Submissions by WillowsWhimsies
POEMS AND SHORT STORIES
Poet Introduction
At one time also known here as TimidlyTemped and FromtheAsh. All voices of the same soul. Only one voice needed now. Also recently one of the voices for the now defunct Confluence account.
LOVE POEM
Published
12th Apr 2025 12:39pm
12th Apr 2025 12:39pm
boundless
12 of 30
there is beauty found in a sense of belonging
so long as translation isn't...
...ownership
{unless that's the agreed upon dynamic}
I've never wanted to be a bauble in a vault
...locked away unseen
I'm a treasure to be proud of...
...even though I don't actually need...
...{or feel comfortable}
...being on display
...it's the thought...see?
to be clear...
it isn't even about safekeeping
no...it's so so much more than that...
bigger...freer...just more
a connection...a landing...
there is beauty found in a sense of belonging
so long as translation isn't...
...ownership
{unless that's the agreed upon dynamic}
I've never wanted to be a bauble in a vault
...locked away unseen
I'm a treasure to be proud of...
...even though I don't actually need...
...{or feel comfortable}
...being on display
...it's the thought...see?
to be clear...
it isn't even about safekeeping
no...it's so so much more than that...
bigger...freer...just more
a connection...a landing...
#confessional
#honesty
#love
137 reads
10 Comments
SELF POEM
Published
11th Apr 2025 12:16pm
11th Apr 2025 12:16pm
nature's child
11 of 30
a living work of art...
goes through many transformations
evolving to survive an environment always changing
as with nature...
...so do I
fingers pressed into wood
forehead resting against cool pane
bracing...
as tremors travel through my veins
condensation clouds my window this morning
gazing out into darkness
...at a world distorted
& I'm undecided...
do I wipe them...
improving my view
or leave them...
...as a reflection...
...an extension...
...of my mood
after...
a living work of art...
goes through many transformations
evolving to survive an environment always changing
as with nature...
...so do I
fingers pressed into wood
forehead resting against cool pane
bracing...
as tremors travel through my veins
condensation clouds my window this morning
gazing out into darkness
...at a world distorted
& I'm undecided...
do I wipe them...
improving my view
or leave them...
...as a reflection...
...an extension...
...of my mood
after...
#nature
#SelfReflection
93 reads
4 Comments
SELF POEM
Published
10th Apr 2025 5:11pm
10th Apr 2025 5:11pm
unsung beauty of unwanted parts
10 of 30
don't let it be her breaking...
that's what I said
but...maybe...
I had it all wrong
what if it's all part of our making
how we learn...or not...
& what we take from our damage
what we do with it
hiding...or embracing
because I...
I fell...
with all the exuberance of youth
absolutely blind belief in the power of love
...thought it embodied something magical
as I swam in the seas of his eyes
not noticing how shallow they really were
or how their turbulence swallowed me up ...
don't let it be her breaking...
that's what I said
but...maybe...
I had it all wrong
what if it's all part of our making
how we learn...or not...
& what we take from our damage
what we do with it
hiding...or embracing
because I...
I fell...
with all the exuberance of youth
absolutely blind belief in the power of love
...thought it embodied something magical
as I swam in the seas of his eyes
not noticing how shallow they really were
or how their turbulence swallowed me up ...
#confessional
#PersonalGrowth
#SelfReflection #SelfWorth
#SelfReflection #SelfWorth
100 reads
6 Comments
LOVE POEM
Published
9th Apr 2025 11:55am
9th Apr 2025 11:55am
mama dilemma
9 of 30
I still hear laughter through the floorboards
& smile to myself
even as my heart constricts
...for a long painful moment
the sound doesn't ring quite as true
...slightly fractured...
it's the thing that makes a mother flinch...
she was in love...giddy with it
sighing over her coffee
smiling secretly as she washed dishes
it's been a rough few years
filled with isolation...medications...changes
retreating from a world no longer welcoming
I wanted more than anything for this to be her bliss ...
I still hear laughter through the floorboards
& smile to myself
even as my heart constricts
...for a long painful moment
the sound doesn't ring quite as true
...slightly fractured...
it's the thing that makes a mother flinch...
she was in love...giddy with it
sighing over her coffee
smiling secretly as she washed dishes
it's been a rough few years
filled with isolation...medications...changes
retreating from a world no longer welcoming
I wanted more than anything for this to be her bliss ...
