Lost in love,
yet still in love.
Oh, my
I've tried more than enough.
So let the wind take me.
Let it carry what I cannot.
Let me flow
far from my worries,
somewhere
I am free.
after the storm, the sky is exhausted
I wander and wander about.
I'm too tired to go to bed.
Distracted at every possible opportunity.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
It's been a rough night
Troublesome racoons ~ I didn't get a wink...
Black coffee, you're my salvation
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 2nd place 2025
Breathing should be easy
Yet somehow it's the most difficult action
We shouldn't have to remind ourselves
Yet here we are
But what is the point when the world has its knees on our neck
Why fight a battle that strips us of our weapons
The expectations to submit
To actions unfit to complete
When either way our existence gets us killed
Scolded when we plead -
For human rights and equality
Peace was never an option
When survival is to watch us bleed
It's a familiar type of exhaustion
One my people know all to well
Where - we breathe and we die
Or we speak up and it's systemic suicide
Tensions suffocate the air
All we want from life is to be treated fair
Yet, atlas life is a never ending cycle -
For us, filled with chronic despair
It's hard to breathe when silence is the only option
When the words are there, but in the end we end up choking
It's always been this way, of cyclical hope then watch it slowly dissipate
Knowing we can't trust it, yet it clings to us for survival
One day maybe it'll be different story
Though let's not hold our breath
We still need it for our survival, Rome wasn't built in a day, we have to be realistic
I run in circles all day long
doing a heap of chores and
getting things done
but I'll tell you what I truly find exhausting.
It's the waiting and not knowing,
it sets me back and slows me down.
It frustrates me to the bitter end.
Instead of multitasking
I end up multimasking
juggling and pretending
to be the patient person
that I'm really not.
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
We dance in shadows, silver and sleek,
Two hearts pulsing to the beat they seek.
Your lips taste like secrets, soft and bold,
In your arms, I forget what I’ve been told.
The moon is a spotlight, casting out sin,
Glittering echoes on ivory skin.
Leather and lace, perfume and wine,
The city fades—we blur the line.
No past, no name, no curtain call,
Just your breath rising, and mine to fall.
Diamonds shatter in the dark velvet sky,
We’re written in starlight, stitched in dream.
Every kiss is a flash of burning flame,
Dangerous, wicked, never tame.
Heaven’s jealous of this fire,
Hell can’t hold such high desire.
Whispers melt into primal rage,
Truth lives deep behind our eyes.
Chained to rhythm, drunk on sound—
We lose ourselves where love is found.
Tonight we’re gods, without the guilt,
Crushed we crash, in love we’re built.
Lovers in the night, never tame, never right.
Black without a mask
What would it look like to be black without a mask?
Would it look like freedom?
Or would they laugh?
At our attempt to be ourselves
To feel like we can tell the world
That we are fighting back
That we are tired of being attacked
That we are human and you should respect that
Maybe it would feel like a weight removed
Like entering a sunlit room
Like when flowers finally bloom
Like when the sky shows you the moon
And you know it's time to for bed
And you can rest your head
After a long day That had you stressed
What would it feel to burn that mask ?
Would it feel cathartic
Being black and being free from the curse of having to act robotic
In a world that wants us to shrink
And overthink our emotions
Maybe it would feel like letting go of a deep breath
Or waking up from a nap refreshed
If only racism didn't exist
We wouldn't have to dream of this
We'd have the privilege
Of freeing our emotions
Why we stopped explaining racism to you
Because even if it Slapped you in the face
You'd still claim it doesn't exist
So why would we spend our existence
Pandering to your ignorance
I mean we have better things to do like ending racism
The same racism you claim doesn't exist
Even though you've had the privilege
Of never experiencing it
Ain't that ironic
Telling a black person as a white person
That racism is not a problem anymore
It is not our job to educate
There's a thing called the internet
So stop being so ignorant
And use your white privilege
To get an education
And speak out against racism
We are done 'gentle parenting'
And codling your white fragility
We are done protecting your fragile egos
You need to wake up
And realise that not everything is about you
Because we are tired carrying the weight of your guilt
You decided to be ignorant
And now you'll face the consequences
Of being indifferent
Exhausted played out past the point of no return
and yet while I have breath there's a will
and still the fire within shall burn
but what with all the crooks connivers
cheats con men shuckers and jivers
it's a wonder such a sensitive soul as I
is here now and how quite aliver
tho' neither nor big or small
nothing at all is made to last
as day by day we waste away
and it feels like I'm fading fast
when looking back before lights out
with but one life to spend
lived its span on my terms to the candle's bitter end
and I know when it's time to go all will be as it should
there'll be no regrets along the lines of
if only I'd done it when I could
i am a house with the doors left open
for too long.
too many footsteps have walked in
dragging their storms with them.
i do not know how to tell them
i have no space left
to shelter their rain.
i try to listen, to nod, to stay—
but the ceiling is cracking.
i can’t hold up another storm.
so maybe this time,
i will lock the door.
i will sit in the quiet
and hold my own hand first.
I've put the foil on my bedroom doorknob
and fastened rubber bands across the latch.
I've mixed Coca Cola with toothpaste and vaseline
then poured the rest of the coke in the toilet.
I've drunk warm water and a shot of olive oil.
I'm tired; the bananas will have to wait til morning.
My neighbor has a new boyfriend
Most nights he arrives
in his little black sports car
to pick up his glittery prize.
His little black sports car
has a big exhaust pipe...
that wakes me up most every night.
Sometimes he parks his little black sports car
in front of my mailbox.
He's pretty buff and has a mean little face
and I'm too old to say anything.
They've been together for about 6 months.
I'm praying that their relationship crumbles.
I'm hoping she meets a skinny nerd with a smart car.
Who doesn't park in front of my mailbox.
I must admit that her long legs are the perfect fit
for a little black sports car with the midnight grin.
Sheila cleaned the microwave
And one kitchen counter and the stove top
There are ninety-three empty boxes in the corner.
She congratulated herself on what she had done
And then took a nap
Living in a mess is exhausting
This is her third nap today
Tomorrow she plans to empty the dishwasher.
might burnout
could crashout
just kinda tired
not really feelin’ wired
just a little annoying bug
it’s strange, just shrug
both of us are
could add more
nevermind, there’s nothing left to write
wouldn’t like you if i didn’t love you
no, seriously
just stop
shut up
leave me alone
i'm pretty down bad aren’t i?
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