Tag: poetry
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AI is a Poundland Poet
Last poem of 2025. I have been talking to a lot of my poet and artist friends lately about AI. It has no business creating proper artwork but I genuinely don’t think it’s a threat… yet. Because soulless art is still very obvious and nothing beats the emotion and the imperfection of the human experience.…
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The Algorithm
How do you beat the algorithm?How do you fight a reflection that’s been distorted?Pixelated by cyber forces that convince our daughters that they’re not enough?How do you deflect the million voices that affect their choices and drown out us telling them it’s too much?My daughter tells me she’s ugly,Doesn’t hear me when I tell her…
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My Neighbour Hung a St. George’s Flag and Asked Me What I Thought
My neighbour hung a St. George’s flag and asked me what I thought,Now I’ve been known for my quick wit, but my brain – licked by the grotesqueness of it – could form no such retort,I had no words,No words would come,Struck dumb and dumbfounded that he would ask me something so inherently… dumb,With zero…
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Broken Toy
I accidentally introduced my colleagues to the real me, and now, apparently, they’re scared of me. I have become a monster in their eyes, and I suppose it should come as no surprise, When I’ve been wearing a disguise for the past five years, They were scared by the raised voice and puffed chest, And…
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We Brought the Gold
When we left our homes for England, We expected streets adorned with gold, Because that is what they promised, Because that is the dream they sold, So we dressed up in our Sunday best, Straight backs and heads held high, And we arrived with big aspirations, Based on little White lies, Because the streets were…
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Wait… Did I order my life from Temu?
I wrote a poem about 12 years ago called ‘This Ain’t It‘ – It was a very short poem and, truthfully, an incomplete thought. My life felt wrong… but I couldn’t articulate it very well at the time. This is a more thought-out interpretation of how I felt then (and still feel now in all…
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Be.
I was at Liverpool Street last week and I saw a TFL sign that said “slow down and walk” and it actually made me stop in my tracks because I realised I was actually rushing. But why? I wasn’t on my way to work, or to an appointment, I was just going to see my…
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“WHO ARE YOU?”
I am Kiddo, I am Sez, I am Bread and Water, I am my mother’s child and my father’s daughter, I am mum to Tally and Reecey-Breecey, I am wife to the only other man who sees me, I am exhaustion personified, anxiety made flesh, I am a girl who has more than once toed…
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Limits
It’s true what they say, that the mind is the limit,That any battles outside it are conquered within it,But any battles inside it can’t be conquered without it,Impossible, still, when each synapse is knouted. Each lash, a thief of perception so deathly defiant,Makes all the small things turn into great giants,So how do you fight…
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Hi, my name is…
This #poem was inspired by a real life Teams meeting I was on this week. Inspired too by a post I saw today about #nationalinclusionweek and the importance of getting people’s names right. I have a very Anglicised name yet you would be astonished by the sheer number of people who still get it wrong……
black poet, D&I, DEI, EDI, equality, inclusion, names, office politics, poem, poetry, race, respect, work, workplace racism -
OUT NOW! The Teacher’s Daughter
Today is my dad’s birthday. In 2022 he was diagnosed with mixed dementia and we have been on a rollercoaster ever since. In his working life, he was a teacher, a magistrate, and an advocate for the voiceless. He taught me so much and gave me everything he could, but the greatest thing he ever…
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Mouse
She is a mouseHiding from the volley of truthThe folly of youthHas her reading the back of the shampooWhile they shoutBuilding a tower of cotton budsWhile they screamStaring through the green viscosity of the handwashIgnoring the atrocity of another smashed plateAnother crash of hateShe is a mouse in her holeHer sanctumHer tile-lined cellWith the chips…
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To the Syndrome in my Head
You don’t belong here She said She said You are in the wrong place You are a disgrace A face that doesn’t fit You don’t belong here and you need to quit She said QUIT!! Let me be clear You aren’t even meant to be near this table Let alone sat here at this table…
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What for
A rare outing of my face to wish you all a happy #internationalwomensday and share my latest poem inspired by this quote from the BBC sitcom Here We Go: “I actually like women’s football”“No need to say ‘actually’, no need to say ‘women’s’”“I… like… football”“There you go” The poem is called “What For” You’re articulate (for…
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Confetti
Taken in.Scattered vim,Like confetti to the wind,Empty palmof sallow skin,Cold and thinfrom a tiredness that’s hunkered inthe very core of everything.What is this thing?Ephemera.Magician’s sin.No hint of paper left withinthis hollow tin.This wraith in skinand boneand two-bit grinis spirallingwhile the tricksy djinnwith Keyser Söze’s tricksy limbdances inthe coloursdancingonthewind.
