Book of POEM

Life is full of challenges. Economic difficulties, serious illnesses, family problems, and political unrest plague people on a daily basis. How a person faces each challenge that comes their way however, says much about their character, who they are on the inside. Some people draw strength and inspiration from the experiences of others. Many famous poets from both the past and present have helped and inspired people to face and overcome life's many challenges through the words of their poems. Such poems help people to see they are not alone in their struggles and that it is possible to overcome their problems. Time © Joe Massocco Tick tock...tick tock... Life is counting down on your internal clock. Memories that feel as if they occurred yesterday turn to flashes of moments that seem to fade away. People you once knew walk by without a clue. The times you once shared exist as if you were never there. Years fly...friends die... and you never know when you'll say your last goodbye. Oh, how I wish I could turn back time, spend it with loved ones and cherish what once was mine. Or to go back even more, being a kid in a candy store. How I miss the way I used to feel on Christmas day when Santa was real. But back to reality...back to today, family is scarce and memories continue to fade away. Tick tock...tick tock... How I wish I could control this clock. Although I am only 26 years of age, I feel as if (in reference to The Rolling Stones' great song) time is no longer on our side. My family gets smaller as the years pass. I no longer have any grandparents, and the rest of the family rarely talks or gets along. I'm sure each reader thinks about how they really wish they appreciated their youth more, but we can't stop time; we can only cherish it. ~~~~~~~~~~ Rise © Sagar Yadav I will rise After every fall. I will rise And stand tall. I will rise Over the wall. I will rise Above them all. Like the sun, Which never dies. Though sets every night, Every day it does rise. Like the ocean Whose tides Many times they are down, But invariably they rise. Like the trees, From seeds they arise, And heights great They rise and rise. After falling once, Twice and thrice, Again and again I will rise and rise. I will rise After every fall. After every fall I will rise. A poem about refusing to be discouraged and refusing to be put down. ~~~~~~~~~~ Sometimes © Lucy Petersen Sometimes I can't find the words That fill my messy head. Can't find the effort to smile Or get out of my silly old bed. The world just sometimes feels like I don't fit and don't belong, And even when I make the effort, A smile just doesn't last long. I could pretend with all my might That I am the happiest I can be. Surrounded by the world, it seems Lonelier I couldn't be. Not sure what may be the answer. Not sure if I'm really keen To spend another day here, Living this dreadful dream. But I must find some courage, Light a fire inside my heart And find a love for life again, And I know where I shall start. I'll walk among the forest And feel the crisp sea breeze And lay among the meadow And listen to all the bees. I'll figure out the mayhem And gaze at all the stars And dance at every sunset With a smile inside my heart A poem about the struggles of depression and finding a way to move on and smile again. ~~~~~~~~~~ Find Your Drive © Emma J. Swain Sometimes you just have to push yourself just to get out of bed. You stay up 'til 2am just wishing you were dead. You ask yourself, "Why can't it be someone else instead?" You get tired of all the thoughts in your head. You lose sight of who you want to be. You blame yourself, screaming, "Why am I me?" You wish you could just be free. Open your eyes and you'll see That life is what you make it, and sometimes it's hard. We get battered and bruised, mistreated and scared. We forget what's important. We forget our drive. We all need a focus point, A reason to survive. Find your passion. Find your drive. Find something that makes you fight, And you will survive. When you find your passion, you find a reason to live. A reason to keep persevering, to keep going forward and fighting and surviving. ~~~~~~~~~~ Carefree © Nordica D Lindgren Young, carefree, innocent, You sing, laugh and dance, Taking in all Gods' glory At every single chance. Grown up, You ignore the wonders That you cherished as a child. Gone is the carefree, honesty and mild. You walk around with blinders on, Into the race of money and greed. Not caring who gets hurt Just to fulfill your selfish needs. Stepping over the line of morals To have wealth and material things. Ignoring all God's gifts Like the first rain in Spring. Keep that little child inside! Hold her close to your heart. We're only here for a brief time, Then with this world we must part. For a moment each day it's OK to get silly, To laugh and dance. Take in all God's glory At every single chance. I wrote this poem for my two brothers who were taken from me at the height of their lives. We never know when we will be called home....so just take a moment to see the beauty that is around us. ~~~~~~~~~~ Inner Peace © Joshua Fraser The wind whistles past my ears. Closing my eyes, I lose all my fears. The waves crash into the rocks. Out here there is no time on my clock. The serenity I feel here just soothes my mind. A peaceful day so hard to find. The breeze just calms my soul. Helps me think about what is my