r/OCPoetry Mar 09 '22

Welcome to OCP -- PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

503 Upvotes

TL;DR You need to give feedback on two other poems before you can share your own poem, and then put links to that feedback in your post. If you don't know how to give feedback, read the guide. Reusing feedback links will result in a ban.

Heyo, welcome to OCpoetry. (That’s “original content” if you don’t know). This is a place for sharing and getting feedback on your own poems. We are the sister subreddit of r/Poetry, which is for sharing and discussing published poetry. Our goal is to create a place where anyone can learn to become a better creative writer, kind of like a free online writer's workshop.

This post is an orientation to the subreddit. If you’re new, read this before sharing your work. If you’re less new, then read this anyways, as it has a few changes to how we've done things in the past. If you’ve still got questions after reading this post, please send a modmail. There are some FAQs at the end of this post which will be updated as we go. We also have a huge and very disorganized wiki containing all of our resources, essays on how to write poetry and historic writing prompts, I recommend you check it out.

So, here’s basically how it works:

This subreddit works on a pay-it-forward system. If you want to share a poem, you need to give feedback to two others from this subreddit. This ensures that everyone gets some readers and hears some response, rather than just shouting their verses into the void. If you don’t think you’re up to writing feedback for others just yet, we recommend you check out r/Justpoetry or r/Poems, where there are no requirements for sharing your work.

1. All posts must include two links to recent feedback.

Every post must contain two unique links to your comments where you have provided feedback on this subreddit within the past two weeks. Feedback links cannot be reused for multiple post or reposts of old poems. All posts without feedback links will be removed, without notice by our subreddit robot so make sure they are included in your initial post -- you cannot post with the intent to add them later.

But, how do I get the links to my feedback comments?

That kind of depends on what platform you're on. If you're on desktop or on a third-party mobile app, there should be a 'share' or 'permalink' link underneath every comment on Reddit. Clicking on that should give you a unique URL to your comment. Just copy + paste that into the body of your post.

If you're on the official Reddit app, you'll have to click 'share' on the comment and choose the 'Copy URL' option, paste that into your notes with the body of your poem. Then copy and paste the entire thing into a new post on the Reddit app.

2. At least one of your comments should be on a poem that has received no other comments.

This ensures that everyone has a chance to get a few reads and hopefully some decent feedback. If for whatever reason you can’t find any lonely poems, then comment on the poem that seems to have received the least amount of feedback. The easiest way to do this is to sort posts by new.

3. Feedback must be high-effort.

High-effort means different things to different people. It does not mean “super long” or “expert quality”. But it does mean doing more than the bare minimum.

You don't have to complement, criticize, or try to figure out the "deeper meaning". You should try to notice your own reactions and explain them as best as you can. If you want to explain your interpretation or summary of the piece, you can and this is often helpful to the writer. If the poem made you laugh or cry, feel bored, confused or nostalgic — say so, and then explain why you think it did. A good rule of thumb is that each of your feedback comments should be at least a short paragraph.

We understand that giving other writers feedback on their creative work can feel a bit artificial or uncomfortable, if you’ve never done it before. That’s why we’ve written a feedback guide for beginners. There are more feedback guides linked in the FAQ below. You should also read some of the other feedback comments around the sub to get a feel for what works for others. Poems that link to low-effort feedback, and low-effort comments themselves, will be removed at mod discretion, or if you report it to us. However, we’re less interested in policing you and more interested in helping you grow as readers and writers. We are more likely to ask you follow-up questions, than remove your work entirely. The mods skulk the comments sections and will ask follow-up questions on comments that seem a little thin, and please answer those questions if you get any.

4. Please Be Kind.

Treat each other with kindness and respect. The mods have an incredibly strict definition for each of these concepts. We will proactively remove comments and poems and ban users that make others feel unwelcome or unsafe. Your right to creative expression does not extend to poetry that promotes misogyny, homo/trans/queerphobia, racism, etc. If your poetry’s especially violent or covers sensitive subjects, please label it with the NSFW tag or a content warning in the title. Harsh criticism is allowed -- encouraged, really -- as long as you’re being harsh on the poem, not the person. Remember that the narrator (or the “speaker”) of the poem is not necessarily the author.

5. Audio, video, and image poems are allowed; but the text of the poem must be included in the body of the post.

This is so that people can still enjoy your poem if they're unable to view or listen to your link for whatever reason.

6. You may include a link to your poetry blog at the end of your post.

Or your instagram, or your personal creative project, or your soundcloud, or your Etsy page. As long as it's poetry-adjacent that's cool with us. Just don't get spammy.

