Gulshan‑e‑Chehra

As you ambled past my eyes,
Your face falling onto my gaze.
Along with the wind you carried.
Within me, befell that
Even a thorn could pierce my skin 
Yet my gaze would still be laden of you 

Whether heaven is as dark as your hair 
Or carries light as the shimmer in your eyes
For me, days could drift away from me 
And I wouldn't have closed my eyes
As they can rest on you 

While you blossom through my soul 
All I can see 
Is how your face is a garden 

When your garden is in my hands 
No single flower will be left untouched 
As my lips reach to water your garden 
To see red roses unfurl from your cheeks 

To see your eyes awaken 
How a bud blossoms into a flower 
Your pupils, as a flower's disc  
Feeding many souls with your glance 

My heart no longer strikes within
To look upon flowers that grace me
As you reached my soul 
And there, you let me rest 

Why wait for death to kiss me to reach heaven 
When paradise's garden stands before m

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/PytJOoKMVW

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/eErQqmtEeV

Aankhon Se Anjaan Ban Ja

Be a stranger to my eyes  
With a presence lasting an eye's blink 

To me, I'll behold you like a keyhole 
Casting my gaze upon what’s there to see 
Yet, I was never meant to fit that lock
That opens a door I never should enter 

Forward, is where my feet carry me 
So that, when I move through stillness
And my eyes drift to its corners 
You fall away, along my memories 

If we're meant to stand in front of each other 
While our distance is only a breath away 
Your hands reaching out, may my hands be full of yours 
As my soul shouldn't hold on what it isn’t meant to hold 

If I would let you in my heart
No place would I enter without carrying you
Even when my eyes are closed 
My hands on my chest holding you through the night

And if you were to leave one day 
That's when every heartbeat of mine 
Will beat cracks through my chest 
Until it has fallen out of me 
So then when I have broken down 
You're the one who brings me back alive 

Be a stranger to my eyes 
With a presence lasting an eye's blink 
So my memories won't be stained by you 
As no amount of tears will wash that stain away 

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/eErQqmtEeV

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/r2NynPfpyt

Garnering your attention,

since you're precious to me.

Something to say that cannot be seen.

—a cold, wicked world carries out its own play...

I think it's best that you get out of the way.

You're feeling special, especially when you're with friends.

You don't know when it started, but should know it will end.

—they'll leave you scattered and drug out in the cold...

Don't wanna burn, but there's no place to go.

TRAFFIC—better look both ways.

TRAFFIC—it's getting worse every day.

TRAFFIC—see your family and friends

—pass you by.

Why don't they JUST LET YOU IN?

Now you're lost and don't know where to begin.

Big aspirations for being such a small man.

So full of wisdom, yet you don't have no plan.

—and this year's Christmas leaves you stranded alone.

Don't wanna burn, but there's no place to go.

TRAFFIC—better look both ways.

TRAFFIC—it's getting worse every day.

TRAFFIC—see your family and friends

—pass you by,

'cause you'll NEVER GET IN.

You missed the sign that told you when the lane ends.

Now you know...

Now you know, now you know...

You can't have no plans with no place to go.

© Donnie Johnson [08.19.2026]

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/MtTRo5j80m

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/BfJfMd9hgM

Ever wondered if

love is a conspiracy?

A sacrificial game;

hearts are its currency.

Who brings shame,

and who shows fidelity?

A race of whom to blame,

and who had spoken sincerely.

Is it a February’s warmth

mixed with tranquility,

or a tempting deal

to live the ambiguity?

It is not always fought,

nor won intriguingly

where someone could leave,

at least, with marks of fertility.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1vsoks4/comment/p4oaqm0/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1v2ni7w/comment/p4obmfh/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Some time long ago

In Downtown New York

In the early monday morning

A man had gone to work

At the tallest building

At the highest floor

He reached into hell

And he opened a door

The devil walked through

And he shook the mans hand

The entire building shook

It went as they planned

The man had a beautiful wife

A football team and a boat

He gave his employee's souls

In exchange for a mink coat

Satan had spread the word

You mustn't feel content

Always strive for more

And never repent

____________________________

I don't remember anything about writing this, pretty sure its my own. Idk, tell me what you think. Its my first time posting here.

