Today I chose to stay present I chose to stay in sync with my breath I chose to stay with the rhythm of my resting heartbeat Today I chose to just listen I chose to release my assumptions I chose to keep my defenses sheathed Today I chose to show up curious I chose to leave my assumptions aside I chose to suppress my desire to make judgements Today I shed the skin of old behaviors I chose to make conscious choices in the face of old fears I chose to prove to myself that I can evolve -gws
A reply to an Instagram poet’s profile quote
You are everything and your words are but an opportunity to climb a tower of knowing to get to you. Those who do not rise to the challenge to make handholds of your lyrics and footholds of your prose are the ones whose lives lack the enrichment of your visions and the music of your descriptions They are the ones who hold nothing in their hands while you hold the world -gws
How do I stay away from you When your shadow fits so well with mine How do I wipe you from my thoughts When I can't seem to wipe the memory of your lips from my skin How do I give you up when all I want to do when you speak Is stop your words with my mouth When all I want is to feel your hands on my hips How do I walk away when I see the way Your eyes drink me in when you think I'm not looking I crave you with every pulse in my veins And the way you bite your lower lip says you crave me too But we have so many reasons Reasons Rationalizations Justifications And the truth is I don't care I am not strong enough I don't want to deny this draw It's like gravity Keeping us in orbit of each other I don't want to deny this chemistry That no alchemy can seem to alter So fuck it Let's burn together until dawn -gws
Grief smothers
It slows minutes to seconds
Linear experience is arrested
And time becomes one, disconnected moment
Followed by another disconnected moment
Like a damaged film reel
Jumping from one stepping stone to the next
Each leap a gaping chasm
Light too bright
Sound too loud
Words have no meaning
Colors leeched of their vibrance
The body feels both weighted down and untethered
Feelings resonate acutely beneath numbness
Does life still make sense when it feels senseless?
Is it possible to live when one cannot seem to draw breath?
Grief feels like drowning
Tumultuous and savage
Full of ache, helplessness, desperation
Roiling and hollow
Swinging like a pendulum from feeling too much
To nothing at all
-gws
Born deep inside of me A glowing ember begging to ignite To storm, snap, and snarl A crimson shadow sharpening its claws Scarlet eyes stalking opportunity A monster lurking just below restraint Whispering dark pleas for release Begging for me to drop its chains So its primal fires can erupt And burn down the world Howling triumphantly at the joy of destruction -gws
What a glorious idea What an inspired place How great it is to have a place that is full of art so bad that it becomes collectively good I imagine this is where all prestigious macaroni art dwells Where macrame goes to retire I imagine walls covered in construction paper turkeys and Christmas trees made from hand shapes Cases of scout lanyards Shelves covered in lopsided ceramics And so many Bob Ross paint-along landscapes I imagine pedestals exalting junkyard sculptures inspired by Degas Portrait galleries more closely resembling the work of Dali and Picasso than might have been intended What a wonderful concept to celebrate the underwhelming The failed attempt The work that only a parent could love (from the back of the closet) Let the awkward and unwieldy The uncomfortable and misunderstood Be transformed into other people's treasure -gws
Hunger chasm deep
Engulfing and undenyable
Awareness of heat and heartbeat
Pulses pounding a compelling rhythm
Skin seeking skin
Lips seeking lips
All sensation and want
Shallow breaths
Whispered gasps
The spark ignites into a blaze
Two souls surrender
To flames of pleasure and need
-gws
Words take up room in my mouth Coarse and bitter Smooth and sweet Complex and spicy Allowing me to experience the complex flavors of Emotion and experience Desire and dreams Hunger and horror Sometimes voracious Eager to be made manifest Sometimes savored Taking time to tumble onto the page When the words combine just right They produce seven course meals Ready for the soul to consume Every color, flavor, texture Providing nourishment for the spirit That only poetry can provide - gws Happy NaPoWriMo eve!
I like gray, rainy days and words that start with the letter P I like both boys and girls and I like watching people play D&D I like paper and pens and cheeseburgers when I'm sad I like philosophical conversations and discussing dreams I've had I like feelings and wordplay and poetry deep and dark I like full moons and new moons and the sacred creative spark I like soulmates and best friends and believing in heart bonds I like ghost stories and gut feelings and speaking with gods I like music and theater and unabashed dancing I like laughter and language and flirtatious glancing I like creating and baking and long sentences with tons of commas I like stories and slow burns and getting lost in fictional dramas I like philosophy and fandoms and so many things I like that you reading this verse gives my words wings -gws
The rock stood stalwart over the sea Strong Silent Resolute Ever watching Ever present The sea praised the rock Recognizing its reliability Extolling its resilience Of the rock's ability to weather the elements Alongside the sea But the rock wasn't resilient The rock suffered The rain mellowed the rock Smoothing down its defined edges At first the rock did not mind Because aren't smoothed edges A testament to its steadfast partnership with the sea Showing proof of its loyalty But water was also an insidious lover The mist with the help of the wind found every crack And forced its way deep within the stone Expanding fissures and causing fractures The rock without realizing lost itself to time The relentlessness of water Slowly broke down the rock Until it one day crumbled into the sea It was not mourned or missed Its absence sparked no shadow of memory For the sea still lapped and lashed and sprayed and claimed All who sat upon its shore One drop of salted water at a time -gws
