Poetry competition CLOSED 3rd February 2018 3:16am
WINNER
wallyroo92
wallyroo92
RUNNER-UP:
OctoberArts
A Light bulb moment
Poetry Contest Description
When understanding hits you
You are not sure about something or somebody until that moment when clarity hits you. Poem of any genre or length. Two entry per poet max. No collaborations and please title your poem. 
Last Cigarette
His name was on my last cigarette
After a night of alcohol and fighting and tears
Sitting on the dryer in the basement,
His voice speaking to me over the phone
As the artificial light flickered on
And his grip on my heart flickered off
I first saw him
Because he drank his demons as I did
I saw the cracks no one else saw behind
His smile and jokes
But he's a sucker for love
Desperate, using it to fill the holes
Left by others
3AM, telling him it was okay,
That the nightmares weren't real
And that he was going to be okay
I tell others everything I know
Would comfort myself,
But I fell in love with his ocean eyes
And the feeling of his hand holding mine
The silly conversations
Overshadowed by our own darkness
I drank, smoked, used adrenaline to fight my monsters
He drank, hid his sadness with happiness, and utilized love for selfish reasons
My love for him was overwhelming,
The one person I would have taken a bullet for,
His smile, his laugh, his eyes, the way he listened,
How he made me feel like I was the only one in the universe
His lion hair, his responsibility and intelligence,
And what I thought
Was his honesty
But the night I found out why he wanted us to be so secret
Another girl, someone I saw in his Snapchat
But never cared
He was with her first, and then me,
I was too late, even with his words of I love you
And I need you
My chest broke as
He begged for me to stay, to be his friend
I tried
But the nights of screaming and sobbing in the shower at 1AM
And the craving of his attention
Was too much
He fell out of love over time, but I never did
I was in love with someone who never really existed
And I couldn't move on
He came to me when he was in the darkness
But left when there was no light in my lantern left
Leaving me to shiver
In the cold
He taught me how to care, how to love
By showing me what wasn't and what was
He was the sun in my eyes,
And I freely and happily gave him everything
But I was nothing but another plaything
Another to fill the void in his heart
Perhaps in his mind, he did love me
But his perspective of that vivid emotion
Is more deformed than mine
So I wrote his name on my last cigarette
Drunk, barely able to stand
And finally let him go
His blue eyes, his crooked smile,
His lion mane, his happy laugh
Disguising the pain in his chest and mind
And giving it to others through betrayal
And heartbreak
After a night of alcohol and fighting and tears
Sitting on the dryer in the basement,
His voice speaking to me over the phone
As the artificial light flickered on
And his grip on my heart flickered off
I first saw him
Because he drank his demons as I did
I saw the cracks no one else saw behind
His smile and jokes
But he's a sucker for love
Desperate, using it to fill the holes
Left by others
3AM, telling him it was okay,
That the nightmares weren't real
And that he was going to be okay
I tell others everything I know
Would comfort myself,
But I fell in love with his ocean eyes
And the feeling of his hand holding mine
The silly conversations
Overshadowed by our own darkness
I drank, smoked, used adrenaline to fight my monsters
He drank, hid his sadness with happiness, and utilized love for selfish reasons
My love for him was overwhelming,
The one person I would have taken a bullet for,
His smile, his laugh, his eyes, the way he listened,
How he made me feel like I was the only one in the universe
His lion hair, his responsibility and intelligence,
And what I thought
Was his honesty
But the night I found out why he wanted us to be so secret
Another girl, someone I saw in his Snapchat
But never cared
He was with her first, and then me,
I was too late, even with his words of I love you
And I need you
My chest broke as
He begged for me to stay, to be his friend
I tried
But the nights of screaming and sobbing in the shower at 1AM
And the craving of his attention
Was too much
He fell out of love over time, but I never did
I was in love with someone who never really existed
And I couldn't move on
He came to me when he was in the darkness
But left when there was no light in my lantern left
Leaving me to shiver
In the cold
He taught me how to care, how to love
By showing me what wasn't and what was
He was the sun in my eyes,
And I freely and happily gave him everything
But I was nothing but another plaything
Another to fill the void in his heart
Perhaps in his mind, he did love me
But his perspective of that vivid emotion
Is more deformed than mine
So I wrote his name on my last cigarette
Drunk, barely able to stand
And finally let him go
His blue eyes, his crooked smile,
His lion mane, his happy laugh
Disguising the pain in his chest and mind
And giving it to others through betrayal
And heartbreak
Written by Foxface
(Aewyrn)
Go To Page
My realization of genuinely letting go was one of the most important understanding moments in my life, even if it was over the simple concept of teen love.
