self-awareness poems

I'm Who | JD DeHart - Contemporary Poetry Website Featuring Notable Poems

I'm Who | JD DeHart

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By the third cup
of coffee I remember
my name.
My occupation. What
I’m doing here.
I remember my favorite
book and why it’s
important. I remember
the itchy part of my soul
that hasn’t healed yet.
The new wounds.
I have searched out
my name in published
words. Searched out
who I am in books
by Brennan Manning.
By Ernest Hemingway.
By Lee Smith. A really
eclectic set.
I remember by noon
where I am supposed to be
but can’t shake this feeling
I’ve forgotten something
important. Maybe the most
important thing.

Late in the Game | Roy Pullam - Contemporary Poetry Website Featuring Notable Poems

Late in the Game | Roy Pullam

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Envy is the boulder
That blocks the road
To contentment
It is the jealousy
That harbors hate
It is the unforgiveness
That looks up and down
Finding no approval
Embracing prejudice
Shuffling the cards
In a way
That deals others out
Defines we and they
So narrowly
So definitely
That stereotypes
Become laws
When even a flood
Of love
Is damned by spite
I learned my bile
With the soak
In the hate sauce
Of the South
But having lived
Through so many rains
Having been washed
By tolerance and education
Having been forgiven
For slights
By better people than me
I have grown
To be ashamed
Of the small person
I was
But still know
There is still
Room to grow

Not That Kind of Sad | James Diaz - Contemporary Poetry Website Featuring Notable Poems

Not That Kind of Sad | James Diaz

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You’re counting up years you’ve yet to live
as a way to hollow out spaces
before their span is run
to tangle under the sleep you carry
as if a root ignored
will not grow in the night
and shadow you all day long
why not live as if the only knowing
were the one yet to have arrived
as if the gift were waiting
for that place
where your scarred light rivers out
where there is only you to carry.

Give It a Shot | Sharr Shards - Contemporary Poetry Website Featuring Notable Poems

Give It a Shot | Sharr Shards

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What have you got
A penny, a dime
Is money all that’s on your mind?
Give life a shot
Quit thinking about what’s mine
Start thinking about the crime
That escalates as we read
As we breathe
As we brush our teeth
Give it a shot
Give it all you’ve got
Even if someone perfect is someone you’re not
Keep it real
Think about it over your next meal
Look, life’s all we’ve got

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