In this city,
No one reads anymore,
No one lingers
Long enough to browse.
They're too busy
With their own tales,
Running down the streets,
Chasing ghosts.
And so,
She remains untouched,
Her pages unturned,
A protagonist waiting
... – by Joe Strickland | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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Dropped like a strand of silver,
My body's anthem
Twisted into knots,
Chronic pain,
An unwelcome tenant.
I am a field,
Shattered by my own roots,
Digging deep,
Burrowing into marrow,
Each ache a testament of fragility.
In the realm... – by Joe Strickland | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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The wind whispered secrets
As the waves crashed,
A symphony of forgotten words.
But I was deafened
By the thunderous silence,
And my pen fell from my hand,
No longer able to translate
The ancient echoes.
Lost in the vast expanse,
I... – by Joe Strickland | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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When we quit the basis of sensation,
All is in the wind.
Everything’s in the wind.
The mind, a lonesome wanderer,
Dreams of terrors and uncharted realms.
In shadows, whispers reside,
Their haunting echoes, desperate to be heard.
The veil... – by Joe Strickland | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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There is a place
That exists
In the depths
Of the human
Psyche,
A purgatory
Of sorts,
Where emotions
Run rampant
And consume
The soul.
It's a dark,
Foreboding place
Where even
The strongest
Of individuals
Can be... – by Joe Strickland | 12 Views added 1 year ago
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Remember when Lennon said
"Imagine there's no heaven."?
Hell, there's no need to imagine.
I've been living in purgatory
My whole damn life.
But yeah,
No fiery pit,
No sweet angels
Playing harps.
Just us,
Struggling on this earth
... – by Joe Strickland | 10 Views added 1 year ago
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She marvels
At the intricate
Patterns and shapes
That dance
In her view,
Twisting
And weaving
Into something
Almost magical.
As she blinks again,
The colors shift
And change,
Creating a new scene
From the one before it.
... – by Joe Strickland | 15 Views added 1 year ago
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The wind whispers
Softly in my ear,
As I wander
Through the trees.
I feel like I'm lost,
Drowning in the noise
Of the world
Around me,
Struggling
To find a way
To quiet my mind.
But then
I hear your sigh,
So deep
And full... – by Joe Strickland | 22 Views added 1 year ago
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The rise of magic
Came like a thief,
Stealing away
Our disbelief
With its elusive might.
The world
Was transformed
By its mystical glow,
And before we knew it,
It had us all.
Society
Was marveled
And awestruck,
At the power
Of... – by Joe Strickland | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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Don't leave me guessing
Like a rat.
I can't decipher
Every carillon.
You should know
Me better than that.
I don't have the patience
For your chatter.
I'd rather spend it
On my wine.
You should know
Me better than that.
Your... – by Joe Strickland | 11 Views added 1 year ago
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We pour our hearts
Onto canvas,
Or into words
That we write,
Hoping someone
Will see the beauty,
And validate
Our endless soaring.
But sometimes
The world is unkind,
And our art
Is left unheard,
Leaving us
Feeling lost
And... – by Joe Strickland | 12 Views added 1 year ago
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The mirror's surface
Is smooth and clear,
But the reflection
It shows
Can often blur.
Like a chameleon,
It changes its color,
Creating an illusion
That feels
Brand... – by Joe Strickland | 10 Views added 1 year ago
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Lines and angles,
Intersecting and twisting
In a world
That's both
Strange and familiar.
A man
Walks on the ceiling,
Another on the wall,
While orbs float
Weightlessly
Around them all.
Staircases
Lead both up
And down.
People... – by Joe Strickland | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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The world was too noisy
And I couldn't find quiet.
My thoughts were jumbled
And I needed to clear my mind.
So, I ventured out
Into the rain,
Letting it wash over me,
Hoping it would help me
Think clearly again.
That's when I heard
... – by Joe Strickland | 13 Views added 1 year ago
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She split him up,
Left him in pieces.
But still he loves her.
He confesses this
To anyone that listens.
She saved his life,
Turned him into
Everything he is.
He owes her everything,
His heart to ignite.
