living

how we choose (after allets)

Folder: 
2021

you can tell a lot about a person

by how they choose to die.

 

I have taught myself everything I know.

windowpanes,

steering wheels,

love knots.

things that will leave less mess and more empty.

 

it is what I do when the curve hits

almost go off the edge screaming.

if I fill myself up with it

that empty

will I get heavier or lighter?

 

sometimes nothing feels like a weight I can’t carry

laced with truths I don’t recognize

because they hide in all the dark corners.

my head is a game of hide and seek

and I trip over the upturned furniture

when I least expect it.

 

each minute is a sugar kiss

until I breathe and it tastes like salt.

 

but there are a lot of places

I haven’t found yet-

soil to fill the holes,

soul to fill the spaces.

places I will scratch into my skin

until they are so much a part of me

you can almost forget they are there.

people I will wrap myself in,

soft whispers in chocolate,

jagged edges in seawater,

dynamite in cages,

so I can’t let go.

 

you can tell a lot about a person

by how they choose to live.

Author's Notes/Comments: 

It is what we do, go off the edge screaming. Sometimes, we are heard but we did not know ever by whom. Poet, come home. -allets

Written 4/26/21

View tallsquirrelgirl's Full Portfolio
tags:

Life Goes Ahead

Here silent time have kept not a day dense
But flowers track the sun and swallow light,
In, till the earth green gloat tear out fragrance
Of grass, it rich, nature thing and posing tree
Closer, the branches fall and pull back from me
In into shapes of it that a shadow can trace;
A drooping free leaflet bunch, a garden's face.
This life in motion has me the diamond- rock
And Glass of time I've yet to see in my walk!
And haters seen, a few, a lot but unknown
Of who may be behind the deeds of my own.
Clasp me the hand of God, and the hands of fans
Till giants clip and play the songs I began
With Lyre strings awoken from death to ear.

View lawrencemathebula's Full Portfolio

The Song Of Tomorrow

The mortals have to learn
Of their home and man-
Kind who revolving laps
Of life all on a map
Of fate we travel in
Steps forth, we are going
Together not astray
Pretoria, day to day.

Life is rot'ry, a wheel
Goes up and down, it be,
Winning and victors fortunes,
Loss and victim misfortunes.
But the time is fair-
Ly distributing a share.
Dusk to dawn, and tomorrow
Long shade and shadow follows.

View lawrencemathebula's Full Portfolio
tags:

Cleaving Both Of Us

My life and yours both are together
And days, more or less, shall take us further
Through, as when wind find out a way
Among the dense past, future long always
Is where within our lives revolve the better
And worse seen life all the way it is,
Now and forever more.

Forgiving goes but forgetting holds
The brain whose sleep it cannot remember
But heartbeats hit upon one other strongly
Till soft can feel your Human sympathy,
The love which healing you cannot deny;
Warm-blood living, whoever is, still cries,
Now and forever more.

View lawrencemathebula's Full Portfolio

Always living in fear!

Always living in fear!

Some people are born happy with not one ounce of strife

And then there is me with my nightmare of a life

I was born to loving parents so that was very clear

But I’m tired of the hurt and always living in fear

It started when I was ten and felt there was no hope

 The evil that I went thru led me to down a slippery slope

And the bullying in school made me want to end it all

So cruel is this world I still feel like a marionette doll

Events in my life were pulling my strings year after year

But I’m tired of the heartache of always living in fear

I got married to a monster that promised me true love

But that turned into a nightmare to which I was so sick of

From there life’s felt like a burden and I cried a river of my tears

Still I keep on moving on with a hope I will stop living in fear

 

Author's Notes/Comments: 

This is another of the fear inside me that I'm still working on!

View zoeycup16's Full Portfolio

Fields of Rhyme

From my knotty pine writing table
Where I always feel strong and able
I have built a world on typing paper
Where I rule mighty as any dictator

I’ve made a comfortable place of it
For all the pages make a very nice fit
Just the right size for each emotion
And now my life has less commotion

I have company hanging on every wall
People young old short fat and tall
Some funny some in love some whine
All are the brush strokes of my mind

I create interesting conversations
And fabricate all sorts of relations
Everyone does exactly as I deem -
Acting out my every written scene

I know each and every person by name
Know addresses and where they remain
I hear every breath - each spoken line
Without me they’ve no voice or design

I have built a world where I am safe
Where I’m boss so can be early or late
Look out the window - see what I want
Or just hang out - and be nonchalant

I’ve worked diligently near every day
Writing down everything I had to say
Planting many colorful fields of rhyme
And generally having a very good time

But as good as things are I must admit
Something is missing for a perfect fit
For what is a writer without readers
Or a prophet without true believers

So I invite you into my literary home
Invite you to visit and to freely roam
Thru the still crisp pages of my mind
I do hope you like what you find

To lie and live

To live is to lie

To lie is to fall

To fall from grace

Is the greatest life of all

View black_rose180's Full Portfolio
tags:

The Off Grid Life

the off-grid life.

untied from the shackles of strife,

2017, the modern existence,

getting on the property ladder, how does anyone have a chance?
20, 25 or 30, forced to work to pay every bill,

going to work all hours, struggling to find a way, a life against our will,

needing the money from any form of work, mostly unprogressive, unhappy 
life passing by, frustrating, anger, decreasing self-worth, causing individuals to be snappy

unfulfilled, potentials are not met, working a job all day, unable to progress,

money is the key factor, for bills to be met, let me digress.

often they still aren't causing pain and suffering, stress and depression,

homelessness is rife through the country, a feeling of regression,

a feeling of being stuck, how to retrain and improve your careers?
speak to friends or family and the same conversation, doubts, and fears
if only another option was available,

one that was accepted and not just for the vulnerable,

the homeless, the people with nothing,

but how is this existence different? it is truly crushing,

once you can see that your life is consumed with working for money,

the soul has passed, your energy too, it can get so hard it's not even funny,

but who understands? in the face of consumerism, higher purchase, loans, and debt,

who is living a life, truly satisfied, and their dreams are met?