Attempting to dodge any of these rules, or abuse directed towards moderators enforcing these rules, will earn you an immediate ban.

FAQs

What do the Poem & Workshop flairs do?

They simply allow you to show your intentions and expectations for the piece you are posting. The Poem flair is for sharing a piece, with the expectation of receiving mostly surface-level feedback and general advice. The Workshop flair is for a piece that you really want to work on, something you want to pick apart and analyse. It signals that you are open to discussing the piece, and that you invite strong critique.

How do I format my poetry on Reddit?

The following is advice for formatting in Markdown. Two spaces at the end of a line gives you a line break.
Type two spaces at the end of a line, then hit enter twice for a stanza break.

Three dashes "___" will give you a line through the post.


Type two spaces to create an empty line,

so you can get lines

that look like this.

 Four spaces before each line will allow you 
to format however you like, this is 'code block' 
       in the Fancy Pants editor. 

one asterisk before and after a piece of text will give you italics, two asterisks for bold.

Can I print one of these poems out/use it on my instagram with my art/put it in my book?

Ask the author. Part of what makes this space a useful workshop space is that everyone feels safe to share their stuff; if people start using poetry without the author's permission, or god forbid, trying to pass off another artist's work as their own, the userbase of this sub will feel less safe to do so. Please, ask the author, and then do what they say.

I'm thinking about trying to get my poem published somewhere. What should I do?

The standard thing is to find a literary journal. There are a zillion literary journals and magazines all over the world. They have different themes, tastes, styles, audiences, readerships, levels of prestige. Some charge fees for submission, some do not, some will pay you if you get accepted, some don't, some will give you feedback, some won't let you know anything for months. So first you'll want to pick a few of your poems, get some feedback from some trusted readers (or from here, of course) and then start looking for a journal that's a good home for your work. Most lit journals have submissions periods where they accept all the work for their next issue, and then sift through everything they get.

You will probably get a lot of rejections. This is normal. It's kind of a numbers game. You can submit the same poem to multiple journals as long as the journal says something like "simultaneous submissions are allowed". If you do get accepted, congrats! Most journals want 'first publication rights' or 'first serial rights' or something similar, so that means you'll have to tell all the other journals you submitted that poem to that you've been published elsewhere. (For that reason we strongly recommend deleting your poem from reddit if you want to submit it to a journal -- technically and legally speaking, writing a post on reddit is still considered publishing your work, and reddit owns all the text on the site.)

Here are some places to get you started looking for journals:

Duotrope and Submittable are two apps that help you search for journals, and help you track what poems you've submitted to which places. Submittable is free, Duotrope is not. They are GREAT.

Poets & Writers has a list of lit journals, small presses, and writing contests. This is a great place to start. They also have a newsletter listing all the presses and journals going into their submissions period.

I'd also check out r/literarycontests, if you fancy yourself as a prize winning poet.

A few poetry podcasts

I thought I might include a few podcasts that helped me learn a little more about the history and craft of poetry, as well as find some good poets to read. All of these are available on Spotify, as well as many other platforms.

The New Yorker Poetry Podcast

A poet reading and discussing a poem from the New Yorker archives, as well as one of their own pieces. A great place to find good poetry and hear some discussion of craft. The earlier episodes are with Paul Muldoon, who is delightful.

The Faber Poetry Podcast

Two poets read and discuss their work, with plenty of talk about craft. As well as lots of poems sent in from authors across the world. They really get shoulder-deep into it, which is always wonderful to hear.

In Our Time

A group of experts are brought together to discuss a subject over forty-five minutes. This isn’t strictly a poetry podcast, but there are hundreds of episodes on poets and poems of the past. I highly recommend the episode on The Green Knight with Simon Armitage.

Homemade projects and useful links to our Wiki

The best of OCP

Collections of work from OCP, selected from the top karma earners of that year.

Year 1-3
Year 4 Year 5
Year 6

We/R/Poetry

A homemade journal created by the users and moderators of OCP.

Volume one
Volume two

Guides on the craft from our Wiki

Created by moderators of OCP through the years.

