the notion
of ink and verse,
my imagination
finds home,
the blank page
welcomes
my every thought,
because poetry
is the vessel
I have chosen,
to hold both joy
and misery
in one embrace.
like a stringed instrument,
my pen... – by Joe Strickland | 11 Views added 1 year ago
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a morbid childhood.
I remember
walking throughout
the cemetery
that my daddy
worked at
trying
to become accustomed
with what
would be
my true future.
and thus,
I saw the dead
sought rest,
still as leaves
beneath fierce... – by Joe Strickland | 16 Views added 1 year ago
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I wish I could go back,
to February 11, 1963
in London, England.
I would have given my life,
to save Sylvia's life.
her head,
in the oven,
because she couldn't
wrap her head around,
how important
her poetry
would be to me.
the... – by Joe Strickland | 20 Views added 1 year ago
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is a part of life,
as we all know,
a fact ingrained
within our mortal bones.
no labels
of good,
or bad,
or right,
or wrong.
such judgments fall beyond
our feeble and naive
understanding.
this world we occupy,
third rock from... – by Joe Strickland | 14 Views added 1 year ago
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love,
an elusive specter,
a wisp of smoke,
floating
in the vast expanse,
disappearing with a blink,
ungraspable,
intangible,
a phantom that haunts,
stirs the soul
yet often
leaves us
... – by Joe Strickland | 11 Views added 1 year ago
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a room, barely lit,
the key to problem rests.
not the solution, no,
but the hinge, the lock,
the click and turn that
unleashes questions, riddles,
and the untidy snarl
of tangled threads.
it hides in plain sight,
just there,... – by Joe Strickland | 18 Views added 1 year ago
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My soul
Finds itself
Stunned,
Entwined amidst
The shattered
Fragments
Of emotion
And longing,
Burdened by
The tumultuous
Weight
Of a wounded
Existence
And I feel
So blessed
To be alive.
It's better to hurt
Than to... – by Joe Strickland | 17 Views added 1 year ago
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My eyes are worse,
I'm getting older,
doctor says.
Unhappy,
Less joy.
Look at my girls,
Always lit up.
They see magic.
Now I get it.
Kids find magic
Because
They look for it.
When did I,
Become a cynic?
Goddamn,
I need a... – by Joe Strickland | 123 Views added 1 year ago
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Morning breaks,
The dawn's embrace
Begins,
And light,
Like blood,
Spills over
Night's demise.
In darkness' grip,
A scarlet haze
Now gleams,
In wait
For Terpsichore,
Swift in her race,
Across blue heavens,
Marking time's
... – by Joe Strickland | 15 Views added 1 year ago
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Morning breaks,
The dawn's embrace
Begins,
And light,
Like blood,
Spills over
Night's demise.
In darkness' grip,
A scarlet haze
Now gleams,
In wait
For Terpsichore,
Swift in her race,
Across blue heavens,
Marking time's
... – by Joe Strickland | 71 Views added 1 year ago
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As the music
Fills the room,
The beat resounds,
Reverberating
Through the walls
And across the floor.
With each passing moment,
The rhythm
Grows stronger,
Echoing out the door
And into the world beyond.
The river
With it's... – by Joe Strickland | 26 Views added 1 year ago
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Stiff and stagnant days
Meld into the next,
Pain intertwines
With the ticking clock,
A metronome of agony,
Relentless,
Unyielding,
Smeared like ink
Across the pages of existence.
Whispered echoes
Of throbbing pulses,
Each beat a... – by Joe Strickland | 15 Views added 1 year ago
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Give me the raw essence,
The smell of fresh ink,
A blank page
Yearning for expression.
Not relics polished
By the hands of antiquity,
Not tales of dusty triumphs
And defeated dreams.
I seek to mold
The unwritten,
To sculpt destiny
With... – by Joe Strickland | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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In the realm of nothingness,
I lost myself—
Dropped the weight
Of all knowns,
Found contentment
In the dim light of negation.
Nihilism,
My wayward companion,
You stripped me bare,
Whispered secrets of the void,
Where galaxies weep ... – by Joe Strickland | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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Phantom promise,
Etched in air,
A whispered declaration,
Barely heard,
Quickly discarded.
Like smoke dissolving
Into nothing,
I chased the trace,
Ephemeral,
Elusive.
