Post by Laura on Nov 8, 2005 16:30:53 GMT -6
This will get to be quite long if we get lots of responses. You can do this no matter how long you've been writing. It's to compare and see how much you've grown as a writer from the beginning to today.
I originally started writing in 1999 but it was really close to the end of the year so I'm going to use 2000 instead. There are six poems to be posted. It goes in a kind of order like this:
Oldest - Older - Old - New - Newer - Newest (or vice versa)
So for me, it will be a poem from 2000 (oldest), 2001 (older), 2002 (old), 2003 (new), 2004 (newer), and 2005 (newest). If you just started writing, cut it down in months. Whatever way you think will work for you. Even though I think my poetry from back when I was starting out lacks in almost every department, I'm posting anyways to show others where I started.
I will be going from oldest to newest because then you can really get to see the growth. I apologize in advance for the crummy early poetry. Rereading the early works, I didn't make much sense and I was starting off with rhyme a lot.
Goodbye -- written March 10, 2000
I came into this year with nothing,
I came out with everything
I put in all I could,
Maybe more than I should,
But if I traveled back in time,
I'd trade nothing of mine
This is my goodbye,
I hope you remember me
The starting I was shy
But now I can be
Anything because,
No one really cares
What I do or say,
Because they're safe there
Every day I looked forward to the time,
When I'd be in there feeling fine,
Even on my crummy days
You had your ways
It didn't really matter how I looked
It's really more; it mattered how I felt
About everything that went on,
But now these days are long gone
This is my last goodbye,
I hope you remember me
And following a sigh,
I think I can see
That I really learned something
I took out all the hard work
I've been saving
And used it for the day,
When I had to say goodbye.
An Endless Working Man -- written December ??, 2001
as you feel the drift of winter
creep across your skin
it maes you feel dry and tasteless
what are these places
..I've never been?
as you lift up your spirits
and climb away from the fears
what is left beside you
but the bucket of your tears?
as soon as it has started
it has come to a drastic end
and as lonely as you might be
you have no idea what it's like
..to have no friends
you wouldn't know the distance
you've never been there before
you will never know the emptiness
as I creep along the door
the heartless soul without reason
has traveled here by far
but what are the odds
that she has traveled here by car?
as you reach across the table
and press against the glass
remember who is watching
and might be the one
..to crash
as you smell the fear sitting there
and you don't know whose it belongs to
wrap it up and save it
they might come back for you
you wouldn't know the distance
you've never been there before
you will never know the emptiness
as I creep along the door
you ahve never seen my place
and continue on your living
please go on I say no more
cause you'll never see my face.
Been Afraid -- written December 17, 2002
Even I can't fight off the feeling when I enter the world of presentations
Though you thought I'd be more nervous
I've been afraid ... but not my whole life
I too have been stressed and uneasy at times
Certainty about something is rare
But I know I'll be OK
You act as if ... you are the cure, you can heal ... a broken heart
Though underneath you're just the same
As everyone else before you
I know you act this way ... to cover up
But once you're there ... your cover has been blown
We know you've been hiding behind a mask
But I know you'll be OK
Some special times ... you can always remember well
Though this time was not that special
Uneasy and painful I'm sure
In the end I know it'll be fine
Everyone has a chance, only one I know
There's a second hand for you ...
But I know we'll be OK
I've been afraid ... I've been denied ... I've been mocked
In the end I know it'll be fine
You've spent your whole life wanting us to owe you
Something in return you'll never get
There isn't anything to be scared of
The same people as before ...
But I know it'll be OK
You've been stressed ...
You've been denied ...
You've began to fade ...
But I know ...
You're still afraid
In the end
It'll be OK.
Qualify For Life On An Earth That Is So Unaccepting -- written June 5, 2003
to seem a bit confused
is to act without thinking:
a result
unbelievable sinners
love without a cause
or reason
love without faith
or a heart to hold
without hands of steel
- a bridge between two -
when crying alone
there is always a someone
who caused it
or who you
wish
would take it away
swallow everything you believe in
change your ways
to become part of society
so you will not be an outcast
who all want dead
you lay there wondering why you're alive
still confused
you are
what's life
worth living?
when you're not who you are inside
what is it that triggers you ... ?
