Progress
Learn more about other poetry terms
A restless slumber; waking
Prior days anxieties extinguished
Rising is the early Phoenix
A new day has dawned
Born from the ashes of predecessors
Part I:
Once upon a time not so very long ago
Romantics aspired for high class views
While maintaining minds that were opposed to prose.
In all their writings they embellished upon
As I walked along the street
I saw the shadow of a soul
Its heart was beaten, all I saw was dullness
It was screaming for help, but no one could hear
We have rails from one end to the other
Metal bands around the heart of America
But it is an artery or vein
Bringing life and freshness to stagnant places
Though it brought us life
We don't need it anymore
Growing up
I never wanted to
Wanted to stay a kid
for as long as I could.
First went recess
then playing pretend.
Later went classes
of reading for fun.
I was terrified of failure
inadequacy
imperfection
The worst when I worked incredibly hard
What a waste of time
to fall just short of success
This piece is a comment on gun violence in America, an issue I am incredibly passionate about. I participated in the March for Our Lives in my city and have been a vocal part of my community on this issue.
When I look around and see
Death and destruction following,
It's then, I wonder what's the beef?
We're all the same inside.
Brown, black, yellow, and white
are colors that tend to identify,
when i knock on it, my head sounds hollow.
it’s unsurprising.
nothing good has been made in there for days,
my brain might have shriveled up
in its static, echoey cavity.
A turbulent sea can be interpreted as many things
Is it violence or a powerful loving passion?
Is it rage or remorse?
When I was 11, I started starving myself
When I was 13, I started cutting myself
When I was 15, I kissed a boy who had a girlfriend
When I was 16, I made a lot of mistakes
When I was 16, I decided I needed to change
I don't remember when you showed up in my life.
You're the companion I never wished for,
A thick silence that sucks away the flame of my soul.
A vacuum of grey is left in its place, not bad, not good.
Dear Atopic Eczema,
As you take away barriers of my skin
I have built up walls around my heart
Before I knew that I was Pangea,
You break me into continents
Dear friend:
As a person who wants success in such a small town
Filled with gloom, praying I prosper and don’t reach my doom.
Dear friend:
As a person who wants success in such a small town
Filled with gloom, praying I prosper and don’t reach my doom.
Progression is defined as a movement or development toward a destination or a more advanced state
It is accepting that things need to be different and making a change based on that fact
For my country, my heart swells with pride;
The land where my rights are upheld, and never denied.
But I must confess,
Our country is a constant work in progress.
To me it’s a shrouded mystery,
She touches the cool surface, the reflection of her hand a shadow of herself
A suburb in Utah drifts light through the small window
Have you seen the news today?
Even if I knew what to do,
What does this matter even mean to you?
Don't chastise me for what's been done.
If I recall correctly,
You didn't disagree.
Sure, the result wasn't favorable,
Agitation sets in.
Rays of sunshine assault the roost.
Orange beams awaken the cock.
Obnoxious is my neighboring early bird.
I will never hurt another human being the way you hurt me;
Blinded by only what you want me to say and see,
Bound to you by a sense of misery.
I just can't seem to breathe.
My childhood was more than average.
Happiness and fun seemed endless
Bits of insecurity on the inside started gathering,
and with my young mind gave me limits
I thought progress was going well.I thought it would be a more accepting world.I thought wrong. I realize now, that hatred has prevailed,And the ones who disagreeNeed to make their voices heard. Going on in life, I want to do the most I canTo help
Manmade stars seen through
ash shadows blanketing
this city made numb,
the unmaking of man,
thread unwinding from its spool
too quick to remember.
I don't promise insight, so take this vulnerability
There's something ugly in mistakes and I am going to let them see
on purpose. They're nervous for
bad anecdotal jokes and blank notes, rote comfort buy the hour.
We see in a certain way
What we think we know
We don't
We see you struggle
We see you die
We do nothing
We think we understand
We feel sorry
We see again and again
We ignore
As my unattainable love sat handsome in my head,
I dreamt of the could haves, and poetry, I read.
The classics inspired me -- like Browning and Donne,
Eliot and Plath and Shakespeare and Young.
Living life on life's terms now that takes some courage. Things will come and things will go, but every time I get back up my soul will still grow.
I used to be frail
In athletics I always had to bail
because my strength would fail
Now i am stronger
I can run much longer
and there isnt an obstacle that i cant conquer.
I used to be alone
Recently I found out that a bible study made up of a few girls from my school discussed at one of their meetings how I am a hypocrite, because I say I am a christian, I say I believe in the words of the bible, but I also, quite loudly, o
Be patient good things come to those who wait
Rushing speeds up negative vibes pushes you away
No holding back
Believe that's why my last relationship escaped
No excuses but we rushed despite the years
Follow me in to the great bright light
Where courage knows no cowardice
And fear has no place among the bold
Follow me in to the rich golden light
Where dreams are achieved
Today would be memories of our journey
Together and apart,
Of struggles and triumphs over brokenness and unworthiness…
Today would be sweet nothings
funny stories
soft kisses
strong embraces…
I wish when I smiled, I meant it,
I want my laugh to sound carefree like it did before,
I need to be the center of the picture;
so that I know I wont be the one on the outside.
