There is a grief that whispers, not a cry,
A subtle ache beneath a practiced eye.
It does not shatter, bleed, or loudly break,
But shifts the self in every small mistake.
We honor storms that split the sky in two,
Yet miss the quiet fractures passing through—
A pause too long, a smile held too tight,
A dimming edge we overlook in light.
For wounds may bloom in silence, slow and thin,
A hidden crack that deepens from within.
No witness stands, no sirens claim the night,
Just inward fading, out of mind and sight.
So tread with care in every passing face,
Each soul a ledger time cannot erase.
The deepest pain may never speak, nor show—
It softens first, and no one sees it grow.
I sometimes wonder
whether you are wearing
a mask, that your alluring
crimson blush and perfume
is a subterfuge
made up to enamor me -
not crafted by a desire
to deceive but by a need
to conceal, that beneath
your beauty lies a truer self
you do not want
to reveal.
Perhaps you fear
that if seen under
the scrutiny of a clearer light,
your mask may fall apart
and expose
a deeper truth,
an essence of the sublime
which, in this world,
could overwhelm and blind,
thus choosing
to adorn yourself
with fragrant petals
and a thorn.
This is a contest entry for Law of Physics and Humanity. The topic I chose was quantum superposition. Look back into your own life, use choices with what outcomes that could've been. For example being stuck behind a slow driver to only see that the car ahead of them wrecked. Each possibility is a state and there are infinite ones of them. This is my poem about the probability of your life.
Vector spaces give us the direction,
A part of the answer to your question,
What is superposition in quantum you're asking,
Plenty of types of vector for electron to proton masking,
The masking of possible probability of infinite states,
This is what Schrodinger's cat dictates,
Infinite outcomes until finally observed,
Taking the amount of measures then probability is preserved,
Applied to life supplies what state you're in,
Plus the probability of what you could have been.
Maybe I should put my mask back on, squeeze back in my mold.
I’m too loud, too colorful, too different; at least that's what I’m told.
I tried so hard to blend into the crowd,
Whispered when I wanted to scream out loud.
But the mask is heavy, the mold too tight,
And shrinking myself doesn't feel quite right.
So maybe I’ll break the mold apart,
Peel back the mask and show my heart.
Maybe I’ll be loud, and maybe I’ll shine,
Because this life, this soul, is mine.
They may call me too much, too bright, too rough,
But I’d rather be too much than not enough.
The birds will sing when I wake,
The crowd will clap, the ground will quake.
I’ll be heard, I’ll be seen,
Touching the hearts of the unseen.
I’ll reach the stars, I’ll reach the moon,
Leaving echoes in every room.
My words will ripple through the air,
A spark of hope, a whispered prayer.
I’ll build bridges where others fall,
I’ll light fires, like it’s my true call.
I’ll change the world, prove them wrong.
Show them broken still means strong.
Until then, I type away.
Alone in this dark place, I stay.
I’ll share my heart, but hide my face,
Wrapped in silence and disgrace.
I’ll lose my mind, I’ll go insane,
Chasing words, to ease the pain.
Until then, I’ll step aside,
Watch the world pass me by.
I’ll wake this world, make them see,
Until then, I’ll let them sleep.
9/29/2024
I have a disguise
It keeps me safe from lesions
They look at my mask
The mask is gilded
Few will ask what's underneath
They look at my shoes
My shoes they are plain
Noone knows where I have walked
They look at my eyes
My eyes they look back
Opaque, smeared and inconstant
They ask me to speak
I open my mouth
And impart all my wisdom
They nod and depart
I drop my disguise
Sigh and collapse with relief
Tomorrow can wait
I'm smiling
But I'll never tell
What makes me shine,
My heart to swell.
It is my secret
Mine alone
That makes me shine
My eyes, my soul.
For deep inside
I feel it rise
Words and art
My daily prize.
I close my eyes
So proud am I That in my soul
Pure joy resides
I saw a guy on the older side, he donned a mask
(All jokes aside) I do believe it worked for him'
On election days with glitz and spin, he soon found
That it would always magic away, all doom sayers
On most weak-days' also he didn't need a cape to
Escape, when reality menaced; right in his face.'
He'd just reveal his ace; in the hole, it seemed it
Would serve for any jail... Er I mean goal.!
It also helped when eating food, it cut on splutter
Which some think crude, I don't know if he's tried
It for dates ? Yet better late than never, also a
Spare might be useful? should the constipation break'
Suddenly..' He had a thought; on a cure, for all others'
Errant minds, maybe lobotomy's for them one and all?
Perhaps more panicking? Would be the call? Like Barak
O' Harris was often saying, get with programme'
There can be no neighing.' Just keep trotting on like
This; and see' its all in the scripting ( for the time to be)
Afterwards It's going to change, You'll get bigger letters
Apart from that; its just the same; old same.'
boris broke the rules
attending garden parties
whilst WE stayed at home
He covers his back
rules are now to be relaxed
voters are not fools!
I am cynical
of politicians actions
If the truth be told
01/20/21
The experts say to double-mask
For maximum protection,
But such advice will certainly
Be met with mass rejection.
Since time and time again, I see
When crowds are squashed together,
So many maskless faces,
Birds of such a foolish feather.
At least down in Australia
Where some parts are Covid-free,
The masklessness makes sense to most,
At least to some degree.
But in the clueless U.S.A.,
Still deep in Covid trouble,
The likelihood of masking’s
Very doubtful, much less double.
It's a slight blessing that we're all wearing masks.
Because there weren't many smiles anyhow.
Besides we're all equally beautiful now.
Frightening to see so many tangled in self.
I think we should remain indefinitely masked.
Until we can learn to untangle and smile once again.
To ward off those germs from afar
I’m using a tatty old bra
It can’t be a task
To make a face mask
I’ll model it like a film star!
But sewing skills, none to be had -
My home made mask looks very bad
No way does it fit
I look a right tit
My husband won’t wear his, I’m glad!
Limerick Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Janice Canerdy
04/27/20
silence marks a fool a wise man - a closed mouth marks understanding
Proverbs 17-28....Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. (KJV)
11-17-19
Contest: Proverbial Monoku 2
Sponsor: Carol Connell
Through smokey eyes, there lies
a girl whose innocence begins to materialize
To her surprise no one can hear her cries
because she's all alone in her masked disguise
Don't blame her, blame the world
Blame this girl she thought would unfurl
But now she's numb and feeling quite dumb
Her eyes tear-stained she's coming undone
One day she was Jane
Next day she was Mary
Was she going insane?
I found it quite scary
She went to the therapist
He treated her with hypnosis
For a while she was fine
And then she said her name was Caroline
So she went back to the therapist
So he could come up with another plan
But something was amiss
This time she called herself Ann!
I had four women in one
But there was a little girl inside
Who was trying to mask the pain
of her childhood trauma
But her tears she could not hide
----
5/14/16
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