I woke each break with cast a shadow on my chest,
a nameless weight that stole my needed rest.
It spoke in lies I dared not try to fight,
and turned the morning darker than the night.
I laughed in rooms so no one saw the ache,
while every smile felt brittle, thin, and fake.
It fed on doubt, on all I held in fear,
until my hope grew faint then disappeared.
And saw not ruin but a quiet resurrection.
A spark within me, stubborn, fierce, and small,
whispered, rise now…you will not fall.
I never struck it down with a conqueror's sword—
I just smply prevented confiding the fibs it made.
I stood unarmored yet would not yield—
my heart-- the only weapon I could wield.
It roared, it clawed, but I refused to bend;
its reign of silence met a sudden end.
And in that breath, my life was rearranged—
The day the beast cut down, was the day I changed.
The sound of breaking is late.
Thunder shatters gray clouds after
lightning strikes the damp soil.
When pieces of sky pierce flesh,
the scream is slow to rise—
The sound of breaking follows pain’s echo.
The sound of breaking is gentle.
Raindrops tiptoe on my eyelids—
each sting a secret pressed down.
Earth's unbridled tears fall for my dried irises
like a mother weeping for her daughter’s sorrow.
The sound of breaking soothes the broken.
The sound of breaking is silent.
Breaking is walking beside the light,
but too dim to cast a shadow.
I watch as the sun clears the post-rain sky,
dyes its silk blue with the arc of a rainbow—
the sound of breaking
mutes even the birdsong at dawn.
I jumped on the train, feeling bad.
It cost me all the money I had.
Is that seat empty, tell me bub?
I asked, clutching my ticket stub.
I knew not where it was going.
The man across from me looked knowing.
Will it take me to a safe haven?
Through the window, I saw a raven.
The man marked down one more tally
as the train bogged down in a valley.
The low sun cast a shadow dark
as I was forced to disembark.
The knowing man, he would not talk,
but I was going to have to walk.
I felt I would not be afraid,
as I looked to the sky and prayed -
and breathed my last earthly breath,
in the valley's shadow of death.
Through the curtain chink a ray
Shines across the darkened room
At the end of sunless day
Snow had fallen in the gloom
Later on it will melt down
But the early snow is there
Is it warm, or cold in town
Can be either way, who cares
Clocks are ticking in the night
Time goes by, I'm sitting still
Looking at the strip of light
Flowers on the window sill
Cast a shadow on the floor
I am counting ships at sea
Like I did the night before
Shall I stand and make some tea
But the tea will make me pensive
Anyway it's time to sleep
Talking now becomes expensive
Silence better, and its cheap.
Light is a linear beam of photons
particles streaming from there to here
emanating from an emitter's ions
inflamed by energy's cheer.
A golden glow at dawn imbibes
the world with enlightened grace,
christening the dark matter with vibes
that the light begins to trace.
For light itself has no body
It's an ether, a will o' the wisp
seeking to seep within and embody
a glow of reflection, bright and crisp.
Objects enlightened, cast a shadow
A reminder of the eternal darkness
that befalls all who lie beyond the glow
or beyond time, and fate's starkness.
If the poems comes from my pen every day,
May be it's a garden given by God.
Don't be jealous!
Nobody can enter this garden without allow,
Who do not understand the value of words!
Someone comes to take a cure from this garden,
Someone comes and breaths without dreams.
I planted seeds in the garden for eternity time,
Number can bear fruits for generation’s keens!
In this garden there is the fun of youth,
Suddenly your twenty-five could meet.
A tree of love in the medium towpath,
Many people are eager to see it!
There are unbreakable friendship tree,
There are kind flowers that you care.
The fruits of these trees are free,
Dream, Goal, Demand is our clear!
White birches - the white hope of kind,
Is ashamed like a girl waiting for speech.
It seems as real soldiers standing in line,
The whole oak guarding the maiden birch.
I water my garden, so that it grows fast,
Person who enter can't leave without taste.
I don't tolerate gossip, lies, and boast.
So that doesn't grow like a weed most!
I don't need a wealth, easy money,
You can eat fruit for free, if you like.
If I cast a shadow over the century,
It means my garden is my second life!
I wish not to see another sunrise.
I wish not to wake another day.
I don’t want to trudge to another class or
drive down another highway or
let my tone deaf voice breach my lips again.
I want to snuff out my flame.
It’s not that there’s no beauty in this world;
every morning, another bird flies for the first time.
Creation is forever constant
and laughter leaves the world ringing
day in
and day out.
I adore that.
I, Frankenstein’s monster,
of wickedness and of sin,
cast a shadow with every step I take.
Every breath I breathe pollutes the air,
crisp from the autumn days
but dead like fallen leaves once we cross paths.
I’m a blackbody that keeps on growing,
and my Hawking radiation burns all to ash and embers.
