Poetry Archives - Page 4 of 26

Chapter

Chapter Three

by testsuphomeAdmin — The chapter explores Cyrus's lifelong struggle with sleep, framed as a paradoxical and involuntary performance. From childhood, he finds it absurd that sleep requires pretending—a nightly act of faith rather than a natural bodily function. Unlike eating or breathing, sleep demands surrender to an unreliable process, rewarded with dreams but threatened by nightmares. Cyrus views wakefulness as a corrosive force, a "poison" that erodes cognitive clarity until sleep becomes unavoidable. His resistance to…
1. Martyr!
  
  74.6 K Words • Ongoing
Poetry

2.2 K Apr 14, '25 0

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Chapter

Chapter Two

by testsuphomeAdmin — The chapter opens with Cyrus attending an AA meeting at Camp5 Center, a dingy lavender recovery clubhouse frequented by a mix of old-timers and reluctant newcomers. The setting is vividly described—cigarette smoke, a dim basement with plastic tables, and the no-nonsense presence of Angus B. selling cheap snacks. Cyrus’s sponsor, Gabe Bardo, a seasoned figure with 33 years of sobriety, sits quietly beside him. The meeting’s broad topic, “life on life’s terms,” sparks disjointed shares, from a…
1. Martyr!
  
  74.6 K Words • Ongoing
Poetry

2.3 K Apr 14, '25 0

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Chapter

Chapter One

by testsuphomeAdmin — The chapter introduces Cyrus, a medical actor at Keady University Hospital who portrays dying patients or grieving family members for medical students to practice difficult conversations. He finds purpose in inhabiting various roles, from Sally Gutierrez, a mother losing her daughter, to Buck Stapleton, a Catholic coach facing his wife's brain death. The job requires him to calibrate emotional responses based on pain scales while evaluating students' empathy through score sheets. Cyrus enjoys the…
1. Martyr!
  
  74.6 K Words • Ongoing
Poetry

2.3 K Apr 14, '25 0

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Chapter

Cyrus Shams

by testsuphomeAdmin — The chapter opens with Cyrus Shams, a disheveled and drug-addled young man, lying in his squalid Indiana apartment, desperately seeking a sign from God. After years of silence, he interprets a flickering light bulb as a potential divine message, though he questions whether it’s a miracle or just faulty wiring. Cyrus reflects on the unfairness of biblical figures like Muhammad and Saul, who received unambiguous revelations, while he is left grasping for clarity. His longing for a tangible connection with…
1. Martyr!
  
  74.6 K Words • Ongoing
Poetry

2.3 K Apr 14, '25 0

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Story

Martyr!

by testsuphomeAdmin — “Martyr!” is a thought-provoking poetry collection by Kaveh Akbar that explores themes of faith, spirituality, identity, and self-sacrifice. Through powerful, evocative language, Akbar delves into the internal conflict between religious devotion and the human experience, especially focusing on the concept of martyrdom—the tension between surrendering oneself for a cause and the self-affirmation of personal identity. Akbar uses his poems to interrogate the nature of…
1. Chapter Thirty
  
  1.9 K Words • Apr 14, '25
2. Chapter Thirty-one
  
  2.5 K Words • Apr 14, '25
3. Coda
  
  2.2 K Words • Apr 14, '25
Poetry

34 74.6 K Apr 14, '25 testsuphomeAdmin 0 Ongoing

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Chapter

Towns in Colour

by LovelyMay — In the chapter from "Men, Women, and Ghosts," the narrative is an evocative journey through both metaphorical and literal landscapes, rich in visual and auditory imagery. The journey begins in the solemn ambiance of a church, where the heavy drone of the organ and the chant of priests during a requiem create a somber mood. The scene is painted with vivid description, focusing on the sounds and sights: the organ's growls, the priests' Latin chants, the swing of censers, and the flicker of candles amidst…
1. Men, Women, and Ghosts
  
  48.3 K Words • Ongoing
Poetry

2.7 K Nov 28, '24 0

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Chapter

Spring Day

by LovelyMay — The chapter opens with an evocative description of loss and mourning, depicted through the imagery of a boy grieving over his vanished treasures after a calamitous fire, leaving only worthless stones and ashes. This somber moment is marked by the striking of the clock, signaling a return to routine despite the preceding chaos. The narrative then shifts into a vivid portrayal of a spring day, starting with a bath flooded with sunlight, its rays dissecting the water into radiant patterns. The interaction…
1. Men, Women, and Ghosts
  
  48.3 K Words • Ongoing
Poetry

2.5 K Nov 28, '24 0

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Chapter

The Red Lacquer Music-Stand

by LovelyMay — In the chapter from "Men, Women, and Ghosts," a boy experiencing a profound sense of joy and wonder is depicted as he observes the transformation of his surroundings at dawn. The early moments are described vividly, likening the changing light to aggressive, yet beautiful movements of an unseen creature, with "sharp golden claws" and a "vermilion tongue," which eventually calms down to a "still, faint outline obliterate in shade." This transition captures not only the beauty of dawn but also the boy's…
1. Men, Women, and Ghosts
  
  48.3 K Words • Ongoing
Poetry

3.1 K Mar 26, '25 0

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Chapter

The Paper Windmill

by LovelyMay — In "Men, Women and Ghosts," the chapter starts with a vivid, unsettling nightmare where Mr. Spruggins is tormented by a bizarre, grotesque figure mounted on a pig. This nightmarish figure, with rolling eyes and a cap represented by a ten-pound weight, intimidates Spruggins with a scimitar, before plunging it into his mouth. This dream sequence is rich with surreal imagery, including a green light that undulates like the tide, filled with claws and scales, and a moon that crashes through the window,…
1. Men, Women, and Ghosts
  
  48.3 K Words • Ongoing
Poetry

2.2 K Mar 26, '25 0

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Chapter

Nightmare: A Tale for an Autumn Evening

by LovelyMay — In "Nightmare: A Tale for an Autumn Evening," the reader is whisked into a vivid scene of tumult and whimsy. The story begins on a gusty night, where the wind itself becomes a character of force and caprice, playing a mischievous game with Mr. Spruggins, a man slightly unsteady from an evening dining in the city. The wind, described as booming, swooping, and careering, makes a plaything of Mr. Spruggins, rolling him along the streets, his movements comically exaggerated—the swaying of his coat-tails, the…
1. Men, Women, and Ghosts
  
  48.3 K Words • Ongoing
Poetry

2.1 K Mar 26, '25 0

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