#2020 Poetry

[projectcatharsis]

Bootstraps 10/26/2020

So it was always just about the money, wasn’t it?

It must be lonely thinking that the love you give is the same you receive: expected and burdened with price.

Because, it’s gotta be about money, right?

So you push and prod and you make sure everyone knows how great you’ve done.

But you weren’t born of wealth.

No.

No one is from this family.

So you push and you prod at your kids to do as you did.

Because it’s about the bottomline, right?

The status you’ve acquired.

They can’t be less than what you’ve made them up to be—

To take a step back down—

To those steps back to poverty you grew up in—

That would be an insult—

A very embarrassment to your name.

So you push and you prod and fixate on an image of perfection and hide behind a false religion.

You scoff at others with mental illness while shaming your own children for having the same issues you refuse to acknowledge—

Passing off a facade of perfection to stroke an ego so fragile it’s easy to see it’s nothing but broken pieces held together with passive-aggressive platitudes, feigning interest only to spread gossip and misinformation for your own sick enjoyment.

Expecting love as some form of payment,

Wondering why your so lonely on holidays,

When everyone else already knows the answer.

Sometimes you have to clean the mirror to see your reflection. Other times, you have to wash the bullshit off your face. Right now, I’m seeing a lot of bullshit.

And sometimes you’ve got to remember, you can’t buy your way into Heaven either. God and the white Jesus you admire of so much, are pretty ashamed of the Christian you pretend to be.

So I’ll ask you. Why’s it always about the money? Because it seems pretty fucking lonely to me.

#bootstraps #10/26/2020 #catharsis #project catharsis #October poetry #poem #writing #my writing #2020 poetry

[garadinervi]

Refaat Alareer, If I must die, written in 2011, published online on November 1, 2023

If I must die, you must live to tell my story to sell my things to buy a piece of cloth and some strings, (make it white with a long tail) so that a child, somewhere in Gaza while looking heaven in the eye awaiting his dad who left in a blaze— and bid no one farewell not even to his flesh not even to himself— sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above and thinks for a moment an angel is there bringing back love If I must die let it bring hope let it be a tale

(transcript by the American Friends Service Committee)

#poetry #refaat alareer #american friends service committee #afsc #2010s #2020s

[nahlables]

A Time to be Alive

A Time to be Alive

A time everyone hates: Taking a breath I’m known for disappearing I collect myself as if every life decision takes a piece of me and is tossed into the forest Nobody wants to go into the forest with me and collect those crumbs It’s a dark and scary place to be in for a non signifanct experience Unfortunately, I always have to go without the fragments of myself I am a hollow being The…

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#2020 poetry #2022 #hiatus #life #life poetry #poem #poetry community #sad #state of the world

[bjgaulton]

by Blair Gaulton

Fueling Up Fueling up on coffee; to stop feeling like living toffee. (C)BJG(Blair Gaulton)Sept 2020

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#2020 #2020 Poetry #Blair Gaulton #Blair Gaulton Poetry #Poems #Poetry #Poetry Sept 2020 #The Dishevelled Drum

[amiablesummer]

everything i want to say / i swallow

Emma, 2020 // Wonderwall, Oasis // Neptune, Sleeping at Last // I Don’t Know How to Love Him, Jesus Christ Superstar // Silence by Tomasa Martin// @tturing // Cinnamon Girl, Lana del Rey // Lyric Hunter, “the Garden” in Swallower

#web weaving #i just have a thing for the unspoken okay #love #emma 2020 #oasis #sleeping at last #jesus christ superstar #poetry #lana del rey #love as the unspoken #quotes #parallels #dark academia #light academia #mine #weavings<3

[flowersandfashion]

Platonic Love

requested by anon

#anon's message said: #“i love my best friend more than anyone. i love her so much that the lines blur. i don't know what's platonic and what's romantic anymore." #and ngl bestie that doesn't sound super platonic #so I skewed this towards 'romantic friendship' territory #sorry #not sorry #and I'm not apologising for the anne/diana inclusion. it is warranted in this context #anne with an e #taylor swift #lady bird #lady bird 2017 #boygenius #emma #emma 2020 #we were girls together #web weaving #web weave #poetry #art #films #mood board #moodboard #on friendship #friendship #girlhood

[lokilysolbitch]

DO WHAT YOU CAN AND DONT BE A DICK ON THE INTERNET

i was writing a post about how it's unhelpful to shame average people for not meeting your standards of activism and calling them evil and things like that bc shame is not a reliable motivator and you don't know these people blah blah blah. and then i ended up writing this so here u go:

like. let's imagine you're an average guy. you work a job under a shitty manager and you still can't pay rent and afford groceries at the same time. you have untreated physical and mental illness and/or trauma. you don't have energy to cook a full meal. one of the microwave foods you like is being recalled. lead or e. coli or something. you can't remember when you last had water. you are too tired to clean the mold and algae off the corners of your brita. and who knows what is in the tap water.

