He missed the days
When photos were stored
In pockets and lockets
In wallets and homes
Instead of just phones
Category: Poems
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Back Then
-
What If
She walked through
Her front door
In stunned silence
She had not considered
The possibility
It would work out
Yet there she stood
Living the miraculous reality
It did
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Unsettled
She would rifle through
Her oversized bag
Pretending to look
For some buried item
To protect herself
From the predatory gaze
Of the man sitting
Across from her
On the night train
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Together
There is a space
Between friendship and love
It is possible to occupy
Without either person
Wanting or needing more
No one believed them
It did not matter to them
It was too unique
It was too special
For spectators
To understand
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Right
He lived his life in pencil
She lived her life in ink
He did not understand her
She could not comprehend him
Still they decided to write
Their lives together
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Lonely Heart
He felt lonely
For the first time
In a long time
Maybe the first time
In his entire life
He did not know why
Unless it was her
He felt accepted
He felt important
He felt unique
He felt he mattered
When she was there
Maybe lonely
Meant he loved her
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Instincts
f your life is driven solely on concrete proof
You miss the vibe that someone loves you
You miss the hunch that you should try
You miss the gut feeling that you need to leave
You miss messages you need to listen to
Follow those unjustifiable feelings
Go
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Weary
Once an avid reader
Every book she picked up
She failed to get past page three
Before her mind wandered
To darker realities
She was forced to read daily
On computer screens
Back on the shelf went her book
Perhaps for another day
Another month
Another year
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Safe
He created his own world
Of thoughts and theories
As a defense mechanism
Preventing emotional connection
The words I love you locked out
Of the nature of his conversations
He denied loving her so vehemently
His heart did not even know it
She did
-
Your analysis
Your estimation
Your assessment
Of the stranger
Sitting beside you
Means nothing
By comparison
To that strange
Feeling in your chest
From the toxic energy
Permeating the room
Wisdom lives in us
In unexpected ways
We must listen
For survival
-
I have forgotten
She said with a far off look
How to remember
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Blend your hopes and fears
Into possibilities
Now go grab your chance
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Bells will jingle
Lights will twinkle
As the holidays roll by
Raise a glass to the past
Ready to be unready
We have mastered the art
Make your resolution for 2022
To keep hope in your heart
-
The key to creativity is not judging what doesn’t exist yet.
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Unready
She found herself
Dipping her toes in
Instead of plunging in
To the dreamlike freedom
She had begged for
An endless impossibility
Slowly and suddenly arrived
She needed a hand to hold
To leap into the new known
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Monday
Monday is the kid in the school yard
Watching all the other days
Get picked for the winning team
Everyone whispering
Monday is the worst
Time to step in
Walk over to Monday
Sit down and say
We got this one kid
You are gonna be great
I’m with you today
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A Breath Taken
Somehow beauty
Feels a little muted
Perhaps the burdens
We carried along our
Freedom trail
Have altered our fabric
A bit more than expected
We are different
Our weary eyes
Beginning to clear
Are the slight shadows
Finally gone from here
Former caged birds
Of thee I sing
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2020 Depression
Hiding under a blanket
Trembling with anxiety
Fighting racing thoughts
Her meds out of reach
Her phone missing
She was terrified
While not a virus
Her medical condition
Could be deadly too
She forced herself
Back to sleep
What else could age do
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If Only
Love is never clear
In its early days
What hope is there now
With nothing but screens
Words and expressions
To attempt to interpret
Barriers to feelings
Dying to evolve
Your heart breaks
Knowing you could
Express it all
In a single instant
At zero feet apart
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Unknown
Waiting for the call
To unlock the answer
Was your worry justified
Trying to think positive
Praying for a negative
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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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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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The Held Heart
You can only protect your heart so much
If you hold on to it too tightly
So no one can break it
You will
For the loss of love
You might have felt
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Be
Take a leap into authenticity
Critics be dammed
Friends who flee
Shoo them away
All that you think
Is wrong with you
Would be so right
If you said it out loud
For your fellow misfits
To hear you
Who you will learn
Are everyone who
Is honest with themselves
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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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Healing Heart
Your bruised aching heart
Will try to make you harsher
Your bruised ego will try
To fill you with anger and hate
Your broken pride will try
To make you stop feeling
Opt instead for healing
Embrace kindness offered
When your hurt heart is open
You will find its broken pieces
Make their way back together
Evolving into a stronger heart
With no armor or anger
Your brave heart will try again
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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
Poems of Pandemic Days by Alice Curley 