#i am a real poet! my life is my poetry

[purebbyfawn]

[september-poetry]

go on boy, bark

take away my thoughts

bite my neck

you'll be a good boy

won't you?

slackened jaw

what do i exist for

so collar me up

tie me down

make me beg

my bark is worse than my bite

would you tear me apart if i asked you to?

would you eat me up?

bloodied maw dripping with the entrails of my mind

dumbified

who thought a pretty boy like you would lose yourself so easily?

muzzled, controlled, devoured

pull on my leash

make me choke

make me bleed

constrict the last of my humanity

don't let me breathe

take away every piece of me

won't you do that for me, baby?

05 / 03 / 24

[asphodelpoetry]

the turning of a shoulder,

shrugging me off your mind

to an open corridor,

a hallway,

where we pass each other

with our eyes locked on the floor,

knowing our souls have touched

and talked

and loved

and that our eyes have met in the few seconds

we still turn our cheeks.

read and opened

destruction of the idea of us,

a pair,

two-peas-in-a-pod,

someone i thought knew me

like the sand knows the ocean,

the clouds the sky,

and my door to greeting you.

we are ending,

collapsing like the empire you held over me;

we are ending,

and, maybe,

we never should have started.

[a-dreamersjournal]

12th December, 2022.

I don't know what's hurting. Just that it hurts, and it just won't stop. I tried ignoring this, but it doesn't help. Not in the least. I don't know, I don't know anything. Just want to go home. I need familiarity. Feeling of belonging somewhere, with someone. I don't even know why I'm feeling anxious for all these hours, why the prospect of waiting and getting a phone call and be done with it is...weird. Specially when it's from someone you love. I'm just exhausted maybe, tired. Emotionally, physically, mentally drained? Drained of my own identity. Drained of that energy to distinguish between what's real and what's not. It's weird. I don't like this. I can feel it in my body. Not sure if the cold is seeping in my body or if it's all inside already. I'm so numb. So goddamn numb.

Just an old journal entry i came across, made me tear up. Have been through so much that it feels kinda dreamy, the fact that I am still here. But am i really here? Does it really matter If I am not...?

[astonmartinii]

i love him, it's ruining my life [guilty as sin part one] | charles leclerc social media au

pairing: charles leclerc x fem sainz!reader

a contract ends, a relationship is exposed and even with everything on the line, she still loves him.

MASTERLIST | SERIES MASTERLIST | TIP JAR

yourusername

liked by charles_leclerc, landonorris and 621,099 others

yourusername: out and about town

view all comments

user1: girl? girl? GIRL?

user2: carlos' career is DEAD AND SHE'S POSTING VACATION PICS ON INSTAGRAM

user3: at least they're cute instagram pics

landonorris: y/n i think it's time you finally take that phone off of do not disturb

yourusername: but that's the perpetual state of my phone i am a poet i was born to be in the woods, if you have news tell me now before i close this app in 20 seconds

landonorris: i don't want to air your brother's business out in a public instagram comments literally just scroll through your timeline idiot

yourusername: wait let me open the family group chat

yourusername: WHAT

user4: are we about to see her reaction to carlos losing his seat in real time?

user5: let me grab my popcorn one sec

yourusername: WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME?

landonorris: take your phone off DND for once in your life and maybe you’d be clued in on the news

charles_leclerc: and while you’re at it reply to all the tiktoks i sent you

landonorris: not the time leclerc

charles_leclerc: but but but my tiktoks… i finally got a tarot card reading that resonates

landonorris: NOT THE TIME

charles_leclerc: don’t hate the player hate the game

carlossainz55: really?

charles_leclerc: i am TALKING ABOUT TIKTOKS LEAVE ME ALONE

yourusername: this is a lot - gosh can’t a girl go on holiday without everything imploding (i'll check the tiktoks in a second)

user6: anyone kinda weirded out that charles is just here joking with y/n as if his teammate and her brother hasn’t just been forced out of a job?

liked by carlossainz55

user7: babe he wasn’t forced out of a job, his contract wasn’t renewed. the last time i checked this was a sport where they compete not sit around and sit kumbaya

liked by charles_leclerc

user8: oh! they’re both liking shady comments already, it’s been a day since the announcement

user9: this is gonna get ugly isn’t it?

user10: awful, truly. i’m sat.

carlossainz55

liked by landonorris, maxverstappen1 and 1,029,458 others

carlossainz55: love all, trust a few and do wrong to none

view all comments

user11: .... right, what ever the fuck that means?

user12: i mean i was just here to celebrate the win what is all this poetry

user11: are we shading charles? lewis? ferrari?

yourusername: shakespeare, really?

carlossainz55: i can read you know

yourusername: oh really, that's news to me

user13: erm you guys i thought the whole job loss thing was meant to bring the family together....

user14: they joke like this all the time this is just sibling banter

user15: idk it's reading a lil more tense than usual, not that there's any reason for that (that we know of)

charles_leclerc: doing the tifosi proud ❤️

carlossainz55: will do while i can

user16: yall .... what happened to the chemistry

user17: they were never friends - pierre tried to tell yall

landonorris: a carlando podium !!! lets do this every week

carlossainz55: golf buddies and podium buddies - you love to see it

landonorris: LETS GO WILD AND PUT IT ON FERRARIS TAB THEY OWE YOU

landonorris: i mean let's celebrate your triumph good pal!

user18: the PR monster got lando :( rip

carlossainz55: just being able to win in front of the most important people in my life is enough

user19: does anyone else think it was weird that y/n wasn't at the race?

user20: like y/n loves australia she litr says that she was an aussie in a past life...

user21: also the most recent carlos comment... is y/n not one of the most important people in his life?

user22: do we think something has happened? like maybe he thought she should've cut her holiday short to come home to support him?

user23: also the fact that her and charles were immediately like joking around with each other? maybe it just rubbed him the wrong way

user24: but not even considering her an important person to him? and also that just seems like he's shifting all the blame to charles when it's ferrari who haven't extended the contract

maxverstappen1

liked by charles_leclerc, danielricciardo and 892,309 others

tagged: kellypiquet & yourusername

maxverstappen1: she says she's a professional third wheel, i call that being a LEECH

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user29: unlikely trio but somehow my favourite

user30: y/n really be their overgrown child

yourusername: how am i the leech when i paid for the ice cream mr millionaire 🤨

maxverstappen1: ever thought about how i want to spend quality time with my girlfriend?

