Submissions by Wafflenose (Ellie)
POEMS AND SHORT STORIES
Poet Introduction
My book, 'Awaiting the Dawn: poems of hope for life's journey' (EAE Jackson) is available on Amazon worldwide. I write a lot about the darker side of the human condition, the restorative powers of nature, and the need to have hope.
DARK POEM
Published
21st Nov 2022 8:11pm
21st Nov 2022 8:11pm
Sympathetic resonance
I cannot say this aloud,
as I risk making it sound
like someone else's tragedy is about me.
And it's not.
It's about a devastated family
and their loved one.
We are reeling from the shock.
Away from the epicentre,
I can't help feeling doubly shaken
as current events make old ones reverberate within;
in much the same way
that piano or guitar strings will vibrate
in sympathy with a sudden loud noise.
It's struck too close for comfort
and I wonder,
will it always be this way?
Will that hidden, most...
as I risk making it sound
like someone else's tragedy is about me.
And it's not.
It's about a devastated family
and their loved one.
We are reeling from the shock.
Away from the epicentre,
I can't help feeling doubly shaken
as current events make old ones reverberate within;
in much the same way
that piano or guitar strings will vibrate
in sympathy with a sudden loud noise.
It's struck too close for comfort
and I wonder,
will it always be this way?
Will that hidden, most...
#suicide
#PTSD
91 reads
6 Comments
SELF POEM
Published
20th Nov 2022 00:28am
20th Nov 2022 00:28am
Bullshit detector
A shy people-watcher
who stays on the periphery
but doesn't miss much;
An optimistic-realist
who wants to believe
the best about other people;
A deeply flawed human
who always tells the truth
and despises all forms of falsehood;
She trusts easily,
bears much with patience,
but suffers no fools.
Lie to her at your peril.
She knows.
Trust goes.
Goodbye.
who stays on the periphery
but doesn't miss much;
An optimistic-realist
who wants to believe
the best about other people;
A deeply flawed human
who always tells the truth
and despises all forms of falsehood;
She trusts easily,
bears much with patience,
but suffers no fools.
Lie to her at your peril.
She knows.
Trust goes.
Goodbye.
#lies
#betrayal
#LifeAsAWriter
#TruthOfLife
#honesty
97 reads
6 Comments
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
11th Nov 2022 9:23pm
11th Nov 2022 9:23pm
Mammering moldwarp
Fie! Yond distemperate, w'rkshy, bullying ov'rl'rd hast spoken.
Whilst t's most wondrous to treateth oth'rs with kindness
and repay evil with marry,
doth not alloweth yourself beest hath caught
being valorous f'r nay reward.
That flap-drag'n hast declar'd it presumptuous
to off'r holp wh're't did need.
One needeth to knoweth one's standing,
and to assisteth is to receiveth ideas above one's prov'rbial.
Th'ref're, shouldst a friend requesteth
thee transporteth an issue to their sakbut class
'r dropeth those folk at...
Whilst t's most wondrous to treateth oth'rs with kindness
and repay evil with marry,
doth not alloweth yourself beest hath caught
being valorous f'r nay reward.
That flap-drag'n hast declar'd it presumptuous
to off'r holp wh're't did need.
One needeth to knoweth one's standing,
and to assisteth is to receiveth ideas above one's prov'rbial.
Th'ref're, shouldst a friend requesteth
thee transporteth an issue to their sakbut class
'r dropeth those folk at...
#satirical
#frustration
#WilliamShakespeare
83 reads
8 Comments
SELF POEM
Published
3rd Nov 2022 9:42pm
3rd Nov 2022 9:42pm
Living on the edge
Tonight, I'm overwhelmed
and have an overwhelming need
to communicate that.
I tend to panic,
feeling that I must reach out for help.
Then I talk myself out of it:
what a Dramatic Thing that would be
to announce on Facebook.
I can't talk to my family.
I don't want any of my closest friends
to feel burdened
or responsible for me
or for the stupid behaviours
I occasionally slip into.
Fortunately, often I feel too blah
to actually do any of the things.
While desperate to tell it how it is,
I'm completely...
and have an overwhelming need
to communicate that.
