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Human Nature

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Michaelasometimes, you meet people who are storms
in bottles, who are ships cast away on rocky
coastlines, contained in a mason jar. sometimes
you meet volcanoes in human skin, earthquakes
with a laugh that sounds like skipping rocks
on summer colored lakes. sometimes, you meet
people who are whirlwinds wrapped up in muscle and bone,
who are more miracle than mistake.
i think about that a lot when i look at her.
to be fair, she is nothing more than me and you
but she has a hurricane brewing in her eyes
and dandelions growing through the cracks
in her sidewalks and i think that’s wondrous
enough.
i know our lungs are the same—on mondays
and thursdays, we both find it hard to keep
breathing and sometimes if i listen hard enough
i think i can hear the storms battering her shoreline,
but you could never tell with the way she smiles.
don’t tell her, but she smiles like the sun.
she smiles crooked, like baby teeth and morals
and the first time you try to hang up a sign.
god, she smMichaela11 hours ago in Free Verse

(al)lure and consumesomething tells me you are out there
past the disintegrating line (somewhere beyond, maybe
you will flutterswoon and fill my pockets
with the trappings of being whole)
but the line is where I stop- where I crumble
into smaller pieces and burn up like the rest of a matchstick
and that is all you'll see: futures
so linear, on fire(al)lure and consume1 day ago in Free Verse

carpet stainsMy history teacher
flicks through slides
of dead Jews
stacked like
corkboard,
their xylophone ribcages,
trench stomachs, and
mouth hanging open
like drawbridges.
I feel pinholes poked
into my chest;
my soul pours
out and out and out.
I look towards the others,
and their moon faces
reflect my own
like thirty mirrors
staring back at me:
emptying and sorrowful.
Our thoughts are the same:
these bodies are people,
and people killed them,
and other people let them
kill and be killed.
People and people and people.
The bell rings,
and we shuffle papers
and click pens.
It is done,
but our souls
have stained
the carpet.carpet stains10 hours ago in Free Verse

those inertiasi. hydrogen
oh look,
the skies are
not quite
designed
and this circuit nature
cannot be
denied
we have tried
and we have tried
and we are
trying
and tying
our past
into present
sense
ii. adam
never touching,
everything we see
is some distance
separated
lately this fact
escapes us,
we are aligning
there's no losing
the apple
iii. tetra
oh this holding
incantation
hangs in the void
like sanctions
buried in
shin splints,
vying for
instants
progress is
the burden of
responsible act
iv. burrow
oh it's owed to
opal and fusion,
hope and delusion,
coping and choosing
to not be broken
or losing
oh it's slow
and it's bruising
but we know
it's truththose inertias13 hours ago in Free Verse

sandman reveriehe trades in sorrow;
infiltrating locks
that cast
dismissive looks
toward the dreamcatcher
as they fold through air
derelict visions
dragged screamless
from fragmented
fleeing lips
a picasso-framed
nightmare of
pieces;
intricate
origami
terror
carving isolation
into the walls.
he's kaleidoscope
delusions
in the early afternoon;
tired of always sleeping
but never quite
awake.sandman reverie7 hours ago in Free Verse

Name (15/30)They walk by
You see them
Once a week,
Maybe every day;
Ask for their name.
Why not?
There's nothing strange,
Nothing to fear;
Bridge the gap,
Give them your name.
What now?
You both must go on
But you shake a hand,
Exchange smiles;
You know their name.
They're everywhere -
Nameless humans,
Only because
We don't bother to ask
"What's your name?"
But what is it for?
A jumble of letters,
A vocal vibration,
This name carries meaning
It means this person.
The person before you -
So unlike anyone else,
With an entire world,
You know nothing about,
That begins with their name.Name (15/30)19 hours ago in Free Verse

Hearts and RulesHearts know no rules, yet
they are followed blindly and
made to be broken.Hearts and Rules12 hours ago in Haiku & Eastern

Anxietyit presses in,
scratchy and grey
cloying
suffocating
breath gets heavy,
then frantic,
ribs contracting rapidly
pressure
endless pressure
crushing pressure
fingertips tingle,
throat clenches
heartbeat erratic
pain throbbing a harsh staccato in my chest
wheezing now,
skin heating
the oily trickle of sweat down brow
NO!
DON'T TOUCH!
inward turning,
miserable escapism
lips raw and bleeding,
assaulted by yellowing teeth
back away
back away
can't breathe
heart escaping
breaking through a cage of ribs
faint-headed
oxygen deprived
endless loop of fear and painAnxiety16 hours ago in Urban & Spoken Word

