Compilation Poem for May 26, 2016

1. If only you were here.   
2. You end up were you started. It's one, It's whole.  
3. Well, dog my cats! 
4. That's my favorite place to go. 
5.A foreign land became your body, the people your soul. 
6. I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. 
7. You bitch after all we have given you. 
8. My grandchildren are doomed. 
9. A stone captive heart. 
10. a phrase that overthrows a tyrannical reign. 
11. These bones that grind and groan as I walk about. 
12. notes in a rain coat. 
13. Drown in hate. 
14. my eyes are stars that watch the eternities. 
15. They blaze only in the compressed muck of the depths.
16. If only you were here.          

Compiled by Michael Clements

Compilation Poem for May 19, 2016

Wild Kindness
compiled by Bryan Drey

a howling in my chest
but I've lost my way
they said I couldn't sing
she sang about getting physical
who are these voices?
the powers of silence

It was all about the hair down to here
he had cut his hair like the men in church

in spite of its own Buddha nature
I dedicate myself to the...
to the tender love and caresses
I wish for you sunshine
remember your hope for tomorrow
Oh my spotted heart
but what's their meaning if I hide them?
she creates in the blind alleys
created by devotion
till the dream seemed real enough to chew

I'm going to offer you my very best CRAP
they seemed to be searching
they're all straight on the outside
I'm so tired....Why?
I'm rarely less than exhausted
I have a juicey ass

the girl whom God didn't love with hair like mine.
You realize we aren't inherently better
but don't bury me in the process
now THAT'S what I'm talking about
but let's keep talking....I don't aspire to be
anything else. It's in God's hands.

Still I rise. You may write me down in history,
with your bitter twisted lies
they said our hands are at stake
you'll see friends die...
being right means not being left,
all of this in order to become
that took its toll

There comes a time for remembrance
for those who sacrificed all
My brother & I finally together
born into chaos we emerged
but when you reached into the depths of
your soul...you found nothing
cry when I heard a shooting star
there was no stronger love, I then
felt God flick the switch.

You are sexually submissive,
What were you wearing?  YES!
Yes! Kisses and hugs!
That's very clever of me
yes my skin is soft
I hate hugging strangers...
I feel guilty for that
I can't help myself

I don't know...
it's hard to explain
we are all made of shipwrecks
we only have what we remember
My name is "What's her face"
Sometimes I want to die
to most, suicide is a tragedy
to me it means to be free

Isn't it beautiful?
It's terrifyingly BEAUTIFUL
YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL
This is all going to end in
oblivion

Compilation Poem for May 12, 2016

Compilation Poem

May 12th 2016 Eniten Bakery

Outliers

by Caroline 1st time to SFYOM night

A collection of artist

gathered on the shore

straining from the Patriarchy

we find our listing gravity

A concert of the mind

paintings and symbols crash

we tell the stories of sanities

while others turn to ash

Jumping into darkness

Mavericks of  the damned

Stories born of panic

words defying death

So here's to the artists

our golden starlight shines

Straining from the patriarchy

we find our being--gravity.

Compilation Poem May 5, 2016

For this week's compilation poem, I took the third word of (almost) every piece that was read. The first set of words is the third words in the order they came. The second is the poem I quickly devised from those words. Please feel free to create another found poem based on these words and we will publish it here on the SFYS blog! I may write another one as these words press on my brain.

The Words:
door approaches Wednesday held her mix told pass into cheese aren't from it cat told shall the that to the in ma-ma girls


A New Initiative Called Brianna Writes Happy Poems

Told her door approaches,
the cat shall pass
into that cheese
Wednesday held.
It [isn't] told to mix in girls
from the ma-ma.

Compiled by Marianne Hales Harding

Birthday Compilation Poem April 28, 2016

It's time to free myself,
Hey girl...I did all the laundry this morning so we can spend the afternoon under the cherry tree mapping the image arcs of your major and minor characters
enjoying caprese grilled cheese
What light is light if Silvia be not seen
to liquify the solidity of doubt
even when he has just been fed
and glow the tamrasky wild.
I often feel as blue as the veins under my pale skin.
It will always be something I ate.

