how rotten this inheritance

59 posts1, 2, 3, 4
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Avian
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Thu Mar 13, 2025 11:45 pm
Avian says... · Thu Mar 13, 2025 11:45 pm
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i pull out my insides and smear them on paper,
this duality of give and take, create and kill.
mother gave me her hands, father his eyes,
but i have been decaying since i watched them both cry.


~napo 2025
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Avian
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Fri Mar 14, 2025 12:19 am
Avian says... · Fri Mar 14, 2025 12:19 am
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01. (4/01/25) we buried your dead fish in my backyard
02. (4/02/25) yearn (are you real?)
03. (4/02/25) removed for submission
04. (4/03/25) removed for submission
05. (4/04/25) dear dad,
06. (4/05/25) the future scares me but
07. (4/06/25) ever-lasting ever-dying
08. (4/07/25) photosynthesize
09. (4/07/25) three word mantras i am afraid of
10. (4/08/25) martyr
11. (4/08/25) mender-never-mended
12. (4/09/25) tidal requiem [collab]
13. (4/09/25) removed for submission
14. (4/10/25) four lines of dreaming about you
15. (4/10/25) five lines of thinking about you
16. (4/10/25) father's rage/daughter's repose
17. (4/11/25) i drive when i feel things
18. (4/12/25) never a romance in the face of tragedy
19. (4/13/25) there's a ladybug on my lamp
20. (4/14/25) the buzz is back so i write it away
21. (4/15/25) pomegranate seeds / fruit of the earth
22. (4/16/25) the art of maintaining dormancy [collab]
23. (4/16/25) the order of heartbreak
24. (4/17/25) the snow melts
25. (4/17/25) someone/something
26. (4/18/25) do you know the language of my silence?
27. (4/19/25) to be known
28. (4/19/25) foxgloves in your teeth
29. (4/20/25) thoughts after i showed you a poem
30. (4/20/25) you and me (and her)
31. (4/21/25) how april is starting to feel
32. (4/21/25) removed for submission
34. (4/22/25) anxious wonderings
35. (4/23/25) i stretch my fingers (will you grasp them?)
36. (4/24/25) ruminating
37. (4/25/25) female rage
38. (4/26/25) after watching a murder documentary
39. (4/27/25) death/life
40. (4/28/25) removed for submission
41. (4/29/25) acceptance
42. (4/29/25) in this one i am prometheus, only i was never divine
43. (4/30/25) i think i think too much
44. (4/30/25) finality (there is still more to say)
45. (4/30/25) not so rotten after all
Last edited by Avian on Fri Apr 11, 2025 3:55 am, edited 15 times in total.
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Youbeaucupid
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Sat Mar 22, 2025 2:05 am
Youbeaucupid says... · Sat Mar 22, 2025 2:05 am
EEE!! I’m so excited to see what you write for NaPo!! Your theme sounds amazing! Image
You know, ଳjellyfishଳ can't swim or shine on their own, but once they absorb light from around them, they're able to shine for themselves! So maybe...I can, too! If I'm around you, maybe I'll be able to shine, too? -

クラゲは夜は泳げない
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Avian
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Tue Apr 01, 2025 5:47 am
Avian says... · Tue Apr 01, 2025 5:47 am
we buried your dead fish in my backyard (4/1/25)
i.
my house is filled with filtered sunlight and pencil lines
on the doorway; there is nothing heavy to hold here.
the kitchen is clean, but the dust remains on the windowsill.
there is a silent suffering here, something packed up long ago
with a frayed ribbon. mom and dad taught me to bite my tongue
when i think of the ugly things that have long since been buried.

ii.
his hands are lacerated with incisions. my mouth bleeds
when he tells me what he is holding; i am not hesitant
to relieve his palms. occasionally, he will take my hands and
pretend to clean the grime from between my fingers. i smile and
thank him for his kindness, but we both know that this is not symbiosis.
i was always meant to carry his burden. my load is light
so i may delegate my hands to those who need them.

iii.
i trail my fingers along the windowsill, kicking up dust
in my wake. my body will be remembered here, in the way
i twist shattered things into creation. i do not know if this is
mercy or torture; i find solace in knowing what i was made for.
Last edited by Avian on Thu Apr 03, 2025 3:57 am, edited 2 times in total.
it is always another hand that guides me.
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winterwolf0100
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Wed Apr 02, 2025 5:38 am
winterwolf0100 says... · Wed Apr 02, 2025 5:38 am
Spoiler
i find solace in knowing what i was made for


Oh my GOSH avian AGH I am so excited to read more of your poetry!! This is just so pretty and really packs a punch. Great job so far!
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
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Avian
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Thu Apr 03, 2025 3:56 am
Avian says... · Thu Apr 03, 2025 3:56 am
yearn (are you real?) (4/2/25)
you press your knuckles against my hip and
i can't help but wonder if you want to extend your fingers
across my skin. i have been wondering about many things lately---

if i am an infatuation or just another tease,
what your eyes look like when (if) you think of us---
i am reaching out my hands farther than you can reciprocate.

you do not acknowledge me outside of this space,
but just yesterday you took my hand in yours and held my gaze.
attention is addicting, and i cannot discern if yours is genuine or fabricated.
it is always another hand that guides me.
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User avatar
Avian
Gender Female
Points 994
Reviews 56