She made him
Who he is,
With... – by Joe Strickland | 14 Views added 1 year ago
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As I saw her fade
Off into the great wide open,
I couldn't help but feel
A sense of profound awe
And reverence.
Because in her,
I beheld the very essence
Of what makes us human,
In all our tumult and strife,
Our unyielding perseverance,
... – by Joe Strickland | 11 Views added 1 year ago
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In a box
For a lone wolf,
I lay my thoughts
To rest,
Gone
Are the days
Of howling,
As I suppress
My feral nature.
In this small,
Confined space,
I try to make sense
Of it all,
Feeling trapped
And isolated,
As I struggle
To... – by Joe Strickland | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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I've seen it all before,
These leaders
We admire,
Reflections
Of our own flaws,
But what's behind
Those closed doors?
Exploitation,
Manipulation,
A power trip
Of domination,
No empathy
Or connection,
Just a cold sense
Of... – by Joe Strickland | 11 Views added 1 year ago
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The rain,
It washes away
My affliction and sadness.
The darkness I hold
Joins with me
Through each moment
Like a heavy cross.
No one knows
The plagues I face.
Ive tried talking about it.
She won't listen.
The raindrops
Mask my tears
... – by Joe Strickland | 19 Views added 1 year ago
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I walked the streets at night,
Through the neon glow and cigarette smoke,
Lost in the cacophony of voices,
The beat of the city pulsing in my veins.
I saw the faces of the forgotten,
The invisible ones, the outcasts,
The lost souls wandering... – by Joe Strickland | 25 Views added 1 year ago
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I sat at the bar,
Nursing my drink
Like it was the last goddamn thing on earth.
The neon signs buzzed above my head,
Like soothing lullabies
From a world
I could never fully understand.
I watched the people around me;
The sad sacks
... – by Joe Strickland | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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She dances to the beat of her own drum,
A spirit untethered and free.
Her hair wild like fire,
Her eyes bright like an eclipse.
They call her Gypsy,
Because she has the soul of the wanderer,
Always seeking adventure
And never content to be... – by Joe Strickland | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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Looking into the mirror,
Penelope couldn't help but feel
Like a ghost.
The reflection
Staring back at her
Was not that of a person
Who was truly present
In this world.
The eyes lacked the brightness,
The face held no expression,
... – by Joe Strickland | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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Greed, you wildfire.
You destroy everything in your path.
An insatiable hunger
To own it all.
A thirst that can never be quenched.
You take and take until nothing is left.
The world suffers at the hands of your avarice.
The forests... – by Joe Strickland | 14 Views added 1 year ago
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For the ones
Who departed
And said
Their goodbyes.
Now
In the silence
I hear
Their last words.
My heart is heavy
With sorrow
And memories
That are too real.
In this solemn place
I bid my... – by Joe Strickland | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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I woke up this morning
With a raging headache
And a feeling like
I'd been hit by a truck.
My mouth was dry as a bone
And there was a sour taste
In there that wouldn't quit.
I peeled back the covers
And swung my feet over
The edge... – by Joe Strickland | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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He saw the best minds
Of his generation
Destroyed
By madness,
Starving hysterical naked,
Screaming out
To a world that wouldn't listen,
Trapped in a cycle
Of pain and despair.
Their souls were like shattered glass,
Scattered
And... – by Joe Strickland | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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Keep on scrapping,
Keep on thrusting,
For the nation's burning urge.
Hoist that flag up high,
Bare your might,
Never eject yourself.
Sacrificed like sheep,
Whispers of mirth
From clandestine dens.
Yet the mighty
Remain untouched
... – by Joe Strickland | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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They are haunted
By the ghost
Of love lost
And the painful memories
Of what could have been.
The love songs
That once held
A promise of hope
Now leave them
With a sense of loss.
Another year has passed,
And little has changed.
... – by Joe Strickland | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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The worship of needs,
And wants,
And desires,
And ignorance,
Greed,
Is what I disdain.
From preachers
And writers
They fall in It's trap,
Unknowingly
Causing people pain,
Leading astray
Those who know the way.
It's a curse
That... – by Joe Strickland | 10 Views added 1 year ago
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