left bereft, while the sun, shines all around you.

Voices of fear, blacken your days, keeping you in those rat-infested alleys of your ways, as your habits usurper the days.

Yourself taught mechanisms, fixate the hate, hurt your mind, and the culture kills off any hope, that I will ever find you.

S...

Read and leave comments (3)

Finishing Strong

first act was hastily written 

lot of characters quickly forgotten 

technical problems with lighting and sets 

 

second added complications 

it was not without distractions 

it was dark but held my interest 

 

in the third they made it all work 

energy and music came together 

unexpected themes and twists

 

tied up in patterns that made 

the whole experience ...

Read and leave comments (2)

Also by Robert C Gaulke:

I’d | People you may know | Into the camera | Prove you're not a robot |

in the dance

 

we are one

chained communication

not manacled, locked

in meditative mantra

 

linked    

submitting to a

deliquescing lexicon

how does my heartbeat replicate

 

this song? how do my limbs know

how to sing along?

fingers mimic intricate design

i am triangle, ribbonesque

 

wrapped within a miracle

of sun spots, ink blots, euphoric drops

and k...

Read and leave comments (5)

Also by Laura Taylor:

On Reflection | The Lie of the Ancient Mariner |

ravedance

Love…. Finally

The quest

The fail

The tried 

The untrue

And Rewind

The heartaches

The abuse

The misuse

………….Misery loves company 

It was all a blur

One day true love ❤️ erased You

Finally.

Read and leave comments (0)

loved

TINDERBOX

TINDERBOX

Firewalker faith must be required

to hop this white-hot sand

and now all zones are tinged with fear

of sunburn or combustion.

 

We stretch naked in the dunes

until guards arrive on decency patrol,

ice-cream hawkers melt away,

persistent surfers finally desist.

 

The sea's an aquarium of coke cans

anyway, and plastic in the throats of birds.

Interpid...

Read and leave comments (4)

The Retreat

The Retreat

 

He sits in the same chair

with his drab voice and dead eyes.

Cobwebs grow on him.

He’s there in the morning

when I bring him breakfast.

He’s there in the evening

when I bring him dinner.

 

......

...................................

 

A young man walked along a sea front 

his hair had colour, his face taut 

forearms smoothed brown by the su...

Read and leave comments (2)

Also by Neil Fawcett:

Lost Boy | Last Walk |

Invisible feelings

The frozen river you can’t see,

It flows through your eyes,

How delicate it may be you won’t feel it,

You shan’t see the feeling it becomes,

 

Those noises it squeals,

That may turn through strong desires,

You can’t touch in such approach,

From the lightest touch it feels,

 

The atmosphere it absorbs,

Surrounds the area with great pain ambience,

You see this for...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Sarah shahzad:

Hidden Truth | Poems About Community | Short Poems About Life | Wild Birds in Captivity | Raven |

throughssad poemInvisible feelings

Dear Rufus

https://youtu.be/X_zbH_BK7y4

It’s been two years since I wrote a poem about Rufus my springer spaniel

Sharing I’m frightened of dogs and in need of a manual

That I often draw Rufus to understand better

Because I don’t share the bond he and my partner Alex have together

Be jealousy free, come out of the fog

Don’t play second fiddle when it comes to a dog

You can joke with y...

Read and leave comments (1)

Also by Lee Campbell:

Michael in the Mountains (with poetry film) |

Money

Money, money, isn’t funny

in a poor man’s world.

When your boric acid and lint, ‘skint’

You’ve not got any to compare to the many

who have a lot, yea the have’s and have nots

 

It’s always been this way they say

So deal with it in any which way, but how

Learn to say “how now brown cow”

Start to posh up, sip from your cup

or glass, don’t slurp, that’s crass

 

Tak...

