Poetry competition CLOSED 12th October 2019 2:11pm
WINNER
wallyroo92
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Therapeutic Poetry

gothicsurrealism
Daniel Long
Thought Provoker
United States 6awards
Joined 26th Nov 2018
Forum Posts: 138

Poetry Contest

Write a poem that shows poetry being therapeutic for you.
No need to confide in us at DUP about a specific illness of yours if you don't want to. Just write a piece that shows yourself coping with whatever it is. Mine specifically is schizophrenia and as many of you here on DUP have read in my work, I'll use poetry as a form of therapy to cope day to day with this terrible, debilitating disorder.

New writes only.
Any length.
One entry max.
PM me for questions.
Two weeks, good luck!

gothicsurrealism
Daniel Long
Thought Provoker
United States 6awards
Joined 26th Nov 2018
Forum Posts: 138

Confession of a Schizophrenic

I begin this entry with the premonition of learning more about myself.
What shall I find beyond the fog of uncertainty?  
What have I failed to recognize in this life?  
This is not a life; this is not a dream.  
How impenetrable is the wall that divides my mind?  
That divides reality from dreams.  
Oh, but the dream world allows me to feel what I thought was never real.  
In this world I feel peace and serenity  
and all my characters welcome me with open arms and thank yous  
for the noble heart I’ve always felt morally obliged to offer.  
 
 
On this side of the wall, the sun drapes its warmth over my face;  
its rays blanket my skin, shielding me from the cold and bitter side of reality.  
Oh, how I love to imagine a good life on the other side!    
Always drawn to this concrete barrier,  
I’d jump and grasp the threshold that feels rugged beneath my fingers, peering over.  
What a strange world! I’ll see figures in the distance, laughing, conversing.  
Their silhouettes eerily presented in the moonlight of veracity.  
I can feel the chill of this side assaulting my face.  
Oh, what a bitter world!  
None of these bodies seem to mind the dimness, the cold; they’re happy. How?  
I’ll stare beyond the wall; now and again something will stop, turn and look at me.  
I don’t know what it thinks or feels. It’s too dark for me to know.  
It’ll stare back. I’ll see the whiteness of their eyes, I know they stare.  
 
 
One day two silhouettes strolled along; I could make out their faint mumble.  
They gazed in my direction as their pace slowed, voices faded.  
Suddenly a roar of laughter stampeded my way,
ricocheting and echoing across the world of reality.  
In the cold, lengthy plumes of breath emerged.  
One shook its head; the other looked on;
its white eyes piercing the darkness like two arrows.  
The wall, however; shielded me… as it always has.  
I’m home here. Nothing can hurt me… no judgments.  
 
 
I gaze and ponder at the real world.  
Frigid gusts of rejection attack my exposed inner self;  
their assaults quite overpowering.  
A warm hand came to rest upon my shoulder.  
I turned to the light to see a sun-lit hand,
washed in flush complexion; belonging to a gorgeous person.
Those eyes… oh, those eyes drew me in.  
The smile thawed me. A tear of contentment flew down my cheek.  
The lips of that perfect smile spoke to me; “Come back home Daniel.”
Written by gothicsurrealism (Daniel Long)
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This is a non-entry poem by the author of the competition.

delanee
Thought Provoker
Belgium 2awards
Joined 13th May 2019
Forum Posts: 27

ERROR: System Overload  -- competition piece --

sometimes  
it tends to get a little  
                        overwhelming  
or just a bit  
             too loud  
             too crowded  
             too much.
 
 
I don't want to explain  
explicitly why I just need  
to be by myself  
             breathe  
from time to time.  
 
you can tell me it's weird  
even doubt my reasons  
but don't expect me  
           to apologize.
Written by delanee
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NuBorn
BxckedbyGold
Twisted Dreamer
South Africa 1awards
Joined 5th Nov 2018
Forum Posts: 15

A fine clown

I say I'm fine
Even though I just crave wine
More than just a kiss
More than just touching the lips
But don't worry, I'll continue to say I am fine
I won't whine
 
Some days I wish death could just take me away
For from this pain I feel each day
As the jaws of reality bite my ass
I wished today I smoked something more than just this grass
But it's fine I'll no longer talk about drugs
I'll pretend I'm not part of the thugs
 
Today I watched as the earth waved as the sea and buildings moved like currents
 
It's not funny when you are the one wearing costumes and masks  
People laughing at you face, you are a clown
Fuck, why is the world upside down
I guess I need to book for another session
And listen to some new thesis of confusion
Why the fuck can't they understand me
Why can't the world just let me be
 
I am not sick
It's just that it's hard to be sane without my daily kick
Sorry, I said I won't talk about drugs
I'll try not to remember what happened in those clubs
 
