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MRosen Oct 2020
The past of my mother is non-existant in my name. Although, she is half of me. She birthed me. She feeds me. She provides for me. She understands me. She listens to me. She hugs me. She loves me. But her name is not in mine. My father’s name is in mine. That’s good. He cooks for me. He works hard for me. He advises me. He helps me. He waits with me. He supports me. He loves me. He deserves to have part of my name. But so does my mom. And she can’t have it. Just because she is a woman.
Pt 2 of my vignette series
MRosen Oct 2020
I don’t know where my home is. My house is where I sleep. Blankets cover me as I try to rest for the next day. But my neck aches from the long day before me and for the long day that is sure to come next. My cabin is where I play. When there is warmth, I spend my time splashing my sister in the icy water. When there is cold, I slide down the mountains on my skis with my father. But when I am there, I feel alone. My school is where I learn. For the future, for my good. At school my “friends” don’t feel like friends. But they will soon. I know. My climbing gym is where I play. There, I have friends. There, I have confidence. There, I have fun. My people is my home. Family, friends, whatever. My home is where I feel safe, my home is who I love, my home is where I’m loved.
This is part of my vignette series
Vadim Slivinski Jul 2020
Knock-knock

The door opens
With a creaky sound
Resemblant of that
Of an upright.
I tremble
And dissipate
Under a distinct impression
Of a mellow fingerdrum
As the elder brother rushes
Towards the second son
For a goodbye hug
Or, perhaps, a goodnight kiss.
Walls become wet
And gently crush me
Into a coffee bean sparkling
Glittering mass of yesterdays.
For what was, is and to come
Is surely hidden inside a matchbox
You keep in your inner pocket
To protect from rain, burglary
And other troubles.
Look up at the sky:
I’m standing close to you,
Garlic and tobacco odour included.
Even when I’m not actually
Here.

The stars;
They aren’t other worlds
(although some people say they are);
I propose a toast to my self-control
And to the sweetest place I’ve ever visited —
The corners of your mouth.
Another late-night morphinesque reminiscence
Max Neumann Jun 2020
The Ocean Inside

I

a place made of cosmic dust and water is
inside of me, birthplace of poetry
red voices are echoing through the ocean
in order to create words of vignettes
the lines are floating above the water's surface

II

how can they escape from the dullness
of my mind? my thoughts are not a poem yet
i have to lure them with music, with adagios
the strings are playing and they are dancing
green layers of feelings transcend me

III

my hand is not writing on the keyboard
the keyboard is writing on my hands
i can not dictate my muse, she is shy
she only comes out when i rest

IV

the muse wakes me up and overtakes
rivers of oblivion, streams of consciousness
no thinking about the reader or the trophy

V

a place made of muses and flow is
inside of me, birthplace of poems
pink voices are echoing through the vignette
in order to create words of a special form
the verses are drifting through clear water
Today is a good day.
Vadim Slivinski May 2020
The door, half-open, the sound
Of piano keys one by one
Accelerating, rushing,
Then, softly and gently
Fingertips only
On your neck
And my hair;

The doormat, greasy,
White stains on black,
White stains on white,
White saints above,
And below — white Snow.

Hands jump
From one place to another,
Passionate, yet thoughtful,
Albeit slightly nervous;
A black bough
With a little cloud atop,
Red on white,
White on black
And white on white again.

A lucid view
Through an opaque surface,
Chills mixed with warmth
Within and around;
Muted soft sound
Goes on for a while,
Numbs the senses,
Then, suddenly, a couple
Of accurate and precise
Touches make such
Clear and dazing notes,
That you just sit there
Overwhelmed.

The drum, slow and steady
And swingy and lazy,
As the body trembles,
Bends slightly, freezes
And goes crazy;

Translucent wings
Flutter over white
And black and gold,
The bird serenades
In the dim, shivering light.
He puts
his hands
Around her body
And a calming, warm,
Quiet sound
Of a pulsating heart
Blurs and blends
All the colours:
White on gold,
Gold on black,
Black on white,
White on hazel
And so on
And so forth;

An upright bent
Of the bent upright;
Hold on,
Forever.

