Showing posts with label suffering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label suffering. Show all posts

Friday, September 18, 2026

Of Winter, Death

Exhaling the fog of a winter’s morn
Contemplation sets in as the pen spills his blood
The birds of the lifeless trees ignore him
As does the quiet world which lie distant

Leafless branches hang, broken, dipping their last touches into the river
All is calm on the surface, but certain doom lies within the slow, persistent current
The death of winter approaches silently, taking only a few
Lest it be left alone to vanquish even itself without recognition

Glimpses of life and renewal lay hidden beneath the carnage of the season
Hues of demise suffocate even the most hearty of tendrils and sprigs
They will get their season of change and growth
But their time is not yet come

“How do they do it?” he wonders.
“How do they stay silent among the ruin of their former selves?”
“How do they suffer so beautifully, patiently, and yet do not doubt
For a more glorious day ahead?”

His heart diminishes, for he has neither part nor purpose as they do in the world.
And yet he clings to a hope that the sun may one day shine for him, as for them.
That he will feel the warmth of a new season

Amongst the fading shade of winter, death.
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Friday, March 23, 2018

Apology(ies)


So full of self-hatred
That when death comes to call,
I’ll punch that fucker
Square in the jaw.
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Sunday, March 4, 2018

Into the Sun

Floating through darkness
The coldness, the emptiness
Out in space, the void consumes me
I cling to hope. My crew is gone
Abandoned unto death, I float without end
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Thursday, July 10, 2014

Unanswered Question

This one's gonna get a little dark. I don't actually remember when I wrote this one, but as someone that has struggled with depression, writing has been one method of exposing my feelings in an attempt to cope with them. This is a recurring theme I've noticed in my writing through the years. I rarely read old poetry after I pen it, but to look back on some of these darker times makes me feel a little stronger knowing that I survived whatever it was that I felt was dragging me down.



A branch to be pruned before it’s in bloom
Thorns in my knees and blood tainted hands
Praying in brambles with no light of moon
Misery’s pleas outnumber the sands
A sanguine bath blurs my eyes
Why do I have to be alive?

Wings of a dove clipped just before flight
Falling in spirals of destiny’s making
Just as the arrow shot swift through the night
A nightingale silenced before it can sing
Corpse of mortality covered in flies
Why do I have to be alive?

Drowning in pools of cold memories
While warm blood is trickling down trembling limbs
Coughing, I feel my lungs start to seize
The match will not light amidst circling winds
Desperately sifting life’s sands filled with lies
Why do I have to be alive?

I call to the Heavens, entreating demise
Gathering black skies mocking my plea
Boots of my conscience having muddied through time
Endless my suffering, Death, set me free.
Why do I have to be alive?

  by Derek Herzberg



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