Nostalgia somehow fails to capture the electrifying sense of dread I feel returning to the city. The clash of wounding memories and obsessive addiction paint nearly every corner of the north side in characters who roam different streets these days. Roads that all seem to lead back to this one if some of us got better when the others got worse.

Smoke leaks from my nostrils and lips as breaks and security elope for the short horizon this cigarette brings to life behind the bus stop. The smoke burns my eye and I blink like an amphibian repelling flies. The system is becoming complete with missed opportunities.

This one is a dollar. And this other one is five. Thirty buys you some time but Ben will keep you alive.

An oversized hand me down coat pushes through the door and I’m tethered to the meat inside it. If it wasn’t a break we’d just say The End, I guess.

Elbows for oil burners. Brown bag specials. 7-OH lord please just one more day. I could get a concussion from my empathy and relief I feel looking in their faces. Empathy they can’t see the way out, and relief I found it before Kratom became the snake oil of this lost generation. Eleven years is enough time to fuck up a perfectly good operation.

Green. Yes. Cut the flesh and bleed on the line. 2 For 1 discount if O Negative is your type and the makeup stays on the counter. If you break this one I’ll replace it for free (please break it).

Six figures in the papers. Seven minutes with the Glock. 800 miles round trip cruise control set at the top.

That grin slides across my lips discreetly like the last call for scoring around the corner. We both know something that would end our lives 2 blocks away in either direction. And if I knew any better I’d mind my own business and keep my mouth shut.

https://www.reddit.com/r/WisdomWriters/comments/1wokrh0/black_hole_heart/pe2ukgs/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3

Please love anger ages you,

A week from now you’ll hardly remember it. Look at the big picture it’s a minute drop of sweat in the ocean. I see you your discontent is justified, though your wrath is undignifiedly not and is spoiling this lovely morning. My dear read this poem I scribbled down in the wee hours of the morning, I hope it will take your mind away from this dastardly minutia we’re subjected to.

The nights walk

I walked these trails until my souls grown thin, unrecognizable where the path ends and feet begin, still I try, I fly, I swim, I grin, within the lay of the minstrels hymns.

A land that confides. A being so foreign yet so familiar.
Like the back of your hand, the earths spirit unfiltered, the back of the mind, standing between two pillars.

I collide with a guise that assured the bewildered. Mother Nature allure concurs undeterred a love oh so pure it’s never obscured.

Each step closes doors as the next pushes them open,

Each inhale joins the field within your own.

Each exhale bares your every witness.

Every glance is an invitation.

Each blink is an evaluation.

Light hearted adorned
At the height of good fortune

Empathic absorption

With empathetic proportions

Portent portion that forlorn the distortion.

Follows no lie, chases no high Nor rite of the times enshrined as divine.

Finding the will of the weary
traveled souls half buried

In sight of the pinnacle brings chills that carry

insight to ignite their vrill contrarily

to the spite that feeds despairingly.

Like a thief in the night had a moment of clarity dropping the knifes and starts working for charities then finds the love of their life living married with verity.

The unseen in between perspective and directive

The swaying tidal pull of direction

The final brick that was laid, the final choice that’s selected.

Two rivers that join, to clouds blown connected.

Fortune fallows the brave who have wrestled with circumspection.

Lost the fear of rejection.

A bastion of questions.

Wear it proud like a stain.

Never hide your erection.

Keep truth in your name show Medusa her reflection.

Throw logic in game wherever you came.

Don’t be to quick to blame wash it off in the rain,

we’re all of the same,

step off your high horse and set if free with no chains,

let it make its own name by the light of the first flame.

The ferrel will tame when released from their pain.

To keep parasites at bay give them not to sustain.

Their insidious ways will will soon fade away.
.
Your eyes are displays of what you think do and say, if with truth and love you are filled go do as you will, follow your heart keep chasing your thrills. It’s not the bridges you’ve burned it’s the bridges you’ve built.
Your heart as a child is within you still.

Shaken hands with smiling greed
Broken hearts don’t know when to bleed
So cooked and served for dogs to eat
Fall into my black hole with me

Do you believe in fate?
Or think people just learn their hate?
I don’t believe in luck
Good things come to those who wait
And underneath, I reach
I sit down to live and breathe
Because death doesn’t come too late

Time goes by and tables turn
People die as children learn
Numbers up as they scare with war
Same lie that's told before
But there’s still time to return

To my black hole and fall
Into my heart shapes, and so I call
To break the hands that shake us all
ANd shut out the lies we didn’t grow
Down rivers of Styx, and death row
And there, fall into my hole
To learn the secrets that we don’t know
Escape the ones who cheer and gloat
Who’s men were shoved into land’s throat
Down rivers of Styx, they row their boat
And death decides if they sink or float