Virgin Rain -- written November 7, 2004
blue
scattered moon
shedding its light into my bedroom window
silence
sweeping up the night
like november wine
evidence
collection
eyes unfocused on the ceiling
hoping
for a friend
collapsing
little devils dancing in sync with the beating
of the heart
left on the window ledge
and it rains
and it rains forever.
black
scorching
hungry tigers
licking their teeth
sharp
like blood - fire
setting eyes ablaze
with scarlet
with violets
and temperature
not rising
broken heat
heart
melting through the clothes
expensive, exquisite ... divine
delicious
like cherry pie
like raspberry wine
and synchronicity
maybe serenity
a dead bird sanctuary
evergreen
pretty purple flowers growing like fungi
blue
chip off the shoulder - erratic virginity
of a smouldering moon
sky
god
earth
not one to explain
and it slips
it slips right out of a child's fingers...
and it rains,
and it rains
and the rain - it never stops
it never stops to explain.
Misinterpreting Our Break-Up -- written November 7, 2005
To operate your happiness, you put batteries in flowers
Their stems stand up as you walk by and they smile
Their pretty white laced petals will never fall apart
You will never be amazed, quite like I am
How do you bring you to your knees?
Speak your name in tongues and tangle the heartstrings
How much would you pay for vintage wine?
And how are those visions of the future going?
Because my past is jotting little ellipsis's
To be continued for somebody else's life
Your tears are never melancholy messengers
You will never feel the things you once felt before
How pain can be such ignorance
To change a poor soul into a wealthy man
This paid for beauty cannot be bliss
To change your fate, you turn back the clocks
4am seems so useless when you're asleep
Pretend I never existed; erase all your memories of me
Throw out your arms and scream "I'm alive"
You say "I'm alive without you and I'm happy"
When I know you're nothing but loathing who you are today
How can you be a King when you can't see past the Queen?
You're living in an unwelcomed¹ world
And for all you know, I'm the gatekeeper
I will never let you out if you never wanted in
I would lie down and speak to myself as you wished me away
Told myself I don't need a friend
Just someone to run to
I originally started writing in 1999 but it was really close to the end of the year so I'm going to use 2000 instead. There are six poems to be posted. It goes in a kind of order like this:
Oldest - Older - Old - New - Newer - Newest (or vice versa)
So for me, it will be a poem from 2000 (oldest), 2001 (older), 2002 (old), 2003 (new), 2004 (newer), and 2005 (newest). If you just started writing, cut it down in months. Whatever way you think will work for you. Even though I think my poetry from back when I was starting out lacks in almost every department, I'm posting anyways to show others where I started.
I will be going from oldest to newest because then you can really get to see the growth. I apologize in advance for the crummy early poetry. Rereading the early works, I didn't make much sense and I was starting off with rhyme a lot.
OLDEST
Goodbye -- written March 10, 2000
I came into this year with nothing,
I came out with everything
I put in all I could,
Maybe more than I should,
But if I traveled back in time,
I'd trade nothing of mine
This is my goodbye,
I hope you remember me
The starting I was shy
But now I can be
Anything because,
No one really cares
What I do or say,
Because they're safe there
Every day I looked forward to the time,
When I'd be in there feeling fine,
Even on my crummy days
You had your ways
It didn't really matter how I looked
It's really more; it mattered how I felt
About everything that went on,
But now these days are long gone
This is my last goodbye,
I hope you remember me
And following a sigh,
I think I can see
That I really learned something
I took out all the hard work
I've been saving
And used it for the day,
When I had to say goodbye.
OLDER
An Endless Working Man -- written December ??, 2001
as you feel the drift of winter
creep across your skin
it maes you feel dry and tasteless
what are these places
..I've never been?
as you lift up your spirits
and climb away from the fears
what is left beside you
but the bucket of your tears?
as soon as it has started
it has come to a drastic end
and as lonely as you might be
you have no idea what it's like
..to have no friends
you wouldn't know the distance
you've never been there before
you will never know the emptiness
as I creep along the door
the heartless soul without reason
has traveled here by far
but what are the odds
that she has traveled here by car?
as you reach across the table
and press against the glass
remember who is watching
and might be the one
..to crash
as you smell the fear sitting there
and you don't know whose it belongs to
wrap it up and save it
they might come back for you
you wouldn't know the distance
you've never been there before
you will never know the emptiness
as I creep along the door
you ahve never seen my place
and continue on your living
please go on I say no more
cause you'll never see my face.