Sometimes...Sometimes...you don't feel like waking up.
But you know that you must arise each day.
The day you do not arise is the day your won't--
for you will have joined the dead, forevermore.
Sometimes...you don't feel like bathing yourself.
But you know that being stinky isn't that cool.
So, you drag yourself to the rain locker and wash.
Guess what? You also tend to awaken rather nicely!
Sometimes...you don't feel like getting nourishment.
But a diet of coffee and cigs is a dead man's meal.
The weaker you get, the more your body wants food...
and the less food you take, the more your body eats you.
Sometimes...you don't feel like sleeping ever again.
But be reasonable--you cannot stay awake forever.
If you don't shut yourself down, your body will do so...
and you will get your zzzzs, one way or the other.
--RKJSometimes...12 hours ago in Free Verse

messages sentshe has made her mark. marks. many.
now she waits. bides. fades.
into the vast aether of time.
always with grace. always.
where does yesterday go?
where did yesterday go?
that's where she'll be...
i don't remember what i said.
yesterday.
llp - dA - apr2015messages sent21 hours ago in Free Verse

FirebrandIn the open air,
His voice echoing loudly -
Words to start a war.Firebrand10 hours ago in Haiku & Eastern

UntitledBoxed, neatly, tidily presented.
Handed off to another
like a trinket to be kept.
Too bad you didn’t seal the lid properly.Untitled12 hours ago in Free Verse

I Can't Express It I don't know what I'm feeling
I can't explain it
I can't....express it
I guess I am now
My feelings are odd
It's not what you think
It's not negative
But yet it's not positive
It's somewhere in between
It's certainly not depression
It's not happiness
It might be loneliness
Though I'm surrounded by companions
I'm so confused
I'm leaving my home, I'm leaving the place where I grew up
My family is normal
Yet we feel out of place
Because what happened is gone, but it's still happening
I'm still confused
I should be sad, it's normal to be that way
But why do I feel so....not normal?
I'm a smart one, I know that
Although sometimes I wish I was so naive
I didn't know the harshness of reality and the emotions
I don't know anymore
When will it end?
When will it stop?
When will I have closure?
When will I feel safe from it?
Will my friends even care?
Do my friends even care?
I wonder if they know what it's like.....
To have the pressure of a splitting iceberg balaI Can't Express It 15 hours ago in Urban & Spoken Word

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TempusEvery fretted river has its time
To reach the calm waters of space
And dies with those at peaceTempus19 hours ago in Traditional Fixed Forms

GuiltOur broken hearts split the world’s black and white
Into myriad colors composing the light
With the brushes of heartache
Paint wings, and take flight
Clipping our pinions with things we had ‘ought’
We slide to the earth and abandon the shot
With guilt crushing our shoulders
Turn from what we sought
Leaning to whisper the evil word ‘might’
The cloud of depression consumes our sight
Succumbed to dark murmurs
We give up the fight
The deepest minds build the highest of thoughts
The dark heart astounds with the light it has wrought
Their Muses are phantoms
Of past demons fought
The torture of life
May take a deep toll
The torches of strife
May shatter the soul
But the man who has ‘made it’
Has nothing inside
The woman escaped it
Had already died
It’s only those ate it
Who came back-
AliveGuilt8 hours ago in Songs & Lyrics

404i.
on monday i ask my mother
if i can illegally download
a conscience.
the word "illegal" sets her off
in a panic, and she doesn't bother to reply.
ii.
on tuesday i ask my father
if i can buy a set of morals off
ebay. he asks me what the fuck
i'm talking about.
iii.
on wednesday, i have an existential crisis.
iv.
on thursday, i google how to be
less melodromatic. the no results
is a taunt.
v.
on friday, i tell my lover
that i found god
in the hollow of the internet.
he distracts me with the hollow of his collarbone.
vi.
on saturday, god forbids me
from selling my existence on ebay.
i don't argue the point.
vii.
on sunday,
i wash and repeat.4041 day ago in Free Verse

Simple ManI am just a simple man
doing simple things
trying to live a simple life.
Not everyone can be a saint
and there is no real living
in trying, but even sin
starts to become just
another rut I am stuck in.
My heart is looking
for a place to call home
and after a while I just want
to lay my head on something
soft and warm.
The soul grows restless
from wandering too much,
just the same as sitting still too long,
and all I want is to find somewhere
like summer in a rainstorm
not too hot and not too cold.Simple Man12 hours ago in Free Verse

