Tell me how to comprehend a world
where you could look at me and choose another.
Had I the choice of every soul in creation,
I would have bound myself to yours forever.
Yet, here I sit - flawed, discarded, incurable.
I hold no malice for your aversion;
it was only a matter of time
before you saw that I was not worth the saving.
Queens flush both black and red
Walk inside kingdoms where seldom tread.
The blood on the spade from the dark-hearted
Spares no pain for the discarded.
Buried to the side no one sees
A Joker crying inside his conceit.
For in this game smiles are disregarded
The jovial man, now a clown, discarded.
Kings and Jacks rule over the Numbers
Unaware of such perilous slumber!
For their complacency they shall be martyred
Their blood and toil destroyed and discarded.
The High Ones stand in concert with stars
Above all, from God not so far.
With a stroke of chance be cast with the departed
Below the bottom of a grave, forever discarded.
As upswept, a dune
And o'er deserts on
This deedness of feeling left you with in
Heart's own barren place?
"Harsh words, and burning
Of a cruel, fierce man
Yes; as such tumbleweed left me, therein.
Rootless. Blown apace."
Took a bite of me.
Chewed a while and spit me out.
Left me in a mess.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 2nd place 2026
I rushed right through being little me
I thought older meant being heard and seen
I know I’m grown now, but could you please
Rub my back and sing me to sleep?
Trapped in layers of sin, ambiguity, and shame.
The man walks the loud, but still, lonely streets of the city, searching for something that he does not know. The discarded man. A man standing in the wilderness, screaming out shrieks of pain that are lost in translation. The man fears he is alone. The man stands alone, unable to move, stunned into silence, fearful of speaking. The discarded man dances into each puff and exhale of tobacco. Lost in each swig of beer. The discarded man knows of God, but is still fearful to call on his name. The discarded man walks and drinks in solitude till his feet bleed and he cannot sober up. He does not address his emotional pain. From negligence, this pain takes on a physical being. A being that looks like him, walks like him, speaks like him. The discarded man cannot differ between the being and himself, so they walk as one.
“I traversed the path from blind faith to wisdom ~
Recognising within me lies God’s kingdom”
~ quote by poet
When I was a child, I was told God exists
but growing up, seeing chaos in the world,
I debated this concept in foggy mists,
deluded no more, when flag of love unfurled,
the elixir that resolves every conflict,
with fragrance oozing from rose petals, hand picked,
consciousness engulfing the sun and the moon,
ushering music of spheres, that makes heart swoon.
In the dead of night she lays
Still , alone
Once so full of life
Now lifeless so far from home
No-one knows she lays there
Discarded like refuse
Is this to be her final resting place
Left naked and abused
a discarded tissue wept,
as it fluttered slowly
against the cold hard pavement
hoping
to feel the heat of a caress
one last time
haunted
by the memory
of a brief strong tender embrace
she lingers on the ground,
limp
used
abandoned
she still aches
for the wind
that will
carry her back
to her
lost lover
releasing you
to the winds that bind us
~ myself now freed
AP: Honorable Mention 2023
Submitted on March 7, 2023 for contest UP TO YOU AGAIN sponsored by BRIAN STRAND - Honorable Mention
Plastic bag pixie
sealed with her four leaf clover
was thrown out like trash;
Bubbling magic
left to die in a junk pile;
Shimmers were fading
on cardboard like rainbow oil
as a boy walked by;
Luckily he saw treasure
amidst the grime and pyrite;
Rainbows reflected
fascination on the street;
Picked up a sparkle;
Discarded gold alchemy,
much more than a speck of light.
The red flag was constantly waving staring one directly in
one's face discarded by one's mind, body, and soul sidelined.
Discarded emotionally, isolated physically alone? Agony, defeat,
cheated on played like a violin and pounded upon like a drum.
Chapters of escaped, abandonment, lies, and Self-discovery, A
breathe of rejuvenation of calm, relaxed and healing state of mind,
my friend is awake
we watch snow melt as it falls on the concrete outside.
"well, another season" is what he says.
they come and go here - he will be gone by the end of the year.
i am sad that the snow melts so quickly on the concrete.
it lasts longer on grass,
but i do not see much of that.
"roll up!" they tell me.
god damnit.
i gather my things and put them into two mesh laundry bags.
i try to ignore a tightness in my chest
and uneasiness in my joints.
they need the space for someone else.
they do not tell me to where i am being sent
and i try to convince myself that it does not matter.
I sit in the back corner of a dark musty warehouse now
Discarded, forgotten, despised, unwelcome, bereft.
No one has been in this place for at least sixty years.
Once upon a time in my heyday I was revered and petted.
Children squealed with delight as they approached.
They laughed and giggled and chuckled about my candies.
Fat women covertly looked both ways before approaching.
They loved my offerings but did not want everyone to see them.
Milk chocolate! They said with a sigh, as they gulped my candies.
Skinny men whose wives had them on diets approached with a skip.
They fairly hopped away, with the enthusiasm of their youth.
These memories keep me happy as I sit here in this dark dungeon.
finding treasure
at the thrift store
discarded library books
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