Free Verse - Blog Posts

Breathe

To breathe

Was an effort

That heaves heavy

On my bandaged chest

To breathe

Was all a pain

Which tenderly ached

The incision on my breast

To breathe

Was all the easier with you

Tenderly tending my bandages

With your caduceus spirit shining so

And to breathe in

And out was all the easier thanks to your

Healing heart and hands wishing you

Could take the weight and pain away

I want to live a thousand childhoods. I want to know how cold the water gets in the backyard rivers of country houses. I want to feel the texture of marble on kitchen counter tops and eat everything the private chef prepares. I want to run in grass miles and miles long with my sisters. I want to know how young feels in every skin there is.

L. V., i found this poem dripping down my forearm after taking a bite of a freshly-plucked summer fruit

L. V., i found this poem stuck between wakefulness & dreams

L. V., i found this poem lying on the bathroom floor

L. V., i found this poem inside an empty promise

Stay

I scream when I see you, when I hear you When I smell you and I cannot feel you But nobody hears me, because it’s all inside Sometimes you can see the pain, from tide to tide Sometimes you let me in, and there, I salvage Something from the sin that takes away the rage Of the deep, black storm that plagues my life That sets on me a swarm of regret, guilt, strife I am in eternal wait for the few and far between Encounters of our fate that make my heart clean But ignore my scream for now, I can wait until a day When I can again vow to, for two more minutes, stay

Open Your Heart

You are born with it open

Joyous and free.

You don't even know how to close it.

The instinct to let everything inside

As natural as breathing.

So wide open are the passages of your heart

That you can find no distinction

Between yourself and the rest of the world.

Open your heart, you hear,

And you do, gladly. Easily.

Uncomprehending

Of the enormity

Of what this platitude asks of you.

You feel that perhaps

Everything might live in your heart.

That would certainly explain the warmth you feel

As each one settles just beneath your ribs,

Nestling into the threads

You wove from your love.

♥

Inevitably,

A hole rips through your chest

As one of them tears itself from you,

Rending your tapestry to shreds.

And you are left holding your

Stuttering,

Gasping,

Bleeding heart

In your hand.

You did not know.

You did not understand.

Your fingers trace the outline of your wound

As you think of all of the others you have invited in

And imagine what shapes they might make,

When they leave you.

Your heart continues to pump,

Its contents dribbling through your fingers.

It can only try to keep beating;

It does not know how to do anything else.

Numbly,

You pull your heart close

And begin to stitch it closed.

♥

When it has healed

And sensation has returned,

You can feel fluttering against the outside of your heart,

Searching in vain for an entrance.

You feel safe.

Your heart cannot be torn open

From the outside.

At first they do not tempt you,

The flutterings,

The echo of pain still resonating in your hollow chest.

But though you do not want to admit it,

Your heart still beats

And remembers

And wants.

A flutter lingers,

Becomes a gentle caress.

It is so bright and warm and full of wonder.

Your heart aches.

Inevitably,

You surrender.

You reach back into your ribcage,

Pull out your heart,

And tear open the stitches

To let the warmth in.

It hurts

To leave it open.

It throbs with each beat,

Seeping through the hole in your chest.

But, you feel that perhaps

It might hurt less now,

When they leave you.

♥

Your heart stays open

And warm.

You begin to feel the tug

Of your broken threads reattaching.

The outline of your wound is not so raw as it once was.

The edges have grown stronger with use.

Inevitably,

Each one leaves.

But you have left the way open,

And though the snap of every thread is keenly felt,

It stays open, still.