Compiled by SFYS writers
Genius Idea by Daisy Allred

Compilation Poem for March 17, 2016

“I know it’s dire, my time today” I am afraid of shrinking and having no one notice, He will make you a part of nostalgia, And in that moment, you will change the definition of regret They know every revolution will devour its children We fight, again the cycle will replay. You can nearly hear the children, pointing from the streets “Where is Heaven if we can’t see it?” Slowwwwwwwwwwy growy sticky veins and thickly gains made daily daily May God bless us, everyone We are still alive.

Compiled by Madelyn Taylor

Compilation Poem for April 7, 2016

A bent wheel with a rhythmic call

Flowers wither under tyranny’s boot

She was the toughest soldier I ever met

That is true for all of us

Love is nothing if not cliché

I am tired of hours so bitter

And much of it grieved my heart to think

What man has done to man

And I must think

Do all I can

That there was pleasure there

Our thumbprints are everywhere

A teacher of composition

And she became an action

Telling the children bed time stories

 From the book she loved

Children examine through crystallizing eyes

Training for the next war

Flowers floating around the bedroom

Like poet misses paper

Because my body knows this poem is over

Without warning

I was tearing apart

I was petrified

I couldn’t blink

I fell

And that’s habit.

Compiled by Casper Wyatt

http://casper-s-real-life.blogspot.com/

Compilation Poem for March 31, 2016

*note: the guiding principles for this poem were 1) depressing words 2) alliteration

I'm Going to Depress You

Before then, guilt hurt
sleep out of the question
contamination, dark opened the door
long breath, Go Now!
less than a second, time to call again
afraid, broke, asleep, come on up
somewhere, night never dream, no pain
war faces feel fifty fighters growling fabulous
eyes dead, green grass grows
cold vibrations stabbing, rage reduced to this
soft on the sidewalk, pretending to participate
betrayed, resolution criticizes again in my head
writing to be published atop fresh milk
on the fly, failure defined
rebel, setback
accident you flew away
leaves falling down
fists pumped, racing off the car
repel forty five minutes later, lucky again
without falling, will not stretch
counterfeit call rambles round
prehistoric perm--nostalgic fashion
true to tell, never an issue, strong opinionated new life
deviate from the default, flipped on its head
lives lived, larger exasperation
refuse to refashion
punishing, refuse, highlighted reminders
old, called baby, turns on paper
getting lost, drowning, endless like tools
captivated, empty inside, punches burned
stopped in your eyes, green is too soft
perfectly synonymous with Sunday texture
I used to love, changed and wished
fear looms, stops making sense
it decides what we do
different, broken, insecurity, rejection, depressed
transition, without love, conditional air, hate by me
being my bike, reconnecting, recycled by our fears
floating technology humbled soft over and over
flying singular forever, descend downwards to the green gray chill
lake bottoms sunken among the kelp
dream, down, down, down dead diver's depression drifts
with a buzz in the brain, stereotypes celebrate saints
last lips lead me like lost souls
laughter logs the lost long-haired lunatics long
clap cracked and called and you do come
stood still, fallen far, see someday stupid
wa wa wa why, wife
grave glares to grind the gift this afternoon sunset
borrowed boots, backward books, left for denial
anger, confused, stupid, no good, put in place
over and over, sleeping in compliance, temptation
toughen up, echo, slap, claws, numbness, wait, cracks
Normal?
good generally air wholes, died
working, lonely, shadow, beneath
toilette, weak, melted, tears, purge
shame.

Compiled by Alexander Olinger

Compilation Poem for March 3, 2016

Speak for Yourself Compilation poem
3 March 2016

I don’t ever write titles for my poems, so you can call it what you want

Back to the mirror is where I go
leaving a naked doll on the ground —
she forgot me when I said “bath.”
I bore my shame in the mirror each morning when I awoke

now home is starlight and my ribcage,
and a heart beating at the same frequency.
I look into the past and see something that no longer is,
and in 10 to the 33rd years the earth will wink out.