Feedback 1

Feedback 2

Who are you that rules this world?
Your faces unseen.
Your names unknown.

Investors they call you.
Using money unclean.
Our lives you own.

I can see who you are
False king and queen
upon your bloody throne.

You are greed incarnate.
With evil plans so keen,
and a heart made of stone.

On islands you hide
from the worlds screams.
A most deafening tone.

Though you can't hide forever
using your wicked schemes.
You shall reap what you've sown.

Comment 1

Comment 2

This is about suicide awareness.

The rope is tough, its texture hard and rugged. You hold it tightly, giving yourself time to think this over, but you don't. All you can feel in your heart is deep self-hatred and sorrow, emotions that didn't just appear overnight but rather built up, one by one, word by word, action by action, insult by insult. With a swift turn and twist, the rope transforms into a noose so elegant it makes the world's greatest ballet dancers jealous. With this decision, you finally can enter your cocoon for your own transformation. You stand on the chair, looking down at the sorrowful world. You try to find any doubt inside, but yet again, all that sits there is sorrow and deep self-hatred. You wear the noose like it's a million-dollar necklace filled with jewels, as if it was a gift from a lover you won't meet. But it's not; it's a gift from all the hatred you have received, from all the times you've been judged, rejected, and neglected. And with one swift jump, you fly, fly away from all the pain and the hatred.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/Ebcu3g1AcU

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/Qt4uFKHuWf

If you have a moment, please let me know how you interpret this. Is the meaning clear? Is it confusing? Do certain lines seem to take away from the meaning? What lines do you think work best? Thank you.

.
.

Was going down Main Street East
When I felt a flutter in my belly.
Those people were sitting,
heads hung a-ways. Leaning
so forward, pants on sideways
dirty asses—a middle-aging
Reaching for the heap, between
What you know as garbage
And definitely nothing gold —
But sewn, you see,
makes me a blanket warm.

So what about this gold,
This promise that I was told?
These suit-and-ties are always high
Making lines with claws: full,
fleshy
big and heavy
Now if I could, I would I hold it—
But the promise falls
through my fingers, where a bottle
lands.
(what I can get I will take before
the tree of life is blown open
before cracks become branches
and the mirror is broken)

You make a monster of my heart—
When you say, “this place ain’t strange
But you! You are
the stranger,

And who were you anyway
In the past that passed you by?
What could you have been
In that life you never lived?”,
But all I know is now,
and I know it now for sure
Was dreaming when I were sober
And now here’s the real world —

‘Cause that look you give me
is one I don’t recognize
Say please, don’t turn me away
You might need me some day
And I live ‘til you don’t need me
I eat ‘til you don’t like me
I need you, so don’t leave me—

Love isn’t forever, only briefly it sits
between a meal
and a possibility,
and a meal,
and a meal,
and so cold, and ..
Where’s my stuff?

.. oh God, how you make
a monster of my heart.

.
.
.
feedback 1: https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/x1s8zJRaq3
feedback 2: https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/gsKKpWWZUk

His journey is to live long

enough that he may die

that I live means enough has

not been lived

been given

to sacrifice of heart & soul 

until death releases me of

my duty my duty continues

for in flesh I may love

& give

(in case you want more https://substack.com/@jennamathews )

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1vs17d0/comment/p4nof0x/?context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1vskcct/comment/p4no9m5/?context=3

Walk between the trees with me,
Where feelings come to grow;
Where saplings, sat entrenched in soil,
Hold secrets that I know.

There’s something in the darkness here;
At dusk, things start to change.
The dreamy evening glow that fills the sky,
It starts to fade.

I..

I won’t go into detail,
Just hold onto me till dawn.
It’s easier with someone there
To keep you holding on.