♥

Just As We Hide - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: stock.adobe.com via Bing “When you trust yourself, you trust others too” Maya Angelou Just As We HideAutumn let golet go of all the brittle insecurityof spent summer,the sun throwing herself atgranite as if she might break open the truths of nature,the granite resistingeons at a time,not so much by strengthas by stealthholding back the contents,just as we hide our own truths by shame…

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As Yet Unclear - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

At dVerse Punam is hosting Poetics with an invitation to write a poem about regret – for more detail follow the link below: dVerse Poets – Poetics – Regrets and more … Photo: metapress.com “We will be what we could be. Do not say, “It might have been, had not or that, or this.”” Ella Wheeler Wilcox As Yet UnclearIn hindsightany attempt at regret, that bastard child of grief,is euthanised by…

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Soul Food - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Image by Lee Travathan from Pixabay “Live in the layers, not on the litter” Stanley Kunitz Soul FoodSome fruits hold delightbehind a jacket of skin,a bananaan orange mmm mango,some fruits -a strawberryso smallthere is nothing yetit is everything at once,but the pomegranate needs timethe right time,patience a woundinga diggingdeeperfor the arils,seeds of sweetnessunlike any other fruit,like…

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Sun Tide - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: pedestrian.tv “Gently I stir a white feather fan …” Li Po Sun TideWarmBlack mozzarella,gooey, stringysteamingoozing,unable to resistthe sun,urban pizzasticks to my shoestyres,stalactites onthe wheel archeswaves along the road,surfing to work. Copyright 2025 ©️Paul Vincent CannonAll Rights Reserved ®️

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Restoration - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: news.com.au “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other” Thich Nhat Hanh RestorationThat day, whenmuddy paws smudge your jeans,the burger erupts and spattersit only rains as you leave the carwater from the bin lid fills your shoes,no matter how hard you try the marmalade will not come off,always a trace just as butter in a beard,traffic heavy like a…

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Listen To The Song - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

At dVerse Sanaa is hosting Open Link Night (with Saturday Live Edition) – the night we choose a poem to post/read: to join in follow the link below: dVerse Poets – OLN Taken at one of our local cafes in 2023, male magpie – the cake not the coffee methinks 🙂 “The soul wants to fly away when caged, like a bird longing for the open sky” Rumi Listen To The SongGautama always compassionJesus…

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I Am Leaving A Trail - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Image by Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay “The dew is like pearl; the moon like a bow.” Bai Juyi I Am Leaving A Trail Nature's spritz gathers on my shoes now sodden as I merrily wend my way, nothing seems to be stirring in the cool of this early hour, only a fool would imagine they are unseen in this quiet, though nothing flutters or moves I am leaving a trail. Copyright 2025 ©️Paul Vincent…

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Can Never Be Spoken - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

At dVerse Li is hosting Poetics with an invitation to write about magical moments of intimacy. dVerse Poets – Poetics – Intimate Moments Photo: Flat Rock reserve on the Blackwood River, 2024. “One doesn’t really suck on frozen sugar water. One allows it to melt in the oven of the mouth.” Diane Seuss Can Never Be SpokenWe left the day as it happenedskirted the weather because it was,saving our…

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From Where Are You Looking? - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay “My candle burns at both ends …” Edna St. Vincent Millay From Where Are You Looking?Have you ever noticedhow time is unequal,would you agreethat winter takes its long time whilesummer skips alongas redolent childforgetting autumneschewing winter,time has its own agendait will andit won't,rarely does it add up,there's no jumping ahead,always the questionsfrom…

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How Soon? - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: artawkrn – pexels.com “What am I to myself that must be remembered …” Robert Creeley How Soon?Soft autumn rainlike petals,kissesfallinggatheringtouchingmy cheek,how soon will theybe forgottenwhen the cloudshave melted andthe sun returns? Copyright 2025 ©️Paul Vincent CannonAll Rights Reserved ®️

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After The Rains - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: gardenersworld.com Herb garden “But there is one who holds this falling infinitely softly in His hands.” Rainer Maria Rilke After The RainsTodayI strolled the borderI stroked the herbsmottledblotched,old tanned skinstems all lanky,woodyaged,after the rainsI will stroke thenew soft shootstender as youth. Copyright 2025 ©️Paul Vincent CannonAll Rights Reserved ®️

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The Sleep Of Lovers - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: 10000birds.com a pair of Mandarin ducks. “Few recognise that love is commitment …” Nikki Giovanni The Sleep Of Lovers A little bird told me something small enough to be significant about mandarin ducks who sleep the sleep of lovers who when frost and ice intrude swap sides through the night, keeping their exposed sides like their hearts. Copyright 2025 ©️Paul Vincent Cannon All Rights…

