I didn’t feel like running today
Some days I don’t—but I do.
I’ve never finished a run thinking,“I’m sorry I did that.”
I always feel empowered, powerful and ready to deal.
I have blisters on two toes but that doesn’t matter.
Pain is an administrative problem—I just wrap them
with paper surgical tape and run.
I also buy these 1" Polyurethane foam sheets (from Amazon),
that I cut to fit my feet—stuffing them in my socks for padding
—as if I were a professional athlete.
We don’t flinch beneath the heat, cold or rain,
and we don’t prevaricate or complain.
While I believe that life, otherwise, is pretty much nonstop compromise,
I reserve a protected territory for self-respect—where I practice small acts
of discipline—which I can track.
.
.
Songs for this:
Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen
Somebody's Going to Get Into This House by Jane Wiedlin
BE YOUR REALITY
“To be or not to be…?”
Often, a misunderstood question
Of self-reality; failing to realize
That God has given us the power
To affect how it should, and will be:-
It has been written, and repeated:
Ask, seek, and knock; and its
Given, found, and opened:-
That is, when we choose to do so,
In awareness that we are in charge
Of choosing what affects our reality:-
As one author has succinctly put it,
Our…”reality is not what happens
Around us, but how we respond to it.
Thus, how acquaintances act around us
Is their reality; our perception, our reality:-
In our daily lives with peers and family,
We must come to realize the power
We have in affecting our own reality:-
All too often, our reactions to others’ realities,
Tend to negate our own healing realities:-
Know and accept your power
Affecting your reality. Let no one
Or anything deter its joyful coming to be.
Thus, go back to life’s mirror and notice
What you see: One of God’s beautiful
Creatures looking back at thee.
Know that your desired reality,
Is your given responsibility:-
There was a time when I truly thought you stole,
everything from me
The intense pain reached deeper than anything imaginable
There were so many losses
There were so many lies
There was so much that I couldn't do anything about,
as you went on and on with hurricanes of manipulation and control
It took a long time to learn that this would never change
It took a long time to learn to find my own peace
It took years to overcome the baragment of guilt you put upon me
But i am here now and I will never go back
I see everything that I have, everything i am grateful for
I didn't need you to do a thing; I did it all myself
9/12/26
Heidi Sands
(C)opyright
This is where I begin, words proclaimed to a with a straight face, over and over again
Every day is the same, every day I promise myself that I will change
Easier said than done
I hate that I am so comfortable in my cage
Ive confused numbness with gratitude and have become a master of complacency
But I do dream, dreaming is easier than doing
At least there is a world I can control
I sometimes slide my hands through the invisible railing and draw a line in the sand
Am I putting my foot down yet?
You never hear me
Children walked down the street
And, in curiosity, picked up a rock
An adult, suddenly appeared
And gave the noggin a firm knock
...when violence ruled
Little tykes trying to grow and learn
Would stumble into angry fields
An adult, suddenly appeared
And destroyed what hope builds
...when violence ruled
Young teens would begin an adventure
Trying to find a way out of the cave
An adult, suddenly appeared
And delivered a beating to the grave
...when violence ruled
Brand new adults built homes on values
Practiced to secure detainment
An adult, suddenly appeared
Showing the mirror of perfect containment
...when violence ruled
Finally, a new generation was birthed
Determined to clear the curse of the line
An adult, suddenly appeared
Yielding to the power of LOVE over the mind
...when violence bowed
Written by Trudy Schrader
In a perpetual state of curiosity,
I am the lover—the amator,
consumed by the pursuit,
never arriving as the station's master.
Reshaped by the objects of affection—
endlessly revealing itself
with fresh eyes.
To be possessed by a god.
I am the midwife of ideas,
so come sit with me
and be courted every day.
The missing letters are feared lost better calls shrieked into the mossy night where hovering the moon delights, in wolfish cries and another bursts the devil called and answered Ms. Hearst so while the nighttime day's mirror... cries are heard! They said that amber was a rock no more, for if serendipitously defined then hulking over the river is the divestment of the vines, but modern day America hasn't won the currency war, the Euro has it's place ensured, and though we wile through rows of corn our hearts aflutter as others mourn, be crisp beneath that blotted out apple tree, the asylum loves apple juice for free.
Twas only glimpses
For eons into days
That TRUTH arose
Exposed, bathed
In a glorious light
The heart grew
From a whisper
Hope expanding
Into uncontainable
JOY
I observed
I experienced
I processed
I transmuted
I restored
...and now, now I see
The master plan
Unfold the brilliant
Mind of LOVE
Descended into matter
Ascending in WISDOM
Through mercy and grace
To take the appointed place
From womb
To fully embody
PEACE
..and now, LOVE moves
Written by Trudy Schrader on 09-09-2026
Incarcerated desires,
worth kissing,
immaculately
Mary's darkened eyes
wrapped lassos of heat
statues tell the truth,
break the broth,
as your lust-ful eyes
spy her soft hands.....