Read and leave comments (1)

Also by Rick Varden:

Where do You Belong? | Needles and Pins | This Silent Landscape |

Exploring the Intersection of Dance and Literature: A Journey of Artistic Expression

Exploring the Intersection of Dance and Literature: A Journey of Artistic Expression

Dance and literature are two art forms that have captivated the imaginations of artists, writers, and observers alike. From the ancient Greek tragedies to the romantic ballets of the 19th century, the interplay between these two forms of artistic expression has enriched our culture and inspired countless wo...

Read and leave comments (0)

literatureartsartistdance

me from afar

if i could love you in a good way

i would do so; the best i could 

but the sun doesn’t even set at the same time for us 

so i’ll continue to rot in this room 

until my last summer here turns to fall 

i would love you so dearly 

but i love you from afar 

and yet you still find a way to overwhelm my mind 

-

i apologize for the way i treat you

i warn you for the things i...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by lon:

to whom it may pain | winter as a person |

love

The sea not still

The sea has not been still 

and the fishermen

nearly losing

the nets they cast,

the seaweed entangled 

like sequins sown badly

onto the fish nets 

for a final haul where 

backs bent and burnt  

from an unforgiving sun

will pull frantically to 

catch, if only briefly,

the songs of the silent sea

M Martinez 2022

Read and leave comments (0)

Stockport WoL March 2023 Collage Poem: 'Secret Code'

A trawl of brawling sailors drown

            The captain’s thundercloud

A writer’s hat that lights

            Up in the dark

The flash of a photographer’s eyes

The eternal exhibition of white walls

 

Lines of lamplights on the edge of a field

            Stand vigil for sodden sheep

Seven seconds after hours

            Too many ghost faces

Prayers in eternity ...

Read and leave comments (1)

Secret CodeCollage PoemStockport WOLMarch

Loyal Love

Not just a dog

But a companion

Who always sticks beside you no matter where you go

Your shadow in every room

 

Not just a dog

But a protector

Who stays alert to threats no matter the hour

Telling off uneasy strangers, animals, or mother nature

Sensing danger and putting themselves in the line of fire

 

Not just a dog

But a friend

Who always makes you laugh an...

Read and leave comments (2)

Also by Thunderous Moon:

Wintertime Gloom |

All I Needed

I have hoped from identity to identity.

Searching for the one fit for my skin.

Beat myself up on body features I got.

Wishful thinking of beauty, ooh my God.

I didn’t know, self-esteem is what I needed.

 

I listened to any adult, in search of wisdom.

Doubtful of my thinking against conformity.

I learned that ignorant adults do teach too.

Inducing their views on keenly en...

Read and leave comments (4)

Also by Lucas Chihinga:

Grooming The King |

4 track thinker

She's a 4 track thinker

Thinks like a star blinker

Thought so fast words fell apart 

She picked up the pieces and made them into art

Track 1's her base

A mantra at pace

Track 2 psychobable everything new

On track 3 scientific mind

Specific observations of the first kind

On track 4 thoughts turn to awe 

Her subliming meaning could even stop a war!

 

She's a 4 tra...

Read and leave comments (0)

Love

Love? 
If you find it, keep it.
If you lose it, move on.

It's the sweetest poison, it kills slowly. 
And the surest medicine, it heals slowly.

I am not lucky with love, it's too fragile.
Guess I don't handle it with care.

I love the sight of it, but hate to groom it.
I admire it from afar but hate to try it.

If I find love, I'll keep it.
If I lose it, I'll move on.

Written by:...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Elijah enenche peter:

MIRROR OF LIES | I Take Solace at Night | A LETTER TO THE CRAZY WORLD (ADULT) | Dear Mother | The Library | Freetown, No longer free |

Moments in nature

I see my sisters.

Pebbles and earth. 

A river, I hear.

Birds above flying high up in the trees. 

I taste nature, the woodland. 

I touch the earth. 

I play. 

I imagine this place is still the same as it was back then. 

I remember the fun, the freedom, the safety of my family. 

Everything is perfect, just as it is.

Wearing my red and white strawberry patterned dress. 