Poetry Primer
Bad Poetry
The Body Poetic
Poetry Hacks
A Brief History of Rhyme


r/OCPoetry 2h ago

Feedback Please Inner child shine

3 Upvotes

She awakens to the silence she is allowed to exist

The world is boisterous, clumsy and incomplete

A laughing mountain, her voice like a song 

humming the melodies, words of creation

She opens herself from the chest first

Like a present to the world

Unguarded and vulnerable, heart exposed

Feeling the absolute temperatures of emotion

Shunned by that radiant hope

That turned the inner child sour

Now it seeks the sun

To see to sweeten and shine

Slow healing of the child within

Blessings of light surround it

Still sour but bright like a kumquat

Dip them in manuka honey

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1v3mbik/comment/oz4keo6/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1v3le9w/comment/oz4lxz1/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button


r/OCPoetry 3h ago

Feedback Please shapeshifter

3 Upvotes

i’m no stranger to the engine roar

that scores my bolting thoughts.

my hands wringing in my lap,

too damp to grip my seat,

i can only stare ahead.

the scenery, distant and blear

it pulls me into a trance

and when it floods my peripheral,

i’ve crossed the line of no return.

i befriend the flora and fauna

the solar might, the crops’ order

how people eat and work and play

i project my life into theirs,

a shapeshifter stumbling upon kin

i am one with this territory

i am a citizen of this town

the steering wheel jolts away

forsaking my precious town!

the scenery morphs into another

my vision blurs, my sight shifting

into another distant and blear view

i find myself alien again

the whirling engine deafening my thoughts,

i can only stare ahead.

-

this is my first poem in 4 years, so i'm aware it's not that great. that being said, don't hesitate to give me some feedback, it'd really help me out :D

-

1 / 2


r/OCPoetry 1h ago

Feedback Please Self-Harm

Upvotes

Love is self-harm.

You cut yourself.
You torment yourself.
You agonise yourself.
You cut people.
You cut your desires.
You keep on cutting.

Until one day,
there is nothing left to cut.

Then you realise
you cut your friends,
their plans,
your own self,
your own interests.

For whom?

Did I ever tell you…

Love is self-harm.

Not because it asks you to bleed,
but because it convinces you
that bleeding is another way of loving.

You don’t notice the wounds
until everyone else has left
and you’re the only one
still holding the knife.

Love is self-harm.

By the time you put the knife down,
there is nothing left
that remembers
who you were
before you started cutting.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/QolYiuTqOJ

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/93ui9c6E2m


r/OCPoetry 4h ago

Feedback Please A sleepless dream

3 Upvotes

I still sleep with my feet angled
To the middle of the bed
In hopes to feel yours

And when I’m half asleep
Half living
Half hearted beating
I swear I felt them!

But with every sunlight comes
A Dark reminder-
It’s just a dream
A sleepless dream
Forever desired
Internally incomplete

A real, damm dream
The kind you can never forget
A story to tell your kids.
Please, tell your kids
Of a dream that now, will forever
Be
Just a dream

Held captive in a mind’s deepest corner
Prying to get out
Forced to stay within
Waiting to be again
Like a ghost fighting to breathe
Without the lungs he was given

Until that day comes
I sit here

And just keep

———————————

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/3pCKt5DHgo

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/WQOdYoxr99


r/OCPoetry 2h ago

Poetry Contest Burried Alive

2 Upvotes

One of the hardest funerals a person will ever attend is the burial of someone who is still alive.

We bury them deep within our hearts not the person as they truly are, but the image of them that once existed in our minds, an image slain by the harsh realities of human nature. We imagined someone full of innocence, only for that innocence to be wounded by the faults committed by their own hands.

God sends us lessons through our trials with others. And as much as I would love to preserve the image of that innocent person within my heart, perhaps it is better to set it free like a dove disappearing into a cloudy skyand never look back.

Perhaps, in Heaven, I will meet the person I once believed I knew: not the worldly version shaped and scarred by this life, but the person who lived within my mind and accompanied me for a time.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/Hq9OnCpepD

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/nj5ugqwG9c


r/OCPoetry 9m ago

Feedback Please idk

Upvotes

consciousness is a ship

im sailing through the waters of celine's night

port is head

in the slow dive

under massive attack, with my spying eye

i enter pool of thoughts

at the same time

watching

like

f"{interpol}ation"

yield: dont be scared don't be shy

#come on in waters fine

stripped to the steeple

i rip me off myself

to belittle dose of me

it doesn't have to be lethal

everything is a gray area

til it's something that hurt ya

crawling on a gray band of lithosphere

overcooked under death rays of sun

try to out

run -

gra(y)ve

all eyes on me

all lies on me

and no one lies on me

so i lie down myself

in a system of a down

as i lay dying

lie myself

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/DfJbca9kzl

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/fwAgbsxSD5


r/OCPoetry 20m ago

Feedback Please Where the leaf fell

Upvotes

I was wandering

in search of my own existence.