I want to be light and beautiful, as if I had wings —
laughable really, how I can’t manage these.
It is their light that illuminates the early dark
and brings heavy weight upon my fluttering eyelids

Why can’t I live any different way?
a verse is like a key that opens a thousand doors;
the smell of constant hope won’t stop pulling me toward it,
and in 10 to the 33rd years the earth will wink out —
and I was thinking I’m going to look too young for a long time!

How can a vibrant soul have demons deep inside and still shine?
when I run on the grass, the sod and my feet conspire to bring me down.
burnt wheat fields border burning oil fields —
how could you make my tear ducts run dry
and smell my skin on your pillowcase —
Well, closer to sex than I’ve ever been before.

Daisy asked me to read this poem, amongst several bodies that don’t perspire
When I said I was a green light, you assumed I meant go —
Darling, what cruel things you say

Water of its own weight falling;
the cold killing my heart melted away.
Fear is the second before heartbreak
and my joy is orgasmic like I’ve never felt!

Just get it out....

Compiled by Dennis Clark

Compilation Poem for March 10, 2016

When I was a child
everyday was such a good day
But I believed we were broken
I shedded tears
I wasn't seeing the stars
I wanted to leave
I was lost
Words were my enemy
Rain was my god
Your kindness slowed down
And I was left with memories
I knew I was going to be home soon
But not here, not anymore
I loved you and I hope you loved me
I left with the wind
knowing we were one
I wasn't broken
I was a good person
But words took over.

Compiled by Daisy, Perla, Colby, and Joe Cool

Compilation Poem for February 25, 2016

I'm a jalepeno! EHN!
Be considerate. Be gentle. I'm overwhelmed by a complex wandering.
I can only go one way. I can't be bothered with a tragedy.
You can't smile without gums.
Soon the trenches and craters will fill.
There are a lot of c-words in this poem.
I know what's coming. I think I simply love others too damn much.
I don't need a friend, although it might help a bit.
Yeah Brantz
The things we do to stay healthy!
Chasing the sun in cork screw patterns
is no sporadic phenomenon. They are glossed over.
Get over it.
Turn out the lights
I am choking,
shutting bedroom eyes
The thoughts of you will wash away with wrath but
All I see is you.
going about my day after having sex.
All hip hop music finally makes a lot of sense
Half a butt.
Nothing man
We are all told we are too much.
Screw you.
I had an amazing idea and decided to word vomit.
This exact moment is stuck on repeat: Peter Piper peeped a pedophilic pickle patter.
In the mud.
In pain and sweat
They'll call me an artist
The ooze.
The tears.
[Darkness.]

Compiled by Devin Willie and Brantz Woolsey

Compilation Poem for 2/4/16

Books spilled in chaos on the floor

We consider the things we must live without

They’ve gone the way of turtle doves and french hens

They’ll stand against the hunters before god


Leaving you free to breath and nurture and travel

Mostly unknown

Beautiful things I shouldn’t see, shouldn’t but do

Termites in the balistrade


We’re blurry now, less seperate than shared

He rips my shirt sleeves

I could not see you through my telescope

If Peter’s eyes revered his wife and not himself

Cutthroats red dash


Dressed to kill the bad man fast

By early light I am asleep in a nightmare

The room with no moon is perfectly dark

These odd numbers muttering under their breath


You rush beside me

I can’t request

I can’t think clear

I can’t understand


I can’t comprehend the damage my mind has taken

What has become of my true self

You have the last say, you shall decide

I must wait for happiness


As some optimists would say

soon the trenches and graves will green over

Smooth jazz at your fingertips

I’m happy that gravity is spherical

to me gravity is a forcefeild


Your skull is the thickest part of your existence

most would notice,

but I notice the dust

and the match with no sulfur at the tip, unstruck

so no fireworks


There is no tie on this universal rug

I smoked marijuana for the first time with a thirteen year old boy

my eyes are olive against red lines

the sting caused my breath to rise


I could see that everything around me was inviting me to grow

#aesthetic

The aroma that pierces the warm earth

blessed are those who have fun with themselves

And then I went like that and the lady freaked out

chill


After hours

you soon will slowly die inside

thoughts of falling hopes

thoughts of her filled your head

by Sierra Bennett and Daisy Allred

Compilation Poem for 1/28/16

This week's compilation poem is a new format.  We had two poets write compilation poems completely separate from each other and then we zipped them together into one poem (switching back and forth from one line to the next). Some of the line combinations were really great!!

