to heal these scars

8 posts
User avatar
Gender Male
Points 55
Reviews 69
only an oration, spoken, yet not seen;
this wax may cement me into this moment--
i will not scream as my skin rips from the flesh.

[napoweek 2026]
[soon, i will submit myself to the stars]




User avatar
Gender Male
Points 55
Reviews 69
10.7.26
let me return; to only appear in
whispered phrase & candlelit forests.

i have yearned for you; far too long to
remember my name, or to differentiate
hand from foot & heart from soul.

wax covered lips & hushed prayer--
you long for me to recollect what has long since left.

[i cannot, i will not, i cannot]
[soon, i will submit myself to the stars]




User avatar
Gender Male
Points 55
Reviews 69
10.8.26
you know who i am -- tell me,
in the last life-- was i gracious?
under the spring foliage,
in fleeting light from the canopies--

did i free myself from these chains?

all the rust blends into the fallen leaves--
seamless blend of red & orange & yellow
& brown & blood & fire & rust &--

(i have forgotten how to speak to others--
my voice is dying out--)

() silent
i try to say something witty but i
have long forgotten how to write () how to
read () how to say that i have missed
the spring air --
[soon, i will submit myself to the stars]




User avatar
Gender Male
Points 55
Reviews 69
10.9.26
in this endless consumption;
i find myself running (running?)
from what could only be described as some
sort of past self (?pastself)

the line blurs, and i find myself chasing (ch?asing)
who i will be-- this future self (pres?ent? self)
is both who (iwillbe?) and (whoi??wa?s)

my? breath stutters as i b?egin
to ()question who i once w??as

(i am only a m?imi?c of someone who
was ?better than me at (this))

(u) kn??ow (I) am(?) not usua?lly like this
/so ex?peri??((mental) -- iam learning who
this (p??erson?) once (w?as?is?willb?e)

(do??not?be?scared?) (i?mean?n?ot?to?harm)

t()?ell me(-))-) d??o yo?u? li?ke th?s me mor?e th(an) the ?one bef??ore

()((?i?do?not?know?if?i?do)
[soon, i will submit myself to the stars]




User avatar
Gender Male
Points 55
Reviews 69
10.9.26 (2)
i have lost my edge\this once blooming
flower is all but wilted\return himself to the
soil\learn to grow into something beautiful\
and forget when the leaves dry\you are
amazing\until the lights fade and you are
left at the computer\pouring your heart out
your blood your anguish\in hopes someone will
find it trendy\or something like that.
[soon, i will submit myself to the stars]




User avatar
Gender Female
Points 24804
Reviews 532
Spoiler
Maybe it's because the previous poem mentions prayer, but "10.8.26" feels so much like one to me! It starts off with speaking to a "you" that knows your previous life - who else but God or some kind of spiritual entity would that be? The rambling-ness and inability to speak/find the right words goes along with that overall prayer sense for me too

How "10.9.26" devolves - ugh I love it!
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled
and do not be afraid.

she/her | team monkeys | #unclassified




User avatar
Gender Genderfluid
Points 9705
Reviews 38
Spoiler
Herb, I am OBSESSED with this! You've done such a gorgeous job of fluctuating the format of your poems while keeping a continuous narrator voice. I love the experimentation in 10.9.26, but I also LOVE so many of the lines in 10.8.26. "tell me, / in the last life-- was i gracious?" CHILLS. I'll be thinking about that poem for a while. I want to print it out and hang it on my wall. Really gorgeous work, seriously <33
he/she/they


winter can usually be found wherever Leya is = another fun fact ~Leya
Winter you just have a whole cinematic universe in your head ~Wist
winter is the only person who would survive the machine uprising ~Europa




User avatar
Gender Male
Points 55
Reviews 69
10.11.26
the trees are burning in the vermont mountains;
you are well aware i asked to be buried there,
so it only makes sense that that i linger here.

my grandmother lays her hand on mine as she cries
and i cannot help but think of what happens when
she dies; when my parents die; when i die.

who knows whether i am mourned, remembered,
to be preserved with the changing leaves
is all i ask for.
[soon, i will submit myself to the stars]



I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Let's start with typewriters.
— Solomon Short