The end.
A friend of mine once said that it's better than ***

Originally published on Medium @ Poets Unlimited https://medium.com/poets-unlimited/waltz-for-p-d87628eb70b4

Subtitled 'A jazz-infused impromptu' for reasons unknown
Devin Ortiz Apr 2020
Having decided to go out in a whisper, this vignette, blows through and around the bones of the no longer relevant truth.

It is a wonder how something as simple or complex as a paradigm shift, can usher entire worlds in and out of existence.

I've clung to this narrative that I am a prisoner in my own mind.
That some usurper took the reigns when I was otherwise too weak.
I needed to believe that, that there existed a power beyond me.
That there was some distinct discontinuity between us.

And if we are indeed one and the same, we are also different.
There was strength in being divided, separate, unique.
I've not yet created a reality where being a singularity is supreme.
So I cry out in agony, united in my unknowing.

I write to shape this new form, this new being, this new structure.
I write to fight against the unmaking of my self.
Vadim Slivinski Jan 2020
I’ve been sitting at a local fast-food joint
Waiting for my friend, who was outside
Having a chat with some girl he loved once;
He didn’t anymore and just wanted to set things straight.

I ordered myself a medium strawberry shake
And just sat there listening to Bill Evans
As the most peculiar thing caught my sight:
All around me were men in their 30’s and 40's,
Drinking draft beer and staring sadly
Either at their phones or simply at the table.
They all shared a common tired and dumb look;
Hell, I thought, how low do you have to be
To drink horrible overpriced beer at a fast-food joint
Alone, at 7 pm?

At the next table, two young girls
Were having a dinner; so smily, happy
And full of life I sat there overwhelmed.
Why not just go there and talk to them?
But those sullen faces kept staring,
Rigid and unemotional, except for an occasional sigh,
Immediately followed by a gulp.
I glanced at the same table again —
Those girls were gone and another
Asian woman was siping her coke…

Some hum broke through the Shadow of Your Smile.
I looked around: different men, same posture;
Same look, same sadness,
Same disgusting smell,
Same lonely warm beer.

I picked up my coat and my hat,
Tied my checkered scarf around the neck
And went outside,
Smiling.
This is not a poem
Originally posted on Medium in Poets Unlimited
https://link.medium.com/PMw6cH7FZ2
Mark Toney Jan 2020
Mom's joy, Dad’s
baby
boy!
I quickly
discern,
learn,
happily
God's Word
heard
then God's Will
instilled
deep
into my
heart of
hearts—
do the most
good I
should,
love my wife,
faithful
life,
with two sons
our lives
blessed,
good friends’ lives
end too
soon—
gowing old,
tired,
weak,
as dear ones’
deaths come
fast...
when Lord calls,
all things
new!


© 2020 by Mark Toney. All rights reserved.
01/03/2020 - Poetry form: Narrative Vignette - 3-2-1 perfect six sequence is a sequenced three line (three. two, one syllable) narrative vignette form. - Copyright © Mark Toney | Year Posted 2020
em Oct 2019
splintered at the core, its bones scraping together
hoisting its dying frame, a final cry against the void
chanting and moaning, the screeching numbed, the hate forgot
then the painful halt, the silent fall
the soil forever branded by its corpse
Jenny Gordon Apr 2019
Oh, let's us sigh and swoon, shall we?



(sonnet #MMMMMMMCMXIII)


I swear these blue heavns look like June's detail
Back when we'd ***** through grassy trails, a sense
Of lazy hours in tow; pluck mullb'rries dense
With juicy sweetness til our lips to scale
Were purple as our tell-tale fingers, hale
Warmth like a pass'nate kiss we'd revel thence
In, naked arms free as the birds fr'intents,
Hearts as our limbs cavorting down aught trail.
But he pulls me up short to note how poor
The shadows are for such a thought.  These blue
Skies are expansive, that is true; winds stir
Wee Maple leaves to whispring on that cue,
Yet ah, tis nary as warm as our tour
Of forest glades once knew.  I feel what'd woo?

26Apr19c
*cough, cough*
The "he" in L9 is my brother.
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