it hurts to write about you in the past tense
the mere taste of your vulnerability burdens me
and I only caught a quick scent of it
not enough to write about it though
or you
this pain is not painful enough to write
right or wrong
a rite of passage
the hard conversations that our parents tried to warn us about.. well at least yours tried
your parents tried to warn us
you moved my hair bangs to left side of face
you kissed my cheek, the right check
and then you kissed my head, the forehead
maybe one day I’ll be able to write about this
maybe one day I’ll be brave, or bold… or even courageous enough
but never open
and never ever ever vulnerable
fear
silence
Beheld
Through lenses, welled,
A pool,
Reflections -
Echoed pressings of,
A fool:
Can I be the poem, and not the poet?
Bestowed with solace, still and stoic?
The admired, not the admirer?
Draw a gaze as licking fire, cause unrazable fixing desire.
The captured, not the capturer?
Found; unbound, sound faith unfractured.
The written, not the writer?
Penned in tense intention, tide-script monad gripping tighter.
Can I?
In this life -
Be the loved, and not the lover?
Stood under; not left, bereft, to wonder.
The wish, and not the wisher?
Made; spoken verily, heard, save tokens merely whispered.
The yearn, and not the yearner?
Nor rough refuge, nor shunned sojourner.
I exhaust myself so foolishly,
Being poetic, mulishly,
Admiring, captivating, writing, loving, wishing, yearning,
While never learning -
To be the moon and not moonstruck, dismayed?
Not to hold to those, who never learned to stay.
He is my poetry in one single line,
He is the sun who glows up every morning of mine,
He is my moon that brightens every night of mine,
He is my bliss of solitude that makes silence feel alive,
He is my colour when I draw any sketch of mine,
He is the words of the love letters which I am yet to write,
He is the wish in every prayer of mine,
He is the endless novel in this life of mine,
I wonder if he might ever know that he is my poetry in every,
In every single line...
If I were to tell him, will he be mine?
Or I'll lose him for the rest of my life,
Or I'll lose him for the rest of my life…
Will we be friends even if he rejects this love of mine?
Or I'll lose his friendship for the rest of my life,
Will I be able to make his family mine-
Or I'll lose him for the sake of mine,
Will I be able to make his siblings mine-
Or I'll lose him for the sake of mine,
Or this story will end just like this poem of mine...
I wonder if he might ever know that he is my poetry in every,
In every single line...
Handle my heart with care.
Be gentle in the way you speak.
I'm hurting and miss you.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Thought our bubble was safe…
how little we knew about how fragile
the balance of powers be.
Thought the peace we knew
was god-given and would last forever.
How little we knew about
how vulnerable we had become.
Things we took for granted
are no longer birthright freedoms…
Life we know can so quickly change.
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
The system is failing us
We thought we were protected
Now we see how vulnerable we are
There is no going back
We're falling fast and there's no net
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Too many times
I have been left alone
Beaten and naked
Without safety in my home
No longer from without
But within, again and again
Shards of soul, scream
As words and actions scratch the rim
...of the glass
The cuts are layers deep
Blood clots and heals
The rips continue
Until the bottom reveals
Time passing survival
Habit hugging holistic hoops
Retrograde reasoning
Bubbles forcing loops
...on the wheel
No more!!!
I sit here naked, but not ashamed
Light on the left and balance on the right
TRUTH has finally accepted her name
Though rejection comes
And blinded eyes will deny
She walks in LOVE
As eagle wings fly
...to the moon
Written by Trudy Schrader on 11-21-2025
She looks like a sweetheart
but hides an ugly secret.
She chases down back-alley gossip
like an addict craving crack.
Her penchant for twisting truth
rivals her hunger for drama.
She’s hypocrite as they come
much like a venomous snake
who infiltrates without a trace.
She’s stealth with poisoned lips
wagging her wicked forked tongue.
We don’t suspect her strategy
while getting tangled in her web.
We’re blind to the ugliness
concealed behind her smile ~
vulnerable with our misguided trust.
She’s got no moral compass.
Betrayal is but a game.
