paulrkohn

[paulrkohn]

RIP beautiful Zinny

Writing has been hard lately for a few reasons, but this has been the hardest… 😢😢 RIP beautiful Zinny 🥺🥺🌈🌈🥺🥺 26 Jan 2008 – 28th May 2025 Photo credit: @tania_verbeeck  – thank you for capturing this and so many other great photos. 🙏🙏

[paulrkohn]

#MayDay catch-up - 7 prompts in 1 poem...

Ode to Zinny (RIP)

Let it hurt. Sit in it and feel it, but do not let it take from you

what is yours. Understand that the things you feel ARE you,

that these are the things that make you beautiful, soulful.

So let it hurt, but do not spend too much time inside your head,

for that can take you down a path that is difficult to navigate

where the darkness can become suffocating, all consuming.

So remind yourself when it’s getting dark that you don’t have

to sit idle, that you’re not alone, that we can go somewhere,

anywhere but here. You’re not alone, even when it feels like it.

Until that fateful day where you wake up and wonder why the fuss.

Because watching you leave felt like a piece of me was leaving too…

And I find myself still holding onto things which are no longer there.

And this is how you will now stay alive in me.

.

.

Thank you for reading my words. I hope they help and heal you as much as they do, me

.

Image: @tania_verbeeck

[paulrkohn]

Writing has been hard lately for a few reasons, but this has been the hardest... 😢😢

RIP beautiful Zinny 🥺🥺🌈🌈🥺🥺

26 Jan 2008 - 28th May 2025

Photo credit: @tania_verbeeck - thank you for capturing this and so many other great photos. 🙏🙏

[paulrkohn]

#MayDay 22 - I’m Not Crying…

My tears have dried up,

for I have spent days

crying in the carnage

carelessly left behind

in your wake; the one

where everyone woke

up to your crocodile

tears and realised the

true depth of your fake.

See, I’m not crying; not

anymore. But you will

when you come to terms

with all you have stolen,

damaged, lost; when

reality bites and leaves

you with a hole in your

chest where your heart,

your soul, used to reside.

.

.

Thank you for reading my words. I hope they help and heal you as much as they do, me

.

Image: Canva

[paulrkohn]

#MayDay 21 - Nowhere To Be Found

I search for the truth between the lies,

the sacred words of meaning among

the mess that you so violently vomited

without consideration.

I seek the pictures that are yours to

share, not stolen from others, as you

piece together a story that is not yours

to own, to write, to share.

I reflect on everything you said…

I hold tight to those who you hurt…

For your truth is nowhere to be found,

except nowhere near us.

.

.

Thank you for reading my words. I hope they help and heal you as much as they do, me

.

Image: Canva

[paulrkohn]

#MayDay 20 - Can You Keep A Secret?

Say all that you need to

Even if it feels vulnerable

Cos your secrets are safe

Right here with me, never

Ever to be repeated again

To anyone else but you

.

.

Thank you for reading my words. I hope they help and heal you as much as they do, me

.

Image: Canva

[paulrkohn]

#MayDay 19 - I Wonder if it Haunts You.

I wonder if it haunts you…

The lies that you told me, told everyone

in an attempt to control and manipulate

a situation that you could not dominate.

I wonder if it haunts you…

The hurt and the pain that you caused

through your actions, your words, your

skill to maliciously influence emotions.

I wonder if it haunts you…

The truth of the damage you have inflicted

on others you say you care about, on you;

your own self who you have no respect for.

I wonder if it haunts you…

The places you haunt, the humans you hurt,

the silent screams you never heard in your

onslaught; the one that leaves you cowering

in haunting wonder.

.

.

Thank you for reading my words. I hope they help and heal you as much as they do, me

.

Image: Canva

[paulrkohn]

#MayDay 18 - I Am Empty, Except For

Everything I do, I give, for the greater good

Moments given freely, never to be taken away

Past, present, future holds a place in my heart

Too many to remember, yet never to be forgotten

Yearning to hold on tight and close to every one

Vulnerability my guide in my own life

Evolution, my example of why I give

So much love

So much compassion

Elevating others to see potential beyond existing

Loving them back to life, so they can live

So that no one ever becomes an empty vessel

.

.

Thank you for reading my words. I hope they help and heal you as much as they do, me

.

Image: Canva

[paulrkohn]

#MayDay 17 - These Are The Things That Keep Me Warm

The sting of the hot flame as it licks my skin,

reminding me that I still feel even when I

don’t want to.

The water as I bury my head beneath the

surface, holding my breath ‘til I no longer can,

forced to rise.

The rhythm of my heartbeat, of yours, beating

as one, pumping blood and love through my body

for me to share.

