The sun shone in bewilderment,
Scornfully it scorch,
As Rose plead her fifth amendment,
Her good nature made a strife,
Lea smirk in disdain ,
Saith her world has ended.
Twice fairer than Lea,
In Lea heart lies deceit,
She whispers in Rose ear,
Come and sit, where Serpent hisses,
I will smother thee with kisses,
Honey lies secrets not known,
In Lea lives the honey.
Thrice shy, Rose smiled,
Shame to nymphs, her beauty adorns,
Alluring nature, men confuse,
The Serpent hold the kisses,
“Come, let’s dine with the devil” she said.
My table is set for thee, Lea.
It was never my intention,
not a conscious decision,
to cause you any level of grief.
Our give and take wasn’t as envisioned.
Blindly, I let you fall between my gaps.
It’s not right or wrong, but fact that
I got lost in a thronged rhythm
recovering from things life had given.
You have always shone a warm light
selflessly bright into my life.
Stern storms drowned my content,
turned me until forlorn bent.
I pursued a healing renewal but
my drenched attempts were futile -
I didn’t mean to hurl you into my duel.
Please accept my sincere apology
for giving less than you handed me.
I’d never set out to hurt another
but denying friendship gratitude
colors me pallid shades of rude.
dog stricken
with cancer;
euthanized.
out of her
m i s e r y;
dog owner
hollowed out
by deep grief;
best friend, gone!
Life is short but long enough
to make plans and make
some dreams come true
Life is kind and generous
it offers time for second chances
and even a string of redos
Life is short but in the end
you'll be liable for what you've done
but equally for what you didn't do
Use your time wisely ~
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
I didn't fill out any paperwork.
There was no memo, no consent form.
Just a nameless morning when the mirror refused
to acknowledge anything above my collarbone.
After that, people entered me carrying grief
in cardboard boxes. Pressed buttons
for floors that didn't exist.
A man from 4D requested the roof,
as if it were still an option.
On Thursday, a child in a yellow parka
whispered a song
I recognized from my sleep paralysis years.
It all arrived sticky and wrong
though I tried to hum along,
my cables winced.
By Sunday I was hosting more
than traffic. Something moved
inside the machinery, something
older than ballast or balance,
and it wouldn't stop licking the grease
from its own teeth.
It told me to smile more.
I jammed the doors.
hummingbird—
someone's mouth
in my throat
I was going to become a teacher
I thought it was my calling
I was young and thought it best
to go to university straight out of high school
before I'd go to teachers' college
Well... things did not go as planned
for better or for worse, who knows
I got sidetracked ended up taking a job
education got shelved for longer than expected
So I worked and launched a modest career
No guidance maybe no brains ~ who knows
But in the end I realized the truth ~
if you don't choose, life chooses for you
Go for your dreams or risk living with regrets
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Feet walking with direction and decision
Mouth speaking sweet words
Not riddled with derision
Heart beating for pure love
With no malice or spite
Eyes seeking and finding acceptance
With no attachment of wrong or right
Ears listening for a moment of bonding
Not tools for inspection
Head held high with pride, positivity, and deep reflection
Forbidden
Author Dana Redricks
April 25, 2025
How do I decide, when the path splits in two, when the steps I might take could erase what I knew? This image of me, built through struggles and strife, now I tremble with doubt in the face of new life.
I seek a hand to hold, a voice to guide, but silence surrounds me; I’m pushed aside. And yet, there’s One who feels my unseen scars, who knows the battles raging beneath these stars.
Only God knows the ache in my soul, the yearning to mend, to be made whole. These feelings are vivid, they burn, they are so surreal, the depth of my pain, the need to heal.
What should I do? Is the cost too steep, to journey alone where shadows creep? This maze of reality twists and turns, each corner ignites, each doubt still burns.
Explaining myself feels like a worn-out refrain, yet I scream at the skies with words soaked in pain. The world chills my spirit, it hardens my view, but still, I must ask how can I stay true?
Through faith, through grace, I’ll find my way, for even in darkness, there’s hope for the day. To make it through, to rise and renew, I hold to the promise: God's love will see me through.
“I went down to the river, I set down on the bank. I tried to think but couldn't, So I jumped in and sank.” ? Langston Hughes
She ambled down the perfumed garden
as the moon rose high in the darkening sky,
Stygian night was falling rapidly,
Dark clouds rushed up high, hiding the moon.
A fine drizzle of rain began. She cared not.
Fragrant was the night so full of blooms,
but she went to the cool stream that ran nigh.
She undressed and jumped though she could not swim,
hoping that her soul would die in the rippling flow,
Perhaps she could rid herself of the heat in her head?
Was it not the fault of that the miscreant, betraying cheat?
Placed 1
i had moved out in my new apartment
young yet already caught in the cycle
of sleep-work-eat rinse and repeat
i realized this was not a life
now that i was no longer living
under my parents' roof
it was up to me to create
the type of life i wanted to live
however i could imagine
i accepted the challenge
though it would not be easy
to grow up and become my own person
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
i love you but you need to want to stay
sometimes love is merely not enough
i have needs too
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
our love is a choice
we made many years ago
we are still at it
It's when I was about to overtake her
I thought I'd give up.
Within my second reflection, I decided
Man? Woman?
Both of us are humans
Let her fight like me too.
I HAVE EVERY THING.
I have a family,
The only member in it was me.
I have a partner in crime,
We both steal some time.
To beat the cancer and disease.
I have a partner in music,
We both played by the ears.
He played drum, guitar, then ukelele.
I played guitar, harmonica, then keyboard.
We read no music notes.
We both played piano.
I have a long lost dear friend,
I do not know how to make amend.
I have acquaintances,
We carry out the same performances.
I have a lover,
Who tried to be clever than me unnecessary.
I have a confession to make,
I still help you in secret ways.
I have an idea,
You turn all my theories into practices.
I have a dream,
A book full of my poems' stream.
I have an enemy,
That was me and me only.
I have last words to say,
I left you but my feelings continued to stay.
I have a dying wish,
I can compose one piece of music
Using my personal music language.
I have a secret,
Ssshhh!!!, I am not telling.
I have everything
Nothing is plenty enough for me.
Winter comes and it freezes.
It will leave and come back another year.
But the cancer and the incurable disease,
May come back and end our lives any time.
FINAL DECISION
Bright is the moon shining pale white
Might the time be now this dark night
Resigned in both the heart and mind
Kind thoughts remain so hard to find
Feel sympathy when pain is real
Peel away what one cannot steal
Until one needs to make a will
Still requiring a codicil
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