Poetry Repository: New Years 2026 Edition

  So over the holiday season I wrote exactly 40 new poems (mostly haikus again, of course) and figured it’d make sense to share them all here, as usual…

LET IT PASS (HAIKU)

Don’t run from darkness

Instead, allow it to pass

Then you will be strong

NOW LOOK (HAIKU)

You wanted to explore

Until there was nothing to see

Now look at where you are

WHAT TO DO (HAIKU)

You will not always

Know what exactly to do

No one ever does

WHAT YOU THINK (HAIKU)

I don’t care what you think about me

In fact, I don’t care what you think about YOU

Heck, I don’t care what you think at all

SAME EXACT THINGS (HAIKU)

What’s the point in still talking to you

When all you can say is the same exact things

When you can’t understand what I do

TO NEVER AGREE (HAIKU)

Maybe we will never agree

Maybe we will always be debating

I guess that was always the point

STUFF (HAIKU)

Go ahead, steal all my stuff

Less stuff for me to worry about

It’s all just stuff anyway

CHILDLESS ADULT

No other sadness like the one I feel

When I hear that brief, faint voice

The voice of someone who never existed

And most likely never will

But we’re meant to meet who we meet

And not meant to meet who we don’t

Will I be writing this forever?

REVIEW

A clear message

Lost in confused threads

But it made a child thing work

For my adult brain

MOVIE MAGIC

If not for the movie magic we all know & love

What would have been the escape

For the sad little boy, torn away from home

Torn away from his friends and his library

Damned to a run-down town

Plagued with the unbearable cruelty

Of weak-minded, compassion-less children

Perhaps a tv show, or a comic book or two

Maybe novels, to come with age

Nonetheless, movie magic was a perfect storm

One I wish I could recreate, inside and out

CHARACTER (HAIKU)

Damage adds to character

From a flannel torn at the elbows

To a man torn from regret

SAME LITTLE KID (HAIKU)

Despite all the change

I’m still the same little kid

Scared of everything

CONNECTIONS

I often wonder of the connections

That I had allowed to slip away

But if they were genuine connections

They would have survived on their own

Even the connections I have now

That are hanging on by a thread

Are hanging on for a reason

WORDS FROM MY INFLUENCES*

Just gotta keep going now

Whether I was meant to or not

But maybe we always become

Whoever it is we’re meant to be

After all, I’m only ever happy

When I’m creating anyways

*This poem is dedicated to Andre 3000 and John Bradburne.

EACH AND EVERY TIME

Some art needs refinement

In order to come alive

And other art is best left raw

Or somewhere in the middle

It varies from project to project

Line to line, word to word

Only way to figure it out

Is to just keep going with flow

Each and every time

BOUNCE (HAIKU)

It’s always good to have

At least one individual

To bounce ideas off

NOT GOOD (HAIKU)

I’m not good at all

But I’m not trying to be

I’m just being me

AFTER (HAIKU)

“Good enough”

Is not good enough

After “great”

SHIFT (HAIKU)

What horrors await?

Replace the above line with:

What wonders await…

WHY I WRITE (HAIKU)

It’s the only answer

For one reason or another

All roads seem to lead here

COLLEGE (HAIKU)

Memories of innocent times

Times of hope, in more ways than merely one

Ignorance is bliss, as they say

I AM STUPID (HAIKU)

I am stupid

Hanging on by a thread

But that’s okay

HAIKU OBSESSION (HAIKU)

Starting small

You would do the same

In my shoes

OTHERS (HAIKU)

Do others, wasting away,

Write poems in their heads, like I do?

Anything to pass the time?

VENT (HAIKU)

Here I am, just venting

Reflecting on my shitty day

Can I at least do that?

REALITY (HAIKU)

Either settle for less

Or go to easy distractions

Spoiled? Yes, but oh well

POETRY

Let the music do the work

Let rap teach you about verses

Let coffee shop jazz put you in the mood

Let your mind expand the way it needs to

Let your goals be high and mighty

Let your frustrations all out

And then you’ll be free

MAYBE BACK THEN

“Well put together,” they once said about me

Maybe back then, that statement was true

Maybe back then, I still had potential

Maybe back then, I was luckier

Or maybe it was all in my head

And maybe I’m better off now

SOLE KEY (HAIKU)

Art can be the sole key

To make up for the shortcomings

In other life aspects

CATS (HAIKU)

Better than people

The true rulers of the world

Ask ancient Egypt!