a new episode of your favorite show just came out. you post about it. someone comments or makes a video about you and several others who are not posting about [serious issue]. saying you are heartless and inhuman. and you've heard about [serious issue] on a site or from someone who is supposed to be the most trustworthy on this topic. this random person on the internet is telling you things that don't match up to that. they're telling you that you should've had researched more. that not knowing enough is not an excuse. there is mold in your brita filter.

the video about you has thousands of comments. they're saying they think you should know what it's like to experience [serious issue]. then maybe you would take it seriously. you have the privilege to post about your favorite show. you are being lazy. these people are like piranhas. your dinner has e. coli or something. you have to clean your brita.

you want to research [serious issue]. you care about people. you started to but you are hearing different stories. one of your sources is from the same internet the random person came from. you thought you weren't supposed to trust the internet? another source can't even stand up against itself. that one is supposed to be trustworthy.

you see someone getting torn apart for posting misinformation. comments say they should have done their research. these people are like piranhas.

now you're seeing it. raw footage. you need a break and your notifications are flooded. why haven't you posted about this yet??? it's the least you could do. are you lazy??? don't you care??? these people are like piranhas. you still need to clean the brita.

no more internet. you need to clean the brita. sponge, soap. tap water. thin green and black streaks coming off the corners of the pitcher. all done. well now the sponge has mold on it. new sponge. your brita filter is getting old. new filter. do you even deserve a new filter? do you deserve fresh water? whatever, just refill it. tap water. waiting. tap water. waiting. tap water, fridge. check your phone.

brita filters are getting recalled.

lead or e. coli or something.

#ohio #i still think about you #this exact situation hasn't happened to me #it's partly based off my experience and partly off of others #and britas have not been recalled to my knowledge but i do know they're like #not a great or amazingly effective brand #i hear they are very bare bones #like they're alright #don't worry about lead in ur brita is what i'm saying #handmadeorganicpost #art #?? #writing #prose #poetry #writer #this is not about one situation #i've seen this pattern since 2020 at the earliest

[haveyouheardthisband]

#Abstract Hip Hop #Anti-Folk #West Coast Hip Hop #Spoken Word #Slam Poetry #Experimental Hip Hop #2010s #2020s #USA #poll #Spotify

[projectcatharsis]

My Effigy to You 06/25/2020

This is my effigy to you.

Sunken.

Downtrodden.

Defeated.

Nothing but a sad man,

Pretending to a leader most capable and wise.

But always the cracks are showing.

To the twist of the knots,

From the looks and the stares,

We don’t have to wonder.

This husk of what you use to be or what you could have been.

A concept we can only see hope in,

And yet you writhe from that light,

Hiding from all that could see the good in your soul,

The wit in your brain,

And love in your heart.

You play pretend that these aren’t your true attributes,

And hide in that husk of an excuse of a man.

One day I hope you may be brave,

and embrace those most vulnerable parts of you.

#my effigy to you #06/25/2020 #catharsis #project catharsis #my work #my writing #poem #June poerty #writing #feelings #2020 poetry

[garadinervi]

A Reading for the Edward Said Libraries in Gaza, with Mosab Abu Toha & Friends, Brookline Booksmith, live streaming on YouTube, January 6, 2024, 12PM ET

«Brookline Booksmith invites you, with writer and library founder Mosab Abu Toha (Things You May Find Hidden In My Ear), to a virtual reading in support of the Edward Said Libraries in Gaza. Readers are planned to include Mosab Abu Toha with Kaveh Akbar, Rabih Alameddine, Ammiel Alcalay, Hala Alyan, Peter Balakian, Fatima Bhutto, Leila Farsakh, Nick Flynn, Ru Freeman, Carolyn Forché, Damian Gorman, Fanny Howe, Ha Jin, Canisia Lubrin, Askold Melnyczuk, Eileen Myles, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Shuchi Saraswat, and Lloyd Schwartz.»

Support the Edward Said Public Libraries in Palestine Three branches of the Edward Said Public Library (ESPL) are now open in Palestine—two in Gaza and one in Silwan, East Jerusalem. The libraries currently house more than 5,000 books in Arabic and English, regularly hold workshops for writers and teachers, conduct English language classes, art and music education, literacy activities, and much more. – The Middle East Children’s Alliance

#poetry #reading #library #edward said public library #edward said public libraries #mosab abu toha #brookline booksmith #middle east children's alliance #2020s

[thegraininessofitall]

“What about Tolya? Aren't you worried about how he'll find us now?” “Unless he starts reciting epic poetry to Zoya, he'll be fine.”