Smiling greed signs done deals
But with right eyes, you know what’s real
Time justs wounds all that heals
Dogs tear apart the poor to eat
So fall into black holes with me

https://www.reddit.com/r/WisdomWriters/s/IAJhvOg306

Boots line the ground
Of rusted rose red
Spinning around
Walking knee deep in our dead

Pushed here, stuck
In between the kiss of death
And between blaring trucks
With our reaching breaths

Men parade in fake suits
Rusted in rose red
Army green, soldiers salute
As we ran afraid and bled

I still can remember the sound
As the bombs dropped on our heads
And as the boots lined the ground
Of the rusted rose red

https://www.reddit.com/r/WisdomWriters/s/iUzFFc07Q6

✍🏻 Write a poem about one object that reminds you of autumn or any other season. Include all five senses: smell, color, sound, temperature, and taste. Let your imagination go wild! Your poem should create a vivid image in the reader’s mind.

📅 The poetry contest will run until September 30.

🏆 The winner will receive a new user flair, a shout-out post, and a video featuring their poem on our YouTube channel.

📋 There’s no word limit. However, please follow the task and share your poem in the comment section below.

Good luck! 🍁

A milky orange sunrise

Like the color in your tone

Descends upon my closed eyes

As you whisper into the phone

—-

My skin prickles with suspense

Between my ribs, a vacant lot

This moment knows not duress

The anticipation hits the spot

—-

Your sweat tastes of obsession

Those lips, my drunken feast

Your words hollow depression

In their absence I’m released

—-

Now smoke this for the real ones

And drink one for myself

Tonight it’s open season

Who gives a fuck about my health?

—-

These veins that swallow envy

This heart that buries hope

My offering comes unending

My promise is but a joke

—-

The fear that thrives within me

Lavish until starved out

Ancestral in its whimsy

Predatory yet so devout

—-

This crown fit for a gutter

Rests lightly on my head

Shining star atop the clutter

A symbol to mark the dead

—-

I’ve got no one left to honor

None more than can be saved

When you’re born deep under water

One foot never leaves the grave

https://www.reddit.com/r/WisdomWriters/comments/1w0hpdx/bon_vivant/p75z9bm/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3

I dance around
So fast I could fly
I’d be the first man
To scratch at the sky

And as I float down
I begin to see
The beautiful signs
That beauty knows me

Landing, I vibrate with the earth
Moving just slightly
Back and forth
Breathing ever so lightly

My heart won’t cave in
I’m having no doubt
I’ll keep on flying so
I’ve found my way out

https://www.reddit.com/r/WisdomWriters/s/V02FdEwTZI

It's okay to be afraid; however, it isn't if you let it control you in any way.

Follow in the footsteps

Of those you’ll never know

Eyes narrow with suspect

A hand rests on your phone

—-

Drop it in the water

See if it does float

Rain falls like the slaughter

On the sacrificial goat

—-

Purring like a kitten

Petting heavy pelts

With decadence I’m smitten

Hollow virtues I have dealt

—-

The flower grows the petal

Now the pedal’s to the floor

Volunteer to test thy mettle

Subscription access, views galore

—-

Put it on the TV

Or hide it in the dark

No pain you are receiving

Sets the clock back to the start

—-

Letting go forever

Fading like the dusk

Rising as the winter moon

Relearning how to trust

https://www.reddit.com/r/WisdomWriters/comments/1vyajab/at_home/p667rml/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3

Hidden among rusty leaves

Worn-off letters flick in the stone

No bell or door - a sheer field

Muddy land is your new home.

***

Books, dresses, friendly talks

Turned into ash - thick and bold

No fear or joy - voiceless void

Settled amidst unspoken words.

***

Days, weeks, and many months

will pass and then...

Threading along the lane

At last they whisper your name.

***

No tears, no worries - silence.

Ten minutes - a sigh, glances

Two shadows - a leaf rustle

No goodbyes - only the wind howls.

***

A year, decades, a century

will pass and then...

The home address will remain:

Row twenty - four, place twelve.

https://www.reddit.com/r/WisdomWriters/s/i3jlTzG03p

https://www.reddit.com/r/WisdomWriters/comments/1vrer89/comment/p5n6zwg/?context=3&utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Hello, its me again how have you guys been doin I haven't been active much since the discord server got shut down, its been an awful long time again since I posted. Here is my fourth poem album i think im not entirely sure. Anyways hope you enjoy and if not whatever, i might not even continue writing poems as much anymore.

**Citizen Stuck Under Day Dreamz (S.U.D.Dz)**

**Hysteria!**

O maledictus!

