Further into
Deeper unto
Loneliness; its chiller shade.
From here, behind
Not there, in front
Is this impression now made.
They, quizzing o'er
A mind's strange ways.
He, led by, reverences them!
Permits whose access
Peaceful rapport's.
Exudes, which spirit each stem.
Birthstones and horoscopes over a chi-square
Months with periscopes everywhere
Moon and Sun in shaded segments
Boon and pun in braided alignments
Spells and pleas yowling in the wilderness
Wells or seas swigging in emptiness
Thoughts wandering around
Droughts and dryness seething in a playground
Warmth or heat you nestled from scorching daylight
Cold air or dew drop sighed by moonlight
Wall clock that restricts your borrowed time
Or unseen counter that predicts your stolen dime
Each day that passes by
All day you ask without a bye
Each night that crawls in the dark
All your might you grope behind a scalded bark
Shadows that follow you
Wedge pillows you never had that haunt you
Tales in dreams that smother you
Puzzles in reams that harrow you...
Why bother when there's none to fear?
Fear only God who's able to hear
Your qualms will never leave you
Only until you believe they're never yours that weave you!
Mind winding
Blade twisting
Always here but so distant
Nothing more then a rock in the pavement
Always wondering when ill get my payment
Letting go slowly then rising right after
Why am i stuck in this cold hot shower
Stuck in missing things so dire
Often ending up stranded with a flat tire
Then playing with wires sometimes creating something new
Sometimes wishing itd start a fire
Without any burning desire
Will i die or will i rise in this fire
Why even bother messing with it
When it always finds a way to you out of the blue
Always feeling to loose never in place
Like a broken window or picture frame
Where the memories stay in place but nothing changes
Always ending up shattered and scattered
Mentally screaming and pleading
That the cycle wont keep repeating
I know i should be ok but how when everything eventually falls down
Oh just how i wish i knew how
We run toward fleeting images,
Symbols of the night
With which we know no reason.
Driven clearly by a sense of need,
Our thoughts confused.
Rational mixed with desire.
Night acts in concealed images of shadow
Proudly showing us where to look.
Teaching us what we need to know.
Night, known for its darkened reason,
Exhibits simple themes of perfect release
As it shows us the direction to run.
Ritual instincts strive for recognition,
To join with the familiarity of routine thought.
We run toward mirages in the night.
Cool breeze reminds us that love is not lost
With the setting of the sun
Behind the trees that catch these sparkling words.
The western wind stings our eyes
And brings us fragrance of winter pine.
Safely giving just what we crave.
We learn to know this is true,
A faith we have come to believe
As we run toward mirages in the night.
Time and time again night lets us try
And then helps plan our final escape
As we run toward mirages in the night.
This poem first appeared in Withering Words Magazine, 2026, all rights reserved
The hum of the tyres,
the rhythmic tempo
of moving legs, the hypnotic
gaze into the blur of roadway
passing beneath a wheel,
seemed to send the mind
into a kind of trance.
It was a doorway into
a state that rode
the laneways of dream.
There were times I felt
as if I floated above the road
and was convinced that
if I closed my eyes
and gave all to trust,
I could enter into
another world.
Yet, I found
I had not the faith
and would open my eyes
and snap back
into the effort and ache
of my body, feel
the bump and shake
of riding over uneven ground.
Now, a lifetime on,
if I could snatch
that moment back
and be that boy on the bike
once again barrelling down
the laneways of a dream,
I would close my eyes,
keep them shut
and peddle like hell
into the unknown.
In the depth of my soul,
Lies nothingness next to my existence.
In a box lacking pure experience
Only one question is anchored in me,
“Is it mine purely, or just a monograph?”
A question with confusing philosophy.
Behind this social “instrument”,
Lies a resistant mind
Full of dreams and visions,
Not expressed due to fixed missions.
I say experience lies in uncertainty,
But told to trust the tangible
The “truth”punished for if questioned.
Truthfully, another question haunts me,
“Do I surrender, or do i explore the mystery?”