If you've ever heard Marianne's poetry
did our hearts not sing within us
this can be dangerous
shake my darling heart
your last words will haunt me forever
to keep a hand on the latch
Something up there
when fruit becomes addictive
is brushing dandruff
no source of boundary
from his hair
when the rolling words finding their way home
don't listen carefully
a warmth penetrating from the midnight star
I regret reading that
I did not want to absorb
it's under copyright
the silence is a rotting boat
yet completely forbidden
you must heal yourself
I find that I am sleeping with demons
they were talking about how easy she is
eat that cannoli
you should be praying not preying
the potent juxtapose of bitter and sweet
becomes cross with me and eats garlic
for we loved
the slabs from the roof like standing sleepers
their entwined hands felt more emotion
my sadness was never beautiful
besides not giving a damn
her features were preserved in a death mask
I'm really tall. It's a big problem.
was her sadness beautiful?
I regret reading that.
removing dignity post mortem
fluttering wings warn me off
I am not painted in neoclassical form
with a calm voice she says "Hello, Michael" as if she had never been asleep
a moment's pause among the woad
Marianne builds houses on fields of cloth
Marianne will forever be greater than me in the cloth category
I regret reading that
kneel with your family
as you pray to
a God you might not even believe in
some things I just no longer laugh about
my sadness was never beautiful
a truck emerging out of a rock
my sadness is not your story to tell
consuming is like possession
the thirst that darkness kindles
it's a big problem
reverberating in my brain.

by Marianne Hales Harding and Michael Clements

We read it like that at the open mic, but I kind-of wish the zipping hadn't ended.  So here's the poem with continued zipping:


If you've ever heard Marianne's poetry
did our hearts not sing within us
this can be dangerous
shake my darling heart
your last words will haunt me forever
to keep a hand on the latch
Something up there
when fruit becomes addictive
is brushing dandruff
no source of boundary
from his hair
when the rolling words finding their way home
don't listen carefully
a warmth penetrating from the midnight star
I regret reading that
I did not want to absorb
it's under copyright
the silence is a rotting boat
yet completely forbidden
you must heal yourself
I find that I am sleeping with demons
they were talking about how easy she is
eat that cannoli
you should be praying not preying
the potent juxtapose of bitter and sweet
becomes cross with me and eats garlic
for we loved
the slabs from the roof like standing sleepers
their entwined hands felt more emotion
my sadness was never beautiful
besides not giving a damn
her features were preserved in a death mask
I'm really tall. It's a big problem.
was her sadness beautiful?
I regret reading that.
removing dignity post mortem
fluttering wings warn me off
I am not painted in neoclassical form
with a calm voice she says "Hello, Michael" as if she had never been asleep
did our hearts not sing within us
a moment's pause among the woad
shake my darling heart
Marianne builds houses on fields of cloth
to keep a hand on the latch
Marianne will forever be greater than me in the cloth category
when fruit becomes addictive
I regret reading that
no source of boundary
kneel with your family
when the rolling words finding their way home
as you pray to
a warmth penetrating from the midnight star
a God you might not even believe in
I did not want to absorb
some things I just no longer laugh about
the silence is a rotting boat
my sadness was never beautiful
you must heal yourself
a truck emerging out of a rock
they were talking about how easy she is
my sadness is not your story to tell
you should be praying not preying
consuming is like possession
becomes cross with me and eats garlic
the thirst that darkness kindles
the slabs from the roof like standing sleepers
it's a big problem
my sadness was never beautiful
reverberating in my brain
her features were preserved in a death mask

by Marianne Hales Harding and Michael Clements

Compilation Poem for December 17, 2015

It’s going nowhere right now, and I don’t know where it’s supposed to go 

You in the depths of heaven and the eagle in power,
She sat down in the water, gasping at the wet on her skin —
and I only wish the heavens saw your beauty as we did,
a glint of golden light upon a tress