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Why we need to keep talking about race
Last night I got to deliver the keynote address at a poetry book launch. I was also one of the judges who deliberated over the this year’s competition entries (after winning myself last year). It was such a great evening with amazing food (feed me and I will go anywhere for you! Haha), poetry readings,…
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Irreconcilable Differences
If you try and lift the edgeof the dregsof the unspoken,You’ll spy it there– just lying there –blebbed and broken,A token sliver,An oaken whisper,Perhaps hinted once but never said,Once clung like leadfrom a tightropewith every high hopegleaned and bledfrom that damned stone, That stone! That stonethat broke no bones(but that once wasdiamondand now is ash)was…
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Mike Hotel – World Mental Health Day and Black History Month
I was diagnosed with Clinical Depression when I was 11 years old. I was then diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder aged 35 years, but really I had been living with it for many, many years. Looking back, all the signs were all there, but my friends and family just put them down to moodiness, quirkiness,…
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Hollow
In a clearing stands a hollow treethat has long since lost its crown of leaves,Its bark is cracked from weathered storms,Its brittle branches – gnarled, forlorn –lay battered, scattered all around,And when they fell they made no sound,For this broken tree stands all alone,Splintered, fractured, stripped to bone,No more birds to nest, nor squirrels to…
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Sticks & Stones – International Women’s Day
Sticks & Stones by Serena Malcolm – a poem for #internationalwomensday #IWD *** TRIGGER WARNING – Domestic Abuse *** I actually wrote this poem a few years ago. I am fortunate enough to have a wonderful husband of 11 years, but before him I experienced emotional abuse in a relationship. I am not alone. There…
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The Lion’s Share
Camel aside, the straw that broke the lion’s back was not in fact a straw at all, but the utter gall of the Pride arriving after the fall, Her cry was guttural and yet they stalled, But had they been there still – had that been their will – curiosity may not have lured this…
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Insomniac
Night sweats, Sheets wet as cruel scenes stretch across my inner eyes, A gnarled and fetid pantomime of phantom frets ties silken binds across my neck and chokes me to the brink of life, Splits my mind; Half is here and half is on the other side, I’m both alive and not alive in this…
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Dog Fight
Territory marked, Dogs circle and bark, Backs arched and mouths part with that hallmark foam, And she can only watch them posture, sidelined imposter fostering the hope that they long disowned, But it’s all for show, And in the battle throes, As the guttural drum beats grow, When Chaos takes the throne (Erebus in tow),…
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Soul Food
Recent work in progress…. some food for thought, if you will 😜 Soul Food I like my religion as an aside, As a bowl of convention (and a bone of contention) just to the side of my entrée, I find I like small pieces to pick at whenever I decide, That are easy to swallow,…
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One and One
#NaPoWriMo Day Eleven Today’s challenge was to write a poem of origin. About where we are from and where we are now. I chose to write about parents caring for children who in turn care for their parents. There are parallels with my own experience too, of course. One and One It started with a…
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Blue Umbrella
#NaPoWriMo Day Ten Today’s challenge was to write a poem using regional slang for weather. I chose “the heavens opened”, meaning “it started raining”, and turned it into a haiku about love (or at least lust!) at first sight. Blue Umbrella The heavens opened, There with a blue umbrella stood young Zeus himself.
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Fugitive
#NaPoWriMo Day Eight Today’s prompt was to write a poem that uses jargon from a particular profession to shape a metaphor. I chose chasing a fugitive and police jargon for a handheld battering ram (big red key) to shape a metaphor about letting someone capture your heart. Fugitive Like a fugitive I hide inside brick…
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Barista
#NaPoWriMo Day Six Today’s prompt was to write a poem of possibility. Filled with coulds and shoulds and woulds. I chose to write a poem about a split second fantasy, about a possible outcome of a relationship sparked by a chance meeting. Barista She calls out my name and at the same time her eyes…
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Sailing
#NaPoWriMo Day Five Today’s prompt was to write a villanelle. It’s a poetic style that is completely new to me and involves repeating two lines in specific places in the poem. As you can see I am late with this one as I had to think on it for the entire day. I hope I…
grief, heartache, heartbreak, loneliness, love, love poem, love story, NaPoWriMo, nature, poem, poems, poetry, rhyme, sad, spring, villanelle -
Plasters
#NaPoWriMo Day Four Today’s prompt was to write a sad poem that uses simple language to convey strong emotion. The example poem used (sort of) iambic pentameter and rhyming couplets, so I too have incorporated those styles (sort of!) Also the topic I chose for today’s poem, knife crime, is close to my heart for…
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Unravelled
#NaPoWrimo Day Three Today’s prompt was to write a poem that involves a story or action that unfolds over an appreciable length of time. I decided to take the prompt literally and write about an unfolding (unravelling) marriage. I love thinking about the fabric of time being a tangible thing, I have written several poems…
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Swing
#NaPoWriMo Day Two Today’s prompt was to write a poem which transforms the natural world into an unsettled dream-place. I have loosely followed this prompt and combined it with #WorldAutismAwarenessDay, which is also today, creating a poem from the perpective of a child with autism. I hope I have done some small justice to what…
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Duck egg, Blue
Trust is a fragile hue, A duck egg, Blue, Transparent shell, You can hardly tell it’s there but not there, It all depends how you look at it, But don’t look at it for too long, Eyes water, Blink and it’s gone.
