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Amina Oct 2021
Man
I know
you want to feel proud and mainly capable and believe me
I will make sure you feel proud
I know
because your pride is my pride
but do not make submissive orders while you are dealing with me
because I will only detest myself not you
then for me in my eyes you would be anything but pride
women relatives
Mark Wanless Oct 2021
true knowledge so deep
we have to go forward slow
compassion and love
Love will lift her skirts,
Dancing across
The deepest lines in the sand
Bounding over
The highest walls we've built
Holding her hands outstretched
To those in need of compassion,
Carrying those too weak
To learn the moves on their own
She watches the sands of time fall
With an understanding
That she is transcendent,
Undying
And so through it all,
Love will lift her skirts and dance
©KNL
Love is the greatest conqueror.
Steven Boston Aug 2021
Freshly sharpened knives slice
at my numb skin
as I bound forwards bleary eyed
in the blueness of the morning

I breathe in the freshness of its delights
head awakened
in a juggernaut of thoughts
the expanse of being
suddenly aware
of a dark shadow
in the recesses of a shop door

it shifts quickly from my peripheral vision
I'm suddenly drawn to it
as my curiosity wells up inside
of my cold shell

I feel like the cat who is just about to spend all nine lives
uncertain of what lies in the boxed doors
to material worth.
"Hello"
whimpers the voice of the unknown

my eyes acclamatise
to the darkness in front
in view now
a dishelved man slumbered

face old beyond his years
he catches my eyes with his sad gaze
emminating from them
is the story of a journey of old
a soul lost in the past

such desolation
stonniness conjured

in the blink of an eye
Jammit Janet Jul 2021
#57
I have a self built barrier to hate
I am full of love
That arbitrates
Fairness in the highest fashion
Self love
Compassion
Jason Stevenson Jun 2021
There she sat against a tree,
Lush green grass as far as the eye could see.
Vibrant, colorful flowers, fully bloomed at her feet,
The wind through the trees, "What a sound," she thought, her heart skipping a beat.
She lets the wind take her far away,
A new sight to be seen each day.
From the snowy mountain tops, down to the ocean floor,
Nature is what she truly adores.
To create and restore,
She is Mother Nature a nurturer at her  core.
Loving and gracious,
She can be quite tenacious.
There is to no extent to which she won’t go
To maintain nature’s flow.
Nature is her child, her special sense of joy.
In her element she isn’t coy,
Like a child with a toy,
Nature is her playground,
Everywhere she goes joy can be found.
Round and round she goes,
Where she goes, only the wind knows.
This is a poem I'm passionate about turning into a series. It's also the beginning of a sequel to a prior story I wrote a few years back. I'd love to hear what people think! Thank you.
Kelly Mistry Jul 2021
Empathy comes from…

Shared feeling
Shared experience
Mirror neurons firing amok
Design, chance or evolution

All of the above
None of the above

Whatever the source
It is necessary

To my existence
To my experience of the world
Getting it
Giving it

A life without empathy

Would be colorless
Tasteless
Washed in gray and empty
Of life

But if you can’t give it
And you can’t accept it

How would you know what’s missing
A sense you’ve never had

I think of empathy as a vine
Tenacious
Entwined in all aspects of life
Always growing back if it is cut down

But I see
For others
How they move through the world

Maybe that isn’t true
Not for everyone

How can a seed be planted
But how
                can it not already exist

Perhaps its buried very deep
Out of sight out of mind
Requiring water
Light
Air
Belief
To grow

Empathy is necessary to our existence
The source may be mysterious
Debated

But without it
How can we see the humanity of others
How can we see the humanity
Of ourselves
Mark Wanless Jun 2021
the anger of one
thousand years dissolves in one
moment compassion
(one moment at a time)
Nicole May 2021
500
Dear Nikki at 5,

I wanted to write to you today
To honor our 500th poem
To honor you and to honor
All of the pain you've carried for us
I think of that one night
Maybe the first time you wrote about your feelings
You were so hurt and angry
Emotional energy like a current
Electrifying your entire system
So you found solace in your words
Scribbling onto your magnetic sketchpad
Letting the anger rush through you
Concentrated energy through the pen
I am so proud of you for coping that way
I know you felt better afterwards
Written words tend to alchemize our energy
Firing ferocity into calm
I respect your instincts
To translate your pain into art
It was beautiful until your peace was shattered
Our mother found your writing and
Instead of discussing your pain and anger
She took your words for gunshots
Ripping apart her already low self esteem
So she sat you down on the stairs
She was distraught and upset
She told you that your words hurt her
That your feelings caused her pain
That you were bad and wrong for writing them
Instead of considering your emotional state
Instead of even asking what was wrong
She loaded your shoulders with shame
Forced you to carry the burden of her pain
A child responsible for the emotions of an adult
You took on that task and couldn't have known
That doing so would internalize that responsibility
That you would forever feel at fault
When anyone around you felt pain
She taught you that your feelings are bad
That your inner workings are inherently flawed
Your emotions, your wants, your needs
Normal pieces of your humanity
It all became your greatest enemy
And your most intense fear
I am so sorry that she didn't hug you
I am sorry she didn't tell you it's ok to feel
You deserved love and compassion
You deserved to be taught that
You are not defined by your feelings
She could have taught you that your choices
Carry the truth of who you are
That you made a beautiful decision that day
To write out your emotions when
You could have acted them out instead
I want you to know that I am so proud of you
That your feelings were real and valid
Your feelings matter, every single one
I am so sorry I spent most of our life
Shaming you for being human
Instead of celebrating your sensitivity
I reinforced and added to your burden
I blamed you for every broken thing
And turned you into a target for pain
You deserved to maintain your childhood
You deserved respect for your humanity
I am sorry for the time it's taken me to learn
After 20 years I finally understand that
Your feelings matter and your heart is good
You will no longer carry this pain
I will be the parent that you deserve
Thank you for sticking with me
And thank you for leading us here

I love you little one
You have always been enough

With love,
24-year-old You
My 500th poem, dedicated to my 5 year old self.
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