yourusername: won't someone think of the children

maxverstappen1: ur 23

yourusername: that's it! p and i are unionising against this if you find suspiciously well drawn crayon graffiti on your walls it was NOT me

maxverstappen1: don't threaten my walls if you still want to come to races

yourusername: low blow 😩

user31: does that mean... she's not going to races with carlos?

user32: she's always been in his garage tho like even with how close her and max have always been SHE'S ALWAYS IN GARAGE 55

user33: i feel like this has something to do with the whole seat situation i'm not sure how but like i think there's something weird going on here

kellypiquet: don't worry @yourusername it might be max's house but it's p that has the final say

yourusername: no one gets bluey like i do

maxverstappen1: yeah but while you're here you get the best seat at the tea party IT'S NOT FAIR

yourusername: well one of us can name all the disney princesses and one of us can't

user34: so.... y/n is living with max? but i thought her and carlos shared an apartment in madrid?

user35: guys i'm so confused

user36: we need the twitter detectives on this asap

charles_leclerc: no lec... when i specifically sent you a PR bundle, you hate to see it

maxverstappen1: you only sent that to us for y/n

charles_leclerc: maybe! but i have it on good authority that you loved the vanilla

maxverstappen1: ummmmmmm no i'm a professional athlete, y/n ate all of it

yourusernames: FALSEHOODS

charles_leclerc: i know who i believe

maxverstappen1: why is everyone ganging up on me in this comment section

user37: charles sending lec to max's house just for y/n WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN

user38: and does it have anything to do with carlos maybe kicking her out

yourusername

liked by charles_leclerc, maxverstappen1 and 673,892 others

yourusername: gotta make sure i give p a reason to tell me stick around

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user39: charles is always in the likes before me and i have notifications on

user40: they seem like such close friends it's so annoying that they're never spotted together at a race and we have no pictures of them :(

charles_leclerc: why do i never get any baked goods i literally sent my ice cream to my arch rivals house just for you

yourusername: you're never in the fucking country that's why

charles_leclerc: i have this kind of demanding job i don't know if you knew

yourusername: i also have the demanding job of being sexy and i cope just fine

charles_leclerc: i heard you got employee of the year, hard to be too upset when you're the competition

yourusername: better luck next time babe

user41: openly flirting with the guy that caused her brother to lose his job, this girl is just shameless

yourusername: do you think charles is the literal ceo of ferrari?

user42: why are you defending charles more than your actual brother?

yourusername: i feel like i gotta make this statement every three buisness days on here but like you people don't know what happens in our personal lives and i can defend my friends if i feel they're being unnecessarily questioned

user43: queen snapped omg

user38: they always be out here trying her like she's not a writer and poet SHE WILL READ YOU FOR FILTH

maxverstappen1: pretty sure she'd replace you with me in like two seconds so you're safe until [redacted] gets home

yourusername: i'm pretty sure with the right campaign i could sway jimmy and sassy to my side as well

user44: who the FUCK IS REDACTED

maxverstappen1: wouldn't you like to know 🤨

yourusername: max ???

maxverstappen1: what? i didn't have friends growing up i like that you tell me secrets

yourusername: oh :(

maxverstappen1: you wanna tell me more?

yourusername: NO YOU ALREADY KNOW THE BIGGEST ONE

maxverstappen1: true 💅🏻

user45: so like the secret is defo a relationship right?

user46: do we think carlos knows?

user47: by the fact that he's not in these comments... probably not

user48: so like he looses his seat and finds out his sister is in a secret relationship? someone give the guy a break

user49: or maybe, just maybe, there's a reason that y/n hasn't told carlos and he's not the guy we all think he is

liked by charles_leclerc

user50: OH? this war is so on ....

f1teaspill

liked by user51, user52 and 31,845 others

tagged: yourusername & charles_leclerc

f1teaspill: the war at ferrari is heating up... turns out there's a lot carlos didn't know and FOR YEARS. yes, you're reading that right, y/n sainz and charles leclerc have been in a relationship for at least two years and believe us we have a VERY credible source like WITHIN THE FAMILY level source.

the most important thing about this whole relationship is how carlos did not know for years, so how much more was hidden from him? did y/n know about the seat swap for lewis? was she leaking strategies to charles? was she sabotaging her own brother?

view all comments

user53: OH SHITTTTTTTTTT

user54: cancel me if you will but i think the hottest couple in f1 just dropped

user55: the fact we've been robbed of content of them for years .... i'm angry I NEED THE POETRY ABOUT CHARLES

user56: i'm gonna need y/n or charles to drop all the pics in response

user57: y'all a source "within the family"? did these fools find out about y/n's relationship and immediately run to an f1 TEA PAGE???

user58: that's some goofy ass shit

user59: i find it funny that instead of sitting down and thinking about why their daughter/sister didn't feel comfortable enough to tell you about her relationship they're like i know EXACTLY who needs to hear this

user60: the way it's proved her completely right to not tell them

user61: do you guys think this is like a tv show or like fan fiction? in what world is y/n sharing strategies to fuck over her own BROTHER?

user62: also be for fucking real... strategies? ferrari? at least try and be realistic

user63: also.... walk with me .... why would y/n and charles conspire to put lewis hamilton in carlos' seat? LEWIS FUCKING HAMILTON AND SEVEN TIME WORLD CHAMPION? WHY WOULD CHARLES WANT TO TAKE HIM ON OVER A GUY HE'S ALREADY BEATEN TWICE

user64: see this is the point! sainz camp you can try and demonise charles and yOUR OWN DAUGHTER all you want but we all know it's bull shit

user65: one thing about this that really rubs me the wrong way is that the sainz camp clearly expected that if y/n was in a relationship with charles that she would've been a double agent for carlos? and because she's not fucking insane they're now going for character assassination of their own SISTER/DAUGHTER

user66: THIS THIS THIS

user67: carlos won't even consider y/n an "important" person in his life but expect her to sacrifice or exploit her relationship for cheap psychological points

user68: also y/n isn't even at most races so how is she getting carlos' strategies to give to charles? this shit doesn't make any sense

user69: carlos himself has said in an interview that y/n is useless when it comes to racing that she's just a supportive figure rather than someone who has any in depth racing knowledge

user70: this is insane level hating with all the evidence out here... and against your own family...