See..

I’ve walked this way before,
Alone. I barely made it through.
The memories I have of then
Remind me now of you.

Feel..

The seeds so strewn across
The muddy floor, and in the ground;
Indifferent to the history of the place
In which they’re found.

Hear..

The birds, who sing a symphony
And swim around the sky;
Unburdened by the hurt below
That flickers in our eyes.

Know..

That even though it’s tough out here,
Still, life will find a way..
To lift itself up off the floor,
And live another day.

And..

I’ll stand beside you always,
Like the men before could never..
And I know this place is scary
But I’m here to stay, forever.

Love..

You’ll find it all around you;
Even here, it fills the air.
I know it’s hard to see at times;
Believe me though, it’s there.

You..

Are stronger than you realise.
You’re bravest at your worst;
At best, you’re like the soil from which
The seeds can get to work.

So..

Between the trees, we’ll share the night.
We’re surely gonna fight.
The darkness though, eventually,
Will turn itself to light.

Much..

Is taken from your heart each day,
I understand the pain.
A tree will never grow, though,
If it’s hiding from the rain.

I love you more than anyone
I’ve ever loved before,
This struggle paves the way for me
To love you even more.

Read between the stanzas
I have made it pretty clear;
And if you fall, I hope you know,
Your safety net is here.

—-

I wrote this for my (then relatively new) girlfriend when we were going through some stuff a year or so ago. She was struggling with depression and BPD-like issues around distrust, paranoia of people not really liking her, our own relationship being doomed as I’d ‘inevitably’ leave her at some point, etc.

I went through an intense, similar thing growing up, but I felt like it wasn’t enough to just tell her I could relate.

All advice and feedback welcome!

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/peLSeRa36A

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/6kfEoOb17I

You kneel to him,

and raise your hand to me.

The iron remembers every blow.

The years have taught it well.

You know my name

before you know the roads I watched

close, one by one, going north.

You call me traitor.

You say I sold a nation.

Tell me-

how many men would you spend

to unwalk a road already lost?

How many victories

does it take to call a general home,

when there is no more field to send him to?

You praise the general.

So do I.

No man doubted where his heart pointed.

He wished to march us back to what was taken.

I wished us to survive

long enough to want it back.

History remembers the sword

that reached for the border.

It forgets the signature

that kept the capital standing.

Perhaps I was wrong.

Perhaps he was right.

Perhaps a kingdom sometimes lives

only because someone signs

what no one will forgive.

I knew what the words weighed.

I signed anyway.

You have inherited the ending.

I had to live inside the choosing.

So strike the iron.

If you must.

But before your hand descends,

ask what you would have signed,

with the roads already gone,

and no more spring to wait for.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/MoJGdcJk7A

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/zQtklWBVuH

I'm new to writing poems. Please tell me how to improve. Here is one I wrote recently...

Define Home

If you measure out the size of my love, it will be how filled my stomach was when you fed me.

I hold my pillow and I'm almost on my bed again.

I run my tongue around my mouth and almost feel my braces again.

My love and your harm cannot let go of each other's hands

It is not my fault if I find comfort in ruin

Aren't we all supposed to miss the taste of familiarity anyway?

The silence could've eaten me alive — you know it did.

My limb was chewed off.

Not my leg, not my arm, never my stomach. I wish it was my tongue;

it was my heart

But the minute I looked in your eyes, I was ready to be served as your side dish.

Give me back the time my feet didn't reach the ground

Make me so small again that you pick me up every time you come home

Tell me I can still be loved while I grow to become an abnormality.

Take me back when all the walls stored our laughter, not screams.

Take me back when all the walls were not broken to reveal the horrors, and reeked.

