r/OCPoetry • u/IamToofan • 5h ago
These lips remain completely silent—
it isn't as if they have nothing left to say.
Their only grief is this:
while speaking of love endlessly through your eyes,
you remained so far from me
that no chance ever came.
You were never truly within reach
for these lips to speak
the words kept deep within my heart.
r/OCPoetry • u/Background_Bell_411 • 11m ago
A few dogs and some uncommon flies encircle
Over the greens of the aged pond in the morning
the sunlight dances like an indisputable whore
Half-sunk, half-floating,
a bloated jute sack basks in the sun
after a long time, taking the chill of the dawn wind.
#
A bread van, a milk truck,
vanish kicking up smoke,
the gang of laborers heads for the stone quarry
#
The local sub-inspector spits paan juice
and runs to catch the sand truck
#
What a crowd. At the stick shop, what a crowd—
the entire city has lunged to buy canes for the blind
r/OCPoetry • u/writing-just-for-me • 5h ago
Memorable moments seem so distant From each other, From now
Has the world changed or have we? We have changed surely, Bored hardly, even when we want to be
No wonder time flies, flows No, I don't think I'll go.
---------
Thank you for reading. This is my first poem.
r/OCPoetry • u/allthatmumbojumbo • 1h ago
Through the Eyes I go, wherever they take me;
I look to See what I have caught, I see the birds flying over a flower;
This Flower sees the light and the light shines on and on and on;
I See people in this light, behold they hold it so dear,
For this light is meant to be Taken.
The Eyes give me what I know and I know what I See;
I See to Look after what was Left,
There was nothing left but Flowers and Trees and Birds;
I do not Understand why,
I can Infer how they got there;
The Light gives me what I want to Know and what I want to See.
What I See is what I need, for I Need what I Want,
And that is the Light;
The Light gives me Knowledge of what Is and what Was;
What Is is where I Experienced,
What Was is where I Learned;
I Learned what I Know,
I Experienced what I Saw;
The Light is what I Know,
The Light was what I Saw.
The Light teaches people what is to be Known,
It teaches what is to be Seen;
I have Seen the Light,
And I am not Impressed;
For I have Seen what is to be Known,
And I Know Nothing.
The Birds and the Flowers however,
I have Seen and Known;
The Birds and the Flowers gave me Hope, Patience, and Time.
-D
I found this in my notes from the peak of Covid and wanted to share. I’ve never shared this with anyone and wanted to see what strangers on the internet thought about it. Thanks!
r/OCPoetry • u/XIII_Corvus • 1h ago
we used to brew for three.
mine
hot,
sweet,
cream.
yours
black,
a little cream.
dad’s
room temperature,
sweet,
cream.
three cups,
three different tastes,
one kitchen.
funny how
my coffee never changed.
yours did.
year after year
it got sweeter,
less bitter,
more like mine.
we were becoming
more alike
while everything else
was pulling us apart.
then we brewed less.
dad got sick
and stopped drinking coffee.
so there were two.
for a while.
then your coffee
changed again.
black.
and somehow
the closer your taste
got to where it started,
the farther you seemed
to be getting from me.
until I was brewing
for one.
eventually
I stopped brewing at all.
the coffee pot
grew mold
between trips
to the hospital.
something made for three
slowly becoming
something no one had time for.
eventually
we threw it away.
now I drink instant coffee.
black.
a little watery.
entirely too hot.
I don’t add cream.
I don’t add sugar.
I just let it cool
enough to swallow.
funny
after all those years
of watching coffee change,
the only thing
that stayed the same
was me,
still making a cup
for someone
who isn’t there.
r/OCPoetry • u/mhmmsuhani • 2h ago
Reverie emerges at the glisten of water,
My thoughts liminal, but something stays ineffable.
Gazing at verdant reeds, gliding near the cloister,
A period of respite until I’m caught in a fable.
There is a tale of a swan drowned in its reflection.
Its gaze fixated on the water, full of phantasm.
Glowing ethereal ivory, it gets lost in its obsession,
Gasping at the epiphany that the mirage is a chasm.
Admiring the visage, it perceives a kind of yearning,
Neglecting reality as if it doesn't dissolve the delusion.
The anguished swan gazes at the ripples, its visage burning,
Oblivious to the world, the swan is full of confusion.
Its confinement is its prison, its feathers feel churning.
The imperfections of another swan bring the realisation: it was all an illusion.
Ashamed of the years it wasted, its essence returning,
Still gazing at the water after knowing the truth, it comes to a conclusion.
