Posts for June 13, 2025 (page 3)

Registration photo of Danielle Valenilla ∞ for the LexPoMo 2025 Writing Challenge.
Category
Poem

The Four Seasons

There are four seasons that live inside of you,

and your universe need not be unknown.
 
I. menstrual
 
you are shedding from the inside / abandoning timelines and bleeding out bloodlines / the internal weather pattern shifts abruptly and leaves you depleted fighting your own skin and scraping the walls of your womb
to erase a plan you never made / shakes and chills, purging that leads to delusion naps and ice chips / dehydrated, you fold like a dainty croissant, cradling your softness in your arms / awaiting the ache to fade like a sip of hot chocolate that has singed the palate
 
II. follicular
 
you are unfolding, building new frames and expanding in heart and mind
each day blesses you with more largeness, more fuel, more capacity / problems solve themselves the way that corn kernels fall in lines by nature / your golden existence has waves that feel effortless and for the sweetly briefest of moments peace feels possible, focus feels friendly / you will forget how fleeting this is in the unbridled joy of renewal / you are a phoenix that knows death will come again, but welcomes the ignition / ablaze with an inner fire and eons of embers never extinguished
 
III. ovulation
 
you are releasing the blueprint of a possible world and the potential feels electric / you notice the curve of their clavicle and inhale the cologne of the grass the words come easier and you place them with bento box precision / you are both the invitation and the RSVP to the party / infused with renewable energy and confidence power-ups / suddenly you remember how their lips feel against yours and all at once there is energy to return a few favors
 
IV. luteal
 
you are building a home every day without your consent, which is why you slump as the walls rise and the foundation is laid, you are sullen and serotonin deficient / your body swells, holding onto water and tenderness, fear enters your cells / every emotion weighs heavier and takes up more space, a few feel dangerous and tectonic, chocolate plates create earthquakes in your daydreams / but your body refuses to translate the things you consume / justice and rage and self-pity and despair and suspicion and caution and loneliness and grief and against your better logic even helplessness become altars of worship for a lost and fading firefly in a cold, unfeeling darkness / arriving to life becomes a sequence of spinning plates that crash and you walk the shards of your imbalance, hoping your feet learn to callous

There are four seasons that live inside of you,

and you are a universe to behold.

Registration photo of Jazzy for the LexPoMo 2025 Writing Challenge.
Category
Poem

A Sweet Reminder of Home

I look at the bright orange Daylilies
A reminder of my Grandmother
They dance in the cool summer breeze
Around my Redbud tree
They say
Hello
How ya been
A warm welcome to an overcast but pleasant Friday morning
A sweet reminder of home


Registration photo of Brooke Russell for the LexPoMo 2025 Writing Challenge.
Category
Poem

Lifeline

From your first breath
 and your inevitable death
 your life is the line between
 known as a Lifeline, tiny and thin—
 resembles more than an etch on tombstone
 yet, only the living can speak
 of you.


Registration photo of Samuel Collins Hicks for the LexPoMo 2025 Writing Challenge.
Category
Poem

Friday the 13th

Should’ve  been at Smackdown but I had a panic attack when the cops arrested a drunk person who was passed out on my stoop. 


Registration photo of Bing for the LexPoMo 2025 Writing Challenge.
Category
Poem

Killjoy

Mama fixed my necklace, fiddling with it back into place.

I calmly let her do this, with a soft and grateful face.

Mama never realized where I had been last night

or the images that burned into my brain from a single sight.

 

Abby sipped her coffee while we chat in a cafe.

She groaned about her awful, horrid, absolute worst day.

I sympathized with diligence, but Abby never knew

of what I witnessed days ago, and what damage it would do. 

 

Caleb got frustrated since I hadn’t texted back. 

I sent him an apology, I asked him for some slack.

I attempted telling Caleb about what I had seen last week. 

But his response was heartless, and to this day, we still don’t speak.

