"HE's GoNe OFf ThE DEeP ENd!"
I Hear You Might Say...
The Deep End Is
Wayyyy Too Scary...
For Me.
I Don’t Come Up
Fast Enough...
I Can't Breath
Under There.
Yeah, Yeah...
Weakness Comes
From Necessity,
Like Vulnerability
Leads To Sensitivity.
F-Off. OOOPS!
-Gray Squirrel
Isn’t sleep supposed to be restful?
Isn’t sleep supposed to be calm?
Sleep is a time my mind goes off the deep end, replaying like a broken record.
Sleep is a time the panic and anxiety creep in, startling me awake.
Being abruptly awakened by such intense anxiety, feeling nauseous but like you're being choked at the same time.
The alarm doesn’t come fast enough yet too fast all at once. Body and mind still drained.
Will the calm of sleep ever find me?
Desert Poem
Always chasing the wind
Sweet sound soothing violin
Air dry, subdued quiet room
Poetic drift embrace gloom
Paper waits, ideas bend
Wrinkled clouds ascended
Just a small black desk
Embrace silent voices isolated
Mind runneth off the deep end
Desert poem heat index
Quench a poetic journey
Nightly shadows with creative scenery
No validation
Posted stamp flies freely
8/18/25
In the list I saw a new contest, entitled "A Poem Please."
At first glance I thought, "Is this for real or just a tease?"
The theme for this contest was just periods-punctuation.
I'd have moved on except for contests I've an infatuation.
A string of five dots, seemingly a period after a period.
Hmm...Should I write in sonnet form, or an epic Iliad?
The challenge in this one is that I wasn't given a direction
of what to write about. It's in the hands of my discretion.
I know I've jumped off the deep end of the poetry pool
but if I turn back now, I'm sure I'll look like a crazy fool.
I'm left wondering how to salvage such a pathetic start
of what could have been a poem about a broken heart.
Nah, I've written that scenario a time or maybe twelve.
Into that nether region I should no longer try to delve.
No pizza party will this little ditty win for the likes of me.
But this something silly might make you laugh-wickedly.
My girlfriend goes off the deep end
Each night before bed until dawn
Yakety Yak as I lie on my back
Just trying to stifle a yawn
She complains and tries to explain
And still I don't know what to say
Oh what a quandary, her dirty laundry
Keeps piling up higher each day
I implore, can't take anymore
This burden of yakety Yak
I'm really quite bored, so please help me Lord
To get this load off of my back
I told myself that you were off limits
I promised that I would not fall
But I lost that battle early on
With each joke and laugh we share, the less I want to hang on.
The edge is drawing near.
I don't want to fall, but I'm not ready to jump
My lifeline is growing shorter,
Each laugh is like a gravitational pull
I can't hold on much longer
The reason why I won't jump is replaced with an encouraging one.
The water is shallow and I know that
A leap of faith is all it takes
I keep drawing back, letting fear take over
I can't be scared forever can I?
To keep fighting makes me weak, but you give me the strength
One day I will let go, but how do I know that you'll be there to catch me if I fall?
Little do I know, I fell a long time ago.
It's a horrible horrible scene.
Endless nightmare, in no way a dream.
At the top of my lungs I will scream.
It consumed all my self esteem.
No longer pure, now so unclean.
Someone tell me, what does it mean?
It's anxiety, terror and fear,
causing this downfall of tears.
It's been like this for so many years.
Evil monsters just seem to appear.
Screaming demons now all I hear.
Their anger and hate so sincere.
Hallucination, psychosis or real.
Scared and confused, all I can feel.
My sanity it wants to steal.
With the devil, it must have a deal.
Instability within to reveal.
Misery and pain not to heal.
It keeps replaying in my brain,
causing headaches with great pain.
Flowing through the blood in my veins.
The life within me it slowly drains.
My body has become its domain.
Off the deep end, I'm going insane.
It fills me with constant dread.
On my happiness it has fed.
Painful things to me it said.
It's words had my thoughts misled.
Until all of the blood in my body is shed.
It won't stop messing with my head.
Granny has found a new trend
With unseen waves to contend
Ironing board skurfing
And living room surfing
Granny's gone off the deep end!
