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Aug 2020 · 329
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basil Aug 2020
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saying a few words should be easier than it is
i get lost in concise conversation
i need you to ramble into my ears until our lungs are touching
from sheer lack of airspace

i need there to be more words than air
for our limbs to be tangled in ideas that keep pressing us together
knotted so tight we can finally tighten around all the sound
and make silence
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Aug 2020 · 155
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basil Aug 2020
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i'm not hungry, i'm just
empty
and now i'm just
sorry i expected you to know the difference
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Aug 2020 · 210
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basil Aug 2020
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if my stories don't leave you raw
then let me take off your sweater slow enough to feel the goosebumps
before i kiss your skin away

for my tongue tells stories
far louder than i can scream
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Aug 2020 · 138
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basil Aug 2020
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here i lay
my ribcage open to catch the rain
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Aug 2020 · 146
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basil Aug 2020
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you'd think we'd learn
to love by now...

all the books and films...

but ink smears
and cds scratch.
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Aug 2020 · 133
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basil Aug 2020
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i wanted to write a song
but every single word and chord
reminded me of you

so instead i wrote this
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Aug 2020 · 144
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basil Aug 2020
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bleach running down my throat
to clean out all your lies
which i swallowed whole
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Aug 2020 · 110
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basil Aug 2020
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i need a tchaikovsky record
to fill me up in all the places you never did
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Aug 2020 · 201
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basil Aug 2020
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the sun turns our thoughts into sweat
so i curse at the sky and blinding heat
for taking your voice away from me
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Aug 2020 · 99
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basil Aug 2020
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addicted to holding
your open hand
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Aug 2020 · 190
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basil Aug 2020
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i think i like it:
the way that you look at my face and feel the guilt writhe in your stomach
as you remember that you forgot me
_
Aug 2020 · 457
_
basil Aug 2020
_
laughter became our
common tongue
as we filled our mouths
with each other's whimsy
_
Aug 2020 · 107
cover to cover
basil Aug 2020
i want to know the ending
without it having to end

but i cannot write our story
forever

(my knuckles are wearing away my skin
trying to write the book of us
all alone)
we're singing reprises, blue eyes.
basil Aug 2020
i'm not real enough
when the rain
is not pattering against my bones
i need rain.

08.09.2020
basil Aug 2020
i wish i could write
like i think
Aug 2020 · 2.1k
wearing thin
basil Aug 2020
his smile:
as tight as his belt
her lips:
as red as her throat

and it makes them more noticed,
but no less alone
eat something, please. <3

08.05.2020
Aug 2020 · 181
flowers grow at your feet
basil Aug 2020
always a tear
falls
drawn toward the earth

for what is crying,
if not growing
<3

08.05.2020
Aug 2020 · 73
find here
basil Aug 2020
tomorrow is just a dream
for the lost
Aug 2020 · 133
mediator
basil Aug 2020
distance made a deal with time
to keep you away from me
but little do they know
i tell the moon how much i love you every night
and she whispers it in your dreams

so you always know
<3

08.05.2020
Aug 2020 · 128
the poems i wrote you
basil Aug 2020
i want to read you the poems i wrote you
so you can hear them in my voice
as it cracks in all the places you broke me
and blooms in all the places you loved

i want your head to rest on my shoulder
so you know where you are welcome
and your hand to be in mine
so you know where you are wanted

i want to read them in your room
so we can be in the place i fell in love with you
and i want the room to be filled with your thoughts
so you know how
one day, blue eyes

08.02.2020
Aug 2020 · 180
when did i become yours
basil Aug 2020
when did "want" become "need"
when did "bye" become "****"

when did "kisses" become "breathing"
when did "leaving" become "drowning"
08.02.2020
Aug 2020 · 116
t _ tle
basil Aug 2020
this doesn't sound like an opening line
a line that seems off follows it
this train of thoughts doesn't have any cars
just skeletons

but as you look out the window
and see the empty train
pass by
you might have an idea

for a better closing line
08.02.2020
Jul 2020 · 231
je suis
basil Jul 2020
i don't stand where i'm meant to
but my posture is impeccable
i am

