Free Verse Club

EllieMae Creator

EllieMae · Jul 1, 2024

This is the submission thread for the July 2024 contest! Submissions are open from July 1- July 21

Things to remember:
-spoiler any poems with mature content/cursing
-title each poem
-up to five submissions per person/put each submission in a different post.
-links to published poems on YWS/ other sources are allowed, as long as the poem is written by YOU.
-collab poems are allowed
-the theme is a guiding point, but not a requirement
-reach out to me with any questions
-NO using AI to write poems. All poems are put through an AI detector prior to judging.
-have fun!!

Coffeewriter

Coffeewriter · Jul 2, 2024

Submission One!

Twisted fate…

I followed and did exactly what they told me I followed their rules, labour and expectations
What do I get in return?!
I listened to their hollow shells of their younger selves, praised them
Sympathised with them
They pour out their hearts and souls to me every single day without fail
What did I get in return?
I would sit at the dinner table to be greeted with a hollow shell of my mother, wait. She was never my mother.
When I needed her, all she was a hollow shell, doomed to only be nostalgic about the things that were never destined for her
My father.
I thought he was different
I thought he was my knight in shining armour, he would shoo away the husk of my mother and whisk me away to greenery and treats I’d only talk about

Why did I never see the truth?

My father was never better than my mother
My father-a cheater and a father who just didn’t want to be the bad guy
My mother-a woman who broke after her parents put her through torture like me and she is doomed to do the same
My mother views me as her little jewel. As you all know, jewels don’t shine forever. When they stop shining even for a little while, you throw them away.

So. I did everything they told me to and what did I achieve??

death

Submission One!

Twisted fate…

I followed and did exactly what they told me I followed their rules, labour and expectations
[i] What do I get in return?! [/i] 
I listened to their hollow shells of their younger selves, praised them
Sympathised with them
They pour out their hearts and souls to me every single day without fail 
[i] What did I get in return? [/i] 
I would sit at the dinner table to be greeted with a hollow shell of my mother, wait. She was never my mother.
[i] When I needed her, all she was a hollow shell, doomed to only be nostalgic about the things that were never destined for her [/i] 
My father. 
[b] I thought he was different [/b] 
I thought he was my knight in shining armour, he would shoo away the husk of my mother and whisk me away to greenery and treats I’d only talk about

[i] Why did I never see the truth? [/i]

My father was never better than my mother
My father-a cheater and a father who just didn’t want to be the bad guy
My mother-a woman who broke after her parents put her through torture like me and she is doomed to do the same 
[i] My mother views me as her little jewel. As you all know, jewels don’t shine forever. When they stop shining even for a little while, you throw them away. [/i]

So. I did everything they told me to and what did I achieve??

[b] death [/b]

syzygy

syzygy · Jul 2, 2024

submission one:untitled one

they say all crossroads lead to an end
and when i asked what kind of end, they had no answer.

they say that if i stop and wait for just a second, i’ll have the answer.
i’m still waiting and the fork in the road just looks a little bit longer and a little bit darker.

(i see nothing but blackness ahead; giant serpent’s maw stretching to devour.)

they say all crossroads must come to a stop at some point,
and when i asked when, they had no answer.

they say if i look a little harder, i’ll see the smoke curling from home’s chimney and smell fresh cooked barbeque.
i’m still looking and the only smoke i see is of my last dregs of hope, evaporating into air.

(i hate to admit it, but without them i am lost like hansel and gretel but no stones or pebbles will ever save me.)

crossroads lead to despair and confusion, to burnt apple pies and gingerbread houses iced over with gloom.
they say crossroads will lead home. I say i never had a home to begin with. they agree.

(but what about you? do you have a penny to spare, or a match to burn? surely you know where crossroads lead.)

[b]submission one:[/b][u]untitled one[/u]

they say all crossroads lead to an end
and when i asked what kind of end, they had no answer.

they say that if i stop and wait for just a second, i’ll have the answer.
i’m still waiting and the fork in the road just looks a little bit longer and a little bit darker.

[i](i see nothing but blackness ahead; giant serpent’s maw stretching to devour.)[/i]

they say all crossroads must come to a stop at some point,
and when i asked when, they had no answer.

they say if i look a little harder, i’ll see the smoke curling from home’s chimney and smell fresh cooked barbeque. 
i’m still looking and the only smoke i see is of my last dregs of hope, evaporating into air.

[i](i hate to admit it, but without them i am lost like hansel and gretel but no stones or pebbles will ever save me.)[/i]

crossroads lead to despair and confusion, to burnt apple pies and gingerbread houses iced over with gloom.
they say crossroads will lead home. I say i never had a home to begin with. they agree.

