The male Hine’s Emerald patrols his cattail fen
low through sedge and seepage
his compound eyes pluck gnats from the air
two yellow bars flash along his thorax
hindwings catch the morning
Chimanimani Mountain mist beads over quartz
the female Rock Threadtail
six black feet braced on the edge
her wing tilted toward the sun
eyes—black
He misses the gnat
darts, veers, halts midair, pivots
his ommatidia fixed on her raised wing
smitten, his heading shifts
the female Rock Threadtail rests above her stream
=======
We were a secret written
between the lines of a story
the world told us we could not finish.
A love that lived in whispers,
in stolen glances across crowded rooms,
in the quiet moments
where time forgot to judge us.
We knew the cost of wanting each other,
the weight of every “what if,”
the ache of every goodbye
that came before we were ready.
You were the storm I wasn’t supposed to chase,
the fire I was warned not to touch,
yet somehow your presence
felt like the only place I could breathe.
We built a universe in the shadows,
where your hand found mine
and our hearts spoke a language
no one else could understand.
But love does not always arrive
with permission.
Sometimes it knocks on locked doors,
wears the wrong name,
comes at the wrong time.
And maybe we were never meant
to have forever—
maybe we were only meant
to remind each other
that something so impossible
could still feel so real.
So I will carry you quietly,
not as a regret,
but as the beautiful ache
of a love that existed
even when the world said it shouldn’t.
Is it forbidden?
How far will I go to love?
Africa is home
She kept her secrets of love tucked away
In a shoebox, a forbidden affair
Protected deep in her innermost heart.
Their warm, playful, and inmost affection
Had blossomed in their youth, under a full
Moon that hung large in a sky scattered with
Millions of radiant magical stars.
But she had been promised to another.
Our love runs deep, though no one knows,
yet we cannot be together
because of society’s woes.
So cruel—our families clashing
like knights in a duel.
Still our love runs freely,
like a river that flows.
Like birds in the sky,
like snow and rain,
our love is forbidden—
do you feel my pain?
At night I cry,
howling at the moon.
Though time delays our meeting,
I will see you soon.
Why can’t we be together?
I don’t know why.
But we must persuade the world,
we must give it a try.
They need to see
our love is pure and true—
that your heart belongs to me
as mine belongs to you.
The cosmos keeps misplacing you in my sky,
A planet too near, yet forbidden to collide.
Our paths redraw like stubborn lines,
Sacred geometry, cruel design —
Close enough to burn, too bound to defy.
We split one song through borrowed wire,
Two pulses climbing the same burning fire.
Your shoulder brushed the edge of mine,
And silence swelled like holy wine —
A hymn restrained by higher choir.
Years pass; the ink refuses to fade,
A letter sealed, a promise mislaid.
It sleeps like a blade beneath my bed,
Sharp with the words I never said —
A relic of vows we never made.
You stand in pews of different light,
I kneel where faith divides the night.
Yet still we trade our careful hellos,
While under our ribs a river flows —
An ark that aches but won’t take flight.
So we remain in measured spin,
Two orbits tight beneath the skin.
If speech were freed, we’d both give chase —
Undo the stars, abandon grace —
But gravity is God, and God won’t bend.
The room reeks of lilac and sin
The bottle cracks,
and I breath you in
You fog up my vision
And sweeten the day
I hold you tighter at night
And we whisper ‘stay’
Perfumed thighs
Tell me pretty lies
Kisses on each side
Line a pathway
You linger on my skin like rain on stone
We protect each other like skin to bone
You’ve got to hide your love away,
that’s what the neighbours always say.
I’m told it would be wrong to show
my feelings, let emotion flow:
but this is twenty twenty-five,
and through my love I feel alive!
You think it sinful? Surely not:
I’m married to an ocelot.
Long ago, there were two guardians, a moon guardian and a sun guardian.
One day, they met at a changing post and instantly fell in love.
Each time they met, they spoke, laughed, and shared secrets under the shifting skies.
Their love grew stronger, and they longed to be together always,
To share each other's joy, pain, and happiness.