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Rumour Has It
Rumour has it, You have something close to chest, Suppressed, And I’m impressed For somehow you pressed your finger to your lips – Careful not to let your secret slip – As you fed me soothing snippets, Appeasing tidbits, That quicked the nail upon your fingertip, Stripped by the sharpness of a forked tongue, Crisp,…
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Tiny Hope
From my window I watch cars as they pass a line of box-like houses. A bus stop opposite shelters a gaggle of commuters, the fine April rain making them hunch like vultures as they wait. Next door a dog barks. Farther afield I hear children scream in carefree delight. Spring is trying to awaken, buds…
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Poor, Poor Joan
Another victim is brought to tears by these antisocial miscreants, My colleague goes to roll his eyes and, silently, I must chastise him, As she calls on us to stop it, I pull a tissue from my pocket, From his he pulls his mobile phone and averts his eyes from poor, poor Joan. And as…
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Books on Love
It’s easy to find love in a book, Kismet never reads more poetically. It’s true granduer seems veracious. It’s enchantment seems like a gift voluptuously made. Neverendingly baiting my need for escape. “What do you desire?” My pneuma pulls me keenly, pleasures me knavishly. “Yes, yes” it casts a sultry spell. “Yes, yes” it lures…
books, creative writing, escape, fantasy, GloPoWriMo, hobby, imagination, inspiration, love, NaPoWriMo, passion, poem, poems, poetry, reading, seduction, writer -
Knots
Anxiety. It’s never a mere stomach knot. It’s like a coarse frayed entanglement of rope that’s devoured as it sinks into a molten metal mire deep deep deep inside, Fires fly and gases rise, Beastly belching bubbles that swell and explode like fireworks of fury, All the while an angry tremor bellows through the scalloped…
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Cowboys
Tomorrowland; a far off place, The island at the top of the world, Benji the hunted, Now you see him, now you don’t, RUN, COUGAR, RUN! Castaway cowboy, Escape from the dark, Midnight madness, The black hole, the wild country, The watcher in the woods, Dragonslayer, wild, Something wicked this way comes in search of…
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Poetry Book – This Haggard Alice by Serena Malcolm
After 19 years of writing poetry I have finally taken a leap and published my first book of poetry. The eclectic collection entitled This Haggard Alice showcases an array of styles, topics and emotions, thereby offering something for everyone – hopefully! It’s currently available to buy through Lulu (click the button below) and will be…
books, indie, indie authors, inspiration, poem, poems, poet, poetry, poetry book, success, support, writer -
Door
I was not involved in #NaPoWriMo (now #GloPoWriMo) last year, and while I can’t commit to the whole 30 days, this year I may dip in and out…. Here’s a poem about choice: DOOR There is a door at the end of the hall, Shut tight. It is not locked, but jammed with fear. How…
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Sleeping Bear
I am a sleeping bear with the richest hide of tan, Try and wake me if you dare, But none too many can. You can poke and you can tease; I may grumble, I may moan, But in a deep passivity I have made my humble home. A bear unlike my kin, Yes indeed I…
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The Launch by Reece Malcolm
So I have been writing since I was 7, inspired by my father’s own passion for poetry and his enviable way with words. My older brother’s remarkable love affair with poetry also started at a young age and his career has really taken off this year. You should check him out if you get a…
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First Love
You held my hand when I was young, I looked up and saw more than my father, I saw the first man I would ever love, And the mould for each man thereafter. You showed me the beauty of strength when it’s blended with a gentle core, How to appreciate all that I have, While still pushing…
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Can’t you see my happy face?
Can’t you see my happy face? I’m smiling, can’t you see? These are tears of joy, you know, Your blessings gladden me. Can’t you see my happy face? It’s the best news the world, I can’t wait to meet your little one, Whether boy or whether girl. (Can’t you see my empty space? The hole…
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Hush Child
Hush child, Close your eyes, Shutter out the world and let the stillness fill your mind. Hush child, Hold my hand, Feel its warmth and strength and know the might it can withstand. Hush child, Take a breath, Let it fill your lungs and feel the lightness lift your chest. Hush child, Lean on me,…
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Til Death
Don’t let my fingers slip from the palm of your hand, You’re all I have left. Inspired by the story of Italvino and Diva, a Brazilian couple who died within 40 minutes of each other, after 65 years of marriage, in the same hospital room, their beds pushed together so they could hold…
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Example
My Daddy hitted a man, There was lots of blood and I sawed that when daddy hitted the man, the man went to sleep on the floor, And daddy had on that face, Like the one when he hitted my mum and she cried and cried and cried and kept asking him what she had done,…
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No More Winter
There will be no more winter, We’ll live forever in the spring, There will be no more winter, And the birds will always sing, The icy swathes of death, Will never lay across this land, We’ll never see the fall of Summer’s beauty at its hand, The sun will live forever, There’ll be bleakness nevermore,…
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Ice and Fire
Your heart was ice, Your heart was fire, You froze and blazed until I grew tired, Until it snowed upon my funeral pyre, You dragged me down but I flew higher, A phoenix risen from the fire, Preserved in ice and seared with ire, At last I’ll be what I desire, I’ll freeze and blaze and never tire, My heart is ice, My heart is fire. Today…
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Rainbow
When skies are dull, bleak, I long for relief, and, lo, he comes uninvited but welcome. He is my rainbow. Today is the last day of NaPoWriMo. No prompt for me today (but you can find out what it was here). Instead I revamped an old poem (we’re talking 16 years old) that…
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Bridges
Bridge to Freedom I hear the melancholy slither of the stream across the stones, I feel the dampness of the wood as it seeps into my bones. My legs dangle through the railings, Dried up mud cocoons my knees, I watch my teardrops salt the water as I cast secrets to the breeze. I feel…
