Cold echoes wake the ancient cobblestones,
A hardened soul now walking all alone.
I leave the past and all its grief behind,
A wraith of shadow, silhouette outlined.
A hardened soul now walking all alone,
The chilled ghost of my dying flesh and bone.
A wraith of shadow, silhouette outlined,
The silhouette, a haunting shadow met.
The chilled ghost of my dying flesh and bone,
Grey light breaks down upon the frozen stone.
The silhouette, a haunting shadow met,
As breathless quiet fills the heavy air.
Grey light breaks down upon the frozen stone,
My footsteps echoing a heavy tone.
As breathless quiet fills the heavy air,
A wraith of shadow, silhouette outlined.
My footsteps echoing a heavy tone,
I leave the past and all its grief behind.
A wraith of shadow, silhouette outlined,
Cold echoes wake the ancient cobblestones.
I almost didn't make it to be here today,
So sit back and let me tell you the story my way.
I was walking out of the store one day
when some guys wanted to take my life away.
Bullets started flying, people running for cover.
They shot me three times, over and over.
As I lay on the ground, I'm screaming for help.
Had to crawl out of the street and dialed 911 myself.
I'm laying there dying, and the Angel of God spoke to me and said,
"My son, I'm with you here today, and you're not dead."
That's when I closed my eyes, and the ambulance drove away.
I woke up from a coma; that's when I started to pray.
God spared my life. He loves me so much.
I talk to Him every day now with a heavenly touch.
the orchid lamp burns low against the screen of jade
a silver hairpin pierces the frozen musk
kingfisher quilt lies undone
eaglewood breathes unrisen dusk
dripping copper drains last watch
bronze worn where our first shadows seamed
morning mirror broken bride
embroidered sash unlaces on the hearthstone
the spring silkworm spun its chamber shut
silk wound against a bridal drum untouched
red wax sealed—spent wick weeps into the stele
beside the moonlit sill the brush-knife cleaves the charred core
the seal breaks at midnight
a single scent of eaglewood rises
Kunlun incense
rain on Kunlun has fallen for thirty years
water settles Kunlun-hore
the rain not yet wet
The doorway waited, silent, for someone who never arrived.
1427 MONOKU LINE
Sponsored by: Brian Strand
Contest Judged: 11/29/2025 10:36:00 PM
( 1st Place )
written_Krung Thep Aphiwat_11272025
When truth is reversed into lies,
a silent cry takes its place.
And when this happens,
prayer becomes the only weapon
against the cruelty of the world.
A cry the world refuses to hear.
A pain that goes unnoticed.
A silent cry in a solitary room—
and yet, a flicker of hope,
a thought still blooming
beyond the ache.
Trust becomes a fragile thread—
easily frayed once you step away.
Laughter echoes in your absence,
not always in kindness.
Advice arrives,
dressed in concern,
but its weight presses you further down.
Encouragement stays silent,
while sympathy hides behind walls.
Words come sharp,
not to lift, but to slice.
They speak as if they know your path,
yet never ask where your feet have been.
The smile once shared
to lift others from despair—
gone in a breath,
vanished in the hush
of midnight blues.
In a moment, everything changed.
Now, with only the weight of sorrow to carry,
I hold on to the one thing that remains:
prayer—
the shield against the shadows,
the strength to block the evil
that prowls unseen.
She left no echo, made no sound,
Just folded time without a frown.
No curtain call, no loud applause—
Just grace departing without pause.
A hand once warm now gently still,
A final breath, a resting will.
And yet, her presence lingers on—
In morning light and dusk till dawn.
Soft is the way the faithful part—
A silent hymn within the heart.
No need for words, no need to cry,
Just love wrapped in a silent hymn.
In quiet grace, their spirits fly.
When someone first dies and leaves us,
It’s hard to lift that sense of gloom,
When their body is no longer with us,
But their presence still fills the room.
But within our treasured memories,
We can recollect their smiling face,
For in our heart-of-hearts we know,
They are now in a much better place.
Darkness is fast
Tree with no leaves
Souls are gloomy.
Dear God anywhere but here I pray,
both day and night with a sigh.
I just want to run far away,
away where I can be myself.
I want my life to be real,
not a life someone else has picked for me.
A beautiful life that I can live in,
a life I can grow in love and happiness.
Many times I have asked myself,
why is life so very hard and unfair?
I am still listening and waiting,
will the answer ever show up?
Maybe one day....
pistols at dawn, one will die ~
fate unknown, both hearts will sigh
Why should I doubt, why should I fear
When Jesus my High Priest is near?
Would He desert His blood-bought child
And let him sink in sin defiled?
Has He not love and grace combined
With power and wisdom sweetly twined?
So would He leave me to decay
If I neglect sometimes to pray?
How much more faithful He than I,
When sometimes I His name deny
And when my days are filled with cares
And few and far between my prayers.
Why anxious be,
My child, my love?
I rule above
And here below,
Do you not know
That sun and storm
And smooth and rough
All good and ill
Are subject to my will –
for good?
“We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28
They say when mind and heart are at war
It's tough to decide whose side you are
Which one blooming truth of what you are
you ended up taking the side of any one of all
Your soul, alas or jocose but gratified at last
What chaos when mind and heart are opposed
when Both draff upholds issues at all to resolve
The issues that ruffle and muddle thy soul
Soul bid mind and heart to calm all the chaos
But, both respond matter out of their spell of charm
The soul now roves a lot to get issues resolved
When the mind and heart stop working at all soul
Stand at the seashore as an epitome of chaos
Questioning its other halves and the God
Whom should it call to open its heart n scars?
Says alas over issues that never get solved
Alas! Alas! Alas!
An Esau lifts the carnal
And mocks the spiritual
Though he possessed the birthright
He pursued the physical
An Esau values his ways
"Satisfy the appetite"
Despise God's promised future
A dangerous stew to bite
An Esau rejects God's ways
His birthright he sold for stew
The cunning hunter is snared
A misstep he can't undo
An Esau forfeits blessing
God's promise deemed a dud
Prey to his own appetite
Addiction duped this stud
An Esau learns his fate late
He seeks now to recover
The blessing he once despised
Was captured by his brother
An Esau has space to repent
But it's not unrestricted
The Spirit strives for a time
To rescue the convicted
An Esau cannot repent
Even if he wanted to
Though he seeks with many tears
The Holy Spirit withdrew
A solitary teardrop formed in my eye,
so I froze the flow of time, to learn the cause
of my sorrow when desires were flying high.
My conscience spoke, saying I'd broken God's laws,
engaged in needless strife, which soul does decry,
so distanced from source, these teardrops fall because
light of God indwelling form is veiled from sight
and so He weeps these tears, beholding our plight.
soul wounds
scars fails to form
pain seems to be the norm
storm after storm
happiness in the eyes
when hope shies from its weak tries
they said the sun never lies
.. and how many times it shun just for fun
hurt fills the blood
vintage wine the more the time, like old open wounds from time to time it erupts and flood
what's done is done
you get used to serving the same piece of your flesh well done
deeper said the wound to the dagger
... and the word i love you sounds madder
hope rise and sets
this is as merciful as it gets
c'est la vie
what will be... will be
sane as with the pain
pain as sadness could behave a little insane
make it rain
curtain the name drop the blame hide the gut shame
conceal the feel
today's real is tomorrow's surreal
feeling the stab
is the best rehab
smile to the mirror
it's been a while
cryptic smile
tamer ?
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