The Shadows of My Mind

This is what I've taken to calling my collected poems. What I'm going to do is keep all of my poems in this first post for ease's sake but make a post to bump the topic up so you'll know when I've added new ones. The dangers of posting a collective poem topic is that you'll want to give a generic reply that glosses over all the poems as a whole. Please don't do this. Instead try to give me your thoughts on each poem as an individual, putting the name of the poem you're talking about before the post or paragraph. I hope what I want is clear and doesn't discourage you from posting your thoughts. We're all aspiring writers in search of critiques, so try to give your fellow writers as much help as you can, even if you don't think you're an expert in the area of writing. Chances are, even if you aren't as good as the person you're critiquing, they'll appreciate the time you put into viewing their work and will make an effort to help you with yours. It's also easier to see problems within other's work than it is within your own, so the more you notice, the better your own growth as a writer will be. Now that I've goaded you as best I can to post replies, I submit for your reading pleasure, in no particular order, the shadows of my mind.
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Falling Petals

She loves me now, she loves me not
A dying petal for each wishful thought.
How I wish to hold again
The things I once thought lost.

She loves me now, she loves me not.
This stabbing pain is all for naught.
Hope has died and with it love
As petals rain down from above.

Falling petals, one by one,
Drifting slowly to the ground
Leave my rose bereft
As my heartstrings come undone.

Faded has my heart become
By all the things I wish undone.
How I wish to change the past
So I may be free at last.

She loves me not. She never did.
Nothing but the hopes of a lonely kid.
One by one the petals fall
Until, one by one, gone are all.
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Will You Take a Picture With Me?

One moment
Frozen in time.
How will you feel
Once the shutter opens?
Happy or sad?
Loving or hating?

One moment
Left for the ages.
Will it be something fond?
Or the bane of an existence?
Smile.
Say “Cheese.”

One moment
To look back on,
To hold in the heart
Now that time as washed
Everything else aside.
Something to remember.

One moment
Held in place by celluloid.
Still there
When the feeling captured
Is long forgotten,
Long buried with its maker.

If only
One moment
Could last forever.
If only
You would take
A picture with me.
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Hold You Tight

I’ll be here forever, holding you tight,
Battling the unending fight
My fallen wings protecting you,
Caressing you,
Capturing each moment in a snow white feather,
Collecting them all, binding them together.
Each is a gift you’ve given me
To fix my wings, to set me free.
Each is a treasure more precious than gold,
Ones that, in my heart, I’ll forever hold.
So I’ll wait here forever with open arms
To shelter you and shield you from harm
And hold you tightly within my wings
Looking forward to whatever tomorrow brings.
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Paper Cut-out

Cut along the dotted line
Sever those fine fibers
Dissect me from your heart
Like a child doing crafts
These mental scissors are your friend
To help you carve me out
A gaping hole in a perfect background
Waiting to be filled

Do you look into that hole with disgust?
Was I too ugly for you to bear?
Is the sight of me so abhorrent
That you had to cut me out?

Do you stare into that abyss sighing in relief?
Were my expectations set to high?
Did you struggle to keep pace with me
So you just left and called it quits?

Do you glare at that hole in anger
As if I did you some wrong?
All I ever did was love you
But I guess that’s enough now

Can you feel that hole inside you?
The one where I used to be
Did it hurt you as much as it hurt me
When you tore me from that paper?
Do you think you’ll feel better
When you glue someone else there?
You can try all you want
But it’ll never fit as perfectly
As it did with me.
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Chaos

Everything’s out of place
Broken mirror, shattered vase
Paper flying everywhere
Friends stop and stare
Pillows on the desk
Computer on a chair
Clothes all on the bed
Chaos, chaos everywhere

Everything in its place
But not a place for everything
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Dreamcatcher

Behind a mask of mirrored illusion
He hides away from the world.
Lost within his own delusion,
He tries to find himself once more.

Caught in a web of his own design
He's lost himself within the lie.
The threads so knotted and intertwined
He can't remember who he was before.

The threads tighten and start to choke
And his breath begins to slacken.
It's nothing now but an elaborate joke
His eyes empty; his spirit broken.

In the void as dark as night
He can barely feel the light,
But struggle as he might
The threads are just too tight.

So behind a mask of mirrored lies
He tries his very best to hide
Not seeing this fine web of pride
Buried somewhere deep inside.
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Silence

You watch from the darkness.
Your dark eyes glistening,
Seeing all
Like black pearls in moonlight.
But when I turn to look,
Nothing’s there but the wind
Beneath the willow
Swaying the hanging moss
In a gentle breeze.
Like smoke
You dissolve into nothing
Melting into the air.
If only you would linger
So I may catch a glimpse
Of your dark hair.

Or maybe say a word to you
So I know that you are real.
I need something more tangible,
Something that I can feel.
You are more than a wisp of cloud
I can feel it in my heart.
If only you would speak to me
And set my fears aside.

Speak to me, oh angel!
Your silence wounds me.
One word is all I ask
From your soft and delicate mouth
To ease my mind
To know you’re there.

But the darkness brings only silence
And the shining moonlight.
Only faint shadows beneath the willow tree
And maybe the glimmering of love-struck eyes.
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Requiem of Sorrow

Above my head,
I can hear them sing.
To the very air their words,
They seem to cling.
The sweet soft sounds
Of an angelic choir.
Crescendoing,
Rising ever higher.

Of this they sing for the morrow,
For this they sing the Requiem of Sorrow.

Years have passed
And the voices fade,
Nothing like the music
From life’s masquerade
In just a whisper,
It slowly dies
Like the shining light
Of an evening sky.

But still I hum the Requiem of Sorrow.
“For this,” I sing, “is for the morrow.”

Lost now is
The “Hymn of Woe,”
But still herein
It’s in my soul.
If only I could
Recall the words,
So I may sing on high
Like the soaring birds.

If only I could remember the Requiem of Sorrow
And sing once more for the morrow.
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My Name is Nobody

Hello my name is Nobody,
And I sit here all alone.
I wait until that fateful day,
When someone comes to take me home.

Hello my name is Nobody.
Out of sight and out of mind.
Forgotten by all my friends,
Even those who were so kind

Hello my name is Nobody,
Lost ‘till the end of time.
So I wander through the darkness,
Searching for a light to shine.

Hello my name is Nobody.
I hate all this god damn pain,
But it just wont seem to go away,
And I know exactly whose to blame

Hello my name is Nobody,
And I've forgotten how to say goodbye.
This pain forever ebbs away at my heart,
And I've forgotten how to cry.

Hello my name is Nobody,
And I stare into the sky,
Hoping that God will hear my plea,
And let me say goodbye.

Hello my name is Nobody,
And I hate to be all alone.
So I wait here for that fateful day,
When someone comes to take me home.
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