A not so rewritten Memory

Maybe it was the weight of time on my shoulders

Or the peace I’ve been trying to attain for years

But upon taking the step to close the chapter

I finally learned to deal with old doubts and fears

Maybe it’s the decades of molding and shaping

Therapies, seminars, classes or books I’ve read

Or the…

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Look around.

What do you see?

Can you feel the magic

swirling around me?

°

The night was long,

but the day has come.

We can relax now;

the war is won.

°

We’ve lived on the edge

between two realities.

But now we can unwind

and let ourselves be at ease.

4/17/26

Your Children are Always Your Children (part 2)

(continued from part 1)
...
your children may turn out not to feel like your children
you may not relate to each other as kindred spirits 
they may not honour you as their elder
they may not respect you as a father
they may seem more like aliens
they may manipulate you
they may humiliate you
they…

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Just Give Me a Minute by Josh Bond 

I'm living with something that isn't there
a most mysterious nothing
a construct of my earthbound mind,
unique in the Milky Way

although it is neither here nor there
nor does it exist at all,
it's giving me the hardest time
demanding my life and my money

it latches onto my mind each day
makes my waking…

Read more

When I Die by Josh Bond

When I die,

I will be quite 
happy to leave 
behind the weight 
of gravity and I hope 
to regain the clear blue 
eyes I had as a child, lost 
into dullness some-
where around 
the age of 
seven

________________________

Immortal Beloveds by Pablo Cipher_O Martinez

Meeting, every time

through –

clear blue eyes

of

innocence. Later…

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The Sacred Gift of Life by Josh Bond

For years and decades as long and far 
as my distant memory will stretch
I've survived under the thumb of an odd belief 
ruled by a crooked conviction 
— felt so true to me at the time —
like a holy motto picked 
from the pockets of the fates
a personal mantra played on repeat 
of a prophecy I was forced to…

Read more

What do you see when you look at me?

Do you see my body?

Do you see my scars?

Or can you see me,

who I truly am—

something more than this physical container?

Can you see the light bursting out of me?

Can you sense the spirit beneath my skin?

Can you feel the energy lifting you upward?

Or the love encouraging you to go within?

How precise are…

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NWP NaPo Announcement

Greetings everyone..!

This writing festival is goin so good…

I been havin a profound experience…

I feel the power of all of your writing…

It is beautiful that you exist in the world…

I wanted to take a moment and do a mid

festival poem count:

Kathy: 2 poems

Morganna: 23 poems

Kristeen: 13 poems

Tina: 7 poems

Kristina: 14 poems…

Read more

Your Children are Always Your Children (Part 1)

Your children are not your children

wrote the great Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran
and I might agree wholeheartedly 
had my heart not been broken by fatherhood

while thinking of having children 
you might expect that they will 
love you as a kindred spirit
cherish you as their father
honour you as…

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Rewriting Memory

I wished I could’ve said it in a different manner

Then again youth comes with vagary and caprice

Some facades will eventually crack or break down

And eventually the truth seeps out piece by piece

But it wasn’t so much me understanding my true worth

It was knowing that there was a promising path

And…

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closest pressed as dried flowers

whose scents fade not

beyond nostalgia

it is not sentiment

nor fragrance from salvation

now she is almost 5 billion years old

though asking nor aging

bearing her weakness

it is not only wisdom she holds

this book can not be found

sometimes I hear Her tones

intrinsic instruments

a…

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my demure shade holds

compounded elixir

hieroglyphic alphabet

casting pollinated stars

consuming conserving

absorbing

scalp and prey

he is called man

holding on to the railings

breathing out helium

a venomous veil

volatile time

I await his Judas kiss

cocooned in spidery web

reciprocity

bliss howls

through hooting

hymns of owls

poem nr 22 of 30

This moment is everything.

It contains everything that was, is, and will be.

I am in this moment.

I am able to tap into infinite potential.

Because this moment is everything.

°

There is no time, no space, no limit, no restriction.

Infinite possibility, everything in its entirety.

We have access to all there was, is, and will be.

°

What will…

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Just Give Me a Minute

I'm living with something that isn't there

a most mysterious nothing
a construct of my earthbound mind,
unique in the Milky Way

although it is neither here nor there
nor does it exist at all,
it's giving me the hardest time
demanding my life and my money

it latches onto my mind each day
makes my waking hours go…

Read more

Rewriting Memory

They say you should always choose your words carefully

Or you may encounter another person’s wrath

I wanted to hurt others intentionally

And my choice of words sent us on a different path

I heard myself say it calmly but with anger

In the heat of the moment I just didn’t care

My emotions were in a…

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Is casting out our demons the answer?