#daughter
#disappointment
#hope
#love
#motherhood
103 reads
4 Comments
SELF POEM
Published
8th Apr 2025 12:44pm
8th Apr 2025 12:44pm
shrouds & dustcovers
8 of 30
I'm fascinated by abandoned places
not much left...
just scraps & empty halls
pieces of furniture now deteriorating
so many questions created
forever left unanswered
where shadows settle over what used to be
& lives remain barely evident
residences once filled
photos still hang...crooked...upon crumbling walls
wallpaper sagging in tattered patterns
mementos adorning dusty surfaces
moth-eaten clothes hanging in cupboards
table set for a meal never to be served
echoes resounding down...
I'm fascinated by abandoned places
not much left...
just scraps & empty halls
pieces of furniture now deteriorating
so many questions created
forever left unanswered
where shadows settle over what used to be
& lives remain barely evident
residences once filled
photos still hang...crooked...upon crumbling walls
wallpaper sagging in tattered patterns
mementos adorning dusty surfaces
moth-eaten clothes hanging in cupboards
table set for a meal never to be served
echoes resounding down...
#confessional
#honesty
#inspirational
100 reads
6 Comments
SELF POEM
Published
7th Apr 2025 12:51pm
7th Apr 2025 12:51pm
fighting the gag order
7 of 30
I am reminded...
of all the days I longed to run away
how funny is that
grown ass adult having fantasies of escape
find a little place on the side of a mountain
just me {& my cats}...
no cars or fights
or gunshots across the street
just the whispering rumors of wind
& gossipy titters of birds in the trees
nobody to notice if I remain mute
when the only person around is me
alternatively...
I could mouth off whenever I want
...who's going to protest
lately I've had this crazy idea...
I am reminded...
of all the days I longed to run away
how funny is that
grown ass adult having fantasies of escape
find a little place on the side of a mountain
just me {& my cats}...
no cars or fights
or gunshots across the street
just the whispering rumors of wind
& gossipy titters of birds in the trees
nobody to notice if I remain mute
when the only person around is me
alternatively...
I could mouth off whenever I want
...who's going to protest
lately I've had this crazy idea...
#confessional
#learning
#LifeStruggles
112 reads
8 Comments
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
6th Apr 2025 11:43am
6th Apr 2025 11:43am
one to the next...
6 of 30
as so often happens
she just proved that old adage
{maybe it's just a joke...I don't know}
but it's so frequent I think it should be
...more than just accepted as a maxim
I opened my mouth
& my mother came out
it used to drive her crazy
not so much anymore
as she's seeing firsthand
the wisdom in what she's saying
was once heard emitting from my lips...previously
& sometimes we speak...
...in stereo
{I giggle}
while she rolls her eyes & purses her lips ...
as so often happens
she just proved that old adage
{maybe it's just a joke...I don't know}
but it's so frequent I think it should be
...more than just accepted as a maxim
I opened my mouth
& my mother came out
it used to drive her crazy
not so much anymore
as she's seeing firsthand
the wisdom in what she's saying
was once heard emitting from my lips...previously
& sometimes we speak...
...in stereo
{I giggle}
while she rolls her eyes & purses her lips ...
#daughter
#mother
#tradition #wisdom
#tradition #wisdom
116 reads
8 Comments
LOVE POEM
Published
5th Apr 2025 11:44am
5th Apr 2025 11:44am
uncanny & delightful
5 of 30
it's the little things
ya know...
details others miss
but not him
he knows the sound of my cough
...when it's normal
just my asthma acting up
& when it's...different
never let's it pass unnoticed
I don't like the sound of that
to him it's very evident
when I'm not quite...solid
struggling to process
maybe it's just that I'm too quiet
I don't know what it is
somehow he knows when something's amiss
invariably...he reaches out
calming my mind
telling me to take my time ...
it's the little things
ya know...
details others miss
but not him
he knows the sound of my cough
...when it's normal
just my asthma acting up
& when it's...different
never let's it pass unnoticed
I don't like the sound of that
to him it's very evident
when I'm not quite...solid
struggling to process
maybe it's just that I'm too quiet
I don't know what it is
somehow he knows when something's amiss
invariably...he reaches out
calming my mind
telling me to take my time ...
