Category: Poetry Festival

DEPRESSION 101, Poetry by Lydia Lockett

It’s hard to cope as a victim of crimes
Now my anger’s and pain is so intertwined
I’m thoroughly pissed….
And I’m not easy to assist
‘Cause I don’t trust those motha’ fuckin’ therapists

Genre: Rhyme, Life, Depression

DEPRESSION 101 by Lydia Lockett

I owe my psychiatrist $1500
I fell asleep on his couch

It’s hard to cope as a victim of crimes
Now my anger’s and pain is so intertwined
I’m thoroughly pissed….
And I’m not easy to assist
‘Cause I don’t trust those motha’ fuckin’ therapists

I don’t want to waste time in sessions
Making them laugh ease to their depression
‘Cause that’s what how I’m made…
I perform and they get paid

While I don’t have the bus fare
To get there
And I walk to the clinic
And I wait till the others are finished

And the clinician
He’s no magician
He’s a dealer of prescriptions

The agony still plagues my mind
Only this time
I got his bullshit added to the line
Of never-ending torments

Like those who commit suicide
Or deal with oppression and genocide
And hunger and corruption
And this motha’-fucka’ don’t recognize
That people are suffering in front of his eyes
But he don’t care
He’s self-satisfied

What he prescribes
May keep us alive
But he don’t realize
We need to be happy and free
However he don’t agree

On his wall, he’s got a doctor’s degree
In society, he’s got respect in the community
But in reality,
He’s got hookers paid by some drug companies
While his therapy lacks validity
And we’ve got nothing to eat
And go 3 weeks with 6 bags of tea

We’ve got a functional disability
We’re not in the norm
He’s the only one who will fill out the fuckin’ forms
We start to wish we were never born

He’s perceptive, he asks;
“Why do you look so forlorn?
What’s bothering you the most?”
I look him straight in the eyes and say;
“Refer to your notes”

The Prozac obliterates your libido
So sex is no longer on your mind
You don’t fix yourself up
You don’t take the time

And when you see a love scene on T-V
You think, “People are still into that?
It’s so passé!”
And then you re-member how horny you used to be
Just yesterday.

You start to think about procreation
And how the hell are you gonna fit into that equation?

And then you find out that someone you know just did it
He didn’t write a note to make it official
He just put the gun to his temple
He kept it simple

Charlatan doctors
Made money off his pain
Backed by the government
This happens again and again

Suffering to pay their bills is not our worth
That is not why we were put on this earth.
Sometime, somebody’s got to put your interests first

Are we just unlucky?
Or have we been cursed?
And no one understands or gives a damn
How much it hurts

I should never have walked into his office
I should have quit when I was ahead
This brings me to the conclusion
That many people think
They are better off dead.”

I talk about depression
Attack the repression
Illustrate the mind set
Redirect the thunder

So if you find out, one day, G-d forbid
That somebody you know just killed them self
You may not have to wonder!

    * * * * *

Deadline: FREE POETRY Festival – Get your poem made into a MOVIE and seen by 1000s. Three options to submit:
http://www.wildsound.ca/poetrycontest.html

Watch Poetry performance readings:

Watch Poetry made into Movies:

Diamonds Of Emotions, Poetry by S. Rachele Chappell

I got a pocket full of pains,
A purse of crumpled up notes,
A journal of words where my poetry rains,
This is where my heart and head struggle with their votes.
They may not find a compromise,

Genre: Writer, Artist

Diamonds Of Emotions
by S. Rachele Chappell 

I got a pocket full of pains,
A purse of crumpled up notes,
A journal of words where my poetry rains,
This is where my heart and head struggle with their votes.
They may not find a compromise,
but in the end find solace.
It’s when my pen meets paper,
that the madness becomes flawless.
Diamonds formed of pressured emotions,
and years of tears that could form oceans.
It’s funny how when I write a poem,
I understand myself the most.
It’s when I see the words on paper,
My thoughts are not a ghost.

 

    * * * * *

Deadline: FREE POETRY Festival – Get your poem made into a MOVIE and seen by 1000s. Three options to submit:
http://www.wildsound.ca/poetrycontest.html

Watch Poetry performance readings:

Watch Poetry made into Movies:

MONET – Poetry Reading by Caroline Clemens

Watch the Poetry Reading of MONET. Performed by Val Cole: 

Get to know poet Caroline Clemens:

    * * * * *

Deadline: FREE POETRY Festival – Get your poem made into a MOVIE and seen by 1000s. Three options to submit:
http://www.wildsound.ca/poetrycontest.html

Watch Poetry performance readings:

Watch Poetry made into Movies:

Tooth and Nail – Poetry Reading by Dudley Clarence Sturgis IV

Watch TOOTH AND NAIL Poetry Reading. Performed by actor Val Cole:

Get to know the poet Dudley Clarence Sturgis IV:

1) What is the theme of your poem?

