remember childhood
some ate glue others cut hair
dangerous mixture
dull safety scissors
elmers glue bottles, glitter
tattered valentines
overwhelmed teacher
in sticky situations
over running sink
I have mended many things:
with needles, scissors and strings,
the clothing of loved ones, large and small;
relationships were mended, too old now to recall;
I have even mended the proverbial fence,
erected for my own defense,
but the hardest to mend is my own heart,
broken and torn apart,
for memory’s scissors, sharp and fast,
slash the mend and bring up the past.
July 22, 2026
For Mend the Fences or Burn the Bridges Contest
Margarita Lillico, Sponsor
The day I had hated the orange sun,
Or the bulb that sat with me in the room,
Please know there was something you could have done,
But worry not, I was your opportune.
Maybe when the grey blade glares on my skin,
Or when the cold darkness hugs my body—
Please read my dry lips for what could have been,
A set version of me: disembodied.
Don't mourn or cry or anything of grief;
Look back at your own shadow's state and shape.
Why didn't I get my slice of relief?
Why just now? Why not then? Something at stake?
When my turn comes to haunt those who wronged me,
I won't do it. I won't. I won't. I won't.
Against my feelings, I will have pity,
Pity I didn't get yet I still want.
A feeling of love is like an infected arm.
You love that arm, you’ve come to know that arm very well.
But sometimes,
you need to cut it off.
This color and shape, oh yes.
Caressing the cold metal,
savoring this joyous moment between my fingers.
A lifetime of symmetry, severed in an instant.
These black scissors were made for me.
This thread bleeds so beautifully.
I must
keep cutting.
I don’t get the love I need anymore.
I need more,
I need more love.
I need more joy.
Snip snip snip.
The fruits of my labor, the carnage of my joy.
I never run out of thread,
It just stops bleeding.
You'll want to cover yourself.
I've got circumcision scissors in my pocket.
I'm liable to use them.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
you asked me how to walk with scissors
I said my dear,
that's so bizarre
that's like asking how to get to Georgia
without using planes or cars,
a better man
than myself
would've told you
darling
if you wanted to learn how to walk with scissors
you're better off crawling
you hold them by the blade my love
just like you did to me
you tell me that you love me babe
but I cant stand to watch you leave
I'll watch you walk out that house
I cant tell fact from myth
I begged you just to stay a while
then you walked out,
with the scissors you stabbed me with
now I told you how to walk with scissors,
how could you do that to me?
now I know to hold on tight
because the scissors belong to me
There once was a noble man, a tailor,
A great soul disguised in a routine role,
In sea of humdrum life, a skilled sailor
In search of a hallowed path of plain goal.
A king when came to him, homage to pay,
Gifted a pair of scissors made of gold
That left the sage ponder, if somewhat cold,
Declining the award, no more to say.
What else may I O Great Sage, asked the king,
Give if ye must, give a needle that stitch,
Scissors tend to diminish, dividing,
Needles bond, strive togetherness so rich,
Bring broken hearts back as ere to abide,
Not scissors, let needles be a man’s guide.
__________________________________________
Sonnet (Reflections | 03.05.2008, revised Jan 2024|
But a brush and a touch, one parting more.
Delilah, Moon-girl, you stole my strong light.
I, your Sun-boy, am shorn having blackout,
but remember my close shaves, the honey
and dead days, my foes jaw-struck,
as the long-winded she-ass brays in my ear.
With influence silverish, drowning golden locks,
the egg-eating fish-god wins for a period
till dawn's yellow meets me at the next round.
I shake gold pillars in Dagon's stone temple
where uncut spectators are dying to taunt me
but what do I care for I know you await me,
At noon I burn for you,
at nightfall I sigh for you, O Delilah.
I just want to be me, free to exist,
rest knowing everything inside is seen;
The somber parts also need to be kissed,
if it's love then there is no in between;
Really, can't I simply be who I am?
Tired of only being half a vision;
Start to feel better in this skin then bam!
Intrusive thoughts offer no solution;
Snipping at whatever doesn't suit you
little did you know it always grows back;
What's bitter will bleed bona fide and true;
It's a vibe when you linger in the black;
Cutting into me I don't need sutures,
do not conform me with painted scissors.
The dangers of health and safety
Cannot possibly be overstated
Because yesterday I tripped over
A pile of paper H&S related
It's a minefield of regulation
I've bought a tsunami plan
And six fire extinguishers
For a one-man-business band
The ludicrous requirements
Are completely over the top...
Soon I'll have to wear safety goggles
When I vac the floor and mop
I start out by looking around the room
And thinking what if the clock ran down the stairs
Jumped out the window and landed on the calendar?
What if the scissors got angry with the crayons?
Would there be a massacre?
Would my muse name it?
My muse wakes up upon hearing her name.
She is persnickety and wants to change most of my words.
Adding way too may clever, fun, exciting, silly, wonderful delicious adjectives.
She has two assistants now - Pixie and Drixie,
And they jump in the fray…..
Pixie starts flipping the calendar pages and Drixie takes a hammer to the clock.
Trixie’s bad mood makes us all laugh.
She thinks she is head muse, but I have the weird idea that it is me.
SCISSORS
S cissors to hold pair of metal blades fastened at middle
C utting paper, cutting cloth, other materials
I nstrument so simple to make pieces
S hearing tools though hand operated.
S harpened edges pivoted at centre.
O pening and closing two blades by fingers
R ings at end allow thumb and finger to insert.
S liding against each other, blades move smooth.
11/14/20
I have the shoes, you have the socks.
We can be snug together but you like things
hard as rocks.
I'm an eraser, just tell me when
and I'll be there, only if you don't freaking
use a pen.
You have a key, and I have a lock
it fits perfectly, but to open the door
you'd rather knock.
So puh-lease boy, gimme a go
I'm sure we'll make a great cameo!
CUTE WENDS SCISSOR HANDS
It’s lock down in Jozi, a state of emergency
As you know,
Wends my hair dresser sent me a what’s app,
Haven’t seen her for Three weeks or so,
She’s bored, so started to cut her front and back
Lawn with her scissors,
As for now has no customers, so does not use
Her salon’s mirrors!
Scissors cutting baby curls
Hair dropping at a breakneck pace
Husband arriving at the door
Horror etched upon his face
What are you doing to our baby girl
I simply can't relate
To our darling little girl
Not having curly hair but straight
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.