I miss the way I used to be,
Sometimes I feel like I'm suffocating, and i don't want to be saved
Sometimes i imagine a tombstone, with my full name engraved
I dream of my funeral, the people who would cry,
You know that girl who's always smiling and laughing,
That girl who isn't popular, but everyone likes her,
That girl who can cheer anyone up within seconds,
That girl who loves and cares for everyone?
You know that girl who's always smiling and laughing,
That girl who isn't popular, but everyone likes her,
That girl who can cheer anyone up within seconds,
That girl who loves and cares for everyone?
Wake up late,
Mornings I hate
Don't like leaving my bed
The smell of bacon
Brings a cravin'
Jam spread over bread
Hash browns or home fries
Always satisfies
Kethchup on top
its a cover
its a page
its a hand with a pen
its a rainbow
Its a sky
its the waves And the sand
its hopefull it inspires
its what i love
Its happiness.. its mine
What makes me smile?
Well that's a funny question,
For the things worthwhile,
To me at least,
Are simply a facial expression.
A sparkle in the eye,
Reading! Writting! Things that make people cringe but makes smilegive me words over sports give me a book over TV
What makes you happy?
A question we all ask ourselves.
A lot makes me happy.
Strolling the dark street /
I’m walking with a cold gaze /
Have I declared defeat... /
running through life's maze? /
I remember a phrase /
“Mend the wound, Forbid distress” /
"Patience", she said,
As she whispered in my ear.
All being's trials start here.
She drew me a map
And left me alone.
"If you want,
come follow me here."
With tears in my eyes,
Let the asystole
Voice the matter at hand
The mind of she who wishes
To broadcast her innermost thoughts
Her suppressed desires
Goals, methods, plans
But fear the shatter
To mourn death or celebrate life.
We're always left with sullen strife.
Life, the tunnel of consciousness.
Death, the promising of mysteriousness.
When I think of the night,
I no longer feel afraid.
Not sad nor angry,
Just calm.
The night reminds me of us,
At better times.
When we would stare up into the great beyond,
He walks the streets looking for a way in or a way out
Seeking a prize that he cannot find
In the sky it cannot be seen,
So he seeks the earth beneath his feet,
Solid ground gives way beneath,
Life and death had a meeting
when life was old, dying, and pleading.
Death said hello with a grin, a dark greeting.
Death looked at life and said, "welcome back you look different."
I brought you into this world I can take you out.
These are familiar words that every black child hears when they act up
The Father, our Father
clenches his jaw and whispers these words into our ears
From the day you were born,
you've been feeling vile scorn,
for the future they say is so bright.
The school that you stay in,
The church that you pray in,
Just trying to snuff out the light.
Knock on resolution
but where is your heart
it should be with mine
progress over perfection
take it one day at a time
Join my revolution
just open up your heart
change is never easy
I do not wish to say a damn thing to you and your hypocrisy
Damnation of existentialism driven by your thoughts of “true” Christianity
Scrunched face and squinted eyes
Do you remember
The earth’s heartbeat?
Do you know
That flowers aren’t just
To look pretty?
And that the dirt
If you hear the word “radium,” do you think of Marie Curie,
Of the thousands she saved by radiation therapy,
Of a woman who died for the love – in the name – of science,
Come with me my friend
to a place where chimneys stack & stretch high
against an expansive black sky
Where three-legged laboradors run free
through the busy wild streets
Don’t deal plight to progress
For the lack of the greater goal
Mourning the death of something not born
Not realizing the birth of today
You might see light at the tunnels end
This place I am, it is horribly dark.
Yet, here I will stay. I am a flightless lark.
Motionless I’ll lay.
Please, take me away.
I need this to stop,
For these yearnings to drop.
The child- He soars above Earth,
Staining canvas with his light.
Which he picked from a lunar garden
From the land immersed in night.
Go ahead, leave your home but don’t look back
It’s all you know becoming what you knew.
Don’t get scared; just keep putting on an act.
Look to the sky, see the sun shining through?
The plight of the workers has not gone in vain.
No, their everlasting effect is present still today,
Knocked down
We were the forgotten sons
We fought against Jim Crow and the KKK
We took their hate
Transformed it
Into a different state
Refelected it
And we were able to liberate
The civil rights act of 1964,
we stopped discrimination and ended the war.
This was a dream, this was like heaven,
counted on the vote of 73 to 27.
Still happening.
Marched for nothing?
Television tells me that,
we did not win the rights we asked for.
As women,
as men,
as people.
People in a society that should consider us that,
People.
Back in the ‘60’s the movement began
From Memphis to Selma the freedom trains ran
Rallies and demos the fires did fan
As civil rights came into focus
America
Land of the Free, Home of the Brave,
The Land of the Depraved and Enslaved
Where voting is a universal right fought for by centuries of plight
Fast cars, fast planes, designer jeans
You're dreamin' of fortune and fame
Complain, complain, complain
That's all we really do
That man on the corner is starving
Who knew?
My heart pounding so hard,
Nearly bursting out of my chest;
Butterflies flutter wildly in my stomach.
Will today be the day I see you again?
I get dolled up – just in case.
Now I’m late.