 

My brother came by to visit me after a month flew by. 

I wanted to explain the scene that I caught with my eye. 

My brother wasn’t interested to hear such scary news

and so I kept it to myself while we talked about his issues.

 

On the day that marked the anniversary of that crazy night,

I felt my eyes and ears remain alert for any dangers in sight.

The memories etched into my spine, even if I keep my days joy-filled.

How does a person talk about being present when a man gets killed?

Content Warning

The poet decided this submission may have content that's not for everyone. If you'd like to see it anyway, please click the eyeball icon.


Registration photo of Emily Brown for the LexPoMo 2025 Writing Challenge.
Category
Poem

Thirteen Fairies

Thirteen fairies danced across the hallway
and we almost didn’t believe it was real.
Twelve of them had wings as soft as dreams,
but one had wings that sparkled in the light.
Eleven decided they wanted to wear dresses
made of sunshine and we made them dresses.
Ten were older than us, so we listened to
their advice and agreed to follow it precisely.
Nine said they’d never been here before; we
gave them a tour and smiled as they danced.
Eight wanted to see what the pool was all about
and then we sewed little swimsuits for them. 
Seven were in awe of the baked goods upon the
kitchen shelf and so we made them to-go boxes.
Six spoke of stories from their travels and then
we realized life was not so easy for fairies.
Five had never watched a comedy movie; we
showed them our favorites and they laughed.
Four were unaware that we went to school
everyday and we agreed to take them tomorrow.
Three could cast magical spells and made us
promise to always use magic to create good.
Two looked a lot like us and we wondered if
somehow we were related to any fairies.
One was about to say something when Mom
exclaimed “Time for dinner, put your toys away”!


Registration photo of Cara Blair for the LexPoMo 2025 Writing Challenge.
Category
Poem

Why I Like Haikus

Well I guess maybe 
The process is the poem 
Or I’m just lazy 


Registration photo of Sonya Pavona for the LexPoMo 2025 Writing Challenge.
Category
Poem

iconography

twisted in the dank pit of my stomach
where the grass never grows
and my hopes go to die
there lies a gnarled throne

worriment rules there
her scepter trembling in hand
eager to expand her empire
over the wasteland occupying
my decaying external form

untangling remains impossible
her hands linger over my sickly skin
a marionette for her entertainment
begging to be set free


Registration photo of C. A. Grady for the LexPoMo 2025 Writing Challenge.
Category
Poem

prometheus_v2.exe

if prometheus
brought fire, what name brought the
world wide web of light?


Category
Poem

mousetrap

I’m stuck.
it hurts.
am I going to
die? worn down to the bone,
bleeding out.
I carry it with me—drag it behind me.
I can’t feel my leg
how do I know it hurts?
I’m dying
aren’t I?
a cool place, shaded
if it’s bigger
will it protect me?
am I dying? I can’t move
any further
I can’t feel anything but the pain—familiar.
I drag it with me, along
with me.
I’m dying
here, alone. I will die
here, alone. 
it’s heavy this toothy jaw—a bite
at my thigh
I can’t escape so I drag it with me.
if I carry it far enough
will that help? it hurts
but it won’t
am I dying
here, alone? 
you can pick me up move me—
it’s easy for you
you carry me—the weight of 
my little world.
this jaw with no tongue, mouth of teeth
barely caught but I can’t get out
I drag it with me. until I can’t
you carry me, tearful
you cry but it doesn’t hurt anymore
you carry it, for me.
my leg, worn down to the bone
the teeth, sharp
you open that lifeless jaw, alone
you set me down.
the grass is cool. it doesn’t hurt
I am dying, 
here, together.
I don’t—I can’t—feel anything
I walk because there is nothing to drag
and nowhere to go
worn down, to the bone,
I bled, alone
you cry, alone.
you will carry me with you, alone
I can’t go any further
you cry, alone, down to, the bone.