Not all people living off-grid are rich in cash!
but they aim for other needs; security in food & energy, it's worth a bash,


 

a growing transition for many people too,

it's not just for the hippies, the spiritual, it's for people like me and you,

think about it for a moment or two...

who would you be without your car, house and your possessions?
is that person you portray the real you? or do you blend in so people don't ask questions?
are you honest with your family and friends?

or do you sit behind a desk wishing it would end?
there is a wealth of knowledge of old traditions,

from a time when they lived without these conditions,

the conditions of social media, advertising, marketing ads or vlogs

when screen time didn't consume every waking hour, and children were fascinated with tadpoles transforming into frogs.

hours spent outside, climbing trees, playing at the park,

not allowed home unless it was tea time or had gotten dark.

 

a shift is happening, ecotherapy, wild schooling, bushcraft, and hikes,

forest schooling, homeschooling, people walking and out on their bikes,

scientists are noticing the effects on children's behaviors, reduced health issues,

ADHD,  also a boost in self-awareness, positivity, confidence and mental health issues

is it easier to sit a child down to hours in front of the tv, or ipad?

than it is to spend a few hours playing down the park with dad?

or baking a cake with mum, the importance of these skills are being misplaced,

in this consumerism world, with employees a number, in a life so fast-paced.

 

Off-grid living, the communities hidden away,

all they want is a parcel of land to look after their needs, but hey,

that's not possible, 'cause where will the local council get their tax,

with the community, living off the land, growing food and chopping wood with an axe,

the need and usage of government-owned services would become minute,

living simply and within your skills of the land, renewables used, an abundance of fruit,

food preserved in many forms, jams and chutneys, frozen meat,

enough food to last year-round to survive through winter, or in the heat,

the food produced off the land, tending the garden, and grown for nutrition,

the most important for life and health also said to aid in remission.

off grid homesteaders, don't need to take the flack,

with health as the focus, working outdoors to provide, lowering the need for prozac,
comments from shallow minded people need not be said,

the power of community, working together, I want to spread,

to include children in the transition, of conserving nature and our wildlife,

 

the tranquil setting amongst the seasons, watching the stars, that's my type of nightlife.

Author's Notes/Comments: 

This is my first time sharing my poetry, (after a few friends encouraged me that I should) please be kind and send your thoughts.

Also all words are opinions of myself in the modern world that we live in. 

This is not meant to cause offense, harm, upset to anyone, and if it does please understand that is not my intention.

 

Many thanks,

MY PRESENT DAYS AND NIGHTS

I have four true and loyal friends,

And one of them is the best of all,

But, even he, stopped contact for months,

I felt as if I had reached the ends.

 

It's difficult, very hard, to stay alone,

To have no friend nearby to talk to,

My mother and kids do stay at home,

But it's a friend I need with whom, who,

 

I can talk about anything in this world,

My joys and sorrows, my days and nights,

And if the one who is the best of all,

Avoids me, I know that it is not right.

 

I lost my other online friend a year ago,

And one more has disappeared totally,

Now I spend my days and nights waiting,

Talking to God and wishing somehow,

 

One of my best friends will call me on phone,

Or write me an email and chat with me,

Yet nothing of this sort ever happened,

I was left with myself, all alone.

 

The days pass by but when the sun sets,

And dusk welcomes the night's darkness,

I wish I had a soul by my side,

A loving soul to share my worst, my best.

 

Linda Ronsdatd's song: "Round Midnight",

Moves me to tears as I keep listening,

Friendship is closer and stronger than love,

No arguing here and surely no fight.

 

Thomas Gray's "Elegy" is my heart: speaking;

It is as if I too am bound to suffer,

The dusk and nights without a friend, a love,

Maybe that's how God has destined my being.

 

I do pray to my Creator and wish I could,

See Him or at least hear from Him,

But only quietness, silence and solitude,

Stay with me till the sun lifts its hood.

Author's Notes/Comments: 

This poem was inspired almost instantly after reading a reply to my earlier poem. It was Allets who commented and offered me advice quoting her own life experiences with friends and company. This poem "dawned" as if divinely and here it is for one and all to read, understand, fathom and comment. It is three more days to October but this poem reflects my present days, evenings and even nights. Life is indeed very lonesome for a sensitive poet like me. No doubt about it. Only God can shower His mercy and bless me with some more true and loyal friends and a faithful beloved woman. My feelings here are not meant for argument or debate. I am a poet and I have written how I feel in my poem above. Feel free to review/comment.

View emmenay's Full Portfolio