Fourlinegraphia

I once believed the crowd was home, that praise could fill the empty space. I chased the light where bright names shone, and measured worth by my own fame. *** I loved the sound of strangers' cheers, the warmth that came from being seen. For a while it softened hidden fears, and painted ordinary days with dreams. *** I rose like a bird upon the wind, certain the sky would always stay. The world seemed open at my feet, and every door appeared unlocked. *** I mistook attention for belonging, and applause for something I had earned. I thought the light would always find me, and never wondered how it turned. *** One day the noise began to fade. The voices grew a little thin. The doors that once stood open wide slowly forgot to let me in. *** I searched for what I used to be inside the mirrors of the crowd. But all I found was loneliness beneath the mask I wore with pride. *** The fall was not a single step. It came like evening after light. A gradual dimming of the world, a longer and ...

  I walk through fields where glowing screens bear gold, As honey flowers opening at dusk. Their amber petals shimmer in my eyes, And call my name with sweet electric light. Around their blooms the restless thousands drift, Like bees enchanted by a scented wind. They gather close to taste the golden dew, Then rise and leave when newer flowers bloom. I drink the praise that gathers on the bloom, And wear the crown of momentary spring. The world appears as bright as morning glass, Reflecting dreams in every passing face. For fame can feel like love when it arrives. It speaks in numbers, whispers, hearts, and praise. It wraps itself around our wounded lives, And warms the lonely corners of our days. We mine the light for such a fleeting bloom, And shovel deep through layers of the screen, Only to find within that glowing room The quiet isolation of the machine. We spend our lives digging for a prize To hold aloft before the shouting crowd, Blinding with dust our own searching eyes, Wh...

  I wander through the rain-washed streets of city a half-starved poet carrying a sky full of unwritten songs. My pockets hold nothing but crumpled pages, yet within them sleep entire worlds. The city rushes past me. Men in pressed suits discuss success, their voices shining brighter than their hearts. Publishers weigh words against profit, friends measure worth by position and wealth, and even love is auctioned to the highest bidder. I offer them my poetry. They ask who has praised it. I offer them my soul. They ask what it is worth. So I walk alone. At tea stalls, railway platforms, crowded markets, I watch people worship names instead of truth, statues instead of living hearts, appearances instead of humanity. The world loves mirrors. I carry windows. Yet among those whom society calls fallen, I discover compassion. A nightingale abandoned by respectability reads my verses as if they were sacred scripture. She sees not my torn shirt, nor the dust upon my feet, but the fire I hid...

He walked with torn dreams on his shoulders, A poet beneath a merciless sky. His words were richer than kingdoms, Yet no one stopped to ask him why. The merchants traded praise for profit, The scholars bowed before a name; Truth stood hungry at their doorstep, While falsehood dined in halls of fame. His verses flowed like living rivers, But the world preferred a gilded lie. They saw his poverty and weakness, Not the stars burning in his eye. A night woman cast aside by society Found beauty where others found none; She heard the ache within his silence, And loved the man he had become. The preachers spoke of virtue loudly, The patriots sang their noble song; Yet behind their masks of honor Lived the greed they hid so long. They crowned him only when he vanished, When death had wrapped him in its light; For living souls are often ignored, While ghosts are praised as pure and bright. But the poet would not sell his conscience, Nor bend his heart to fashion's call. He chose the road of...

  I rose where mountain rivers learned to sing, A wild-born child beneath the forest's wing. The dawn poured liquid gold upon my face, The earth received my bare and gentle grace. ** The jasmine climbed the shoulders of the stone, The wandering wind declared that I was own. The clouds crossed kingdoms, fearless, vast, and free- Yet freedom was a forbidden word for me. ** The river chose its pathway to the sea; Why was that sacred choice denied to me? The eagle stitched its shadow through the sky; Why must a woman's dearest visions die? ** The moon lays silver on the beggar's roof, Yet I must spend my life providing proof. The mountain stands alone and earns your praise; A woman stands alone and bears disgrace. ** I heard old customs whisper through the years: "Submit your dreams. Obedience conquers fears." Like roots of iron underneath the ground, Their unseen chains encircled all around. ** The tragedy was never in my fall, But in the minds that built the prison ...

  Each evening, as the amber daylight fades And twilight wraps the lonely hills in gray, I lift my eyes toward heaven’s quiet shores To search the silver stars that light the way. **** For somewhere in that vast, uncharted sea, Beyond the reach of earthly grief and pain, My son’s sweet soul has found its gentle rest, Far past the heavy clouds and biting rain. **** I still recall the tenderness he wore While cradling his own beloved child; The warmth within his soft, devoted eyes Outshone the midday sun, so bright and mild. **** His laughter used to fill our humble home Like springtime birds among the budded trees- A vibrant melody that danced through life As softly as a breathless summer breeze. **** But speed arrived, a sudden, ruthless storm, With roaring wheels and reckless, blinding flight; A racing shadow on a fractured road, A flash of steel-then vanished from my sight. **** I learned that speed can paralyze the heart, A dark deception masquerading as light; For light reveals...