# My poetry, a healing journey back to myself.



## Shalimar (Apr 18, 2021)

My creative voice has been largely silent the last few months, but now I can write again. It is not cheerful, but raw, intense, often painful. Release is a huge relief.


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## ohioboy (Apr 18, 2021)

I can relate my friend, may your pen be prolific.


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## Shalimar (Apr 18, 2021)

Requiem

Time is a whip,
It’s severed screams
Mock rigid bones beneath
The dream. Beloved, I cast
Bloody runes, flailing in the
Dark where sad shreds
Of youth still cling, mute in
The misery of age, reeling
In a cowering rage as love
Lies battered, bound to the
Grieving dead.


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## Shalimar (Apr 18, 2021)

Shalimar said:


> My creative voice has been largely silent the last few months, but now I can write again. It is not cheerful, but raw, intense, often painful. Release is a huge relief.





ohioboy said:


> I can relate my friend, may your pen be prolific.


Thank you my friend, This is my first effort. I just finished writing it. Poured out of me like a molten  waterfall


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## ohioboy (Apr 18, 2021)

Shalimar said:


> Thank you my friend, I hope you like my first effort. I just finished writing it. Poured out of me like a mountain waterfall


Sometimes spontaneous composition is the best.


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## Shalimar (Apr 18, 2021)

I agree


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## Dana (Apr 18, 2021)

Shalimar said:


> My creative voice has been largely silent the last few months, but now I can write again. It is not cheerful, but raw, intense, often painful. Release is a huge relief.



Wonderful Shali...I look forward to reading your works. If the first one on the thread is anything to go by, we're in for a treat


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## ohioboy (Apr 18, 2021)

Shalimar said:


> I agree


I generally rewrite mine 2 or 3 times but have settled for originals here and there.


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## Shalimar (Apr 18, 2021)

Thank you Dana.


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## Shalimar (Apr 18, 2021)

I subscribe to the cudgel school of poetry. Beat the readers over the head with emotional imagery until they grovel at your feet.


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## ohioboy (Apr 18, 2021)

Shalimar said:


> I subscribe to the cudgel school of poetry. Beat the readers over the head with emotional imagery until they grovel at your feet.


It's the only way to fly.


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## Shalimar (Apr 18, 2021)

ohioboy said:


> It's the only way to fly.


I know


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## Shalimar (Apr 18, 2021)

Slavery

Warn your brittle angel
Slumping in the park, crippled
Into slack redemption, all
Bitter breaths now tortured
Out in triplicate to pay this broken
Debt to you.

Who set my wings to breaking?  I
Thought your  lies were chains enough
To charm these dessicated wounds which
Stake a claim, while gouging out my
Stumbling gift to you?

Must I bend pale promises,
Wrapped in feathered hope to build
Transparent lines of fractured pain-
Skinned words, roaring down the
Weeping grass 
To be rendered unto you?


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## Warrigal (Apr 18, 2021)

Don't stop. I don't understand them very well but I sense a cleansing taking place.


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## Shalimar (Apr 29, 2021)

Spent
I hung my love raw
In this rosy nest of
Pearls drowning 
Beneath a sacred sea
Where scented sadness
Glows above the rigid
Dark each pale breath
A memory of you 
Ebbing tides of grief
Seeping into sand.


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## ohioboy (Apr 29, 2021)

Shalimar, in this crazy world we live in, many people rely on, and at times is their only reliance, to create from within for a companion.


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## Shalimar (Apr 29, 2021)

ohioboy said:


> Shalimar, in this crazy world we live in, many people rely on, and at times is their only reliance, to create from within for a companion.


Absolutely. This ‘world,’at least, makes sense.


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## OneEyedDiva (Apr 29, 2021)

Good for you! It's always a good thing when someone honors their creative talent. Looking forward to reading more.


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## Shalimar (Apr 29, 2021)

Thank you Diva.


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## Paco Dennis (Apr 29, 2021)

Shalimar said:


> Requiem
> 
> Time is a whip,
> It’s severed screams
> ...


Excellent. It is a deeply felt and very well expressed poem! It reminded me of this poem :

From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were -- I have not seen
As others saw -- I could not bring
My passions from a common spring --
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow -- I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone --
And all I lov'd -- I lov'd alone --
Then -- in my childhood -- in the dawn
Of a most stormy life -- was drawn
From ev'ry depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still --
From the torrent, or the fountain --
From the red cliff of the mountain --
From the sun that 'round me roll'd
In its autumn tint of gold --
From the lightning in the sky
As it pass'd me flying by --
From the thunder, and the storm --
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view --

Edgar Allan Poe


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## Shalimar (Apr 29, 2021)

Thank you Paco.