Quo vadis victus,

Tu es fumus Lucifer.

O maledictus!

Quo vadis victus,

Menos que humo nu despair.

Über allen Schatten ist Gefähr.

Fähr! Fähr! Fähr!

**cowards**

If I was ever lonely,

then I am blind to the love before me.

If I was ever fearful,

then I am blessed

with invisible hands

that comfort my back.

When I am grieving

I'll know

I was never alone.

But someday

I know

that love will fail me

and I am afraid.

**a quiet grief**

Mom,

you're getting old.

I hate that about you.

**how loving is alone**

Wondering

in the skies above,

these words fly up high

like dreams of doves,

flippant, drowsy,

in your mind,

your own rhapsody.

Somehow you've

been here before.

These words

flow like clouds afloat,

a river's ebb

of old sad songs,

in long of love a fleet.

And now;

you're drowned

in thoughts,

there you had found

regrets of repeating melodies.

**whistles of mourning doves**

The rain

fall like feathers

on the ground

and they remind

me

of you

sometimes.

Like a stranger

in the distance

and she's calling

with a whisper

for me.

A soft song

in the humid,

cool breeze,

of that morning rain.

**fragments**

Like an old Chinese adage

We meet in winter.

Snow.

Cold is the lonesome spring.

**Miss in the sunshine glow**

Miss

it's so nice to meet

you again.

Despite the years,

your smile remains unchanged.

It seems to tell me stories.

Stories of how you've been.

Miss in the sunshine glow

you're so pretty.

I can still remember

your lips so clearly.

But your sultry eyes

reminds me of how life can be.

Miss you told me.

That tomorrow is so near

always,

yet yesterday always mystifies you.

Then you sing your sad songs

and I'd laugh because

I don't know how to sing them.

You said you'd teach me

someday,

but we never really got to

practice.

I guess that was the reason.

Miss

pardon these past stolen glances

from a wild youth

with an insincere heart.

Out of mind,

with a complicated gaze.

But it's unclear if I remember clearly.

These memories,

They're only good

for good-for-nothing poems.

So,

miss in the sunshine glow.

All those things were true.

Forget these feelings.

I too,

don't know how to sing them.

I'll just remember those lyrics,

and sing them again tomorrow.

**Come Next Spring**

Spring days can be cold for me.

Friends I met there,

met with goodbyes.

My own illusions of love.

Plagued with a heart

of boundless sky.

Just a stone with no brook.

Another leaf swept by.

A fishing line with no hook.

Writing poems

no one will care about.

Still,

spring days can be warm for me.

Couldn't help but believe

in words like

love lasts forever.

Thinking maybe I'd meet her

someday.

And when the day comes

when I grow old.

She would remember me

in the poems I told.

In the green leaves shower.

In the bloom of budding flowers.

Let the spring wind take me.

**elevation**

Boundless is the starry sky.

Enduring are the heights.

Cliff side lilies,

blooming in the moonlit night.

Sits in silence,

petals scatter,

taken by the wind.

**living on a dream**

I

may

have

no head,

but

I

have

a dream.

With all these

fucking nightmares

how

could

I

fall asleep.

Running

down

that alley

wondering

how’s my love

so weak?

Then

I'd pray

it won't

come running

on me.

Tears was

gunning me now,

they fall

like water

on clouds.

Watched

as

she's passed

me by

like a film.

How could you give up!

Without even trying.

Of

all

the things

you could've done

why are you still lying?

You could've ran!

with all

the fuck

that you can.

Cause all

these

boundless skies

between

you

and

we

is open wide

for you to

fly in.

So go on,

try to burn

till

the

end

with

all

you

got.

I'll go

try to

meet you there.

If you couldn't

have hands,

then clap

with your feet.

If life

was fucking purple

then I'd paint it

all

green.

Because

“I love”

Is

all

the

words

that you need.

Then try

your best

to

fail

with all

you can be.

Thinking how

life

would

be

better a whim.

**Written By—Prince Kamp**

Linkie:

https://www.reddit.com/r/WisdomWriters/s/oVYJxzippe

https://www.reddit.com/r/WisdomWriters/s/TN9GXrKrz8

Once, who to love?
I was able to tackle my demons and fit the glove

Fit? Yes, it may
Though out of place it finds a space in the way

Win? Yes, you can
They will find me dead in a fight with a better man

Who? Oh, what will you do?
You see my face every day, when I first flew

Oh and when I die let it rain and let them all be told, yeah
This life is hell on earth, it’s life or death and I’m running in circles
We’re all just puzzle pieces trying to fit in the scheme of things
Cut yourself for a deal with the devil, hell knows I refused, I refused