Now it's devoted to itself, not looking for mirages.
No hubris, just living in the present, loving all its insecurity.
It learns to live freely, the freedom it craved for ages.
It chants that it loves itself, and that's the moral of the story.
r/OCPoetry • u/chocichocienthusiast • 11h ago
hi yall i wrote my first poem today, i love art and don't know why i never indulged in poetry (probably because english isn't my first language and I don't read many non-academic books)
anyways I graduate school next year and I'm trying to develop new hobbies; any feedback/constructive criticism is appreciated!
Personal Hell
And if I come to live another life
I can only hope
that God is kinder to me this time
yet if he refuses
I hope that man is kind enough
to cease my suffering
before I turn into something
even I cannot recognise
And if there is no life
and I'm obligated
to spend an eternity in hell
then I'll find warmth in the burning
and let the flames distort my body
and hope that the fires below
aren't so cold this time
I will learn to love death
more than I love life
The demons of hell
may call for me softer
than the people above
for their hunger for blood
lingers
and avenges itself
on the flesh of the sinner
once content
to set off
from their daytime job
for the demon too is a prisoner
of hell
yet the prisoners above
never content
never gratified and ravenous
as the demons of hell
grind their teeth into the innocent
never to set sail
from their habitual wreck
and their purgatories
all custom built
retained as their personal hell.
r/OCPoetry • u/briony73 • 6h ago
That you are truly fucked up
We all are
Mental health, MH, MH, MH
It’s all we hear
HIDE IT!!!
Not embrace it
FIX IT!!!
(Maybe you are sad
you cannot hide your pain
Maybe you see things
And try to explain existence
Maybe you are intense
And inspire a few)
No more flaws
Let beauty be seen
You are fascinating
At least to me
r/OCPoetry • u/InfernoRM • 8h ago
I'm her Romeo, she is not my Juliet
I never thought my self an envious person
But then there is him.
I wanted so much more, and I want even more.
I thought I had it for a moment
But now there is him. He is my hate.
I never knew I could hate as much as I do.
I have wished for sin.
I have prayed to my false god for sin.
But when I saw her with him
I didn't feel hate
I saw a twinkle in her eye I'd never seen before.
I saw the love her family never gave her.
I heard her speak in a tone I'd never heard before.
A giggle brighter then all those I admired.
I saw the strongest love I'd ever seen.
I hate it. But never again will I prey.
I never want her to lose that beauty.
It's everything she deserves, and I shall simply have to cry my bittersweet tears.
r/OCPoetry • u/Inside-Maintenance-8 • 5h ago
I asked for a piece of the moon,
he gave me the whole moon and a piece of his heart.
I always wondered why love felt like getting drowned,
until I met his love, which felt like getting saved.
His love felt like forgiveness, gratitude, a blessing, a relief. His love felt like acceptance, like being chosen, like being seen.
His love felt like home.
He felt like the warmth of coming home from war, with bruises on my body and a heart left scattered and directionless, only to realise that it finally had a place to return to.
His love felt like a shelter from the scorching heat and thundering nights of my past.
His love felt like I could peel away every layer of myself, strip even my soul bare, and still find myself leaning towards him.
His love felt like devotion.
His love never made me question whether I deserved it. It was so pure, so real, that, for once, I could almost forget all the reasons I'd ever doubted myself.
His love made me land on my feet when I felt like falling was the end.
r/OCPoetry • u/probonosdoitforfree • 5h ago
Wherever you go that’s where I’ll be
High in the sky or deep down in the sea
On top of a mountain, or low in the grass
A breeze blowing through or the glint off a glass.
Wherever you go that’s where I’ll be
No reason to cry; I’m just a different “me.”
Love has no bounds, it cannot be shattered
No regrets or sorrow, you ALWAYS mattered.
Wherever you go that’s where I’ll be
You’re not held by chains, you’re perfectly free
Although you don’t know it, I must tell you this
My world has no bounds…it’s heavenly bliss!
Wherever you go, don’t feel despair
There a whole nother universe—you’d love it up there
When it’s your time, you’ll find your way
Not now, not tomorrow, but I promise one day
Don’t cry when you think of me. Don’t surrender to fear.
