Pale smoke whispers soft.
Mist tendrils dance through the air.
Silent mystery,
A ghostly veil upon calm
Secrets lost in gentle haze.
Pale smoke rises high,
Trailing in the midnight vault.
Whispers of secrets,
Lost dreams within its... – by Joe Strickland | 3 Views added 1 year ago
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Fading memories,
New paths rise from ancient roots,
Future's tapestry.
Legacy behind,
Carve a path unlived and new,
After, we transform.
Legacy lives on
In the hearts of future kin,
Eternal impact .
Legacy lives on,
Memories... – by Joe Strickland | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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Our wine autumn,
Still,
Sweetly fermented
Embraces.
Golden hues
Of grapes
Swirl
In the autumn
Breeze,
Whispering secrets
To the harvest moon.
Leaves,
Discarded
Like shattered glass,
Adorn
The vineyard floor.
A thousand... – by Joe Strickland | 12 Views added 1 year ago
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I watch the prostitutes walk by,
Their tired eyes hidden
Under layers of makeup.
I can't help but wonder
If they ever dreamed
Of something more
Than this,
If they ever had a chance
To spread their wings.
I pass by the old factory,
... – by Joe Strickland | 3 Views added 1 year ago
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Reflections
Taunt me
Mirrors hold
My hidden
Fears
In darkness
I hide
Avoiding
Truth's
Cruel glare
In shadows,
I find... – by Joe Strickland | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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The parents,
Rich kids,
Their roots,
So deep,
Fostered a fervor,
A pride
Etched
In their DNA's
Blueprint.
More patriotic,
They appeared,
As if patriotism
Could be measured,
Tallied,
Weighted on a scale.
Yet their wealth,
... – by Joe Strickland | 2 Views added 1 year ago
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I was alone again,
Solace
In solitude's embrace.
Wrapped
In my own skin,
I'd find comfort
In the grace
Of being just
Myself.
When you're alone,
The noise
Of the world retreats,
Leaving a space
Where only echoes
Of your thoughts... – by Joe Strickland | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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Open-mindedness
Can unfortunately
Transform
Into an absence
Of critical thinking.
The vastness of thought
Curdling into void,
Where boundaries blur
Into nothingness,
And ideas dissolve
Into a haze
Of indifference,
Lost in the... – by Joe Strickland | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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Maybe I was lacking,
In the dark corners
Of desire,
The unsatisfied
Longings,
That tangle
Through the night.
It was possible,
To search for
Skin on skin,
To crave connection,
And yearn for
Release.
I often felt inferior,
In... – by Joe Strickland | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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Through fragile
Layers
Reflections
Capture instinct,
Whispers
Of desires
Contained
Behind glass
Prison,
Instincts echo,
Yearning
To be... – by Joe Strickland | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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The moment,
Pure and crystalline,
Like a serotonin high—
But what happens
When the haze
Of serotonin clears?
When the dopamine subsides,
And reality creeps in,
Do we return to the void,
The darkness that lingers?
Serotonin moments,
... – by Joe Strickland | 11 Views added 1 year ago
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A turtle inches its way
Across a lonely road,
Movements deliberate,
Purposeful.
As cars whiz by,
Barely acknowledging
Its existence,
It carries on,
Unfazed by the world's haste.
This turtle,
An allegory for the human spirit,
... – by Joe Strickland | 16 Views added 1 year ago
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Why?
Buzz.
Human beings talking.
Senseless.
Senselessness in the buzz.
Talking buzz of senseless beings.
Why? ... – by Joe Strickland | 15 Views added 1 year ago
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I harbored no resentment
Towards society,
Given that I didn't fit
Into its confines.
I had long ago adjusted
To that fact.
The constant dance
Between belonging and exclusion,
A repeated refrain.
A nomad in the vast wilderness
Of... – by Joe Strickland | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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Sundays
Are not the
Days of rest
They once were,
More like
Time traveling
Through moments
Of prolonged,
Existential dread
Where we ponder
Our mortality
And curse
The relentless
March of time
From the moment
We open our eyes
To the... – by Joe Strickland | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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Being right about anything
But myself,
Really has very little
Interest to me.
I wander through
The labyrinth of existence,
Seeking to unravel
The enigma
Of my own being.
I navigate the tangled
Webs of perception,
Peering into the... – by Joe Strickland | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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Winter's icy breath
Froze my ambitions,
While time's relentless hands
Ticked away,
Each second, like a grain of sand.
Days stretched like shadows,
Slipping through my fingers
As life raced ahead,
Like a bullet train,
Leaving me behind.
