the side of the moon, that you don't see

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AlexWrites
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Tue May 26, 2026 5:55 pm
AlexWrites says... · Tue May 26, 2026 5:55 pm
You can also find these in my thread for the Writer's Market, for each issue / contest they were originally written for- My journey, your sign

Comments / reviews / thoughts are welcome, but please enspoiler them!

The thread is not yet up to date as I'm waiting to hear back from some of the magazines I submitted to. So I'll be holding those for a little longer, until the results are out, both due to courtesy and first publication rights.

Spoiler
Though if you really wanted to peek at a bonus poem, I'm sure you could find it somewhere.. Some of you might've even read before I even made this thread XD
Last edited by AlexWrites on Tue May 26, 2026 6:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Tue May 26, 2026 5:59 pm
AlexWrites says... · Tue May 26, 2026 5:59 pm
Human- Earth's metaphor


Riddle me this, enigmatic Earth
Ever in motion you stay, tirelessly-
What is it that you're running from?
Stuck in the same old vicious loop
Are you trapped in a ratrace too?
Hustling to avoid reflecting on self
Is your pace a mimicry of humans?

Riddle me this, enigmatic Earth
Do you also feel things like we do?
I see you bleeding at the sunset
Are you just as afraid of changes?
Taking the night by yourself to mourn
Does overthinking trouble you as well?

Riddle me this, enigmatic Earth
Do you put on a mask like the rest?
I see you spinning round on your axis
Do you dance just to forget the pain?
Entertaining yourself in the darkness
Is it an act to cover up the loneliness?

Riddle me this, enigmatic Earth
Do you have friends & family like us?
A nurturing mother who goes beyond
Do you have a sibling to share with?
Or a father who gives you the world
Do you love them with all you've got?
Holding on when times get tough

Riddle me this, enigmatic Earth
Is there someone you secretly love?
Your relationship too complicated to label
Is your heart too timid for a love confession?
Biting your toungue and not making a move
Tell me- to fill the void deep in your core
Is it someone's company that you look for?

Riddle me this, enigmatic Earth
Do you also have some insecurities?
Not closest to the Sun, neither farthest
Nor the evening star, or bearer of rings
Do you wish you were different too?
When you see excellence all around
Does jealousy also consume you?

Riddle me this, enigmatic Earth
Do you realise the legend you are?
Sprouting life from a barren ground
Like a butterfly- future of the caterpillar
Home to all the creatures and many trees
You're the definition of a transformation
Do you know yet how amazing you are?

Riddle me this, enigmatic Earth
How are our existences so similar?
Bound by the same unresting time
Is all your struggle as good as ours?
An insane thought hits me as a wave
Is our life a mere reflection of yours?

Spoiler
You're looking at my debut piece that ALSO won 3rd prize! =D
Last edited by AlexWrites on Tue May 26, 2026 6:44 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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AlexWrites
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Tue May 26, 2026 6:02 pm
AlexWrites says... · Tue May 26, 2026 6:02 pm
Glow, Shine, Lustre and Smolder


Glow
That of the moon
Strong enough
To reign the darkness
Of the infinite space

Shine
That a youth radiates
In their pace
Rising beyond the ashes
Of all the betrayals
They've faced

Lustre
Of the metal
In a wife's necklace
Overjoyed
That it's her first gift

Smolder
In a dying fire
As two lovers argue
One walks out
They've been put out
Just like that
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Tue May 26, 2026 6:04 pm
AlexWrites says... · Tue May 26, 2026 6:04 pm
All Hearts lead to Rome


All Hearts lead to Rome, then why be so afraid to love?
Who knows how far it could go if you say yes to that date?
If you don't take a risk now, will you truly not regret it later?
Why not express your feelings, in hopes they reciprocate?

You really think 'the one' would come knocking at your door?
Afterall, don't you deserve to narrate the tale of a love hard fought?
Even if a relationship goes south, won't you know better what you want?
Isn't each heartbreak just a step closer to the 'forever' you long sought?

All that you face today is shaping you for a future together, can't you see?
Yet do you realise that after finding them, the story of your life doesn't cease?
Don't you find your unexplained pull to a foreign town rather too strange?
What if your life is a puzzling mess just because they hold the final piece?

