Byproduct
By Dustin Branum
Have you no clue how hard i try
To keep positive alive and negative aside
Why must you insist, genocide
Why must you feel the need to lie
I don't remember the reasons why
I cater to your deceptive lifes
What makes you think I'd oblige
Why must you live this way of life
Have you no clue how hard I try
To not do the things I so despise
To keep a hard face and try not to cry
If I do so, shall it be my demise
And should it be, I give you my word
Destiny will be mine fulfilled in time
I'll show the world that's being disguised
Time to reveal this knowledge I hide
As everyone starts to wonder why
But it's little too late to rectify
Nothing you say can justify
Living such a demonic life
My deepest fears are coming true
Total darkness is bleeding through
Raging inferno that's within my soul
No longer desires to maintain control
Exposing this darkness for all to see
"Reveal your demons!" You beg of me
I would like to listen to the sound of bonfire sticks crackling as he chucks one on and the second he throws to a dithering dog-or the waves lapping on the shore steadily, a toddler’s toes dipping in that sea and then he screams and runs right away to his parents who are devouring literature upon the shore. They loyally guard his sandcastle then chide him for pushing his sister who had stumbled and fallen on that work of art. I’d like to watch the tide go in as picnic baskets are cleared away and the last of the suncream is lathered thick on children’s skin. I’d like to taste the locals' ice cream letting bristles of my hair stick to my face and needing a second as the first melted right away sullying my beach wear. I’d like to smell sausages almost charcoaled on the grill as children are as speedy as rockets with plastic plates at the ready. A summer living by the coast would be sure to enliven my spirit and cater for my senses.
A woman was not
Just put on this earth to
Quench a man's
Thirst or cater to his
Every whim
We were together during the time of my youth
I was fascinated by us because we loved in truth
There wasn't anything we wouldn't share with each other
I think we both knew that we wanted to take things further
What I didn't realize at that moment is that no one loves like you do
No one would tolerate me regardless of what we go through
No one would understand and cater to my emotional needs
No one would compromise instead of giving me the third degree
No one would put meaning into music and dedicate it to us
No one would spend time with me without being so much in a rush
Time has proven to me that I let a good one get away
I'm going to live with this regret each and every day
True I was young and immature and trying to find out who I was
It seem as though this is something that everyone does
You were a constant reminder every time a relationship failed
In pain I would always wonder how far your ship as sailed
I wish on the day I married you i knew what I knew right now
No one loves the way you do because they don't know how.
In the deepest of my heart, she is there.
In the storms of life, she holds tight and is ready to go through it all
During the moment of tears, she understands every bit that drops
When she is hurt so badly, she still feels there is someone to cater for
The world does not understand her love
It is a lesson to be taught in every institution
She is the angel of time that knows what is to be done
In her hurt, she presents the sweeter aspect of her love
Wandering across the world to compare her love was a grievous mistake
There was none compared to her
Her success dwells on the prize, not the process
When all is gone in the passing of time, she is the ‘last man standing.’
She defines love with her character and erases wrong with a listening ear
She goes through the thick and thin hustle to perfect everything within and without
How can this rose of love be rewarded?
Appreciate her with the best of might.
It is the necessity for nourishment and growth
It is the moment of Yes, I do!
——————————————————————–
Matthew D.
——————————————————————–
In quaint quiet shadows,
a flame might flicker,
silken wisp on sight,
night channel wave,
I tap into,
as shrouded ghost,
my vocal template,
dark green leaf cast,
I cagily address,
eerie script nocturnal,
theatre of silence,
begging to erupt,
dim lit street platform,
poignant palette pointer,
fantasy in bloom,
blind seed dispersal,
for furtive audience,
spurred and spurned by,
my whispered rally,
nebulous or novel,
stark wooden benches,
empty chair syndrome,
context, conjure, cater,
traffic lights hue’d symbol,
clueless plots on queue
POETRY SOUP IS GARBAGE
why did i subscribe to this nonsense?
read the terms and conditions
no foul language, nor innuendos
FFS...can we not be adults?
can we not express our true selves?
No, we gotta cater to the weak minds
the forever-effing-blind
keep pushin' that purity nonsense
so we can all stay in-line
ignore truth, ignore dissent
keep the simpletons happy
bury our burdens with a fake smile
for utmost accessibility
Done me almost too well,
The birth of price, I say.