I created a found poem from things said at her funeral
That’s when I noticed the bright pink shoe peeking out from behind the bushes
Brother and sister Coyote, I basically embodied detachment
A trail led up the hill to stone steps, which she had not noticed before
Welcome, young wanderer
she jumped in the lake to sail with a drake
What does love look like? Long drives with no destination
kitty is a week’s holiday

I lied to you because kissing you was never an impulse:
a poisonous kiss — your voice is now a cutting violence
by memorizing and reciting “a drake is a male duck”

The thing about lemons is that they’re sour,
the venom of a hundred years rising like sap —
deep into damp furrows forgotten;
skies swirl and arc over a tombstone tree

We’re going to have a slam and the winner gets a pastry of her choice

Compiled by Dennis Clark

Compilation Poem for November 12, 2015

They wish to remember it all at once
I hate this poem. I hope it's the only time I recite it.
He was my north, my south, my east, my west
He was a poet that liked to vomit into grand pianos
then digested all my brains
one more strike and he'd be dead
our mountain home so dear
so be it when I grow old, dear tampon,
a spectre searching for souls to keep
a summer sound in a summer without end
in an unknown alphabet.

Compiled by Marianne Hales Harding

Compilation Poem for November 5, 2015

You are always going to have fun. Remember that.

Twisted rope of day

Swan beaks on chest of drawers

Box of Umbrellas.

When you are gone,

toiling and tiling the bathroom.

This is my song,My song in Hollywood.

I might be weird but... no you get to live your life around me!

Hard act to follow, long dead monkey head.

Intense geometry, dance of geometry.

Tiny voices,

Tiny voices: 

Wibble wable weeble a;lskdjf sa;l dflksajf sdlf;j asdflkj....

Servant girl to the connection. 

Servant girl to the world wide web.

Wise man knows this is a stencil.

Mix gene pool.

Next big thing- you have no value.

Detective for the wrong reasons.

Take the Snake.

Order is good.

Follow surf line, feel seaweed.

One must be careful. Why? Because experience teaches me how vulnerable I am. 

Which patterns should or shouldn't I wear?

Taught myself.

Cold shell.

Lungs work against me-

Try to understand-

It's chill... It's chill. 

Washing fingerprints from walls. 

Not one to slump under sentimentality. 

Favorite dress with flats that match.

Smooth hair for shine.

Irregular flickers.

Knee deep in,

church bells....

I evaporate.

Be There.

Untitled now.

Sometimes I cry.

Come up short.

Too many actors are unemployed.

Self Image out of focus-

Burn it all!

Don't have a lot of learnin... I Do! I'm Smart!

You have to improve on the blank page,

And God says Yes, Yes, Yes!

Maze of tiny streets.

Lost without a navigator.

Deeper and Deeper in foreign territory,

But in the same church yard.

I want to...

I want to...

I want to...

There's an ocean of life in front of me.

Less awkwardly.

Sing to sleep not concert halls.

Songs save my heart and brain.

Song means I have something more to give.

Play me to be your friend.

Brain is running a marathon.

In 2,3,4, Out 6,7,8.

Everything is Fine. Everything is Fine! 

Broken, broken, broken.

I don't have anything but frogs, but not enough frogs.

Why do we try so hard when this will end.

It doesn't matter if we win or loose.

Foot prints fade.

Take the challenge of Life.

You. Are. Beautiful.

Strive to be the best version of you.

I don't think it does. Funny story.

Ones you love drifting.

Chasing was too much.

Forget.

Fall out.

Over.

No confusion.