A mirage of hope,
Feathers scattered
By the wind,
Slipping... – by Joe Strickland | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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The mark of age tattooed
On our skins,
Pockmarked reminders
Of battles fought
On desperate bed sheets.
Unfolding scars
Like chapters from a book,
Each line a memory
Etched deep.
Lipstick smeared
Across the collarbone
Like blood
On a... – by Joe Strickland | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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In the molasses light
Of an eternal summer,
Glimmers of a pastel nation
Come alive,
A watercolor map etched
On tender skin,
Where borders blend
And hues converge.
A cityscape awash
In cotton candy dreams,
Where pastel skyscrapers
... – by Joe Strickland | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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Sunset paints the sky.
Cityscape bathed in gold hue.
Buildings reach for stars.
Silhouette of dreams arise.
Eternal beauty,... – by Joe Strickland | 1 View added 1 year ago
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Shaken confidence
In the city
Of broken hopes,
Where neon lights
Flicker and stutter,
Like my imagination,
Casting shadows
On the faces
Of the lost
And disoriented.
Belief evades me,
A slippery eel
Wriggling through my grasp,
... – by Joe Strickland | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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The heart,
A puzzle,
A labyrinth of desires,
A confounding maze
Of contradictions,
Seeking solace
In another's gaze,
Yearning for connection,
Yet fearing vulnerability,
Aching for love,
And afraid
Of the pain it brings. ... – by Joe Strickland | 10 Views added 1 year ago
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There is no safety in the streets,
In a quiet dream of home.
Buoys in the arms of sleep,
The embrace of the learned.
No haven lies
In the cracks
On the pavement,
Traced
With the brief elation
Of a zephyr’s gentle urgency.
But come,
Let... – by Joe Strickland | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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Free will whispers soft,
Choice woven like fragile thread,
Paths diverging wide.
In our hands, the power lies,
To shape destiny's embrace.
Fate's winding pathway,
Guiding us towards our path,
Fortunes intertwined,
Though our steps may be... – by Joe Strickland | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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Idle letter,
Lost in the recesses
Of a crowded desk.
The ink, once vibrant,
Now faded, sun-bleached,
A ghost of forgotten thoughts.
Words linger on brittle paper,
A whisper on the edge of memory,
A melody lost in time’s symphony.
... – by Joe Strickland | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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January decay,
Nature's beauty
Fades away,
Trees stand,
Leafless,
Bare.
The cold winds
Whisper their cries,
Life's cycle,
Death's sweet
Despair.
January decay,
Winter's
Icy grip
Unfolds,
Leaves fall,
Trees stand bare.
... – by Joe Strickland | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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In the lethal garden
Where roses bleed,
Thorns pierce skin,
And violets whisper
Secrets in the wind,
The tulips sway,
Intoxicated by the sun,
As lilies hide
Their poisoned tongues.
Butterflies,
Fragile and ignorant,
Dance on the petals... – by Joe Strickland | 2 Views added 1 year ago
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Quiet shrine
Of whispered dreams
Softened whispers
Linger in the air,
Veil of serenity
Draped gently
Over tender hearts
And weary souls.
Delicate whispers
Embrace the sacred space,
As stillness calls forth
The essence of all.
In... – by Joe Strickland | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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Darling embers,
A symphony glowing,
Flickering grandeur.
In the hearth of my thoughts,
They ignite secrets untold.
Whispers intertwine,
Mysteries enfold,
As memories unfold.
Embers dance to secrets known,
The secrets of the world.
... – by Joe Strickland | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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White tide rolls in strong
Crashing against sun-kissed shores,
Whispering secrets.
A blanket of pure, serene,
Nature's art, forever pure.... – by Joe Strickland | 2 Views added 1 year ago
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In the hue of twilight's hazy rapture,
We plunge deep into the vast void,
Sensual whispers caressing empty walls,
Aching for connection's radiant mirage.
Strangers passing by, bodies craving touch,
Yearning for oblivion's tender dance,
Where... – by Joe Strickland | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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Lilac Thrills,
Abandoned in the verses,
Amidst the whirl
Of fluttering syllables,
Alluringly elusive,
Dancing on the page.
Once upon a time,
Petals whispered secrets,
Unfolding tales
Of forgotten dreams,
Yet now they lie scattered,
... – by Joe Strickland | 16 Views added 1 year ago
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