You worry about missing them in the crowd, but don't you know better?
Ask yourself instead- can you really carry your lover through their worst?
That's where the challenge lies; are you able to fulfil your commitments?
And before you propose, don't you owe it to them to love yourself first?
Last edited by AlexWrites on Tue May 26, 2026 6:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Tue May 26, 2026 6:04 pm
AlexWrites says... · Tue May 26, 2026 6:04 pm
Is food not so much more?


Method of expression of a voiceless
A housewife's silent battleground
The respite after a long day at work
A chef's prized dreams and ambition
Are kitchens not the world to some?

Teen lovers sharing soft drinks
Baking lessons on your first date
Waking up to breakfast in bed
Dinner under candles at night
Isn't love the sweetest dish?

How mom made your favourite meal
Your father's signature burnt cookies
Birthday cake smeared on the cheeks
All the school cafeteria food fights
Does food not carry memories?

Fruit of ancestor's numerous trials
A secret to make the flavours pop
It's what makes the family special
Passing the skill down generations
Are recipes not the best heirloom?

Kid who hates the slightest smoke
Will, someday, learn to sizzle too
Chopping onions to hide the pain
Life always teaches what is owed
Doesn't cooking transform one?
Last edited by AlexWrites on Tue May 26, 2026 6:28 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Tue May 26, 2026 6:05 pm
AlexWrites says... · Tue May 26, 2026 6:05 pm
Depression made me stronger


My pen wavers at the very thought
Of drudging up the long buried past
The monsters slayed & battles fought
Until white sails were hoisted on mast

But it writes this poem, anyways
Knowing well that I conquered it
Something more than just a phase
In face of adversity, I showed grit

I remember once facing the shore
When a storm came out of nowhere
The waves hit me, leaving me sore
And a dark silence replaced all air

I had even forgotten how to laugh
My days passed wailing on the floor
Societal comments broke me in half
And all friends walked out the door

Felt like I was lost in the infinite seas
No horizon in sight, or help incoming
Bound to die of this incurable disease
No hope of better days forthcoming

But I still held on, waiting, even when
The many scary scribbles mocked me
Waking up to that same struggle again
From the ground beneath all the debris

One fated day, the dark clouds scatter
I look at the Sun as gloom melts away
The confining cages begin to shatter
I bid goodbye to the world of grey

It took time to get back on my feet
But worth it, was this transformation
I rose- a phoenix from inside the fire
Beyond all these chains of dictation

I peacefully eat my first morsel of life
Now that my inner demons are dead
No longer tempted by the vile knife
I kiss all the scars that once bled

Often, sadness still comes and stays
I let it, because it's just a sentiment
I'll welcome however many bad days
As long as they cause no detriment

When the depression knocks again
Looking that foe straight in the eye,
I challenge it in its own home domain;
Until it drops to the knees with a sigh

The trauma has taught me to speak up
I ought to ask for other's help more often
But when no one else hears, to stand up
And help myself until the wounds soften

I'm of the few people who didn't cave in
Facing a feared enemy against the odds
It made me stronger than I even had been
For this lesson in resolve, I thank the Gods
Last edited by AlexWrites on Tue May 26, 2026 6:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Tue May 26, 2026 6:16 pm
AlexWrites says... · Tue May 26, 2026 6:16 pm
Faded colours


Spoiler
This was actually my first work that ended up in a literary magazine =) You can find it by the same title here: https://www.chaimagazine.com/magazines/mini-zine-2
But Disclaimer: It discloses my real life name as the author
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Tue May 26, 2026 6:19 pm
AlexWrites says... · Tue May 26, 2026 6:19 pm
Holi and her


Spoiler
I actually published this one here already! My personal favourite and arguably my best piece till date: Holi and her
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Tue May 26, 2026 6:25 pm
AlexWrites says... · Tue May 26, 2026 6:25 pm
Resilient Rose


Used to hate the sight of red
And the tiny prickly roses
But the same now cannot be said
They're muse to my proses

You cared for your roses lot more than me
So tracing its thorns with my fingertips
Blood dripped as I pricked my skin in envy
But the rose's red, it couldn't eclipse

With time, my feelings grew
Like the rosebuds in your flowerpot
The lens of red cured my blue
And love blossomed beyond the rot

I thought red was ruthless
But now I know- it's affection too
I felt roses were useless
Today, they remind me of you

Since you went with the spring
I've been tending to your roses everyday
I became them, victim to a fling
But unlike them, I refuse to wither away
Last edited by AlexWrites on Tue May 26, 2026 6:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Tue May 26, 2026 6:27 pm
AlexWrites says... · Tue May 26, 2026 6:27 pm
Sunset and me- Is there any similarity?