JUST SOMEWHAT (HAIKU)

Lazy and ungrateful

I must admit, that’s who I was

Still am, but just somewhat

AFTER WORK (HAIKU)

Cannot sleep

Must rationalize

My day first

CUT YOU OFF (HAIKU)

Something I should’ve done

A decade ago, if not two

But growth was needed first

DIED

Lamenting lost love

A love that was passed on

Leaving one soul heartbroken

And the other full of regret

But who’s to say, whether or not

The love would have died anyway?

HE SAID, SHE SAID (HAIKU)

Must’ve said it without realizing

And now here I wonder, what else has been said

But it doesn’t matter, who said what

FOCUS

I try to focus on the good times

We had with one another

Like drawing and video-games

Rather than the times we clashed

Times that were inevitable anyway

NOT ALWAYS (HAIKU)

Might always be alone

But that’s not always a bad thing

Sometimes, but not always

ENVIRONMENT (HAIKU)

You’re a product of your environment

So do what your environment tells you to do

And only then, will you regain control

SAME PAGE (HAIKU)

Can’t please everyone

Or get them to see your point

Even when you try

SINGULAR

Always something new to see

Maybe I’m happier this way

Even if no one else understands

Times have changed now anyway

Peace!

Related: Poetry Repository

Poetry Repository: Holiday 2025 Edition

  Had a flood of inspiration recently and wrote up thirty new poems in a short amount of time (mostly haikus, but a few free-verse poems as well). Figured it made sense to do a whole new repository, and title it after the holidays (like I did in 2023). Thanksgiving is in less than two weeks from now anyways…

So here we go:

INWARD & OUTWARD

Some of our poems

Are for looking inward

While other poems

Are for looking outward

And some are for both

In some way or another

ABSOLUTE (TRIPLE HAIKU)

It’s okay to be

Absolutely incorrect

At least once in life

Most times, you’re only

Just a little incorrect

Not absolutely

Remember how

You had thought they would be

Not how they were

AMBIGUITY (HAIKU)

Poems give ambiguity

A way to hide one’s feelings on something

As one releases those feelings

FALLING OUT (HAIKU)

Sometimes falling outs

Are simply just meant to be

No matter the cause

NO SUCH THING AS TRUE ORIGINALITY

People may thank me for inspiring them

But they should really thank the ones

Who inspired ME in the first place

And the people before them

And so on and so forth

ARTSPEAK (HAIKU)

People talk too much

But art can speak for itself

So make art instead

SOMETHING FROM NOTHING (HAIKU)

When you have nothing to say

Just say anything that comes to mind

Then you have something to say

NEW PHASE (HAIKU)

A new phase of life

Just to work towards a goal

A new beginning

INTERNAL (HAIKU)

Internal conversations

Sometimes the only conversations

That are really worth having

BURNING BRIDGES (HAIKU)

Is there a point in making art,

When you have no one left to share it with?

I’m sorry I can’t help but run…

FORMULA (HAIKU)

Internal monologues

And ongoing observations

Expressed through poetry

AMATEUR (HAIKU)

Identities are overrated

But “a poet” is a valid contender

…But I’d rather stay an amateur

NO TRUE SKILL (HAIKU)

When the skills that one has

Apply to nothing substantial

What options do they have?

LOOP

The price of living alone

Is being in a loop

Forever and ever

So make it a good loop

GOOD IDEAS STAY (HAIKU)

Don’t worry about writing

Every single damn idea down

Good ideas stay with you

OLD NEW ME YOU

The old me thought of me

The new me thinks of you

But I became who I’m meant to be

And in the end, you did too

ORGANIC APOLOGY (HAIKU)

If you were truly sorry

Even when others said not to be

You would’ve apologized

WASTE OF POTENTIAL (HAIKU)

People tend to base their identity

Out of only two or three particular things

A waste of potential, if you ask me

VICIOUS CYCLE (HAIKU)

Great art comes from sadness

But who wants to always be sad?

I certainly do not

RECYCLE (HAIKU)

Forgive me if you heard this all before

I can only be so original these days

An old idea is better than none

WANDER (HAIKU)

If only I could wander

Without any consequence at all

From one world to the next one

PARIAH

A drop of red blood

In an ocean of blue

A single incandescent

In a sea of LEDs

And then there’s me

Surrounded by all of you

ADVENTURE

Who really needs adventure?