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## ohioboy (Apr 29, 2021)

Paco Dennis said:


> Excellent. It is a deeply felt and very well expressed poem! It reminded me of this poem :
> 
> From childhood's hour I have not been
> As others were -- I have not seen
> ...



I recognized that poem right away. It is included in my Poe book by Dr. Shelley Costa Bloomfield.

"Poe himself describes whatever dark vien in his nature shaped his adult life in a poem discovered by E.L. Didier, the Editor of Scribner's, who published it in 1875."


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## Chet (Apr 29, 2021)

Shalimar said:


> My creative voice has been largely silent the last few months, but now I can write again. It is not cheerful, but raw, intense, often painful. Release is a huge relief.


Do you start with a conclusion in mind or just see where it goes?


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## Shalimar (Apr 29, 2021)

Usually I start with a word, or a phrase, then build the architectural bones of the poem from there. Sometimes I have an idea in my mind of what I am looking for, other times it flows where it will. I try to keep the imagery consistent.


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## Shalimar (May 5, 2021)

Brake 

Bend, and
Savour slowly a
Dense desire wound
To the curve of
Death, each sultry
Memory of collected
Scars a sweet despair.
Lost in a splinter of bones,
Fleshy smiles dig
Deep in fractured curiosity.
A whip of breath
Cracks loud, bleeding
For Love.


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## ohioboy (May 5, 2021)

In a stylistic way, reminds me of Ezra Pound or E.E. Cummings.


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## Dana (May 5, 2021)

Shalimar said:


> Brake
> 
> Bend, and
> Savour slowly a
> ...


_Good work Shali...deep and thought provoking _


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## Shalimar (May 5, 2021)

Thank you OB and Dana.


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## Shalimar (May 6, 2021)

Feathers

Take me with you
To the place where
Feathers thrive
Amongst imaginary
Birds, dead for the
Dreaming. Roll out
Your thoughts,
Scorched  by love,
Yet soft beneath my
Doubt. I shall dance
In a fall of burning,
Fed to the wings of
Delight, seduced  by a
Garrotte of smiles.


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## Shalimar (May 27, 2021)

Beloved,
My summer hope lies mute,
Pale in this brittle dream. Yet
Here, I danced for you, you
And your bitter violin, wringing
Out my love across the floor,
Clad in broken nails and jagged
Feathers, torn from your deceit.
Amongst the faded colours of
My mind, I danced, now leaning
Into silence, amidst these strangled
Bones, floating on their ragged
Beams of light, praying for the
Memories to die.


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## Shalimar (Jul 2, 2021)

This next poem represents a shift toward gratitude, a welcome milestone in my journey toward healing myself.


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## Shalimar (Jul 2, 2021)

Brother, should your strength seem brittle, 
Know I see the crucible which burns beyond
All infirmity or age, honour bound in relentless 
Clarity to serve the Light. That blade forged 
Something green in me, burned amidst the
Broken grey of grief. There are no words 
To shape the flame which holds my hope.
Thankyou.


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## Ruby Rose (Jul 14, 2021)

Shalimar said:


> Slavery
> 
> Warn your brittle angel
> Slumping in the park, crippled
> ...


I see a story...


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## Shalimar (Jul 25, 2021)

I mourn this  paper laughter 
Imprinted in my brain, 
Shrivelled reminder of dead 
Words laid to rest. Why is 
It so impossible to sew 
My tears into coherent thought,
Unbound by sinewed grief 
Which threads my silence here?
Where, then, is the shredded
Backbone of my soul? Will
These salvaged memories 
Dissolve into a coffin of 
Despair? Such arid truths 
Deserve a better shroud 
Than this!


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## Shalimar (Jul 31, 2021)

Moonwives

Love among the moonwives,
Such a ragged thing, born
In the argent wishes of regret,
Where slow threads bind them
To the dream they share, within
A bitter sky. Woven in each
Breath, a narrow song, its
Hungry words devouring pain,
Cradled in the night. Behind my
Eyes they speak to me, of ravaged
Knots, and moon cast thighs,
Begging me to bleed. Instead,
I laugh, caressing my blind
Thoughts, stretched to bear
The song, corded to the earth,
And lying to the moon.


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## Shalimar (Aug 2, 2021)

Arson

I yearn to speak, yet
My mouth is filled with
Ash, gleaned from our
Smouldering bed. Tracing
The outline of your cruelty,
I stumble, heavy with
Silence. Why must this
Charcoal dream short
Sheet love? I wore my
Heart for you, blazed on
Secret skin, now obscured,
And bleeding into ruin.
Empty tattoo of a
Death I missed.