user71: this just makes me think that y/n wasn't in australia for a reason - like was she banned from carlos' garage

user72: and the fact she's been staying at max's it just makes me think that y/n was kicked out of her and carlos' apartment

user73: now tHATS INSANE

espnf1

liked by pierregasly, maxverstappen1 and 1,025,788 others

tagged: carlossainz55, charles_leclerc & yourusername

espnf1: well... this could be awkward

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user77: espn babe you're just like me

user78: *slides $5 across the bar* get a camera in the ferrari garage?

espnf1: we're working on it 😩

user79: pierre and max here... they really are the paddock gossip girls

maxverstappen1: i guess carlos couldn't handle that i knew who redacted was before him 🤷🏻‍♂️

carlossainz55: really?

maxverstappen1: don't put your sister on the streets and i won't dunk these jokes on your head

user80: is this like the official f1 civil war?

carlossainz55: you don't know anything max, i'd really keep your nose out of our business

maxverstappen1: i actually know exactly how you guys move, you tried it on 17 year old me and it becomes my business when my best friend calls me with no where else to go (also i know you changed the locks while you were in maranello so she wouldn't be able to go to charles, you're not slick)

carlossainz55: i never took you as a lap dog max

yourusername: calling him the lap dog when you're the biggest bitch on the grid - bold

carlossainz55: you're burning a lot of bridges for a talentless slut who had to start fucking my teammate when we cut you off

yourusername: keep throwing your PR to the fire and see who fucking hires you, i guess we'll both be unemployed bums

user80: also imagine calling her talentless like she isn't a well established poet LOL

user81: guys this is getting so bad so quickly

user82: we got the whole rest of the season of this

user83: mad respect to max for sticking up for his bestie

user84: and her actual boyfriend isn't?

yourusername: charles will do his talking on the track like he always does. he won't debase himself with bickering in instagram comments, funnily enough ferrari don't like that - might be the reason he still has a seat and someone doesn't

carlossainz55: or he's a pussy who has his woman talk for him

yourusername: at least he has a woman to talk for him, he doesn't behind his dad at any sign of trouble. i've always known i didn't matter to dad the moment i wasn't a boy but i'm not afraid of him or you and i know exactly how you work. good luck

user85: do they know we can all read this?

user86: when i'm in an oversharing contest and the sainz siblings walk in

user87: those ferrari debriefs are gonna be AWKWARD

yourusername: especially since he doesn't have binotto to hide behind any more

user88: girl you good?

yourusername: i've never been better, this has been building for years even before charles and i got together

yourusername

liked by maxverstappen1, charles_leclerc and 908,487 others

tagged: charles_leclerc

yourusername: i love you, it's ruining my life

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user89: y/n i'm gonna let you finish but we could really get the best poetry out of all of this

user90: for real like yeah i'm sorry your brother tried to make you homeless, exposed your relationship, accused you of treason and called you a talentless slut - but think of the poetry!

charles_leclerc: i love you and i hope you're okay

yourusername: i'll always be okay with you

charles_leclerc: it's out now and no one can take us away from each other

charles_leclerc: i'd actually love to see them try

yourusername: i'd go through this fortnight of hell over and over again if it meant i'd still keep you

charles_leclerc: i'd like to say this is the end of it but i think we're in for the long run now

yourusername: i'm prepared to go to war for you

charles_leclerc: there's no one i'd rather be on the front lines with

user91: oh brother... YOU'RE IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH A POET WE GET IT

charles_leclerc: * in love with

user91: oh my bad

charles_leclerc: no worries

user91: STILL GROSS BRO

liked by maxverstappen1

charles_leclerc: max ???

maxverstappen1: you guys need to calm down cause i'm not good with words and kelly is gonna start scrutinising my cards and i DO NOT HAVE THE VOCABULARY FOR IT

yourusername: lol

maxverstappen1: lol? LOL? did our brief yet forced stint as roommates mean nothing?

yourusername: fine i'll ghostwrite your valentines cards

user92: so this is all a bit melodramatic

user93: he CHANGED THE LOCKS BRO SHE HAS THE RIGHT TO BE MELODRAMATIC

liked by charles_leclerc

user94: okay so now we're in full blown f1 civil war - who is on each side?

user95: well max and pierre are on charles' side. i'd also add in lewis, seb, oscar, esteban, george, alex, yuki and daniel

user96: so carlos has lando and fernando?

fernandoalo_oficial: it might not be blood but that's my daughter

user96: ????

user97: did he just show up to diss carlos and then refuse to elaborate?

user98: sounds like a nando thing to do .... also just leaves carlos with lando lol

user99: this feels a bit unfair

yourusername: all is fair in love and poetry

fin.

note: so as soon as i had this idea (litr TTPD release day) i have been so busy and WHACKED with the worst writer's block but i hope this is a good start and rest assured knowing the beef will only get worse... I LOVE DRAMA

note: hiii extra note from me here. first, i will fix this tag list at some point idk why it's not working rn. secondly, i have been made aware by multiple people that there is a series just like this one down to characters and the name of the series on here and i can't lie i'm bummed about it. as i said on the first part (?) this is an idea i've had since the release of TTPD (and people will back me up on this) so it bums me out that there are blatant copies coming out! i'm all for inspiration but sometimes there's a difference between taking inspo and copying especially when my masterlist was posted ages ago and my first part was posted on the 9th of may.... anyways that's all i have to say! enjoy xx

taglist: @aadu2173 @rhythmstars @kqliie @booksandflowrs @2bormaybenot @firelily-mimi @evie-119

[zzz1gzag]

4ggravate author au where haikaveh are poets who write poems about each other (beefing)

Au dashboard simulator under cut

🪻paradicing-onions Follow

The huge overlap between kaveh fans and mahaseudo fans is so funny because both works require you to memorise random made up words but only mahaseudo writes majority fantasy

🌅 heeyythams-pen Follow

True fans keep dictionaries in their house. Ok but fr though kaveh's so lucky his works are popular because can you imagine reading the words "cynic" or "lonely" for the first time when it's not mainstream

🐺 mahaseudo nym 🔷 Follow

Real

🪻paradicing-onions Follow

HUHHH??? HELLO SIR HALF AN EYE REVEAL???

🌫️ PartiesDyhai Follow

Mahaseudo fans are like victorian gentlemen seeing a hint of ankle

800.4k notes ♥️🔄

💟 Al-almar-will-rise Follow

I cannot reblog this post anymore. Am i blocked? Pls help

900 notes ♥️🔄

❣️ KavehScribbles 🔷 Follow

@mahaseudo-nym @ForestWatching

Thanks for the pottery date!!!! Lobe u smmmmm

Mas would want you to think his first bowl is on purpose but he needs to be exposed for his lies. And witchcraft. He managed to make a whole other bowl by the time we finished painting and it turned out so well until he ruined it

30 060 notes. ♥️🔄

☠️ sea-yar-har-har Follow

The character designs in mausoleum is genuinely! So! Good! But lets not ignore how whenever Mas has to draw a background character as attractive its the exact same face, and its not even according to conventional beauty standards??

