Conversations with your past

Imagine being able to go back in time to a period that was either extremely hard/sad or very elated/nostalgic, then have a conversation with the past version of yourself. What era would you travel to and what would you say, if anything at all?  Would you give advise, or simply want to observe yourself from afar, watching your interactions with people.

No set rules on formatting. It can be poetry or prose. Lay it down how you want as long as its honest and genuinely felt.

500 words or less

20 entries

Closes on June 10

WHAT IF?

What if I had been born to wealth

What if I had been beautiful

What if I had a real youth

What if - it was not poverty


What if my youth had been full

Of parties, friends, companionship

What if my parents had been normal

Young and happy - not old and paranoid


What if I did not age so badly

What if I did not get sick

What if I had been treated with respect

What if the world did not look down on me


I did not choose my parents

I did not choose my race

I did not choose my religion

I did not choose my face


What ifs are a losing game

Some people play this all day

They are a worthless waste of time

What if never paid for anything

What ifs are the Devil's game

yay!  my first contest submission , thank you you're now my favorite ever..  *yes, I am biased like that*  lol

You need to tighten your grip
and lose your mind
a little more.
One more swig of champagne
should do it.
Turn Mahler up,
he'll see you out
just fine.
There you go.

No matter
how much you think
you love her,
she doesn't need
to know until
someone else tells her.

Keep going
you're almost there.
Someone else can clean it up
when they find you.
Put down the fucking phone
for Christ's sake.
There you go.

Breathe easy now kid,
remember it's much harder
when its the other
way around.

now that fine Sir was great..  thank you for participating

Kid, Slow down we need to talk
look man! fuck off!
He... I retort
Punk! i said slow down
what do you want to go?!
I'll knock you out here and now
how i hated how his screaming wasnt true...
this kid who clocked marines do hard their jar went and spilt
who rolled with the crowd who never did yield
only two years ago
he lived nightmares in paradise
I did...
carried a gat
sold drugs
ran with the local thugs
the only redeeming features were that he was a good son
and still treated women right
he...
i fought i drank i did these things
i regret
Kid you got to stop!
who the fuck are you?
i'm you
that was dumb...
he calmly responds
i know what's coming next
cool calculated
rage had no place in fighting
he stopped
turned around
looked in my eyes and said
i'm tired
i'm weary
of this dreary existence
I know
don't worry things get better
you'll see
just stop now before you get killed
i know your mad
i know dad left
i know he went with no goodbye
like a thief in the night
but he didn't give you nothing
no emotion
no love
no sight
he taught you how to survive and fight
that's all
Fuck you...
God i hate how your right
as he let's the first fist go
quick
like lightning
there's that golden gloves jab
i catch it with ease
circle
bob and weave
stop your not in any condition
you know that
stick and move
as i subdue myself
i said stop
he... me? i? cry openly
never having tasted loss
just listen
and he does
and now I am what I am

WAKE UP OLD LADY

Having the future be yours, do you remember how it feels?
Being so young, so beautiful, so full yourself, it almost seemed unreal

Surely you knew what was in store, didn’t you?
I can’t imagine you felt like you didn’t have a clue

Being set free to rise and soar, sure it was sublime
Thinking, grasping, making your way toward a happier time

How is it that you didn’t know there would be bad with the good
Didn’t your mother didn’t tell you not to do things that no little girl should

Unaware and naïve, you were an unknowing target, trying to forge on
In your world, your youth was brief, then it was stolen, forever gone

Why didn’t anyone tell you about life, booze, drugs, and men
If only…you reminisce now, you had known, you’d have made it better then

What took years away from you was just starting to grow
After that one man, that one drink, that one snort of blow

Oh how I wish I’d kept you aware and close
So you could have let me know about the guilt and the fear before it arose

The lifestyle, the choice, all go along with the future
Having no one tell you these things when you’re young, you were robbed, cut open, left unsutured

Putting yourself out there, wide open with wonder
Allowed others to come abuse you, rob you, and plunder

Keep on truckin’ was the saying that ran through your pretty young head
Or else you’d surely be alone, without anyone, no booze or drugs, and left for dead

That is right, little girl, those things that were never said when you were young
Soon would steal all of you, squashing your hopes, dreams, and any chance of having fun

Wake up, old lady, you can’t change what happened, just learn from it
It was not roses, not even crabgrass, just a past of plain old horse shit

There is no one to blame, you tarnished your name
Left town a few times, ignoring the destruction that remained the same

You never could escape yourself, your past, your life as it was
Looking back now does nothing, leaving you asking what if or accept it happened just because

talking to my ten year old self



If I tell you what's going to happen to us the outcome will be the same 
You can't fight them 
You'll never win 
But I can tell you that you will go through hell
Cry  many tears 
,hate yourself 
Blame yourself 
and that's ok 
In the end you will get out 
You will succeed 
just hang in there 
Once this storm of our life is done 
You'll see the rainbow

only one entry?

