literary techniques
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Good Grief
There’s a sanctity that follows The saddest news you could ever hear That every action that follows Should be ceremonial And sacred And intentional And honest And beautiful That every interaction Should be meaningful And enhancing And evocative And profound And dutiful. Even so The great world spins. Can you picture the glamour Of the…
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Laps
I try to find myself in every moment of solitude In an obsession to reaffirm my parts I’m proud of In an obsession to change the parts I’m not In an obsession to quantify every angle of my mind In an obsession to qualify every hill on which I’ve died My meditation happens best between…
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Eat the end of a shotgun
He yelled through anonymous numbers Into a patient voicemail inbox Letting it echo, ruminate and marinate In the space between sender and receiver But he doesn’t know. How you’ll eat the end of that shotgun How you’ll chew on the metal tip Let the sharp edges crunch under your molars Chipping your teeth on its…
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Headed West
If you ever stop and look up And see that beautiful mountain The one that brought you here and realize how beautiful it is. How you’ve laid cradle in its valley While it gave you new birth To the parts of you that blossom each spring. If you ever stop and look up In the…
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06-25-2022
I’m watching petals fall one by one at an accelerating pace. The metaphor a little too literal as Roe v Wade becomes Red v Any person holding a uterus in their pelvis I’m receding and regressing to a place where I felt safe. I don’t feel safe. The wet eyes of every woman who can…
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Bad news
I assume you heard the news over the phone The pause the caller had before. Extending the time of not knowing for just a little longer Making the space before the devastation hits Just a little bigger Hoping that they can offer you that one second more of peace Before you can lose a piece…
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Hurry
My grandmother is dying In the ward next to mothers giving birth.Her baby is holding her handAnd I, her baby, is beside. A never ending chain Of women and childrenOf womenand children “Hurry” she whispers in a stateOf memories within deliriumIt’s so like her:“Hurry” She was always on time(Which we all know means early)Rushing everyone…
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Cut and Calloused
Have you ever looked downTo examine your knuckles and palmsSee cuts on your finger tips You’ve never seen before. Intersecting your fingerprintNot quite deep enough to bleedBut deep enough to always catchA slash of simple gore. Never knowing how you lacerateOr even when the wounds appeared?Or who gave them to you?Sharpened conditions you ignored Did it…
allegory, allusion, characterization, creative writing, emotion, expression, form, free verse, haiku, imagery, language, literary devices, literary elements, literary techniques, metaphor, meter, modern poetry, mood, narrative, ode, personification, poetic devices, poetic form, Poetry, poetry analysis, poetry commentary, poetry interpretation, poetry techniques, Rhyme, simile, sonnet, sound, structure, style, symbolism, theme, tone, traditional poetry, verse, verse form, voice, words -
The Scorpion on my chest
There is a scorpion on my chestHe’s looking at meI am lying on the rocky beach(As always) There is a scorpion on my chestGhostly and ghastlyWith the weight of the sonTail ablaze I did not tell anyone the first morning afterI did not tell anyone It was my first morning afterHoping to ride off the…
allegory, allusion, characterization, creative writing, emotion, expression, form, free verse, haiku, imagery, language, literary devices, literary elements, literary techniques, lyric poetry, metaphor, meter, modern poetry, mood, narrative, ode, personification, poetic devices, poetic form, Poetry, poetry analysis, poetry commentary, poetry interpretation, poetry techniques, Rhyme, simile, sonnet, sound, structure, style, symbolism, theme, tone, traditional poetry, verse, verse form, voice, words -
Scars in the sun
I see pictures of women in shorts and gasp aloud “but your scars! In the sun!” Before I remember that not all women carry scars Not all women have hidden their thighs from wandering eyes to avoid further damage Not all women have covered their flesh in shame. And there are women with scars who…
Wax Poetic by Julia Johnson 