Compiled (and sung) by Elisa Black

Compilation Poem for October 15, 2015

Holy Lists of Home

for viewing assassinations in real time

before your very eyes

deep, dark like the ocean

nature's split book of erosion

through their own ever changing faces

found on aisle 9

we don't live anywhere near London

sometimes I cry my way through it

just a dream

I will still throw you a rope

Dennis, can you hear me?

he sacrificed the sacred

holy, holy, holy

magicians and black and white television shows

I lost a little bit of my blood and my dignity

and you said it was a blow to your ego

it felt odd to completely re-brand myself

breakups fucking suck

it kept me from seeing

stereoscopically

smoking out of that damn bong

before she started to swim upside down

perceive the world psychedelically

that was my first mistake

I had that dream about you again

I am somewhere you can't see me

I feel I should explain to you first

we will call that holy

because beauty was only in my dreams

the devil knew my name

in a place called Jackass Flats

slit by the peaks that shadow the valley

stripped of petals, deflowered

to find the same face, ever watching

with wings that never folded

so the applause continues

not silky pole dancers

my home is here with this mic

totally

just another day at the beach

always know your vehicles clearance

you miss meteors

in a gulf of emotions

Compiled by Father Sluggo

Compilation Poem for October 8, 2015

Pink petals mix with cloudy debris
Waves crashing, kissing the shore
Naked feet in straw sandals
I can feel the surf swirling around my ankles
Forget me not, the night says as it slips behind the moon
Be still, be quiet
A whimper disturbs the air
Paralyzed vocal cords
A sorrow so deep, you're left unable to breathe
The once one are now two
A constant mystery: you.
I never told you my wishes because each one was a prayer
I expect too much by expecting anything at all
I've wasted talents and abused love
And I fall and I fall until I hit rock bottom
Finishing the road that is never ending
Let us suppose there is no afterlife
In blank ink, my love shall still shine bright
And the only light to show it was from a lamp post and the last light from the west.

Compiled by Sarah Dutton

Compilation Poem for October 1, 2015

A poem for my Daughter

40 years past it's prime.

These lips read truth,

the noise that is not you.

 

Did you, brother, become the widow's son?

The text of your next tattoo?

Completely lost, a near miss,

dear Daughter, your secrets are safe with me.

 

What are you counting on your fingers,

dear Ishtar?  I hate being sick, nostalgia,

waves of the past.

With fiends like these, who needs friends?

 

A river of steel, of molten lead, and you,

you are just a drop!

Oh Hush October, shadow of

events to come.

An imperfect curl, where society works

a broken ankle, when the melody gives way.

A sacrifice to the Beast!

When darker thoughts arise.

 

Hearts desires, gaps, holes,

things we want to say.

When the tea kettle whistles-

I just miss you.

Compiled by Paul Francis

Compilation Poem for September 24, 2015

I can't see myself in the reflection of
the perforations in your skin where it might tear
the stars float above you looking like food
Everything is overrated to them and that's sad to me
we dragons dance with our shoes off
I want to kiss your temples and arches of your feet
you feel bad for him because he just wanted his wife back
to go from oblivious in bliss you have to keep sinking
Behind my psychedelic heat exhaustions
It's taxing to feel so all alone
4 o'clock and it is a lone color in the city
the sky turned itself blue from holding its breath
I'd rather be at home, the silent street listening
I blink my eye and hope that you will see me
A solitary heart attached to other hearts by strings
trying to tuck itself in for the night
her toes and knees urging a ghastly dare
kiss me you big hairy hulk
wear and tear, my hands and my feet
first find your ocean
Be the pressure from all directions
The subtle breeze from the lake
Becoming piercingly detached as you step over every grave
In your own two hands
a dolphin in the ocean of my dream
She was actually very clever
He asks me, "don't you believe in serendipity?"
At least we settled into the normalcy of long term friendship
My god's still out there
Whisper my name like salt
these tears drive spare wheels
I sew my eyes wide open
I guess some clocks have delicate faces
But maybe you blink when someone you love claps their hands in your face
The Phoenix begins to burn and burn slowly

Compiled by Beckafer de Faux