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## Shalimar (Aug 10, 2021)

Unbound 

Dead man, 
I will forge sharp 
Roses from metal tears,
Disarming pain, while 
Cold prayers brush 
Broken palms against 
My skin, flayed on this 
Poisoned lap of memory,
Where a thorn of song 
Shares grave testament 
Linked to the scented 
Whip of your demise. I 
Will wear death like a 
Shrouded chain, these 
Bleeding roses my final 
Gift to you, burnt on a 
Childish pyre, music 
Beyond bars.


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## Shalimar (Aug 14, 2021)

Warrior

Silent brother, dancing
Behind a broken moon,
Shards against deceit,
Your silver footprint
Buried me beneath a
Frozen laugh. Still,
Joy erupts beyond my
My skin curved  into
These hands, as I will
Always be your bow,
Bending for the dance,
Begging to believe.
Thankyou.


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## Shalimar (Aug 26, 2021)

Requiem For My Sisters In Afghanistan

Talibani, rotting souls.
We scarves, like strangled
Crows, flutter in the
Desert of your contempt,
Bleached of our humanity,
Broken beyond fear, our
Gravid thoughts fastened
To a stone. While half the
Sky  is bleeding, who
Will remember us?


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## Shalimar (Aug 27, 2021)

Lilies

Stubborn lilies, such 
A pale and narrow dying,
Their scented claws  flattened
Into crumbling crannies of 
This mind, seeded in despair, 
Tendrils of battered memory
A silent wake, beneath a 
Swollen prayer.


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## timoc (Aug 27, 2021)

Shali, I have read and applaud your wonderful words, though melancholy, pain and sadness exude from them, but for me, could you, would you, put pen to paper and bring forth a happy verse to put a smile on my wrinkled old gob.

Tim.


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## ohioboy (Aug 27, 2021)

timoc said:


> Shali, I have read and applaud your wonderful words, though melancholy, pain and sadness exude from them, but for me, could you, would you, put pen to paper and bring forth a happy verse to put a smile on my wrinkled old gob.
> 
> Tim.


There once was a man named Tim.
He would do anything on a whim.
He was dared to bare it and publically share it,
And he did so on top of a pin.


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## Shalimar (Sep 6, 2021)

The River And The Paladin

She waits in a curve of silence
For the knock that always stirs
A better flame than memory to
Carve the the anguish clean. The
River purrs inside her veins, lost
In a feral sigh, open to the Paladin
Who burns beyond the gate. Sharper
Than a lover’s tears, severed in her
Grace, his spear will wrap  itself in
Dignity, and kneel before her feet.


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## jujube (Sep 6, 2021)

Keep it up, Shali!


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## Shalimar (Sep 9, 2021)

Love

Perfumed petals drift jealously 
Through the pain, while I weep
Beneath the ragged hand of love.
The music of flowers crushed to
My heart, embraced by tears in 
This pale and tattered dance. 
Beloved, all the music is you, 
Wisps of melody seep below 
My skin, answering the deep 
Red beat. Flavoured kisses 
Wrench away control like avid
Thorns seeking release. Oh, 
Lift me up and let me catch 
The night, falling into you.


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## Shalimar (Sep 9, 2021)

Lie with me in
The  lap of summer,
Honeyed days, smooth
Scented nights. Here, 
In the pulse of Gaia, tendrils
Of delight wrap around our
Smiles In greedy joy. You
Breathe the sun into my 
Soul, caught  in the curve
Of your mouth.


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## Shalimar (Sep 12, 2021)

My palms are bleeding truth 
Between the tender pages 
Of your fear, as bitter-broken
Tears evoke splintered words
Frantic to be fed. Love is an 
Empty breath smudged 
Beneath your lies, and 
Drowning paper promises 
Shredded in my heart, gnaw
The screaming light that 
Blinded me to you.


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## Shalimar (Sep 14, 2021)

Kneeling in the dust
Of your contempt, I
Fund my sorrow, raised
Up before me. Shall I
Bow, obedient to the
Chattering lies baying
Their false prophecies
Churned out by bent
Pictures of your arrogant
Demise? Your death was
A ruin, and I its tomb,
Chiseled into obscurity
By the fangs of grief.
Bring on, then, these
Coffin hounds, now
Sworn to me, in an
Ecstasy of fear.


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## Shalimar (Sep 17, 2021)

Like a rainbow warrior
Dying in the sun, I bleed
My promises to you, such
Love burns itself on blind
Spears, couched in razor
Logic, fed to an open wound.
An empath’s colours mourn
The mark of buried light,
Scorched from a lateral mind,
Behind this shield of tears.


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## Shalimar (Sep 17, 2021)

Lie me here where the
Pearl men sigh, riding
Their chariots of bone,
Weaving the net to hold
My hair, drowned in a
Fall of pearls. Send
Chilled shell dancers
To caress my cheek,
Wrapped in a new
Weed shroud, while
Undertaker fish sing
A foam edged dirge,
To welcome this
Mermaid down.


