On the foot, I look the last time,
Waiting by the drizzling time
Thinking as I took a high on river bridge lies the line
'Dunno’, yh I don’t know
How to swim? How to be fine?
Deep in my thoughts, once again I climb,
Stretching across the brink.
Think I’ve to think a thing —
Just washed away by a blink.
Is this the end of the life I lived?
Who knows to carry off the bliss in hollow prime?
Ugly sudden stroke, a jerk, a mirror
Crackling through the aurora of pink sunset
'Help! Help!'
I looked, but it was hazy — tears had vagued my sight
An old woman drowning in the river,
Swept by the heavy flow
home life- work life+ my sanity+
I say “catch” and hurl the ball
And all you do is smile
You skip and dance and let the ball be lost
What you do is good, but not what I sought
At night I turned and tossed.
Onto a night, so dark, the ball was lost
Will I need the ball again?
Am I lonely without, or am I free?
A smile returned, a lesson learned
Was that your gift to me?
I hope you stumble onto peace
Whenever anxiety trips you up
I hope you embrace that flicker like it's worth every breath you take
That you remember anxiety is not your address
That you deserve tranquility in its purest form
In whatever shape that might take
Honor your space
Be in every moment, but don't make a home in the dark
You are light
You deserve peace
Own that and walk in it
Do this now..' be swift; be calm, be focused.' One of the last rights you,
We all have is to choose, whether we
Want to die ' if the WHO get this cdc
Bill through.? Using your senators you
Will no longer hold that right, communisam, has entered..By the side
Gate, you either clean house now or
Loose the Nation.' Be strong and unite.!
Live, live, live, my burning soul screams.
Down to ashes, down to nothing,
Sitting in flames, burning even my rage.
A symphony of screams escapes my trance.
Live, live, live, echoes in my head.
Burning pyre, pyre containing my dreams.
Crying sky, serves light at the death of the day.
Dying hope reincarnates, my heart rejuvenates.
Live, live, live, embedded in my eyes,
Eyes that cry but refuse to die.
Broken castle, castle of my dreams,
I fetch bricks, for I choose to live.
"Hell is empty and all the devils are here” - William Shakespeare
What is this hell upon us that we live in?
What lawless times must we endure
when fools abound and we can’t win?
Where they come from we’ll never know for sure.
My best guess is that hell is empty
and they’re here loose in numbers plenty ~
AP: 3rd place 2025
Submitted on April 6, 2025 for contest THE BARD'S BIRTHDAY sponsored by OLIVER McKEITHAN - RANKED 4TH
I slowly detach, like ink seeping onto pages of lost memories,
like a song slowly fading from the mind that once swore it eternal,
everything begins gently—your name on my lips becomes a foreign echo,
your messages remain unread, not out of anger, but from fear of the unknown.
You place silence where questions once were, perhaps you don't notice how I fade,
or maybe you see and remain silent, letting me become a shadow in the corner of your eye,
this is the pain that burns quietly—not that I have scattered over time,
but that you watched me shrink in the silence between us, a dream drowned in forgetfulness.
Tell me, did you ever see the truth in my heart,
or was I already a phantom lost in my own story?
I melted like dew at sunrise in your days, a forgotten dream,
a whisper carried by the wind, lost in the void of memories that no longer matter.
Lately, my passion lies in poetry’s embrace,
Quenching my soul’s thirst in this sacred space.
The newborn’s cries inspire the lines I weave,
Leaving them behind, in their form, I believe.
My heart is torn, in tatters and frayed,
I write my verses with a shaky hand laid.
One day, this paper, with my thoughts laid bare,
Will be cast aside, as if no one would care.
I spill my thoughts onto sheets of white,
Relentlessly, my pen takes flight.
If I fail to share what’s in my mind,
Is there any use for paper left behind?
The trees crowd in along the broken trail,
sunlight tries to push through, but mostly fails,
straight trunks spread out and obscure distant gaze,
there’s eyes out there, watching, afraid they’re prey.
Ahead a break grows larger with each step,
cerulean against the forest depth,
the summit rock cresting half of the peak,
this vantage sought by many weary feet.
Red squirrels chitter and dash as I emerge,
I want to shout, but I restrain the urge,
swellings of peaks spread out like tapestries,
their secrets hid beneath the endless trees,
a slash of gray where earth cuts through in stone,
Mother Nature is lost without her bones,
then rips of blue, a ribbon swaggers slow
to wild ponds saved by being remote,
marsh meadows near sometimes reveal a moose,
but today only mallards are in view.
Beyond this lies a scar, a bigger lake,
fringed by cabins and docks, stretching out straight,
above it all vultures fly on the breeze,
their slow circles effortless and lazy,
to think such birds get this view every day…
Who knows if again I will pass this way.
I have been tossed in raging tempest storms,
and dealt with life's stress far beyond the norm.
I've walked alone on nights of pouring rain,
felt blows of physical and mental pain.
I've gazed at stars glowing above my head,
tried to forget sorrowful things I dread.
Stayed in bed when the sunlight rose at dawn,
my window shades pulled tight, and curtains drawn.
There were hungry times with nothing to eat,
cried myself to sleep, verging on defeat.
I've wakened on mornings of birds singing...
the sound of church bells that I hear ringing.
Comforted knowing God, my Father cares,
Hope is my anchor, my burdens He bears.
I'd like to thank you (you're so nice)
for all your well-reasoned advice.
Without you, I would sure be lost,
forgetting to be brushed and flossed.
I wonder how I got this far
without you, wisdom's superstar.
From everything that you have said,
you must think I don't have a head.
I am so very error prone,
dare I strike out on my own?
I would like to return your gift:
should you find yourself adrift,
I think the most practical advice
is to wear a coat if you see ice.
The ocean's cold. I hope you don't freeze.
Hold onto this anchor please.
Holding onto a memory,
but I can’t stop holding onto it.
It’s a piece of my heart that I can’t stop thinking about.
I miss those beautiful eyes that I could stare at for hours, I miss the way you cared about little things.
But you dont do that anymore, It’s all just a memory
A day in a night that has changed
A twenty-four hour period
God stands outside of time
He watches over all things
Although I am one of His offerings
I am His
A week has come and gone
The universe still sets above
I am encased, embraced in His arms
I am a child of the living King
He reigns on heaven and earth
Elohim creator of all
Minute’s mere seconds I left heavenly places
I am from heaven, I came, I come forth to earth
4/1/24
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2024©
Hold me in your arms Bluebird
I need your comfort too
Tell me that you love me
Kiss me as you do
Open to each other
Communication street two-way
Sharing private moments
Unashamed in what we say
I want for you to know me
In case of a someday
This isn't just a passing thing
It's really a bouquet
Of all the things I've written
Meant only just for you
For with you I am smitten
Enraptured by your view
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