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Nana Yaw Ofori Apr 2018
Mother, the boys at school are not nice
But the rope reaches out to hug and squeeze the pain out through my neck
So i might run to him.

Mother, the folks in the neighbourhood think i dont belong
But the people of the sea welcome me
They say, "its peace, love and quiet on the ocean's deep"
So I might stay with them.

Mother, I'm mocked by my brain.

Mother, I am in pain
But the train at the subway wants to crush it
I think I he is my hero

Mother, I'm a flame on a candle
A lone flame in a snow storm,
Shield me!

Mother, don't let the water run out your eyes
For in the darkness your light for the road I use to pry.
Inspired by how dangerous verbal and physical bullying can be and how it  distorts their judgement. Therefore if parents show a little concern, it might help the individual ......stop bullying ....... it kills
Kat May 2019
I.
in this space without shadows,
i was a witness how this world became stranger
until it wasn’t mine. the memory of touch carries the torch,
through a deserted island, an abandoned house,
another girlhood turned ghost-town.
his sour amaretto mouth
closer, closer, closer.
saturday mornings i used to watch cartoons on the tv,
big goofy characters. these pictures come to me from afar
and dissolve into black lava,
at his hands cold metal sting.
with the tenacity,
i cling onto the hope of forgetting,
monuments were built for
gods and prophets.
so it goes.
somewhere in the world
mouths move around the filthy word,
forming the saddest companionship,
like two orphans who recognise each other.

II.
once upon a time,
i believed in a magic stronger than seduction.
why don’t we try to be less entitled?
after all, nothing was promised.
those of us,
attacked, assaulted, agonised,
in the sacredness of home,
in the public eyes wide shut,
fade into TV static noise.
how loud are the sounds of this
realism replica,
in bold letters proclaimed
now available:
FEMINISM!
(sold at every fast fashion retailer)
ALL GIRLS ARE BEAUTIFUL!
(but we still need to profit off your self-hatred)
LOVE IS HURTING
(why don’t you try to see his side?)
it’s nothing personal.
shame just happens to make good money.
that was a hard thing to write and to post. my mind felt very hazy. i still don't know whether i struck the right cord with my words.
Ladonna Atherley May 2019
You don’t sing to me anymore,
like you used to do.
You hardly even pay attention when I talk to you.
What happened to those days when we were all that mattered?
It was us against the world.
Now, the us has turned to you.
You don’t write me love letters,
like you used to do.
Once, that’s all you did.
Have we gone astray somewhere along our lovers path?
You don’t write me poetry that comes from the heart,
Like you used to do.
You used to pen such beautiful words.
They made me want to cry.
Now I cry;
Not for the same reasons.
You don’t hold me in your arms when we are alone in the dark,
Like you used to do.
I am afraid you don’t hold me in your heart anymore,
Like you used to do.
DG May 2019
I pace back and forth
I beg to get support
I'm screaming, watery eyes.
They assure, "It's alright, child. Smile."

I climb the Mount Everest
Apathy is all there ever is.
I shout "We're running out of time!"
They sing, "Don't worry, child. Smile!"

Policies have wreaked havoc
But 'I don't know what I'm talking about.'
People getting killed in front of my eyes.
But okay yes I'm a child I should smile.

From your smiles what did you gain?
That from justice I have to abstain?
You place your hand on my shoulder.
STOP. I don't want to hear those words again.

The world is on fire behind me now.
But never mind, look at me now.
They are crying, they are dying.
But never mind, I'm smiling.
If we can scrutinise and manipulate teachings to make them about violence, why can’t we scrutinise and manipulate them to make them about love just as easily? Maybe, in the future, I will not be strong enough to fight and maybe I will become the person who says ‘Smile’.
Sean May 2019
I feel like I’m in the eye of the storm,
Im so calm yet chaos surrounds me,
What do I do,
Do I try or do I give up,
Cause sometimes when it comes to expectations you can never live up,
Ive never been insecure,
You bring my greatest fears to life,
To think I wanted you to be my wife,
I want to trust you but you make it so hard,
I want to love you but would it be best for me to love you from a far ?
You left a permanent scar on my heart,
You know the same one that you ripped apart,
And now you want to try ? Why ?
Sometimes I think you get enjoyment when I cry,
Thing is if I was with someone else I would be treated better,
Im tired of putting aside my pride,
I just wish you’d just play my side,
I really hope this doesn’t end up in a fight,
Because all I want is for you to act right.
Desire Apr 2019
I wonder what you think about when you lay down next to me... When I sleep, do you sleep, or internally question me?

How quick do you jump when Im up and you see the phone was right next to me? You scroll and search, hope to find dirt, and continue second guessing me...

Sweatin me, when you taking certain things out of context, stressin me, when I tell you how Im tryna be honest, selling me, tellin me how you respecting my process, only to continue to do the same thing again and again like you obsessed...

Its not a sport, nor is it fun, when it feels like there's a gun, behind my back and at my head, wishing what we had was dead...

But you still not using words to talk to me or ask me first, to let me know what thoughts still linger, what doubts you have or your distrust...
You tell me all is fine; that you have nothing to say, then we go to bed at the end of the day

But still, I wonder what you think about when you lay down next to me...

@desire.is.dope
20190428
1249HRS
TRUST ISSUES
@desire.is.dope
20190428
1249HRS
nick armbrister Apr 2019
Pipe Dreams
All we are saying is give life a chance
The joy of natural life born without medical drugs
The chance of real life on the earth without meddling
The chance of extending your lineage without redemption
The chance of existence and prosperity without threat of war
The chance of animal life thriving without becoming extinct
The chance of human progress into space for peaceful purposes
The chance of healing the world without exhausting her natural resources
The chance of first alien contact without either side genocide
The chance of anything positive happening without negative events
Is the same as the chance of Elvis being alive or winning the lottery
Only believed by fools wearing tin foil hats and the incompetent sheep
There is no happy ending to the mess this we created...
vic Apr 2019
I spring awake at four a.m.
Inscitvely clutching my phone to check on this kid’s petition
“End the G.S.A.”
The stress eats away at my sleep schedule
As kids use one misunderstanding to take away my heart and soul
A club I have inputted so much of myself into
And funny enough “Vic” has three letters too
I can’t sleep without their 300 signatures popping up behind my eyelids
Comments being recited in the most repressed part of my insecurities
300 people who are against one of the clubs that saved me
Saved my friends
Saved so many people
But there’s no room for a gay presence in Johnson County
I spring awake at four a.m.
Visions of the kid who keeps his gun in his car spring into my head
My chest feels open already
Have already bled out every ounce of pride in me
What more harm can this kid do?
Don’t they understand that by killing my spirit
They’ve already made storage container for their bullets?
I spring awake at four a.m.
Because I do not let myself feel any other time
Must stay strong to show that I am bigger than their hatred
That I will go on
So I refuse to let myself accept that ever-consuming fear that grows in my stomach
It’s just indigestion
Just me being another overdramatic queer kid
Just everyday life that I must adjust to anyways
I haven’t let myself feel since the incident occurred
And the reactions poured in
Drowning any sense of safety I used to feel
I am choking on their unadulterated bigotry
Gasping for air amongst the abundance of hatred
And I’m not sure if I’ll ever breathe right again
I spring awake at 4 a.m.
Because I guess it’s the only time I feel safe anymore.
School is a warzone for people like me
And I can't hide in the crowd so easily
When it's 1v300
So I'm desperately trying to hide behind my poetry
I spring awake at 4 a.m.
Because I don't know if my coping is working.
did not revise this at all, just a quick poem of my thoughts before i try to get back to sleep
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