I’ve Sold You My Soul

With this book
I’ve sold you my soul
Put myself on display
Showing you my whole

Here
Do you see the hole?
What was left
After my father’s toll
A prostitution of pain
A sympathy payroll

Here
Do you see the hole?
What was left
After her thoughtless console
A pitiful attempt
To reclaim what he stole

I wrote this for me
There’s no other goal
Love it or hate it
Fuck you all

No
Not you dear reader
Just those close to me
Those who chose to troll
Those who attempted to control
Those who don’t know me at all

No
For you I extol
The healing granted
By planting the flag pole
Open your mind to gaze upon your soul
Write
Take back control
Step through the keyhole
Put it on the page
And remake yourself
Into a stronger whole

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This poem is from the book A Requiem For What Could Have Been: Poetry For The Broken

Curation: A Poem On Self-Expression & Medium Success

My last six poems got curated,
Here is what I have learned:
That that kind of exposure
It must be earned.

So I write daily.
Read books like I’m crazy.
Pen and pad live in my pocket.
No excuse to be lazy.

Fighting inner resistance
Is a constant reality,
Realising that my lines here
Only show a fraction of my depravity.

Because good poetry,
It comes from truth,
And that truth,
Reveals a shattered youth.

So I share my inner world,
Twisting words onto the page,
Most of it’s garbage,
I only share what looks sage.

Throw enough darts,
And one will hit centre,
So I just write my mind down,
And then press enter.

Chances are that
You are better than I.
You just hold back,
Never risking a try.

I’ve learnt
To only look forward.
To let others judge me,
To not feel awkward.

To write what comes,
To write some more,
To keep writing always,
To keep open the door.

To the muse,
The source of my creativity,
Because really I’m just a vessel,
These words are not my proclivity.

I choose to be open,
Then the words just appear,
So I write them down,
And create something people hold dear.

Even these words you are reading right now.
I don’t know the next rhyme,
Paragraph, topic or theme,
But I know it will come in time.

So trust the process.
Believe in yourself.
Surrender to the muse
And acquire some poetry wealth.

I’m not merely talking about
The proceeds from curation.
I’m talking about spiritual gains
From focused concentration.

I’m talking about
Getting your mind online,
Exploring your inner world
And tapping into the divine.

Perhaps you are saying
That this is far too mystical,
So I instead will
Urge you to be statistical.

Look up, read and research
What the top poets are doing.
Imitate and extrapolate their work,
Find the secret with some sleuthing.

Or simply reread this piece,
And check out my other poems,
And you too will get curated,
By expressing some emotions.

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This poem is inspired by the book How To Write Evocative Poetry