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A Second Chance
I still remember the day we met, You were this tiny, perfect child, And though you couldn’t focus yet, I know you saw I was beguiled. You quickly learned to hold my hand, And just as quickly refused to let go, You held it as you took your first stand, As you toddled to and…
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When We Were Wee
We are friends and friends we’ll be, A promise made when we were wee, When we’ve grown old disgracefully, We’ll dip our toes at eighty-three in the very water of the very sea where you first made the pact with me. You swore to be there by my side, I swore in me you could…
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Ten Diamonds
Ten diamonds on my nightstand, Right beside my phone, A nervous joy inside my heart, A lump inside my throat, Sweet memories like pendants dance and twirl and sing, As I slowly grasp the magnitude of this tiny little ring, He is charm inside a cotton shirt, Desire inside blue eyes, He is the promise…
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Little Green Fingers
With heat lapping at my nape and soil beneath my nails, I take a momentary break, to watch you hunt for snails, OK, you shouldn’t be weeding in the shoes I bought last night, But barefoot in the seedlings?! My heart dances at the sight! I love the frown of concentration as you try to…
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Squirrel Bait
When he spies his prize beyond his touch, He knows there is nothing he will ever want this much. Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt was to write a Landay. A poem of 22 syllables originating in Afghanstisan. I saw this photo on Google a few days ago and felt that it needed captioning. As soon as…
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Disconnected
What’s this that falls before my eyes, With blistered sores and weary sighs? A shell, a corpse that’s mummified in the bloodied gauze of her demise, She is my spirit, Mauled, maligned, Her salted tears have scored and dried. Malevolence poured from callous minds, Like tiny swords that beat and bind ’til they’ve pilfered thoughts…
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#NotYet40
It’s Friday night and we are twirling, The clock’s struck five, it’s time to leave, Bring on the laughing and the slurring, Bring on the sunshine and the breeze. Happy hour’s faintly chirping, “Oh won’t you have a drink or three?” Check in on Facebook with the wording, “Happy Friday, drinks on me!” Three birthday…
#, alcohol, bar, birthday, celebrations, club, cocktails, dancing, drinking, drunk, Facebook, Friday, Friday feeling, fun, Fun Friday, girls, Happy Friday, happy hour, hashtag, ladies night, NaPoWriMo, party, poetry, pub, social media, status, Tweet, Twitter -
Games
Let’s play a different type of game: I’ll pretend that you’re not home late, If you pretend that you’re ashamed, I’ll ignore your pathetic state, If you wipe all that lipstick off your shirt and make your tie look straight, I will ignore the telling wafts of the perfume that’s on your skin and the…
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Questions, Questions
Did you buy me any more crumpets? Did this laundry pile somehow get bigger? Can I have chocolate for breakfast? Can you please not kick your sister? What costume shall I put on? What shall I put on for lunch? Can you be my pretend robot patient? Can you please remember we do not punch? …
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Accomplish Something Big
Listen up and riddle me this, Fed through two by two, at first, (Is this making sense yet? Maybe it first must get much worse…) Decide what’s really important but Of course you must forgo the rest, Listen to these: A5, R8, TT… which car is the best? Let me tell you a secret, The answer was…
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A Heart Full of Willow Blossom
I plucked catkins tenderly from a willow, To show how love captured me when you were born, I filled the sea endlessly with blonde billows; No drop unadorned, They broke the banks, wondrously swathing the land, With hundreds of heavenly starbursts of gold, For when you so helplessly searched for my hand, Your hand found…
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To All New Recruits
Accept nothing, Believe no-one, Check everything, Do not lose yourself admist all their lies, Even the innocent can filch and can savage the goodness that I see in your eyes, Have a refuge in which you just breathe, Kill some time there when things go awry, Learn to leave the day’s madness behind you, Never sleep with other…
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Homo Erectus
I love you when the first light hits, and I spy the white trails of sleepy spit, When you yawn and your hot breath wafts my way, When you sniff your pits and start your day, I love you when your eye-crust shines, As your red-veined peepers gaze into mine, When you scratch your crotch…
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Evanescence
The route along the cobbles is silent Save for the shushing of the water wheel The grass glistens green, pear, then emerald As the winds rush through its blades with such zeal The sky is adorned with falling blossom Its scent sweeps over me like a tide I should probably get home for supper But…
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Identity Crisis
What makes you you? The things you’ve seen? The lives you’ve touched? The where you’ve been? If you woke without your memories, Tell me, who, then, would you be? Would you still be you? Could you ever know for sure? Or would you relinquish all that came before? Know this: Who you have been is…
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Dysmorphic
It’s a dark, dark road that you venture down when you can’t even look yourself in the eye, When the words ‘fat’ and ‘ugly’ explode like landmines in your mind every time you look in the mirror, When you’d rather rip your flesh and gouge out your eyes than have to look a second more…
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Invisible
You don’t see me as I move across your day, You don’t see the things I do, You don’t see me, So I shouldn’t be surprised that you step on me, Walk all over me, Without the faintest acknowledgement that I’m always by your side, You don’t see me and you don’t even care, You do…
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Unchained
Mr Organ Grinder, Please discard your bait, I will no longer dine Upon you hate, Your slurs disguised as playfulness serve only to fat my stubbornness, Heels dug in, Now listen well; You do not own this coloured girl, I will not dance, No sir, Not today, And your ignorance is in my way, If…
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Worked to Death, Death to Work!
