In Retrospect

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Your lips bloom like forbidden gardens during an eclipse.

My pride shrieks but the heavens keep singing.

I stole my own power away from my fingertips,

But I cannot hear the truth when my ears are ringing.

You have heard my lies at least a hundred times.

The excuses never cut it, do not pretend they did.

We jumped to conclusions, thinking it would suffice,

But I loved you despite all the lust I once hid.

A part of me always hoped they would condemn me –

Therefore, I buried your name like a dirty secret.

The tip of the iceberg was peeking out already.

Once all was said and done, I could no longer keep it.

I could no longer keep us.

Maybe throwing our love away was better than sweeping it under the carpet.

Now I am watching people who want to be us,

Thinking back on how it all started.

-JW

The Shadows Time Casts

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My reflection dances in your irises,

It twirls and sparkles like moonlight.

I tend to keep my own promises

But I get swallowed into your highs.

You were right, we never mattered.

The more I pushed, the further you ran.

Between the breaths you muttered,

You drained me in bottles and cans.

Now I barely remember your scent

And how you pushed me away.

I even forget about how far I went,.

Time turns the moonlight into clay.

-JW

The Headlines Never Die

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They wrote about me in their magazines.

They only showed photos of me and you smiling.

They only remembered the perfect scenes.

She was jealous and he was not lying, no,

Just wondering where the passion grew obscene.

They painted you with the purity of snow,

They framed your photos, called them evergreen.

My face was dimly lit in your final show.

And they called me a monster for being mean,

Tried to kill me with vultures and crows.

They wrote about me in their magazines.

They only showed photos of me and you smiling.

-JW

No Mercy For The Wicked

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Your webs are ripping me into pieces.

They are swallowing me, twisting me.

With surgical precision, you are cutting my story into scrambled thesis,

And I am yet to discover the place where my peace is.

With your claws on my waist testing me,

I let the red fog bury my reasons.

But I was once a different person –

Striking blurry truths with my honesty.

There is, however, only so much a soul can take before turning to arson.

Now I am waving my goodbyes to a far sun,

Washing my palms in liquid modesty,

Listening as they say to you:

“Never lower the bar, son.”

I guess it is true –

No mercy for the wicked, no escape for the fooled.

-JW

Winds

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My neck bends to your winds and spells out every sentence you mutter.

I am enchanted by your hexes as my spite slides down into the gutter.

Not that long ago I volunteered to be one of your muses,

But you rearranged my words like a puzzle, and I politely refused the music.

My arms swing into your winds and cry for your love in the darkest hour.

I am stuck between your teeth with the rest of my world that you devoured.

No, I did not ask you for much, but you were still unconvinced.

Now white walls talk to you in dozens of voices

And I am gone with the winds.

-JW

The Provoked And Resentful

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The rusty iron rods feel like feathers on my chest.

Don’t worry, don’t you decompress,

Just try to do your best

As you’re dealing with your own god complex.

The acid is dripping down my sides in harmony.

It’s not about what you thought of me,

It’s about how you reigned judgement of those who were free

Because you live in fallacies.

I am not your queen, I am not a lady.

Burn the lines if they seem too hazy.

You’re afraid because you just cannot make me into a mirage

With a weak voice and hands that are shaky.

All you want is pedal to the metal.

You’ve only been someone’s first choice when they settled.

I get it, love, it must hurt to fall off the saddle,

So you channel your resentment into the corporate ladder.

And the knives feel gracious on my tongue.

Go and teach a lesson to the young,

Set an example on how to drown a voice yet unsung

As you’re desperately removing my gurgling lungs.

-JW

Every Villain Needs An Origin Story

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You acted like it was difficult to dig a hole in my spine.

You pretended for decades that all the things I have gathered were not really mine.

But I forgave because I always push through the pain.

There are no shortcuts or leeway for those who do not learn the rules of the game.

Guilt knows how to crawl on your shoulders without a sound.

I was running, bruising my own knees just to realize that I was the feared hound.

And you convinced me that letting go is oh, so easy, baby,

But I am on a guilt trip, lost and alone in the desert, with no one left to save me.

The anger inside tears apart all that is tranquil and scenic.

My teeth are sharp, every creature steps back when I smile wide, like I mean it.

You act cool, you keep your distance, you just observe

As they come up with theories about my origin story that are nothing but absurd.

I forgave you then, and like clockwork I forgive you now.

You know they will never believe me, a beast this violently off-putting and loud.

Humiliation is a strong leash; it chokes you without a sound.

I keep running, bruising my own knees, knowing too well I am forever bound.

-JW

Perfectly Silent

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They kneel before me as I enter the city.

No knives, no boots,

Just some hope behind layers of pity.

I will never surrender, I will never cave.

This is my home,

No need for me to play this brave.

My dark thoughts work better alone.

The misery never leaves,

It whispers, curses and moans.

But I dream about my city when I sleep.

This is my haven,

This is the heart I wear on my sleeve.

And they kneel as I am ready to dive in.

No fear, no dreams.

Just some salvation, perfectly silent.

-JW

Unsafe

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I fear stillness and putting down roots.

Home is needless

If you only think after you shoot.

When you live on pins and needles,

Nothing is safe.

Be it graveyards or grand cathedrals,

Be it deep sea caves.

-JW

Crushed

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You pick and choose the colors you assign to my halo

While my ribs are bursting open like volcanoes.

My worth is always equal to how much I lie for you,

After all that I did you still try to hide my truth.

I paint myself in gold, but you erase all my glory.

The more I obey, the more you twist my stories.

There is nowhere to escape, only pressure on my chest.

My lips are painted grey as you tell me to rest.

You crush my lungs between the tips of your fingers.

The sound cracks in half and the violence lingers.

You pick and choose the spots where you cut me open.

As I bleed out dry, they still look for a motive.

-JW