Dance…
With the evening
With moonlight
With the stars
Even though love is not on your side

Dance…
In your sleep
And in your dream
So that you are happy without love

Was I smothering you? Was she your breath of fresh air? Were you suffocating without her?

I hope all of your answers are yes.

Because if they aren’t, then I’ll know for sure that she meant nothing to you and that can only mean that I meant nothing too.

—did you love me or was that just another lie?—

.L.m.P.

I was numb when you told me what you did.

I’d give anything to be that numb again.

Everyone talks about heartache, but that doesn’t even begin to explain what I’m feeling.

It’s more than just my heart aching.

My entire being is aching.

My head. My bones. Even my nerves are raw, exposed and fuck they ache.

—was she worth all of this pain?—

.L.m.P.

This poem titled ADULTERTY is an acrostic. I was inspired to write this after reading Paulo Coelho’s book “Adultery”

I love reading Greek Mythology and one of the greatest adulterous acts committed was by Aphrodite and Ares. Aphrodite was the Olympian goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation, she was married to Hephaestus the god of fire, metalworking, stone masonry, forges and the art of sculpture. Zeus married Hephaestus to Aphrodite to prevent the war between Gods fighting for her hand, Zeus did this due to Hephaestus’ ugly appearance but Aphrodite continued having several love affairs with other Gods.

Aphrodite’s most famous love affair was the one with Ares, the God of war. One day while Aphrodite and Ares were together they were caught in an invisible but strong net by Hephaestus, and exposed to the amusement of the other gods at Mt. Olympus.

“My soul has gone rogue

the day you left

the day i died

my heart, no longer a heart

merely an empty vessel

The flowers have wilted

and the memories of you

only haunt

the fragility of a heart

and the sorrow

of you.”

Sorrow of You // J.A.

This poem is for my special new friend and sister in NYC …

Proverbs 27:9: “Oil and perfume make the heart glad; so does the sweetness of a friend’s counsel that comes from the heart.”

1 Thessalonians 5:11: “Therefore encourage and comfort one another and build up one another, just as you are doing.”

Romans 12:10: “Be devoted to one another with (authentic) brotherly (and sisterly) affection (as members of one family), give preference to one another in honor … ”

Romans 12:15: “Rejoice with those who rejoice (sharing in others’ joy), and weep with those who weep (sharing in others’ grief).”

Galatians 6:2: “Carry one another’s burdens and in this you will fulfill the requirements of the law of Christ (that is, the law of Christian love).”

1 Corinthians 13:2-3: “ … if I have all (sufficient) faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love (reaching out to others), I am nothing. If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it does me no good at all.”

The Things We Do Not Say

The things we do not say,

In the end they hurt us so -

How quickly we would say them

If beforehand we could know

The grief poised to descend,

And dim the light within our eyes,

And fill our hearts with regret

When we come to realize

What opportunities we let pass,

What joys there might’ve been,

And how much we would do differently

If we could do it all over again.

Words of praise left unspoken,

Votes of confidence denied,

And loves that may have blossomed

If not for bashful tongues tied -

What injustices we might’ve conquered

If we had but dared to speak,

And what comfort we could’ve offered

The afflicted and weak -

What wisdom we might’ve shared,

To lovingly guide -

And what discoveries we could’ve made

Had our questions been plied.

So speak now, as your spirit longs to.

Be brave enough to share

The passions and dreams that inspire you,

And let others know you care.

Do not let words left unspoken

Someday fill you with regret.

Stand up and say what’s in your heart,

And see how many needs are met.

tell me everything’s okay, i know that it’s a lie but it takes away the pain.

- l.r

I let you in…then I pushed you out. I kicked you when you were down and I thought you would still be around…

Still stuck on a love that ended years ago, still wondering when I can have you back. Still craving the curve of your back. Still needing you. B may be the first letter of your name but I still don’t know what to B with out you. Still pathetic without you. Still yearning for your light, still hoping you would fight, for me. I guess it was never worth it.

I hope you’re doing well.

-m.n

I don’t have to apologize

for changing my mind about being your ‘friend’.

The same way you wouldn’t dream

of apologizing for giving up on us.

-R.M.

Instagram: r.m.m._poems

Strong grows the soul

who realizes being kind, doesn’t make the hurt okay.

Cause they will respect you,

but still have the strength to walk away.

 -R.M.

Instagram: r.m.m._poems

junior high

from your cold jelly colored
prison floor
i hang

here until overhead

your gravity
crumples
me like paper tossed

into a wastebasket

which i smooth out
then write on it
my SOS

of junior high emoticons
carved out
by a dried up pen

from a drawer
cluttered in old ketchup
and soy sauce packets


–Robert Paul Southern (2020)

I spent so much time loving you and building you up in my head that no one will ever be able to compare, not even you.

I don’t know what’s worse…being helpless or feeling helpless 

I wrote this before going to Walmart

I can’t stop thinking of the first time I touched your hand, the first time I brushed your lips with mine, I just can’t take you off my mind.

Call of the abyss

It takes you in with hellbound hands

To pull you to a place of no return

You try to resist, with all your might

Its sad and dark and terrifying but so,

So

Intriguing.

- Bird of Pride

REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS OF MY PSYCHOLOGICAL MARIJUANA ADDICTION (spoken version)