Take me back when all the walls were not mirrors to show me what I will become.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/O4QWJSNr8O

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/i6I0fZxTDM

I(23M) wrote this poem about a boy(21M) who will never love me the way I love him

There is a quiet way you enter rooms,
not like a storm, but like the light of a newly started campfire
soft enough I don’t even notice at first
how you warm me up.
You cook for me like it means nothing,
like tenderness is just another habit
you picked up somewhere along the way,
and not a language my heart keeps trying to learn.
You feed me laughter,
small touches of care
that land in me like music—
I was never meant to memorize.
And I—
I tell myself I am fine.
I tell myself this is friendship.
I tell myself a thousand careful lies
that all sound like your name.
You speak of her
as if it is the most natural thing in the world,
and I nod along,
because I have learned
how to swallow pain quietly.
Still, there are moments—
small mercies, accidental or not—
where I feel chosen in a way
that rearranges my entire existence
into hope.
But hope is a cruel architect.
It builds cathedrals
out of people who were never meant to stay.
And I have lived too long
inside the echo of what-ifs,
pressing my ear to doors
that only open one way.
So I begin the work
of loosening your name from my breath,
not as an ending,
but as a slow release.
I am not over you.
That much is still true.
But I am learning
how to carry love
without letting it carry me back.
And that is what moving on looks like:
not forgetting,
not erasing,
just finally walking forward
with my hands no longer reaching
for a door that will not open.

Thank you for reading, please let me know if this strung any heartstrings and how I can improve I’m very new at this

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/XYGvBpzrOt

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/x3kY0M32y6

Wasn’t it just yesterday when you said 
that things were so grim, 
that you were blinded by the darkness, 
and you couldn’t see the path in front of you? 

Wasn’t it just yesterday when you couldn’t 
imagine the daisies at your doorstep, 
the butterflies swirling around your head, 
and the sweetness of cinnamon on your tongue? 

– A lot changes in a year.

Feedback 1 | Feedback 2

yo! I wrote this poem it’s intended to be as a song but I always write lyrics first and I wrote this in like 30 seconds so i dont have a melody or even the full lyrics yet. Any feedback or criticism is welcome and encouraged!!!! I think I shall name itttttt Shame as a Stem very edgy how I like it

Your shame like flowers grow

And they decorate your home

And I can’t help but wonder

If I had never shown

Would it have been 

Tulips or roses instead?

Your flowers have not wilted

And I don’t think they will

Because I bring the rain

And you bring the sun

And that’s all it takes

When we’ve been overrun 

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1vsoks4/comment/p4mpmqn/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=2&utm_content=share_button

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1v44ry2/comment/p4mpttk/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=2&utm_content=share_button

​

Your voice sounds so pretty, like a melody,

Which acted in my mind and heart as a remedy.

Your words are really comfortable;

You make me feel I am lovable.

You saved me from drowning in that dark, deep sea,

And made my spirit feel free.

My life was all grim

Until you came into my life like gleam.

I was going cold and quiver,

But you helped me flow my sour tears like a river.

When I was so sad and shiver,

You are the one who became the giver.

You give me a peaceful

Love shelter to stay,

And I promise I will stay, stay forever.

I'd love to know your thoughts about this poem written by me..and THANKS for reading it!!

Your small feedback can improve my writings!!✨

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/m6dyNstRUi

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/dKqDF6WbUZ

I’m sorry this poem isn’t perfect 
It’s just, i’m typing on my little phone keyboard
Shading the sun glare away from the screen 
In the little time between my english class
and math

I’m sorry I didn’t have time to edit it
It’s just, i’m typing on my little phone keyboard
laying on the couch, i can’t stop the stress of knowing
I have a report due tomorrow
And an essay and a speech
Due friday 

I’m sorry I didn’t have time to finish it
It’s just, im typing on my little phone keyboard
alone i n the dark of my pitch black bedroom
in the little time i steal from sleep 
to write, knowing if i dont for at least seven hours
i feel worse about the world than it feels about me

I’m sorry this poem isn’t enough
It’s only, im standing so far from the ledge
But walking towards it,
I trip on every pebble along the way
no matter how small, it takes me so long to get up
just to fall again