Its best to be like me
and never leave the circle.
Red little cuts with virgin oil,
never create the hurdles.
I can't be shut down
when I never agreed
to the on switch
in the first place.
I don't like humanity.
I don't like being touched.
I wish I could be all alone
I'll walk the entire
way back home.
I've been feeling the critics lately,
They've been quiet but murmuring.
Miss Heart, from the trauma...
And the medicine I abandoned her for, through force.
Lady Liver and Dame Kidney,
Who I legally and knowingly abused for years.
Monarch Mind and her anxieties,
Who I didn't, nor couldn't keep from harm.
The critics... They're gathering .
Mrs Microbiome, married to my choices and unable to divorce.
Countess of Amygdala,
Begging her now, not to go to war again.
Her Highness, Queen Fascia...
Hardens again monthly to be broken free.
Sitting frustrated at dinner,
Their host is hard to be kind too these days.
The menu must evolve again,
It's critical to improve retention and reviews.
When going to school at a tender age,
The little girl would put on her socks and shoes,
Give her parents a goodbye kiss,
And run out with her school bag and lunchbox,
A smile upon her face, filled with joy and happiness,
Excited to learn a new word from her teacher.
Days turned into months,
And months into years,
Until finally came her graduation day—
The day she would leave those beautiful school days behind.
Afterward, her school uniform and school necessities
Rested quietly in the wardrobe,
Becoming memories of her beautiful early days.
She looked at them, sighed, and said,
"Indeed, this is where you finally ended,
After being with me through my beautiful early days." ??
I hate growing up
I hate decisions
They're scarier than the monsters
I used to fear when young
they grow with you; they increase
they haunt you
and worse, there is a right or wrong
consequences, mistakes that could ruin your whole future
guess growing up isn't about a driver's license
it's responsibility, like it's something you have learned
it's caring about others even if it means being in silence
it looks so easy on TV, like it's just another step on the stairs
maybe I watched the wrong movies,
it's more like jumping off a plane and hoping you would survive,
in the sea with the salty water till whenever
So would I go back if I could?
YES, without a doubt, a thought
maybe it was better making faces with clay
maybe it was easier spending the day on a swing, and getting a slight headache
and even then someone was there to nurse you
Yes, life is not easy, and it has never been fair
I say I am
simply a man,
simple
easier for self
to understand
though the complexity of men
I am no outlier
-----------------------------
Can I say then
that I am mostly an honest man,
my only lie
that of being simply
a man?
----------------------------
If not
I will be just a loving man
at least to please my God
------------------------------
God says there is no loving man
men simply the AIs of gods…..
--------------------------------------
God spoke
and my soul responded,
I am a world
within an endless
world
A kingdom for my
own eternal unfolding
God loved
and love I became,
my divine spirit proof of
His faithful beauty
and ever presence
God is within
enfolds me
showers me with
blessings
He is that He is
so I may be the best
of who I am….
Beneficent Father….
Omnipotent Fount of All Being....
They say that you’re beautiful.
Gorgeous, pretty, even stunning
You brush it off, move on, it’s rather pitiful,
But it’s just another day… and you’ll keep running
They call you attractive, alluring and a knockout
You ignore it, compliment them instead and hope they don’t prod
It’s easier to tell a truth than to respond to a lie, no doubt?
You hide behind the jokes, the laughter, the facade
Just take the compliment they say, why is it so hard?
If they knew what it would mean they’d turn tail and run
For you to accept it, you’d have to be unscarred
Accept it you will, but that’s it, game over, let it all come undone
They’ll see through the hiding, the running and the fright,
The self-criticism, the comparisons, all the backlash
But when they look a little harder they’ll notice the light
A glowing ember that lies beneath all the ash
Let the mask fall away and the walls break
down,
The confidence, the hope, you’re starting to remember
They’re all waiting outside, you’re no longer bound
We’ve been here all along, your army of defenders
I am who I am despite what has happened to me.
I am not defined by the wounds I carry.
MY BOOK IS FREE FOR 5 DAYS! (Sep 1-5)
My dear poetry family,
My first book "My Rules To Win" is now LIVE on Amazon and it is FREE for you from 1st to 5th September!
This is my thank you gift for all your love on my poems.
Please download it today (it's free) - Just search on Amazon:
"My Rules To Win by Koyel Mandal"
You will find it - it's free for 5 days.
If you like it, please leave a small honest review on Amazon - even "Inspiring and beautiful" is enough.
Your one review means the world to me.
With love,
Koyel Mandal
P.S. Link is on my author profile bio!
Growth Categories
Definition | What is Growth in Poetry?
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.
Related Poetry Forms
prosperity, success, advance, hike, rise, advancement, expansion, improvement, increase, production, gain, surge, unfolding, crop, buildup, flowering, aggrandizement, cultivation, boost, vegetation, proliferation, swell, enlargement, produce, augmentation