User avatar
Avian
Gender Female
Points 994
Reviews 56




User avatar
Avian
Gender Female
Points 994
Reviews 56
Sat Apr 05, 2025 4:29 am
Avian says... · Sat Apr 05, 2025 4:29 am
dear dad, (4/4/25)
i.
sometimes, we speak in silences,
the ones that say "just exist with me."
the ones that tell me "love lives here."
we know a thousand tongues, and
within each one, we are saying
a thousand things at once.

ii.
i inherited my father's eyes and his nose,
the way his thoughts turn and the way he sees.
i want to reflect more than just physicality;
he has always been strong and patient and introspective
(teach me the way you hold things).

iii.
family starts with mom and dad,
ours starts with us. you are the
brick and mortar, the breath of life.
God said "be fruitful" and i was blessed with you.

iv.
and it is within our placidity that i hear the whisper
"you are loved."
it is always another hand that guides me.
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FireEyes
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Sat Apr 05, 2025 4:55 am
FireEyes says... · Sat Apr 05, 2025 4:55 am
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Father poem? Don't mind if I do! This is literally so sweet. It makes me want to dedicate a poem to my own dad. And I don't think I'll ever get over these lines
i want to reflect more than just physicality;
he has always been strong and patient and introspective

Great job!
I won't go down by myself, but I'll go down with my friends
I'm taking back the life you stole
Came a time when every star fall brought you to tears again

-My Chemical Romance
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Avian
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Sun Apr 06, 2025 4:12 am
Avian says... · Sun Apr 06, 2025 4:12 am
the future scares me but (4/5/25)
it is when the lights go dark and
our skin glistens under the shades of
fragmented light that i remember
what we are made for—maybe i have
looked at my future through a cracked lens,
and maybe i can only think that stability is futile,
but we are made for existence.

i dance under the starlight until my ribs ache.
Last edited by Avian on Mon Apr 07, 2025 2:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
it is always another hand that guides me.
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candyhearts
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Sun Apr 06, 2025 10:00 pm
candyhearts says... · Sun Apr 06, 2025 10:00 pm
Spoiler
So in love with this whole thread, but:
i do not want her skin to stain crimson,
do not want her to inherit a rotting home.
but i am a woman. it is my inheritance.


STUNNING !!!

I adore how each poem carries the theme of inheritance / creation, but they're all so different in their own ways. They're all brutal yet tender, and it's not repetitive. I am so so excited to keep up with this!! <3
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Avian
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Mon Apr 07, 2025 4:47 am
Avian says... · Mon Apr 07, 2025 4:47 am
ever-lasting ever-dying (4/6/25)
i wonder what we could become
if we were given the opportunity to prosper.
you are reaching for the sun (her) and i am
reaching for the moon (you). we are ever-blooming
on opposite sides of the garden (universe).

we are recursive, propagating and dying
in different seasons. i think of you as tulips,
alive for the spring and dead for the year,
while i am the moonbeams lasting from summer to fall;
i am always trying to pull you in.
it is always another hand that guides me.
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Youbeaucupid
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Mon Apr 07, 2025 5:09 am
Youbeaucupid says... · Mon Apr 07, 2025 5:09 am
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I LOVEEE your NaPo thread so far, like genuinely every single poem has been so beautifully written and full of emotion. You’re killing it!! (as always.) <3

This especially-

“i think of you as tulips,
alive for the spring and dead for the year,
while i am the moonbeams lasting from summer to fall;
i am always trying to pull you in.”


Like- oh my god??? Literally gorgeous, Av!!

I feel like I'm reading little pieces of your soul every time I check your thread, I’m obsessed to say the least. Keep up the amazing work, Av! I can't wait to read more!! <3<3
You know, ଳjellyfishଳ can't swim or shine on their own, but once they absorb light from around them, they're able to shine for themselves! So maybe...I can, too! If I'm around you, maybe I'll be able to shine, too? -

クラゲは夜は泳げない
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Avian
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Points 994
Reviews 56
Mon Apr 07, 2025 11:42 pm
Avian says... · Mon Apr 07, 2025 11:42 pm
photosynthesize (4/7/25)
i.
in every photograph, you are clinging to me.
every moment i see, we are inseparable.
it is only when i turn my back do you chase after fleeting things.

i never told you that i would plant myself here,
rooted to you and all we could ever be---you are under the impression
that you can hold onto her until she wants to stay.
i do not need convincing, i am already blooming toward you
like you are the sun and i am a dying plant.

ii.
you lean over and whisper against my ear,
telling me about the things you know will make me laugh.
you capture me mid-smile, bright and sun-kissed.
i wonder why it is only here that you linger close to my hip.

i'd like to pretend that this affection is genuine,
but we both know i am thriving on empty wishes and pesticides.

iii.
in another life we are lovers, perhaps the kind
that teaches each other how to be softer, or the kind
where we sit by the fire and watch everything grow around us
while we wallow in our love, the soft kind,
like the way you look at me when i take a photo.

but in this life you are her lover, and we are
weeds and sunflowers on opposite sides of the meadow.
Last edited by Avian on Tue Apr 08, 2025 3:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
it is always another hand that guides me.
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59 posts1, 2, 3, 4


Sometimes I'm terrified of my heart; of its constant hunger for whatever it is it wants. The way it stops and starts.
— Poe