bright ideas in dark times by nat t-d.

prompt: rain

ntdrake — 2022-02-20 06:10:11 UTC

daydreaming a blanket of rain -
i sense i'm slowing going insane.
though roots petals rejoice,
i'm stuck. alone with my voice
tussling jostling uncrossing my seat.
i make my way for more cups of tea.

2022-02-20 07:32:46 UTC

mscandypang — 2022-02-21 00:43:05 UTC

Energy boosting tune :)

2022-02-21 01:08:53 UTC

"If there's some magic in this world, in must be in the attempt of understanding someone else, sharing something, even if it's almost impossible to succeed."

– Before Sunrise, Celine to Jesse

Prompt: Ode to a friendship

jinnirim — 2022-02-21 01:58:18 UTC

We seat on marble edges of the fountain,

sun enveloping our face, our arms, our torsos, our legs.

the third hour of our conversation,

ideas bouncing between the space between our minds,
pulling us out of isolated rumination.

water flowing behind us, trees and flowers resting next to us;
different setting, same classical elements in our first meeting.

our memories and thoughts streaming into new topics;

laughter in the air, bright smiles bright eyes.

our time outside the digital space

and inside the passage of time like water.

This isn’t a sentimental friendship,

but our connection replaces my habitual consumption.
connection breeds the creation of memories, ideas, humor, and growth.

yes, I discovered the antidote to consumption is connection.

the antidote to materialism is meaning.

This friendship, founded on water, I give thanks to.

– Ode to a friendship founded on water

PadyAddy — 2022-02-21 16:09:05 UTC

A day, a night, in late July
a black and white city,
suddenly flooded with colour
a silver screen world,
turned without warning, technicolour.

A long legged nymph,
bounding on joy,
painted the world,
drawing my gaze.

Technicolour is nothing now,
my eyes, my mind, my heart,
they are enchanted.

It has been an eon since
that technicolour day, night, in late July.

But when that nymph bounds towards me again,
gliding on gossamer wings.

No matter how long it's been.

My eyes, my mind, my heart,
they are enchanted once more.

Looking Back, Listening Ahead

PadyAddy — 2022-02-21 16:15:01 UTC

"Hindsight's 20/20",
so they say,
that vague they.
They as a collective noun,
for humanity's collective wisdom.

My humanity lacks wisdom.
My hindsight's just,
a faded periphery,
of justification or guilt.

"The future's a mystery",
so they say,
that infallible they.
They used as a comfort,
for humanity's conscience.

But my conscience agrees.
My ears listen for what's coming,
they hear only,
a muffled destination
tinged with extremes
of emptiness or joy.

re: prompt: fated friendship

ntdrake — 2022-03-22 15:37:59 UTC

some people just seem to fit.

one brief encounter -
and you know they're it.

no need for explanations,
no need for defences;
stories will spill out
without an ounce of pretences.

they feel without knowing,
they know without seeing.
they care not for doing,
but simply for your being.

these people who fit -
they're few and far between,
yet it's these precise few
who make you feel seen.

Hope?

2022-04-24 02:53:22 UTC

Ashes fall

Smudging all

Greying landscape

Human mistake

Perhaps rising from the final pyre

There will be a Phoenix full of righteous ire

That is my hope, my only desire

That some good will come from all this fire

Poem: Not sure on a title

2022-06-14 11:25:07 UTC

Loud ticking from a classic alarm clock
Time moves forward, never to stop
The future before us lies empty,
Unformed, ready to be filled aplenty
A hopeful or frightening absence,
depending on the day
How could it be any other way

A liminal affair

2022-08-22 14:31:41 UTC

Time smoothed tiles beneath bare feet

Spinning and dipping each other in the square

Dancing under that ancient arch

Swimming and kissing in salty water.

A city feeling empty,

Feeling as if it belongs to us,

To this moment,

An ephemeral moment,

Doomed to end,

But while it lasts,

We savour one another.

Holding back the urge to photograph

To record is to remember

To record is to step back

I didn’t want to step away from you.

Talking of separates pasts,

Thinking of separates future,

Trying to hold a shared present.

A night I won’t soon forget, I say,

Perhaps they’ll be another, you say

If fate likes the idea.

I don’t like the idea of destiny

But I love that thought.

A Sudden Melancholy

2022-08-25 01:30:20 UTC

I feel it,

Our moment slipping.

Down a gigantic slope,

Far away from my grasp.

I always wish for the present,

But forget that I’m thinking of the past.

A single night of joy,

It taints my future contentment.

I am obliged to sense it deeply,

That sudden melancholy.

The empty space,

Where something wonderful could’ve been.

I found a perfect moment,

I fell in love.

I may never know whether it was you,

Or the moment.

But I am still mourning a loss,

Of love, of grand potential, of fathomless love.

Bad Advice

PadyAddy — 2022-09-18 17:38:17 UTC

I have no advice for myself.

I need someone to help me parse this

Preferably someone who knows me well

But I can’t ask you cause

I think I know your answer

It’s one both our hearts would hate

But our heads would understand.

It’s at times like this that I wish

I could see what would happen

If I gave in and chased you

Around the world

Would it work

If it hurt, would it be worth it?

For me, now, there’s only bad advice.

Reminding myself

2025-05-06 12:01:16 UTC

Nothing ventured

Nothing gained

You think about your free will

The burden of each moment

Your choices are half chance

Chance gives you only one

You’ve made the right decision

Now move towards certainty

The choice is painful but clear

Love is at the end of both roads

But one is well trodden and well lit

The other choked in potential pitfalls

Focus on the life ahead of you

Not the path you left at the crossroads

Remember, that path runs parallel

Nothing you had already is lost

Our 'first' kiss

2025-10-09 15:56:33 UTC

3 days is not a long time

When compared to years apart

But being in your presence

Brings joys unbounded

Even by the time constraint

Dark blue twilight envelops us

"Can we walk around a bit"

You say, in invitation to extend,

our time alone. "Of course"

I say, without a thought

Tightly bound to one another

The strength of our bodies given

Entirely to embracing the other

And holing on to this,

Hopefully eternal moment

A ragged wooden fence

A small set of muddy steps

Edged with a rough pine banister

The shade of towering trees

A flower scattered garden

My self-imposed boundaries

That surround our bodies stretch

Our hearts already beyond them

'If it was to happen' I thought

'This is a good place for a first kiss'

The promise of Catholic guilt looms

As I push the rules to the limit

Pulled past their elasticity

I look down at your moonlit face

Beautiful beyond belief

I decide, suddenly, without warning

The line I (we) tried to draw

I snap it, before my thought

Catches up, I'm kissing you

My passion too hot to hold alone

"You can't do everything but kiss

and say nothing has happened"

I'll never be more glad for that fact

The world is brighter, the colours

Deeper, thanks to this kiss

My love is un-bottled, no longer

can it be contained, it spills,

it marks, it runs, painting my world

in stunning shimmering shades

Your love is all I need, I crave it always

with my ever hungry heart

Puzzle

2026-06-14 11:20:36 UTC

Once a puzzle has been completed, it doesn't look right disassembled. Seeing the whole picture makes it clear; the puzzle is more than the sum of its parts. The pieces are not the same as the puzzle.

I am not the same without you here. You make me more when you are with me. Us is so much greater than me and you.