The carpet used to be a plastic kingdom,
Where Barbie lived the lives I used to crave.
I hit the age I always dreamed of holding,
Expecting to be grown, and wise, and brave.
But looking in the mirror, nothing shifted.
I see the same kid staring at the glass.
The wisdom that I waited for evaporated,
While heavy, adult breaths begin to pass.
Sixteen is brushing closely down my shoulders.
The slack is gone; the childhood curtain falls
.I miss the days of crayons on the floorboards,
Before the stacks of textbooks built these walls.
I miss when dreams were wild and unattainable,
When being a princess felt so safely far.
Because today, the dream demands my labor,
And pressure guides the course of every star.
I pour my life into a future uniform.
I fight for perfect scores to bridge the gap
.But now I fear the sea of other perfections,
And losing my own map.
Humans dream with infinite desire,
yet earth is bound in finite stone.
Scarcity reclaims what hope imagines,
and struggle rises to make it known.
Toughness builds a fleeting joy,
resilience sparks the fire of will.
But surrender waits at every corner,
a silent whisper, standing still.
Power is seized to bridge the gap
between longing and nature’s law.
Yet crowns dissolve in empty hands,
and truth of death is what we saw.
Life flickers — a fragile flame,
a gift once given, then reclaimed.
At times a blessing from the skies,
at times a chain that binds and drains.
And in this journey, I met a woman,
her presence carved into my fate.
But time was never on our side,
so love was left to hesitate.
Sometimes I curse the gods for this,
for burdens placed upon my breath.
Yet sometimes I thank them quietly
for beauty born inside of death.
Even gods in ancient texts
are swallowed by the mortal line.
For beauty lives in impermanence,
and love survives by what must die.
And still one life cannot contain
the endless weight of what we are…
To know that you know, shakes fragile ground
under what's unanswerable
crying out for the answers
to why this—that occurs
we bridge the gap with
a mythical
solution
put in
charge
here
there
ceding control
to omniscient servitude.
We know we can't master storms nor fate
nor read the grammar of seasons.
So we summon intention
to order the chaos
from the know-it-all
we put in charge,
we can name,
blame and
damn
as
cause
for all the gaps
in our shortfall of knowings.
We see how causes fail, fall away
as our knowledge and learning grows.
With the mystical dwindling
to explain, it recedes
into the background
left to beliefs
held by faiths
yearning
to
be
made
a whole being
spiritually complete.
There's a path that winds its way, through shadows dark and deep,
A journey of solitude, where none can creep.
No companion can walk alongside, no hand to hold or guide,
A solitary voyage, where body and soul must divide.
Unlike life's vibrant roads, where laughter echoes free,
Where friends and loved ones stroll, in joyous company.
This journey's different, a lone pilgrimage, devoid of sound,
Where footsteps fade into silence, and hearts are left unbound.
The most poignant sorrow, is the disconnection's pain,
No words can bridge the gap, no visits can remain.
When one departs, they're gone, without a tomorrow's light,
Leaving memories to whisper, in the darkness of endless night.
In this lonely passage, we're left to face our fears,
With only shadows as companions, and tears that dry through the years.
No laughter echoes back, no smiles to warm the way,
Just the weight of final goodbyes, in the fading light of day.
Yet, in this solitude, we're forced to confront our soul,
To find the strength within, to make our hearts whole.
For though the journey's lonely, it's also a chance to grow,
To find the peace that lies within, and let our spirits glow.
At the altar, see
our shadows serving
under the hand
of our Majesty’s Spirit.
In this succinct space,
how does God lean
into us, light up
our souls - with healing,
comfort, ameliorating whys.
His Spirit overshadows us.
Undeserving mankind,
less than an iota of sand,
means much more
than we can fathom
to the weightiness
of the savior’s cause.
God’s face had turned
from sin - to bridge the gap,
a worthy sacrifice;
completing the action,
resurrection after death.
That same Holy Spirit
in operation,
at the altar -
we should be duly in awe,
thankful beyond measure,
drawing closer
to His safe, loving, grace-full arms.
Cart before horse
Drink the horse to water
Spill the bean to go-betweens
Hold hands to stay the course
Bygones never happened on, by here
Slay the messenger! Doggone they're here!
Dilemmas are binary, but one 'tis nothing
Bury the Lede; Let the moored go free
Leap before you bridge the gap
By the way, if you never asked?
Petals on daisy chain flowers are odd!
Loves me, Loves me not, ...?
I’ve never been kissed on the dance floor.
With him, I feel light-hearted,
but apart, I’m utterly devastated.
I’m a dreamer, he’s laid-back,
and without a genuine connection, our love feels
like scenes from a disconnected game—
where hate destroys, yet love seeks to heal.
But with each passing day, my love for him dwindles.
We are apart because this kind of love cannot thrive.
We never dance; we never kiss on the dance floor.
Our rhythms never sync; he lacks that spark,
and so, a kiss on the dance floor has eluded me.
Feelings shift when loneliness takes their place.