Lineku: 3 stanzas 5-7-5 with 5 or 7 words in each line
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Much time is needed when it comes to things of this nature
Imagine prying open a particular flower just to see it die later
Trust needs to be established before this can be done
I don't put my feelings out their for laughs or just to anyone
Honestly I need time to get to know you first
Before deciding to open up, getting rejected and feel worse
What are your motives in wanting to know who I am
It's not going to be easy to capture a pearl from this clam
Just like a rose that won't open up until it's complete
First make sure you can handle me getting that deep
You use a microscope on me but won't let me see inside of you
How else would we know if we share the same pains and wounds
Give me more time to contemplate sharing my treasure
Instead of rushing me to do so let's try doing so together
Though Sorrow May Sleep,Justice Wakes
O child,don't hang your head,never bow in shame,
Your tears are rivers angels swims through deep,
He took your piece but Heaven knows his name-
No crimes of his can't in God's silence sleep.
Duck low,my soul,through ashes, sing your pain,
The Lord hears through church bells crack fade,
No evil seedling can flourish in that rain-
No sin can hide underneath cross he made.
So walk and walk through dark and broken lands,
The good will fly you when your faith grows small;
Their hearts are lamps lit by love's hands,
Their arms the choir that catches those who fall.
Rise,daughter,-rise,and clap your ways ways anew,
The storm is fierce,but God still walks with you.
Clad in bright white sapphire
Millions crawl, the exhausted lay to admire
Within its swelling eye thousands desire
At the back I lie, waiting to expire
Scratching the walls without respire
I danced into crossfire
With a soul which yearns to retire
Lips littered with satire
A heart prosecuted to hellfire
Still, my porcelain surface shone as if a luminaire
Slowly the winds fill me with tire
Yet for the last time, my body rose high of inspire
Amidst the silent woods, my mind's a wildfire
All that remains, a mind left in quagmire
I hate that I hurt you.
How could I?
Tears were dropped with
Our future inside.
How could we know a certain forever would become an "It's enough"?
Enough pain, enough never-ending loops of what we should do or what’s best.
Fish biting tails.
My insecurities drove you insane.
Maybe insanity is what gave you patience and faith.
My ups and downs, you got them all.
Arms wide open, a warrior with no shield,
No protection for Sir "I’ll give you all of me."
I needed a step forward, to look at all those taken behind with a new light.
Yellow memories, warm sunlight.
The sound of laughter and two hearts melted into one.
Thank you for the tries, for seeing who I am.
Yes, Lady Hesitant ran away.
Bad or good decisions,
We’ll figure out soon.
Meanwhile,
Our past souls remain
In the realm of love,
The only thing that never ended,
The only place where it will live.
Discovering Light
Cry Ugly shame lost its power
Shame was regret…
Buying into malicious judgment I wasn't good enough…
He knew I was more than good enough… I gave all I was capable of…
He loved me because I gave 100%… even when my 100% fell short
He channeled his disappointment and hope through his poetry.
Discovery emerged reading his heirloom book… regret quickly segued into shame.
Shame perfected as a child… stepping stones used to set my foundation
Decades devoted to unraveling the source… reflected in the dark strands of thread woven in my tapestry
Oblivious of the light, silver and gold spun adjacent to and translucent overlay… changing the tapestry's initial designation.
Sherry Barton
April 13,
Life hit me hard on the face
I became vulnerable
Even when I know many
It's like I know none
None is ready
To support or give a helping hand.
Everyone wants me to be loyal
Even when they know I am royal
Everyone wanna bend me
Even just for bread
They only come after me
Anytime I'm down and vulnerable.
Life keeps teaching
People kept on torturing
None wanna nurture
Even when we're same culture
They still act like vultures
Steady leisure
Without rendering any support.
I am ineffably in love with this pain
When your soft tender lips
Brush against my salty cheeks
And your hands warm my neck
I am in love with this pain again
When you pick me up in your arms
And cuddle me close to your heart
Until our breath synchronises its way
I once am in love with this pain again
When you treat me like your little baby
Bringing coffee and watching Disney movies
Along with me,All day
Oh god I love this pain,
once again.
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