Is there no reconciliation?

What if we’ve misjudged them?

Are they really the villains we made them out to be?

What about their backstory?

What if we offered love and compassion instead of judgment and condemnation?

Do they continue to haunt us because they’ve been exiled?

What if we gave them a seat…

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Rewriting Memory

Ever been in a tempting situation

Where you knew you had a great chance of success

Even if you knew you were being selfish

As greed pushed you to give in to that excess

You ever thought about the aftereffects

And played the play on stage in your mind’s eye

Knowing indulgence is just one choice away

But…

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When I Die

When I die,

I will be quite 
happy to leave 
behind the weight 
of gravity and I hope 
to regain the clear blue 
eyes I had as a child, lost 
into dullness some-
where around 
the age of 
seven

for the last word

we are thine ears

quest begets sound

when nine ripples open

Hugin thought

no mere mortal mind

can find this sprinkled

peril

Munin memory

amnesia insomnia

my thespian shade

shaken

blood thirst

kvasir wisest one

o to awaken

core of the corpse

w o r l d

night seers

seek refuge

ask the last stone

for the first word

an alchemy

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You always kept me at arm’s length.

Did you sense I wasn’t easy to train?

I was tempted to feel left out,

but I knew it was better to refrain.

Sometimes I wondered how you compelled them,

why they chose to give you free rein?

Being part of the “in crowd” is alluring,

but it was nothing you could permanently sustain.

You had a way of…

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Rewriting Memory

And delivered right into temptation

My soul went from the smoke into the flame

Yet in a right state of mind and elation

I saw the likely consequences in frame

But the inclination and impulse lingered

Buried deep under layers of decorum

Like some dormant beast waiting to be triggered

In the furthest…

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The Sacred Gift of Life

For years and decades as long and far 
as my distant memory will stretch
I've survived under the thumb of an odd belief 
ruled by a crooked conviction 
— felt so true to me at the time —
like a holy motto picked 
from the pockets of the fates
a personal mantra played on repeat 
of a prophecy I was forced to fulfill 
a…

Read more

At Risk of Trespass by Josh Bond

There are parts of me that remain untrespassed
and I wonder whether to invite you there
or check them out alone
one more time
before I dare ask you to accompany me
along the ridge path
that drops away to both sides
a fine view to the left
the air clear and bright  
and to the right the fog of despair 
which is…

Read more

Before the Supperbell Rings by Josh Bond

Wait not until the wild

tiger takes you over
but let yourself run free
before the supperbell rings
drift no more through the fog
of wondrous plots tangled
in their contrivances
hold on to the pitch of your story
so the rubber bullets cannot reach you
nor the ones you love
the starwheels of fortune 
may…

Read more

In a Corner of Apparent Insignificance by Josh Bond

Somewhere, in a corner of

apparent insignificance
I found a piece of honey comb
stuck at the bottom of an old jar

reminded me of the generosity
often hidden in small events
popping into life unexpected
with secret serendipity

signals of a whole other universe
just a hair's breadth away…

Read more

All or nothing.

Sleep. Dreams manage reality, compartmentalize the trauma into boxes fragments of time too much to bear alone.

Reorganize the structure.

expired exasperation

those who lay slain

in human fields of ashes

shadow play begins again

there is a ring around the sun

the puppeteer has tightened

every string

Bodhiisattva

one eyed goddess

horned one

you know what it is

a need to be broken

words flash on micro screens

covid o2 crises

economical war

far from politics

land…

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I’m so high.

You should see the view

from here.

Just like a dream,

but this is my

reality.

Everything is beautiful,

Everything is meaningful.

Everything is crystal clear,

When I’m high above the fear.

Everything makes sense to me,

When I’m high enough to see.

4/12/26

Rewriting Memory

I knew I tried to do my best to be honest

But sometimes some relationships don’t pan out

Even if there’s a light amidst kindred spirits

Feelings can dry up and go into a drought

And maybe it was the times and those days of youth

Like a rollercoaster – emotions ran wild

One day we’re all laughing and…

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At Risk of Trespass

There are parts of me that remain untrespassed
and I wonder whether to invite you there
or check them out alone
one more time
before I dare ask you to accompany me
along the ridge path
that drops away to both sides
a fine view to the left
the air clear and bright
and to the right the fog of despair
which is also part of…

Read more

a celestial orbit drawn dawned

o great womb

from Venusian void

these four wolves emerge

Umai Grey wolf calls earth

she is moss and moist

Ulgen White wolf

spirit that transmutes

future keeper who guards

this trinket box

Reddish Brown Erlik

he is the healer

placenta of the past

Tengri blackens

walking volcanic craters

all that has…

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What if it’s better

than we thought?

