OUR ORIGINAL POETRY: Share It Here

@inventiveHouse2965

Oh, im so sorry! Thank you for telling me- I hope the change now has made it more readable? Still on the lighter side, but in bold :) xx

@rebecca947 yes, thanks

I wrote this one a while ago, I haven't been able to write poetry or lyrics for a long time.

Oakland

Dirty sidewalks, papers blowing
Streetlight changed but no one's slowing
Broken lights are gently glowing
And smoke starts rising

Lovers talk but no one listens
Elvish runes from snail lines glisten
Friends are gone, but they're not missin'
And embers softly glow

All is quiet; dogs start barking
A slow white ship looks for parking
And graffiti artists halt their marking
As flames start to flicker

Empty bedrooms solemn yearning
Schoolrooms fill, but rare the learning
Broken wheels keep on turning
And the crackling grows louder

Morning light and bells are ringing
Radios cackle with tuneless singing
Playground swings with no one swinging
And the roaring comes to life

Noontime darkness, ashes falling
Children crying, women calling
Tempers flashing, cars are stalling
The inferno rages on

Quiet morning, no birds chatter
Silent hopes, like windows, shatter
And all is gone that once did matter
Dust and ashes and tears.

@Offmytrack, what an amazing compilation of images and interesting sounds in the word combinations!

@Annie I thank you with all my heart. The poem was kind of written about the big fire in Oakland some years ago, and partly from a great, burned out place in my heart. It is wonderful for me when someone appreciates my little bits of art.

Cold wind stings on my face
Black is all there is to see
Does anyone remember me?

My legs hurt with every step
I move carefully yet carelessly
Does anyone remember me?

Dreams, once so dear and daring, are now gone
Along with trust, hope and glee
Can anyone remember me?

I'm but a ghost now,
Wandering through nameless paths,
Free from every shackle, every rope,
As I move further away from my past.
Days come and go so fast,
I'm but a nameless spirit, at last,
Waiting for the day I will leave this flesh,
As I move further away from my past.

I'm a child of duality,
I'm neither A nor Z,
I can't ever know me,
I'm untamed, I'm free.

I'm a child of duality,
I always and never agree,
Is it too much or too little I see?
It is a curse to live like me.

I'm a child of duality,
Confused by normality,
Like you, I can never be,
I trust no reality.

I'm a child of duality,
Complex or absent personality,
At will, I morph what I see,
To fit the eyes of who's with me.

I'm a child of duality,
I'm always who I want to be,
And yet, I'm nobody,
On a quest to find what's missing inside me.

Dear @WhiteWolf96, this poem made me think and re-read. The repetition adds a haunting note . . . .

@Annie

Thank you for reading :)

Home is Where the Heart is

He came to town in the summer, when the ice is supposed to melt

The coldest summer anybody here had ever felt

He entertained us nightly with his stories and his songs

Mostly sang of happy times when he could do no wrong

The bar wasn't much, and the regular crowd

Drank and talked quietly, they seldom got loud

He always kept our spirits up, just the smile on his face

Could warm you like a roaring fire in the old stone fireplace

Seems that he had played for years with a traveling country band

And all he wanted when he died was a guitar in his hand

But he always played a solo, not even a duet

And I wondered if his playing was some kind of private debt.

And I asked him why he came here, why he'd left the sun

He said "Home is where the heart is, and mine has come undone"

I never asked him more than that, but a troubled look appeared

It was three good songs and a pint of beer before it disappeared

He left a few days later, said he heard a wandering call

And he thanked us for the tips we left, the food and drink and all

He said he thought it would be best to leave before the rain

And promised that, if we were good, wed hear from him again

Winter came with spring behindThis last verse written by Iola S. Dunkle, my mother., and summer before long

But no one had the faintest clue of where he might have gone

Gone without a trace, they said, probably gone back home

Somewhere where the sun shines bright, nevermore to roam

But I dont think thats where he is; Id bet my stake on that

And if hes in a place called home Ill gladly eat my hat

For I hear his gentle playing in the sighing of the trees

His lonesome voice is singing in every autumn breeze

His eyes are clearly shining in the crystal skies at night

And though they think Im crazy, Im pretty sure Im right

That he has found another town far from the burning sun

For home is where his heart is, although its come undone.