life's goal. I then look out over the ocean, And it feels like my life has lost its commotion. The sun sets down over the clouds. But the orange glow around makes me proud. As the night draws near. I feel like where I need to be is here. The soothing nature this afternoon brings Just feels like such a beautiful thing. I sit and wonder where life will go, But right now all I want is for time to slow. To enjoy this moment and feel free, To clear my mind and find some glee. It's days like these I truly treasure. Amazing nights and beautiful weather. It may not seem like much. But it's moments like these I want to clutch. For once I feel like life is bliss. So many hard days in which my happiness was missed. I could get lost listening to the waves. Listening to the birds and watching how the clouds behave. I could close my eyes and fade into the night. The tranquility I feel helps me win the fight. As the waves keep crashing into the rocks, I feel the happiness in my heart become unlocked. The day is drawing to a close. The peacefulness I feel right now I'll only know. Right now my mind is finally clear. It's time to go as the night draws near. I was sitting at the beach, fishing. After having a few mental breakdowns during the week before, it was the first time I felt some peace. ~~~~~~~~~~ Choices © Desiree Kimbrue I see people laughing and joking all around, but on my face there is no smile; instead there is a frown. I never laugh anymore; instead I cry, and I never stop to ask myself, "Why?" I heard we live and die by the choices we make, and there's only so much a person can take. So just remember life goes on, and it hurts when someone leaves and is gone. So always remember, keep your head up, because another door is opened every time one is shut. This poem is about a girl losing her father, and she has trouble moving on. She tries her hardest to move on. ~~~~~~~~~~ Still Here By Langston Hughes I been scarred and battered. My hopes the wind done scattered. Snow has friz me, Sun has baked me, Looks like between 'em they done Tried to make me Stop laughin', stop lovin', stop livin'-- But I don't care! I'm still here! Langston Hughes (1902-1967) had a lonely childhood, but he was raised by his grandmother who had a love of literature, so Hughes turned to books during those lonely years. This poem shows that even through the hardships of life, it’s possible to keep pushing forward. In this poem, Langston Hughes does not follow the rules of grammar, but that adds to the frazzled feel of the poem’s content. ~~~~~~~~~~ Lost Innocence © Michaela Remmel Wind whistling, Snow glistening, We try not to, But we're all listening. Loud screams, Bad dreams, It's very far, But close it seems. Sad day, Lost our way, All we can do Is simply pray. Innocence gone, Life no longer long. We may not know, But we're all doing wrong. Joy lost, The h*******t. We look to see Hearts covered in frost. Wars fought, Sins taught, Making mistakes, Hoping not to be caught. Not taking blame, Pushing for fame. As advanced as we are, We're still all untamed. Too much pride, Needing a guide. We will deny it, But behind lies we hide. Hurting others, Betraying brothers. Many forgetting To appreciate mothers. Lies are fed, Filling heart and head. Through all of these years, Innocent blood has been shed. Children abandoned, Lonely and stranded. We're all wasting the life That we have been handed. Taking from the poor, We're loving no more. Fight to be free, End up starting a war. People starting fights, No longer enjoying the sights, While mere mortals are taking Our God given rights. Soldiers killed, Void can't be filled, Pay close attention, For pure souls have been tilled. Need to find peace, Work together like geese, But greatest of all, The hate needs to cease. Humans have wronged, and I have noticed. You must imagine how strange it feels to a 14-year-old girl having to hear of all this hatred in school and on television. Unlike many teens, I'm using my talents to explain how I view the world. This took me a while to write and I had many mistakes to fix before I was comfortable enough to put it online. I hope that everyone who reads it can see a glimpse of the world from my perspective. Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy. ~~~~~~~~~~ The Music Of The Night © Graham Craven When demons pick at my troubled mind And the passage to sleep becomes harder to find, I close my eyes, turn out the light And listen to the music of the night. First there's the silence, looming and menacing, The audience lies waiting, patiently listening. My heart is racing; it's pounding and deafening. The taste of tension is sour and sickening. Outside the wind blows a sweet, sad refrain That plays on repeat again and again. It builds to a crescendo, stormy and wild Until it blows over and breathes like a child. The rhythm of the night train's clickety-clack, 'The Moonlight Sonata' for insomniacs. It's a song of love and another heart broken When so much is said without a single word spoken. A dripping tap becomes a cacophony, The percussion in my moonlight symphony. Every drip...drip...drop performed in the overture Is a well-rehearsed line in my sleepless t*****e. The hymns of miners lost in the gloom Are sang by angels as they circle my room. Voices that flicker like light from a flame Are swallowed by the coal-black from which they came. Birdsong at dawn, a heavenly choir, Brings