He's behind you they all shout the sound of laughter ringing out
spinning around I ask where the children shout back over there
singing dancing acting the fool no swearing on stage that was the rule
but they were the good times when work was plenty
and all the seats were full and never empty
but computers took over and replaced the actor clown
then no more work stage work closing down
advances in time is also a factor
times are hard for a struggling actor
One of life's many challenges whether mental, physical or emotional
I see you, I see you, I see you
I saw you stutter
I saw you struggle
I saw you suffer
I feel you, I feel you, I feel you
I felt the darkness
I felt the hopelessness
I felt the sadness
I hear you, I hear you, I hear you
I heard the silence
I heard the sobs and cries
I heard the screams
I'm sorry for not noticing it before
All the silent screams lodged in your throat.
my inner thoughts
tangled within spider web
fighting to survive
On day 1, I cried.
On day 5, I imagined you were alive.
On day 10, I went for a drive. I remembered you were not here. No music played in the car.
On day 20, I went to the diner. I sat alone and forced down your favourite meal.
On day 30, I walked past your room. I wanted the dust gone.
Since day 1, I’ve wanted the dust gone.
Struggling is learning to be grateful for everything in life a coexistence of many emotions
ERASE me from your memory.
DELETE the messages sent.
TOSS OUT my things,
THROW AWAY this life,
DITCH me at dawn, leaving me to the shadows.
BURN my pictures,
BURY the frames,
RID yourself of me-
Sealing me in the vault of your subconscious.
SUFFOCATE myself to sleep,
DRIFT AWAY into the NIGHTMARES
transforming into unsung lullabies.
WILTED while alive,
LIVING while dead,
a magician's box without illusions, only silence-
ABRA cadavers into this soul.
Fish swim in water
while drowning in our air.
Toxic people, nuclear hearts that leak poison.
Death comes swiftly,
quietly in the night.
It’s February
the soft stones
are still hard
among the eaves
clinging to the river
She just wanted help drowning
Everytime she tried speaking
It felt like a cold hand gripping her throat
It felt like racism breathing silence in her mouth
To other It looked like she had been saved
But she knew she had been condemned
To a life without freedom
She couldn't pretend
She didn't want her life to end
She wanted an out
And maybe the cold hand could help
Those were my teacher's comments,
as she handed back my poem.
And as I walked dejectedly back home,
I ripped my masterpiece to pieces
and flung my failing words ~ at the birds.
Try, again, again
"I would tell myself"
But I'm failing more than my wins
Oh! God give me your hand
I'm drowning -
In your absence
Youthhood- my enemy
My destiny- so heavy
I didn't choose any of this.
But I trust in you, Lord
I will smile, for I know
You always open doors for me.
Like leaves we are, clinging on to dear life
In a world buffeted by winds and storms
Forever struggling to fit diff’rent norms
Even losing sometimes amidst the strife.
4th Place
The Life Acrostic Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Matt Caliri
By now my perception,
so naive and derisive
going beyond intention,
should have changed;
blemishes spoil this appearance,
they are worse than any word said
to hurt and humiliate with vengeance:
sling no stones, no threats to shield!
I got through many hurdles,
they posed hard challenges...
and struggling with life I can say,
" I'm prouder than anybody. "
What held me back was constant fear:
how painful was to see all disappear!
I looked up and saw the grayest clouds,
soon it would be raining for eternal, dreary hours;
much sadness they brought with their darkness:
I couldn't find shelter into anybody's arms!
Struggling with life is wrestling with God,
it's the hardest fight ever fought;
nobody wins and we surely resent defeat:
we blame fate and cry out loud...
not appreciating what we have freely received,
and shunning what's good, we embrace deceit!
How long will I have to be here?
I have been here since as long as I can remember
Tried to move on
But I am trapped to
I am tied to you
Fate and destiny doesn't want me to move on
I am on a collar
You pull me back
It chocks me - I feel like I can't stand it any longer
I can't breath - I am going more under
There have been attempts
The leasehold is part of me
I am tied up in a straight jacket and I need that assistance
I am defenceless without it
Can't look after myself
I have tried it
Have the ambition but not the heart
Have the desire but not the will
I have the dream but not the reality
Can't do this much longer - feels like it's slowly killing me
A torturous death
A long death
It is slow and it is painful and everyone can see it
It wears on me - it holds me back - it tires me
Can't take this much longer
How much longer can I be here?
“Struggling to find the words to say”
Seeing the heavens tear open
Within the twinkling of an eye
“Surrounded by a starless sky”
Seeing the earth light up in pink
“Struggling to find the words to say”
“When it's nine in the afternoon”
When the moon stopped giving her light
I see a child of shining white
Who has several forms in light
“Struggling to find the words to say”
“Your eyes are the size of the moon”
I hear the mysteries of night
Who I am beneath mankind’s clouds
“Surrounded by a starless sky”
“Struggling to find the words to say”
Song "Soundless" by Demondice
Song "Nine in the Afternoon" by Panic! at the Disco
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