But Poems | Examples

List of Member Poems

Do You But Know?

You look at the sky, mistaking it only for the sky,
you look at the earth, knowing it merely as the earth.

Though the sky shall soon become the earth,
and the earth shall yield the sky unto you.

Yet the history of one mankind
holds all things captive
within the watercolor blossoms of DNA,

Unable to call a bird a sparrow,
yet mistaking oneself for that very sparrow.

The eagle of the heavens,
watching me caged within,
licks his lips.

Premium Member "Fire Can Destroy Paper, But Not Guilt"

Fire can erase the evidence,
But it can't erase what you executed:

Paper burns 
Guilt doesn't. 

You can torch the files,
Shred the receipts,
Hide the hands that signed 
The lie-

But the truth stays bold
In the dark. 

Smoke can cover the smell,
But not the stain. 

Flames can consume the
Proof,
But not the weight 
And guilt?

It sleeps lightly.
It wakes early.

It remembers everything 
You hoped the fire would
Fail to recall.

But Lord, You See

Lord, tears fall at night so silently;
people don't notice.
In the pitch-dark hours, no one can see
puffy, red faces in broken homes
or with broken lives,
where there is no peace.

They cry and cry till sunup,
and some fall asleep,
with no appetite to eat,
for their souls are hungry for peace.

They sing,

"Who really loves me?
Who can save me
from these thoughts that torment me?"

They all judge them, Lord—
their friends and family.
They have all turned
their backs on them.

But Lord, You see.

And You are faithful,
for You never sleep.
Show them Your never-ending love,
the power of a King clothed in majesty,
with a crown of thorns
and holes in His arms and feet.


Comment what you think.


Premium Member Is Life but an Illusion?


                                            Is life but an illusion,

                                       While walking on the earth?

                                      Is the path we walk a garden

                                       imagined from one's birth?

                                          Alive, busy and breathing,

                                         With so much work to do...

                                           Soon passing to eternity,

                                          Vapors vanquished in the 

                                                        Sunrise,

                                         Passed away like morning dew.






.................................................................................................................................................................................

Life Is But A Dream

I spend 80% of the day waiting for you to come home
And the other 20% hoping you won't leave again.
It's never easy
But through the summer's and winter's,
those fresh spring's and chilly fall's 
I'll be there. 
Right where you left me

The life of a pet is never easy.

BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD

looking at the state 
of this world surrounding me 
anxiety poverty and despair 
are all I now see

but for the grace of God 
I'd be in the same dire straits 
but for the grace of God 
I'm grateful that I ain't 

take a moment be grateful 
give God all the glory 
take a moment be grateful
God's mercy was afforded to me

but for the grace of God 
I'd be in the same dire straits 
but for the grace of God 
I'm grateful that I ain't

the only things promised in life 
are the love of God
plus His grace and mercy
which I take to heart 
and I'll never forget the actions
of Jesus Christ
the Resurrection which gave me 
an opportunity to have eternal life 

take a moment be grateful 
give God all the glory 
take a moment be grateful 
He's writing my story 

but for the grace of God
I'd be in the same dire straits 
but for the grace of God 
I'm grateful that I ain't 

but for the grace of God 
I'd be in the same dire straits 
but for the grace of God, 
I'm grateful that I ain't


Premium Member I Won the World but Lost the Light

Beneath a crown of jagged, frozen night,
He sits upon a throne of ash and bone.
His breathing steals the silver from the light,
And leaves the gasping, frightened world alone.

No crimson robe adorns this solemn king,
But woven shadows draped across his chest.
He does not speak, yet dark horizons ring
With quiet echoes of his utter task.

His scepter is the sudden, chilling frost
That halts the beating of a summer heart.
He counts the treasures that the living lost,
And tears the fabric of the stars apart.

Yet beauty lingers in his hollow gaze,
A quiet peace within the longest sleep.
He ends the torment of the winding maze,
And guards the secrets that the dead must keep.

I'm sorry but I'm not sorry

I’m sorry I curse at you with every breath. 
I’m sorry I sometimes wish you death. 
I’m sorry I’m not the daughter you wanted. 
I’m sorry your dreams for me are haunted. 