My self-implosion is a fate that’s fair and just;
the only Good choice is to collapse entirely.
You proud, Plato?
The sun & moon align to cast a shadow
for a time
revealing plans of space & time
There's no place to hide from divine timing's
rhyme or reason
as we're in the season of unveiling
Mother nature reigns supreme & even kings of
things must follow its rules
Only a fool goes against the nature of things
tempting fate by trying to change
what's staring them in the face
Subscribe to what is written in the stars
no matter how far away these
words are or may seem
What's seen is only a twinkle in the eye that
winks from up high
to offer you a glimpse into something
that amounts to only a
fraction of what is
We're all kids on this universal playground
grounded in the ideas
of projected image
Imagine being made in the image of all
that is & playing small
because you were
given the wrong ideas
We are so big in its eyes that even our
smallest thoughts
can grow to incredible size
Your alignment will eclipse anything blocking
your shine
as you realize you're only in the
shadow of one
This realization is an idea based in a reality
that plays second to none
I looked up and saw you
I entered the cabin but knew you were there.
I sat at the table and through the window saw your reflection.
You moved ever closer above.
The sun was shining.
Blue sky all around.
But when my mind was whining you cast a shadow over me like a cloud.
Breaking the sunshine from warming my back. Tormenting my fears like you’d found a crack.
But I threatened with silence. You knew no idle lay in my threat.
You knew the silence that I spoke of would mean I’d find you in the dark and never stop breaking your neck.
Calling, falling cast a shadow,
Dark the pitted claw does dig,
Diving deep inside the shallow,
Rising above what others did.
Stark the teller of the story,
The bitter end will show no grace,
The battlefield still washed with glory,
Who won the fight to take their place?
What looms our sight in comprehension?
The tension holds us fast and tight,
Sit better pressed in cold contention,
And reappear in summer’s flight.
Arrest the moment for its treasure,
The pressure closed to take a bite,
A universal mould to measure,
Weary from the dead of night.
Revered for ebony jet black feathers,
The weather bathed its inky gloss,
Rescue the clasp that holds the letter,
Or let it seek out those who lost.
Float higher still in sweet surrender,
A warning to those who hear, or think or feel,
The flesh is sharp the beak is tender,
Gently it’s pressed impose it will.
His first story ever,
Scripted from a troubled mind,
It was a gloomy tale,
He didn’t know why he wrote that way,
The words couldn’t be crafted any other way.
His first story ever,
Written from the darkest part,
They were the horses that drew his cart,
He had a gory experience,
Its shadow was hidden in his chamber.
His first story ever,
Scripted from a bleeding heart,
He had sojourned through a shrivelled meadow,
In his room, the night had cast a shadow,
He could still turn the pages of yesterday.
His first story ever,
A walk to redemption,
Until the stages of completion,
It was his soul's panacea,
A way to usher tranquil into the flowing stream.
November 3, 2023.
So seldom does she sit alone by day
Gently smiling amid the fawning blue
Had she just grinned and slyly walked away
Without the starry quilt the heavens threw
To cast a shadow long o’er rolling hills
Enjoy the shining warmth upon her arc
Rejoice in dance with roiling frothy surf
Bask in the moments unknown after dark
And yet she feels the sting of cheater’s angst
That moment when she knows she must return
Accentuate the diamonds siren call
to reignite the embers that still burn
Though she is cloaked beneath a million lights
Old lovers bring sweet joy into her nights
John G. Lawless
©7/8/2023
The once mighty have fallen,
Their ashes fills the air.
The new martyrs have risen,
Bringing tears of despair.
Behold the cold lawmakers,
They cast a shadow of doom.
Perched on lofty towers,
Like witches on a broom.
Pity the hungry masses,
No meat to fill their bowls.
Backs and spirits broken,
Now hunkered down like trolls.
Hearken to the righteous,
Their wings are no disguise.
They speak the words of peace,
With fire in their eyes.
Don't trust your quiet neighbor,
That's hiding from the sun.
Beneath the dark of night,
He'll shoot you with his gun.
Beware the silent partners,
Tyrants behind the scenes.
They rule the ups and downs,
And all the in betweens.
So many yesterdays
You've wept You've slept
All of the past
You've kept contrast
Contract so fast
Infact will last
So many yesterdays
No longer. exist
Exact does cast a shadow
A blemish and simple a dimple
Rich vast explore with flash
Begin again so many
Yesterdays in photographs
Memories in a Flash the
Future comes fast
Vagrant thoughts
Hang about the corners
Of my mind
Idly tormenting each other
Daring
At least one
To take hold
Take shape
Cast a shadow
On the unknown.
©4/19/2023
Writing Contest - 'V' Words Poetry Contest
Constance LaFrance - sponsor
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