Submissions by Tallquietguy
POEMS AND SHORT STORIES
Poet Introduction
Can you call yourself a poet if you only write when the muse beckons? Sometimes I feel as if someone else is writing the words & I'm just the one putting them on paper. Schizophrenic or just plain weird?
How Many Deaths?
Desert sands are burning,
A fire fueled by hatred & fear
So many lives & cities destroyed
And for what?
"How deaths will it take till we know
That too many people have died?"(*)
Meanwhile...
Mother just wants to feed her family
Children want to play in peace
And meet their friends at school
And know that they have a future
Isn't it sad when the children
are more adult
Than the leaders of ancient lands ...
A fire fueled by hatred & fear
So many lives & cities destroyed
And for what?
"How deaths will it take till we know
That too many people have died?"(*)
Meanwhile...
Mother just wants to feed her family
Children want to play in peace
And meet their friends at school
And know that they have a future
Isn't it sad when the children
are more adult
Than the leaders of ancient lands ...
#confusion
#despair
#frustration #sadness
#frustration #sadness
95 reads
1 Comment
Singin' to the Shadows
As the evening winds its way
into one more lonely night,
I pick up my guitar
and strum a chord or two
Then listen as the stars reveal
the words I'm looking for
But even as I write them down,
I know....... (that I'm)
Singing to the shadows on the wall
Playing for the faces in my memories
For all the folks I've known throughout the years
And all the folks I still have yet to meet
I'm singing to the crowds I'll never see
The years have come & gone
Yet the sadness...
into one more lonely night,
I pick up my guitar
and strum a chord or two
Then listen as the stars reveal
the words I'm looking for
But even as I write them down,
I know....... (that I'm)
Singing to the shadows on the wall
Playing for the faces in my memories
For all the folks I've known throughout the years
And all the folks I still have yet to meet
I'm singing to the crowds I'll never see
The years have come & gone
Yet the sadness...
#bittersweet
#emptiness
#regret #sadness
#regret #sadness
86 reads
4 Comments
One More Night
I drink deeply of the silence
Of starry late winter skies
My old friend Orion marches in step
With Gemini and his companions;
A new moon hides behind the dark veil,
leaving distant suns sparkling with rare brilliance.
A teenager I once knew
Yearned painfully to reach those stars;
Eighteen to eighty serves up
A disheartening dose of reality
Year by year, day by day,
Moment by soul-crushing moment.
Yet dreams dead and buried
Slowly but surely give way
To clarity that cuts through the noise
Of...
Of starry late winter skies
My old friend Orion marches in step
With Gemini and his companions;
A new moon hides behind the dark veil,
leaving distant suns sparkling with rare brilliance.
A teenager I once knew
Yearned painfully to reach those stars;
Eighteen to eighty serves up
A disheartening dose of reality
Year by year, day by day,
Moment by soul-crushing moment.
Yet dreams dead and buried
Slowly but surely give way
To clarity that cuts through the noise
Of...
#inspirational
#LifeCycle
#aging
#gratitude
#nostalgia
131 reads
1 Comment
River of Sorrow
All that you have, even all that you are,
Will one day be lost
If not already, 'tis yet to come
Each loss feeds a drop of sorrow
Into the stream that bubbles beneath the surface,
Coloring each day, each moment, in a slightly off-color hue
Until it grows into a raging torrent
That when least expected, bursts through with a stunning eruption of sadness,
Paralyzing the mind, the heart, the will to breathe
There is no escape - to wish it were otherwise
Is to wish to be other than human - ...
Will one day be lost
If not already, 'tis yet to come
Each loss feeds a drop of sorrow
Into the stream that bubbles beneath the surface,
Coloring each day, each moment, in a slightly off-color hue
Until it grows into a raging torrent
That when least expected, bursts through with a stunning eruption of sadness,
Paralyzing the mind, the heart, the will to breathe
There is no escape - to wish it were otherwise
Is to wish to be other than human - ...
#sadness
#vanity
#bittersweet
156 reads
3 Comments
The Dream Master
Dreams insist on destroying my happiness,
tainting the moreorless pleasant flow
of here and now.
Barely have my eyes closed
in blissful repose
Than the dream master opens
his bag of tricks --
Selecting characters, feelings,
and silly situations
To create his comedies and tragedies
and, just as often, dramedies.
They whisk me back to times
and forgotten places
I had assured myself were safely
under lock and key.
Lies & truth and wishes & fears ...
tainting the moreorless pleasant flow
of here and now.
Barely have my eyes closed
in blissful repose
Than the dream master opens
his bag of tricks --
Selecting characters, feelings,
and silly situations
To create his comedies and tragedies
and, just as often, dramedies.
They whisk me back to times
and forgotten places
I had assured myself were safely
under lock and key.
Lies & truth and wishes & fears ...
#sadness
#regret
#forgiveness
#gratitude
#bittersweet
139 reads
1 Comment
Just Another
Just another day .. not worth getting out of bed
Just another day .. not worth not being dead
Just another day .. not worth staying in the game
Just another day ... just another
Just another dream .. blows up in my face
Just another bridge .. collapses in the sea
Just another flame .. fizzles to a whisper
Just another day ... just another
Who am I? Still searching for an answer
Why am I? I haven't got a clue
Why this life? There's got to be an answer
I'm spinning 'round in circles, dis-integrating in my head ...