@Offmytrack I loved how it tells a story. Read it once, it makes less sense :') Read it again and again, it starts making more sense :')

@Pureriver55 Thank you. It kinda popped into my head one night. Played with it ever since.

@Offmytrack I got goosebumps through the last two paragraphs... wow.

Ghost

I thought I saw a ghost last night

Flicker out like candle light

Then softly glow behind a tree

And reaching out, it beckoned me.

I felt a tugging at my heart

And soon my world came apart

Like spider webs on rainy days

And tattered clouds o'er windy bays.

And as I watched the eerie glow

I thought of things I used to know

Like friends once close that now have gone

Or words to ancient, nameless songs.

But when I tried to walk that way

The light grew dim and could not stay

Attached to common earthly things,

And flew away on angel wings.

Written on Oct 31, 1994

@Offmytrack Or words to the ancient, nameless song My mind is lingering over and over again around that line. And seems like you have written it quite a long ago. I am glad u kept it safe and we got to read it

@Pureriver55 Yeah, I haven't been able to write poetry or song lyrics since my wife passed in 2010, I am very good about keeping things like that available. Thank you for your kind words.

The Name of the Muse

I chatted with my muse today
She's quite upset, with much to say.

"You always ask for songs of love;
The earth below, the skies above.
You ask for songs of sailing ships
And villains vile, and lovers lips.

You ask for tales of Yukon gold
And people freezing in the cold
And stories set in tropic isles
With gentle natives beaming smiles

You ask for paintings of beauty rare
With ruby lips and auburn hair
Or quiet glades with autumn trees
And butterflies and bumblebees

And I have given every one
But rare the thanks when I am done
Your name goes on, but never mine
And you all think that this is fine.

But this is not my preference
I don't always make such sense
I'd rather that my damsels fair
Were caught at henna-ing their hair.

I much prefer to tell a joke
That makes the proper people choke
A ribald song, perhaps quite smutty
Or silly verse, completely nutty

An Escher house, with floors on high
And fishies swimming in the sky
And make up tunes that make you laugh
While other people think you daft

That is what I'd rather do
Than to tell you how much she loves you
I'm much more fond of the trivial
My name, you see, is Doggerel.

@Offmytrack, This is SO clever and witty! Well done ❤️

@Annie Thank you so much. I love to write poetry, wish I could write more.

@Offmytrack maybe you should write more. You could put together a compilation of your best works, or by subject matter... You are quite talented from the work i read.

Ghost

I thought I saw a ghost last night

Flicker out like candle light

Then softly glow behind a tree

And reaching out, it beckoned me.

I felt a tugging at my heart

And soon my world came apart

Like spider webs on rainy days

And tattered clouds o'er windy bays.

And as I watched the eerie glow

I thought of things I used to know

Like friends once close that now have gone

Or words to ancient, nameless songs.

But when I tried to walk that way

The light grew dim and could not stay

Attached to common earthly things,

And flew away on angel wings.

Sunshine
by Nyaga Roxas

[Trigger warning: suicide mentioned]

It's night,
I'm up, on a building:
I'm about
to jump, then fall down.
They think
that I am just kidding,
but I think
"Who would save me now?".

Like an angel,
she stopped and brought me down.
She said: "Hey,
what did you want to do?
You're special,
but you still don't know how:
I can't imagine
how the world would be without you!".

She believed in me, she told me I was special.
In the dark of the night, suddenly I found...

A little bit of sunshine,
even when it's dark around me.
A little bit of sunshine,
Even when I cry, hopelessly.

When it's dark,
and the night is surrounding you,
when there's no
sun to light up your day,
when you think
nothing's gonna save you,
hear me,
I know you'll find your way!

Now I believe in me, now I know that I am special.
In the dark of the night I know that I will find...

A little bit of sunshine,
even when it's dark around me.
A little bit of sunshine,
even when I cry, hopelessly.

Behind every cloud there is always the sun,
never lose your hope, even you think you're done...

Now I believe in me, now I know how I am special.
In the dark of the night I know that I will find...

