There’s a kind of power in my failure.
Like a bell that always rings inside me.
Not too loud, but at the same time,
its echo feels like a song teaching me
that failure is but a phase.
It makes the world unpredictable.
It rings when I fall,
as if it's a sign I will rise.
It rings when I cry.
Yet when I hold a pen and paper
and write my pain out,
it barely makes a sound ,
like a bell too shy to ring.
So, I let it ring in its own time,
like it always gives me a chance to be me.
Yet on those days it rang,
it showed me that I was here,
and made me turn failure into a song,
a melody that lingers, uninvited yet welcomed.
There once was a certain floozie
Who sang just like a chantoozie
Not in smoky night clubs
But in outback pubs
It happened when she got quite boozy.
He Was a Child Once, Too
He was a child once, too—
before the dusk outgrew the dawn,
before his little hands knew
how much a heart could carry on.
A face once lived beyond his sight,
then slipped away from memory’s light;
and childhood, like a fading tune,
grew quiet beneath a borrowed moon.
He became a roof in someone’s rain,
a little warmth against their pain;
he gave his flame so others could see,
while darkness kept a place for him silently.
He wore the years like a borrowed coat,
kept every storm inside his throat;
and though the world saw strength in him,
I know the child still lives within.
To me, that man is not merely strong—
he is the real hero of my life.
I love you, Abu.
— Zehreen
Do l belong anymore
On that l am just not sure
Once it felt like coming home
Now it feels empty and alone
Once l knew it was for me
I had found my place of acceptance and happy
Now uncertainty reigns
The unknown flows through my veins
Once l had definite clarity
Now l feel no solidarity
Once verses now ….at completely different ends
Time has changed what once felt like ….a dear old friend
As this room, Earth life's, dims more
Leaves us, piling up
With too much things boxed, besides
This, junked, abides
In the mind's own storage place.
Old. Wilted, washed out.
Sentiment! Flowery phrased.
Dream world's. Since rased.
You call yourself my father but you never even bother to call me your daughter.
I sat for a while thinking about you
I thought that maybe hes on the moon
“Mollee what did you do, to make him leave all of you?”
I realize that it was never my fault
Hes and adult
Why should I blame myself for him walking away, it’s not like i was old enough to tell him to stay
Thinking about him leaving used to hurt more then bleeding.
I'm 14 now and somehow I still don't know why you left
you just settled on theft.
alive once again
When I take my last breath and my life fades away, listen for angels with their harps and the happy tune that they play
You see, death is the beginning and is like opening a door, as the hurt and pain you have suffered will be no more
You will no longer be old or confined to a bed; you will be the younger
You and not a grey hair on your head
In heaven with the angels where you belong, reunited with loved ones you thought were long gone
And when they say death is the end and you are no more, you just have to follow the light through that open door
So don’t be afraid and don’t shed a tear; you will not be alone, and there is nothing to fear
So when your time has come and you are no more, just walk a few steps through the open door
To a place of peace and where there is no pain, a place where you are young and feel alive once again.
I regret now having once thought
That each new morning fresh hope brought,
And keys were meant to open doors,
Bars on windows protect what's yours,
Steep walls were meant for privacy.
Now I see how wrong one can be!
As I await for my release,
I pray to God for inner peace.
(Honorable mention in Line Gauthier's Bite Size No 147 Contest)
Once, upon a word,
one thought stirred within silence
on a quiet dawn—
sleeping inception woke up
once was becoming something.
One morning, somewhere,
at the edge of what might be,
at just one past one—
two's a penny, a coin toss—
now suddenly one's a word.
On this very day,
at this very one moment,
lies what's now and then,
see-sawing with pending things—
How else should a story start?
Everyone was born once
But not everyone absorbs the
Weight of their name.
And not even rise to carry it with truth.
FATHER TO ELDER SON: ONCE MORE AGAIN
I am your father;
Let me not be a bother,
Nor your enemy:
Please come and visit with me;
My time here will soon not be:-
The compass of God,
Has never led one astray;
Satan’s does—each day:-
Be in God’s navigation;
And love’s resurrection:-
Have mercy on me,
And forgive me for my sins
Against God and thee:-
Love you more than you can know;
Forgive me before I go:-
Forgiveness of me
Is not about forgetting;
It’s about mercy:
For the pain you’ve given me,
God knows, I’ve forgiven thee.
I’ll die loving you,
I have lived life loving you:
God guiding me on:-
And as death takes me further,
Pray tell, greets from your brother:-
.
hungry
needy thankful
wanton
2
3
4
gottuh have more timez
blithe
')
I once was a serious poet
rubbing my forehead ‘til it wrinkled
Scratched my beard night and day
spreading flakes of dandruff every which way
But then I had an epiphany
writing pop songs was ten times as easy
I limited my lyrics to ‘O, Baby’
the rest of my story ~ pure gravy
Once had a cat Whose Name Was
By
J.A. Long
I once had a cat named Gingerbread
He never saw red
Until his final days
I once had a cat named Sue
I regrated my mistake
But he never said boo
I once had a cat whose name Buck
He used to think he was a watch dog
But never got mistaken for a duck
Until the day he was sadly lost
I once had a cat whose name was Meg
She never even tried to beg
Once had a cat named Alex
Someone might have thought
He created the phone
Once had a cat named Chico
He had a temper
But he was quick to repent
Even though we did not have a tent
I once had a cat named Vaness
She was so sweet that she
Could have been a Contessa
Once had a cat named Melissa
She was a little a playful
And she always wore a tux
Once had a cat named Carly
She did not like barley
But she did occasionally sing
Even on weekends
I once had a cat named Renee
She was sweet and vocal
Thank God she was not a Wren
She gave me some advice before passing away
Oh, I miss them all!
There once were two lovers from Spain
Caught getting frisky on a train.
Sweaty and coiled,
Their passions embroiled,
While the conductor charged onlookers to remain.
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.