This has been going on for a WHILE now the last one is from his superhero comic days

Who is this man lmfao

💌haikaveh-love-letters Follow

Its like when ancient greek sculptures base their sculpture of aphrodite on their lover/j

🌌 marrysoulem Follow

Hey.. hey letters remember this post

💌haikaveh-love-letters

HUHBBWHAT. OH. OH WHAT. WHAT

🌌marrysoulem

🐢 KavehDarling Follow

Guys we shouldnt speculate about his private life. It's kind of weird that people make these jokes about a straight cis man honestly

💌 haikaveh-love-letters

Booooo its pride month throws ball at you

🌌marrysoulem

Like to charge reblog to cast throw rubber ball

#lmao what cis #what straight

600 notes ♥️🔄

🌄 sillyreal Follow

my college textbook is using mausoleum as an analogy for an agriculture concept. To me they are both fantasy tho lmao

#Prof. T is the biggest mausoleum fan real and true

53 notes ♥️🔄

💟 Callingnamber Follow

Honestly i think the fanartist @/seen0 is incredibly problematic, like hes obviously trying to copy Mas' style and his takes on the characters are always awful. Especially Kaveh's characters. If kaveh could see how hard seen0 is butchering his characters he would cry real tears

71 notes ♥️🔄

🤖 KavehSfeather Follow

Ouuu i just got the handwritten manuscript theres so many tidbits kaveh loves us all even the wine spill is a cute doodle

38 notes ♥️🔄

🏜️ haihaikavehh Follow

Alhaithams new analysis video is 50 percent just about kaveh lmao. We get that kaveh's the creator but thats a liiitttleee bit too much to be anything but suspiciously obsessed

🗾PartOfOrmos Follow

Guys hasnt this crack ship gone long enough

🏜️haihaikaveh

Crack?

#literally writing poetry abt each other but ok

6071 notes ♥️🔄

🌠 dorimon8 Follow

Guys can we talk about how people had to spend so much money on Alhaitham's hand written signed manuscript and midway through theres coffee stains and a wine spill??? Rich people befuddle me

9046 notes ♥️🔄

🖼️ KavehScribbles 🔷 Follow

NEW MAUSOLEUM CHAPTER OUT EVERYONE REJOICE

10k notes ♥️🔄

👁️ seen0 Follow

Rereading palace of alcazarzaray on stream and reanalysing Romiet now that we've seen more of his character. :)

New vtuber!! One for forest too :))

97 notes ♥️🔄

🏕️ ForestWatching Follow

Im sure its no big deal, Mas is particular in the way that he would definitely have asked before posting

👁️ seen0 Follow

Seems like you know his personalitree well

87 notes ♥️🔄

Dr.Tighnari Follow

Whats that

7 notes ♥️🔄

[poetrysmackdown]

some informal thoughts

hello! hope the holiday season has been kind to all of you. and i hope all my jewish followers had a lovely hanukkah! anyways, since i said a few months ago that i’d pick poetry smackdown back up sometime around this time of year, i thought i should make a post. the gist of it is that i’m still quite busy, i have a break that’s about three weeks shorter than I was planning on, and i don’t currently have the mental bandwidth required to read, contemplate, and sort through poem submissions in a way that does justice to them, even if i were to recruit some friends to help out. since running a tournament format requires at least five weeks of continued engagement once it’s underway, and since i’m not at capacity to offer that right now due to the change in my schedule, i’m gonna have to bow out for now. sad bc i was looking forward to it!

my hope is that i’ll have some more time over the summer to hunker down with it, in which case you’ll be hearing from me. it’ll frankly depend on the kind of job i land in for the summer, but i find that my unemployed spirit can typically keep me doing stupid shit regardless of workload...to a point. i don’t want to make any promises because i don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up just to let them down again LOL. i do admit the amount of exposure the first tournament got has made me feel like more of a perfectionist this time around, doubly because i don’t feel that i’m very suited to being a public online presence (even a relatively quite small one)—i’m bad enough at responding to emails for my own real life responsibilities, let alone tumblr asks for the silly responsibilities i invent for myself lol. that’s not to say i no longer want to do it, or i don’t enjoy it, or even that i don’t feel capable of making a really interesting bracket—just that if i am working to put something new together, and if people are taking the time to submit poems they care about, then i don’t want to half-ass it.

my second admission is something like this. I made the original bracket as a celebration of poetry and our relationships to it. yes it was silly and competitive, and the poems were very tumblr, but still, celebration was the intention—I wanted to have conversations about poetry. I stand by the bracket format as a fun and valuable way to foster conversations about poetry, but truthfully, the poems i’m wanting to have conversations about right now—the poems that we should be talking about right now—are ones that i'm not comfortable putting in a bracket. I reblogged The Baffler’s Poems from Palestine collection on here earlier, and Najwan Darwish’s “Who Remembers The Armenians?”, which I still often find repeating through my head when I'm traveling from one place to another, walking home or riding the bus. I came across this beautiful thread recently where people have been translating Dr. Refaat Alareer’s “If I Must Die” into their own languages (this just makes my translator's heart sing!!!!!!). @havingapoemwithyou has been posting some great poems from and for Palestine as well—check out their tag here.

There's always more to add, and I'll be posting more on here as I come across it, but that's what I feel anyone should be focusing on right now when it comes to poetry. i think poetry can be an escape but it should never be a distraction. does that make sense? i wouldn't be against doing a one-off poll here or there, but it feels weird to be making a tournament for poetry right now, or anytime soon. i feel like what free time i have right now is still best utilized helping my friends with organizing in the real world. and god, a bit off-topic but while I'm talking, fuck poetry foundation—I have so much respect for all the poets keeping up the boycott, because while i think it's a simple decision, it's not always an easy one (Aurielle Lucier discussed that here).

anyways, if you read all of this, thank you for your time!! I could go on and on, but really this was just meant to be a message telling y'all that there won't be another tournament for a while lol. even so i'll be trying to use this small silly platform as best i can until palestine is free because that's the absolute least i can do.

[proserpinesprankster]

Talk about your fantrolls NOWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!