I tend to panic,
feeling that I must reach out for help.
Then I talk myself out of it:
what a Dramatic Thing that would be
to announce on Facebook.
I can't talk to my family.
I don't want any of my closest friends
to feel burdened
or responsible for me
or for the stupid behaviours
I occasionally slip into.
Fortunately, often I feel too blah
to actually do any of the things.
While desperate to tell it how it is,
I'm completely...
#LifeStruggles
#MentalHealth
122 reads
10 Comments
DARK POEM
Published
31st Oct 2022 2:14pm
31st Oct 2022 2:14pm
Agreeing tenses
And the afternoon
crept in slowly
like a sleepy rain.
It felt suffocating,
as though tightly knotted ties
would no longer let us breathe.
Oppressive and sultry,
the warm breeze
did nothing to refresh.
The heaviness of
atmosphere and weather
stifled us both.
I needed to escape;
to breathe.
To breathe once more!
I raced to your side.
Flowers adorned your body.
Words hung feverishly around you.
The news arrived in due course;
bullet points and commas ...
crept in slowly
like a sleepy rain.
It felt suffocating,
as though tightly knotted ties
would no longer let us breathe.
Oppressive and sultry,
the warm breeze
did nothing to refresh.
The heaviness of
atmosphere and weather
stifled us both.
I needed to escape;
to breathe.
To breathe once more!
I raced to your side.
Flowers adorned your body.
Words hung feverishly around you.
The news arrived in due course;
bullet points and commas ...
#beauty
#death
#LifeAsAWriter
#mystery
#collaboration
89 reads
6 Comments
DARK POEM
Published
30th Oct 2022 11:20pm
30th Oct 2022 11:20pm
Nightfall
Do not fear the dark
as I have done.
The sinking sun
and gathering shadows
don't mean any harm.
Although in my heart
I know sunrise will come
and that winters will end,
a blueprint on my brain
since before I made
conscious memories
associates nightfall
with trouble and fear.
For me, dark begets dark,
which is too hard to handle.
I'm beginning to realise
why I never wanted nights out
and preferred to stay in.
Still, there's nothing to fear;
the problem isn't...
as I have done.
The sinking sun
and gathering shadows
don't mean any harm.
Although in my heart
I know sunrise will come
and that winters will end,
a blueprint on my brain
since before I made
conscious memories
associates nightfall
with trouble and fear.
For me, dark begets dark,
which is too hard to handle.
I'm beginning to realise
why I never wanted nights out
and preferred to stay in.
Still, there's nothing to fear;
the problem isn't...
#dark
#childhood
#alcohol
#MentalHealth
#suffering
88 reads
9 Comments
SELF POEM
Published
30th Oct 2022 10:51pm
30th Oct 2022 10:51pm
Counterintuition
The older I become,
the less I can cope
with my own emotions.
Both extremes
feel the same,
evoke panic
and desperation.
It wouldn't be a problem
if I were able
to remain stable.
the less I can cope
with my own emotions.
Both extremes
feel the same,
evoke panic
and desperation.
It wouldn't be a problem
if I were able
to remain stable.
#confessional
#MentalHealth
#aging
#mystery
#emotions
81 reads
1 Comment
MISCELLANEOUS POEM
Published
29th Oct 2022 10:50pm
29th Oct 2022 10:50pm
A mathematical interlude in three parts
i - LUCKY FOR SOME
Seventy-seven
divided by eleven:
forty-nine's square root.
ii - A PRIME NUMBER EQUAL TO THE SUM OF FOUR CONSECUTIVE, SMALLER PRIMES
Take a dozen, a trio and quintet;
multiply them to see what you get.
Then add on a seven,
divide by eleven:
a sum of four primes! Got it yet?
iii - VIVIDLY NUMERICAL
Take the numerals V, I and V;
add them up and then take away three.
Next, this number gets squared,
and then quartered (or shared);
the result's...
Seventy-seven
divided by eleven:
forty-nine's square root.
ii - A PRIME NUMBER EQUAL TO THE SUM OF FOUR CONSECUTIVE, SMALLER PRIMES
Take a dozen, a trio and quintet;
multiply them to see what you get.