An adventure can simply be

Listening to music online

Randomly clicking

From one song to the next

THE LUCK FACTOR (HAIKU)

We meet the right ones

At the wrong time of our lives

Some more than others

MY HAIKU STYLE (HAIKU)

The start is the set-up

The middle line is the whole point

And the end line resolves

AND THE BEAT GOES ON (HAIKU)

I don’t have to keep writing

And yet here I am, doing just that

Not sure why, so you tell me

IF IT DIDN’T (HAIKU)

If it didn’t work out

Remember what was wrong with them

Not what was right with them

HAPPY (HAIKU)

The key to happiness

Is to come to terms with the fact

That life is not happy

LEARN (HAIKU)

The human brain can learn

More than most other types of brains

So if all else fails, learn

BUILDING BLOCKS (HAIKU)

Our old art may be flawed

But it serves as the building blocks

For our new art to come

Peace!

Related: Poetry Repository

My "About You Music"

  I saw this new trend going around on the Topster subreddit called “About You Music,” which asks people to pick different albums for different categories (favorite overall, best cover art, etc.). I don’t actually use Topster templates, so I figured I might as well just list out all my picks here instead, providing a quick explanation for each…

So here’s another pointless list of mine:

Favorite album

Guns N’ Roses - Appetite for Destruction (1987)

At this point I really just consider this album my favorite cause it was my “gateway drug” into being a metalhead when I was a kid. That said, even now, I still feel like every song on here sounds like it could’ve been a hit single. Also, just as a quick side note; part of me thinks the original cover art fits much better with the “story” that the whole album tells, though I understand why they needed to change it.

Best narrative

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication (1999)

I know when most people think of albums with strong narratives, they’d choose something like Pink Floyd’s The Wall (1979) or even The Smashing Pumpkins’ Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness (1995) over this. And while I love those other albums too, there’s something about the way the songs are ordered on this one that really “takes me on a journey” to California and back (which singer Anthony Keidis said was the intention anyway). This isn’t even my favorite Chili Peppers album (not anymore at least), but I definitely think it’s the closest they’ve ever come to making a “concept album,” in the traditional sense.

Favorite cover

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (1975)

This cover art is just simply badass. There’s nothing more striking than watching a man shake hands with another man who’s on fire. He’s saying goodbye to a friend who’s dying (literally and/or figuratively), wishing that friend could stay.

I’ll listen someday

David Bowie - Blackstar (2016)

Everyone says this is the best “farewell” album of all time (Bowie apparently already knew he was dying when he made this). Not sure why I haven’t gotten around to it yet, but I will.

Personal impact

White Zombie - Astro-Creep: 2000 (1995)

I’ve said elsewhere on this blog that this album is basically what gets me up in the morning. It’s pure caffeine for my ears.

Bad day cure

Red Hot Chili Peppers - By the Way (2002)

When I think of a “bad day cure,” I think of something that’s beautiful, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything more beautiful than this album, though The Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream (1993) comes close. Nevertheless, even people who absolutely despise the Chili Peppers admit that this album is good.

You enjoy it but most don’t

Guns N’ Roses - Chinese Democracy (2008)

I get why most people don’t like this. It took too long to make, it’s overproduced, it’s not even really Guns N’ Roses, and most of the songs are either too sappy or too industrial. Nevertheless, in Slash’s absence, Axl found some pretty badass guitarists to replace him (most notably Buckethead), and being a “guitar head” myself, I can’t help but enjoy this album in a guilty-pleasure sorta way.

You don’t enjoy it but most do

Slash’s Snakepit - Ain’t Life Grand (2000)

In keeping with the theme of GN’R-related albums, I’ve noticed that most diehard fans say this is Slash’s best work outside of GN’R proper, and I just don’t get it. Only about half of the songs are good, in my opinion. This is the first album Slash made after leaving GN’R, and to me, it sounds like he had yet to figure out his new identity here.

Underrated

Metallica - Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (2016)

For me, this is the album that really put Metallica back on track. I understand that it’s not as “thrashy” as Death Magnetic (2008), but that’s kinda why I like it. This was the first time since …And Justice for All (1988) where they were neither chasing specific trends, nor trying too hard to be their younger selves again. They found a solid middle ground here.

Overrated

Metallica - Death Magnetic (2008)

Look, I don’t think this is a bad album. In fact, I have it ranked as my second-favorite album of 2008 (behind Chinese Democracy, funny enough). Furthermore, this was definitely a step in the right direction after St. Anger (2003). That said, while I felt St. Anger and the few albums that preceded it were trying too hard to “chase trends,” this entire album felt like Metallica saying “look everyone, we sounds like the 80’s again! Please like us again!!” Nothing new here, really. For better or worse, it’s Metallica’s The Force Awakens.

