POETRY

Living expressions of inner work. Offered as a glimpse of the process towards radical self-acceptance, healing, and growth.

Poetry, poem, Words On A Page Zachary Phillips Poetry, poem, Words On A Page Zachary Phillips

Creating A Monster

My mind creates this world.
How can you say I am not God?
Every character, every scene, every aspect;
All a variation of myself.

Created in my image, created in my mind.
Both with and without intention.
The universe forever expanding
Inwardly as it does outwardly.

Distortions of reality,
More elegant than any alternate world.
Why should I leave?

Here I am something,
Simultaneously at, in and above myself.
A beautiful story of consciousness,
Played in a theatre of dreams.

Time passes, I open my eyes.
My focus wanes and I begin to forget.
Only the feelings remain,
Glorious certainty, a guide to my higher self.
Fragments of my truth are written and told.
Just a mere representation, a lie.
Imagination takes hold,
Corrupting, corroding, filling the gaps.

Stop. Let me remember.
Let me feel again,
I want the unadulterated truth.

I want to be back there again,
Where I feel divine,
Where it feels right.

Where I don't feel like a character
In someone else's dream.
I want to be present,
Both creating and existing simultaneously.

Doubts creep in,
It was just a beautiful distortion of reality,
A test of faith. Nothing to see here,
Move along. I am awake. It's gone.

 

Take away a man’s hope
and lace him up with dope.

Abuse him as a child
and expose him to the wild.

Show him that God does not exist
and remove all reasons to persist.

Put him under significant pressure
and reveal the joys of cardinal pleasure.

Add to that some mental illness
as fractured minds increase in willingness.

Explain that societal rules are collective fiction
that everyone follows with utmost conviction.

Tell him to observe and play the game
to patiently wait until it’s time to take aim.

Indoctrinate him into an extreme ideology
Explain all injustice through the lens of this philosophy.

Teach him that bad people only get punished in stories
and that in reality they die old, basking in glories.

Finally, give him the ability to read and learn.
Now there’s nothing left to do, but watch the world burn.

This poem is from the book Bound To The Wings Of A Butterfly

 
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Poetry, bound to the wings Zachary Phillips Poetry, bound to the wings Zachary Phillips

Behind A Smile Lies Darkness

 

Looks can be deceiving,
Behind a smile lies darkness,
An illness invisible.

Laughing through sorrow,
Acting through pain,
Lying to survive.

Learning to pretend,
Saying the right words,
Diverting attention.

I’m fine.
I’m just tired.
It’s nothing.
Don’t worry.
I’ve got this.
It’ll pass.

Self imposed exile,
Hiding from the world,
Hiding from myself.

Time to think,
Time to regret.
Time to practice my smile.

This poem is from the book Bound To The Wings Of A Butterfly

 
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Poetry, bound to the wings Zachary Phillips Poetry, bound to the wings Zachary Phillips

The Darkness Fuels Them

 

The battle lines are drawn
I turn inwards
They snarl
Bearing teeth
All too big for their mouths

They curse
They cajole
They threaten
They remind me of their brethren
The victors of the last war

The darkness fuels them
My fear fuels them
They surround me
Attacking from behind
Infiltrating my defences

I fall
My mind closes in
All seems lost
But then I remember
I have been here before

I know their tactics
I know their weaknesses
I know their game
Just deception
Just intimidation

I turn and face them
Staring them down
My gaze is illuminating
Golden rays of light
Shatter their advance

I begin the hunt
Snarls turns into shrieks
Shrieks turns into bargaining
Bargaining turns into pleading
Pleading turns into silence

I seek out their dens
I destroy their spawning grounds
I cleanse myself
Total victory
Unconditional surrender

This poem is from the book Bound To The Wings Of A Butterfly

 
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