I’m sorry I detest STEM.  
I’m sorry I love what you condemn. 
I’m sorry you got kids you didn’t want. 
I’m sorry I’m not someone you can flaunt. 

I’m sorry for a great many things,  
but I’m not sorry for everything.  

I’m not sorry for wanting to be better than you 
I’m not sorry for wanting a heart so true 
I’m not sorry for not chasing success 
I’m not sorry my life isn’t a game of chess  

I’m not sorry for pointing out your flaws 
I’m not sorry your preferences aren’t laws 
I’m not sorry for having a favorite parent  
I’m not sorry mom’s love for me is apparent  

I’m sorry for a whole lot 
but for everything, apparently not 

I hope someday we can laugh about this 
and that our relationship won’t be amiss. 

I do love you dad 
You just make me really sad

Premium Member - Blind, But Not Without Rhythm Or Pulse -

                   - Even darkness shines in a dance with butterfly wings - quote by poet

                                                         She dances in the dark
                                                 expressing passionate emotions
                                                          Through movement
                                                       with a partner or alone

                                             Dance gives her a sense of belonging
                                                        stimulates socializing
                                                   A bridge between the visible
                                                        and the invisible world

                                                  As humans, we are equipped with
                                                         a wide range of passion
                                            regardless of whether you are blind or not
                                                Dance serves as a delightful sanctuary

Gone but not forgotten

Gone but not forgotten
The people that died
Of Aids
Gone but not forgotten
The homeless
That have died of frostbite
Gone but not forgotten
The whales that the poachers
Poached
Gone but not forgotten
The soldiers that had
Died in the war over seas

forgotten but remembered

A pair we were once
 but fate went its own way
 now we remain in letters

She walked not like many but rose to shine like few

She didn't walk the way the world expected 
None could guess what storm she had weathered
She moved and moved and never stopped
And her every footstep was strong and bold.

With a body that has carved its own battles 
Adversity could not shake her firmness
She carried none of its sting and bitterness 
But joyfully shared only smiles and sweetness. 

While we speak of limits and constraints
She spoke of immense possibilities 
Always exploring her potentialities
And lived them as graceful entities.

She refused any act of sympathy 
And spurned faint token of empathy 
All the time stood firmly saying no to pity
Predictably preferred the   ground of dignity. 

Legacy of self-dependency and dignity she sowed.
In her life journey all along, she has proved 
That Power and strength are not measured 
in strides but in the grit and spirit imbued.

But I feel bad

Smile might mask my dismay, but I feel bad,
I hide my grief today, but I feel bad.

In crowded rooms, my shadows start to stray,
My pet corners on me prey, I feel bad.   

Like a puppet dancing on broken wire,
I let the cruel strings play and feel bad.

I flaunt a forced smile of joy on my face,
A grand show to look okay, but feel bad.  

When luck serves honeyed wine upon my tray,
I smash the glass midway and still feel bad.

So how I dig own grave in which to lie,
And happily buy decay to feel bad.   

The cheering crowd demands a happy face,                          
I resort to sham display and feel bad.      
_________________________          
Introspection | 23.08.2026 | feelings, grave, happy, loneliness, Ghazal
Note: This ghazal is a psychological paradox on today’s times. Many find a strange comfort in melancholy.

Gone but not forgotten

Gone but not forgotten
The people that died
Of Aids
Gone but not forgotten
The homeless
That have died of frostbite
Gone but not forgotten
The whales that the poachers
Poached
Gone but not forgotten
The soldiers that had
Died in the war over seas

Premium Member But who will free the poetry

But who will free the poetry
Of its endless binding history
In doing so free you and me
To write as if we’re truly free

Of meters lockstep droning march
Of lifeless linen, too much starch
Tongues twisted by alliteration
Trains of words leaving the station

But who will free the poetry
Still locked within the who of me
Until I shout – “just let it be”
For poetry’s always been free

Its forms a method to a means
Ekphrasis words creating scenes
Of city streets in tattered jeans
Fairy tales of rescued Queens

So, fill the page with loving’s rage
A gentle breeze on windblown sage
Release the Kraken of the mind
Rescue the poet left behind

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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.

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