Exhausted, I rested

beneath the quiet shade of a tree.

Then suddenly

the restless scratching of a pen

pulled my attention away.

Just a thought..

What kind of life must it be,

the one touched by that pen

etching, upon the canvas of emptiness,

a shadow into being?

And then

it was thrown away,

onto a heap of grass…

an unfinished story,

yet destined to remain eternal.

An existence that exists

but carries no purpose.

In that moment,

a thought surrounded me

My eyes began to follow

the journey of a leaf

falling from that very tree.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/6KsHGAgtw7

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/NyytGlpt5u


r/OCPoetry 8h ago

Feedback Please Beauty

4 Upvotes

The fragrant flowers push through the sidewalk

Sun reflecting on still water of a lake

The rainbow shimmer of oil mixed with water

A single glistening tear, on a lonely cheek

.

The purr of a kitten lying in your lap

Trees blowing in the cool breeze

The cool spray of the ocean on your face

The deep copper red of dried blood

.

A master tinkling on the piano

The smell of bread baked with love

The dry taste of your favorite wine

Remembering a life of beauty.

.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/QqT6uyI5RA

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/763GDARDlF


r/OCPoetry 41m ago

Feedback Please unknowable

Upvotes

I lose myself in relationships written backwards, the final period placed before the story has even begun.
I try to recreate what I knew twelve months ago, an opening hindered by a different language, a trust built on nothing, and therefore built on everything.
Eyes of extraordinary gentleness, a gentleness I pushed away with fierce resistance, so accustomed was I to the roughness of a life gone off course. You were the most loving; perhaps you will become the most loved. Because your bruised heart loved a heart that had gone numb.
The way we expressed ourselves was not always beautiful, yet an absolute sincerity seeped through the tears I let fall on that warm summer day in that apartment. I let you glimpse what lay beneath the shell, the weak, sensitive man, and you embraced him tenderly, never once judging him.
You were home.
You were a stranger who felt achingly familiar.
A soothing tenderness offered by a heart burning with bitterness. I will not remember your words; I will remember those eyes, irrationally mine.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/Z8HeNekmsu

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/ftaENSWzpU


r/OCPoetry 1h ago

Feedback Please The Fifth

Upvotes

An unseen dimension beyond
space and time.
every possible version of
reality
at once
it all exists

always all ways

not a direction
you move through
a field of possibility

All outcomes.
All moments.
All selves.
coexisting 
simultaneously

never directly perceive
A place we can only describe
never directly perceive

simultaneously 
coexisting 
All selves. 
All moments. 
All outcomes.

a field of possibility 
you move through 
not a direction

always all ways

it all exists
at once
reality
every possible version of
space and time.
An unseen dimension beyond 

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1v3pqcj/comment/oz4wmh8/

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1v3olkj/comment/oz504ce/


r/OCPoetry 1h ago

Feedback Please Will I Wave

Upvotes

Will I Wave

Crossing the street I used to live on

My head down

Hey! If I look up, I will see myself

Driving my old sixty-eight Merc’

I will hear the rumble

I will smell the gas

Will I wave?

Strangely –

I

do

not

see

it

Disappointed,

I reach the other side.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1v3olkj/comment/oz4slhc/?context=3&utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1v3le9w/comment/oz4rhav/?context=3&utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button


r/OCPoetry 1h ago

Feedback Please Punchline Chirp

Upvotes

I want to make you belly laugh
but my Punchline flew away
That damn bird stole my riddle
now he headlines on Broadway

He flies across the stage spinning emotion
Casting it out in a wide net
Capturing the dumbfounded
making us belly laugh

His one bird act just doubled
Pulled himself out of a hat
Now there's two birds chirping
Witty, jesting com-pun-ions

It flipped and flopped skipping to the top
brimming with the springtime
Birding into mammal
Horsing clippity clop

One final act for the night
Unstable steeds merge back together
What do you call a slipper that has
two eyes, eight legs, one tail
and can outrun your very thought?

Written in collaboration with my good friend the duke.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1v3f5mx/comment/oz4uq07/?context=3&utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1v3hu9x/comment/oz4oefr/?context=3&utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button


r/OCPoetry 7h ago

Feedback Please Return to reality

3 Upvotes

Sometimes I sit in the corners of my mind,
It’s not really a choice…
But neither am I looking to be found.