ALRIGHTY BITCHES. So note that some have more iterations than others and im prolly gonna fix up the less refined ones AS I AM TALKING.

Ill add a cut because theres so fucking much of them.

Feel free to ask more questions i love my sillies!!!

Lets go in order of caste, therefore...

FIRST OF ALL! Nihila Umbrax, the Knight of Void, Derse sway, Burgundy Blood.

Nihila is a burgundy who was less fortunate at wriggling to say the least. They have multiple significant mutations, their eyes are solid red and their height is comparable to that of an older purpleblood, aswell as large mothlike wings. All of this and its seclusion in the woods has led to it being mystified as a local cryptid, the fact that its horns are shaped like antennae does not help the mothman allegations. Beneath all of this Nihila is overall just a big clumsy blind individual, they like to tinker with electronics and usually end up dumpster diving to salvage parts. They were most likely the troll who got SGrub up and working for the group, but its cryptid nature is not at all ceased during the game. Bowkind Strife.

Next we have Squash Tapeko, the Bard of Space, Prospit sway, Bronze Blood.

Squash is a bit of an anomaly in general, being that he operates outside of the typical laws of space and time. Paradox space and Squash get along like two peas in a pod, or more aptly two pumpkins in a patch, while normal space seems to avoid him like the plague. Hes always wearing those tacky shades that have the lines and stuff, and only has one horn which curls like a stem. Anyone accquainted with the laws of paradox space can tell in an instant this goofy goober is like a pumpkin given physical form. He likes to garden, usually growing squashes for later use as plot devices. Sodakind Strife.

Next! Aureum Crisia, the Maid of Light, Derse Sway, Gold Blood.

Aureum has little to no psiioniics despite being a goldblood, she's insecure for obvious reasons. She compensates with over the top optimism, though in truth she is a realist who never waits for things to fall into her hand. She has spent her whole life using charisma and wit to work her way into alternian business, despite the prejudice shown by higher classes. She can be a bit shady sometimes, but she refuses to take any disrespect. Coinkind Strife.

Beitah Bliuta, the Sylph of Breath, Prospit Sway, Olive Blood.

Beitah is close with Nihila, shes shared purr hive with them for as long as they can remember, practically siblings. Their hive is rudimentary regardless, mostly a well decorated cavern. Beitah is overall playful and childish, and the youngest of the group. She is also however a bit feral, for lack of a better word, most view purr as just overall weird for any of these things. Beitah is smaller than most of the others and wears baggy clothes constantly.

Raekie Venaer, the Rogue of Doom, Prospit Sway, Jade Blood.

Raekie likes to call themself a poet, followed by a murder of crow lusii constantly. They didn't favor life in the brooding caverns and instead live in a makeshift treehouse they ended up making after running away. They don't live in the same area as Beitah and Nihila but they do exchange tips through Trollian, and of course Raekie shares their cheesy poetry. Despite the gothic aesthetic Raekie is a terminal optimist, and knows good and well how cheesy their poetry is. Penkind Strife.

Terrun Biyiga, the Thief of Life, Prospit Sway, Teal Blood.

Terrun hates his own caste, plain and simple, mostly because of having lower class friends and realizing he was a part of the problem. He internalizes this hatred as of the start of the session, simply playing along. He has a certain level of internalized self hate, but covers all of this up with a hero complex and cowboy accent. Revolverkind Strife.

Now for a real interesting one, Celare Scurra, the Mage of Mind, Derse Sway, Cerulean Blood.

Celare Scurra is actually not 100% a troll. She always seems oddly well dressed, and never removes her gloves. On Derse, you may hear a whistling of a familiar tune, though back on Alternia it's less well known. Celare Scurra has joined The Midnight Crew on Derse. By some twist of fate, her body has a hint of Carapacian, which has shrouded half of her dreamself in black. She serves as a villain for this story, overall. Bit of a bitch, but unlike Vriska she doesn't flaunt it. Cardkind Strife.

Kirkor Stilis, the Heir of Heart, Prospit Sway, Indigo Blood.

Kirkor isn't the brightest, but he's sure lovable. Hes the only one even close to matching Nihila's height, and serves as Aureum's bodyguard at times as a result, warding off anyone who would threaten her due to his sheer scale. Theres some sort of moiraillegiac tension there, probably. Overall he serves as, well, the heart of the group. Hes also just very clumsy, someone give the 7 foot tall pair some dexterity. Hammerkind.

Manika Dexsue, the Witch of Hope, Derse Sway, Purple Blood.

Manika gets her kicks in a different way from most purplebloods, she usually only dresses up in the full clown getup for formal stuff. Normally shes wearing a dirty jumpsuit and rubber gloves with a purple gas mask, inviting Nihila over for their latest biomechanical experiment. Nibies' arm tends to end up the test subject. Manika is overall just a short mad scientist, and of course besties with Nihila. Sawkind / Needlekind Strife.

Sourim Paetel, the Seer of Blood, Derse Sway, Violet Blood.

Sourim is a socially inept hopeless romantic. He knows how to interact with high troll society... And thats about it. He's all prose and pretty words, with no real awareness of the state of things. He loves rainbow drinker literature, and this was why he first took an interest in Raekie, and then fell HARD. The fact that he has no social awareness makes flirting difficult, aswell as the fact that he takes Raekie's poetry seriously and Raekie doesn't take his seriously. Theyre both idiots with romance. Rapierkind Strife.

Ossico Blakke, Prince of Rage, Derse Sway, Fuchsia Blood.

Ossico is constantly tired, quick to anger if awoken from a good nap. Overall the whole group knows she has some anger issues to work through, but she cares deeply about her friends and is a sweetheart when shes calm. She is a force of raw destruction with a love for all things cutesy and brightly colored, and ducks. Furniturekind Strife.

Nibies Dulcis, Page of Time, Prospit Sway, Cotton Candy Blood.

Nibies was claimed by a purpleblood cult before she could be culled, and was worshipped as the avatar of their god, this was not a good thing for her. Eventually she did make it out and meet Manika, theyve got some sort of undisclosed redrom going on there, noones really sure. Nibies also hates Celare for an unknown reason, and its rather obvious theyve got some blackrom tension. Nibies is silly and over the top to make up for Manika's lack of clown behavior, with a very intense sweet tooth. She probably would have gone entirely mad if not for this group, and Manika and Nihila made her a prosthetic arm to replace the one she lost. Sweetskind Strife.