I’ve had enough of all the office politics, Of sickly pricks and inappropriate wit, How many ways could I get out of this pit? Take a hole puncher to my finger tips? Or perhaps I could just staple my lips, Or jam pencils into each eye socket, Use scissors as a hara-kiri sword, Or hang…
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15 Years Later
If you asked me 15 years ago If I thought that time could heal that wound I would have looked at you – A rawness in my eyes, My light nearly all consumed – And I would have told you with intense certainty that it would never fade away A hurt that great is itself…
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Bullies
It’s Blue Monday so this poem is dedicated to all the organisations, bosses, colleagues, and other individuals who never quite graduated from playground bullying. Remember your words and behaviour have consequences…… There is a strange peace In knowing the day; The day that the pain will be going away, When the bullies will stop their…
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Kiss Me
Kiss me like we’re eighteen years old, Standing in Paris waiting for our lives to unfold. Hold my hand with the innocence of that boy who once handed me a rose and fixed my heartache with the joy. Look at me just like you did at first; Like if you ever looked away your very…
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The Worst
This piece is a little rough around the edges (no neat rhythm, some questionable rhymes) but that’s because it’s one written from the heart and not one written for poetic perfection. What’s the worst that could happen If you were to let me touch you? If I were to hug you or just…
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In Her Tears
Yesterday I wrote a poem called “Heartsickness“. During my search for a suitable photo, I found the one featured above. It caught my eye and even though it wasn’t quite right for yesterday’s piece I felt it deserved to be shown off. So I have written a poem which was inspired by, and is dedicated…
art, beauty, fears, heart, heartbreak, hurt, inspiration, letting go, lies, life, love, pain, past, photography, poetry, relationships, sadness -
No Apology
I make no apology for being me, I may wear my heart upon my sleeve, I may laugh like Marge, I may kiss my teeth and evoke a hamster when I sneeze, But I make no apology for who I am, My skin is wolf but my blood is lamb, Defender of truth and taker…
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Between the Lines
Love is in the imperfection, And life is in the mistakes, So you have to pay attention, To the silence music makes, Listen to the beauty between the notes; Ornate stories of happiness, Venture beyond the words I wrote, Enjoy the truth my soul confessed. This poem was inspired by the two quotes about…
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Yellow Girl
Too white to be black, Too black to be white, “They’ll throw you in the river when the two sides fight” Flat bottom, Picky hair, And thick thunder thighs, Freckles on my nose, lips and under my eyes, I’m a yellow girl, I’m a browning, I’m half-caste, I’m mixed race, And believe me; I’ve been…
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Symbiosis
Symbiosis, Reciprocal need; I need him and he needs me, I scratch his back, He scratches mine, We plod along, We’re doing fine, But when did this become enough? When did symbiosis replace true love? When did meeting fundamental needs replace both romance and chemistry? Deeds that once were fuelled by love are now transacted…
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Cold Toast
When some things are changed, They are changed for good, Cold toast is not bread, And ash is not wood. When I looked at you, Selfishness ended, All thoughts of me were promptly suspended. When you looked at me, With innocent eyes, I knew I was changed, Completely revised. There’s nothing at all, Not one…
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Third of Three
I never met you, But I miss you, You don’t exist, But I kiss you in my dreams, I set aside a portion of my heart, Swaddled it in endless love, And engraved it with your name, But you never came to be, And so I miss you. Destined now to grieve eternally, For all…
dreams, grief, grieving, hurt, life, loss of a child, love, miscarriage, motherhood, mourning, pain, poetry, pregnancy, sadness -
Black Pixels
Just what will be my legacy? Black pixels on a screen? Will children ever learn of me? Will I shape a young girl’s dream? I myself once had a dream; That long after I am gone, People will be quoting me, My stanzas turned to song. But then I face reality, And from my dream…
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Alchemy
I could drink of you and live forever in just the comfort of your gaze, Great pools of an untainted elixir that soothe me in so many ways. Your voice is a pretty incantation, that paints itself across the air, As it snakes its charm right into my mind and holds me still; here but…
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Ode to Coffee
I can taste the electrification as it courses through my nose, As it sparks each hair like static and then jolts into my dome. Rich and full and bitter, With a depth I’ve never known, I can all but see the flavour; It has a body of its own. The scent whispers to me softly,…
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Out on a Limb
Sometimes, you find yourself out on a limb for a friend, but then there is no sign of him, You’re tottering, pondering why you are there, What possessed you risk it for those who don’t care? Your kindness was trampled; just dirt on a hoof, Advantage was taken – how awfully uncouth! You desperately cling…
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Clock Blocked
Tick, tick, tick; the sound resounds, A hammer in the still of the minute, Tick, tick, tick; a knife that can slice through thought and all that’s in it. It’s all that lives as silence swells, Its tendrils choke my mind, Every word I’ve ever learned is filched by the lilt of time. And this…
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Brain Storm
It’s raining inside my head. Pouring. I can feel each drop as it cascades through my mind forming translucent sheets of icy coldness, sharp as knives, that flood the echoes of my consciousness while a cackling clap of thunder drowns out every rational thought. Then a sudden bolt of lightning illuminates a cavern in the…
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Geek to Geek
Don’t let anyone tread on your dreams; They’re each graciously worthy of light, Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t; Because you can, just as long as you fight. Stop doubting what lives in your heart; It knows so much more than your mind, Stop thinking that emotion is weakness; There’s great strength in…
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Dark Chocolate
You once told me you were a box of chocolates, Said I’d never know quite what I’d get, And you said you weren’t any old chocolates; You were Green & Blacks – simply the best! And just like that aforesaid chocolate, You were dark, smooth, rich and so sweet, You tasted like some heavenly nectar…
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A Bit Like Lightning