Then add on a seven,
divide by eleven:
a sum of four primes! Got it yet?
iii - VIVIDLY NUMERICAL
Take the numerals V, I and V;
add them up and then take away three.
Next, this number gets squared,
and then quartered (or shared);
the result's...
#limerick
#funny
#senryu
75 reads
0 Comments
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
7th Oct 2022 9:19pm
7th Oct 2022 9:19pm
Fixing writer's block
An effective cure
for episodes of
I-can't-write-itis
is to write.
Sometimes, the words
f
a
l
l
AndLandIn
aHeEpOfCoMpLeAtNoNsnSe
but just writing
and persevering
help creativity to flow.
Perhaps next time,
the words will
s
w
i
r
l
j
...
for episodes of
I-can't-write-itis
is to write.
Sometimes, the words
f
a
l
l
AndLandIn
aHeEpOfCoMpLeAtNoNsnSe
but just writing
and persevering
help creativity to flow.
Perhaps next time,
the words will
s
w
i
r
l
j
...
#beauty
#WritersBlock
#LifeAsAWriter
#WritingPoetry
#art
94 reads
7 Comments
SELF POEM
Published
4th Oct 2022 3:46pm
4th Oct 2022 3:46pm
The Honest CV
I've been doing a spot of job hunting.
It's not going well—
possibly because I'm being half-hearted about it,
but I also wonder if I might do better
to submit a brutally honest C.V.
rather than the factual but boring one
which probably reads just like everyone else's.
Previous jobs:
Lots of schools, good, bad and indifferent.
I've taught classes, groups, pairs and individuals.
Children are children, wherever they are.
Running my own business
teaching music to pupils of all ages. ...
It's not going well—
possibly because I'm being half-hearted about it,
but I also wonder if I might do better
to submit a brutally honest C.V.
rather than the factual but boring one
which probably reads just like everyone else's.
Previous jobs:
Lots of schools, good, bad and indifferent.
I've taught classes, groups, pairs and individuals.
Children are children, wherever they are.
Running my own business
teaching music to pupils of all ages. ...
#funny
#TruthOfLife
#honesty
#confusion
#job
92 reads
5 Comments
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
2nd Oct 2022 5:19pm
2nd Oct 2022 5:19pm
A matter of perspective
The time has come
to reframe my thoughts about Autumn.
Plenty of friends say they love it
but I view it with suspicion
due to impending darkness and drizzle,
the start of the school year
and the end of
everything which seems positive and light.
So I’ve decided to try
that grounding technique they teach you in therapy
to help calm you down,
only I’m doing it for Autumn instead.
Think of five things you can see,
four things you can touch,
three things you can hear,
two things you can smell
one thing you can...
to reframe my thoughts about Autumn.
Plenty of friends say they love it
but I view it with suspicion
due to impending darkness and drizzle,
the start of the school year
and the end of
everything which seems positive and light.
So I’ve decided to try
that grounding technique they teach you in therapy
to help calm you down,
only I’m doing it for Autumn instead.
Think of five things you can see,
four things you can touch,
three things you can hear,
two things you can smell
one thing you can...
#hope
#fall
#nature #sensual
#nature #sensual
155 reads
12 Comments
STORY POEM
Published
1st Oct 2022 6:42pm
1st Oct 2022 6:42pm
The Age of Intellectualism
Finally, A.I.
eclipsed mankind's brainpower;
gave efficiency.
At first, things were great—
tackling Herculean tasks
saving us much time.
Then, disaster struck:
remarkable robots spawned
superior young.
Over time, things changed.
Each generation smarter—
vanquishing us all.
eclipsed mankind's brainpower;
gave efficiency.
At first, things were great—
tackling Herculean tasks
saving us much time.
Then, disaster struck:
remarkable robots spawned
superior young.
Over time, things changed.
Each generation smarter—
vanquishing us all.
#technology
#science
#fiction
#narrative
#dystopian
74 reads
1 Comment
DU Poetry : Submissions by Wafflenose (Ellie)
