Sixty-five marshmallows in one person’s cup
I decided to call a bluff to this customer, Hup
But Hup was not a regular person, she was a cat
I had tangled with them before, so that was that
I was not about to take on a cat, they are so mean
Especially female cats, for they are each one a queen
Go to the store and buy more marshmallows I said
I would rather be out a little more money instead
I confront my bones
when they refuse to move
I empower my pen
when it refuses to write.
each poem proof that
We write our way
through tangled thoughts.
Refusing to be shackled
As I teach my soul to fly.
You wanted me to play small,
but I was made to come alive.
I write in the language of the unheard
I have spoken in tongues of the overlooked.
I have learned to plant seeds of Poetree
And harvest the fruits of liberty.
Still my poetry roots run deep
Even with my mouth piece close my
Poetic souls still speaks.
Revealing depths of what I longed for.
One authentic step forward,
One unapologetic choice to be
Exactly who I was meant to be.
I became revolutionary as freedom
Continues fighting for me.
I confront my bones
when they refuse to move
I empower my pen
when it refuses to write.
each poem proof that
We write our way
through tangled thoughts.
Refusing to be shackled
As I teach my soul to fly.
You wanted me to play small,
but I was made to come alive.
I write in the language of the unheard
I have spoken in tongues of the overlooked.
I have learned to plant seeds of Poetree
And harvest the fruits of liberty.
Still my poetry roots run deep
Even with my mouth piece close my
Poetic souls still speaks.
Revealing depths of what I longed for.
One authentic step forward,
One unapologetic choice to be
Exactly who I was meant to be.
I became revolutionary as freedom
Continues fighting for me.
Not all beauty soothes
some arrives with grasping claws
with shock confronting
terror raging like a storm—
you're made uncomfortable
This beauty inspires
It's never decoration
but revelation—
that comforts what is broken
in the shards you once thought safe.
It asks for patience—
for the dark-veined root in soil
for the fragile shoot
to climb, to break, to flourish
in the weave of time and thought
Familiar made strange
the quirk and odd become kin
cracks let the light in
quakes rock the inner being
tremors shatter the spirit—
the hidden stands bare, revealed
True beauty endures—
it transforms, changes, remakes
what we love and fear
compels us to face the core
to see what our soul requires
The day arrives with its light,
The stranger hides in the night.
Its tendrils linger within a chamber,
Sometimes trailing us in our slumber.
I seek the light, but the night pursues me;
Each day is a walk across a turbulent sea.
I tread along the paths of the Divine,
Grafted firmly to the Vine.
My chamber is a meadow of shadows,
Awakened by the cries of the crows,
This reveals what is unknown,
It’s a mysterious zone.
Alone in my room,
Oblivious to the lurking gloom,
I break free from its weight,
Embarking on a journey to Zion’s gate.
July 14, 2025.
Why should we tread alone?
Come, let's walk together.
Each path is peril-prone.
We face stormy weather.
Shouldn't we be aware
Of our powers and flaws
Shouldn't each one's welfare
Be conscientious cause
Shouldn't our arrogance
Selfishness and detest
Give way to elegance
And make ourselves blessed
Our future is unknown.
Let's not be in tether.
Why should we tread alone?
Come, let's walk together.
The city lights are often burning bright
but what may lurk in shadows of the night?
Around the corner lover's locked embrace
or homeless, roaming streets to find a place.
The laughter loudly heard from a night bar
or music sweetly playing from afar.
Could see some pretty girls walk down the street
excited at the prospects they might meet.
A stranger, who may reach out for a light
enjoy another cigarette's delight.
Perhaps you'll find a cat out on the prowl
Or hear a lonely dog release a howl.
The bustle of the people passing through
some slowly strolling down an avenue.
All making their own way throughout the night
in shadows, or by cities burning light.
The mysteries of city nights are held
Tight secrets all within its border shelled.
And to those out or others all alone
It matters not; they’ll all call city home.
Most shadows are good. When light hits a tree,
shade will encircle it. You can find
relief from the summer heat by
sprawling yourself on cool grass.
Embrace shade as your friend.
When shadows creep at
night, let them, with
stillness, lull
you to
sleep.
At
other
times, shadows
are metaphors
for sinister things
which envelop you like
black fog. If they ensnare you,
summon your faith; call upon God
with all your might. Confronting shadows
means stepping into the light of the Lord.
