She is a bad liar, that girl.

She is a bad liar, that girl. She can seamlessly hide behind words and metaphors but her eyes will always betray her. Beneath the layers of finery, if you look closely, you can see the pale glimmer of blues she has bottled inside. Wounds from years of baring her soul open only to zip it back up because she’s either too much or not enough. Scars from falling in and out of love too deeply. Stains, flaws, imperfections all trying to claw out of her skin.

She’s a bad liar, that girl. But if you stare long enough, she won’t look away. If you listen a little closer, she will tell you her story. No lies this time. Will you stay?

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In response to MindLoveMisery’s Menagerie’s Photo Challenge #191 hosted by Nekneeraj.

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The Baptism

The Baptism

My feet trudge the dark earth
Outlining little puddles
The furious sky flaunts its prowess
Upon us lowly creatures
My dress is drenched in the downpour
But my eyes flicker with hope
Like a child blessed with holy water
Within this rain is my baptism

© 2017 Maria. All Rights Reserved.

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In response to dVerse’s Quadrille: Flicker hosted by Grace and MindLoveMisery’s Menagerie’s Photo Challenge #174 hosted by Nekneeraj.

Last April, I’ve had the chance to work with Reylia Slaby during the A to Z challenge. Although I was 8 letters short in completing the challenge, it was fun and exciting expressing her photos through poems. The photo above is entitled, We Summon Our Own Rain. Interesting title, eh? 

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In The Quiet Of The World

In The Quiet Of The World

The world can scream to my ears
That I have the wrong kind of skin
That I have the wrong kind of love
That I am never enough

But there is madness within me
That long to be set free
No more casket for my worries,
Hiding a heart on a sleeve

I will plunge underwater
Where noises are muffled
And in the quiet of the world
I shall find my voice

© 2017 Maria. All Rights Reserved.

Photography by Natalia Fadejeva

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In response to MindLoveMisery’s Menagerie’s Photo Challenge #171 hosted by Nekneeraj.

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The only thing I have to fear…

The only thing I have to fear…

The only thing I have to fear is living a life with my soul tethered to a thread of lies. That in each move I make, each path I take, the strings crisscross. That without me knowing, I have weaved a delicate fabric of pretense.

The only thing I have to fear is not having the will to cut the thread. That I get at ease with the charade, and life, in its most cunning way, has tied the strings tighter. That I am left clothed with a skin-tight, glossy façade.

So here I am, trying to befriend my weaknesses, tending over my scars. Here I am, cherishing my passion, reaching out to my zeal. For the only thing I have to fear is living somebody else’s life while throwing away mine.

The wind’s kiss reminds
To live an untainted life—
Be yourself and smile

© 2017 Maria. All Rights Reserved.

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In response to dVerse’s Monday Haibun: The only thing we have to fear… hosted by Toni and MindLoveMisery’s Menagerie’s Photo Challenge #161 by Nekneeraj.

This stirring photo by one of my favorite surreal photographers, Oleg Oprisco, reminds of my fear of living a life pretense. I will forever be a work in progress but I am glad to say that the thread has started to loosen. 🙂

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Disillusion

Disillusion

I no longer chase men
Or strive to tie a broken string
This heart will not set sail again
On the ocean that took them away
Nor will I mirror past mistakes
For I have come to admit:
Whatever leaves, leave.
Whatever stays, stay.

© 2017 Maria. All Rights Reserved.

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In response to Poets United Midweek Motif: Mirror hosted by Sumana and  and MindLoveMisery’s Menagerie’s Photo Challenge #157 by Nekneeraj. Also an allusion to The Daily Post: Acceptance.

 

I Dare You

I Dare You

I dare you to move.
Plunge into my love and I will not resist nor will I stop you from swimming the depths of me. I will hand you the freedom to bathe in my warmth but be careful not to drown. For my love can be still as water or can come in waves.

I dare you to touch.
Wrap me in your arms and I will not fight back. I will build no solid wall so that our souls can stare right into each other and that our touch can reach beyond the skin. But do not attempt to own me for I belong to no man.

I dare you to fall.
If, by this time, you have swum my depths without drowning and you have touched this soul without owning, I dare you. There is a reason I keep a warning sign to this heart. Proceed at your own risk— you have been warned.

© 2017 Maria. All Rights Reserved.

The Folly of Two

The Folly of Two

Two meager sparks—
Smoldering remains of a dying fire
Flickering and calling for the day to fade
Into the night

Two scapegraces—
Queasy from parapraxis
Feigning perfection amidst nicotine
And quarter life

Enacting a fusion of opposites
Right and wrong
Truth and lies
White and black
Fire and ice

They say love was our connecting bridge—
Hearts race, hands slitter

No, folly was.

© 2017 Maria. All Rights Reserved.

Photography by Natalia Drepina

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In response to dVerse’s Tuesday Poetics: Bridge hosted by Lillian and MindLoveMisery’s Menagerie’s Wordle #137 by Yves and Photo Challenge #147 by Nekneeraj.

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Etchings

Etchings

a beast awakes in her sleep
recounting all of her defeat
etched on her skin are downfalls
broken hearts and failures
but day breaks with renewed faith
trampling over the nasty beast
the odious markings on her skin
she wears with pride again

© 2016 Maria. All Rights Reserved.

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In response to MindLoveMisery’s Menagerie’s photo challenge #134.

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Black and White

Black and White

Beneath her skin
Her so-called curse
Are years of unspoken battles
So she thrive in solitude
finds silence a melodic tune
and darkness a ray of light
She worship the night
cling onto the shadows
where she is neither “black”
nor are they “white”

© 2016 Maria. All Rights Reserved.

Image Source: fineart-photos.tumblr.com

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In response to dVerse’s Quadrille– 17: Shadow and MindLoveMisery’s Menagerie’s photo challenge #132.

Tending the bar today is De with her playful piece,  Sky Silver Waiting. The challenge is to write a poem in exactly 44 words (excluding title) inspired by the word SHADOW.

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