Anonymous
Related submission no longer exists.
Seize The Opportunity
There may come a time a golden opportunity will come around
And you'll have to shut off the voices that surround
Heed not to the fears that whisper in your ear
That golden opportunity may be the one to wipe away your tear.
You may have to bend and break some rules,
Hear the scorns of those who will say you're a fool.
You may have to break out of your circle and forget all that you were taught
To obtain that which you so badly sought.
You may have to endure the rising wars within and around you
But letting go of the gold you'll regret if you do.
Not every opportunity that presents itself is authentic gold
But when you know it's authentic, change will unfold
There may come a time you will sell-out
All your possessions, family, and friends to reach about
And seize the opportunity that waltz around.
You may face fierce judgment, guilt, scorns, and blame
From the mediocrity of those who've never tasted luck or fame
Round and round...in a spider's web they spin and spin
Stuck in a rut...in a bondage cycle...they never win.
Programmed robots is what they are...
But you be you....and shine like a star...
Get out of the cycle...and be free
Seize the opportunity and let the world see
How you rise above your means
To aim for your dreams.
Seize the opportunity to become a better YOU,
To be happy and satisfied in all that you do,
To break free from bondage and oppression,
To cut the chains of mere depression,
To aim for your wildest dream,
To reach success and shine like a beam.
Long story short: Living a "programmed" life leaves one limited to understanding self and others. It was not until I broke from "the programming" to seize an opportunity, though venturing on my own, that things became more clear and, hence, resulted in the making of this poem.
There may come a time a golden opportunity will come around
And you'll have to shut off the voices that surround
Heed not to the fears that whisper in your ear
That golden opportunity may be the one to wipe away your tear.
You may have to bend and break some rules,
Hear the scorns of those who will say you're a fool.
You may have to break out of your circle and forget all that you were taught
To obtain that which you so badly sought.
You may have to endure the rising wars within and around you
But letting go of the gold you'll regret if you do.
Not every opportunity that presents itself is authentic gold
But when you know it's authentic, change will unfold
There may come a time you will sell-out
All your possessions, family, and friends to reach about
And seize the opportunity that waltz around.
You may face fierce judgment, guilt, scorns, and blame
From the mediocrity of those who've never tasted luck or fame
Round and round...in a spider's web they spin and spin
Stuck in a rut...in a bondage cycle...they never win.
Programmed robots is what they are...
But you be you....and shine like a star...
Get out of the cycle...and be free
Seize the opportunity and let the world see
How you rise above your means
To aim for your dreams.
Seize the opportunity to become a better YOU,
To be happy and satisfied in all that you do,
To break free from bondage and oppression,
To cut the chains of mere depression,
To aim for your wildest dream,
To reach success and shine like a beam.
Long story short: Living a "programmed" life leaves one limited to understanding self and others. It was not until I broke from "the programming" to seize an opportunity, though venturing on my own, that things became more clear and, hence, resulted in the making of this poem.
Acceptance
I am the embodiment of sorrow
Humanities sins and a hopeless tomorrow
My existence holds no worth, no purpose
An ugly duckling amongst swans, just lurking
Save your worries, save you tears
I will no longer live in denial, behind fear
My future has always been crystal clear
I will continue to lose everyone I hold dear and love will always be followed by more tears
Pain has become a part of me, to suffer is my destiny
Life will be the end of me ,religion offers no clarity
Hopes and dreams forms of an idealistic fantasy
It's inevitable, can't you see, I am ... misery
Just a fool bound to life's scheme
Lost between broken dreams
Drowning in my ever growing insanity
Unable to remember or fathom what it meant to be happy
I’m not here for you to try to understand
I don’t need fixing, there is no glitch in my program
No pills or therapy needed for my coping mechanism
I'm simply a target and life is the weapon, distributing it's lessons
Restless, awaiting life’s arrow of death to strip me of my presence
With a smile embracing the end with all of my acceptance
Humanities sins and a hopeless tomorrow
My existence holds no worth, no purpose
An ugly duckling amongst swans, just lurking
Save your worries, save you tears
I will no longer live in denial, behind fear
My future has always been crystal clear
I will continue to lose everyone I hold dear and love will always be followed by more tears
Pain has become a part of me, to suffer is my destiny
Life will be the end of me ,religion offers no clarity
Hopes and dreams forms of an idealistic fantasy
It's inevitable, can't you see, I am ... misery
Just a fool bound to life's scheme
Lost between broken dreams
Drowning in my ever growing insanity
Unable to remember or fathom what it meant to be happy
I’m not here for you to try to understand
I don’t need fixing, there is no glitch in my program
No pills or therapy needed for my coping mechanism
I'm simply a target and life is the weapon, distributing it's lessons
Restless, awaiting life’s arrow of death to strip me of my presence
With a smile embracing the end with all of my acceptance
Written by OctoberArts
(October)
Go To Page
Anonymous
Moment of Clarity
Everything felt so dark and blurry, like you could not
Find the light or clarity until it was too late. Like that
Sudden flash of lightning, suddenly you have and got
This idea of where your life is supposed to be. Flat
Surfaces become full of depth and perception. A pool
Of thoughts that gather and collect. When your logic told
You that you were drowning is finally when your cool
And warm both temperatures kept you afloat. Hold
That moment near you when you are were so close
To giving up for good. You were so afraid to the pit
Of your stomach. Do not forget it was you who rose
From the ground up, but you did not truly realize it
Until you made that decision to walk away from
Those people and the things that no longer served
You right. They did not contribute to your outcome
Of life. It was not until you were riding curved
Roads and reaching unknown destinations when
You recognized that you were getting tired of
Everything that was the same as before. Again
And again it was the same story, but the love
That you had for yourself outweighed everything.