OLD
Been Afraid -- written December 17, 2002
Even I can't fight off the feeling when I enter the world of presentations
Though you thought I'd be more nervous
I've been afraid ... but not my whole life
I too have been stressed and uneasy at times
Certainty about something is rare
But I know I'll be OK
You act as if ... you are the cure, you can heal ... a broken heart
Though underneath you're just the same
As everyone else before you
I know you act this way ... to cover up
But once you're there ... your cover has been blown
We know you've been hiding behind a mask
But I know you'll be OK
Some special times ... you can always remember well
Though this time was not that special
Uneasy and painful I'm sure
In the end I know it'll be fine
Everyone has a chance, only one I know
There's a second hand for you ...
But I know we'll be OK
I've been afraid ... I've been denied ... I've been mocked
In the end I know it'll be fine
You've spent your whole life wanting us to owe you
Something in return you'll never get
There isn't anything to be scared of
The same people as before ...
But I know it'll be OK
You've been stressed ...
You've been denied ...
You've began to fade ...
But I know ...
You're still afraid
In the end
It'll be OK.
NEW
Qualify For Life On An Earth That Is So Unaccepting -- written June 5, 2003
to seem a bit confused
is to act without thinking:
a result
unbelievable sinners
love without a cause
or reason
love without faith
or a heart to hold
without hands of steel
- a bridge between two -
when crying alone
there is always a someone
who caused it
or who you
wish
would take it away
swallow everything you believe in
change your ways
to become part of society
so you will not be an outcast
who all want dead
you lay there wondering why you're alive
still confused
you are
what's life
worth living?
when you're not who you are inside
what is it that triggers you ... ?
NEWER
Virgin Rain -- written November 7, 2004
blue
scattered moon
shedding its light into my bedroom window
silence
sweeping up the night
like november wine
evidence
collection
eyes unfocused on the ceiling
hoping
for a friend
collapsing
little devils dancing in sync with the beating
of the heart
left on the window ledge
and it rains
and it rains forever.
black
scorching
hungry tigers
licking their teeth
sharp
like blood - fire
setting eyes ablaze
with scarlet
with violets
and temperature
not rising
broken heat
heart
melting through the clothes
expensive, exquisite ... divine
delicious
like cherry pie
like raspberry wine
and synchronicity
maybe serenity
a dead bird sanctuary
evergreen
pretty purple flowers growing like fungi
blue
chip off the shoulder - erratic virginity
of a smouldering moon
sky
god
earth
not one to explain
and it slips
it slips right out of a child's fingers...
and it rains,
and it rains
and the rain - it never stops
it never stops to explain.
NEWEST
Misinterpreting Our Break-Up -- written November 7, 2005
To operate your happiness, you put batteries in flowers
Their stems stand up as you walk by and they smile
Their pretty white laced petals will never fall apart
You will never be amazed, quite like I am
How do you bring you to your knees?
Speak your name in tongues and tangle the heartstrings
How much would you pay for vintage wine?
And how are those visions of the future going?
Because my past is jotting little ellipsis's
To be continued for somebody else's life
Your tears are never melancholy messengers
You will never feel the things you once felt before
How pain can be such ignorance
To change a poor soul into a wealthy man
This paid for beauty cannot be bliss
To change your fate, you turn back the clocks
4am seems so useless when you're asleep
Pretend I never existed; erase all your memories of me
Throw out your arms and scream "I'm alive"
You say "I'm alive without you and I'm happy"
When I know you're nothing but loathing who you are today
How can you be a King when you can't see past the Queen?
You're living in an unwelcomed¹ world
And for all you know, I'm the gatekeeper
I will never let you out if you never wanted in
I would lie down and speak to myself as you wished me away
Told myself I don't need a friend
Just someone to run to