Just another day .. not worth not being dead
Just another day .. not worth staying in the game
Just another day ... just another
Just another dream .. blows up in my face
Just another bridge .. collapses in the sea
Just another flame .. fizzles to a whisper
Just another day ... just another
Who am I? Still searching for an answer
Why am I? I haven't got a clue
Why this life? There's got to be an answer
I'm spinning 'round in circles, dis-integrating in my head ...
#depression
#loneliness
#frustration
#despair
#emptiness
239 reads
7 Comments
I'm Not Okay, You're Not Okay
I woke up early this morning, laid there talking to myself
Conversing with my demons, they just won't let me rest
I'm frightened of the future, I'm living in the past
Memories drive me to the edge, love tries to bring me back
I'm not okay, you're not okay
We've known that from the start
Don't let it get inside your head
and tear your world apart
I'm not okay, you're not okay
A hazard of this life
It doesn't mean that we can't dream
of a better space and time
I walked outside this morning,...
Conversing with my demons, they just won't let me rest
I'm frightened of the future, I'm living in the past
Memories drive me to the edge, love tries to bring me back
I'm not okay, you're not okay
We've known that from the start
Don't let it get inside your head
and tear your world apart
I'm not okay, you're not okay
A hazard of this life
It doesn't mean that we can't dream
of a better space and time
I walked outside this morning,...
#anxiety
#depression
#MovingOn
#bittersweet
#fear
275 reads
4 Comments
Regret
Do I have the right to feel lonely
when I chose the path I walk?
Do I have the right to be sad,
knowing few will mourn my passing?
Today I joined with others to say goodbye
to a man who showed us what life is for -
to build & nurture a family legacy
of love & joy & peace & hope,
and an immeasurable circle of friends
through which his spirit will flow forever.
I come home to an empty house
with a dawning realization
that breaks through my...
when I chose the path I walk?
Do I have the right to be sad,
knowing few will mourn my passing?
Today I joined with others to say goodbye
to a man who showed us what life is for -
to build & nurture a family legacy
of love & joy & peace & hope,
and an immeasurable circle of friends
through which his spirit will flow forever.
I come home to an empty house
with a dawning realization
that breaks through my...
#sadness
#regret
#loneliness
#redemption
#bittersweet
169 reads
2 Comments
Transition
A lone snowflake glides stealthily
through the late autumn mists,
scouting the barren territory
for the incoming invasion force
It floats to the ground
& fades into its surroundings,
reporting to the commander of the white army --
"the enemy is unaware of its imminent danger"
Additional squads of glittery commandos
leap from their silent aircraft
& link up at the scout's position
as the tension mounts
Suddenly the distant treetops disappear
behind a thick curtain of parachutes;
Wave after wave...
through the late autumn mists,
scouting the barren territory
for the incoming invasion force
It floats to the ground
& fades into its surroundings,
reporting to the commander of the white army --
"the enemy is unaware of its imminent danger"
Additional squads of glittery commandos
leap from their silent aircraft
& link up at the scout's position
as the tension mounts
Suddenly the distant treetops disappear
behind a thick curtain of parachutes;
Wave after wave...
#storm
#winter
#fall
#nature
#LifeCycle
213 reads
0 Comments
Autumn
I love those days when autumn’s dawning,
but with a gentle hand
Jack Frost stands on the sidelines,
awaiting his part in the plan.
Green leaves fade to orange & yellow,
& vibrant fiery red
Starry-eyed lovers stroll hand-in-hand,
harvest moon glows o’erhead.
The north breeze hints at things to come,
rustling softly through the trees
Squirrels stock cupboards with nutty stores,
birds take flight on seasonal journeys.
Dig out the fuzzy sweaters
to stave off the evening’s chill
Dig out the cocoa &...
but with a gentle hand
Jack Frost stands on the sidelines,
awaiting his part in the plan.
Green leaves fade to orange & yellow,
& vibrant fiery red
Starry-eyed lovers stroll hand-in-hand,
harvest moon glows o’erhead.
The north breeze hints at things to come,
rustling softly through the trees
Squirrels stock cupboards with nutty stores,
birds take flight on seasonal journeys.
Dig out the fuzzy sweaters
to stave off the evening’s chill
Dig out the cocoa &...
#fall
#nature
#LifeCycle
194 reads
Olivia N-J (r.i.p.)
And before earth could even protest,
the songbird flew back to heaven,
rising notes of a thousand beautiful melodies
lifting her wings beyond the stars
the songbird flew back to heaven,
rising notes of a thousand beautiful melodies
lifting her wings beyond the stars
#sadness
#grief
#strength
#TimeHeals
#redemption
249 reads
1 Comment
Sunbeams (revised)
Sunbeams play in shades of grey
in dancing shadows on the floor
Mesmerized & hypnotized,
I'm drawn into the show
Dragons' wings & stranger things
morph and sparkle and glow,
waltzing in time to photonic rhythms,
then fade into the void
As Transience writes my story
in disappearing letters & words,
Today's wrenching melodrama
is tomorrow's mouldering paperback,
discarded by the side of the road
My hopes & dreams,
expectations & aspirations
are but dancing shadows in...
in dancing shadows on the floor
Mesmerized & hypnotized,
I'm drawn into the show
Dragons' wings & stranger things
morph and sparkle and glow,
waltzing in time to photonic rhythms,
then fade into the void
As Transience writes my story
in disappearing letters & words,
Today's wrenching melodrama
is tomorrow's mouldering paperback,
discarded by the side of the road
My hopes & dreams,
expectations & aspirations
are but dancing shadows in...
#fate
#TruthOfLife
#LifeCycle
272 reads
1 Comment
DU Poetry : Submissions by Tallquietguy