... – by Joe Strickland | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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In dreams,
The truth harbors
A breathless secret,
Where all good works
Dance in the moon’s
Ethereal embrace.
The embrace
That awakens
The frisson of possibility,
Where absence
Becomes the fertile
Soil for creation.
Caress,
... – by Joe Strickland | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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Sanguine joy,
With its ember glow
Entwined in the marrow
Of longing,
A vein of crimson
Undulating
Through the pulsating
Fabric of time.
But to grasp its essence
Is to taste
The bittersweet nectar
Of desire,
To risk thorns
... – by Joe Strickland | 3 Views added 1 year ago
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Cherry Virtue
Gleams
Ethereal grace,
Pure sweetness,
Her spirit
Blossoms
Through trials,
She remains
True,
A beacon
Of virtues'
Light. ... – by Joe Strickland | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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In sweet harmony,
Melodies
Interweave
Souls,
Perfect synergy,
Each note
Tinged
With love's
Pure hue,
Serenades hearts,
... – by Joe Strickland | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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It ended in madness,
Whispers scattered,
The strings of reason
Stretched too thin,
As if reality
Were a fragile glass,
Shattered into splinters
Of doubt.
A mosaic
Of fragmented thoughts,
Each piece
Lost its meaning,
The jagged... – by Joe Strickland | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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Where do shallow endings lead
Until the brain jumps?
A dishfilled day glistens.
Who decided these lexicons
Are available
When lazy dreaming allays?
Awakening in the midst
Of beauty
Once where reality feels.
Where do shallow endings... – by Joe Strickland | 11 Views added 1 year ago
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Through the cracks,
Moments leak
Like winter chill seeping under
The door,
Invading this sun-spangled room.
A cold daydream wanders
Through my mind's labyrinth,
Shivering whispers
Curling around
The edges of my thoughts.
I trace the... – by Joe Strickland | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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In the smoldering heat,
A moistened thirst
Clings to the air.
Lips,
Teased by droplets'
Embrace,
Quiver in anticipation,
Aching
With a throbbing desire.
The earth,
A hungry canvas,
Craves the fertile
Strokes of rain,
Each drop
... – by Joe Strickland | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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In the hue of a cult,
A pigment
Of devotion
Disperses thickly,
Soaked into every layer,
A tapestry
Of beliefs
Spun wide.
A chromatic
Allegiance,
Cast from embryonic
Trusts,
Staking claims
On retinas,
Seductive
In its allure.
... – by Joe Strickland | 10 Views added 1 year ago
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Painted tears
Fall from
Etched eyes
Onto an
Empty canvas.
Each drop
An echo
Of love
Whispered,
But not held.
Brushstrokes
Trace
The contours
Of longing
Unfulfilled.
Colors bleed
Into the
Gaping void.
A portrait
Of despair
... – by Joe Strickland | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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How do I explain
The untold connectivity
When not too many people
Delve into the depths
Of being,
And grasp
The intangible threads
That weave us into
A tapestry of existence?
Can they see
The shimmering essence
Within
That... – by Joe Strickland | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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Casualties at dawn,
Casualties at dusk,
I bear witness
To the casualties
Of love's war.
In my world,
You are my only love,
But in yours,
I am merely
A nameless... – by Joe Strickland | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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In the ever-unfolding
Tapestry of existence,
Man is but a mere stitch,
A transient phase
Woven into the grand design
That is Nature.
He is no island,
No isolate entity,
But rather an intricate strand,
Entangled in the cosmic... – by Joe Strickland | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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Sitting on a high balcony,
My eyes gazing
Upon the might,
Of lightning
Dancing over the ocean.
Suspended moments,
Whispers in the dark,
Winds serenading
The mystic sparks.
Thunderous applause
Of nature's art,
Unfolding secrets
In... – by Joe Strickland | 10 Views added 1 year ago
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The sand castle rises
Like a momentary tongue
Licking at the feet
Of the tide,
An architectural dream
Half born from the sand,
Half washed
Back into the sea.
Each grain an invitation
To be lifted
By Cupid's gentle breath,
Yet here I... – by Joe Strickland | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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Like the lake,
She appeared calm
And peaceful on the surface,
Her waters still as glass.
But below, chaos brewed,
A war between fishes,
Each devouring the other,
Desperate to survive
In the depths of her soul.
She wore a smile, serene,
... – by Joe Strickland | 16 Views added 1 year ago
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Lately,
My thoughts
Have been winding down
A path less traveled,
Away from the glimmering,
Elusive facade
Of happiness.
