random thoughts that come to light
are never truly, that, or anything
(sometimes I feel so consumed by self)
like that, just random thoughts
(I can’t appreciate anything else around me)
they are, rather, born from us
from somewhere in us, triggered
(the weight of existence)
by something, so far removed
(on older, weaker shoulders, labours everything)
from random, so far removed
intrusive, maybe, random, no
(I feel imprisoned by guilt, regret)
they don’t just spring forth
(all cherry-picked by a psyche that buries me)
they were buried by me, by us
seeded and watered by existence and experience
(it’s a hard-won battle)
grown and encouraged by consequence and discouragement
(to keep from slipping under)
we can stop, I can stop
I need to remind myself that
(but not impossible)
giving nourishment to these random thoughts
(nothing’s impossible)
instead I should, we should
pick at those seeds, like the birds
*
Thanks for reading!
Author's Notes: This is another poem that I published on Scuzzbucket, a Medium publication, first. You can find the link below to the original, which was published on March 29, 2025.
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About the Creator
Paul Stewart
Award-Winning Writer, Poet, Scottish-Italian, Subversive.
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Comments (9)
I love the idea of exploring things from the depths of one's mind - excellently written Paul!
This is like a stream of consciousness ☺ I like it ☺
💙 sometimes I'm buried by my random thoughts
Well-wrought! Random is not as random as we think. Chaos puts itself into order, I surmise, just for fun. But that's just a random thought...
The last four lines were such a powerful perspective moment! The contrast between nourishing the thought and picking at it like a bird was such a strong visual!
As a child I was told that people can only think one thing at a time. One day while standing out at the edge of our drive, I found that I was actually thinking two things at the same time. As time went on, I learned that what I had been taught was wrong. Most if not all people are constantly thinking about a whole slew of things. This poem illustrates that truth quite nicely, Paul.
It’s an interesting proposition that random thoughts aren’t random. Gosh - I’d never thought about that. Great stuff Paul.
We all see life in our own ways, and you seem to see life the way it is and one needs to accept it.
This was incredible, Paul, and holds such truth to it. I always seem to come across your work when I need it the most. ♥️