The theme is determination.

2) How would you like people to respond when they read or watch your poetry reading?

I want people to feel determined. They may face a dragon, but they already wield Excalibur. We all have the power to overcome our obstacles.

3) How long have you been writing poetry?

I’ve been writing since I first learned how to put pencil to paper – or rather, crayon. Art has always been my passion. Writing, drawing, painting – I do it all.

4) Do you have a favorite poet?

I know it may be cliche, but I’ve always adored Edgar Allan Poe.

5) What influenced you to submit to WILDsound and have your poetry performed by a professional actor?

I’ve written quite a lot of poems. Some of those I’ve turned into songs or spoken word pieces. I’ve never really been a fan of my own voice, however. This was perfect for me.

6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?

I’m a self-published fantasy novelist. Art is an addiction for me. I can’t really stop.

7) What is your passion in life?

Passion in itself is my passion. I have it for a number of things – art being only just one. Nature is my inspiration. Love and spirituality go hand-in-hand and this journey of mine is just one of many more on this beautiful planet. Everyone has a story. And I want to read as many as I can – while writing my own.

 

    * * * * *

Deadline: FREE POETRY Festival – Get your poem made into a MOVIE and seen by 1000s. Three options to submit:
http://www.wildsound.ca/poetrycontest.html

Watch Poetry performance readings:

Watch Poetry made into Movies:

My Life Tumbled and I Fell – Poetry Reading by A Goomer

The theme of my poem is the struggle to pull yourself up after you lose someone that you love wholeheartedly. Dealing with depression and loss.

 

Watch the Poetry Reading of MY LIFE TUMBLED AND I FELL. Performed by Val Cole:

Get to know poet A. Goomer:

1) What is the theme of your poem?

The theme of my poem is the struggle to pull yourself up after you lose someone that you love wholeheartedly. Dealing with depression and loss.

2) How would you like people to respond when they read or watch your poetry reading?

I would like people to respond by feeling the emotion of my poem, to connect and heal. Also, to let them know they are not alone in this feeling of total loss and emptiness, it will get better, hang in there.

3) How long have you been writing poetry?

I’ve been writing poetry seriously since 2009, but I’ve been an artist my whole life and have always written.

4) Do you have a favorite poet?

My favorite poet is Edgar Allen Poe

5) What influenced you to submit to WILDsound and have your poetry performed by a professional actor?

I think some people may connect better with a verbal voice than just reading it silently? Plus I am curious to hear the performer’s take on it.

6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?

No, not at this time. I’m just writing poetry, working on a second book right now, a follow-up to My Life Tumbled and I Fell.

7) What is your passion in life?

My passion in life is love, animals and creating! I love helping others who are struggling, because I can relate. If I can help one person who feels lost or hopeless with my book, I would feel amazing 🙂 Life is crazy and really hard, but we can get through it with the help of each other. I love sharing my story with others because I feel like it’s not something people talk about, but we need to. Depression and suicide is very important to talk about and it’s good to know that we can still rise from the flames even if we feel like we never will. Positivity is key, and there is always a silver lining in every tragedy, you just have to see it. It took me 3 years to see it, but I did and here we are.

 

    * * * * *

Deadline: FREE POETRY Festival – Get your poem made into a MOVIE and seen by 1000s. Three options to submit:
http://www.wildsound.ca/poetrycontest.html

Watch Poetry performance readings:

Watch Poetry made into Movies:

Bewildered. Poetry by Janice Gomez

Dim street light

Creatures of the night

Critters floating on the sidewalk

Passing pollution of toxic talk

Driving for stares of attention

Dazed body performing without apprehension

Genre: Society, Rhyme

Bewildered by Janice Gomez

Dim street light

Creatures of the night

Critters floating on the sidewalk

Passing pollution of toxic talk

Driving for stares of attention

Dazed body performing without apprehension

Wrinkling inside destroying all purity

Dressed and laced covered with nudity

Timid to escape the lifestyle that is created

Vision of explorations for the mind to be sedated

Passed out as the sun blazed

Numb and awareness in a dazed

Starve for food and the next pleasurable

Standing by highways with labeled signs for a charitable

Can there be intervention?

Before another life heads to the next dimension?

At one time they were reputable…

Now, the darkness of rapidly hurt is inevitable.

 

    * * * * *

Deadline: FREE POETRY Festival – Get your poem made into a MOVIE and seen by 1000s. Three options to submit:
http://www.wildsound.ca/poetrycontest.html

Watch Poetry performance readings:

Watch Poetry made into Movies:

Play House. Poetry by John “John Kind” Ravenell Jr.

We think we’re grown don’t we?
Holding hands in public because that’s what lovers do,
We think we know how to love,
But inexperience got us not having a single clue,
To be simply put, we are making a poor attempt at being witty,
Trying to pass off what we have as love, yet too naive to know it’s shitty,

Genre: Romantic Irony

Play House
by John “John Kind” Ravenell Jr.