For notwithstanding my eager finalities,
I put a straw on my head.
I blended my conscience to cater devils,
Forever he told me not to.
Blemished was my innocence
Frequent even, more when I concluded.
Therefore I put up a stick by the tree
And saw what difference there could be.
Let alone death urge me to hasten,
Insanity begs me to come.
Take a water for my head,
Let me not dry myself up.
I gave too much for illusions,
Now mind you, I got hurt from collisions.
Another sniff, yes, just one more bite.
Another sight, just another sound to my eyes.
I locked my brain somewhere, inches away.
Heard it calling for logic
While I deprived myself away.
Done and done
Yet again, so much was done.
And then blame my great God for my iniquities,
I cried for my own pity.
“Never again”, I said and screamed,
Yet never again was washed by the stream.
So fragile was my fortitude
And lacked a concrete stance.
Once again, I fell again.
Another again, just one more.
Package yourself well
Not to experience hell
The well being you wish
Is all the do(s) with passionate swish
Choose a career
Polish the job to bear
The awaiting pale bills
Which set you above all hills
Make the best out of yourself
Make your living so brief
That you go no day in doubt
Of what may clout
No dream job
Most become many a blob
Cherish those that cater
And boost the dream job later
Days of terror and agony,
nights of darkened ceremony.
All too often an empty soul,
most of it full of taunt.
Cursed from head to toe,
can't dip in water to sow.
Broken in all, too far,
anguished brain all the more.
Love seems forsaken,
heart dwells for sermon.
None unrevealed in moan,
nevertheless caused much pain.
Where to cater
when my shadow craves to somber?
Fainted am I, scattered,
melted and not molded.
.
no doubt
annnd
i'd eat in front uv'er
not
uh
morsal
mmmm
muhnch
think she likes
fried chicken
i don't gator
i mean
cater
tuh no ornery human eat'n
reptile
Algarve
The cold northerly wind has died down
If it wants to blow, it can do so in July and August
when the heat is unpleasant, and the birds and I sit under or in trees
The time of year when the sun is an enemy.
It is the immense clear sky in the Algarve that attracts me, not
the beaches, and the smell of suntan lotion, I can do without.
No other country has such pure air; it brings out the best in people.
Even Norwegians become mellow and malleable in Portugal.
We are having lunch in Albufeira, they tend to cater for
The English palate, food without garlic and onions is not food.
I would instead drive to Almodovar and eat Pernil with cabbage
and inhale the aroma of garlic, but not today, perhaps next week
If all is well with the world
Opulence suits you, my Queen.
To you I humbly devote my life
~ cater to your every whim.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 1st place 2025
You seem immune to worry or concern,
you haven’t a care in the world.
Perhaps you think you’ll somehow live forever
defying laws that have ruled time itself.
Disturbs me to see time wasted away.
Are we possibly stuck at an impasse ~
tangible reality juxtaposing mundane absurdity?
You close your eyes the world stops,
how are you so carefree?
Perhaps you cater to the ludicrous delusion
that by ignoring time you’ll outrun it.
Pains me to see time wasted away.
I’m beyond comprehending such nonchalance,
time is irrefutably a most valuable commodity.
Moments elapsed are irreversibly gone ~
their squandering an unforgivable crime.
Kills me to see time wasted away.
Lineku: 3 stanzas of 5-7-5 lines, each line has 5 or 7 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Submitted on September 20, 2025 for contest PERHAPS, A POEM submittted by JOHN LAWLESS - Honorable Mention
This was written from the heart.
Never knew it'd come to this.
I don't know where to start.
Mama, your son gotta kind heart!
But every day, the world's telling me to play my part.
From a boy to a man, I had to transcend.
Like a pea in a pot, I had to grow up.
Never once complained when it's time to show up.
I've been scarred, betrayed, and left to fend for myself.
No one's fault but mine, for trust don't get you far.
So I've learned to keep my heart dark, like a tint up car.
And fight it by myself this internal war.
Sorry it took me so long to understand.
The world's doesn't cater for the weak.
That every man's battle is in their own hands.
Win or lose, you gotta stand strong.
And a man's tears are as worthless as a dollar coin.
The older I get, there's thing's I comprehend.
Like family can be your biggest hater, nothing like a friend.
And you gotta answer to God for every sin.
I apologize for not knowing this in the beginning.
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.