Love wavers,
when a marriage crumbles,
as I wish and hope our love was strong enough
to bridge the gap.
Unlike wildflowers plucked without care,
my love was stunted,
never given the chance to blossom.
Still, I hold a profound respect for him.
A part of me must make a choice,
and so I choose happiness; I choose solitude
over the confusion of pity masquerading as love.
The power of your words
Can bind a heart or can break it into two
Can create happy memories or painful ones
Can build you up or break you down
Can bridge the gap or make a wide
Your words will reveal your heart.
Your words are the only real wealth that you own
They will draw up the Balance Sheet of your Life
Your Assets and Liabilities.
Each person is sailing through
the Heaven and Hell of his emotions
Words said and left unsaid.
Let’s not be victims of Life but creators of Life
But when all love disappears maybe its time to just start loving yourself.
Sometimes I wish I could see me,
The way that others do,
A glimpse beyond the mirrored glass,
A perspective fresh and new.
Would they see me like I see myself,
With flaws and fears that laid bare.
Or would they see a polished facade,
A mask I carefully wear to this day.
Do they see the real me,
The heart that beats within,
Or the fictitious person I craft to be,
To hide the pain, the sin?
Do they see the laughter lines,
That etch my soul with glee,
Or just the surface smiles I show,
For all the world to see.
I yearn to know the truth they hold,
The image they perceive,
To bridge the gap between my eyes,
And the truths they believe.
For in this mirrored maze of doubt,
I search for who I am,
Hoping that their eyes might show,
The person I can claim I am.
It seems we always know what's right,
and how to treat ourselves and others.
So, why, I wonder, is it our plight
to harm ourselves and our brothers.
How do we ever bridge the gap
between what we know and what we do?
Is there a guide or a map,
to show the pathway to pursue?
Meditation, faith, what is it
that bestows what our ideal owns?
So, our actions show we know it,
not in our brains, but in our bones.
God, the Father, had a plan all along,
from creation to the virgin birth.
Jesus, the Son, agreed to right the wrong
that Adam and Eve started on earth.
Human Jesus came down to bridge the gap
that separates man from his Maker.
Obedience, the first plank on His lap
to a sin-ridden earth as Caretaker.
Knowing God's plan was for Him to die,
He showed the world that He is the Way.
Only thru Jesus can we span heaven's sky
with payment for sin on that great judgment day.
Forgiveness, the last plank, Jesus supplied
with His blood offered freely on the cross.
These two planks of wood form the way whereby
but the rest of the wood - would be our choice.
Would we accept and believe His offer?
Would we confess sin to gain right of passage?
Would we believe Jesus our eternal Savior?
Would we by "doing good" cross over on His bridge?
The stutter a stammer that
Holds the air
An incisive question to fill the space
Only to know it needed none
To bridge the gap
Between us
My sadness is in the slumping of your shoulders
And your resignation is in the bowing of my head
Regret pours from your listless palms
Set open on your lap
And a mirror on the wall that's opposite the one you face
Reflects your self-preservation back in the image of my gaze
Yet the chasm of a mattress that sprawls between us
Though one could crawl, no one is able to traverse
The things we've done but didn't do
The awful things we've said
The reasons used to justify the lies that cripple care
Dash out even thoughts that try to bridge the gap through there
God shows His holiness supreme
He sent His son to the cross
where Jesus died in our place
so lovingly He suffered loss
This was truly the highest price
indeed the only price to satisfy
God's holiness requires this
holy and righteous is His cry
No one else but only Jesus
could pay the price of our sin
making Himself the perfect sacrifice
so God would allow us to enter in
God's holiness is so infinite
and our unholiness so great
that only Jesus could bridge the gap
to deal with our sins before it's too late
Praise God for sending Jesus
who died on Calvary's cross
so we could be blameless and holy
forever to be, our sins indeed was
(Scripture References:
Romans 8: 3,4
Acts 3: 14
Hebrews 9: 26)
In Delhi's heart, a tale untold,
Of towering shadows, harsh and cold.
Gleaming steel and vibrant lights,
Hide a stark contrast, unseen at night.
Pan across narrow, winding lanes,
Zoom in on makeshift shacks, defying rains.
Corrugated tin, a patchwork quilt,
Where dreams and desperation, subtly melt.
Close-up on faces, etched with care,
Weathered hands, a burden to bear.
Eyes that hold a flicker of hope,
Yearning for a future, out of this scope.
Tilt down to children, playing in dust,
Laughter echoing, a fleeting trust.
Barefoot innocence, in a world so harsh,
A poignant reminder, of life's uneven marsh.
A long shot captures the skyline's might,
Luxury contrasting, in the fading light.
A silent plea for a helping hand,
To bridge the gap, in this divided land.
Focus on resilience, woven in tight,
A community spirit, burning ever so bright.
For in the depths of Delhi's underbelly,
Lies the strength of the human spirit, yearning to tell me…
It is a story of struggle, yet fight,
Of hope flickering, in the darkest night.
A plea for change, a call for all,
To break the cycle, and answer the call.
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.