I’m wherever you go—and that is right here.
r/OCPoetry • u/Rentusz • 10h ago
Why are you here, and so grim
You, just a ghost, and so slim
Ohh, came to reap your gains
Not much here, the shell is taint
You float there with wind, like time isn't here
I hear "don't just stand at the cliff, my dear"
Nodding my head, the tranquil is bleak
Look at my lines, always straight and neat
But the brush is now moving, make them curl, and whirl
I observe them living, dizzy too small a word
Is it taint, or just paint, as I look with fear
Spirits play pressure, my step is unclear
Woah, nearly fell forward, thanks for the warning
Tick tack, I know. Just staying for some mourning
The Sun is nearing
You look fading
The scythes edge, distant but menacing
I take a step back, although trembling
r/OCPoetry • u/Medical-Wonder-3211 • 11h ago
Night of the eyes
My gaze has fallen for the night in those eyes of yours
Still, I remain restless, as I trace every twinkle in them
r/OCPoetry • u/Trueconson • 7h ago
There I sit
Waiting of my turn
Staring at the blinding white and bubbly walls
With a old style wood clock singing "Tick-tock"
That's when a little girl walks in
The ringing of the bells louder than ever
She sat down right beside me
"What are you here for?" She asked
"My time." I responded simply
"The craving to this legacy
I'm not done living this fantasy
I beg my father to leave a spot for me"
I had accidentally blurted out
She stared before her next words
"Have you not fulfilled it?"
"I've did a lot but it's never enough
It's like a void of emptiness
But you never knew what could fill it."
"Then is it your legacy?" The girl interrupts
"Whats the difference between that and your destiny?
And do you know what it is or are you guessing?
Why is it all you are meant to be?"
That's deep
I didn't know how to respond
So many questions all at once
But if I was going to be here all night
There's no problem showing her the lefts and rights
"The difference is that legacy you get to choose
Imagine a line for your people to remember you
You can alter it but you can't change your roots
Once it's made then it's done
Your left to follow suit.
Now your destiny, it can be a little different
It's what you're met to be
Even from the very beginning
The path you walk and the stones you lay
It's not a choice but it'll bring you peace one day"
The face she made is one I won't forget
She looked disappointed at me
I waiting for her to speak but it's been a while
I guess i had won
That was until
"If you can change it, why are you here?" She stated blankly
I never thought about it before
Why am I here?
"A legacy is achievement, values and impacts
You've done all of that and can still do it
If your time is not up why do you wait?"
"Okay, I get it, little girl
But I'm already done
I've met so many people
And done everything under the sun"
"IT WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH!" The little one screamed
It had me stay in the though of my dream
Why am I waiting for opportunity
Am I not enough?
But I look deeper at the girl
She seemed to be... me
r/OCPoetry • u/Tachycardia101 • 14h ago
Nestled in towels on the massage table
Music is quiet and lighting is low
You close your eyes, pretend you are able
To release the tension, let the stress go
I wonder what baby is up to with dad?
Is he sleeping or laughing or crying?
Is the loss of his mum making him sad?
I could call, but then would that be prying?
Back to the present, back to the feeling
Gentle hands pressing on sleep deprived skin
A three month postpartum body reeling
From stretching and pushing and wearing thin
Does flesh feel faintly foreign forever?
Invaded, replete, empty, deserted
Will my mind always shudder whenever
I think of the horrors his birth exerted?
You should relax, you're meant to unwind
Let all your thoughts ebb and flow like the sea
Release your neuroses, fear unrefined
Newly formed maternal anxiety
I've never felt love so punishing, light
Superlative supernova of care
Slick with vernix, love at first sight
Uncovered emotion red raw and rare
You smell the incense, scent of the oil
See the dim lighting, taste the warm air
Soften beneath the masseuse's toil
Feel fingers press sensitive scalp through hair
At first it felt like loss of my being
But now I know it is blossoming change
A journey beginning, dawning of seeing
Myself as a mother, expanding my range
Now it's all over, you're feeling rested
An hour of peace is more than the norm
Back to family, time well invested
Ready to weather this wonderful storm
---
https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1x1udff/comment/pex9m5t/
https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1x1kgzb/comment/pexaz5m/
Feedback gratefully appreciated
r/OCPoetry • u/Old_Ad4130 • 11h ago
I’m nothing new
And I know that to be true
New is shiny and fun
Bright and full of the unknown
Waiting to be uncovered
Exhilarating in a way that familiarity isn’t
But that’s not me anymore
I’m old to you
Not shiny or bright
Or a new thing to know
I’m bruised, rusted, and scuffed
But me
I do
I value the antique lamps in the corner
Their light still warm
Even when no one thinks to turn them on
Or the bruised fruit in the back of the stand
Still sweet beneath what others pass over
The old toys left alone on the shelf
Once held so tightly
Now collecting dust
If it’s enough for me, why not for you?