That is when your moment of clarity hit like a swift
Illumination of light. Darling, you are carrying
Yourself home and always floating adrift.
Find the light or clarity until it was too late. Like that
Sudden flash of lightning, suddenly you have and got
This idea of where your life is supposed to be. Flat
Surfaces become full of depth and perception. A pool
Of thoughts that gather and collect. When your logic told
You that you were drowning is finally when your cool
And warm both temperatures kept you afloat. Hold
That moment near you when you are were so close
To giving up for good. You were so afraid to the pit
Of your stomach. Do not forget it was you who rose
From the ground up, but you did not truly realize it
Until you made that decision to walk away from
Those people and the things that no longer served
You right. They did not contribute to your outcome
Of life. It was not until you were riding curved
Roads and reaching unknown destinations when
You recognized that you were getting tired of
Everything that was the same as before. Again
And again it was the same story, but the love
That you had for yourself outweighed everything.
That is when your moment of clarity hit like a swift
Illumination of light. Darling, you are carrying
Yourself home and always floating adrift.
Written by eswaller
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THE ROOT OF YOUR PROBLEM
No one deserves your attitude
So raise your aptitude!
Quit playing silly mind games
Hoping they latch to your flame!
Silent-treatment, eye-rolls, and slamming doors
Repugnant attitude and stomping hard on floors
Now you have the undivided attention you sought for
But, now, you shut down to the core
When asked for reasons for your tantrum-spree galore.
Did you not want attention…Did you not want to be heard?
Now, enunciate your problem using REAL words…
Take your five minutes of fame and get it off your chest
Don’t let people spiral around giving them guess-test!
If you are too immature to realize
That you need to vocalize
What you want…What you need…
Then the problem lies with YOUR deeds!
Gossiping to others when you should be talking to the source
Shows that your IQ must have settled at its All-Time lowest course
Because here I am wasting away throwing myself out at you
Asking, digging, searching… to get to YOUR problem’s root
But you prefer to brush me off your shoulders
While the stench of your attitude grows bolder!
If you think people can read your mind…
Then, maybe intelligence you should seek to find!
After I have exceeded my limits of trying
To find the reason for your whining
And you have not learned closed mouths don’t get fed
Then maybe STOP the nonsense and just go to bed
Because I am through…and, rightfully, conclude
The root of YOUR problem is YOU!
No one deserves your attitude
So raise your aptitude!
Quit playing silly mind games
Hoping they latch to your flame!
Silent-treatment, eye-rolls, and slamming doors
Repugnant attitude and stomping hard on floors
Now you have the undivided attention you sought for
But, now, you shut down to the core
When asked for reasons for your tantrum-spree galore.
Did you not want attention…Did you not want to be heard?
Now, enunciate your problem using REAL words…
Take your five minutes of fame and get it off your chest
Don’t let people spiral around giving them guess-test!
If you are too immature to realize
That you need to vocalize
What you want…What you need…
Then the problem lies with YOUR deeds!
Gossiping to others when you should be talking to the source
Shows that your IQ must have settled at its All-Time lowest course
Because here I am wasting away throwing myself out at you
Asking, digging, searching… to get to YOUR problem’s root
But you prefer to brush me off your shoulders
While the stench of your attitude grows bolder!
If you think people can read your mind…
Then, maybe intelligence you should seek to find!