Lewis Tan as Tolya Yul-Bataar & Sujaya Dasgupta as Zoya Nazyalensky

Shadow and Bone season 2 (2023 ) | E05

#lewis tan #sujaya dasgupta #shadow and bone #season 2 #sabedit #tvgifs #tvedit #showgifs #showedit #2020s #me myself and gifs #well now they have to include a scene of tolya reciting epic poetry to zoya if the show gets a third season #i'm sorry i don't make the rules #if it's mentioned it must be foreshadowing #is what i like to tell myself #apparently these two are not a pairing i should be absolutely obsessed with yet here i am

[lifeinpoetry]

May we eat the knowledge of suffering, may we eat the bitter waste of the false food we have fed others. May we eat it in pain, and in time.

— Sharon Olds, from "May 14, 2020," Balladz

#quote #sharon olds #poetry #balladz #out of my collection #May 14 2020

[zomerszee]

on mourning an ending that isn’t an ending

gang gang schiele, hyukoh / reddit user fridge_escaped on determinism vs free will / tenet, christopher nolan / margaret atwood / war of the foxes, richard siken / tumblr user fairycosmos / angels in america, tony kushner / champion, marie lu

#tenet #tenet 2020 #christopher nolan #the protagonist #protagoneil #neil my beloved #web weave #webweaving #like idk if this makes sense or if anyone cares but i just watched this movie and it made me want to DIE #time travel #words #poetry #this is my first web weave AND post ever so be nice #literally ive been obsessed with web weaving for years and now i finally found something worth making one for god bless #mine #web weaving

[stillflight]

Something happened to me today. I looked at the sequoias tearing up the sky and thought aren’t you my cousins how-many-times removed, crawled from the same sea? Something grand. Something very small. I looked at the stars putting the sky back together and thought, aren’t I part of that, too? Something interconnections. Nothing separations. באַרוך האַם אַנכנו, גאַנאַנים האַ׳אָלאַם, who fell in step with the rhythm and made it a whole new dance. If there is a god, he’s probably jealous.

#creative #one of my favorite poems I've ever written #at the time at least... #Yiddish-Hebrew translation: baruch ham achnu‚ gananim ha'olam (blessed are we‚ gardeners of the universe!) #I love spelling Hebrew words the Yiddish way I love Bundism #I wrote this in 2020 fresh after an obsession with the game Everything and it shows #jewish tag #jewish poetry

[welcometogrouchland]

Caleb and Evelyn are hanging out in gravesfield one day (after she reveals herself as a witch to him. There's no concrete timeline but let's just say this is still a year/few years before Caleb flees the human realm, but he's been to the demon realm before on monster of the week style adventures w/ eve) when Caleb suddenly has A Responsibility to attend to w/ Philip (some kind of town meeting? Idk).

Evelyn asks to tag along in disguise but Caleb sadly tells her "sorry but this is really only a thing men do around here :( sad u can't come tho" and evelyns like no prob babe lol and just illusions herself a mustache and pants + ties her hair up and is like boom. Boy mode. And starts dragging Caleb by the hand to whatever big boy puritan conference he has to attend meanwhile Caleb is completely silent bc his inner monologue is just "WHY AM I STILL ATTRACTED TO HER. WHY IS SHE HOT. DO I LIKE MEN???"

Anyway that's how Caleb found out he was bi and after a quick (but very intense, he was a 1600s christian after all) crisis Evelyn takes him to the ye olde gay club

#ramblings of a lunatic #the owl house #toh #caleb wittebane #evelyn clawthorne #revising for my poetry test and. listen #I'm not gonna assign my blorbos to 17th century metaphysical poetry. I'm not gonna do that #but i did doodle caleb and evelyn on a lot of my annotations (bc. okay in all fairness they're either ye olde love poems- #-or ye olde poems about salvation guilt faith and a fear of death and damnation. eithet way it's befitting alright?) #and now I'm thinking about them again #going to the ye olde gay club #it's probably just a tavern with some bards fuckin it up to medieval hips don't lie #(you guys remember medieval music covers in like 2020??? the first big weird music trend before sea shanties?? sm fun)

[felixthepoet]

Holocene, Peach Mag, 2020

#my poetry #peach mag #felix lecocq #this is an oldie but a goodie imo #wrote this one my junior year of college haha #poems #EDIT: i forgot that this technically was published in 2021 but it was shortlisted for peach gold in 2020. lol. oh well #mine