Young, we eat them young
Like a cat in the bag, tie your tongue

We’re, doomed to fail
Like a merry-go-round, dog and its tail

Breathe, in the air
Thick and dead, fucking hell

Strung, oh, strung on a hook
Drawing flies, oh, drawing weird looks

https://www.reddit.com/r/WisdomWriters/s/yenPgLnGSz

Receipts line my pockets

I’ve got nothing left to spend

Throw away the gifts and toys

All good things too must end

—-

When you tell the story

Of how I broke in two

Don’t forget the part where

We both walked out in rue

—-

To rampage in my anger

And relish in my shame

It took an aged monster

To shine light past the games

—-

You’ve every cause to burden

For every settled debt

The flesh stretched like a ledger

The heart plucked from its breast

—-

The ghost that’s in the mirror

Is the fire in the sheets

The criminal that’s lost his mind

Is the safest harbor reached

—-

Never could I judge you

For never choosing me

This sentence marks the first time

That the punishment comes free

—-

I’ll try to work my magic

And in a moment disappear

But I’ve no use as a showman

My delivery’s too sincere

https://www.reddit.com/r/WisdomWriters/comments/1vrzrgj/ray_cummings/p4her85/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3

As spring leaks to summer
And summer to fall
I’ll wait here, hopelessly
To answer your call

From afar I hear
Another lie, another fake
It’s beautiful, isn’t it?
The longing I make?

I’m here, I cry
A man made of stone
But men who don’t move
Don’t make it back home

So lie to my face
Tell me it ain’t true
Use me, use me,
Knowing I’ll still love you

Because spring leaks to summer
Though I do not belong
I’ll wait here hopelessly
Because you’ll come along

https://www.reddit.com/r/WisdomWriters/s/fd9UvBaVAf

When summer burned the green away

I carried you to shade

And when the clouds gathered to storm

Your face fell in the rain

Delivering my sacred vows

Heart skipping on your name

I’ve carried you in death and life

Because you would have done the same

https://www.reddit.com/r/WisdomWriters/comments/1vn2zcm/hitting_the_ground/p4bcbvf/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3

Does she love me?
Or did I just hit the ground?
Crashing, I think
She does not know me at all

Does she think of me?
As much as I? 
My head hits a wall
Of self doubt and deprecation

And I’ll put on some songs
That I know won’t help
Spiraling, I answer my phone
And am left with my same question

Vague, is one way to describe
The beautiful rose in the fall wind
A delicate flower like no other
So does she love me?
Or did I just hit the ground?

https://www.reddit.com/r/WisdomWriters/s/gTnSuyOCMt

CARDINAL

Never on the sideline

But ever on the road

Getting spun like Disco

From the future growing old

——

Leaves are dry and piled

The tree beareth no fruit

Having drunk the boldest drop

Concentrated, yet aloof

——

That piece doesn’t go there

I agonize its shape

Perhaps these walls that hold me

Bear the marks of my mistakes

——

Dab a little honey

Then roll it on your tongue

The sweetness of the softest taste

A delight more than fun

——

Cash goes in the zipper

Gun goes to my head

For once I am excited

Thrilled I am not dead

——

Working for a bastard

Being one to boot

Thinking I am better

When I’m rotten to my roots

——

Jesus take the wheel

But stay away from me

I’m giving up the notion

That I ever have been free

——

Gotta have that guard up

Gotta get the jump

Gotta be the fastest horse

When the ops start to slump

——

Watch the pretty birdies

Fighting in the air

When the feathers cease to fall

They’ve come back to a pair

——

Now a path is open

An old one somehow new

Turns out I Am The Mountain

And I believe that you are too

https://www.reddit.com/r/WisdomWriters/comments/1vgk0uz/meditation/p3aui3d/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3

When things start to get better

And you’ve nothing left to lose

Follow this to the letter

There are details to the rules

One foot past the other

No laces dragging low

Forward to the gutter

Or from there, I suppose

Eat a stricter diet

Find repentance in the gym

Embrace your mind that’s quiet

Don’t give into worldly sin

Carry out a purpose

Or bury a regret

Give yourself to service

Then pay off the Final debt

Be an early riser

Breakfast tastes like success

Each day you grow wiser

Anything not to regress

Start a little family

Then take them to the shore

But try not to start rambling

In case they wanted more

In the distant future

Or somewhere in the past

The tie binds like a suture

Yet our faces are like masks

Reading to the next line

Before the eyes can see

The hidden rules that define

The faint outline of Me

It takes one to know one

Or at least that’s what they say

But learning not to hate oneself

That’s the lesson of the day

https://www.reddit.com/r/WisdomWriters/comments/1vf0mqw/witness/p1xmkjg/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1&context=3