Tag: Poetry / Poetic Prose

genre: anything that’s focused on poetry, poetic prose, and inspirational writings

Posted in [poetry]

RBG [poem]

Posted on by Larissa Lee

I have been dreading this day
since before I took my first breath
the day you would take your last
and leave us to all this
America
a home full of people and potholes
hatred and humanity
we are the dream you spoke into being
with every dissent
your words wove this life
a tapestry of hope in the heartache
of equality and equity
of change
this is not the end of your great work
but a passing of the torch
you are a star
ever burning and brilliant
may your memory be a blessing

Note: this poem was originally written and posted onto my Facebook page on the day that RBG passed away, but I updated the ending after a few days of mourning and ended up with this version. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a hell of an icon. In her own words, “Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.” And so, we just need to keep moving forward to honor her name.

Posted in [poetry]

there is a man out there [poem]

Posted on by Larissa Lee

there is a man out there I love
there is a man out there that loves me
sometimes
there is a man out there who thinks of me
at 3am
when he lies alone in bed
wide awake
there is a man out there I think about
at 3am
when I too
am wide awake
there is a man out there wishing away this life I have
if only because he has no place in it
there is a man out there who
only has a place in my life because I
made room for him in it

Posted in [poetry]

my witchcraft is [poem]

Posted on by Larissa Lee

my witchcraft is a group sport I like
but I don’t live near a league to play in or
my witchcraft is a book club
without any members or
my witchcraft is a formal ritual
with all the bells and whistles when
no one has time to stand around
chanting for power or
my witchcraft is a lonely night
with only my thoughts for company or
my witchcraft is about community
but my life is all about unplanned alone time
and accidental individuality

Posted in [poetry]

4am [poem]

Posted on by Larissa Lee

4am is usually when I imagine you into being
these blankets more empty casket than bed
and I’ve buried whatever love pretended to live here
using my long lost dreams as a tombstone

Posted in [poetry]

to live for [poem]

Posted on by Larissa Lee

it’s not that I can’t live without you
but rather
that you gave me someone to live for
when living for myself
wasn’t something I wanted anymore
I gave you all of my tomorrows
with the understanding that
I may not want any of them back
but you’d keep them safe for me regardless

Posted in [poetry]

accidents happen [poem]

Posted on by Larissa Lee

accidents happen
they say
nobody’s perfect
our stories clearly tell us
even the gods make mistakes
so I’m allowed to fuck up
the world won’t end with my failure
in fact
some of my greatest talents
are forged from the scraps of things
that went horribly wrong

Posted in [poetry]

on my list [poem]

Posted on by Larissa Lee

I’ll get to it later
whatever it might be
if it’s even the tiniest bit important
it’s on my list
and if it’s on my list
I’ll make time for it eventually
my list is full of bullet point promises
no specific order or rank in importance to my goals
I mean sure
there are items on my list that have
years of wishing tied to their line on the page
maybe some wishes
have been crossed off after too many failures
or maybe they’ve simply faded out
with the combination of sunlight and time
sometimes it
can’t happen without someone’s help
sometimes it
can’t happen when I’m drowning
in the little things
bills and laundry and leftover pizza
sometimes it
just can’t happen
and I’m trying to wrap my heart around the idea
that an eraser can be necessary
that I might have to lose it
without ever having it in the first place

Posted in [poetry]

sources of happiness [poem]

Posted on by Larissa Lee

for my last boyfriend I read
a series of books outside of my preferred genres
I swallowed down 15 books
force fed myself on almost 12,000 pages
until my mind was fit to burst
gorged on the ideas of someone else’s fantasy realm
over 4 million words crossed before my eyes
building cultures that left me in awe
but a plot that left me a bit disinterested
still
I finished the series for him
because I wanted to share something
he enjoyed

after finishing that epic readathon
I tried to recommend one book to him
a book that fit his love for a wild ride
it was 408 pages
a few hours of focus
to share something of mine as he’d shared with me
five years later
he left me
never having touched the book I’d offered up
as a gift of understanding between us

the same pattern has played out before
where I listen to a lover’s favorite music or
figure out how to cook their favorite meal or
try out their preferred kind of game
but they never bothered to do the same
instead
they offered up only a lesson

that no one worth being with is going to be so
callous and uninterested
in your sources of happiness
at least not if they intend to become one

Posted in [poetry]

goddess of okay [poem]

Posted on by Larissa Lee

if I were a goddess I’d be the personification of okay
I’m not the ruler of a good time
full of laughter and success
but I’m no nightmare daemon either
rather my blessing
is in that quiet space between events
the parts of the journey no one bothers to describe
eating lunch
finding a good radio station
brushing your teeth
I’m the immortal power of the careless shrug
a signal known around the world
as a sign of impassive disinterest
my epithets are
whatever
I don’t really care
and that’s fine

Posted in [poetry]

read a story [poem]

Posted on by Larissa Lee

I read a story where
a man struggled with a history of
bad choices and trust issues
and couldn’t get past his own demons
to reach the woman he loved
in time to make her stay
I read a story where
a woman picked herself up
one broken promise at a time
and found the strength to trust people
again and again
without letting cynicism
harden her heart into diamond
I read a story where
a pair of childhood friends pushed past
years of silence and distance
to find that web of love and laughter
still strung up between them
I read a story
or two
or three
every single day
because seeing a million ways to love someone else
gives me hope for my own happily ever after

Posted in [poetry]

necessity [poem]

Posted on by Larissa Lee

people keep telling me
I’m good at what I do
they keep saying that I obviously care
even when I say I don’t
I keep having to explain that
my version of not caring is
doing only what is necessary
nothing extra
but my necessity and what must be done
always land at different levels
and I’m left bemused
as people keep telling me
I’m good at what I do

Posted in [poetry]

journaling [poem]

Posted on by Larissa Lee

these poems are the closest I get to keeping a journal
my fingers swyping out today’s adventure
into metaphors
until you can almost take my temperature
between the lines

Posted in [poetry]

rest in peace [poem]

Posted on by Larissa Lee

sometimes I think we’re just two ghosts
haunting the same dilapidated house
the walls of our hearts covered in
peeling wallpaper and mildew
and full of wistful silence
maybe the remains of our once upon a time
should be laid to rest
so that we can find peace in all this
lifeless love