Submissions by paperstains
POEMS AND SHORT STORIES
Poet Introduction
I am, at my core, bittersweet, and I think that might be my superpower. To paraphrase Maggie Rogers, I've found out there's no other way that I can keep dancing at the end of the day... and I fucking love to dance.
MISCELLANEOUS POEM
Published
Yesterday 7:46am
Yesterday 7:46am
Elizabeth
Early memories have me counting
jellyfish as we ferried
across polluted, weak-coffee water
There were the days I spent in fear
of some dreaded illness
after tumbling out of that little rowboat
my best friend "borrowed" from a neighbor
How we didn't get stranded
in the middle of the river
I'll never know
There's something magical
about being twelve years old
It's still a thing of beauty
when fireworks reflect off the surface
and at the right angle
on a clear day
it masquerades as...
jellyfish as we ferried
across polluted, weak-coffee water
There were the days I spent in fear
of some dreaded illness
after tumbling out of that little rowboat
my best friend "borrowed" from a neighbor
How we didn't get stranded
in the middle of the river
I'll never know
There's something magical
about being twelve years old
It's still a thing of beauty
when fireworks reflect off the surface
and at the right angle
on a clear day
it masquerades as...
#home
#river
54 reads
3 Comments
MISCELLANEOUS POEM
Published
22nd Mar 2025 7:06am
22nd Mar 2025 7:06am
Reverie in Warner Theatre
Listening in the dark
just Jason and his guitar
reminding me of all the times
I've been betrayed
by my own rhymes
and constructed phrases
I'm okay with it
in a crooked smile, shiny eyes
kind of way
All the love songs (and poetry)
do mean different things today
and while that may hurt
in the moments you realize they do
there's some comfort in that truth
Every note, clear as a bell
fills the hushed theatre
and finds me in my seat
turning pages of memories
while I etch this one
on...
just Jason and his guitar
reminding me of all the times
I've been betrayed
by my own rhymes
and constructed phrases
I'm okay with it
in a crooked smile, shiny eyes
kind of way
All the love songs (and poetry)
do mean different things today
and while that may hurt
in the moments you realize they do
there's some comfort in that truth
Every note, clear as a bell
fills the hushed theatre
and finds me in my seat
turning pages of memories
while I etch this one
on...
#bittersweet
#love
#memories
#music
#WritingPoetry
87 reads
0 Comments
LOVE POEM
Published
12th Jul 2024 5:09am
12th Jul 2024 5:09am
Tactual Healing
All my words of disappointment
in varying degrees of sarcasm,
anger, and occasional compassion
have been allowed to slip
in and out of my grey matter
but never end up on paper
I've preferred to spend my time
measuring, cutting, and constructing things
while poetry lives fast and dies young
in the confines of my head
I don't know if that's some sort of irony
but it certainly feels like it is
in varying degrees of sarcasm,
anger, and occasional compassion
have been allowed to slip
in and out of my grey matter
but never end up on paper
I've preferred to spend my time
measuring, cutting, and constructing things
while poetry lives fast and dies young
in the confines of my head
I don't know if that's some sort of irony
but it certainly feels like it is
#healing
#WritingPoetry
388 reads
6 Comments
LOVE POEM
Published
30th Jun 2024 7:36am
30th Jun 2024 7:36am
This Love is Passing Time
Seven years is how long it takes
for all of our cells to renew themselves
I'm not who I was when we met
the texture of my face has changed
and my skin drapes differently on my bones
some scars lighter, others deeper
more have been added, still bold and new
This body isn't the one discovered
by first touches
or revealed to eyes you once had
nor, in time, will it be the one held now
in arms you'll no longer have
both aged and refreshed
through these septets of time
My feelings mixed
in some ways soothed...
for all of our cells to renew themselves
I'm not who I was when we met
the texture of my face has changed
and my skin drapes differently on my bones
some scars lighter, others deeper
more have been added, still bold and new
This body isn't the one discovered
by first touches
or revealed to eyes you once had
nor, in time, will it be the one held now
in arms you'll no longer have
both aged and refreshed
through these septets of time
My feelings mixed
in some ways soothed...
#aging
#love
#relationships
380 reads
10 Comments
SELF POEM
Published
5th Jun 2024 7:17pm
5th Jun 2024 7:17pm
Grounded
The sky is bluer
and clouds are brighter
after the rain and the haze
dissipate so I can feel the sun
on my skin
The earth is light
in my hands
beans and squash
freshly planted
and I bask in the satisfaction
of a task completed
breathing the late spring
deep and clean
into my lungs
Tis the season
of new beginnings
often treasured for the new leaves
covering winter-bare branches
or the color of daffodils and crocus
that promise the cold
will soon be over
For me, it's May...
and clouds are brighter
after the rain and the haze
dissipate so I can feel the sun
on my skin
The earth is light
in my hands
beans and squash
freshly planted
and I bask in the satisfaction
of a task completed
breathing the late spring
deep and clean
into my lungs
Tis the season
of new beginnings
often treasured for the new leaves
covering winter-bare branches
or the color of daffodils and crocus
that promise the cold
will soon be over
For me, it's May...