We think we’re grown don’t we?
Holding hands in public because that’s what lovers do,
We think we know how to love,
But inexperience got us not having a single clue,
To be simply put, we are making a poor attempt at being witty,
Trying to pass off what we have as love, yet too naive to know it’s shitty,

We take relationship advice from what we all call, “other wise”,
You better love me as I say, “other wise” I’m gonna-
Then we spit argue over marble counter tops, trying to buff things out,
No way to try to make it look nice, fights never bring our best side out,
To be simply put, I’m the daddy and she’s the mommy,
We are, who we are, because the roles gives us an organized lifestyle,

All I know is, I just got off from work and mommy you better kiss me,
How was our son? I’m hungry too, what did you get me?
Ah yes, my favorite dish your the best!
And you look especially beautiful for me, and only me, in that sun dress,
And my dearest thinks handsome, she adores me as her hard working man,
To take care of her and secure her is my obligation to her 20 year living plan,

To be simply put, our lives are designed by an idea our parents act out,
We would like to childishly fulfill those roles, but with a plastic door to back out,
Just in case if things take a different pace, becomes too real and less exciting,
But the appeal of love on the internet and reality tv is too inviting,

Who doesn’t play house?

 

    * * * * *

Deadline: FREE POETRY Festival – Get your poem made into a MOVIE and seen by 1000s. Three options to submit:
http://www.wildsound.ca/poetrycontest.html

Watch Poetry performance readings:

Watch Poetry made into Movies:

Watch the June 2016 Poetry Readings

Watch the poetry readings from June 2016.

Watch the poetry readings from June 2016.

THE HEARTLESS AND THE HOMELESS by Carlyn Soulei Thomas

9 VERSUS LOVE by Karoline Lehner

Pillar of the Community by Monica Helene Thomas

If I Was President by Molimau Fatu

THE HEARTLESS AND THE HOMELESS – Poetry Reading by Carlyn Soulei Thomas

Watch a June 2016 Poetry Performance Reading.

THE HEARTLESS AND THE HOMELESS by Carlyn Soulei Thomas

Performed by Marsha Mason

7 questions with the poet:

1) What is the theme of your poem?

The theme of my poem is the lack of compassion people have one for another.

2) How would you like people to respond when they read or watch your poetry reading?

When people read my poem or watch my poetry reading, I’d like for them to honestly survey themselves, and ask the question, “Am I compassionate?”. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “We must be the change we wish to see in the world.” Kindness is contagious and humility will take you a long way in life.

3) How long have you been writing poetry?

I’ve been writing poems since 2001. Writing poems became another way for me to express my feelings.

4) Do you have a favorite poet?

My favorite poet and author is Maya Angelou. I call myself “Young Maya” at times, because her works has truly inspires and encourages me to keep reaching for the stars, which without a doubt makes her a mother to many daughters, though she birthed none. Each line of one of my personal favorites, “Letter To My Daughter”, felt as though they were written just for me. She was phenomenal and I only wish to be as inspiring as she was, even if just a little bit.

5) What influenced you to submit to WILDsound and have your poetry performed by a professional actor?

There’s so much going wrong in the world, and so many, including children are suffering, but most of us are busy with our own lives to care. I jumped at the opportunity to submit my poem in hopes that it would make others think about it too, just as I have thought about it. And prayerfully, it would change someone’s mind for the betterment of this world and everyone living in it.

6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?

I am also a Singer-Songwriter and Designer. I write short stories and I am currently working on a poetry book and novel.

7) What is your passion in life?

Apart from music and art, my passion is helping others, especially those less fortunate than myself.

9 VERSUS LOVE – Poetry Reading by Karoline Lehner

Watch a June 2016 Poetry Performance Reading

9 VERSUS LOVE by Karoline Lehner

Poetry performed by Marsha Mason

7 questions with the poet:

1) What is the theme of your poem?

Answer: The poem is about finding the love of my life after having learned to love and be at peace with myself.

2) How would you like people to respond when they read or watch your poetry reading?

Answer: People who have been on this journey may see the beauty, that lies in the pain. For others, who are still searching, it may be a candle in the dark.

3) How long have you been writing poetry?

Answer: I have been writing poetry all my life.

4) Do you have a favorite poet?

Answer: I love the works of Goethe, Hafiz, Shakespeare and Byron.

5) What influenced you to submit to WILDsound and have your poetry performed by a professional actor?

Answer: I found it to be interesting to have my work being published to a wider audience and see it being interpreted by a stranger.

6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?

Answer: Yes, I write short stories, novels and theatre plays, mostly in german and some in english. I invite you to visit my blog http://www.womenagainstrules.org

7) What is your passion in life?

Answer: My passion in life is life itself.