[letsgetrowdy43]

Divine Feminine—

Luke Hughes x Poet!Reader

I’ve never written anything like this before, so lightly on the judgment, please

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ynofficial just posted!!

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ynofficial might have a little something in the works :)

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user1 BREAKUP POETRY???

ynofficial maybe…..

edwards.73 mom told me to tell you she’s expecting a signed copy of your book on the front doorstep asap

ynofficial anything for mama Edwards 🫶🏻

user27 THEY BROKE UP

user1 they broke up like 6 ish months ago

user32 literary genius 😩

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ynofficial weekend crashing at Umich feat. lots of wine, p.s. Duker is my new fav person <3

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markestapa GO BLUE 〽️🔵

ynofficial you are literally the bane of my existence

markestapa you know you love me. I keep it real.

user4 the y/n and umich hockey crossover is everything I've ever wanted in life

ynbestfriend NYU >> UMich

Liked by ynofficial

Dylanduke25 missing you already!! I hate hockey boys

edwards.73 Duke stole my best friend…

ynofficial get over yourself

ynofficial Duke if I could pack you in my carry on I would take you back to NY with me

lhughes_06 Bud has a game tonight, no can do

ynofficial you’re no fun hughe 😤

user5 girl book announcement now. Please.

ynofficial I promise it’s gonna be soon, just have some finishing touches before it’s perfect

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umichhockey

Shoutout to our newest member of the family ynofficialtwt for keeping our sophomore boys in check this weekend. 

Posted from iPhone13

like -- retweet -- comment

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ynofficial something about being in this body, makes love feel like charity, something I never asked for but am practically starving without.

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user12 LOVE TO SEE IT!

ynbestfriend you’re glowing

ynofficial give me a smooch 😽

Dylanduker25 SLAYED

user23 Yn feeding us WELL today

Oliviarodrigo TEARS ARE IN MY EYES

user72 loving this era on you 🫶🏻

lhughes_06 you have a way with words ig

ynofficial awe my biggest supporter

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lhughes_06 just posted!!

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lhughes_06 summer loving ☀️

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user6 a smile on Quinners face!?

umichhockey hmm Hughes with the soft launch??

lhughes_06 got my media training from the best

edwards.73 wonder who that could be🤔

lhughes_06 should’ve let you drown in the lake ❤️

user7 the hair. i’m drooling.

user8 I’m gonna pretend like the gf thing isn’t happening and just admire the abs

ynofficial she must be a godsent if she has to put up with your ass

lhughes_06 you have no idea

ynofficial I think I have a small idea

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Jackhughes just posted to their story!!

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ynofficial  he is my sun, his touch is warmth brushing against my fragile skin, his kisses are fuelled with stardust

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user87 you’re just so effortlessly pretty

user98 obsessed with literally everything you do

user10 are we just gonna ignore THE SECOND PICTURE

ynofficial yes

edwards.73 hand placement 😑

trevorzegras that bathroom looks a little familiar 🧐

ynofficial choke.

lizzymcalpine I’m going to need that book announcement soon

ynofficial Lizzy my love, I promise it’s soon

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ynofficial just posted to their Instagram story!!

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ynofficial just posted!!

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ynofficial now that I’m a certified WAG may as well spread the word that my “little project” turned into my most cherished piece of work yet :) a three-part series dedicated to heartbreak, self-love, and new beginnings. I cannot wait to share this part of my life with each and every one of you <3

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user28 SCREAMING OMG

lhughes_06 my girlfriend wrote a book about me 😩

ynofficial my muse

lhughes_06 I’m bushing and shit

ynmom my baby is so talented

ynofficial luv you mum

user39 girl you said SMALL PROJECT

user82 3 books!!!!

dylanduke25 better be some poems in there about me

ynofficial they’re all about you king 😽

lhughes_06 😒

quinnhughes can someone please explain to me how moosey pulled a girl who is pretty and talented

lhughes_06 W rizz

edwards.73 you should be put down like a dog.

[purebbyfawn]

“u don't want to be forgotten, u just want to disappear”

- lana del rey // past the bushes cypress thriving (violet bent backwards over the grass)

[burningvelvet]

Here are two of the most hilariously scalding letters from the 1800s that I have ever read. One is by the famous writer Lord Byron, and the other is by his daughter Ada Lovelace, the famous mathematician. Both are written to their respective business partners: Byron to his publisher John Murray, and Lovelace to her colleague Charles Babbage. It’s interesting to note how strikingly similar these letters are despite the fact that Ada and her father never knew each other, as her parents separated shortly after her birth and he died abroad when she was eight. Both were rebellious, fond of gambling, prone to tumultuous affairs, and both hated Lady Byron. These similarities may help to explain why her final wish was to be buried next to him instead of her family.

Lord Byron in a Letter to his publisher John Murray about the printing of his magnum opus, the poem Don Juan:

“Ra. August 31st. 1821.

Dear Sir

I have received the Juans – which are printed so carelessly especially the 5th. Canto – as to be disgraceful to me — & not creditable to you.

It really must be gone over again with the Manuscript – the errors are so gross – words added – changed – so as to make cacophony & nonsense. — You have been careless of this poem because some of your Synod don’t approve of it – but I tell you – it will be long before you see any thing half so good as poetry or writing. — Upon what principle have you omitted the note on Bacon & Voltaire? and one of the concluding stanzas sent as an addition? because it ended I suppose – with –

‘And do not link two virtuous souls for life Into that moral Centaur man & wife?’

Now I must say once for all – that I will not permit any human being to take such liberties with my writings – because I am absent. —

I desire the omissions to be replaced (except the stanza on Semiramis) particularly the stanza upon the Turkish marriages – and I request that the whole be carefully gone over with the M.S.S. –

I never saw such stuff as is printed – Gulleyaz – instead of Gulbeyaz &c. Are you aware that Gulbeyaz is a real name – and the other nonsense? – I copied the Cantos out carefully – so that there is no excuse – as the Printer reads or at least prints the M.S.S. of the plays without error. —

If you have no feeling for your own reputation pray have some little for mine. — I have read over the poem carefully – and I tell you it is poetry – Your little envious knot of parson-poets may say what they please — time will show that I am not in this instance mistaken. — Desire my friend Hobhouse to correct the press especially of the last Canto from the Manuscript – as it is – it is enough to drive one out of one’s senses – to see the infernal torture of words from the original. – For instance the line

‘And pair their rhymes as Venus yokes her doves’

Is printed

‘and praise their rhymes &c. –

also ‘precarious’ for ‘precocious’ – and this line. stanza 133.