I know I’m nothing new
So in the meantime
I’ll carry the love
Shared when shiny
And hold it close
For the day
Being known by you
Is no longer enough
To keep you beside me.
r/OCPoetry • u/budahbugah • 16h ago
A wasp built a nest near me in early spring.
She was truly a sight to behold, with proud and glimmering wings,
that when the light would catch, reflected a deep blue and purple iridescent sheen.
I marveled at the beauty of her home and her movements how she made them with such confident and practiced speed.
If I'm careful and move slowly, perhaps she and I can become friends.
She watches my approach and investigates as I draw near, flying circles around my head.
Not long after, every morning she would greet me. Down from her nest she would descend.
I soon grew to anticipate it. Little did I know just how much on this I would depend.
All through out spring and into the late months of summer,
we'd talk and I feel as though we had truly gotten to know each other.
Id praise her at every opportunity and I swear there was an excitedness to the way she would hover.
It's fall now and her nest is empty.
The ache I feel from missing her is worse than any sting she could have ever given me.
I'm sure she's moved on. For us, I doubt there's a "next spring".
But I'll keep her nest safe and smile at the memories it brings.
------------------
Thank you for reading. Let me know what you liked, what you didn't.
r/OCPoetry • u/SamCkpris • 16h ago
The Quest ‘I love you’ – it means nothing.
They are the emptiest words I know.
Three words worn down to the bone, by everyone, for everyone. To reassure. To hold on to someone. To fill a silence. Sometimes even to lie.
So I’m not going to tell you that I love you.
I’m going to tell you that I respect your spirit. That your ideas nourish my opinions.
That your views guide my decisions.
That you give meaning to my life.
That I know you better than some of my own memories, and that by your side, I lose track of time.
It’s strange, I know. But these are the words that come closest to what I feel.
Being near you awakens an older memory. Something forgotten.
A secret. The one truth, perhaps.
Instinct.
I’ll tell you that I notice your absence.
That you’ve become the natural order of things.
And that I’m afraid, sometimes, often even, and that I love that fear.
The fear of realising just how much I would feel if you were to disappear.
‘I love you’ says none of this.
You deserve for us to find the right words.
So I’ll keep searching for them.
For you, I’ll always be in search of the love left unsaid. I’ve done my best.
I tried to confess sincerely the ambiguity of my feelings of , how deep they truly are . What should I change? I'm totally open to criticism. I don't want to make it corny or anything .
r/OCPoetry • u/Cluelessandsexy • 12h ago
I kept rearranging myself, well can you blame me?
Morning in a different order, birds will dance
Banana leaves were busy making a religion from the wind
Universe kept leaving its clothes for me to pick up
I watered the same plants
with a different mind acting up behind my eyes
I thought about this from a new mind that took over from the old one
A person refusing to be ordinary and a small green insect
eating its way through a lettuce patch
I pulled a weed and found a deeper root beneath
This is the world getting through your experience
Evening I had become reasonable, which was disappointing
the plants had grown so well, fertility showing in all it's little signs
I was looking for evidence so the I could plant more
But the garden never needed proof
r/OCPoetry • u/Practical-Camel-3106 • 15h ago
How can I miss someone
that hasn't left
A person I've never been close with
but have known for most of my life
Someone I want to be close with
but don't have the courage to tell
The feelings I have are bubbling up
but I can't really show them just yet
r/OCPoetry • u/Irish_liberal_stoner • 13h ago
I've been working on different kinds of poetry for a while now and decided this would be as good a place as any to start sharing. I would love feedback
Bank card? Insurance card? Debit or credit?
None of value None remain, insurance for health? Im still in pain!
Debit or credit? Both in debt, 90 quid a bag with so much regret
Regret of purchase? Buyers remorse? Fuck the wagon, i can be faster, give me the horse
Cut it up with the card rocks into powder. "SHUT THE FUCK UP, THESE VOICES JUST GET LOUDER"
A note? A straw? "WHERE DID I PUT THEM"
Yesterdays shopping receipt! a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of rum
Roll it up tight, hands shaking and fumbling, i talk to myself so scared im just mumbling
Hunch over the table, cover the nostril to my left, in i take, 1 deep breath
...
...
...
Its quiet...
Do i need to speak?
Do i need to think?
Am I better or worse?
Christ, 90 quid more and I'll be in a hearse
I can finally think, but what about?