A little bit of sunshine,
even when it's dark around me.
A little bit of sunshine,
even when I cry, hopelessly.

Dear @nyagaroxas,

I love this

☀️

@Annie thank you! I'm glad you liked it!

I had never seen her in my entire life
Yet I knew her for sure
We stared at each other
Her eyes talked to me in a language I didnt know
Yet I fully understood
And she told me she knew me too
We told each other all our secrets
And poured our hearts out
She missed me as much as I missed her
And she looked away
Ending that second
Of complicity

@mercurialcreature, youve described so exactly the connection that happens sometimes ....

The ending is enigmatic, yes. But I believe that, even when the connection doesnt last forever, it still has much value. ❤️

If friends were life, I'd already be dead;
If friends were blood, I'd never be red!
If friends were fields, I'd be barren land,
If friends were sea, I'd see just sand!
If friends were warmth, I'd be frozen!
If friends were bright, my world would darken!
If friends were stars, I'd be a pebble;
If friends were omnipotent, would I ever be able?
If only friends were some air, I'd be limitless sky.
If only friends were a pair of wings, I'd be able to fly.
Yes...I would.

I wrote this a while back.

@NotFrostButAPoet

Thank you for sharing your poem. I especially like how the repetition creates a rhythmic flow to the words.

The literary term for the use of opposites and contrasts to create interest and emphasis is, I think, called antithesis.

But regardless of terminology, I like the use of contrasts in this poem. 😊

Kind of silly, but I like it.

Wishful Thinking

Don't you think it would be grand

To own a little plot of land

And thereupon to build a home

With gardens in the sandy loam

And lots of trees, and good sharp axes

And someone else to pay the taxes!

@Offmytrack, it

@Annie Thank you, it always makes me happy when someone reads my poetry and comments on it. You are very kind.

The 2018 7 Cups Writing Competition has been announced!

Details here.

Deadline is April 24. Share your work!

My favorite of all my bits of poetry.

A Dragon

@Offmytrack

This was really cool and interesting to read. I really like the structure and what you've done with the three parts. Thank you for sharing :) ❤️

@peppermintlove Thank you so much for your kind words. There is nothing a poet appreciates more than a person who like the poetry.

what to share

shall I more

they say you are

like poetry

wind is blowing

sun is shining

oh mine

it feels fine

seem soon salvasion

left of toxication

@conscientiousPineapple1782

I really like this ❤️ I think it's especially pretty

i am broken

I came here whole

now I cant find my pieces

Ive been brutally shredded

Scattered through time

These bits of my soul

are gone now, forget it

Im gone

Im useless

Talentless ugly fat failure

I hate my very being

I hate my body

My soul

My mind

My heart

If I wasnt me Id kill whoever was

Out of anger

Out of pity

Out of mercy

Out of justice

youve stolen my innocence

You taken my life

Youve tarnished my eternity

Youve made me into this

This attention whore

This display of weakness

This runt of the species

I am weak

I am frail and afraid

I am smaller inside than you will ever be

I like the feeling of skin parting

I love the taste of blood

Somebody somewhere kill me please

I have rabies

I am a disease

I infect others

You need to cure others

And eradicate me

You dont take mercy on the virus

You destroy it

Do your job

@RaspberryRiver

Wow, this is amazing :O I love the perspective that you've written it from and it was wonderfully crafted ❤️

So this was a poem I wrote when I was going through a dark time, and I just wanted to share it with you guys... kinda like opening up my heart a little...

I Know I Knew

There's a girl that I knew

Who sits in the hall each day

And always says hello

If someone goes her way

There's a girl that I knew

With a smile that glows bright

And laughs like no tomorrow

She stays up 'till midnight

There's a girl that I know

Fading before my eyes

And her laughs no longer show

How happe she is inside

There's a girl that I know

Who wears long sleeves

And keeps her head down low

Because she no longer believes

There's a girl that I know

Whose soul is dying

Guilty to be alive

Tired of trying

I don't know how to help

This girl that I see

Because how can I help her

When this girl is me?

@PianoWhisper

thank you so much for sharing this ❤️ it must mean a lot to you and I feel like a lot of people will appreciate this. it really touched me