By Daniel Paiz

Words come and go when it comes to writing, and that seems doubly true for poetry. Mantra ’24 was a moment of reflection and it’s another installment to how NaPoWriMo is all year long for this writer. There are a few other pieces that were written this summer. However, it’s up in the air as to whether or not they make it here, elsewhere, or in another type of project. Another type of project is something that’s been floating about for years and years, so perhaps that needs to get addressed already.

Anyway, enjoy the below words, explore all of the poems available to you on this site (there’s literally 100s of poems here), and write something on your own too. Poetry is for everyone.

Mantra ’24

Working and grinding day to day, 

IT’S NOTHING,

Isolating from others who disappoint anyway,

IT’S NOTHING,

Repeating habits that cause mind and soul decay,

IT’S NOTHING,

Feeling lost for purpose yet again,

IT’S NOTHING

The problem is, 

the mantra became your life

Saying it daily 

led to losing your light, 

The hard shit is what you should look forward to,

Instead, 

you duckin’,

No hunters aimin’ for you, 

They can tell you’re bluffin’,

Flyin’ less than readers turning a page, 

You not the penguin but a puffin,

Clipped wings more than articles of yesteryear,

Where formative youth had articles directing this seer, 

Head hurts, 

brain’s cluttered with nests lackin’ crawlin’,

Sprawled out chalky style, shots called on ‘em,

Charcoal consumed enough to block out onyx,

Time to work past surrendering to the sardonic.