Read and leave comments (2)

The Flat

These rooms are  cleaner, tidier now,

Shorn of their clutter, anyhow.

 Mum’s flat echoes, to my heavy tread,

as I pace to the beat of an empty drum,

gathering mem’ries of my dear old mum.

I lean across her dining table,

To eat some food, where she last fed.

 

Her chair is empty, but still bears the scars,

The detritus of her toast and jam.

faint vestiges of mum’s cu...

Read and leave comments (7)

heaven in peace

Hallowed whispers echoed,

resonating something solitary,

calmness showering the empty halls.

For it looked at peace,

maybe a gaslighting of enlightenment

or maybe a hope to be resolute.

Like all,

it creaked here 'nd there,

cracks enough to dissolve its beauty,

and reveal the ugly truths.

But we remained blind,

cause we woke with every flare,

knowing death stood ...

Read and leave comments (1)

notmybestbeginner

Love Unborn

So sure I wouldn’t go out 
What the fuck is this all about?
Four pints down 
God, Im acting like a clown
As soon as I enter the club 
Look, there is my love 
You’re holding hands with her 
Some of it is still a blur
You make your way to me 
Your embrace is so heavenly 
But she’s yours
The one shutting all my doors 
No idea who I'm kissing tonight 
Probably anyone in my sight 
Can’t g...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by M. Massy:

Nights Out | Dad Mom | Life | Middle of the Night | Lust |

Superhero

I have always been attracted to villains.
Maybe it's because of their stubbornness about an idea, or maybe it's because of their lucidity in their intentions.

A superhero, trickster, is contradictory at its core.

If a revolution contains violence within itself, it becomes what it fights against, it becomes nothing but rot in a suit made of good intentions.
Nothing significant changes.
If ...

Read and leave comments (0)

I'm Your Secret Admirer

Your eyes are dreamy

They remind me of the Sunrise

At the ocean

Your lips are soft and luscious

I like the way you lick them when you talk

I wonder how they taste

Back to your eyes

They're so expressive

Rather you squint

Or you wink

Those eyes can tell you

A story

Without you ever speaking

On what you think

Your nose is fat

It reminds me of our Ancestor...

Read and leave comments (0)

The lack of sodium

Memories added up escaping a past 
I tried to run from I want to be a nobody
So my face is not loved 
Just like the words of a break up 

So tell the stores of us 
But don’t forget I never loved you
I only did when it helped me 
These are the lies I need told 
So no one is hurt by the end of my life 

I was hollow and alone 
Happy and miserable 
A oxymoron but beautifully paired 
To ...

Read and leave comments (0)

That

I almost regret to write this poem

for fear it may vanish

flicker away like Evan's flame

scared of the voices

that murmurs that carry its name

across the wind

whispers of That

 

but it only lives for a little

hiding in plain sight

waiting to be noticed

so it may slip away

one more time

 

only to be invited back

by the warm, orange glow

of the everlas...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by w3sko:

Translucent | The Lizard | Scream | Sunset | Silent Cacophonies | Shorebreak | The Fire | Water |

friendshipvibenowmemoryjoymoment

Flight to freedom

Happiness spreads it's wings 

And takes me far away with it 

Into lands of joy and peace 

As I slowly learn to fly my destiny

 

A bouquet full of smiles 

Sweet scented fragrances mixing 

Intoxicating my lovely home 

Doors and windows wide open 

 

Floating over the rivers of laughter 

Life is a beautifully meandering saga 

With each rhythm my heart beats faster 

...

Read and leave comments (3)

Truth

Keep lying to me

I know you know that I know.

Don’t think I never did,

I just wanted you to prove yourself

And to prove myself wrong 

I just wanted to be wrong this time.

But once you hit the wall,

You can't say that I never tried.

This wouldn't have worked 

Even if I tried playing along.

I guess I went too far

trying not to feel alone this time.

Don’t think I d...

Read and leave comments (0)

breakups

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

Find out more Hide this message