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## Shalimar (Oct 2, 2021)

Beloved,
Lord of the Crystal Heart
To whom this River answers, 
Please wait for me in our 
Mirrored tent, amid the feral
Trees whose iridescent laughter
Scents the sky, caressed by
Silent souls, still yearning for the
Water woman, reborn on a 
Shard of joy.


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## Shalimar (Oct 31, 2021)

The Grave-Singer’s Daughter

Down in the hollow moon
Home lives the grave-singer’s
Daughter, harsh in the song of
Sighs, strangled to her regret,
Keening her broken dirge, straining
To break a smile.

Soiled by impassive Death, locked
In a shroud of thighs, nailed to her
Own resurrection, she bleeds to
The silent moon, trapped in a
Cornered laughter, reflected in
Flakes of decay, packed in this
Cage of night.

Sharp as a cord of defiance
Strung on a burnt violin, clawing
The  dark to connect her, gaunt
In the dank moon’s face, mourned
By the grateful music droned by
By the careful dead.


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## Shalimar (Nov 1, 2021)

I breathe in the skin
Of summer all in a 
Crumpled joy, languorous
Beneath a yellow crush 
Of butterflies which sing
Between the green-jewelled
Trees, flushed with the scent
Of apples. My need is silver,
Laced with hope, tethered 
To your mouth which I have
Never touched. Yet the taste
Of your soul lingers, like
Burning cloves, bending 
This sheltered heart into 
A filigree of joy.


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## Shalimar (Dec 8, 2021)

*Bend, and savour slowly 
A dense desire, wound 
Into the curve of Death,
Each sultry memory of 
Collected scars gifts 
Despair, lost in a rattle 
Of bones, as flesh coated
Smiles dig deep in 
Fractured curiosity. A 
Whip of breath cracks 
Loud, bleeding for love.*


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## OneEyedDiva (Dec 9, 2021)

Your poems go deep Shalimar. I skimmed an article today about how writing is cathartic for healing our pains, hurts, disappointments in life.


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## ohioboy (Dec 9, 2021)

Remember me

By chance you visit my home at last,
By chance to prove your love is true,
The card you mailed after I passed,
Was still delivered with postage due.

My heart expired before I read it.
Still I knew just what it would say!
"My dear beloved our love has ended,
I'll come without rain another day".

My tears refilled the Watershed,
And my heart succumbed to it's deep.
Now my heart and the brine are duly wed,
And us two forever shall weep.

If it suits your fancy take one last glance,
And leave what's due in the letter box.
Then hang your heart on the picket fence --
Since my heart died from the Lover's Pox.


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## Shalimar (Feb 3, 2022)

*Beloved,
As I watch you sleep,
Adrift in the breadth of
Silence, tenderness
Warm in the curve of 
Your mouth, my soul 
Shifts, shedding those
Broken dances which 
Scarred my life, and 
Left my tender bones 
To dream. Ahh, you 
Are the laughter
Tattooed in the joyful
Corners of my delight,
Reminding me to sing!*


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## Shalimar (Apr 5, 2022)

*Beloved, 
Into the wild flowers 
I send my soul, where
Within their satin faces
And silken smiles, I see
Your love, lying green in
A muted afternoon, folded 
Into light.*


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## Shalimar (Apr 30, 2022)

Beloved,
Love is a a fissure
Gouged out of raw
Days where I
Hung my tears to
Light the way to you
While sewing bloody
Flowers across this
Broken pain. Scattered
Into grief my words are
Pale, elegant thorns
Bearing witness to the
Textured silence which
Fractures my belief as
The scent of your
Indifference bites deep
Within my loss.


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## Shalimar (May 1, 2022)

*My heart is tethered 
To these tears which 
Cower at the water’s 
Edge, along the miles
Of printed sand recording
All my grief. Inside these
Gritty words, chiseled 
Out of fear, lie the shattered
Bones of withered trust,
Bleak runes to cast my 
Fate, here, at the water’s 
Edge, where a shivered
Silence waits.*


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## JonSR77 (May 1, 2022)

Shalimar said:


> Requiem
> 
> Time is a whip,
> It’s severed screams
> ...



very strong piece, nice work.  I have found creative writing the same...really very cathartic.


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## Shalimar (May 1, 2022)

JonSR77 said:


> very strong piece, nice work.  I have found creative writing the same...really very cathartic.


Thank you. I agree, it releases pent up emotions.


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## Shalimar (Jul 24, 2022)

*Beloved,
In your hands
The River drums
Her greenest 
Melody, a shifting
Cadence like a 
Quivering Spring. 
The scent of dreams
Grows inward, seeding
Laughter deeper than
My secret skin. Rooted
In this breath of Joy, 
I surge to you.*


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