#friendship
#gratitude
#love
163 reads
8 Comments
SELF POEM
Published
4th Apr 2025 11:57am
4th Apr 2025 11:57am
simple perfection
4 of 30
I felt so beautifully alive
blanket over shoulders
sitting criss-cross applesauce
beneath a diamond-studded velvet sky
as smoke drifted upward in twisting tendrils
flames dancing wild attendance
marshmallows burning to a delicious crisp
sizzling on the end of sharpened sticks
& my father's laughter
as we all gathered around the campfire
mom's embarrassed giggles
teased out of her habitual cautious demeanor
{only daddy held that power}
it signaled freedom
a moment slipped outside...
I felt so beautifully alive
blanket over shoulders
sitting criss-cross applesauce
beneath a diamond-studded velvet sky
as smoke drifted upward in twisting tendrils
flames dancing wild attendance
marshmallows burning to a delicious crisp
sizzling on the end of sharpened sticks
& my father's laughter
as we all gathered around the campfire
mom's embarrassed giggles
teased out of her habitual cautious demeanor
{only daddy held that power}
it signaled freedom
a moment slipped outside...
#beauty
#confessional
#family #nature
#family #nature
98 reads
2 Comments
SELF POEM
Published
3rd Apr 2025 9:33pm
3rd Apr 2025 9:33pm
short-lived fantasies
3 of 30
everything...
every imaginable uplifting
gifted to me in that moment of time
that's what it gave me
on a wild whim I entered
never expecting any kind of return
they all said it wouldn't happen
insistent my stature wasn't up to the challenge
{what's wrong with being petite?!}
but for the first time...
I followed my dream
a few simple photos
brief biography
stuffed in an envelope
addressed & sent
& the unthinkable occurred
I got the call
date set...
everything...
every imaginable uplifting
gifted to me in that moment of time
that's what it gave me
on a wild whim I entered
never expecting any kind of return
they all said it wouldn't happen
insistent my stature wasn't up to the challenge
{what's wrong with being petite?!}
but for the first time...
I followed my dream
a few simple photos
brief biography
stuffed in an envelope
addressed & sent
& the unthinkable occurred
I got the call
date set...
#acceptance
#confessional
#dreams #risk
#dreams #risk
121 reads
8 Comments
SELF POEM
Published
2nd Apr 2025 12:49pm
2nd Apr 2025 12:49pm
teeter totter progress
2 of 30
right where I am
not this place
...but this me
where I stand...
...& sometimes slip...
constantly moving
through my unending evolution
it's a momentary station
a pause in the journey only
I both love & loathe it
wearing disappointment...
believing so few obstacles
have been conquered
{tunneled vision...}
beaming with pride...
at the realization
of how far I've actually progressed
{unearthed mirror of truth...}
I celebrate the victories ...
right where I am
not this place
...but this me
where I stand...
...& sometimes slip...
constantly moving
through my unending evolution
it's a momentary station
a pause in the journey only
I both love & loathe it
wearing disappointment...
believing so few obstacles
have been conquered
{tunneled vision...}
beaming with pride...
at the realization
of how far I've actually progressed
{unearthed mirror of truth...}
I celebrate the victories ...
#confessional
#determination
#PersonalGrowth
144 reads
8 Comments
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
1st Apr 2025 4:42pm
1st Apr 2025 4:42pm
upon reflection...forget genuflection
1 of 30
somebody please explain to me
what's this obsession with that social ladder
...blows my mind
how attractive people seem to find it
but they're all frantically trying to climb it
like it takes them somewhere special
honestly...they're not really even moving
just going through the motions
claiming status by osmosis
dropping names like grenades
hoping to shake things up
like I give a fuck...
I'm not exactly at the bottom of the chain
but I sure can see it clearly from here
it's full of...
somebody please explain to me
what's this obsession with that social ladder
...blows my mind
how attractive people seem to find it
but they're all frantically trying to climb it
like it takes them somewhere special
honestly...they're not really even moving
just going through the motions
claiming status by osmosis
dropping names like grenades
hoping to shake things up
like I give a fuck...
I'm not exactly at the bottom of the chain
but I sure can see it clearly from here
it's full of...
#choices
#humankind
#SelfReflection
128 reads
15 Comments
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