07.26.2020
Jul 2020 · 314
for you
basil Jul 2020
i'll hang on to tomorrow
until my fingers are fiery and blistered
and even then
07.25.2020
Jul 2020 · 383
all grown up
basil Jul 2020
i can tie my shoes
all by myself
am i all grown up yet?

i ate a whole subway sandwich
without ever putting it in the fridge
am i all grown up yet?

i cried on the bathroom floor
at my first party
am i all grown up yet?

i held the pieces of my heart
in my hands
am i all grown up yet?

i wish i was a kid again
not knowing how to tie my shoes,
and taking three days to finish a sandwich.
going to parties that still served fruit punch
and believing in true loves kiss.

i think that means i'm all grown up, now.
i miss velcro.

07.25.2020
Jul 2020 · 182
red flag
basil Jul 2020
you said
'i love you'

before you said
'i trust you'
how did we miss it, blue eyes?

07.24.2020
Jul 2020 · 153
knocking
basil Jul 2020
you're all locked up, and
you gave me permission to
enter, without giving me
the key
07.24.2020
Jul 2020 · 771
roots
basil Jul 2020
the way you love
says a lot about you

but the way you break
says a lot about where you came from
07.24.2020
Jul 2020 · 2.0k
my siren
basil Jul 2020
when you look in the mirror
i hope you see more than a reflection

i hope you see
hair tangled into nets that trap more than life
deep eyes that sailors are lured to until they drown
soft lips that can calm a hurricane
sloping shoulders that carry the weight of the sea
winding curves that even the finest navigators become lost in
a strong build that intimidates the sharks
and a spirit that can capture the horizon

because that's what i see
everytime i look at you,

my siren
my blue eyed siren, i love you endlessly.

07.20.2020
Jul 2020 · 466
shoelaces
basil Jul 2020
my shoes
are only size seven and a half
so my footprints
are quite small
but i leave them places
where giants have walked
07.20.2020
Jul 2020 · 526
my shiniest penny
basil Jul 2020
i picked out my shiniest penny
and threw it in the wishing well
crossing my fingers
and whispering 'pleasepleaseplease'
as you filled my thoughts

eleven years hasn't made me any wiser
just more sarcastic
but i still pick out my shiniest penny
for that old wishing well
and wish for you
with crossed fingers
i miss you so much, papa. i hope i see you in another life.

07.07.2020
Jul 2020 · 230
white handed
basil Jul 2020
your hands are so clean
i'm starting to think that maybe
i broke my own heart
07.07.2020
(hey, it's double 07)
Jul 2020 · 182
overlap
basil Jul 2020
kissing you
and smoking

create a venn diagram

and the middle
is large enough to hold my empty hands
i love you. i miss you. i crave nothing but a smoke and you next to me.

07.05.2020
Jul 2020 · 229
blurry
basil Jul 2020
glasses sit atop my nose
but they aren't my prescription

they make the world dance
in places it usually mumbles
and it just makes me crave a smoke
07.05.2020
Jun 2020 · 277
filthy
basil Jun 2020
the way i clean my teeth
before i taste your tongue
seems obsolete
because your lips are
muddy with unsaid lies
the words you hold on to make me feel rotten

06.26.2020
Jun 2020 · 388
ivory chords
basil Jun 2020
when i'm nothing but a skeleton
i want you to make music with my bones
06.26.2020
Jun 2020 · 310
six word memoir
basil Jun 2020
i'm falling porcelain:
okay for now.
Jun 2020 · 240
fragility
basil Jun 2020
"my scars are so open."
i say. shaking. tears mixing with the numbness in my eyes.

                                                       "so... not scars, then"
                             you say. uncertain of what to do with someone so...
                                                           ­                ... in shambles

"if not scars, i don't know what to call them."
looking at your polished skin. my irises cracking open.

                                                          ­                "wounds."
                                       ­          as if you know what that word means.

"but wounds would have healed by now. i am not supposed to still be broken. my blood should have scabbed, my skin grown over. the thorns are gone, why not the pain?"
each word growing more quiet. my hands trace the cuts and smears follow my fingers.