([i]but what about you? do you have a penny to spare, or a match to burn? surely [/i]you[i] know where crossroads lead.[/i])

GengarTheGhost

GengarTheGhost · Jul 11, 2024

Submission one

Goddess

on this night, I stand at this ever-liminal crossroads.
(the gate between the neighbor’s house and mine)
the last sliver of the dark moon shines above me.
(in the night sky, it is almost invisible)

with my purified hands clasped together,
(hands washed in tap water and apple-scented soap)
I recite a holy hymn with my head bowed in reverence.
(a heartfelt poem written 30 minutes prior)

as I arrange a grand feast fit for the Queen I’m serving,
(a slice of chocolate cake and a clove of garlic)
the commotion of hounds signals Her arrival.
(the neighbor’s dog barks up a storm)

I feel Her immense energy flowing all around me.
(the wind blows quickly through my hair)
before I depart, I pause to praise this great Goddess
(a quiet “thank you” whispered under my breath)

NoOneInParticular

NoOneInParticular · Jul 12, 2024

All crossroads lead to oblivion (submission one)

One goes to great success; the other great failture
and the thousands of other paths for all walks for life
They say it matters not the end but the journey along the way —
this choice affects my eventual journey
I never liked decisions.

No matter where you go, all crossroads
lead to oblivion. Foresight is hazy,
like blurred vision without my glasses on,
while hindsight is a perfect twenty.
I wish there was a sign for the stories of each path,
or at least clear markings of where the pavement splits.
(Perhaps I need a new prescription)

Flip a coin if you must; time is ticking
you can’t erase your footsteps, you really
can only keep walking, and hope
oblivion is a patient guest.

redcarnation

redcarnation · Jul 13, 2024

Submission 1
Title: two dead birds and no stone
The grass blades are sharp under your bare feet, like glass shards cutting into your hard scales. Here and there, a gnarly root enters your path to trip you up. The air is hard to breath in, as if it is moisturized with hydrogen sulfide. People talk endlessly of pollution, but what if the pollution really exists inside you?
You reach the bank of a stream. Malicious shining eyes of predatory fish stare back at you from the water. Beside the stream are two dead birds lying with their heads teased back as if by force, once magnificent wings broken and bloody.

(bird one) You enter the stream. The water is cool and numbing like Xanax. When the predatory fish start to nibble at your toes, you let them because the hopelessness makes you too stiff and tired to move. You submit to the water, slowly dissipating.

(bird two) You are the dead bird. The small bites of soil and bacteria take you away. You are a part of the soil. You have given your remaining strength to the plants which are to grow among the footsteps you leave behind. Death has taken your body but your essence remains in the air, in the wind that carries dandelions all over the world until they find their place.

Submission 1
Title: two dead birds and no stone
The grass blades are sharp under your bare feet, like glass shards cutting into your hard scales. Here and there, a gnarly root enters your path to trip you up. The air is hard to breath in, as if it is moisturized with hydrogen sulfide. People talk endlessly of pollution, but what if the pollution really exists inside you? 
You reach the bank of a stream. Malicious shining eyes of predatory fish stare back at you from the water. Beside the stream are two dead birds lying with their heads teased back as if by force, once magnificent wings broken and bloody.

(bird one) You enter the stream. The water is cool and numbing like Xanax. When the predatory fish start to nibble at your toes, you let them because the hopelessness makes you too stiff and tired to move.  You submit to the water, slowly dissipating.

(bird two) You are the dead bird. The small bites of soil and bacteria take you away. You are a part of the soil. You have given your remaining strength to the plants which are to grow among the footsteps you leave behind. Death has taken your body but your essence remains in the air, in the wind that carries dandelions all over the world until they find their place.

NoOneInParticular

NoOneInParticular · Jul 20, 2024

y=mx+c (submission two)

“Parallel lines have a lot in common, but they never meet.

Ever.

You might think that’s sad.

But every other pair of lines meets once and drifts apart forever.

Which is pretty sad too.”

- author unknown (I couldn’t find the original)

Parallel lines will
never meet, they say;
running alongside for all eternity.

But the thing about crossroads
is that they only cross once, and
never again,
doomed to diverge
upon separate paths.
Fate decreed we’d meet,
on an infinite plane
yet I’m not sure how to deal with
the fact I’ll eventually leave

How do I tell you
we won’t last forever?
Our intersections
are flat; they lack depth.
Our relationships are only
one-dimensional; a single dot.
I wish we were a pair
of sine and cosine
growing closer with increasing frequency,
but we both know the highest exponents
on my equations is one.
(And I doubt you or I
have the strength to raise it any higher.)
How do I tell you
that we’ll drift apart?