For the dust has settled,
And the light is low,
This peace that follows,
Is all I want to know.

A wallless room,
No noise, no time,
A place that doesn’t exist,
A place that’s all mine.

It almost feels safe…
Comforting and real,
But this world has no patience,
For things that aren’t fuelled.

So I wiggle my toes,
And name the things I can see,
I return to reality,
And I hope the stillness waits for me.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1um5rtw/an_old_man_pleasures_himself/ 

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1v31jli/my_mother_is_an_oak_tree/


r/OCPoetry 6h ago

Feedback Please You you you

2 Upvotes

Your insides are so red

Your dangling form so blue

I'll keep your heart so close

It'll be just me and you

I've heard it tastes metallic

But i find you so sweet

How will He have your heart?

Now that i stole your beat

You make my mouth so salty

Can I sip you to cleanse

My heart jumps as it coats my tongue

Weaving strings, cold and dense

My first ever poem so i know i would've managed to fuck up in a plethora of ways 💔💔🥀, any feedback and reviews will be duely appreciated

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/NquN8M1gGc

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/9CZ200Rumz


r/OCPoetry 2h ago

Just Sharing Lost

1 Upvotes

Scream until my lungs get sore
Scream until I’m not there anymore.
Where can I store this pent-up hate?
When will this seething rage dissipate?
Burning my throat with a kissing caress,
Fiery liquid, make me feel less.
Sweet numbness soothes the ache,
My chaotic thoughts now a frozen lake.
But when that glacier starts to thaw,
Pain returns and I can’t take it anymore.
A perpetual painful cycle of suppression,
Tell me, am I doomed to this depression?
I miss the sun kissing my face,
But its rays can’t penetrate this vengeful place.
So deep, so dark, so hollow and alone,
Do I need repentance, to beg and atone?
Or am I frail and weak, pathetic?
I’m so lost, blinded, searching for an exit.
So bottle after bottle I consume,
Maybe I like it here, I’ll close my eyes to the doom.
And I’ll smile and feel the sharp kiss of frost,
I don’t want to be found, I will forever be
Lost.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/JQjd1lNJ3b

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/aIpNrqrL5n


r/OCPoetry 6h ago

Feedback Please Call the Cops

2 Upvotes

We share a Spartan imagination

The birds and I

We wake up and dream

Is that not what fairytales are?

Who knew insects feast on Snickers bar remains

Or that pigeons gobble on those insects lips

Oh Romeo oh Romeo wherefore art thou?

Pity rhyming couplets have been binned

More sinned against than sinning

You’ll have to call the cops

To clean away the pigeons underfoot

They have a squad for that

Amicus briefly / not exactly friends

Avian crowds have been seen over Mount Rushmore

The presidents blink / they know it’s not rain

And blink again

They haven’t moved in unison for years

The rock is too fragile

Completion is an unfinished story

That’s what fairytales are

Colin Greer is the author of a new book of poetry, If But My Gaze Could Heal.

1.

2.


r/OCPoetry 2h ago

Feedback Please " "

1 Upvotes

She sits there staring

I watch her

SILENCE

I wish I could speak

Her wrinkled hands

Her sunken eyes

Her placid tongue

They speak when she doesn’t

“You’re late”, they hiss

“What’s the use”, they stab

Her blood, my root

Her heart throb, my history

I wish I could speak

SILENCE

I watch her son

The man who gave it all up

For us. For me

They sit in silence

His hands more veiny than ever

Hands I imagined the world in

They look tired

They’ve carried for years

The weight sapping the life from them

And yet he laughs.

And yet they rest, tranquil.

SILENCE

I wish I could speak

I love them

I love her

My words disappear

She will forget me

Would I be the first family she forgets?

No words

Too late, useless

So I watch her

Silence consuming us

 

*long time reader, first time poet. lemme know your thoughts!

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1v31fw3/comment/oz4f8th/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1v2xzjz/comment/oz4e3sc/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button


r/OCPoetry 8h ago

Feedback Please The clouds

3 Upvotes

To be like you.
To look like you.
To be amongst you
To have that freedom
To have that love that can only be seen from afar
To be so white that my feelings are visible
To become your shade, if only for a moment.
To hold the sun away from you.
To give you one quiet moment beneath me.
To always have to wonder, where did we go?
Perhaps we are somewhere amongst those clouds.
So high up we could’ve never made it
at least not together.
when it rains our worlds unite
I always hated the rain
But the rain is the only way my soul can reach you.
And that’s why I always hated it.
But perhaps we are somewhere
Amongst those clouds.

