Submissions by Ahavati
POEMS AND SHORT STORIES
Poet Introduction
Proprio Vos Sanguine Pasco
excavation
In this cage, blood alone
will not break this bondage
it takes sweat
to excavate the key
that fits the lock
we can salivate
like a rabid dog
pushing against the bars
our ears ringing
with our own voice
beaten down
by the bouncing echo
our teeth will not gnaw
through this curse
we'll break by the weight
of our chains first
and our mile long howl
on the way down
will do us no good
we have to dig
all writers do
will not break this bondage
it takes sweat
to excavate the key
that fits the lock
we can salivate
like a rabid dog
pushing against the bars
our ears ringing
with our own voice
beaten down
by the bouncing echo
our teeth will not gnaw
through this curse
we'll break by the weight
of our chains first
and our mile long howl
on the way down
will do us no good
we have to dig
all writers do
#LifeAsAWriter
#WritingPoetry
67 reads
6 Comments
A David you're not
If you want to throw stones
at a giant
make sure there is a volcano
in your palm
ready to erupt
when it hits your target
Sling it in an arch
big enough
to make the degree scream
sign language to the deaf
Let the whistling of its trajectory
wake the earth
let every eye follow the arc
of its intended path
breaking sound barriers
along the way
If you want to sling stones
at a giant
make sure there’s a volcano
in your palm
ready to erupt
when it hits...
at a giant
make sure there is a volcano
in your palm
ready to erupt
when it hits your target
Sling it in an arch
big enough
to make the degree scream
sign language to the deaf
Let the whistling of its trajectory
wake the earth
let every eye follow the arc
of its intended path
breaking sound barriers
along the way
If you want to sling stones
at a giant
make sure there’s a volcano
in your palm
ready to erupt
when it hits...
#politics
#bullying
135 reads
12 Comments
Exercise Tiger
April 28, 1944
Devon, England
It was only a planned rehearsal
or so it was meant to be
taking place on the beach
of Slapton Sands, Devon
for the invasion of Normandy.
But coordination and communication
don’t always go as planned,
resulting in not only friendly-fire injuries
but the death of 749 American servicemen
by e-boats of Nazi Germany.
April 28, 1969
Devon, England
I was only ten-years-old
the first...
Devon, England
It was only a planned rehearsal
or so it was meant to be
taking place on the beach
of Slapton Sands, Devon
for the invasion of Normandy.
But coordination and communication
don’t always go as planned,
resulting in not only friendly-fire injuries
but the death of 749 American servicemen
by e-boats of Nazi Germany.
April 28, 1969
Devon, England
I was only ten-years-old
the first...
#war
153 reads
26 Comments
Justice is a nocturnal animal
always watching
unseen, from the shadows
its scales wavering
may take a while
to climb
those karmic steps
but you can be certain
of one thing—
corruption
is on borrowed time
before being dealt
the same fate
that is not demeaning
what we sow we reap
if not in this life
then the next
and those behind the scenes
in...
unseen, from the shadows
its scales wavering
may take a while
to climb
those karmic steps
but you can be certain
of one thing—
corruption
is on borrowed time
before being dealt
the same fate
that is not demeaning
what we sow we reap
if not in this life
then the next
and those behind the scenes
in...
#politics
#confessional
224 reads
16 Comments
Click
Show me where
in this world
a billionaire
is without the blood
of someone on his hands
Show me case history
where there are no ghosts
shadowing his money trail
Or maybe the man
who built the machine
isn’t all bad
Maybe he works late
from a 58th floor
on Wall Street
counting the dead
on an abacus
How simple
ancient
innocent
Maybe the sound
of those clicking beads
is all he needs
to make him happy
After all,...
in this world
a billionaire
is without the blood
of someone on his hands
Show me case history
where there are no ghosts
shadowing his money trail
Or maybe the man
who built the machine
isn’t all bad
Maybe he works late
from a 58th floor
on Wall Street
counting the dead
on an abacus
How simple
ancient
innocent
Maybe the sound
of those clicking beads
is all he needs
to make him happy
After all,...
#corruption
191 reads
20 Comments
Descendants
It's Lord of the waters
driftwood, earth
and we ourselves
65 percent plus
Its history is thick
with visions of fire and smoke
flared nostrils and tail
curled as a tendril of hair
ready to whip
yet, it's nature is benevolent
Created from a camel’s head
a deer’s horns
and a demon’s eyes
A bull’s ears
a snake’s neck
and a clam’s belly
A carp’s scales,
an eagle’s claws
and a tiger’s paws
quilted together to create
the Deity that is Dragon ...
driftwood, earth
and we ourselves
65 percent plus
Its history is thick
with visions of fire and smoke
flared nostrils and tail
curled as a tendril of hair
ready to whip
yet, it's nature is benevolent
Created from a camel’s head
a deer’s horns
and a demon’s eyes
A bull’s ears
a snake’s neck
and a clam’s belly
A carp’s scales,
an eagle’s claws
and a tiger’s paws
quilted together to create
the Deity that is Dragon ...