7-15-2022
Limerick Contes
Sponsor: Lisa YY
Human sparkle spirit runs the shine chasing you
We are poor yet we want penny for your thoughts
You bring war I stand here with raised hands and an olive branch
The clowns red nose strikes a pose stopped up congested
Aura color spectrum forget Me Not
~
Wishing wells hoping to be filled all the way through
Concrete grass stains on a basement condominium just bought
Embracing running together via a chance dance
Off the deep end tip of the tongue invested
Dead bodies melt-disintegrate physically rot
So that I am instilled installed compassion
Within my vision I'm blinded in rose colored glasses
Humanity viewed
11/27/21
Written by James Edward Lee Sr ©
Tomorrow I will be spontaneous,
I will dive off the deep end,
Jump in a mud puddle,
catch fireflies and let them go.
Tomorrow I will start anew,
I will move to a bigger place,
I will clean our boxes of stuff,
I will take the time to reminisce.
Tomorrow I will go the distance,
I will find a new job, a new love,
A new adventure to keep me alive,
I will want to stay to see tomorrow.
Tomorrow I will never see,
It will never come, never be,
Tomorrow is always a step away,
I didn't even make it through today.
I'm reaching for the unattainable,
Longed for it for so long,
It's all I can think, smell, taste or dream of,
He's beautifully flawed
And he's all I've ever wanted,
Full in touch,
But empty in words,
The moment passes
And I'm alone again,
Foolish to think I'm the one,
Foolish to believe I could've been enough,
Longing to cry out these feelings,
Stuck in refusals,
Screaming in empty spaces,
Echoes bounce off walls,
Where has my ghost gone,
Hope for memories to revive,
Clogging all senses,
Hating you when you leave,
Mouth full of white lies,
I love you anyway,
Leaping off the deep end,
Can't swim,
So I drown,
Where have you gone,
I can't find you in the body next to me,
It's hard to say I've been wrong,
Impossible to accept,
I'll remain alone in the end
One cup of coffee.
Do I want breakfast?
Not yet. Second cup of coffee maybe.
I am still not pleasant.
I can feel my growly face.
I had better have a third cup.
If someone speaks to me
I might go off the deep end.
I am not ready to be sociable or nice yet.
My husband tiptoes in,
sees my face,
and turns back around.
He knows I am still in the “gnawing your legs off”
frame of mind this morning.
He and the dog both read me well.
while sleeping
i hear the pitter
but not the patter
that will come later
(how many thought
"latter"? "ladder"? or
"lather"? it doesn't
matter, dreams are
that way, happily
ever after...) but in
nonsuch lets say:
the feet steps of
a little creature
running top my
roof (really just
a squirrel, but lets
say we decided
to use "lather" in
stead):
the sound of drops
perhaps raindrops
since it would
be insane to say
there's a faucet
above my house
but since it's lather
let me finish washing
and massaging my Muse
then get a rubber
should get a rubber
washer first to stop
the dripping drops
that patter and keep
me from getting
a good night's
sleep
Staring at the blank walls
You think of the what ifs
The what it could be,
The why it happened
You’re stuck
Stuck in a battle of the past
Begging for peace
Begging for a way out
Staring into the distance
You make yourself distant
Having feelings of failure
Feelings of guilt
Bringing thoughts to give up
Hoping you can just give in
Feeling you’ll never win
Not knowing where you fit
Wanting to jump off the deep end
Unable to control the anger within
When you’ve fallen
When control feels lost
Searching for hope
Lost in a painful memory
Hoping for a way to let someone in
Wanting the pain to subside again
Aching for a second chance
Staring at the blank walls
A hard battle that won’t be effortless
Remembering there will always be a reason to fight
A chance to conquer
Past the demons plaguing within.
The due date approaches; the deadline looms
Irritation's in the air; annoyance fumes
A cauldron boils in every newsroom
The tension's palpable; nerves are frayed
Editors hit the ceiling
At mistakes never made
Ill winds are blowing of mounting desperation
Cooler heads giving way to righteous indignation
Utter frustration in the act of creation
Now the boss' out his mind; he's gone off the deep end
Taken it out on someone; flown right off the handle
Only to land himself head first in a scandal...
So remember, all you newsies, stay under control
Not blowing up's your primary goal
Meet your deadline; don't forfeit your soul
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