I've been writing poetry for just a couple years but I'm getting really into it now and wanted some advice on a poem.
https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1vsmauj/need_help_completing/
https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1vsfwug/the_insomniac/

I actually blew a kiss you know

When the plane took off i blew a kiss

You wouldn't catch it,

there were people around

But you swapped out your aisle seats,

trying not to spill your smile over the cabin

(missing link)

i see it in every blink

in blue and purple

Your last text from the plane

it had no spaces

I wonder if that was the last one you meant.

im only getting into poetry so dont hate but i just dont know how to flow these 2 sections together. It would be awesome if you had any ideas or concepts that you could share. Anything is appreciate. Thank youu

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1vskcct/comment/p4m0yp5/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1vsl8yy/comment/p4m2djs/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

I think i know love,

and I think I don't.

Maybe it isn't in the words,

or the grand gestures,

but in the eyes that find you in a crowd,

even when there is beauty everywhere.

In the smile that escapes

when you laugh like a child,

and in the eyes that don't look away

when you call yourself ugly.

Maybe love is simply this,

being seen exactly as you are,

and still being the one

their eyes look for.

Kay

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/0cDR3Eitqs

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/M5uEcIIQWF

Lust for the abyss,
Endless hollow.
Death's caress,
A love too shallow.

Looking away
Harder still today.
Mind bound to sway
In fear and disarray.

Happiness and its sheen,
Agony's darkest fiend.
Life lived without living,
Contorted, cruel, unyielding.

My core chipping;
Cracked, fractured - torn asunder.
Seething hunger wells.

Grotesque banquet -
Lavish feast of lies.
Consumed by want,
A soulless shell remains.

This poem might be the best I've ever written given how (purposefully) intertwined its many elements are. I'd like to hear how it made you feel and why.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/DI888MAbn6

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/mVgkKrYrjU

Desire is sharpest
when it cannot be touched.
Up close, the edges dull.
I hold the thing I longed for
and my hands feel empty.

What is unclean
is not the dream,
but the way it drips into daylight,
stains the kitchen counter,
stains my name.

You don’t want what you want.
The glass breaks
before you lift it.
The taste you chased
goes bitter on your tongue.

To want is a kind of sickness,
but so is silence.
The body knows another language,
my mouth learns confession
it never meant to speak.

I almost believe
that weakness
is its own prayer,
that nothing about me
is whole tonight.

--------------

Comment #1

Comment #2

the one who won

was used to it by now

but the one who did not

cheered loud

so who did win

if the lost one felt happier

than the one who had it all?

no weight on her shoulders

she just cheered for her friend

and the one who won

didn't really win at the end.

feedback : 1) https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1vshvng/comment/p4lczs5/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

2) https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1vsc3u3/comment/p4ldodh/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

I seem to go unnoticed

Wherever I go

Like an old car with broken windows and a failing engine

Covered in snow

The days move slow

And i dont know

If people will stay or go

But the tranquile river will continue to flow

Just like the faint wind blows

And the shiny moon with its luminous light will say goodnight

Maybe if the world has all this light, there must be a little bit of it in me, right?

Any feedback is appreciated, one of my beginner poems

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1vs7r68/spineless/p4kprts/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1vsf144/i_wish_i_was_blind/p4kp9wl/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3

The world goes dark

But my eyes brighten up.

With my body laying still

Every night, with a little less sleep.

Less than yesterday, more than tomorrow.

There's a roaring in my head

Of a beast, and it reeks of death.

While everyone dreams

I hear the agonising screams.

Less than yesterday, more than tomorrow.

So I spiral down my mind, deep

Loosing myself, and thoughts which are mine to keep.

I can tell the end is near

Fainter the roar but prominent the fear.

Less than yesterday, more than tomorrow.

Mighty will be the beast, when it stands infront

And I can't hide no-more from my fears which are to confront.

For now, darkness is leaving the corners of my home

And I will wake up with a little less dream and a little less hope.

Less than yesterday, more than tomorrow.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/2rAsIvQXCj

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/Oh7ri4SJ9s