The wind moves through the pines
like a quiet hand
across the earth’s skin.
Rivers carve blue lines
through valleys of stone—
ancient ink.
Mountains wear their stories,
each ridge and scar
a tattoo
left by time.
#BornBattleReady #poetry
Now I remember this unbearable pain once tattooed upon my skin in invisible ink a deep ache rising from within stirring memories of you both love and loss the longest longing of the human soul a labyrinth of endless corridors filled with silhouettes drifting like smoke that is when it begins the unravelling the return the impossible illusions the backward pull of memory’s tides this is what I run from in my restless dreams © Ann Bagnall
The ghost of you still lingers behind the mirrors' face I catch glimpses of you, mere seconds my sorrow untethered I trace the ink carved upon my wrist the tattoo that we both carry it carries me back to a time of endless dreaming and deep desires my flowers blooming in silence forever unseen in the darkness quietly drifting away upon the fields of night © Ann Bagnall
#BornBattleReady Link to poem on my website below and text in first comment for anyone who prefers not to use the link:
annieb222.com/2026/04/11/p...
#vss365
#BornBattleReady
to #sing in my imaginary gospel undecet
u gotta have a chō-az mark #tattooed on yer neck
not chaos, chō-az
it's like culantro to cilantro
but nuthin' like Bōaz
did Ruth's ma-in-law pimp her out
to fulfill prophecy?
accordin' to the story
youtu.be/Enl2IJJlI1w?...
#vss365
#BornBattleReady
Shagnasty had #tattoos
from head to toe
but it was subterfuge
for them that didn't know
he kept the head in the deep freeze
& the toe In his toe truck
across his own knuckles it sed HARD LUCK
& a ? on each ear
he was always #singin' full o cheer
youtu.be/MtVGKQLsw-U?...
#BornBattleReady
#vss365
ride the #blind
sez hobo extraordinaire
see what's there to find
if u don't jump now
it'll leave ye behind
but git yer head off the tracks
suicide don't go nowhere
anyhow
train wheels'll skull drag yer brain
& #tattoo yer mind
y not ride the blind
youtu.be/7lN0xrvG41E?...
It starts with a needle
Solitary sting
A memory
Single tear
Insert the ink
Work of art
Ends up being
Tattoo
On my heart
#BornBattleReady
This week's #BornBattleReady prompt word is: TATTOO
Submit your poem by using our hashtag (QRT with hashtag if no space). Include your poem in this 🧵 for added engagement!
Submissions close Sunday at 9am EST
The only rule is to aim for the heart — and don’t miss! 🖤⚔️🤍
#BornBattleReady
Those murmuring voices
In pictures of dreams
Moving like cinema
Enactments of scenes
As a child early
To adult late
Showing the lace
Of created knots
Running through
Life to date
On listening
To what was said
Found it arresting
As realisation grasped
All was due to my choices
Congrats, Stereo! You were selected to be this week’s Voice Of Valo(U)r 👑
Our next #BornBattleReady prompt word is: TATTOO
Do not post your #poetry here. Battle will commence Friday at 9am EST
The only rule is to aim for the heart — and don’t miss! 🖤⚔️🤍
Voting poll will remain open until 5pm EST tomorrow.
VoV will be announced Wednesday, along with the next prompt word of their choosing.
Every poet here was #BornBattleReady. Thank you so much for choosing to battle alongside us!
freeonlinesurveys.com/s/Th4zKMcN
#BornBattleReady I didn't think I'd have anything ready as I feel I'm spreading myself too thin but couldn’t resisting entering the fray.
Good luck, everyone!
Click on 📸to enlarge
#BornBattleReady
#vss365
damn
I thought the word was CHANCE
must be some subliminal shit
that made me avoid bringin' CHOICES to the dance
but if u survive life's throes
u'll get a chance to live with all the choices u've made
& sometimes they'll superimpose
& #ring in ur ears like a silent parade
#BornBattleReady
when I was 16
got a chance to be there a day
& I looked for Janis Joplin
what can I say
her music's hoplin
saw no sign of her existence
in the whole town
went to the library for research assistance
I'll be damn
there sat a 3 headed bust of her
that's it
youtu.be/cjuRYLzSVdE?...
#BornBattleReady
Parade in dust
Clouds in the heat
As hooves
Disturb
Dropping from trees
Lining the route
Hit the floor
Rolling
In places thick
All particles
Stay grounded
Laid
Spectators see
Shake the trunks
Collect leaves
Palm
Put them in front
As horses near
Creating safe
Passage
A storm brews on the dark horizon the things that cannot be unsaid the bitter taste of tears a love that once was everything reduced to a mere memory the inevitable outcome from my choices although broken, I retaliate my words like lightning strikes as I throw my pain into the night my thunder roars and the winds reply carrying my dreams to oblivion strangely rendering me lighter as peace settles in my heart but unable to extinguish the flames still burning in my soul your quiet whispers still haunt me © Ann Bagnall
Stolen glances and hidden desires in the midnight hour beneath the stars our two hearts finally met sharing our scars, embracing our fears the choices made, to dare to feel the unexpected, tender touch of love a fleeting moment of ecstasy too precious to just be fleeting for our love burned bright like a comet in the night but it faded too soon some things are meant to be wild and untamed to be both the beauty and the pain now all that remains are the memories of how we once set each other aflame © Ann Bagnall
#BornBattleReady Link to poem on my website below and text in first comment for those who presfer not to use the link:
annieb222.com/2026/04/04/s...
You have no clue
No matter what you do
You've always had choices
Choosing to hide
How stunning that voice is
Darling, you're a nightingale
Audible light in darkness
When heard without faith
Thinking you're plain
Not at all
If slightly insane
#BornBattleReady
#BornBattleReady #vss365
don't try to #pen me in
look into my eyes
when vocalizin' ur spin
it don't make me uncomfortable like some guys
that was ur 1st & last #chance
some folx call em a try
but regardless of circumstance
or lie
a new pair o pants
from u, I'll never buy
youtu.be/jdEYS8VA-dA?...
REMEMORY by Danielle Grace Between them, blinks go by I consider them before I lie —maybe not, then cry Whatever shall I wear? How should I style my hair? —or what should I procure, if bare? From some, consequences scatter Even the tiniest ones matter —in a tapestry or batter Big ones decide fate of others Yes or noes may gather lovers —depending upon one's druthers Ultimately it is our choices That quantify remembered voices —consider them more carefully.
#BornBattleReady
#Choices
#poetry
#SkyPoets
#PoetryLovers
#PoetsOfBlueSky
#Rememory
Between them, blinks go by
I consider them before I lie
—maybe not, then cry...
#BornBattleReady #choices #Poem #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #WritingCommunity #pathfinder
The Pathfinder
This week's #BornBattleReady prompt word is: CHOICES
Submit your poem by using our hashtag (QRT with hashtag if no space). Include your poem in this 🧵 for added engagement!
Submissions close Sunday at 9am EST
The only rule is to aim for the heart — and don’t miss! 🖤⚔️🤍
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#WritingPrompts 4
#HorrorWritersChat
#30WordThursday
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#WeeknightWriters
#SciFiFri
#BornBattleReady
#PoemsAbout
#LesFicFri
#FridayFlashFics
#QueerWritersChat
#VSSMagic
#SciFiSat*
#Fantaiku
#SciFaikuSaturday
#HaikuSaturday
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