An extremely tall Bulgarian man of less than average looks was talking to a pretty thing who would be described as shorter (lots!) But that pretty thing (who considered his looks to be minor and was more so struck with what was inside) ignored the unlikely chances that society sets out for people like The…
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Clearing
Air so still that it freezes time, So pure that one breath will clean the aches and ails and other grime that pollute each fragile being. A blanket of blue has been unfurled, Embroidered with sheer white clouds, This azure tapestry wraps the world in the most awe-inspiring shroud. The crystalline surface of the lake…
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Love Sublime
On grassy bed at break of dawn, I lay with you beside, As we gaze a blue that takes the clouds and paints a Rembrandt sky, We conspire to be forever held in each other’s hearts and minds. I hold your face and take you in; Each fleck that makes your eye, Lost in the…
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In Conversation
You said you didn’t love me, You said all hope was gone, You said you didn’t want me, I said that you were wrong. You said that it was complex, You said I wouldn’t understand, You said we’d grown apart, I said I didn’t give a damn. You said that I was stupid, You said…
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Love Locked
Across the river Seine, In a city called Paris, A wall of love was raised, Forged by lock and key, Promises were made, By sweethearts passing by, Indulging in a moment that’s now frozen for all time. Couples who dared to dream that they’d forever be, Left these transitory hopes for all the world to…
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Trippin’
What a trip! I’m stoned as shit! A thumping dome that will not quit! Hit the wall? I hammered it! I think it’s time to hit the bricks! The streets are dark but I am lit! (Feet arches kinda ache a bit…) Man I’m baked! And I feel sick! How much did I take of…
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A Card Game
Lounged on the veranda on a dewy night; Conman v marine (and conman’s hand is terrible… He tends to be a sober player, right?) He’s entirely lost; a jester (allegorical…) Can the air magic him an anchor in this lough?! Not now that he’s imbibed; he’d need quite the miracle. So a hundred times he…
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Pip Talk
Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out? Why dress up in another fruit’s skin? You’re an apple; of that there’s no doubt. Your uniqueness is to be embraced, Differences make this world grand, If all fruits had the very same taste, Life would be terribly bland.…
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For Those That Know…
Let’s take a trip down memory lane, Yeah, let’s do 2003 again, Cheesecake in Wimbledon Pizza Hut, While The Peas asked, “Where is the love?” Remember where we THOUGHT love lived? In bumping uglies with some butters kids? Except that guy from Notting Hill, Hey, Jo-Jo aren’t you with him still? Po Na Na for…
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Adventures of Princess Dragon-Slayer
I wield my sword as dragons snooze, While hitching the hoop of my gown, I hold steady on my stiletto shoes, And cut the blighters down, Behind comes a cheer from the crowd, The animals bray, bark and bleat, They hoist me high above town, And parade me all through the street, In my sedan…
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The Soldier in a Bobble Hat
A handsome man in a Peruvian hat, In the farthest corner from me is sat, His uniform hugs his chiselled figure, His emerald eyes are growing bigger, As he spies me watching like I’m not, As I coyly fiddle with my strawberry top, A sultry smile with curious intention, Is flashed so suavely in my direction, I…
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Foreverie
Once upon the daylight blue, A longing was drawn in vivid hues, And sat lucid in her reverie, For times that she and he once knew. Painted on her memory’s eye, Thoughts flittered like a butterfly, They tickled at the brink of truth, And swaddled her mind in a dulcet lie. He no longer walks…
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Joy Ride
The scent of the leather that’s dancing on air, The caress of the wind as it tussles my hair, The thump of the speakers; they’re playing my song, The bass in the engine; it’s drumming along, The feel of the sun as it kisses my skin, The view of the horizon that’s luring me in,…
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A Love Story
Here is where their story begins, In a time when they were young, And they did not yet regret their sins. A boy whose praises went unsung, Met a girl who ignored her worth, And together they climbed on love’s first rung. But they scaled too quickly from earth, And when those naïve darlings fell,…
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Prelude to a Kip
Oh, why can’t I sleep? Why’s this happening again? Is that… a fox… I can hear? Or a baby in pain?! Did I lock the front door? Is the dishwasher on? What did I miss in the meeting? Did I say anything wrong? God, is that my stomach?! When did I last eat? Should I…
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The Gaia Room
It’s a beautiful day in the Gaia room, Cotton balls form celestial spumes, Down deep inside the goldfish pool, An algae eater’s keeping cool, Up above the sky flame’s high, Its warmth is carried on an airy sigh, Indulging in the daylight glow, A tiny house hauler takes it slow, Behind she leaves a silver…
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Safe
My memory is forged from steel, An impenetrable shield, A fortified chamber of grey, And in it you lay, Hidden away, No-one but me has the key, And in my memory, Safe and strong, is where you belong, It’s where you’ll stay, Come fire, come thief, And come what may, None can steal you away,…
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Sweet Carmine
Hear her flow into the cup: Temptress whispers, “Steal a sup! Glut yourself with fruity mace; Heal yourself in my embrace, Mend your heart and free your mind, Find new love in sweet Carmine.” This poem was written for NaPoWriMo. Today’s prompt was to write about wine-and-love. This style of poetry is called Acreontics…
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Supply and Demand
Today there’s a 2-for-1 on my poems (in keeping with the challenge of the day!) Supply and Demand “Supply and Demand!” Was the salesman’s command When the sceptic said, “Sell me a Bic!” “Write your name then!” “But… I don’t have a pen.” Said the suitably crestfallen cynic. Disgruntled Daisies There’s an insufferable queue For…
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Torrent of Abuse
(an answer to April Rain Song) It would seem that some believe in giving April Showers some fame, That an aria is needed to glorify the rain, But I dodge the rain’s caresses And I do not want its kiss Silver drops that mock my tresses? Tell me who would sing of this? All that…
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Exposure of My Heart
Oh how I miss you, When I held you you taught me just who I was behind the shutters, You showed me my true colours, That I was like no other when I bled; I saw crimson, I saw claret, I saw carmine, and I saw scarlet, And now you’re gone, My love, Most all…