After I have exceeded my limits of trying
To find the reason for your whining
And you have not learned closed mouths don’t get fed
Then maybe STOP the nonsense and just go to bed
Because I am through…and, rightfully, conclude
The root of YOUR problem is YOU!
! (Eureka)
The originating fire of creation,
Reaches into the depths of imagination,
When an innovative idea is trapped,
Like faraway music lost in a fog,
In the distance I hear the prologue,
Magical ingenuity awaits to be tapped.
It lingers dormant with intention,
Anticipating the flash of invention,
Before it swiftly hits the mark,
It slowly sets the wheels in motion,
Formulating the intended notion,
Fueling and working every single part.
The inspiration rises to the surface,
Like light with committed purpose,
Deep from the subconscious and the heart,
Without shape but taking form,
The idea soon will be born,
When suddenly there it is, the spark!
Then everything falls right into place,
Like good fortune and noble grace,
The revelation can leave me astounded,
And in that second of clarity and lucidity,
Everything makes sense with simplicity,
When on the spur of the moment Eureka!
I found it.
The originating fire of creation,
Reaches into the depths of imagination,
When an innovative idea is trapped,
Like faraway music lost in a fog,
In the distance I hear the prologue,
Magical ingenuity awaits to be tapped.
It lingers dormant with intention,
Anticipating the flash of invention,
Before it swiftly hits the mark,
It slowly sets the wheels in motion,
Formulating the intended notion,
Fueling and working every single part.
The inspiration rises to the surface,
Like light with committed purpose,
Deep from the subconscious and the heart,
Without shape but taking form,
The idea soon will be born,
When suddenly there it is, the spark!
Then everything falls right into place,
Like good fortune and noble grace,
The revelation can leave me astounded,
And in that second of clarity and lucidity,
Everything makes sense with simplicity,
When on the spur of the moment Eureka!
I found it.
You Became My Moment of Clarity
There were nights when I spent the time crying myself
To sleep. Hugs, kisses, touches and words that turned
Into lies. I wanted to believe that there was something
More than those stolen moments, but that high shelf
You kept me on was breaking. My stomach churned
Because it read something was wrong. A long string
Of lights that turned on because the moment of clarity
Hit us both like a bolt of lightning. I got this feeling like
I knew exactly who you were, lost and scared like I was.
I could not spend any more time wondering the severity
Of the situation we got caught up in. Your final strike
Got you out of the game and I was done chasing the buzz.
To sleep. Hugs, kisses, touches and words that turned
Into lies. I wanted to believe that there was something
More than those stolen moments, but that high shelf
You kept me on was breaking. My stomach churned
Because it read something was wrong. A long string
Of lights that turned on because the moment of clarity
Hit us both like a bolt of lightning. I got this feeling like
I knew exactly who you were, lost and scared like I was.
I could not spend any more time wondering the severity
Of the situation we got caught up in. Your final strike
Got you out of the game and I was done chasing the buzz.
Written by eswaller
Go To Page
That Forbidden Tree
9.19.1 | 9.2.14-13.1.18.25.1.13
Who is that
'I am' in me?
I am Day
opposing Night:
Horus' Sun
opposing Set;
I am Yin
opposing Yang;
I am Sin
opposing Christ;
I am the Beginning
and the End;
I am the All
opposite naught.
Or are these
the other way
around?
Who is that
'I am' in me?
Am I Night
Opposite Day?
Am I Set
Opposite Sun?;
Am I Yang
Opposite Yin?
Am I Christ
Opposite Sin?
Am I an End
Of a Beginning?
Am I the naught
Opposite All?
I discovered that Adam
and Eve in me
to have eaten from
that Forbidden Tree -
My Eyes were opened
and I realized
that we were but naked
before God.
He reminded me:
"That "I am" in you
Is that 'I am' in Me;
For 'I am' that "I am"
And forever will be -
So long as you learn
why not to eat
of the fruits of
that Forbidden Tree."
Who is that
'I am' in me?
I am Day
opposing Night:
Horus' Sun
opposing Set;
I am Yin
opposing Yang;
I am Sin
opposing Christ;
I am the Beginning
and the End;
I am the All
opposite naught.
Or are these
the other way
around?
Who is that
'I am' in me?
Am I Night
Opposite Day?
Am I Set
Opposite Sun?;
Am I Yang
Opposite Yin?
Am I Christ
Opposite Sin?
Am I an End
Of a Beginning?
Am I the naught
Opposite All?
I discovered that Adam
and Eve in me
to have eaten from
that Forbidden Tree -
My Eyes were opened
and I realized
that we were but naked
before God.
