I look at my hands, so small and slight,
just one face in a crowded, rushing room.
I am a quiet footprint in the dust,
easily swept away,
a brief, passing second
in someone else's busy day.
Sometimes I feel like a flickering match—
so easy to blow out, so simple to miss.
But inside this fragile, quiet frame,
my heart is a heavy, wide-open door.
It keeps a fire burning through the night
just in case you need a place to warm your hands.
It is a shelter with room for everything you carry,
a small chest holding an entire ocean
of endless, unconditional care.
I am so tiny,
yet I have enough space inside me to love you forever.
I’ve got fine lace lingerie.
Where is the poet
with soft hands?
Satan pulled me down
and made me frown
with fire all around
and hissing the only sound
I called upon St. Michael… beware!
The devil has a gruesome stare
Can you help me climb the stairs
From the deep dark depths of despair
Beelzebub tightened the chains
And molten lava rained
My muscles twitched and strained
Everything hurt in pain
But then there was a glowing light
The archangel came with delight
He fought to make everything right
and day soon came from the darkest night
The lesson learned is to always with faith
For the glory of God is our destined date
There is no need to wait
For his love is all so great
I held the broken pieces tight,
Afraid of what the empty space would bring,
Confusing the shadows for light,
And clinging to a bruised and brittle thing.
I prayed for eyes to truly see,
Then turned away when truth began to speak.
Making excuses, bargaining to be
The anchor for a bond already weak.
How easily the heart defends
The familiar ache of carrying what is gone,
Calling it love when someone bends
The spirit until quiet peace is torn.
Yet mercy worked beneath the grief.
The sudden silence wasn’t cold neglect;
It was a shelter, a swift relief,
A sacred wall the Father did erect.
Not every traveler along the way
Is meant to walk the path where grace resides;
Some doors are closed so we don’t stray,
Some hands unclasped to stem the rising tides.
So now I loosen every plea.
I yield the ache, the wondering, the strain
Trusting God, who rescues me
Who never creates a hollow space in vain.
© Deborah Seale 2026
A girl watchmaker stands among clocks rimmed with frost,
their pale faces caught in winter's thin hush.
She watches silence drip from their frozen hands,
each drop a faint crack in the brittle air.
Shadows settle like cold breath around her craft,
while time thins itself beneath her steady gaze.
The summer season
The couple laid on
The lawn chairs staring
Up at the dark sky
It was a warm eve
The full moon was bright
The stars were shining
They looked like diamonds
As they were staring
At the moon and stars
The couple held hands
Content being together
The bond of love strong
Their two hearts are one
Faithful as two hands
thunder announces the time,
Florida clockwork.
Written: August 16, 2026, for a contest sponsored by Line Gauthier
**************
Afraid of Love’s flame, yet drawn to its name,
I almost said “I love you”, my demur to blame.
Curling my tongue—worrying you'd leave,
Love agony is louder than hope, if you believe.
In silent rooms, holding hands, we glance,
Both aching for a sign, a spark, a chance.
My heart is stone, my heart was sealed,
Long before you had appeared.
Tell me why, my dear, how, my dear.
You managed to churn up my insides for a whole year.
So, my darling, why so darling?
You throw rocks at my head,
But you willingly catch me before I fall dead.
If not my darling, why so darling?
both sides you show I just so fear.
So tell me, dear, why and how, my dear,
Are you messing with me?
Or are you just darling?
—The Weight of Cannot—
I came to stay the falling, yet the hour
went on beneath the ordinances of fate;
my hands, made eloquent by love, had power
only to learn how powerless to wait.
I stood beside the vanishing, and knew
that presence hath no hands with which to stay;
I called the name; its warmth remained, yet through
that warmth, the beloved had already passed away.
My love reached shore; the beloved was sea,
and every strength I summoned sank from sight;
I asked Time for one mercy; memory
returned, and made remembrance ache with light.
The thing I could not change changed what I knew
of love: my hands grew still—and still reached you.
These people
always like
to say that
“the gloves
do not bite”
but sadly now
they are being
used to shock;
But I do know
what it means
to burn red hot
for I once felt
very hot water
on my torso
and was quite
cruelly mocked;
“Never forgive,
and never forget”
is precisely what
they always seem
to want to say,
but false leaders
always lie to the
misguided flocks;
They take from us
and manipulate war
to fool the ignorant
and betray the wise,
and that is exactly
why they scheme
whenever they are
off the work clock.
Only a monster tainted by evil supports the use of electric shock to control other humans. You cannot change my mind.
There are some
looked down their nose
in the troubled Covid times
at those who bump elbows
as opposed to shaking hands
so with a bend let's start a trend
a new fad across the land
and instead if you please
why don't we
lift a leg and all knock knees
The goo from eating a chocolate or two.
Pizza spread with cheese and bread.
A popsicle colored red and blue.
Mixed with dirt and wiped down the sides of my pants.
Without another glance.
Momma said," don't wipe your hands on your clothes.
Wash them off in the sink.
Otherwise, your clothes will stink!"
Took off my pants.
Washed them with soap.
Left them in the sink.
"Oh no you don't!" Momma said.
"Wash your hands, not your pants!"
You could have been clearer.
So, I washed my hands.
Pulled my pants out of the sink.
Put my pants back on.
Went out to play.
My friends and I are making mud pies today!
This poem is for a competion I've been asked to enter for WI will be displayed at Westmourland show in Cumbria topic was Hands of Friendship gets judged on 20th August thought I'd share with my soup family.The original is all different colours but didn't work in colour here.
H ands Reaching out to one another
A lways give friendship and love
N ever feel lonely again ~ when you have friends
D o unto others as you’d like done to you
S o to make friends reach out in friendship
O nly make someone feel special
F riendship helps lonely,hurting abused hearts
F orever friendship breaks barriers down
R each out touch the world with love
I n the WI I hope to make friends ~ be a friend
E verlasting hands of Friendship ~ heal our world
N eeds are met when friends care
D ont forget someone needs your friendly smile
S ing songs of love together
H eal our village, land, world with love
I t is good to be a true friend ~ trust me
P eople grasp the hand of Friendship today
Acrostic poem written by scottydotti_the_poet 10/08/2026
When out last week
a-looking around
heard the the boys in the band
and their sound
rocking out all right
a-pleasing the crowd
with strings and keys
playing so loud
while out that night
a-doing the town
saw the boys in the band
getting down
hands were a-clapping
knees a-slapping
toes a-tapping
flip-flops a-flapping
in time to the music
of the Beach Bar groove
where at five bucks a beer
I had nothing left to lose
nothing there but the Beach Bar blues
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.