‘And this strong extreme effect – to tire no longer’

Now do turn to the Manuscript – & see – if I ever made such a line – it is not verse. —

No wonder the poem should fail – (which however it wont you will see) with such things allowed to creep about it. – – Replace what is omitted – – & correct what is so shamefully misprinted, – and let the poem have fair play – – and I fear nothing. — I see in the last two Numbers of the Quarterly – a strong itching to assail me (see the review of the “Etonian”) let it – and see if they shan’t have enough of it. – – I don’t allude to Gifford – who has always been my friend – & whom I do not consider as responsible for the articles written by others. – But if I do not give Mr. Milman – Mr. Southey – & others of the crew something that shall occupy their dream! I am not what I was – that is all

I have not begun with the Quarterers – but let them look to it. – As for Milman (you well know I have not been unfair to his poetry ever) but I have lately had some information of his critical proceedings in the Quarterly which may bring that on him which he will be sorry for. – I happen to know that of him – Which would annihilate him – when he pretends to preach morality – not that he is immoral – because he isn’t – having in early life been once too much so. – And dares he set up for a preacher? let him go and be priest to Cybele. – why let

You will publish the plays – when ready — I am in such a humour about this printing of D.J. so inaccurately – that I must close this.

yrs. [scrawl]

P.S. I presume that you have not lost the stanza to which I allude? it was sent afterwards look over my letters – & find it. The Notes you can’t have lost – you acknowledged them – they included eight or little corrections of Bacon’s mistakes in the apothegms. – And now I ask once more if such liberties taken in a man’s absence – are fair or praise-worthy? – As for you you have no opinions of your own – & never had – but are blown about by the last thing said to you no matter by whom.”

[Separate page]

“Dear Sir

The enclosed letter is written in bad humour – but not without provocation. -

However – let it (that is the bad humour) go for little – but I must request your serious attention to the abuses of the printer which ought never to have been permitted. – You forget that all the fools in London (the chief purchasers of your publications) will condemn in me the stupidity of your printer. — For instance in the Notes to Canto fifth – ‘the Adriatic shore of the Bosphorus – instead of the Asiatic!! – All this may seem little to you – so fine a gentleman with your ministerial connections – but it is serious to me – who am thousands of miles off & have no opportunity of not proving myself the fool yr. printer makes me – except your pleasure & leisure forsooth.

The Gods prosper you — & forgive you, for I wont.

B.”

Ada Lovelace in a letter to her work partner Charles Babbage, who she helped invent the computer with:

“Tuesday Afternoon [1 August 1843] Ockham

. . . Note B has plagued me to death; altho' I have made but little alteration in it. Such alterations as there are however, happen to have been very tiresome & to have demanded minute consideration & very nice adjustments.

It is a very excellent Note.

I wish you were as accurate, & as much to be relied on, as I am myself. You might often save me much trouble, if you were; whereas you in reality add to my trouble not infrequently; and there is at any rate always the anxiety of doubting if you will not get me into a scrape; even when you don't.

By the way, I hope you do not take upon yourself to alter any of my corrections.

I must beg you not. They all have some very sufficient reason. And you have made a pretty mess & confusion in one or two places (which I will show you sometime), where you have ventured in my M.S's, to insert or alter a phrase or word; & have utterly muddled the sense.

I could not conceive at first in one or two places what had happened to my sentences; tho' I soon saw they were patchwork & not my own; and found it so, on referring to the M.S. I fear you will think this a very cross letter. Never mind. I am a good little thing, after all. Yours ever

A. A. L.

Later. P. S. It is impossible to send you anything but Notes B and C; (& this partly owing to some wrong references & blunderations of your own). — Do not be afraid, for I will work like the Devil early tomorrow morning. —“

[Separate Page]

“Wednesday, 4 o'clock [2 August 1843] Ockham

After working almost incessantly, since 7 o'clock this morning, until I am forced to give in from sheer inability to apply longer, I find only the sheet I enclose is quite completed. I shall however send a servant up tomorrow morning by a ten o' clock train, to take you all the rest; so that you will have it almost as soon as this letter.

You cannot conceive the trouble I have had with the trigonometrical Note E. — In fact no one but me, I really believe, would have doggedly stuck to it, as I have been doing, in all wearing minutiae.

I am very uneasy at not hearing from you, as I have expected to do both yesterday & today; & fear some disaster or other. I hope all of Note G is forthcoming; & I also hope you have received all my communications safely.

I think you had better do the second revise of the translation for me. If you will compare it carefully with my first revise, it can hardly be necessary I think for me to go over it again.

I suppose I ought to take it for granted that no news is good news; but I am in a sad fidget. — Yours ever

A. L.”

[kvothes]

hello I have been driven to googling silly and impossible questions and then recently I thought well you and I have interacted briefly and also you are a poet. so. I am a lawyer and I like my job very much and I'm quite gold at it but when I was a child I used to write and draw and make music and it felt very real and serious to me and even though I like my job very much my life feels devoid of soul. I was wondering if a professional poet had any thoughts on how one brings it back to life.

it's so funny the things we ask of poets, i'm often in demand for weddings and births and funerals as though i'm an expert in all of them, despite having never married or birthed or died. but i'll give it a try

it sounds like you just need something around your job that can provide for you the things that your job won't, like color and delight and soul, as you say. it really is just as simple as picking back up whatever makes you feel—luminous, alive, delighted. i picked up guitar during the pandemic, personally.

moreover, it's about being willing to devote time to those things. both in a daily "if you want to read more you need to sit down and read" type of way, and also in a "you might not find the thing immediately that will make you happy and you need to try stuff out" type of way.

i read a lot of poetry both for professional reasons and because it delights me; i also try to watch old movies whenever i can, and i buy croissants nearly every morning, and i'm building up a record collection. this year i've tried to travel more and i'm planning a birthday picnic for myself, because if i don't, i'll just be sad.

so that's the advice, really. pay attention to what does delight you, be it opera or long walks or italian sodas. and try to work those into the fabric of your days as much as you can. start with what you miss. reach out from there. that's all

[asurrogateblog]

I have really enjoyed your thoughtful post about how big an idiot Jim Morrison is. In the good way. Theres a lot of debth to his life story, or the Jim Morrison myth. A perspective i think is overlooked in your considerations is the way he imitated the french modern poets like Rimbaud, and especially Baudelaire. I think - maybe through a fallacious mental connection - he imitated these poet so to be taken more seriously. He wanted his poetry to be stane-alone. Well all he ended up was, like Baudelaire, dead by drugs in Paris.