It's sad to hear a qualified shrink psychoanalyze me to say I fear death
When each night I pray that God takes away my breath
Life is unbearable,  
                               sometimes I feel like screaming, crying, shouting
Telling the world I am tired of drowning
But I can't,  
                    no one cares anyways
So I pray instead for better days
 
It is sad to hear that I am the cause of all this pain to myself
I should just tuck away all these memories  
                                                                            and neatly pack them in my inner shelf
Never visit them again
Never remind myself of the pain
Maybe these creatures of the night will not haunt my dreams anymore
And I will never have these hallucinations I abhor
 
I always wish to sleep and never wake up
Go to heaven and look at God in the eyes close up
Say I am sorry for all that I did
I'm willing to accept eternal burning for all my misdeeds
But I am afraid I might not find a God at all
I might find out that there is nothing more to death than just darkness after-all
 
I wish I did not have to see a shrink to tell me I am abnormal, "special"
 
I feel like a monster just without horns and grime
I feel like a clown in my life without words, just mimes
I feel like I am watching someone else living my life
But don't worry, I will continue saying "I am fine"
Written by NuBorn (BxckedbyGold)
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slipalong
Dangerous Mind
United Kingdom 41awards
Joined 1st Jan 2018
Forum Posts: 827

Frozen

It seemed to be so popular the disney hit
Everyone sings the song  and thinks its great  
A magick tale to dress with that blue skirt  
And glorify that snow queens estate  
   
Hans Christian Andersens he wrote    
A tale with morals at their heart  
Good to triumph over evils in each book  
My frozen epic I will chart  
   
The walking stick is the wand I carry  
The attack its random nature varies  
My aid to help me run not tarry  
To snails pace that speed it is not hairy  
   
Of frost desends upon the bones  
The creaking door that opened    
And settled within my unwelcoming home  
Seeing me a puppet like strings all broken  
   
Not yet the solid permafrost  
The wooden walk and rolling gait  
A creeping step of limbs that lock  
Its vice a grip at its own pace    
   
 Empathy, a well meaning false facade  
The agony to say (im fine) a statue stiffened  
Fools gold of treatment, a gain that fades  
 Lifes remote control that god has hidden  
   
The side effects of pills prescribed
Defrost the frigidity that I hold  
Will their melt bring hope to life
And could poetry be that antidote
Written by slipalong
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poet Anonymous

<< post removed >>
mysteriouslady
Tyrant of Words
United States 15awards
Joined 11th Aug 2012
Forum Posts: 2461

Addiction Affliction

A rainbow effect, from  the dr. gods
tastes like dirty sex
forbidden whispers
from the bottom of the bottle
 
Pick a bottle~
liquids, powders,  
pills and spills
 
ALL give me such a fucking fantastic thrill!
 
Snow isnt just for skiing
mix well with a whiskey waterfall
close your eyes and enjoy
 
Xanax and bourbon
hey fucker, are you in?
maybe norco laced with hops for the win
 
I gave the meaning of having trips a real spin
 
Lock up your prescriptions
yes, I am that friend
no I am not proud
 
My names not fucking Mary
 
Here are some honest to the devils truth
addiction affliction, my battle
drugs and pills seasoned with booze
 
This was never a side show mother fuckers, I was always the main event
 
*entry in gothicsurrealism's comp therapeutic poetry*
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Written by mysteriouslady
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JMMontgomery
Strange Creature
Joined 25th Sep 2019
Forum Posts: 5

I love this poem so much.

wallyroo92
Tyrant of Words
United States 148awards
Joined 11th July 2012
Forum Posts: 1806

For an Old Mended Soul

Everyday I remind myself,
    I am wanted,
      I am needed,
      I am loved,
I learn to forgive myself for old transgressions,
Knowing I can’t change the past,
But moving forward  
I can maneuver in the right direction.
            Absolving myself is an integral part,
It’s vital to the soul and heart,
            Because without mercy there’s no telling
What depression can do…
      I am wanted,
      I am needed,
      I am loved,
I do good things for family and friends,
      I am respected,
      I am appreciated,
      I am well liked,
And though the thoughts come and go,
I know I have a fighting chance.
 