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The Measure - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: fountaintechpumps.com “Be grateful for whatever comes” Rumi The MeasureNonot by spoons of coffee,it's different nowcomputersemailsEVspond pumps,on averagefive years on the pumpssiftingfilteringbeing cleanedhow many make a life,how many till I go? Copyright 2025 ©️Paul Vincent CannonAll Rights Reserved ®️

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Wanting - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

At dVerse Dora is hosting Poetics with an invitation to take the example of Sandra Cisneros where she takes Spanish words that have no direct English equivalent and uses them to form the poem ‘I Have No Word In English For’ Dora has provided Cisneros’ words of which we can choose one, two or many of the words, incorporating them in our own poem. For more detail and to see the two choices offered…

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The Leaf Is All - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: Taken in Kirup State Forest May 2023 “Perhaps the purpose of trees is to hide the verticality of trees” Linda Pastan The Leaf Is AllThe leafis a riveris a cloudis rainis the groundfor the seed,becomes a plantbecomes a forestbecomes oxygenbecomes breath,life for all thingsand whenthe leaf fallsit isit becomes,for all things. Copyright 2025 ©️Paul Vincent CannonAll Rights Reserved ®️

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Thugs - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: gettyimages.com via bing.com The arrest of the Mayor of New Jersey who was doing his job. Note: In my view the U.S. has descended into fascist rule, the regime has given permission for the worst behaviour in policing and disregard for the constitution and the law. I hope those who aid and abet this regime face the consequences of their actions in years to come as the tide turns. “Then…

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My Write Heart - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: found at scienceinfo.net via Bing “… now will you rest forever, my tired heart.” Leopardi Giacomo My Write HeartIf my heart were a writerwhat might it write about -grand visionstruths of the pastspeculative thoughts on loveideas of travel to marshopes for peacefood enoughan end to poverty?Nothing particularly original,maybe that's a clue -is my heart more about fiction? Copyright 2025…

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The Old Casuarina - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

At dVerse Grace is hosting Open Link Night – the night we choose a poem to post. dVerse Poets – OLN Photo: zmescience.com “And the dead tree gives no shelter.” T.S. Eliot The Old Casuarina I often pass the old casuarina,green tobrown to grey,soft to hardthe end of sap,juice of the livinggonedead,elemental washthe smooth soon enoughsplits and pits,what once coherednow shredded,a fibrous…

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Hand To Hand - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Image by Milada Vigerova from Pixabay “Giving is, first and every time, hand to hand, mine to yours, yours to mine.” Alberto Rios Hand To HandThe cupan open palmelectric fizzlife flowing,small breathslong stepsmoving light as air,being offeringa gift to souls,hand to handlove's perpetuity,the combat only compassion knows. Copyright 2025 ©️Paul Vincent CannonAll Rights Reserved ®️

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Cup Of Swirl - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

At dVerse Melissa is hosting Poetics with an invitation to respond to some of the work of Georgia O’Keeffe’ as an ekphrastic poem and to include a handful of art vocabulary from the provided list. The words I have included are: aesthetic, primitive, patina, coil, montage, decoupage, relief, atelier, distortion, vanishing point. For more detail follow the link below: dVerse Poets – Poetics – In…

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We Don't Know - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: found at leadingwithtrust.com “A hole torn in the fabric of the world …” Nathaniel Tarn We Don't KnowThese linesmean nothingthere is nothingonly hidden intentionsof secret desires,that strange landscapeof internal confusionprojectedmasqueradingas certainty while ever doubting,because old, hackneyedhalf truths spreadliberally across thecollective mindshow how propagandaactually works…

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The Morning Celebration - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: Dawn – Taken last week looking out over the Blackwood River to East Augusta. “There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground …” Sara Teasdale The Morning CelebrationI dosometimesjust a few linesof made up song,more often I just humfor the physical resonance,I sing mostly in my heada song for all life,now and again I keenfor so much lossbefore I turn tocelebration. Copyright 2025…

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