I’ve reached the unknown I can tell you
It looked like a cloud at dusk
The sunset was orange and blue
I thought for a question to ask
But soon realized I’ve no questions
Just gazed at the heaven’s turmoil
You didn’t come up with suggestion
To shuffle off this mortal coil
So it went astray, this unknown
It flicked on the wall touched my ceiling
Some shadows grew little bit long
Tad longer than yesterday’s evening.
Dare I sail
into the moonlight
to greet wandering shadows
that beckon in whispers
and trace paths
with luminous thready fingers
through sentinels of razor wire
who parade prescient
before glaring chasms
of untested fathoms.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Silk threads of mist cling~
the river exhales slowly,
baring stones like teeth.
I wade into the unknown,
footsteps swallowed by the dawn.
Enigmatic reality of the unknown creates wondrous mystery. Such mysterious
veil projects life’s vicissitudes confronting carnal mind along queries, qualms
and quietness-quirks. Meanwhile, the unknown with its uncertainty’s shroud
welcomes adventurous heart toward magical, mystic, and miraculous exploration.
For the spiritual soul of divine nature, the unknown propels faith to soar beyond
attacking panic, angst, and hopelessness. With God Who is already in my tomorrow,
I can face the unknown blissfully, blest bountifully while reaching-out to others,
so they, too, can behold their beautiful existence against desperate survival.
radiant future
glows with vibrant hope's triumph*
as faith in God reigns
*1Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
February 8, 2026
10th place, "A Clever, Highly Intriguing Haibun" Poetry Writing Premiere Contest
Sponsored by William Kelii Kekaula; judged on 2/18/2026
Tear stained flowers left on mother and daughter's graves
*In memory of Bonnie Faye Todd and
Crystal Faye Todd
Conway, South Carolina
Walking into the Unknown—
Head high—bravely—Eyes wide open—
The Road unnames itself—
Yet beckons—soft—with Light—
I have no Map—but Courage—
No Compass—save the Heart—
The Dark is only Distance—
Between the Now—and Start—
Each Step invents the Morning—
Each Breath—declares the Day—
What waits—may not be Mercy—
Yet Fear—has slipped away—
For Faith is not a Certainty—
It is the Will—to go—
And Trust—the quiet Footfall—
That dares—the next—Hello—
Up above as the stars align
I feel something like it's a sign
A black blanket of darkness surrounds this place called earth
With stars and the sun as the source of light from birth
The Moon controls the seas and tides time
I found my Moon and it never costed a dime
We'll never know what's beyond the Milky way
Same thing with the future we have no say
Beyond the stars i have hope
With this belief I cope
Trust in the Unknown. Sell your knowledge and purchase bewilderment. The Unknown has your best interests at heart. It is where you are going, and the Unknown is where you are from.
Trust in the Unknown. It gave you everything... It brought you into this world at birth, and before that, it was your home. All who no longer walk this earth reside there.
Trust in the Unknown. It will take you where you need to be; It tells the wind which way to blow, and the grass which way to grow. It brings you safely back into your body every morning after sleep.
Trust in the Unknown. All the great ones can be found there. You have loved ones - friends, family that have passed? They are in the unknown. You can be close to them if you can be close to it. Forget everything you know, and - Trust in the Unknown.
The Hallucination of the Unknown
Eyes closed, slumbering,
I fall into the depths of the night
Stars collide, the heart of the universe pounds
Flowers dance
And I, standing alone on the edge of a cliff
I can only dip my finger in the moon's glow
To write a poem
Silent plea, unheard, unheeded....
Tomorrow holds a promise, a vacuum,
Today carries its load
And yesterday, its regret
Altogether, the unknown is frightening
A cycle of torment
Burying me in this world, making of me
A hallucination within its own!
Eyes closed,
Heart dripping with blood
Colliding fates
Love spelled as a mirage
A song unwritten
A season forsaken
A dive into the unknown
Pages left blank
Diaries burned
The monsters gape
The unknown is cold and murky
Eyes closed,
Fully awake,
I hear the echo of what should have been
And can only cling on to its shadows!
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.