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The Flyers
The green, The black, The white, The stripes, The thrill of the fight, The delight of the graft, Two halves, And a whole lot of heart, And the laughs, (And the cries), And the cheers, (And the sighs), The battle calls from the sides, The banks burst as passion flies through the field, We never…
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Cesspool
Cesspool. Burdened mule. In this hole I am not whole, Stagnant in my body and in my soul, Rutted in my thoughts and in my deeds, And all of my needs remain unsung. Unappraised. I’m played; A guitar that they can strum, My heart is just a bullet in their gun, Waiting for their will…
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Voiceless
Am I behind glass that’s sound proofed? Opaque? Am I uttering words just for my sake? Am I a mime? Am I dumb? Has my voice become hoarse? Do I thunder out silence with deafening force? Is my tongue wrapped in barbed wire? Are my lips stapled closed? Do little men have my larynx in…
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Lost {mind dump}
I am lost. Not like the TV series… although the parallels are undeniable; I am a viewer, a mere spectator, of my life. I’m watching the confusing twists and baffling turns of the plot, trying to figure out what has led to this point, and what else is in store. I start each episode with…
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Musings of a Crummy Mummy
Has this top shrunk? Or am I getting fatter? (We both know the answer, but what does it matter?) My children have toys and food and clothes, So who cares if my jeans are all covered in holes? And yes my hair’s messy, What’s a brush? I forget… At least the stray birds will have…
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The Trade
What would I trade for all the joys of raising girls, of raising boys? For all the sleepless nights and such? For all the pain (there has been so much)? For all the hugs and laughs and fun? For the times I’ve all but given up? For the times I’ve dreamed the ‘what could be?’…
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Reflection
A monkey saw its reflection In an oak framed mirror The contours of his visage Were refined The glass was crystal clear Which filled his mind with fear “How dare he have a nicer face than mine?” He picked up a stone And threw it at the mirror It hit the glass and bounced down…
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Sunset
Can you hear the orange in the sunset? It whispers to the purple as they blend. Can you feel the magic while it’s working? Busy laying colours end on end. Can you see the song the sun is singing? Harmonised by palettes full and bright. Can you taste the beauty of the heavens? Its sacred…
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Letting Go
As we lay body to body in ecstasy I knew it was the last time you’d be next to me, The last time I’d hold your chest to me, Feel your breath on me, For your body cried out: “Remember Me” And mine called back, regrettably: “To the end of me… Til the death of…
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Voices
The voices of my weakened soul Empower forces deep And threaten to drive the threads of life Into dark and endless sleep The voices of my shadowed mind Have drowned out good intent But still an echoed conscience thrives And beckons to repent A redeemer lives in the bitter blood That pulses through my veins…
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Night at the Palace
That night at the palace I was your queen The fanfare of fireworks setting the scene A stillness – a peace – fell over the land And we glimpsed at the beauty that God has us planned We ascended the stairs to the top of our world And there we were held as darkness fell…
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What I See
My darling, this is what I see: Forever you and always me A perfect dawn and hushing sea A spiralled rose from you to me A feeling of security A hazing sense of ecstasy The warmth of spirit sets us free As winds whisper sweetened melody A faded precious memory of nothing more than fantasy…
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Love Is…
There sits a child with tears in his eyes, A bolt through strongest heart with the sound of weakest cries. Love is a hug, That that child gives to you, Just to make you smile, Although he himself is blue. There breaks a dawn, The brilliance of light cascading from the heavens to take away…
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Dawn Requiem
The night has taken me now and it is morning. A day of mourning. Your tears as dew drops on the blades of grass at dawn, Your sighs the gentle wind that dances with the trees, My funeral song resounding as the birds begin to sing. Remember me each day and I have not died…
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The Painting
Painted is perfection, The story of great love, A tale of fated spirits, And the best is not enough. Painted is elation, The joy of fated souls, Shared devotion in abundance, Giving more than one heart holds. Painted is completion, Two hearts fused as one, A union of the moon and stars, The heavens and…
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Ecstasy’s Exorcism
The devil defiled my dreams one night, Sowing seeds of sin, Scenes of sex and sodomy Wailing from within, Fickle flesh and phallic forms Entwined in evil embrace, All anguish and adultery, No glimpse of God’s good grace, I stirred in sweats of sordid sorrow, Reeling in rich remorse: “Dispel these damning demons Father, free…
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Let It Go
Long wooden pole Splintered Louse infested Makeshift hook at one end Lowered into the water Blindly splashing about Knowing it’s out there Somewhere – Then – The hook catches something Something…big A pungent smell rising Into the night air Mixed with cold sweat Fear With last ounces of strength Digging heals into the fresh mud…
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The Passing
A rift in the jugular vein The throbbing of quietus creeps in As the Red Sea crashes and ebbs away Severed breaths thrown off course In a whirlwind of darkness Silence in the eye As the winds of deathless sleep Howl through the hollowed tears: “Seize the day!” And life becomes a hostage of the…
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Ode to the Sick Mother
Your head is pounding, Your muscles; they ache, You’re hot and you’re flustered, You’re in need of a break, You’ve got sick in your hair, You’re covered in snot, You’re eyes are all puffy, You’re sweating – a lot, You have a mountain of laundry, An overflowing sink, The kids all want dinner; You just…
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The Edge
Where do I go from here? Standing at the edge of my future in fear Reflecting my past in my tears? The now presents itself shrouded by a cloak of darkness, Its stealth preventing my freedom, Its starkness inventing the reason that I live without breathing, I dream without sleeping and I’ve stopped without ceasing,…
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Where Are You?