Not usually my thing but…

Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982)

Probably my favorite non-rock album of all time. Don’t even know what to say about it that hasn’t already been said. It’s just simply awesome.

Best instrumental

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium (2006)

I assume by “instrumental,” Topster doesn’t mean a purely-instrumental album, but rather the instrumental layer of an album. If I’m wrong, then replace this with Buckethead’s Claymation Courtyard (2014). If I’m right, then I would like to state that John Fusciante’s work on here is probably the best guitar tracks I’ve ever heard in my life (I’ve said that elsewhere on this blog, but can’t say it enough). In fact, I’m listening to the isolated guitar tracks while I write this (as I do for most of my longer blog posts).

Best vocals

Soundgarden - Superunknown (1994)

Whenever I listen to Chris Cornell’s voice on here, I can’t help but think “how the fuck does he do that?!”

Simple but fun

The Beatles - A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

Of all the early Beatles albums, where they prioritized short, simple love songs, this is easily my favorite. Not sure why. Just something fun about it.

Best mixtape

n/a

While I like some hip-hop (Outkast, Eminem, NWA, Dr. Dre, Run the Jewels, etc.), I’m not familiar enough with mixtape culture to make a fair call here.

Consistent discography

Alice in Chains

Not only was original vocalist Layne Staley one of the best of all time, but the band somehow managed to continue making great music even after his death. The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013) is the only AiC album I feel mixed about. Everything else they’ve done has basically been gold, as far as I’m concerned.

Biggest letdown

Velvet Revolver - Libertad (2007)

For those who don’t know, Velvet Revolver was basically just Guns N’ Roses with a different singer (in other words, what the other oldschool members of GN’R were doing while Axl was taking forever to make Chinese Democracy with other people). I loved the first Velvet album, Contraband (2004), so I was pretty stoked for this one, as I was still a kid at the time, at the peak of my GN’R fandom. Sadly, right away I could tell something was wrong with this LP. I only ended up liking about half of the songs, and my opinion hasn’t changed much since.

Biggest surprise

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Unlimited Love (2022)

When it was announced that Frusciante was rejoining this band (again) in 2019, I was pretty pumped. The thought of him making a new album with them is basically what got me through covid. Then the first three singles leading up to the album’s release came along, and while all those songs have grown on me now, I felt pretty lukewarm about them at the time. So when it came time to listen to the rest of the record, I was pretty nervous, to say the least. Thankfully, I ended up loving all of the other fourteen songs upon first listen. My overall experience with this album ended up being a nice combination of surprise and relief. UPDATE: I still like this album, but not as much as I used to.

Best soundtrack

Lin-Manuel Miranda - Hamilton (2015)

I assume vocal albums count here. If not, then replace this one with John Williams’ soundtrack for Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980).

Most unique

Mr. Bungle - Mr. Bungle (1991)

I don’t even know where to start with this one. You’ll just have to listen to it for yourself.

Favorite band

Red Hot Chili Peppers

I understand why these guys aren’t for everyone, but I think the reason I like them so much is that they have a huge catalog that feels consistent, yet varied. If I wanna listen to something chill, I got By the Way, or the Josh-era albums. If I wanna listen to something epic (especially in terms of guitar), I got Blood Sugar Sex Magik or Stadium Arcadium. If I wanna listen to something that sounds kinda like a concept album, I got Californication. If I wanna listen to something a bit  heavier, I got Mother’s Milk or One Hot Minute. If I wanna listen to something “punky,” I got The Uplift Mofo Party Plan. If I wanna listen to pure funk, I got Freaky Styley. And that’s not even factoring in the b-sides, non-album singles, etc.

Favorite solo artist

Michael Jackson

Not really sure how to explain this one. I just find his music, voice, etc. to be on another level. I guess I also like that he always challenged himself to be different every time he made a new album. Shit, I even like 2001’s Invincible!

Best EP

Alice in Chains - Sap (1992)

I consider Jar of Flies (1994) to be a full-length album (it has seven songs and is over half an hour long after all), hence why I’m picking Sap here instead. Either way, they both showcase just how great and diverse Alice in Chains can really be.

Most depressing

John Frusciante - Smile from the Streets You Hold (1997)

This was the album Frusciante made when he was at his absolute lowest with drugs, poverty, etc. Right from the opening screams, you can tell that he’s crying out for help, and you can feel his pain across nearly all 17 songs on here (or 18, since the title track was split into two songs on later pressings). I like it, though.

Well, that was a nice way to waste a Saturday.

Peace!

Related: List Repository