                                                      "­are you sure you aren't doing this to
                                                                ­       yourself?"
                                              the pen in your hands hasn't made any
                                 words. i wouldn't know what to write either.

"i put down the knife a long time ago."
memories cascade.

                                                  "no, no. not with a knife made of silver.
                   a blade to make those marks would have to be made of
                                                              ­         thought."
                                  you try to remain patient. it's okay if you don't.

"oh."
and
i
shatter
i was going to apologize for the length of this. but then i realized that it was more important to write all of my pain out. and, well, you're here, so you must not have minded that much. so, thanks.

uh, so here's a dialogue poem (attempt) i guess. i hope you are doing well. much love <3

06.18.2020
Jun 2020 · 79
debt
basil Jun 2020

too much of what we give
is what we owe
10w
Jun 2020 · 451
long live plasticity
basil Jun 2020
nosebleed
black heart
making paper mache knives
sitting on pottery thrones
cause we're the reigning water
falling from the
quilted sky
feeling... artificial.

06.12.2020
Jun 2020 · 696
angel gabriel
basil Jun 2020
skeletons of tulips
floating in the warm, silk water
tantalizing breaths
interrupting hazy memories
of clear thoughts
refracted through curvy paths
made by hungry mornings
and sick gift wrappings
covering charcoal
lip gloss
a poem commemorating the vibe of my friend gabe. mwah.

06.12.2020
Jun 2020 · 109
a heart is like a promise
basil Jun 2020
broken glass
a moon kept behind curtains
of sorrys

let me down fast but gentle
so i might be buried in porcelain tears
i don’t love correctly. someone take it away before another falls victim to my recklessness.

06.11.2020
Jun 2020 · 163
happy birthday
basil Jun 2020
twenty seven candles
unlit
on a cake
with frosting
almost as sweet
as the
girl who lost her breath
with nothing but
sugar on her lips
happy birthday to you
happy birthday to you
happy birthday, dear breonna
happy birthday to you
Jun 2020 · 265
blackout
basil Jun 2020
mute and listening.
let others speak up.
basil Jun 2020
sticks and stones
will break bones
and a knee will take a life

tear gas and barricades
will need first aids
and rubber bullets will take eyes

signs and chants
dismissed as rants
and a point that will keep being missed
justice is not just a word.

06.01.2020
Jun 2020 · 1.3k
be proud
basil Jun 2020

even if your name
doesn't match the one on your drivers licence
or birth certificate:
be proud

even if your pronouns
aren't the ones they use at
family gatherings or birthday parties:
be proud

even if the one you love
isn't the one you're with:
be proud

even if who you are
isn't who you want to be
right now:
be proud

even if people
don't understand
and still use slurs:
be proud

even if you have to fight
to stay visible:
be proud

even if you're not okay:
be proud
happy pride. especially to those who don't have anyone to celebrate with. i'll celebrate with you. even if you don't think you have anything to be proud of, the people that stood at the stonewall riots think that you do. i think that you do. countless members of this community stand with you, and know that you should stand with PRIDE.

so be proud.

06.01.2020
Jun 2020 · 251
paper people
basil Jun 2020
humans
are so tangible

like paper
we burn
and rip
and if we get wet,
we get soaked

like paper
we come
in colours

but those colours
make paper more beautiful
when will everyone see the beauty?

06.01.2020
Jun 2020 · 431
when will there be justice?
basil Jun 2020
when
will it be
okay

to be human?

when
will skin be

beautiful?

when
will we
be able to

breathe?
my heart is so heavy.

i am not black, but i hear you. i am not black, but i see you. i am not black, but i stand with you. i am not black, but i will fight for you.

06.01.2020
May 2020 · 62
hold
basil May 2020
i've got two feet and a death wish,
so what's one more fall?
if you let go, i'll break my bones. but maybe that's okay. i love you.

05.28.2020
May 2020 · 91
rose coloured glasses
basil May 2020
can't you see
how hard i'm trying
to be me?
(10w)

05.28.2020
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