Do not cast people
Who hurt you
As villains in your life
They do not deserve
That kind of power
Category: Accidental Life and Love Poems
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My life advice
Be the critic who loves your life’s work.
Decide that you’ll be okay.
When you have a choice, make one.
Think about what scares you. It’s a big part of what’s wrong.
Live your life the way you want to remember it.
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You
That carefully curated
Version of your life
You tell acquaintances
Who turn into friends
Just your collected stories
Leaving out who you are
No one notices your trick
You have succeeded
No one can hurt you
Still you long for more
Someone who knows your secrets
Someone who sees through it all
Someone who can remind you
Who you really are
A human just being
But you have forgotten
How to be authentic
How to be vulnerable
How to be present
Sitting across from
Some good genuine someone
Instead of just collecting
Details for your next story
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Cinders
Cinderella was mistaken
He did not love her gown
Her exquisite golden hair
Her lovely glass slippers
He was searching for her
Gentle kindness
Pure light and love
In his grateful arms
If midnight passed
In her humble rags
He would have seen
Her beautiful soul
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Cliche
All you need is love
Always seemed to me
A painful cliche
Until a little touch of it
Gave me energy
Woke me up early
Gave me a story to tell
Made difficult times
Not so heavy to carry
Maybe love is all you need
To breathe easier
Because your worries
Matter to someone else too
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The Gift
Selfish people have a way
Of creating a mirage of caring
Just enough to convince you
To stick around unarmed
For the day they hurt you
Without blinking an eye
With zero remorse
To get what they want
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Haikus
Your stories and lies
I can hardly decipher
What difference thereHer indifference
Her absence of jealousy
Perplexes my heartIn the quiet night
She dances inside my heart
As I fall for her
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This Life
Then it hits you around 2am
After months of medical issues
Tests, a procedure, a surgery,
A long wait to find out your fate
That meant acceptance
Of what could be a new normal
You learned a great deal
About a great many things
Especially about yourself
How hard it was to feel
How hard it was to ask for help
How kindness made you cry
How you needed privacy
How you needed to share
How being ready for the worst
Kept you afloat and grounded
Web MD is not all bad
But more than anything
You realize you are free
To do anything with this
Life of yours
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Christmas Memories
My father would walk In the door Christmas Eve
Weary from a long work day
Shaking the snow off
His old coat
Taking bags of candies
In the shape of stars
Out of his pockets
For his little girl
Save one for me
He said smiling
I thanked every star For him
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Release
Let go of the narrative
Let your days unfold
You will gradually find
Your fate will be revealed
When you least expect it
When love decides for you
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Trapped
Sitting on the edge of the bed
He held an apology in his throat
A near empty bottle in his hand
She sat at the kitchen table
Holding a chipped coffee cup
Tears trickling down
As she drank the last drop
She held a goodbye in her throat
Neither of them would hear
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Tech free
Nowadays
Your greatest secret is
What you wrote down
On a piece of paper
Never showed anyone
Tore up and threw away
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No Words
Dating was never easy
To clearly define
In its early days
What hope is there now
With nothing but screens
With words and expressions
To attempt to interpret
Barriers to feelings
Harbored for too long
Breaking your heart
Knowing just how easily
You could express it all
In a single instant
At zero feet apart
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Consider You
Before you dismiss him
For his mixed signals
Ask yourself gently
Have you whispered
A single word to him
About how you feel
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Mary
She quit drinking
When she was 27
The understated
Rumblings of concern
From friends and family
Hurt her pride enough
For her to decide to stop
A decade later
She is sometimes asked
Why she does not drink
I prefer not to
Is her unbottled
Bartleby response
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Truth
My knees weakening
My fears rattling
My anger brewing
My soul aching
My heart spoke
My truth heard
My world shifted
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Simply Love
Forever dear friends
Who never fell in love
With each other
Simultaneously
They took turns
Being gracious
Not admitting
What they knew
Both got married
To their soulmates
Who they only found
Due to all the ways
They taught each other
About kind and selfless love
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Our Date
I wish I marked down the date
You last held me in your arms
I would turn back the pages of my calendar
Find the month and circle the date
Before our evolving love faded
By what could not survive distance
We would have broken our hearts
If we had become an us
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Love
All you need is love
Always seemed to me
A painful cliche
Until a little touch of it
Gave me energy
Woke me up early
Gave me a story to tell
Made difficult times
Not so heavy to carry
Maybe is all you need
To breathe easier
Because your worries
Matter to someone else too
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Let it Begin
Be kind to the tellers
Of the love story
They are hoping for
You are not a judge
To offer up your verdict
Do not dim those starry eyes
Out of jealousy
Or your own past pain
Grant them hope
For their love story
Even if you think
Their chances are paper thin
During the fragile time
Of a budding romance
You could destroy it
With a few dismissive words
Meet the dream of love
With grace and kindness
No matter how it ends
Give it a chance to begin
Poems of Pandemic Days by Alice Curley 