#mythology
151 reads
4 Comments
Mass Suicide by Ignorance
I.
We treat symptoms
without discovering their source
and address freedom
justice and liberty
as convenient truths
when it benefits us
II.
A person gets arrested
we blame mental health
the parents, political affiliation
color, race, gender
instead of asking:
why are so many among us sick
The root is ignored
thus, continues to gorge
on our ignorance
or unwillingness to learn
( you choose )
III.
We have so many
brands of band-aids ...
We treat symptoms
without discovering their source
and address freedom
justice and liberty
as convenient truths
when it benefits us
II.
A person gets arrested
we blame mental health
the parents, political affiliation
color, race, gender
instead of asking:
why are so many among us sick
The root is ignored
thus, continues to gorge
on our ignorance
or unwillingness to learn
( you choose )
III.
We have so many
brands of band-aids ...
#love
#earth
217 reads
19 Comments
Sweet Skin of Fog
For Brigid
A blank page lays open-handed
ready to hold this story
but all that oozes from the veil
is a memory of a memory
You appeared while I was writing
Specter from a past life
my Celtic blood lived
Conversation becomes the hardest thing to carry
under the weight of history
Our own senses become weapons
for and against yourself
over what to believe
Your sweet skin of fog
escaped from its sepulchre
becoming the chill winter morn
You asked if you needed a calling...
A blank page lays open-handed
ready to hold this story
but all that oozes from the veil
is a memory of a memory
You appeared while I was writing
Specter from a past life
my Celtic blood lived
Conversation becomes the hardest thing to carry
under the weight of history
Our own senses become weapons
for and against yourself
over what to believe
Your sweet skin of fog
escaped from its sepulchre
becoming the chill winter morn
You asked if you needed a calling...
#tradition
266 reads
10 Comments
When We Least Expect
Love, one of the most beautiful things
we'll know during our years on earth
weaves like ether
through the years of our lives
until it catches up to us.
Or perhaps more like a silken sash
that draws near on a cold wind
wrapping around our neck
when we least expect.
The last days of our lives
are beaming gold
but Love is a piercing Light
that turns our tired mind
toward a direction beyond time.
After decades have dispersed
and we feel Love went on without us
it will approach regardless ...
we'll know during our years on earth
weaves like ether
through the years of our lives
until it catches up to us.
Or perhaps more like a silken sash
that draws near on a cold wind
wrapping around our neck
when we least expect.
The last days of our lives
are beaming gold
but Love is a piercing Light
that turns our tired mind
toward a direction beyond time.
After decades have dispersed
and we feel Love went on without us
it will approach regardless ...
#love
#aging
307 reads
26 Comments
Holy
Visual Christmas
#Christmas
225 reads
16 Comments
2024
I know what my spirit says
Look how far you’ve come
and all you've done.
Still, shadows lick my feet.
I know I’m blessed.
But what I really wish
is for blessings to be commonplace.
An everyday occurrence
for each human to experience.
I've seen those suffering
while seeking direction
—gazing out the window
from an office cubicle
pretending to be content
with a noose around their neck.
Staring endlessly
into traversing clouds
beyond whatever assignment
is...
Look how far you’ve come
and all you've done.
Still, shadows lick my feet.
I know I’m blessed.
But what I really wish
is for blessings to be commonplace.
An everyday occurrence
for each human to experience.
I've seen those suffering
while seeking direction
—gazing out the window
from an office cubicle
pretending to be content
with a noose around their neck.
Staring endlessly
into traversing clouds
beyond whatever assignment
is...
#HumanRights
372 reads
31 Comments
The Joy of Knowing
The Joy of Knowing. . .
that in Spirituality
there is room for everyone,
no matter the god they serve,
nor how old or young.
Because we are all Spiritual
beings at the core
of this human cocoon
just waiting to emerge.
that in Spirituality
there is room for everyone,
no matter the god they serve,
nor how old or young.
Because we are all Spiritual
beings at the core
of this human cocoon
just waiting to emerge.
#spiritual
256 reads
10 Comments
DU Poetry : Submissions by Ahavati