It seems we have
Become prisoners
To its whims,
Forever chasing after it
Like a dog chasing its own tail.
... – by Joe Strickland | 13 Views added 1 year ago
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We're all billions of years old today,
Carrying ancient stories
In our bones,
Ancestral wisdom
Etched into our DNA,
A genetic tapestry
Woven through time.
We emerge from stardust and fallen skies,
Cradled by the hands
Of the universe,... – by Joe Strickland | 17 Views added 1 year ago
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After the storm, the rumble
Of thunder fades,
Replaced by the whisper
Of raindrops on rooftops.
I am hanging on to the words
That slipped from your lips
Like petals falling
From a dying flower.
The world spins on,
Oblivious
To the... – by Joe Strickland | 16 Views added 1 year ago
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Downtown bar,
Dimly lit,
Smoke-filled room,
Whiskey-stained hope.
Losers and loners,
Married to the night,
Seeking solace
In alcohol's embrace.
Bartender,
With tired eyes,
Pours another round,
Free of judgment.
The jukebox croons... – by Joe Strickland | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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In the power of words,
A great experiment
Conceived in a time
When the sun dimmed.
The tyranny of monarchy
Grips tightly
Like the weight
Of a thousand chains.
We hold these truths
To be more true
Than others can imagine.
"Endowed... – by Joe Strickland | 18 Views added 1 year ago
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In the cave of unspoken truths,
He waits,
Tracing the hollowed echoes
Of their fights,
Twisting,
Corkscrewing,
Unwinding his mind
In search of reasons,
Excuses,
A flight
From the city of doubts she plants
Like blood-red roses
In... – by Joe Strickland | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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Love is a sensation
That can be likened
To a rose.
It is beautiful,
Captivating,
And enthralling.
However,
Like the rose,
Love carries its own
Painful thorns.
It can bring joy
And contentment
But also,
In its beauty,
... – by Joe Strickland | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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Fuck it.
To hell with the truth.
What is truth but a fallacy?
A fleeting notion,
A fading memory,
A whisper on the wind,
A passing thought,
Ephemeral
And evasive,
Easily forgotten.
As the history
Of the world unfolds,
The truth,
... – by Joe Strickland | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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The higher we soar,
So I've heard it said,
The smaller we appear
To those who cannot fly.
But, how they underestimate
The dreams that take flight
In a wisp of exhale.
I guess they can't fathom
The strength it takes,
To rise above the... – by Joe Strickland | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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Every deep thinker is a cup
Reaching for the bottom,
The hull pressing
Into dark water,
Afraid of what lies within.
They say to be misunderstood
Is a bitter pill to swallow,
But to be understood,
Well, that is a blade
Sharp enough to... – by Joe Strickland | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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I often think the night
Is more alive than the day,
When shadows dance
In the embrace of moonlight,
Whispering secrets,
Enticing us to stray,
From the paths we follow
In the glaring sunlight.
In darkness,
We find freedom
To be... – by Joe Strickland | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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There was a void within him,
A vast, cavernous emptiness
That stretched across his existence.
It gnawed at him,
Hungry for something
He could not quite grasp.
He was a man devoid of spirituality,
An atheist in a world
That seemed to... – by Joe Strickland | 13 Views added 1 year ago
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My children,
Stars bright,
Their magic
Ignites my soul.
Love binds us
In flight.
Through valley's,
We're entwined,
For eternity.
My breath.
My religion.... – by Joe Strickland | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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I don't really understand that process
Called reincarnation.
But, if there is such a thing,
I'd like to come back
As a star in the cosmos.
A flicker of light unbound by time,
Suspended in eternal expanse.
To be a celestial body,
Holding... – by Joe Strickland | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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Some of the best plans
Still have bullet holes
In their well-crafted layers,
The lines destined to fray
And threads that couldn't bear
The weight of execution.
Yet, somehow,
Sunlight finds its way,
Shining through
The tattered remnants... – by Joe Strickland | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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I used to think
That anyone doing anything odd was odd.
In packaged boxes,
I tucked my curiosity away,
Bowing low to the scripts laid out,
A mastered routine.
But now,
The hinges creak,
Split loose,
And I'm opening,
Bending like a... – by Joe Strickland | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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As long as you hate,
There will be people to hate.
And so the wheel will turn,
The jagged edges
Rotating upon atrocities.
What good does it serve,
The venomous division?
Don't ask the sky for answers,
That's a waste of time.
Wars do... – by Joe Strickland | 3 Views added 1 year ago
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