He reminded me:
"That "I am" in you
Is that 'I am' in Me;
For 'I am' that "I am"
And forever will be -
So long as you learn
why not to eat
of the fruits of
that Forbidden Tree."
Written by JustOneMan
Go To Page
Looking back through the history of man I asked the question: what is the root of all human suffering? I then asked myself the question: what is the root of my own suffering? My answer brought me back to the first story in Genesis. The light bulb moment is Adam realizing why not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil - that's how Cain (the lower mind) kills Abel (the higher mind). All humanity falls apart from there.
Good Bye... (To Melody’s Blues) {end of trilogy}
Cigarette ashes overflow the tray...
Many burned there without her taking a drag,
She would light one as time seemed to escape her...
Back into her daze she would go,
Unmindful to her being slowly drifted away by insanity...
A moment when her hearing deserted her
As she became deafened by his last words
They use to be sugarcoated, fluffed into a cotton candied soft blow
Now his words,
The last... they traumatized...
Hypnotized into the hazy blue fumes, funked into torn feelings
His words stanched her happy-filled hopes,
While shitting on her togetherness dreams
Love twice ruined in the past...
Short-lived fantasies that didn’t last
Two occasions where she turned to her glass
Soaked up her woes in thoughts of no good men...
While getting caught up in the blues... both music and mood
This time... she fell into thin air...
As she was caught up in the blankest of stares,
“He wouldn’t dare”
She refused to believe that,
He would sneak behind her back
Chit-Chat with women and take them out
Disregard her feelings
All the while portraying Boy Scout,
All innocent with no intent to make her relevant
Three times she tried and wouldn’t it be,
That she failed in those relationships... all three
That the common dominating factor would be her
And wouldn’t it stir within, that all together then
That the problem was indeed her
She wasn’t happy...
The reason why... maybe... she wasn’t being a lady...
and these men that called her baby... was feeding off her crazy-
ass notion that he could be the right potion...
So they fed into her emotion, displayed devotion
to get the motion going on within the bed
So yes,
He... like all the rest, chose to feed her needs
To get what they aspired... that was to feed their desires...
And on to the next, because every girl gotta little great in their sex...
Didn’t matter how good she could flex,
Because each and every punani had about the same effect
A place to inject his erect... member...
Ahhh, yes she began to figure...
All three and it’s me...
Not enough standards,
So within her sobriety, she began to cry...
and she took hold of herself as she said goodbye
So long to all the no good men
Who caused her the blues
Good bye to the losers and forever being used...
It was a new found gratitude
For her awakening attitude as she declared to embrace what’s there...
and to simply love her
© December 2014 All rights reserved. Elle McLin
Cigarette ashes overflow the tray...
Many burned there without her taking a drag,
She would light one as time seemed to escape her...
Back into her daze she would go,
Unmindful to her being slowly drifted away by insanity...
A moment when her hearing deserted her
As she became deafened by his last words
They use to be sugarcoated, fluffed into a cotton candied soft blow
Now his words,
The last... they traumatized...
Hypnotized into the hazy blue fumes, funked into torn feelings
His words stanched her happy-filled hopes,
While shitting on her togetherness dreams
Love twice ruined in the past...
Short-lived fantasies that didn’t last
Two occasions where she turned to her glass
Soaked up her woes in thoughts of no good men...
While getting caught up in the blues... both music and mood
This time... she fell into thin air...
As she was caught up in the blankest of stares,
“He wouldn’t dare”
She refused to believe that,
He would sneak behind her back
Chit-Chat with women and take them out
Disregard her feelings
All the while portraying Boy Scout,
All innocent with no intent to make her relevant
Three times she tried and wouldn’t it be,
That she failed in those relationships... all three
That the common dominating factor would be her
And wouldn’t it stir within, that all together then
That the problem was indeed her
She wasn’t happy...
The reason why... maybe... she wasn’t being a lady...
and these men that called her baby... was feeding off her crazy-
ass notion that he could be the right potion...
So they fed into her emotion, displayed devotion
to get the motion going on within the bed
So yes,
He... like all the rest, chose to feed her needs
To get what they aspired... that was to feed their desires...
And on to the next, because every girl gotta little great in their sex...
Didn’t matter how good she could flex,
Because each and every punani had about the same effect
A place to inject his erect... member...
Ahhh, yes she began to figure...
All three and it’s me...
Not enough standards,
So within her sobriety, she began to cry...
and she took hold of herself as she said goodbye
So long to all the no good men
Who caused her the blues
Good bye to the losers and forever being used...
It was a new found gratitude
For her awakening attitude as she declared to embrace what’s there...
and to simply love her
© December 2014 All rights reserved. Elle McLin