feedback
Feedback


r/OCPoetry 2h ago

Feedback Please a woman so beautifully made

1 Upvotes

like a sculpture carved

the sight of you feeds my heart starved

perhaps its the swell of your cheeks

or the slight dip of your waist

or that look in your eyes

to all my whens and whys

whatever it may be

it has me grasped

to the point where everyday

i recite all that you say

a woman so lovingly made

to me youre an aid

the back of your silhouette i follow

it takes me across many fields

the wheat field of sorrow

or the wet lands, to my call where no one heeds

even under the blazing hot sun only you shine

i count the twists of your hair hoping to make each mine

for you are such a meticulous marvel

the shiniest of all my marbles

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/WhJB0Zw7g9

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/2vRr50xbTw


r/OCPoetry 3h ago

Feedback Please Untitled

1 Upvotes

Who Am I?
​A sun that shines during the day,
Or a moon that shines at night,
Or a shadow that stays behind?

​Who am I?
A flower that gives its nectar,
Or a bee that gathers it,
Or a sweetness that cannot be seen?

​Who am I?
A dark cloud that loves the rain,
Or a storm that curses the sky,
Or a vapor that changes its color for rain?

​Who am I?
Nothing but a mere human with thoughts
Someone who knows how to play with jingle words.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/xPm0RekMZC

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/xPm0RekMZC


r/OCPoetry 8h ago

Feedback Please Midlife to three years old

2 Upvotes

I am as an infant
Struggling to distinguish
Blinded and deafened by stimuli
I can barely walk

I am overwhelmed by the nature of need
By want mistaken as need
I am falling on my journey to the breakfast table
Wobbly legs sabotage my trajectory

I once saw myself as genius a mystic even
Though I am three and a half
Slurring my words
Not fit for this world yet

Just a babysitter's job
And when noone is looking I crawl
I cry at the absence of care
I try to make sense of the whole mess

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1v3e0nn/comment/oz2dfyn/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/1v3do5a/comment/oz2dx4r/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button


r/OCPoetry 4h ago

Feedback Please Self regulation

1 Upvotes

Self regulate
How do I identify my ego from myself
Or my ego from the random thoughts I get
All things in my mind, somehow still separate
I’m looking for the hints
I hear myself say things that are unreal
And intense, I hate the way it makes my body freeze and clench
It usually start off with “ what if or I can’t”
That’s not me nor my ego
I don’t Idenity with it
It came from outside the mind
So those thoughts don’t fit
What about the ego
The thoughts that keep me from letting go
The unnecessary comparisons that creep in
The parts that want to be understood in every sense
That keep me talking and being defensive again
But I don’t have to be perfect
I use the mistakes to grow
This is the part I embrace about my ego
I deserve to be treated right
And it’s okay to say no
It’s okay to be me
Like the fish in the ocean
Everyone so unique
It’s levels to this shit
Either you rise or let yourself sink
Not everyone can swim in this part of the sea
There wave is different
And the sea is deep
But where in the waters will I find me
That’s that silent call I hear loud and clear
It’s not demanding, it doesn’t operate with fear
I know when I feel it
The mission is clear
Either something does or doesn’t belong here
I will pull away even if I choose to stay
My energy is strong, I won’t be down for long
Like a good song my energy will sway
Once it finds its rhythm
I’m on my way
So I keep my head high
To focus on my lane
I don’t let distractions get in the way
This is how i self regulate

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/YnLjt3ej9J

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/r1ROPsp


r/OCPoetry 15h ago

Just Sharing Drug of Choice

7 Upvotes

I always knew my drug of choice was love.

My brother would be out
on the front lawn
selling ecstasy to the freshman
while I was out back
stealing kisses from the boy
across the fence.
It was enough for me.

The moment our lips would touch,
I was whisked away.
High on Serotonin and secrecy,
it didn’t matter if I was kissing
a prince or a toad
as long as the hit was hard
and the pull was long.

The others spent their time escaping.
Same void, different sutures.
Every slide of a nervous hand
down my jeans
was evidence that
I wasn’t as worthless
as they said.

Or that I hadn’t bled out
Yet

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/wUe1ar2iwb

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/NuPn1iZxha


r/OCPoetry 11h ago

Just Sharing Revolution Televised

3 Upvotes

Keep calm, they say.

Justice will smite us soon.

The wall you've waited so long to crumble will be asphalt for the one that covers the moon.

Feedbacks:

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/HsBdBqaXUv

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/oZYafRsg6f