Category: Poetry Festival

Read Poem: ADDICTION by J. A. Allison

Been long since I have felt a peace of mind 
A ceaseless struggle is all I ever find
Too much temptation everywhere I see
What could this world possibly want from me?

Dreams, goals, any potential I had
Are lost in a crevasse, no longer manned
All that’s left are holes and scars 
Piercing my soul, not just my arms 

I knocked on the door of agony and fire
To be strung-out and get a little higher
It’s not only the drug that has me in chains
But the needle, the ritual, are all to blame

My chariot awaits for the devil has come
To take me away while my angel is gone
My last burnt bridge that cannot be undone
In hell I remain, no longer God’s son.

Read Poem: She sat quietly by L.J. Valente

She sat quietly
a vision not quite heavenly
ragged through the world she’d been through
but her beauty was still there too
a heart hurt and alone but still new
tired from the battles and the dragons she slew
along the way and the scars that came
hadn’t mattered much the same
still she sat there quietly
waiting for the world to end entirely
but with one cup of coffee
she might just regain her energy
and out again to the world she would be
in the corner sat he
not seen by she but he saw her
and watched with fervor
seeing not the pain
nor what he might gain
just seeing her
and not knowing what for
trying hard to catch her eye
how hard did he try
but she did not turn
and something inside him started to burn
talk to her he felt he must
his soul lost in trust
so up to her he went
against all he knew was leant
tell me girl I see you might cry but thought I would just try
to make you smile one time
just to ease my mind
she turned to look
it was easier than her night took
what sir did you have in mind
for being just so kind
he took a step back
as like he was under attack
oh sweet girl you don’t know
and no need to show
but a gentle shoulder to cry
should you wish to try
don’t wish for anything more
know only what I might be good for
her eyes returned to her drink
as both began to think
such a gentle moment
as it went
from heaven she started to think
as she was left on the brink
but could he be real
doubt she began to feel
this he could see
but could not have it left as be
I am not looking for much
certainly not looking only for a touch
just a heart left alone
looking for a home
saw you sitting here
and felt you needed a little care
fear not about me
I am what you see
I know I think I know
and a chance to love I don’t want to blow
but you must see
that there is such a risk for me
from her coffee she did not look
and as he stood he just shook
my dear as I am still here
that might just make my intentions clear
then up she did come
a face not seen by some
a slight smile
apprehensive all the while
but still
and it took all his will
to look back at her
to see her there
he saw her pure
and knew he was sure

Read Poem: Rapture of the Mind by Kelly Loraine Stearns

Chaos flows
weaving logical assumptions
calculating moments
lost in the questionable silence.
The eye sees what the heart does not know
emotionless rapture of the mind.
This deteriorating vessel
carries a lifeless soul
dragging my emotions
while wasting recyclable thoughts.
I drift alone in a land of confusion
searching for answers
yet there are no conclusions
in my world of seclusion.
The clock ticks by,
where is the time?
As I sit and wonder
Who
What
When
Where
Why and how it is
I let thirty years pass me by.

©elektric_timewarp
KLS
Kelly Loraine Stearns

Read Poem: Phoenix by S. Michal Haaf

We cross the wounded warriors sea..
To distance ourselves from eternity.
As fate would have it-
The dessert rose…
Up from the ashes, and into the throes.
We clash our shields in defiant woes,
Naked and intolerant-
We fall to our foes.
How shameful are we…
Ignorant as can be…
For the perpetuity weakens thee.
As a phoenix, we must climb-
To wash away yester’s grime.

Fly to me, Phoenix of Flee.
Render yourself, hear my plea.

Read Poem: Ending by Jill Munro

Henry sits discretely outside Fleur’s house –
well, as discretely as an antique
Frogeye Sprite permits – wiping
the dials on his dash display,
polishing chrome with a lace-trimmed
hankie that once was hers.

He’s thinking of the days when,
just like this, he waited for her
outside work for stolen hours
of open-topped rides through
Surrey countryside, walks in fields
when kissing gates meant a stop

near every stile, when every tree
became a hugging point, when those
days’ skies seemed brighter blue
than any other and faces
pressed so close they fitted
like puzzle pieces without gaps.