Will our constants
remain constant?
Maybe you’ll look back
one day, and remember
the point where we converged.
But I’m afraid
we’ll never find the solution
to our simultaneous equations.

[b]y=mx+c (submission two)[/b]

[i]“Parallel lines have a lot in common, but they never meet.

Ever.

You might think that’s sad.

But every other pair of lines meets once and drifts apart forever.

Which is pretty sad too.”

- author unknown (I couldn’t find the original)[/i]

Parallel lines will 
never meet, they say;
running alongside for all eternity.

But the thing about crossroads
is that they only cross once, and 
never again, 
doomed to diverge 
upon separate paths. 
Fate decreed we’d meet,
on an infinite plane
yet I’m not sure how to deal with
the fact I’ll eventually leave

How do I tell you
we won’t last forever?
Our intersections 
are flat; they lack depth. 
Our relationships are only 
one-dimensional; a single dot. 
I wish we were a pair 
of sine and cosine
growing closer with increasing frequency,
but we both know the highest exponents
on my equations is one. 
(And I doubt you or I 
have the strength to raise it any higher.)
How do I tell you 
that we’ll drift apart?

Will our constants 
remain constant?
Maybe you’ll look back
one day, and remember 
the point where we converged. 
But I’m afraid 
we’ll never find the solution
to our simultaneous equations.

WeepingWisteria

WeepingWisteria · Jul 22, 2024

Submission One: The Cave, the Field, the Forest

Spoiler

my heart is a breeding ground for
fungi infest my ventricles and
lungs only fill with moss in the
darkness is a sanctuary for
me, the liar, the keeper, the
sinner, you can find a place here
too often we are expected to live in the light
there is weight in the secrets we hold

sunflowers bloom across my
palms open to the sky like i am
praying for hardships to end is the only way to
survive the fall by reaching
out here we weather the storm
together we will bloom and outlive
this is our call to stay with the sun
there is weight in the secrets we share

the lunar eclipse blooms over my
head to the place where your heart is safe but
breathless children wander here in the dead of
night is safe from hearsay and
misdirection is the plague of the cave and the
sun worshippers can't find the middle
ground sparkles with moon-water and we breathe
there is weight in the power to choose

[b]Submission One:[/b] The Cave, the Field, the Forest

[spoiler]my heart is a breeding ground for
fungi infest my ventricles and
lungs only fill with moss in the
darkness is a sanctuary for
me, the liar, the keeper, the
sinner, you can find a place here
too often we are expected to live in the light
[i]there is weight in the secrets we hold[/i]

[center]sunflowers bloom across my
palms open to the sky like i am
praying for hardships to end is the only way to
survive the fall by reaching
out here we weather the storm
together we will bloom and outlive
this is our call to stay with the sun
[i]there is weight in the secrets we share[/i][/center]

[right]the lunar eclipse blooms over my
head to the place where your heart is safe but
breathless children wander here in the dead of
night is safe from hearsay and 
misdirection is the plague of the cave and the
sun worshippers can't find the middle
ground sparkles with moon-water and we breathe
[i]there is weight in the power to choose[/i][/right][/spoiler]

WeepingWisteria

WeepingWisteria · Jul 22, 2024

Submission Two: Future's Crossroad

Spoiler

to the left, i have everything i know,
safety and comfort,
the smell of chocolate candles
and brown butter popcorn

to the right, i have everything i'm looking for
small college dorms
friends from faraway places
a home an hour away from here

i sit in the middle
too afraid to move
what happens if i take the wrong path?
it's better to wait for an answer

kaitlyn

kaitlyn · Jul 22, 2024

Submission One: all roads will take You to the future

am i beginning?
is this the end?
i don't know sis
i just go where I'm told

crossroads they say
you can go anywhere
it all leads to the future
whatever you want

urgh if only I knew sooner
that you have to pay a toll fee
and some roads are bumpy
sure they all lead to the future
but some will change you forever
and (if you're really lucky)
sometimes You don't even get to pick the road

kaitlyn

kaitlyn · Jul 22, 2024

Submission Two: Road Rage

crossroads
one for your happiness
one for your future
and one little side road to suffering

you can go screaming down to suffer
complain about your future
where is happiness?
on a vacation I wasn't invited to?

or just
take a deep breath
slow down and think
then maybe that road will lead you where you want to go

EllieMae Creator

EllieMae · Jul 23, 2024

Thanks to everyone who submitted this month! Judging we begin soon and results will be posted on the club page

I will lock this thread now.

July Contest: Where Do Crossroads Lead? Locked

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