To all homophobes(poem)You say we're all equal
But I see half the sequel
The women and men
Are much more even
The races divide
Is less alive
Yet we see a new debate
That's gaining so much hate
And I ask you
Why can't they be equal too?
Why can't women love women?
And men love men?
You say it's abnormal
And that they're just hormonal
Why can they love
Just like those who think they're above?
How does it affect you
If they want to pursue?
They cannot have a family
They're an anomaly
What about those that are unfertile in this nation?
And ever heard of adoption or female insemination?
Oh- but I'm christian
You exclaim in protestation
But didn't the old testament differ from the new?
Why can't this century also start anew?
I have run out of vocabulary
To express my message so necessary
So I want you to think today
What thoughts have you had today?To all homophobes(poem)15 hours ago in Traditional Fixed Forms

Bipolar: The Happy SideIn a world with
No rules &
No censorship...
I live the life
Of a child
Able to live
In a capable
Body
That screams:
WELCOME
TO
MANIA!Bipolar: The Happy Side12 hours ago in Free Verse

You. Are. Screwed!How could I have missed,
Your disgusting, fake face?
How could I have dismissed,
On what was behind that grace?
Why didn't you tell me,
You were in league with plastic?
Why'd try to look friendly,
When you're just so pathetic?
You're actually a backstabber,
Oh, I didn't see that coming!
Now I'll throw you out my shelf,
And burn you to your miserable end!
I regret being close to you,
Who talks like dirty garbage.
I couldn't see what was true,
Until someone left with a luggage
So now, think about what you've done,
Because I cannot forgive you at all.
What you did can never be undone,
I hope you actually trip and fall!You. Are. Screwed!2 hours ago in Urban & Spoken Word

100% FuckableYou see a set of bones scrambled in a senseless heap
Of cold barbed wire skin and a snapping slit of a smile
And jaded lust-less blood pumping around inconsolable veins
Which have seen the sunshine of many a sky studded with diamonds
And the inside of faceless women's thighs from darkened neon clubs
Tattooed on the back of his eyelids.
As you let yourself fall into the traps of the pits of his sockets
And the loopholes of his arms which though strong are empty
And the iron in his boxers lunges at your crotch like an angry dog on heat
Full of the viscosity of death in pleasure and fully void of love
You close your eyes and slip on a fake orgasmic scream
As the Queen's head rolls in pay packets around
Your Airhead.
Tomorrow you'll wake up tweeting how 100% fuckable he was
To all your empty plastic friends with razorblades for tongues
Replacing your knickers and donning your peacock façade
Then walk out the door,
Only with the next victim
Rolling cash registers and casino s100% Fuckable11 hours ago in Free Verse

Mapping TimeA future ordained
is millions lost,
stories cut short in the decision
to only follow one path,
take one route
and never double back
or even glance down
the multitude of others
spreading from the crossroads.
A natural thing,
because time isn't
infinite,
or reusable,
and most of the time,
there are no second chances.
What would happen
if there could be, though?
What would happen
if a prophecy fulfilled
was subverted
by a second chance?
The road unwalked
now becomes
the only unknown,
and the unknown seems
to be a lure,
for the unwise traveller.
But perhaps
the one given a second chance
would be the wiser
for the first time around,
so would they turn
to a new path,
or walk the safe, known one?Mapping Time16 hours ago in Free Verse

ForgetForget the world that created you,
forget the world that left.
Forget the things you have to do,
forget the weight you have to heft.
Forget the blood,
the battle and carnage,
mixed deeply into the mud.
Forget the partridge which sang on your shoulder
keeping away this unholy boulder
which you aim at but know you will miss.
Forget the nights you spent screaming
over the sound of artillery
instead of dreaming.
Forget the greatness they said would ensue
when they thought only of themselves
and nothing of you.
But strain out your memory,
keeping clear the idea of comradeship
which rubs against your soul like a board of emery.
Remember the heroics,
if you can call them that,
the impulsive actions of self-proclaimed stoics.
Forget the things you had to do,
the rivers of blood,
inviting a coup.
But tell me your story,
I'll sit and listen:
even through the gore
I will not bore.
I'll feel the glory
of your life's story,
the one which you begged so hard to forget.Forget9 hours ago in Free Verse

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