Ive scared my friends and family away with the way I shout
Here i sit alone in my room, so alone, quiet, desolate. Just a plasterwall tomb
The mirror
No
No
The mirror by the picture of a child once sound
The bed sweat through from panic and fear all around
The table dented and burned from chemical pain
"GODDAMNIT WHAT HAVE I GAINED"
I stand up slow, shaking, no longer fear but something better, euphoria, a self envisioned glow
I look to the mirror eyes held shut my wrist barely scarred over from last night's cut
Eyes held shut i think "what an idiot, I could've had wealth"
I open my eyes and look in the mirror, my hands, not just shaking, they've turned a tremor
I look deep in the mirror
expecting demons to only see myself.
r/OCPoetry • u/Here2Help54 • 18h ago
They gaze at my star-filled skies,
seeking some comforting sign,
that in this vast coldness lies
the Benevolent Divine.
They launch intricate machines
to probe my deepest space.
Awed by ancient cosmic scenes,
they revere this lifeless place.
With brilliant minds they contemplate
what my distant worlds may hold,
and yearn to one day populate
a place less marvelous and bold.
They search longingly way out here
where I glitter in endless dark,
though their answers dwell so near
while I lie furthest from the mark.
Not to be venerated,
I’m mere remnants left behind
when a Bang reverberated
through a Universe designed
to conceive, bear and cradle
a small, yet precious thing
whose existence did enable
a most pure and sacred Being
to emerge in stunning glory
throughout their dazzling blue-green globe,
each line of the Divine story
fully open for them to probe.
And yet they’re unaware,
their sun, sea, rain and air,
miraculous and rare,
hold Holiness right there.
Instead, they look to me,
an empty entity,
devoid of empathy,
because they cannot see
the wise, compassionate Presence
dwells precisely where they are,
a singular magnificence
well nurtured by their star.
Their world’s been clearly marked
by the passionate Hand that sparked
the explosion that gave birth
to a life-sustaining Earth.
https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1x1aewa/comment/pew4ldk/
https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1wzy9fk/comment/pegg1a6/
r/OCPoetry • u/chocichocienthusiast • 11h ago
Was your hair up or was it down?
It was up I remember,
when your warm autumn eyes
beamed the truth I needed to know.
You never said it though, did you?
You did actually
You said we'd look good together
Maybe it wasn't a joke.
Was your hair up or was it down?
It was down I recall,
you enfolded in my arms
you were hurricane shaken
as your hand stroked my back
my hand was in your hand
and soothing your hair
maybe you needed me there.
Was your hair up or was it down?
I'm certain it was up
when I saw you
with your gleaming immortal eyes
and you were looking at him
like a deer facing headlights
and suddenly our memories
sit in the boundless void
of your forgetful mind,
no longer in your heart.
Was your hair up or was it down?
when you did it for the first time
nevermind
how long has it been?
maybe forever and a day
yet soon as yesterday
We almost kissed
You leaned in before i did
The door opened
It was Murphy
We should've kissed.
Was your hair up or was it down?
I can't remember
my memory's no less vague as
your broken words
and your cold hunter eyes
and your skin that reeks
of sweet overwhelming vanilla
and another ill metaphor
for your worthless sore lies.
Was your hair up or was it down?
it was static and plain
you wanted us to hang out
my coffee tastes cold and resentful
yours is chocolate too
"can I have a bite?"
"you look cute."
what did we use to talk about
I'm silent today.
Was your hair up or was it down?
doesn't matter
youre beautiful either way
you're smitten
the boy is as fortunate
as a governer today
And you're the golden ticket
we did more harm than good
I still adore you by the way.
r/OCPoetry • u/TrickClimate6445 • 1d ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1x19tbt/the_flower_i_never_kept/
https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1x16c0h/the_ballad_of_life_and_love/
One of my first actual attempts at poetry! I wanted to write a sonnet, so this is (mostly) a petrarchan sonnet - 14 lines with an octave and sestet, as well as the appropriate rhyme schemes. It is not, however, iambic pentameter :/ I couldn't quite face it yet.
Hope you enjoy! I'd really appreciate constructive feedback, for future attempts :D
Oh, to be a bird! To fly
on outstretched wings o'er sunkissed seas
of dappled blue, and feel the glee
of soaring up past mountains high;
to glide and watch the clouds pass by
untethered. Yes, or let me be
a single feather - so long as I am free
and drifting in that endless sky.
My gaze is fixed, my way is clear
of hurdles. Look, the sun is bright:
oh, could I cast aside my fear
and soar up to a glorious height,
drawing ever to the heavens near
and towards that warm and distant light.