Why can't I walk in the garden at night?
Horrible shadows keep blurring my sight ~
They make me run like a man with no balls.
Each time I trip and get bruised from my falls.
These shadows whisper cold fears in my ear,
Now I understand the songs sung by fear,
Yet I must confront these fiery shadows,
But each new night, fresh darkness runs the shows.
Though I'm a child and children fear the dark,
Since most darkness are silent, still, and stark.
That's why my shadows I must now confront.
The trepidation they bring, I must hunt.
Tonight is the night I'll set myself free,
From my whole life, fiery shadows must flee.
Yet I still fear walking in the garden,
But from these hauntings, I seek a pardon.
Look closely at shadows following you
shading footfalls with a soft Lapis blue
Bits of yesterday mixed with tomorrow
Shadows reflecting days we could borrow
They belie the memories that we find
in their whispers of all those left behind
moments becoming shadows of our days
twisting, turning as our hair fills with greys
Shadows of moments that we now regret.
Promises that became waves at sunset.
Shadows of life we would gladly repeat.
A perfect world where we could again meet.
Alas, like shadows, wishes never last
As we hold them, they fade into the past.
Shadows mirror time, bending now with age
In life, shadows fall on every page.
Alas, like shadows, wishes never last
As we hold them, they fade into the past.
Shadows mirror time, bending now with age
In life, shadows fall on every page.
Confronting shadows, I study each one.”
***
“Though mystical, wishes do not last long
but barely moments, they fade and are gone
Only the rare survive time and its age
Shadows that fall are found on life's broad stage
Confronting them, is best left to the sage."
Attached to outcomes, ego opaques light,
radiance of our true Self, veiled by mind,
demons of darkness, shrouding heart’s delight,
thought tentacles gripping us in their bind.
As both tormentor and the tormented,
being both the subject and the object,
we inhaled fragrance of love, bliss scented,
causing boundless rapture to rise unchecked.
Waking up in the dream by slowing thought,
with ego exhumed, bliss beats soon resumed,
whence soul imbibed love and light as it ought,
whereupon at our core, heart lotus bloomed.
Thought cessation, path to heart’s elation ~
In time stretched peace, is our meditation
A nebulous horizon where old light dies,
And silent Shadows from desire's mouth arise.
They press against the skin, a whisper in the ear,
Yet in their depths, a hidden strength appears.
I face their forms, no longer bound by flight,
And find my peace in the heart of endless night.
Oh my shadow, my closest companion !
Tell me , what’s your actual criterion?
Are you following me or I’m to follow ?
sometimes long, sometimes short, broad, wide or narrow !
You are to flee, when deep dense darkness to grow !
May be sideways, back -front, diagonal, below,
as light with me be capable to allow.
I can never catch you, you are fugitive.
Since I’m alive, in bright light you will survive.
But in dark, you will bid bye to me and leave.
Always playing Hide and Seek in morn and eve.
In dark, you are ready to go, I believe.
Doesn’t matter, whether you be at back or front !
It’s just too difficult for me to confront !
How do I confront the enemy I can't see?
Only its shadows on the ground surround me.
A dark cloud that comes and goes and then returns,
its essence is difficult to discern.
Like a stain that never fully disappears,
it brings pain, disappointment, anger, fear.
Throughout my life, I've been vaguely aware
of this strange malevolence in the air.
It never shows its face. Like an ugly scar,
it shines ill-fated light like some evil star.
Tired of discord, disharmony and strife,
I've gone another direction all my life.
But, beholding all that's been said and done,
I see it's not something I can outrun.
The time has come for me to stand and face
the vile presence I could not erase.
If only I could fathom it and grasp
the nature of its poison like an asp,
and unravel its insidious mystery.
Could it be something in my history?
What are you, some kind of wicked curse,
or is it something in my DNA, or worse?
Will, one day, your cruel battle be won,
as my rotting corpse shines 'neath the sun?
When thinking of writing your will,
Though you may not be over the hill,
You are forced to confront,
If I may be so blunt,
That some goals you may never fulfill.
For a will means you cannot pretend
That your life will not come to an end
And your heirs might be sad
But perhaps slightly glad
That they’ll have some new money to spend.
If you’re lucky, the will you submit
Will, as years pass you by, merely sit,
So you’ll even forget
All about it and yet
It will neaten things up when you split.
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.