What if the tears

were worth it?

°

Could we be wrong

about what we are sure of?

What if it isn’t

as bad as we think?

°

What if we can do more

than we ever thought possible?

Could our foolish faith

prove to be true?

°

Are we so certain

our childhood fantasies

were fantasy?

°

What if there’s more

than we dreamed…

Read more

Weave the wind the locks of love, hair in knots and clearing skies above.

From here we pray for intercession, Mary Mother so fair, untie these knots that bound me from you my precious, independent child.

Children rarely choose a path that parents project out the “you could, he did, isnt that grand?”

Really my love for you just wants to…

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rewriting memory

pow! that’s when life hit me right square in the face

i had to quickly learn how to roll with the punch

but then that’s when i also lost all hope and faith

so i had to follow my instinct…with a hunch

adulthood can sometimes be cruel mother

when some of the lessons were harsh, brash but…

Read more

Before the Supperbell Rings

Wait not until the wild

tiger takes you over
but let yourself run free
before the supperbell rings
drift no more through the fog
of wondrous plots tangled
in their contrivances
hold on to the pitch of your story
so the rubber bullets cannot reach you
nor the ones you love
the starwheels of fortune 
may bless and…

Read more

I found myself walking

down a trail in the woods.

Moonlight spilled across my path

lighting the way.

Unsure of my destination—

but something told me I was headed

in the right direction.

I didn’t know where I was,

only that I was getting closer

to where I was going.

Darkness surrounded me,

but the moonlight

was my guide.

As I traveled…

Read more

In a Corner of Apparent Insignificance

Somewhere, in a corner of

apparent insignificance
I found a piece of honey comb
stuck at the bottom of an old jar

reminded me of the generosity
often hidden in small events
popping into life unexpected
with secret serendipity

signals of a whole other universe
just a hair's breadth away 

I imagine…

Read more

Rewriting Memory

Money, I chose money over education

Earning a living was a need but it had an effect

I made my way up but then I hit ceilings

I knew there was growth in me in retrospect

And no matter where I went or where I landed

I moved up in some way but couldn’t go higher

There was something missing I knew I had…

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Gift in the Gap by Josh Bond

A popular way to beat myself up

hides in the apparently harmless 
concept of an 'unlived life'
◊ plenty of roads-not-taken
◊ decisions-not-made
◊ opportunities missed
◊ potential-not-achieved
all in a bitter nutshell 
which holds more than 
enough to make me feel 
◊ inept
◊ stupid
◊ awkward
◊◊◊ a failed human…

Read more

Recipe for a Real Source by Josh Bond

A pinch of awareness
a dollop of humility
three table-spoons of courage
and half a pint of perseverance
mix all four ingredients 
until readily assimilated
and heat until hot 
enough to touch briefly 
without getting burnt

the source is now ready 
— which begs the question —
what does it mean to be…

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writes oceans

gathers sentient shards

spirals spheric

painting refrained lines

at the back of my skull

cosmic dolphins

are born

from marrow

unbroken

gestating arms

held by trees

spirit bear great grandmother

her nostrils widen with joy

sleep hides herd hive

little ones humble noble ones

epithet called earth

empress ermine

I am ready to…

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where each spectrum

exists between shape

colours

from off white

to coal black

camouflaged indigo

within tangerine

eager hands clasp

my stagnant fingers

slowly bowing

towards his

gurgling smiles

his tapping foot

rocking forth

we play airplane

drawing balloons

as kite like

we fly

NaPo Award:

I have been looking at awards for your participation in NWP NaPo..

I was originally going to get certificates for yall...

But I have decided to do something special for this first group...

I am truly impressed by all of you...

To be honest, I genuinely thought all was lost...

That I would be doing NaPo by myself...

I was like encircled…

Read more

If I ascend,

will you feel hollow?

If I go ahead

will you try to follow?

Can you have peace of mind,

if I leave you behind?

Or will you be tempted to wallow?

4/9/26

Rewriting Memory

I was in town visiting my son one Saturday

When I told him: “later we’ll go visit grandpa”

But time ran out and other plans got in the way

I didn’t call him and that’s always been my flaw

As the week went by, I just went about my way

With work and family matters I just carried on

And it wasn’t until…

Read more

Gift in the Gap

A popular way to beat myself up

hides in the apparently harmless 
concept of an 'unlived life'
◊ plenty of roads-not-taken
◊ decisions-not-made
◊ opportunities missed
◊ potential-not-achieved
all in a bitter nutshell 
which holds more than 
enough to make me feel 
◊ inept
◊ stupid
◊ awkward
◊◊◊ a failed human specimen ◊◊◊

yet…

Read more