Defying the ancient rules, they crossed the forbidden wall,
Causing an eclipse—the strongest and longest one ever seen.
But in their union, tragedy struck:
One guardian lost the sight in an eye, blinded by too much light.
From that day, the Sun’s guardian decreed
That they could never meet again.
With heavy hearts, the Moon’s guardian agreed
You may ask, "But what happened with the two guardians?"
... well, they had to say goodbye.
Bit by bit you built this in your head.
Take me where the angels are and fix me piece by piece.
I want to feel my stars align again.
Baby you can call the bluff, I'll play the cards.
Take everything i know you'll break
You made those promises, don't take em back now.
Own up to your bull, it's about that time.
Break my bones, just leave my spirit alone.
I guess you're really just a demon.
You just want to do the reverse exorcism.
You're just trying to give me the mark.
Call me crazy.
Trust isn't real.
Forgiveness isn't real.
Nothing is real.
You aren't real.
Who would've thought love could paralyze.
Life has shattered my hopes and my dreams.
Star crossed lovers.
Literally beauty and the beast.
Even through the torture, it's the longest goodbye.
We belong together in the flames.
Not a trace left to be found.
We can't go back though you're waiting.
Fated, yet forbidden, but still forever true lovers
Always together beneath the warm Egyptian cotton covers.
On a daily basis laying in bed embracing each other.
In quiet corners where no one sees,
Two hearts find solace, though love's not free.
A gentle touch, a fleeting smile,
In a world that deems their love a trial.
Their love, a secret they must protect,
From judging eyes and harsh neglect.
They hold each other in the dark,
Wishing the world would warm to their spark.
They dream of days without disguise,
Where love can live beneath open skies.
But for now, they whisper and wait,
Holding tight to a love the world won't celebrate.
Autumn colored shackles
palpitations make the metal growl
Xanthic forewings and discal cells
grace my mucosa, the ripples feel foul
Eternal suffering in a blissful steel
I like to spend my days believing my delusions are real
Love is just chemicals
that we tend to confuse
But good lord, honey, these confusing chemicals have me addicted to you
May these Lepidopteras lay me down to sleep
and wake me with their shattering roar
Let me taste your vanilla lips
Grip you close with an internal war
plaster and staple my clipped feathers
and let my heart soar
Im wittling away in a bird cage, and begging for your touch
I spend my free time knowing I’m too much
so listen to my last exasperated “I love you”
And i’ll rattle these chains
dream of my terminal phalanx touching the sky
and gracing your face
I’ll slam into the metal walls
recoil in ecstasy
grip my stomach until hemoglobin lines the ridges in my flesh
try to rip the monarch lovers out
in hopes they let me rest
Im wittling away in a bird cage
with a dying wish for your head on my chest
Forbidden love, deadly finales, Cupid’s tragic legacy
An altering agonizing fate, a lover's tale the soul it'll violate
Romeo n Juliet had pure love, pure ecstasy
Forbidden love, deadly finales, Cupid’s tragic legacy
Samson’s lust, Delilah’s betrayal bribed from jealousy
Secrets unfurled delayed, poison secures not heaven’s gate
Forbidden love, deadly finales, Cupid’s tragic legacy
An altering agonizing fate, a lover's tale, the soul it'll violate
Adam was in his late 50s and Jean was younger than him by 27
They both had a lot in common, they saw life as if they were in heaven
They spent most of their time together talking, he felt happy in her presence and she felt safe by his side
Jean had strong feelings for Adam, her affection is something that she did not want to hide
But Adams affection for Jean was not at all of that kind
As time went by, Jean found herself madly in love with Adam, but Adam was not aware of this love
Then came the day when she could no longer bare the pain of love, to Adam she graciously opened her heart
Adam felt her sincere pure love for him, but he asked himself is this love a crime
He knew then that this was not infatuation, but deep feelings flowing from her heart
They both came from a different place of worship, and the difference in age was a start
She made him feel young again, her youth gave him a spark of life
By now Adam was deep under the spell of love, his heart and mind were already in prisoned by her charm
This is when their long bitter struggle began, as their love by their cults was deemed forbidden
Saleh Ben Saleh
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.