local alley sinners lick
bleeding lambs on
Arkansas police days
A prisoner
long muted
An inmate
of time
Its ball
and its chain
Restricts
and defines
Promises
broken
With freedom
abjured
The silence
a lock
To bind me
— secure
(Dreamsleep: July, 2026)
Rumble Stein gathered all the
children closer to share the grim
legend of the Manor's hidden
archives.
Rumple Stein chuckles, a dry
and rattling sound,
As the children sit quivering
upon the cold hammering ground.
"Deep in the Manor, past the grand,
winding stair,
A secret wall hides a terrible
nightmare."
He taps on the stone with a
long, yellow nail,
Spelling out the dread of a
ghostly old tale.
"Behind the dark oak sits a
library dead,
Where the screaming spirits of
old cluster over your sleepy head."
If a curious child finds the brass
hidden spring,
The wall swings wide open to
a terrifying thing.
Dusty shelves stretch forever
in shadows so deep,
Where a weeping gleaming ghost
never settled to sleep.
"Beware the old books wrapped
in velvet and lace,
And never read lullabies out
in that place!"
For the moment you whisper
those sweet bedtime rhymes,
The phantom awakens from
ancient, dark times.
She will drift from the ceiling
and freeze up your breath,
Singing a lullaby that traps
you in death.
Your sleepy eyes will heavy, your
body will twist and turn cold,
Another lost child for the
library to hold.
we used to lock them up
people who thought they had gone to heaven
or glimpsed hell
we labelled them
belittled them
made fun of them
the good old days
now we have books written by them
they rise to the best seller list
these authors are revered and honored
they go on book tours
how times have changed
how we have changed
some of us were not ready
still are not
Someone broke into my house
A crowd assembled
Chants and banners were raised
Saying “he’s one of our neighbors”
“he has a right to be here”
He took the 50 inch TV
And my truck
His ‘NEW” neighbors
Obstructed the pursuit
Of the authorities.
Now I must decide
Which of my “neighbors”
I shall “visit”
Whose truck I shall need
And whose TV will be in it.
I lock my doors
To keep the honest people honest
Is there consciousness
without language ...
how would you know
I believe that there is
but have nothing
to show
The ‘Hard Problem’
continues ...
unmetered unrhymed
Restated
unproven
— and left ill defined
(Radnor High School: January, 2026)
.
weep’n poet
‘bout mine feet
~~ December 7 is Pearl Harbor Day ~~
Pearl Harbor Day is here
‘Day of Infamy’
in American History
And yet, I bet
Most today forget
our Dec. 8 mindset:
Outraged and out for blood
To be Japanese in America
was to be human mud
We showed those Japs
Locked ‘em away
In internment camps
For three years and a day
And now, 84 years later
Are we any better today
Erzurum is lock of Islam estate
May Protector take care of Erzurum
Erzurum is border of believer community
May Protector take care of Erzurum
Youngsters respect to older ones
Try to receive their prayers
Do obeisance to Ramadan's days
May Protector take care of Erzurum
Let their heart fill with inspiration of God
Let their society find the Merciful Lord
From grace of Erzurum i saw generosity
May Protector take care of Erzurum
Written by Alvarli Efe
Translation Onur Ünlü
Watc a word lose its head
Let’s murde another
Kil with aplomb
Hur yet more
Pa n loses an eye
Look a mom sheds a tear for otherer
Behead Dee and Kate
ipping handfullfs of Aaarrs
lit and crave
Let the captai Neil kneell
I c u hidin
An evenin like this is great
Grate nails to the ski
Cut face from the chi
Fit in my bi
Do I get extra for trip lets continu
Sommeee of them got freeeee
It’s okay your saw the chain i brough with m
I think we might have to renam them tres
See ewe nex Tim.
Hey girl! Whatcha yellin' for?
I can't hear you through that thick door!
Do you really think they're gonna let you out
when all you do is stand there and shout?
You may as well chill, things will be fine.
I'm telling you, girl, we're tired of hearin' you whine.
You're gonna have to learn how to play the game,
or you'll just keep gettin' more of the same.
Don't matter want you want; you do as they say,
and just ing deal with it day after day.
It's a lot easier if you take things in stride.
Listen to me girl, 'cause I'm on your side.
'Cause we're all here in the same boat
and we all have to work to keep it afloat.
But getting pissed ain't the answer, that's a fact.
Yeah, laugh all you want girl, but look where you're at!
Quote By: Sofia Rojas
The wrong person will find you at peace then later leave you in pieces
The right person will find you when broken and help you find peace again
Both are necessary in the development and learning of your existence.
So many years of trying to find the right partner
all I got was pain and heartache, where did I go wrong ?
Guess I spend too much time trying to protect my armor
lost in my loneliness I always felt like I didn't belong;
Then I learned to self soothe and sing my own lullabies
stitched my hopes to trust then prayed him in, Who knew
that the right one would come along and hear my cries.
Yes he came to my rescue, right on cue !
Sometimes we need to meet many Mister Wrongs
before we can finally find our Mister Right
It doesn't mean you failed,
it just means your prayer never got mailed....
A
sexy
blonde bombshell
fresh and footloose
notoriously
enticing, ensnaring
dragged me by my nose-ring
bewailing, bemoaning made me
walk down the aisle towards the altar
intentionally intimidating.
VERILY I PRAY TO JESUS YAHWEH INCLUDING ALLAH ITS BEEN TWO YEARS NOW WHEN BIDEN AND ALL THE HORRORS SEVERE THREATS DURING COVID OUR LIVES IN SHAMBLES AN YET DOMESTIC TERRORISTS RIPPED OUR FLAGS MORBIDLY BREAKING INTO OUR HOME WE HAVE SPENT OVER 3000 IN NEW LOCKS LOCK SMITHS SECURITY CAMS THE JAN 6TH NEIGHBORS BUST THEM OUT IN THE DEAD OF THE NIGHT THEY CRAWL OVER FENCES PUT KEYSNIN THE DOORSBTO MAKE QUICKSET KEYS TO ENTER OUR HOME CIRCLINGBOUT APPOINTMENTS ON OUR CALENDAR SO THEY KNOW WHEN TO STROKE TAMPERING WITH MY VIETNAM VETERANS MEDALS OUR MORTAGE BANK INFORMANTION MEDICAL INFORMATION I SUFFER I SUFFER MENTAL ILLNESS PTSD TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY MY HUSBAND AS WELL REACHING FIR MY BIBLE IT'S NOT RIPPED OR FOLDED THESE TERRORISTS ARE BOLDLY MERGING WITH THE SAME DOMESTIC TERRORISTS BITTER OVER MY AMERICAN POETRY MY GOD ITS DEVASTATING THESE ARE INSURGENTS BULLIES COMMITING HOME INVASION EXTORTING OUR PEACE HERE IN AMERICA GOD BLESS AMERICA
We started off with being/
A human stuck in a tiny box/
Like a caged animal/
Day by day, we lose our senses/
To be poked and prodded/
Day and night for amusement/
This is a game to them/
Looking into the cage/
To rile the beast within/
The expected become unexpected/
The situation becomes dire/
Crying in desperation/
Remember, it's a human being/
Locked away in isolation/
Treated like garbage/
No Gods hears the cries/
From within the walls/
Trapped like a caged animal/
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.