Hi Grace

Dear little Grace
You are ten today
Don’t stay in the  house
Daddy will come home
From his work faraway
He will beat you again
Mommy has been complaining
You will break an arm

Dear not-so little Grace
You are thirteen today
Go live with grandma
Your brother in law will come
With your pretty sister
And he will hurt you
Take away your innocence
Bequeathing scars for life

Dear Grace
You are twenty one today
Your boyfriend will pop the question
Don’t say yes Grace
For goodness sakes don’t
He will use you and abuse you
And he will walk away
No Grace No….Oh no!

Dear Grace
You are 31 now
Stay there, don’t fall in love
Don’t allow him to touch you
He will meander on the road
Of the first
And you will be loveless
For good.

Grace  O Grace
What have you done!

The Guilty Bystander

I close my eyes and breathe in that familiar scent from the torn rags taken
the smell of blood and the stench of death is in the air surrounding,
not death in a physical sense but somewhere a young spirit has been broken
The horrors these wise eyes once again take witness to are outstanding

I open my eyes and im present in a place that i remember, so real
i know i've been given a chance to go back and change my future, a memory..
try to get a grip on this old reality, im trying to deal
of a time amoungst the many others, calling for someone to help me


The broken child weeping, mind in shambles unable to form coherent thought
a lone warrior searching for a hero, then her eyes meet mine
relieve floods her, she believes she may recieve the help she for so long sought
foolishly, blindly she reaches out as always, expecting a savior this time

would i be the one to save that girl? why am i questioning?
it should be just that simple,that girl is me, yes i should save her
silence her cries of misery and pain from resounding
conquer the monster that has ruined her

but i am a coward, and even now i still fear the beast
so much still, that i would even betray myself, utterly useless
i could have brought attention to his doing at the least
but despite her terror i turn a blind eye, an act so disgustingly selfish

No bystander that witnesses a sin is innocent, they lack motivation
the facts are right there in their face, undenyable truth
Reassuring themselves, shielding themselves in ignorent devotion
not possessing enough of a heart to preserve the future youth

So, as i have always feared and hated i had become just like the rest
i've taken the role of the guilty bystander, deeply rooted shame
my demons shall devour me to my dying day, and down to my eternal rest
im been reformed to a weak easily manipulated being, playing a fools game....

Five.



Are you still afraid to die?
Still too scared to lose?
I swear, one day we'll win,
after all we're going through.

Does the jealousy still rock you?
I've not outgrown it yet....
A few more traits have stuck around,
but the past I won't forget.

And love hasn't shown itself?
I know there's lots of that.
You've still got your innocence?
I see you're not yet cracked.

Every boy could break you,
if you gave them all the chance.
You won't understand this, but listen close,
they just want in your pants.

Listen to your heart,
it bends, but rarely breaks.
We decided long ago, to go with the flow.
I'd hate for you to change a thing.

Hold tight to the memories, though.
It seems I've lost a few.
Of all I've seen with my poor vision,
I saw it and I made it through.

for now yeah.. only cuz I set the limit to 20 entries. I dig your piece

Thank you all for your submissions thus far  theyre all great

Stupid Me

Hey stupid
Why is you so quick to call people your friend?
Don't you know that's the beginning of the end?
Why is you spending your money on coke?
Don't you know that's the quickest way to be broke?
Why is you dropping out of school to be cool?
Don't you know that education is a tool?
Why couldn't you just enjoy being sixteen
Don't you know you're one step closer to the dream?
Why is you disrespecting your mother?
Don't you know that you'll never have another?
Why is your self esteem so low?
Don't you know how to let your inner beauty glow?
Why do you choose to be angry at the world?
Don't you know the world's your oyster and you're the pearl?
Why do you embrace yourself with the hurt?
Don't you know you shouldn't wear your pain like a shirt?
Why do you prefer to have sex over love?
Don't you know when your last relationship was?
Why you choose not to learn from your past?
Don't you know life's passing you by real fast?
Why couldn't you have lived your life more better?
Don't you know you have to get it together?
Okay stupid