I can go to counseling and take a pill,
But I can’t sit still,  
 because my quill,
  will spill ill,  
   until my will,  
    is then fulfilled,  
A testament to my family and friends
Of how much I love them,
      Appreciate them
      Respect them,
So that when the thoughts come and go,
They no longer have power over me,
I am free,
I am loved,
I am…
A poem composed for an old mended soul,
Because poetry  
  is my therapy.
Written by wallyroo92
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Jade-Pandora
jade tiger
Tyrant of Words
United States 154awards
Joined 9th Nov 2015
Forum Posts: 5134


Fahrenheit

   
103.2°F/ 39.55°C


near my sick bed
he murmurs of how he crumbles
but I'm still here
I've fought so long

I'm here for a while I trust
I believe this, I must
even when it's bad, because
his faith alone is not enough

my random thoughts of how long
I have, and his thoughts of
"will she be able to outlive me"—

even at moments like this
it happens that
we hold on and speak of a future


99.8°F/ 37.66°C

rolling restless this early morn'
you exhausted and I
drying up from a virus

spying through the shredding
of 400-thread count bedding,
between the hillocks of shoulders

we never can sleep
in anticipation for what's to come

to plant the seed & watch it grow    
though we will never see it bloom
for all the other things we know

and live beyond that fertile past
of what we did and what we'll do
as sleep will still not come to us

close apart, we dare not fall
from the tree that burns in season
counting the rings of its poetry    
   
   
97.9°F/ 36.61°C    
   
the moon has set —    
I wake in the dark    
to the rush of wind    
   
I hear him rinsing off    
in the basin —    
we fall asleep before dawn


PoetsRevenge
Dangerous Mind
United States 28awards
Joined 30th June 2016
Forum Posts: 736

The Deep (Deeper And Furthur)

"Be not the slave of your own past - plunge into the sublime seas,
dive deep, and swim far, so you shall come back with new self-  
 respect, with new power, and with an advanced experience that  
 shall explain and overlook the old.”    
    
                      ― Ralph Waldo Emerson    
     
     
Don't fear the deep;      
it is what you fear that      
will ultimately free you.      
It might be full of sharks,      
but you learn to avoid them.      
It might be dark, but in this      
your vision will improve.      
The unpredictability of it      
will prime your creativity.      
     
Let it float you by being still      
and letting go and you will find      
your own buoyancy and equilibrium.      
Your fears of the unfathomable depths      
will subside in the midst of your      
own pioneering strength.      
The parts of you that float away      
are like story-laden words shared;      
the more you let out, the more      
come to mind to take their place.      
     
Just let thoughts go, be free      
and the words will order themselves      
like coherent water molecules      
wrapping your skin in their affinity,      
enveloping you and reaching      
to infiltrate your every crevice      
in which doubts of yourself lie.      
     
Go deeper and further and you      
will befriend the unknown spectre      
of the undiscovered and yet unwritten      
story within yourself.      
You will form the words and they      
will become your flotation vest      
in stormy seas of your turbulent self.      
     
Be the eye of your own storm      
and be still within it; you will become      
weightless and worryless;      
you are connected to divine, unbiased truth      
and in stillness, you will hear its secrets:      
Your words will reveal what others      
long to know.      
      
                    .....

(a non-entry in the 'Classic Corner Championship, Female Division')
Written by PoetsRevenge
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eswaller
Dangerous Mind
United States 30awards
Joined 22nd Dec 2015
Forum Posts: 753

On the Mend

I keep writing the words, hoping that they will help calm me
Down in some way or another that drives away the madness
And chaotic mess inside my head. There are thoughts that  
Keep festering and turning into something that was not there  
To begin with. Every once in a while I still get lost in the sea
Waves that feel like they are way over my head. The sadness
And heavy blanket feeling like maybe my heartbeat will flat  
Line someday soon, but some if not all of the words swear
 
To give me life. Poetry is the way to start over where no one
Knows me or my story. No one knows the days in which I did
Not want to get out of bed. But poetry has been there through
It all. It is my shield and armor when I need protection. It is
The revival of my broken heart and spirit. Poetry on the run
With me as I want to get away from my problems. It gets rids
The pain, even if it is just temporarily. It makes the sky blue
Again and gives live after all the fade outs, black outs or fizz.
 
Poetry knows my backstory and me, but does not judge. It is my  
Lifeline that never abandoned me. I carry it with me until I die.
Written by eswaller
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AspergerPoet56
Tyrant of Words
Scotland 30awards
Joined 4th Dec 2018
Forum Posts: 1879

Barb Wire Soul

 
This reflection never crumbles
Eyes as black as coal
Cold staring lifeless
The unforgettable me
I want to forget

It’s icy in this mind
Nothing warming about these thoughts
They freeze my heart
Making it hard to feel
Can’t shed a single tear

A barb wire soul
Justified barrier to existence
Death is creeping
That constant whisper
Never tiring of chasing me

Guilty of hanging on
Life is a sadistic bastard
Laughing with each breath
Why let me die
When I can entertain the cruel masses
Written by AspergerPoet56
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wallyroo92
Tyrant of Words
United States 148awards
Joined 11th July 2012
Forum Posts: 1806

OMG, I'm certainly surprised by this!
I want to thank our gothicsurrealism for hosting this wonderful and profound comp. It takes a lot to put our flaws out here but many of us suffer from something and many of  you have shared. All these entries were so deeply reflective, I wish you all the best in each of your journeys.

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