Cursed (this) City
anywhere but here pt 1
i searched the lonely backstreets
of a thousand cursed cities
all full to the very brim
of their own emptiness
wasted platitudes and cries
fallen on ears
not deaf
just not willing to hear
hopes and dreams
litter the ground
skewered by homelessness
alcoholism and addiction
like the salting of fertile land
of ages ago
i was looking for something
i knew
i’d never find
it was something
i had to look for
my objectives were unclear
but my resolve was steadfast
so i kept my head
higher than my spirits
i hunted
i searched
i looked
hoping
wanting
needing
to find something
anything
just a small piece
of anywhere
but here
.
.
Exploited - Dead Cities
About the Creator
Bren
"It's just a token of my extreme!" - Frank Zappa
"Cause it's all in the heat of the moment It's all in the pain!!!" - Devin Townsend
Centre Stage with the wonderful Heather Hubler
I'm writing it out not acting in doubt!
Absolute Zero
My ambitious maw couldn't keep me warm anymore. You were the wolfhound that kept attacking it to sustain yourself. Everything you could steal, you did no matter how insignificant. You siphoned my life in small increments in order to achieve a sense of regularity. It was all for appearance's sake. You were the rat king my tail kept getting attached to. I would scurry away but all to no avail. I wallowed in compromise and misery in an attempt to be less for you. I was driven but you were threatened by anything resembling intelligence. You loved me being incomplete. I pretended to be deaf so you could speak for me. I chose silence so you could choose for me instead. I learned to surrender because you felt some desperate need to be in command. My opinion of you continued to shrink. You were never the almighty one you convinced yourself you were. It's amazing how fragile your masculinity was so you had to take my dignity to supplement. I was the undead carcass you kept feeding on. You couldn't find your own food source so you used me for your appetite. You refused to find shelter so I became your haven at the expense of myself. You somehow always knew better, it seemed. Like there was written proof somewhere out there in the cosmos that you were the superior one. I was the deluded victim you had to subjugate and keep isolated. You made it your life's mission to devalue me. You did everything to justify your abusive and callous behavior. You were always my biggest disappointment, You made sure I didn't deserve better. I had to worship you because you lived off of recognition. I was kept hostage for 15 years while you remained drunk off of my tears. I was the aberration I sought but could never enforce. You were the unwelcome savior that felt compelled to trap me. I was held captive and was forced to enjoy it. I soared beyond your limitations but you punished me for that. My entropy was at always at your mercy. You wanted me at my lowest, at absolute zero. My energy was at your disposal. I was a dedicated zombie that couldn't breathe without your permission. I was forever caught in your perpetual undertow. What would it mean to prosper? What would it feel like to reclaim my power? I was the walking dead you feared would rise against you one day. I wasn't willing to join you at your subterranean level. My melancholy is no longer my friend. I have slowly ascended to the height I always pictured myself achieving. My endeavors refuse to be frigid and tepid. You are banished to the frozen exteriors of my mind. Where polar ice and bleak extremities knew me so well. I was once at absolute zero. I was a former version of myself you kept hidden for fear of losing to. I'm not who I used to be. I am allowed to evolve beyond arctic cold. I'm thawing out, slowly but surely. The temperature is rising and so am I. My heat obliterated you because you kept stripping me of it. I was a motionless entity, encased in marble glacier, a reminder of all that I had dreamt of. Those dreams have returned. They have bestowed their value unto me once more. I'm not your captive anymore. I've been diminished long enough. Go be one with your beloved entropy. My energy cannot be destroyed nor removed anymore. You have no more influence over me anymore
By Anna Torresabout 12 hours ago in Poets
The Ritual of Winter Challenge Winners
Welcome to the Winners Announcement for The Ritual of Winter challenge. This prompt focused on winter rituals and the meaning that settles into them over time. The top pieces stay grounded in ordinary acts and repeated routines, letting winter shape the work through pace, attention, and restraint.
By Vocal Curation Team6 days ago in Resources
Comments (20)
Wow. This was deep. I liked it a lot!
Great work! It captures the essence of being the lost and forgotten of society and clinging to the hope for something, anything, to happen; to be seen and heard for who you are.
Great job Brenton! Congrats on your top story.
Oh, man. This one hits hard! Very well done!
Awesome piece, Brenton! Thoroughly enjoy your style! 💫
Fantastic piece. Congrats on the TS.
This was great!
Excellent job here very deep message about active listening beyond the scope of your own responses
This is so well written. The ending was especially powerful. Congrats on top story Brendon!
"fallen on ears not deaf just not willing to hear" it says so much about society. the neglect. the ignorance. the preference of being purposefully blind rather than seeing the world's problems.
"just a small piece of anything but here." 😮 Excellent! Loved your poem. And congrats!
Uncompromising look at urban muck, so well done. Don't know if small towns improve it at all though. .. in any case, congratulations!
I FELT this. Ive been a solitary city wanderer before. Epic expression of feeling 👏🏼
great work why cant you join my friends and read what I have just prepared for you
"Salting of fertile land" - excellent imagery and narrative. TS! 🏅
anywhere but here...does such a destination exist?
Oh my goodness, this was so freaking relatable! Loved your poem!
I agree with L.C. that I feel like I know where you're going sometimes with these pieces and yet you always surprise me. "Anywhere but here" landed hard for me. Always love your work :)
Sounds like me. I want to be anywhere but where I am
Is it bad that sometimes your pieces remind me of Tairri B 🤔 Couldn't even tell you why. Maybe the way you write a line and I think it means something, and then, with the next line, youve changed that meaning to something else.