The Sun is confident as it sets
How unlike me, that is
Despite the attempts of towering day;
And evading the pull of falling night,
Sunset holds its own just fine
I wish I had had such strength-
To not care who's against me,
Or belittle my own standing
People love you over them both
That must make existing
Worth it.

Sunset seems conflicted..
Dangling between polar opposites
Is dusk confused as a teen,
Or is all this a diplomatic pact?
Giving in to the night at first,
But day comes inevitably
Juggling both for eternity-
Is golden hour a cunning best;
Or a people pleaser in secret,
Confused and indecisive?

Just as imperfect as me
Tired of fighting for your time
Expected to simply choose a side
I can imagine that it must not be easy
So you choose to run away from everything
Taking light from day, and silence from night
Putting together the perfect escape
Your struggle resonates and soothes me
Becoming a respite because you wanted it
You're same as me and what I need..
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Tue May 26, 2026 6:41 pm
AlexWrites says... · Tue May 26, 2026 6:41 pm
You or my love for you?

Spoiler
This one didn't get on the podium, but has been selected for publishing anyways :D
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Tue May 26, 2026 6:43 pm
AlexWrites says... · Tue May 26, 2026 6:43 pm
Dear wind (Prose)


Spoiler
This piece actually ended up winning 3rd!
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AlexWrites
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Tue May 26, 2026 6:46 pm
AlexWrites says... · Tue May 26, 2026 6:46 pm
Elle.. egy

Waking up to nightmare, our concluded vow-
"Till death do us part"; mourning with the moon
Whose warmth do my cold hands seek now?
Oh my lovely dear! She left the world too soon

Hysterical cries of mine make ocean surge
As I face her casket, all dressed in black
To take away this loss, to my Lord I urge
It's like hoping the setting sun turns back

But she would've wanted I see the stars
So I cherish her legacy with all my heart
Desperate to hold on still, I write memoirs
Numb seeing her reduced to mere art

She was more than what she was to me
Others who held her close are also aching
She was the most big-hearted person to be
Her empathy longed for every second waking

The old woman on the bus thanks her still
For giving up her seat and always caring
Volunteering to teach kids in goodwill
The one to see how everyone's faring

At the grave of my beloved, for hours I sit
Replacing the wilted flowers as if it'd revive
This stone isn't her though- and I so hate it
Is she waiting in heaven? For when I'd arrive

In surprising ways, she still lives on
Like in the cherry she planted as a child
The woman I loved is forever gone
Oh I miss! How very kindly she smiled
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Tue May 26, 2026 6:46 pm
AlexWrites says... · Tue May 26, 2026 6:46 pm
Fear not death

Go out of your way often, sweet child
Seize every day and leave no regret
Let your hunger for life be riled

Explore all the wowing wonders of wild
Mark your own flag upon each path you set
Go out of your way often, sweet child

Let your story be adventures compiled
Your grit and your worth- don't ever forget
Let your hunger for life be riled

Let your innocence be defiled
Face the monsters with no armet
Go out of your way often, sweet child

Go be a legend, everywhere profiled
May your body be gifted bathing in sweat
Let your hunger for life be riled

Remember- hesitancy is reviled
Live fully so that death poses no threat
Go out of your way often, sweet child
Let your hunger for life be riled
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Tue May 26, 2026 6:47 pm
AlexWrites says... · Tue May 26, 2026 6:47 pm
Garden for my grave

Don't bring me flowers when I'm dead
Don't let those delicate little things wilt away
Don't avenge all the times I bled
Instead, let me peacefully lay

In the dirt, the soil, the grounding Earth
No barrier of wood between the land and me
Don't exaggerate my mortal worth
And let all the bygones be

Let my decaying corpse be the home
To nascent blooming buds, let my tears
Let the angels and my free spirit roam
May I not fade over the years

So let there be a garden atop where I'm buried
The flowers won't have to die for my sake
Let nature salvage all of the pain I've carried
May they remember my joys and not my ache

When a loved one is talking and I come up
Let their excited spirits not be dampened
May there be smiles when they turn up
Do not lot my grave be abandoned
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32 posts1, 2, 3


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I have lived through much, and now I think I have found what is needed for happiness. A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good... then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbor - such is my idea of happiness.
— Leo Tolstoy