There are evenings when tenderness catches on the sharp edges of our words. The air grows heavy with everything we meant to say differently. We sit close enough for our knees to touch, carrying the quiet ache of misunderstanding, yet never questioning the love that remains between us.
we clash
then soften
like rain against glass
two hearts learning where to be soft
some words still ache long after they are spoken
yet we never mistake the hurt for goodbye
your hand stays
beside mine
when both our voices shake
we never left the love we struggled within
Don’t chide me for my naked words,
stripped of pathos.
I feel no shame for the shyness of old age—
beneath a sheet in the dim light
of twilight's hour.
All my life, I have carried in my soul
that irreconcilable beauty born of lovemaking.
Yet I no longer have the strength
to pursue desire.
AS I LAY SLEEPING
As I lay sleeping
I feel your arms encircle me
As I stir in my sleep
Our bodies are skin on skin
My body is slowly starting to wake
As your fingertips gently
Caresses my face and arms
As I lay sleeping
I hear you whisper my name
While telling me how much
I meant to you
My body relaxes against yours
With the knowledge that
I am safe in your arms
As I lay sleeping
I softly turn towards you
As you gently kiss
my ear down to my neck
As I lay sleeping
You gently tell me to go back to sleep
As you will be there in the morning light.
Original Poem by
Linda Franklin
A whisper, a mere breath ~
tenderness in its many forms.
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
I bit into the candy
the center giving way~
warm, sweet, unexpectedly tender.
people sometimes do the same thing.
Try not to get angry if I forget
Something is happening inside my head
I know I'm not stupid, not going mad
It's that my memory is getting bad.
I try very hard to think things all through
And know it's very annoying for you
Please be gentle and do try to be kind
It's truly not me, just my state of mind.
I'm not unique, it is nothing that’s new
And this could easily happen to you
There's no way to stop the ageing process
So let's live in love and sweet tenderness
Knowing that on each other we can depend
Until the day our life comes to its end.
Love your neighbours truly with thy pure heart;
Peace will be sure of unrest tomorrow.
Today will never tear your souls apart,
Nor darken hope with cool, raging sorrow.
Peace will be sure of unrest tomorrow
If alongside kindness guides on the way;
Nor darken hope with cool, raging sorrow,
Though trials never rest, testing the day.
If alongside kindness guides on the way,
Let gentle words be regularly shown;
Though trials never rest, testing the day,
Peace shall conquer through seeds of mercy sown.
Let gentle words be regularly shown
In deeds, not just words, both firm and tender;
Peace shall conquer through seeds of mercy sown;
Then faithful hearts will gladly surrender.
In deeds, not just words, both firm and tender,
Love your neighbours truly with thy pure heart;
Then faithful hearts will gladly surrender,
And never conspire to drift peace apart.
As at the opening of a hidden bistro,
the moment before stepping onto a narrow side path, cliff-shaped—
waking the color-warmed buttons
of clothes that slept, cradled on a hanger,
standing before a mirror that flows toward you,
the tremor of seeing myself in your eyes.
The first path simmers a cloud-loosened sea into a latte,
flowing toward the distant beloved…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
warm bread shared at dusk
strangers slowly become friends~
grace in breaking crust
Candied kisses in the night.
A stealth moon works its undeniable charm.
Lovers whisper sweet tender nothings.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 1st place 2025
She dropped from the morning’s quiet,
a flash of white, a small gasp of wings.
No song followed her fall,
only the dull sound of mercy closing.
The cat crouched still in the doorway,
eyes wide as if she’d seen
the cost of being wild.
Even she seemed to grieve a little.
I held the bird in my hands…
light as breath, soft as an old prayer.
The air itself stopped moving.
Love leaves marks we can’t see,
wounds that shimmer beneath the skin.
Yet love keeps our trembling hearts from leaving.
I laid her down beneath the lemon tree,
covered her with the gentlest earth.
A feather caught in the wind,
rose once - then vanished.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I
morning light finds us—
your breath a warm tide against
my shoulder’s coastline.
II
peeling tangerines,
juice bright on your thumb. You offer
half without speaking.
III
the cat’s slow blink holds
all the sermons ever preached
on trust. we practice.
To make a light and pillowy kindness soufflé, you need:
two cups of generosity
a tablespoon of compassion
a teaspoon of melted tenderness
and a packet of goodness
Combine the generosity, compassion, and tenderness
and mix until it has an even consistency.
Whisk the goodness and pour it into the mixture.
Cook until golden brown.
Once it has cooled, serve it charitably.
There's plenty for everyone.
Bite Size contest no124
Contest Judged: 10/4/2025 5:41:00 AM
Sponsored by: Line Gauthier
( 3rd Place )
The piano holds its breath,
roses finish the melody…
softness where sound once lived,
a hush more tender
than applause,
yet louder than loss.
With A Gentle Hand Contest //Sponsored by: Mystic Rose Rose
Contest Judged: 9/16/2025 4:35:00 AM
( 9th Place )
Written: September 7, 2025
With a gentle hand,
You balance the world while its feet are still untried…
little fingers twist like seashells
around the promise of tomorrow.
Love is gentle in this place;
it hides within a cradle song,
a steady thrum of trust
leaning into your heart.
Every touch becomes a promise
each embrace a refuge -
showing the fragile ones
that gentleness carries power.
When the lullabies grow silent
your hand remains
carrying tomorrow gently
like sunrise opening the sky.
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