Don’t smile when I am happy If you cannot cry when I cry too You were where when I was lonely? I was comforted by whom? Don’t take me from imagination It’s all I have: to dream The path back to reality Is floored with flaws supreme Don’t push me from the edge Of insanity’s…
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Soldier
And so this is Sparta: The field is set, The players swords are blood red, wet The clash of steel, and cries of thirst The line between justice and murder blurs, As does the footstep of the man before, Who ran from the trenches Unto the war, And he was felled, And you are next…
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Phoenix
I lay a broken woman, Sobbing from within, I cursed my very existence, Laden with untold sins. I lost all hope, all passion, I lost my chance for truest love, I felt the world had turned its back and all I thrived on turned to dust. So in my wretchedness and squalor, At the lowest…
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This Ain’t It
My life’s the wrong size It just doesn’t fit I once had a dream But this ain’t it I prayed that the end Would be worth the long trip I once had a plan But this ain’t it From there it looked sexy From here it’s just shit I once had a vision But this…
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Odin
Dormant is the beast that lies within Yet even in his sleep beneath my skin He screams the devil’s sin I cannot win His puppetry commands my being Curbs my feelings Silences the love that begs for freedom But is a captive of his kingdom And yet despite my wisdom I can only wish I…
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Tricks and Mortar
In the stillness all around there’s not a sound that the silence hasn’t bound The voices have been pounded into the cracks of these surrounds and the echoes of these walls The whispers of these halls – they tell it all – They scream in muted voices the errors in our choices And the legends…
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Home
There we lay as if time stood still On that isolated hill The sound of the wind was a trill through the trees Shimmering like disco balls of black and silver leaves The rush carried the faint echoes from the stream Of the jazz band playing just for me and you Planes flew past white…
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Conscious Me
Who am I when I close my eyes and slip to a world of paradise? I am not the she you see by day when desire’s dream has ebbed away, Engulfed in flames of sin I lay, Forgiveness from my God I pray. A wretched soul that claws the wall, At Redemption’s door my footsteps…
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Shell
I sit and gaze beyond this realm, My mind is lost in ponder, My physical self is here, a shell, Whilst inner feelings wander. I am not here when you beg my ear, When you long to feel my touch, You see just part of who I am, You’ll never see too much. To delve…
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The Dreams
I always dare to dream the dreams But little shards disturb my sleep When reality rips right through the seams And all that’s left are the sighs that creep From lips that tremble with the tears Of wasted hopes and realised fears A stifled cry, frustrated screams My heart is sinking in defeat I always…
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Pendulum
My love hangs in the balance of that pendulum swing between lose and win Truth and sin And what lies within my soul is not enough I have no control A slave to the toil of the cogs as they roll with each tick and grind with each tock The mastery of the clockmaker’s plot…
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One Drink
A tiny little pill lies still, Invisible in the bubbles as they pass my lips, Then thunder A jolt as it slams into my brain, The pain, I don’t understand, I only had one drink, Why can’t I think? The lights are too bright, And the music, Its baseline has no end, Where are my…
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Angel at the Gates
Heaven opened it’s gates and God called for our angel to find her way home, A chorus rang out through our world, And she passed, finding peace never known. Then our angel, she stopped at the gates, She paused there with one step to go, She rested her hand on her heart and looked back…
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Spoils of War
I just can’t, I’m torn between two halves of my heart: The Me who is scarred and my future afar; Who I could be and who I was from the start. I am filled to the brim with the love that these two players are fighting to win, A love that is pure and as…
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Two Hundred Miles
It took two hundred miles for my heart to heal Two hundred miles to forget what I feel The first mile I held you and wouldn’t let go To mile forty I refused believe it was so By mile eighty I hated you and all we had been I cursed you with loathsome abhorrence extreme…
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Broken Spirits
I move as a maid amongst the fallen, I hear them calling, Reaching out and stalling, And I have no strength to haul them, As I myself am crawling. In this land of the broken, Where tragedies lie unspoken, Demons rend their spirits open, Yet still they wait there hoping for a saviour to unyoke…
Serena Malcolm 