me to rest and my eyes start to tire. While sunlight chases my demons away, I fall asleep gently to the sounds of the Day. As a poor sleeper, I often lie awake and listen to the sounds of a quiet house. Sometimes it's frightening; other times it's comforting, but it is always entertaining. ~~~~~~~~~~ The Mask © Charlene Valladares I look in the mirror at the beginning of each day, and ask myself what mask should I place on my face today. No not the sad one it's too revealing, I don't want to show the world my true feelings. For the mask that you can see camouflages the true me. It's my public face that I remove each night, when I bare my soul the mirrors light. It's the one meant for only my eyes to see it speaks of all my history. It tells of my youth and girlish ways, my adolescents and my young woman's dreams. It tells of good times of which I had my share of love lost and pain so hard to bear. So I choose my mask so carefully, to cover the face that was given to me, the one that was meant for only my eyes to see. I wrote this poem back in 1997, I just came across it while going through some papers. I hope that you enjoy it. ~~~~~~~~~~ Short Life Summary © Hgr Life and death; without one there cannot be the other. For some, it's short, but they live it like no other. For most, it's long, and to be happy they don't ever bother. Life cannot be lived without the love of others. The second we are born is the second we begin to die. As a child, we live life and don't worry why. As we grow, it gets tougher and we don't want to try. Like everything else, it will end and we'll have to say goodbye. Whether it's twenty years or one hundred-twenty, Live it with a purpose to be greater than many. Most likely life will be long; So live it with the future in mind Because if you act in the moment life is never kind. I began writing poetry not too long ago. I like to sit and think and write about things that come to my mind. It's not something I'm always doing in my spare time because high school is my main thing at the moment. I hope you enjoy it, and please tell me what you think. ~~~~~~~~~~ I'm My Own Best Friend © Zorian Alexis I'm good enough; I don't care what you say. I'm proud of what I accomplished today. Maybe I didn't win Or even place, But I tried really hard And finished the race. I set a personal best, Which makes me feel good. I did much better Than I thought I could. Why do you criticize And try to make me feel small? Does it make you feel better When I stumble and fall? Well, I'm here to tell you That I won't let your words hurt. Because when I fall, I'll just pick myself up from the dirt. And I'll keep on fighting Until the end, With a cheerleader in my corner, Because I'm my own best friend. So unless you have something Positive to say, I suggest you keep your mouth shut And just go away. Because my best friend and I Are about to celebrate; And we can do without you Or your small-minded hate. In this age of social media, so many people allow themselves to be defined by the opinions of others. If they don't get a "like," they feel wounded. This poem is about letting your own beliefs and opinions define who you are. Don't let the criticism of others define you. Define your own goals and be happy with your own successes. Don't worry about what others do or say. ~~~~~~~~~~ My Life © Taylor Beckham All of my life I was living in a lie. It seems that my childhood has flown right by. My daddy walked out, and I had nowhere to cry. I had to stay strong so my spirit wouldn't die. Now I've grown up too fast trying to make this life last. I push to move forward, but I'm stuck in my past. Tell me, what's a girl to do? Forget about it through and through? That's not something I can do. What's done is done, Ain't that the truth? I was a little girl when I was adopted by my dad. My biological father was in prison. When I was 9 or 10, my adopted father left us as well. The pain I felt was excruciating. Watching my mom hurt for so long hurt me as well. My mom worked all the time, so I had to step up and take care of things while she was gone. I cleaned the house, cooked, and watched my baby brother so she could make enough money for us to live on while still finding time to keep my grades up. I felt the LOVE from my "dad" was a LIE! ~~~~~~~~~~ To Live And To Love © Elizabeth McCrorie We were put on this planet To live and to love. To cherish the ones in our lives And never let them get hurt. Safety is a priority, But danger is an outcome. Why is it that we work so very hard For something that will still happen In the end? Should we care about our lives Or sit and waste it away? "It doesn't matter, we're all going to die someday!" These words fill our heads With sad confusion. There's no end. We get lost with the love We want to have. There is no conclusion to all This pain. But an answer that comes Just the same. The negative side seems to win, But the positive side seems to Glow. We are who we choose to be, So be careful who you choose. Love everyday like there is no Tomorrow, And give to others the joy of life So no one will hurt. Love, and love will love you back. Open your arms to life, And life will hug you back! Don't be scared! Life is still a one time thing! We were put on this planet to live and to love. Open your arms to life, and life will hug you back. This is one of my very first poems. I believe I was 12 when I wrote this poem!