I am SO glad you brought up jim’s poetry. completely unironically he’s my favorite poet, and I am very picky. I love the way he writes in sort of....loosely connected ideas and aphorisms, and clearly he has an expert handle on the use of symbolism to evoke sensory experiences. my basis of comparison for him has so far mostly been the beat poets, and from a philosophical angle obviously nietzsche. clearly he draws a lot of inspiration from both, and imo effectively (but I'm no poetry expert). I've been trying to get into rimbaud more, but I haven't found an english translation I'm super satisfied with yet. if you have a recommendation let me know!

I genuinely think that you can't reach an understanding of jim if you haven't read his poetry. If all you heard about him was his penchant for jumping out of windows or getting so drunk that mace didn't work on him you'd have such a different mental image of him. but once you actually have a window into his mind, I think you can especially see how unified his worldview is – his desire to test boundaries, disrupt order, create new sensations. no wonder he was such an agent of chaos in real life. jim is an idiot because he's not an idiot. that's why I tend to make light of his behavior and even his death. it's sort of out of respect.... like, I'm not going to condescend you by treating you like you didn't understand what was happening

this particular poem of his always comes to mind for me when thinking about this. I think it tells you all that needs to be said:

[writing-is-a-martial-art]

do you read poetry? if so where do you find it?

Hey! I have to admit I don't read as much poetry as I would like to *insert a myriad health and general life-related excuses here*, so if any real poemheads out there could add to this that would be great, however there are a few spots where I hunt and gather for poetry:

a lot of older poetry collections can be found on internet archive - walt whitman's leaves of grass (link) and mary oliver's selected poems (link) being what come to mind right away.

poetryfoundation (link) is a large poetry archive which, among other things, hosts a poem of the day - it's fun to see a random one I wouldn't otherwise stumble across sometimes.

a lot of interesting poems can be found in fun strange online journals, I would heartily recommend going hunting for some to your own tastes but the ones I would recommend are nowhere girl collective (link), which hosts both poems, short stories and essays, have has had (link) - a minimalistic poetry journal with a poem of the day feeling to it, and the new absurdist (link) - it hosts short stories, essays, poems, various forms of art.

Poets and poetry can be found right here on tumblr dot com if you're interested in looking for them - boykeats (link to his poetry tag), orpheuslament (link to substack) (link to poetry tag) and inkskinned (link to writing tag) being the heavy hitters I know of- also while his writing leans more weird fiction than strictly poetry I cannot not recommend chandra (khufiya-khaufnak-antariksh) (link to his substack) - a collection of his short stories came out recently. There are plenty more poets to be found, though, these are just the ones off the top of my head.

Note: I am only including free and online-available ways to access poetry, as those are the ones I use.

[crmsnmth]

Imposter Syndrome

I don't write poems I am no poignant poet I have no stark insights into what makes life, well, life I just have this constant need to be bleeding from some wound at every single point in my life.

This isn't poetry I don't know how to write it I don't know the rules that were set before me By real poets writing real poems about real things I can't be like that

All these words that I write and type are just another way of saying blah, blah, blah I'm only writing these in a form to get attention And attention is that one drug I just can't get

These aren't sonnets There's no deep meaning in the letters all of it's just random words in an attempt to fill my narrative I wanted to love the world so badly but then I looked around

So please don't tell me How good I can look with a pen My scribbles are the one addiction that I just can't seem to kick I don't know what I would do without my one release

I am not a poet. I'm just another person who thinks everything I write is so important And it's only after the fact do I actually learn anything At least for a little while Explain how this works again

[shakespearenews]

Every writer in the English language, I should imagine, has at some point hated Shakespeare, has turned away from that monstrous achievement with a kind of sick envy. In my most anti-English days I condemned him as a chauvinist (“this England” indeed!) and because I felt it so bitterly anomalous that a black man should be forced to deal with the English language at all — should be forced to assault the English language in order to be able to speak — I condemned him as one of the authors and architects of my oppression...

...

I still remember my shock when I finally heard these lines from the murder scene in Julius Caesar. The assassins are washing their hands in Caesar’s blood. Cassius says:

Stoop then, and wash. — How many ages hence Shall this our lofty scene be acted over, In states unborn and accents yet unknown!

...What I suddenly heard, for the first time, was manifold. It was the voice of lonely, dedicated, deluded Cassius, whose life had never been real for me before — I suddenly seemed to know what this moment meant to him. But beneath and beyond that voice I also heard a note yet more rigorous and impersonal — and contemporary: that “lofty scene,” in all its blood and necessary folly, its blind and necessary pain, was thrown into a perspective which has never left my mind. Just so, indeed, is the heedless State overthrown by men, who, in order to overthrow it, have had to achieve a desperate single-mindedness. And this single-mindedness, which we think of (why?) as ennobling, also operates, and much more surely, to distort and diminish a man — to distort and diminish us all, even, or perhaps especially, those whose needs and whose energy made the overthrow of the State inevitable, necessary, and just.

...

My relationship, then, to the language of Shakespeare revealed itself as nothing less than my relationship to myself and my past. Under this light, this revelation, both myself and my past began slowly to open, perhaps the way a flower opens at morning, but more probably the way an atrophied muscle begins to function, or frozen fingers to thaw.

...

The greatest poet in the English language found his poetry where poetry is found: in the lives of the people. He could have done this only through love — by knowing, which is not the same thing as understanding, that whatever was happening to anyone was happening to him. It is said that his time was easier than ours, but I doubt it — no time can be easy if one is living through it. I think it is simply that he walked his streets and saw them, and tried not to lie about what he saw: his public streets and his private streets, which are always so mysteriously and inexorably connected; but he trusted that connection. And, though I, and many of us, have bitterly bewailed (and will again) the lot of an American writer — to be part of a people who have ears to hear and hear not, who have eyes to see and see not — I am sure that Shakespeare did the same. Only, he saw, as I think we must, that the people who produce the poet are not responsible to him: he is responsible to them.

That is why he is called a poet. And his responsibility, which is also his joy and his strength and his life, is to defeat all labels and complicate all battles by insisting on the human riddle, to bear witness, as long as breath is in him, to that mighty, unnameable, transfiguring force which lives in the soul of man, and to aspire to do his work so well that when the breath has left him, the people — all people! — who search in the rubble for a sign or a witness will be able to find him there.