#acceptance
#healing
276 reads
6 Comments
ANGER POEM
Published
3rd Jun 2024 8:01pm
3rd Jun 2024 8:01pm
Roasting Marshmallows on a Dumpster Fire
The bullshit that I keep coming back to
is your declaration
that you're going out in a blaze of glory
at the hands
of two of your favorite people
Sir, it's been a distinct dishonor
to witness this glorious
pile of ash and trash
you've left in your wake
To how many have you fed
that line about who has "more of you"?
What a wonderful consolation prize
Honestly, the thing I might like best
is how you left
dropping a sack of flaming shit
on my doorstep
content to let me take the...
is your declaration
that you're going out in a blaze of glory
at the hands
of two of your favorite people
Sir, it's been a distinct dishonor
to witness this glorious
pile of ash and trash
you've left in your wake
To how many have you fed
that line about who has "more of you"?
What a wonderful consolation prize
Honestly, the thing I might like best
is how you left
dropping a sack of flaming shit
on my doorstep
content to let me take the...
#betrayal
#friendship
#lies
#manipulation
#secrets
358 reads
2 Comments
SELF POEM
Published
2nd Jun 2024 7:05pm
2nd Jun 2024 7:05pm
New Relationship with a Vintage Kenmore
One of the most important things I've learned
while sewing
is to not watch the needle
That thing that can seem most important
to give your attention
while it's doing its work
can mesmerize you
with repetitive motion
Instead, you have to watch
everything around it
steering fabric edges along the guide
ensures straight lines
making small adjustments
to keep seams aligned
before the pressure
of the presser foot grabs them
and they're fed
to the piercing steel
that will seal...
while sewing
is to not watch the needle
That thing that can seem most important
to give your attention
while it's doing its work
can mesmerize you
with repetitive motion
Instead, you have to watch
everything around it
steering fabric edges along the guide
ensures straight lines
making small adjustments
to keep seams aligned
before the pressure
of the presser foot grabs them
and they're fed
to the piercing steel
that will seal...
#determination
#learning
#obsession
373 reads
10 Comments
ANGER POEM
Published
31st May 2024 6:37pm
31st May 2024 6:37pm
Environmental Activist
He recycled everything
including his lies
including his lies
#deception
#manipulation
#minimalist #SixWordStory
#minimalist #SixWordStory
289 reads
2 Comments
LOVE POEM
Published
31st May 2024 6:02am
31st May 2024 6:02am
It Takes Twelve Hours Just to Drive Across Texas
Got your love letter
with all the praise and thank yous
for my gentle honesty
and ability to be where you need me
Now, how do I even begin
to tell you everything I think
you should know
about the truths that hide
between words
where things unsaid linger
waiting to be heard
The spaces between stretch
with each omission
increasing tensions
you don't have room to see
Moving from crisis to chaos
and back again
time compresses
months become years
that it's felt you're unavailable ...
with all the praise and thank yous
for my gentle honesty
and ability to be where you need me
Now, how do I even begin
to tell you everything I think
you should know
about the truths that hide
between words
where things unsaid linger
waiting to be heard
The spaces between stretch
with each omission
increasing tensions
you don't have room to see
Moving from crisis to chaos
and back again
time compresses
months become years
that it's felt you're unavailable ...
#BestFriend
#friendship
#support
291 reads
0 Comments
LOVE POEM
Published
26th Apr 2024 3:02am
26th Apr 2024 3:02am
Vertigo
It was the tone of voice
that registered
not the words
while I just tried to stay upright
in my rush to grab the phone
As the initial shock
of the call
gave way to what you'd said
the spinning in my head
became a strange underlying metaphor
for the topsy-turvy world
you're now living in
So, I put on my padded suit
your soft place to fall
but I've started to notice
it's got some wear and tear
from the unrelenting cycle of chaos and crisis
of these last few years
There's been little...
that registered
not the words
while I just tried to stay upright
in my rush to grab the phone
As the initial shock
of the call
gave way to what you'd said
the spinning in my head
became a strange underlying metaphor
for the topsy-turvy world
you're now living in
So, I put on my padded suit
your soft place to fall
but I've started to notice
it's got some wear and tear
from the unrelenting cycle of chaos and crisis
of these last few years
There's been little...
#BestFriend
#friendship
#illness
#love
#relationships
299 reads
6 Comments
LOVE POEM
Published
24th Apr 2024 10:08pm
24th Apr 2024 10:08pm
Maybe it was Always Going to Come to This
Sitting outside the city jail
my newly colored curls
purple and pink
blowing in the breeze
mocking my stylists attempts
to tame them
while the geese peck at the ground
with a view of the river
where the sun will sink
into the horizon
There's a long story
about how I arrived
at this unexpected vantage point
one you might enjoy
and somewhere in the back of my mind
I can always conjure the sound
of your laughter
As the evening chill
reminds that these warmer days
are just a tease of weeks...
my newly colored curls
purple and pink
blowing in the breeze
mocking my stylists attempts
to tame them
while the geese peck at the ground
with a view of the river
where the sun will sink
into the horizon
There's a long story
about how I arrived
at this unexpected vantage point
one you might enjoy
and somewhere in the back of my mind
I can always conjure the sound
of your laughter
As the evening chill
reminds that these warmer days
are just a tease of weeks...
#friendship
#love
#memories #relationships
#memories #relationships
322 reads
7 Comments
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
14th Apr 2024 3:14am
14th Apr 2024 3:14am
Growing Up
Maturity isn't a product
of time
of time
#SixWordStory
#minimalist
274 reads
9 Comments
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