reidharriscooper: (Default)
Reid Harris Cooper ([personal profile] reidharriscooper) wrote2024-08-21 10:51 pm

LJ Idol: Idol Mini 2024-Week 7: Shut in, shut out, shut in

 

Being a social butterfly

does not mean I always have wings

Frequently, more than you would assume

leaving the abode, the cocoon as it is

dancing around the lights

flickering happy, bouncing around

does not come easy

 

Even when physically out in the world

willing to be and go everywhere

I will stand on the proverbial wall

sometimes it'll be a bar stool

other times as close to the door possible

or even the middle of the room

trying to be invisible

or feeling like I am

 

There have been multiple events

where I know I would greeted

gladly, treated like the best

but the inner battle

is lost quickly

although fought all night

the desire to live

is shot down by the ennui

the unnerving, not understandable

mental breakdown

scared of interactions

fear of what?

I do not know

 

That is the problem

the fear of not knowing

what you are afraid of

having zero fear

which is your biggest fear itself

will you say something wrong

is going worth it

is staying home worth it

if you do one

you can't do the other

and then if you do go out

anything “bad” that may happen

you're left wondering

but if you had stayed home

it could have been worse

vice versa

as it goes

it has, it will, it has, it will, it has... it will... it has... stop...go...go...stopgostopstopgostopgostop


{written for LJ mini-Idol 2024: Week 7-hikikomori}

fausts_dream: (Default)

[personal profile] fausts_dream 2024-08-22 01:13 pm (UTC)(link)
A very good, very stylized, take on the internal forces that isolate us.

I was a life member of the Gulf Coast Poets and we would bring in people like the Texas poet laureate (yes there is one). You would fit in well there.
chasing_silver: (Default)

[personal profile] chasing_silver 2024-08-23 02:04 am (UTC)(link)
Very relatable. It is a push-pull always!
adoptedwriter: (Default)

[personal profile] adoptedwriter 2024-08-23 11:39 am (UTC)(link)
That fear of screwing up is so real. Hugs...

[personal profile] xeena 2024-08-24 12:16 pm (UTC)(link)
I love how well you nailed the internal struggle in this. Awesome.
mollywheezy: (Default)

[personal profile] mollywheezy 2024-08-24 07:58 pm (UTC)(link)
I especially loved your analogy of leaving the abode to a butterfly leaving the cocoon. You made the struggle to go out very concrete. Beautiful work!
roina_arwen: Darcy wearing glasses, smiling shyly (Default)

[personal profile] roina_arwen 2024-08-25 06:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Grat poem, I can really feel the despair and the push-pull of wanting to go out vs stay in.
muchtooarrogant: (Default)

[personal profile] muchtooarrogant 2024-08-25 11:21 pm (UTC)(link)
I liked, "the desire to live/ is shot down by the ennui"

I weigh some version of that "stop-go" dilemma every day.

Dan
murielle: Me (Default)

[personal profile] murielle 2024-08-26 10:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes. Absolutely. Truth.

The world would say I choose to stay home because it's probably not worth it.
murielle: Me (Default)

[personal profile] murielle 2024-08-29 01:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, thank you! I needed that laugh. Good morning. :-)
tonithegreat: (Default)

[personal profile] tonithegreat 2024-08-27 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
It’s always the hardest for me to comment meaningfully on poems on here. I feel like I’m yapping after someone does their best to reduce a big feeling or concept to the form of a poem. You’ve written something really relatable here. It resonates!
static_abyss: (Default)

[personal profile] static_abyss 2024-08-27 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
I loved the way the entire first stanza set up the tone of the poem. And the ending was such a perfect visual representation of the internal struggle you're describing in your poem. This was great!
swirlsofpurple: (Default)

[personal profile] swirlsofpurple 2024-08-27 05:17 pm (UTC)(link)
This is so, so relatable
rayaso: (Default)

[personal profile] rayaso 2024-08-27 09:35 pm (UTC)(link)
I agree with the others - this is very relatable. I loved "Being a social butterfly

does not mean I always have wings" - what a great line"
halfshellvenus: (Default)

[personal profile] halfshellvenus 2024-08-28 03:02 am (UTC)(link)
This describes what I think of as an introvert's dilemma to a T. It's all too familiar!
alycewilson: Photo of me after a workout, flexing a bicep (Default)

[personal profile] alycewilson 2024-08-30 06:33 pm (UTC)(link)
I like how spare this is, and how you tell us only what is necessary for the understanding of the situation.