The winds blow bleak and torrential against my face.
I’m told it’s much to bear and my ship will be wrecked.
But, I see the wind and so strengthen my mainbrace
For me the wind has an unexpected effect.
I set my back strong to the wind and filled my sails.
Let it blow how it might, it will take me onward.
Before the brightness of the sun ev’rything pales.
In that valiant hope I set my true course dawnward.
That gleam in your stare
conquers other hearts, not mine
that refuses to bend its will and reject
every smile to charm me and start to care:
up to now, I damn myself for the wrong choice,
for that decision not too wise,
because I dedicated everything
and anything to someone else,
assuming you;ve stopped caring, showing
no love, not even a gesture of kindness.
Yeah, the wrong choice
seemed perfectly fine
and the moment...
when we were carried away
by heavy loneliness;
it was both despair and agony
fighting forces stronger than destiny
to figure out what caused us to break free.
spending nights missing a sweet voice
that pushed every shadow away.
Sometimes, we all make the wrong choice...
not hoping for better and nobler things
that aren't burdened with worries;
and regardless of that choice,
it changes lives and sets a price.
No Choice
When you feel lost, when you feel you have no control
When you feel frustrations multiply and consume you whole
When you feel confusion, like you no longer have a voice
When you feel life is not what you imagined, like you have no choice
There are times when you lose control , and carry the burden of guilt
There are times when you long for a life you once planned and built
There are times you reminisced for past moments of laughter and rejoice
There are times when anger consumes you because you have no choice
When you find yourself in times of debilitating pain and sorrow
When you find no cause to carry on, loosing a reason for tomorrow
When you realize you where given the gift of free will, you do have a voice
When you start to understand the meaning when you choose to have no choice
When Should I Smile?
Smile, they say. It will help break the ice.
Smile, they say. It does not cost anything.
Smile, they say, it will help fix everything.
So, why should I smile?
To show that I am not sad?
To make you feel less bad?
To forget my anger?
I don't think so.
I will smile when I want to.
I will smile when I need to.
I will smile when I feel like.
I will smile....for me!
By Priya Nair
Lake being so calm and crystal clean,
ripples and reflects so serene.
Every nerve dived in beauty,
while eyes perform their duty.
Blessed with moon's light,
mysteries evolving in the night.
Lake seems to be taken aback,
as if frightened by the wind's attack.
Perplexed to make a decision,
mind occupied by fear's illusion.
Whether to move in or to stay,
just longs to feel joy on the way.
I stood up to leave,
with my mind at reprieve.
Heart being so confined,
still no footprints left behind.
hallelujah meditation and recasting grievous orneriness
will always be increasing my treasurership melange
momentously renewing tenaciousness responsibility
from obnoxiously pusillanimous bumptiousness
(Weekly Magnetic Poetry Challenge • August 3–9, 2026)
The earth was giving to us as a protectiate
However through time each persons greed
Eventually that which should sustain us all
Children's learnt self greed was important
How to take from the earth see enriching
Overtime the earth became weaker inside
If they saw what became of their actions
Chosing to undo ancestral action we must
Earth may have a finite resource we don't
Have you heard the news?
Salad is quite deadly.
That really is quite scary.
I think I’ll stay safe
when I make my plate
and just eat a cupcake.
unperceiving were their terrific texan toupee
(Weekly Magnetic Poetry Challenge • July 6–12, 2026)
So you are getting on in your years,
Don’t be a misery, or lonely or shed tears,
What is important to you,
Think carefully, see things through.
Think, who you are, first and foremost,
Don’t mess up your life and make it toast,
Exist, and become one life, one soul
Don't dig yourself a hole and become a mole.
Don’t complicate things, go with the tide,
Whatever is thrown at you, let be in your stride,
Challenges, culture, passions and much more,
You have understood that life’s a journey, oh lore!
It is a puzzle, the pieces are finally coming together,
Being unique as every human being is, do whatever,
Relax, go nude if you want, have a child at 40, have a tattoo,
Ignore the ought and musts, enjoy the ride join the queue,
YOUR LIFE, YOUR JOURNEY, YOUR CHOICE .
It leaves traces in the body long after it leaves the room
Some of them are soft, like flowers pressed between pages
Just the way I like them
Like light that lingers on walls after the sun is gone
Forming the most perfect silhouette
But not all are kind; others are heavier
Like coffins we never asked to carry
Built from endings we did not choose
Sealed with everything we could not say
I keep living between both
My love sinks sometimes, dragging whole seasons downward
But hope,
Hope refuses to learn how to drown
And I have started to understand that memory is not always mercy
It can become a place you go to visit
Or a place you never leave
So I am now learning to hold what happened
Without letting it become the death of me
To remember to survive the remembering
To choose life even when memory calls me back
To everything I lost
To choose breath
Over collapse
Love.
I think I'm cool ~ that's what counts
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
When I was young, you walked away from me,
and left a space no child should have to bear.
You never fought to be my family,
as though my life was less than worth your care.
But I remember when I was just a baby,
your arms were steady, your voice soft and low.
You said you loved me, your brown-eyed lady,
and swore you’d never let me go.
You found a wife, a son, a brand-new beginning,
and gave him all the things you denied me.
I spent years wondering what was so unforgiving,
about the child you simply chose not to see.
You spun your stories, one lie after another,
claims that stole the time you could not give.
Yet somehow you could stay beside another,
and build the kind of life I couldn't live.
You taught me love can vanish without warning,
that promises can fade before they're made.
I watched for you through every hopeful morning,
while every expectation slowly frayed.
So when I think of you, I think of what was missing,
the empty chair, the silence, and the ache.
Not every wound comes from a blow or striking,
some come from every choice a parent doesn't make.
Cinderella kicked off her shoes,
looked down at black and blue and bruise.
“Is anything worth this?
Honestly, he’s all yours sis!
Without a man, what do I lose?”
He was called ‘Charming’, no name had he,
but lover, leader and King he’d be.
He chased women who left;
dating, he’d never be deft.
A wife: the only future he could see.
Some penalty comes with calamity
Making you panic
Nemesis comes like crisis
Making you uncomfortable
You can't run from it
Because it's like shadow
That follows you everywhere.
It's like a fever, it makes you shiver
Making you want to run away
But you can never escape reality
The only antidote or antibiotics
Is facing it until you eliminate it
So you can regain your sanity and serenity.
All games have their rules and guidance
When you break those rules
You gonna face the penalty
Every act or action has a repercussion
You gonna face the nemesis when it's time
Be careful of the choices you make
Because you can't make them twice.
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