As he waits again for Fleur to emerge ─
Henry holds a rose he will never place.
The Daimler pulls away, its hearse filled
with flower-covered willow, yet empty
in the absence of his single bloom.

Genres applicable: Affairs, Love, funeral, life, relationships, romantic

Read Poem: Aliens by Neetu Malik

Wind-blown seeds
land in unknown soil

in hopes that they will grow
into trees
strong and dense with leaves
heavy with fruit
in fertile ground
where rivers do not
run dry

they do not yet know
what winds and snows
await them
in seasons to come

how frost might freeze
tender sprouts.
© Neetu Malik

Read Poem: LILAC SOUL by Marie Marchand

I breathed rumors of its fragrance
even before the purple bough
was shaken free and cut.
Beauty is effusive.
It travels like dust in a shaft of light
noticeable only in stillness.

Beauty floats, it swirls,
it slides under locked doors
to the other side
going undetected until we rest
then we see.
We are called. Not loudly.
Just a whisper is the invitation
to be free.

What holds us back?
Are we brave enough
to step out of our castles, jails,
porches, fallout shelters,
our cocoons, coffins,
our frayed and wearied selves?
And if we manage that, then what?
Will we be brave enough to Dance?

Like Aspen leaves applauding in the sun
caught in the sweep of unbound joy
our old selves put to rest in shadow and ash.
Our hair, clothing, everything will be
scented lilac; we become new (again).
The edge of life is the end of fear
and the beginning of everything good.

The white flag washes over us
like angels’ wings.
We are left holding the sunburst.
Empty. Open. Gorgeous in the light.

Read Poem: FIRST CONTACT by Lauren White

I’ve always been a sucker

For a lanky blue-eyed boy

But when first we met

And I looked into your brown eyes

I saw magic in them

I saw promise

Like that of a starry violet sky

Or a perfect pink dawn

When you held my hand

I melted into you

I loved your pale skin

Entwined with the milk chocolate of mine

We were a Hershey’s bar

Cookies and cream

You brought me out of the black

Filled me with resplendent yellows

With tame rosy reds

Like the color your ears turn

When you’re embarrassed,

Nervous, or inebriated

You’re such a lightweight, babe

But the clear blue horizon deceived us

The clouds came

Hid the stars from us

The dawn brought a day of rain

Now everything is shades of grey

When I look in your eyes

I cannot see the end of the story

You look sickly green

Out of fear of loving me

Yet, in me glows an ember

A faint, orange hope

That will extinguish the grey

You are my Havana Banana

I am your Choco Taco

I have been yours since First Contact

I will bring shades of yellow

Back into your hidden, black heart

Read Poem: BLACK by Supriya

You will always love black when it is contained in a thing not a person.
Like a black dress, a black car, a black shoe, a black sofa.

When I speak about a black person,
An inferiority always pops up.
Isn’t it?
He is dirty, he is bad.
He is anti-national, he is a threat.
He must be aggresive, he must be bossy.
Stay away from him
Or he will eat you, cheat you.

When I look at anyone,
I always look him as a person.
When some gentleman said,
“There is not a single person who has not taught me.”
He meant it.
And I believed him.

So instead of putting my head up,
I rather put it straight,
To learn how people are trying to make things done,
Or undone, maybe.

And my knees bent to believe that racism and gender-biasing are just concepts,
I follow the trail of belief that if only two colors would exist then,
Black is black and white is white.

-Supriya

Read Poem: CHILD BRAIN SURGEON by Tracy Déchaux

It’s a daily occurrence
Attach the electrodes for torment
When really everything will be just fine
I’m just playing around with your mind

You lie there so trusting
When its me that has you cussing
If you wake up with a headache
Don’t worry, it’s just your sanity that I take

When I ask you to relax as I linger
And put on my surgical gloves with floppy fingers
Don’t be nervous and hyper ventilate
I’ll be checking your eyes if they dilate

After the surgery get plenty of rest
It’s true but its for the best
My home is hell in a dim lit room
It could be worse, you could be stuck in a tomb

Don’t forget, you will want to see me first
As I am so careful with my thirst
But as time moves on that knowledge is forgotten
I am Hell’s Child Brain Surgeon

https://www.iheart.com/artist/-32140995/albums/hells-child-brain-surgeon-56637790/