The feeling in my soul as I stare at the moon,

grounding me despite the distance, lighting

my way home.

.

.

Thank you for reading my words. I hope they help and heal you as much as they do, me

.

Image: Canva

[paulrkohn]

#MayDay 16 - Something Left Behind

A lot has passed between then and now.

Maybe not a lot of days or weeks or years,

but a lot none the less. Many conversations,

many words and moments shared. And as I

search for the truth amongst the lies, seek

the answer to what was real, what was fake,

I hope that I at least showed enough of my

own authenticity, left enough of something

behind for you to cling to, hold onto; hope.

.

.

Thank you for reading my words. I hope they help and heal you as much as they do, me

.

Image: Canva

[paulrkohn]

#MayDay 15 - Dear Life…

You are a loaded gun,

my emotions the bullets,

triggers pulled carelessly,

the actions of others leaving

me shaking in silence, in fear.

You are the fire keeping

me warm in the cold, yet

burning me when I don’t

want to feel, cannot feel,

an extinguishable oxymoron.

You are the ocean that

brings me home to peace,

even when I feel peaceless.

Because even when I want

to sink, you make sure I float.

.

.

Thank you for reading my words. I hope they help and heal you as much as they do, me

.

Image: Canva

[paulrkohn]

#MayDay 14 - Lock your door on the way out

You speak in ways that are always just a little bit off.

You sound like you mean well, but underneath lies an

unravelling of truths, a cesspool of insincerity, leaving

me questioning what is true and what is not, constantly

on edge, always watching my back so I can see you 

plunge the knife in before you throw me to the wolves. 

But I am wise to you and to your malicious wickedness.

The time has come for you to go and never look back.

Be sure to lock the door behind you on your way out.

.

.

Thank you for reading my words. I hope they help and heal you as much as they do, me

.

Image: Canva

[paulrkohn]

#MayDay 13 - Voicemail notes from my anxiety

Hello,

this is your

anxiety Calling.

You missed the call.

Anxiety rises.

Hello,

this is your 

anxiety calling. 

You missed another

extremely important call

Anxiety rises.

Hello,

this is your

anxiety calling. 

Please pickup... "Hello?

Who's there? How can I help?

… Hello? Is there anyone there?”

For even when I answer,

anxiety doesn't fall. 

.

.

Thank you for reading my words. I hope they help and heal you as much as they do, me

.

Image: Canva

[paulrkohn]

#MayDay 12 - Is Anyone Listening?

I speak loudly, shout my heart out.

I yell at the moon and stars, seeking

answers to the questions I am too

afraid to ask, yet must have answered.

For Speaking to some is like yelling at

a wall; what’s the point talking when

there are no ears to hear, and I am

left wondering; is anyone listening

Is there anyone out there?

.

.

Thank you for reading my words. I hope they help and heal you as much as they do, me

.

Image: Canva

[paulrkohn]

#MayDay 11 - Insomniac’s Dawn

The second my head hits the pillow,

insomniac’s dawn begins to break.

Eyes shut open, the green glow of the

clock is piercing as it breaks through

the darkness, lighting the room in a

green glow of another sleepless night.  

Every sound has me on edge, the edge

of sleep a distant memory as noises

both familiar and not, echo outside

the window, echo inside my head.

I lay paralysed as harsh lucid dreams

hold me down, sit on my chest,

leave me drowning on dry land

yet drenched in emotional sweat.

The guns are loaded and the triggers

are pulled as the dreams taunt and

poke and pry and reopen wounds I

manage to hide well in the daylight.

Sunlight breaks through the curtains,

and I am thankful for the real dawn.

Yet I am still scared of sleep.

.

.

Thank you for reading my words. I hope they help and heal you as much as they do, me

.

Image: Canva

[paulrkohn]

#MayDay 10 - I Try to Write a Poem About Grief

I try to write a poem about grief,

but the words get stuck in the back

of my throat, causing me to choke.

Words that I must say, need to say,

want to say, cannot say, for I am left

breathless, rendering me speechless.

I try to write a poem about grief,

I stare at the blank page, but it is

out of focus as the tears blur my

vision, before they drip like a heavy

rain onto the page, a page too wet

for ink, rendering it wordless, blank.

I try to write a poem about grief,

but then I realise that the action

of grief is the visceral poem itself.

.

.

Thank you for reading my words. I hope they help and heal you as much as they do, me

.

Image: Canva

[paulrkohn]

#MayDay 9 - The Art of Disappearing

I hold your hand to keep you safe,

but your fingers slip through mine.

As I try to grasp, you let go...

I whisper sweet everything’s in your ear,

but with eyes closed, you lay motionless

feigning sleep, unable to hear…

I reach out for you in my time of need,

but I am met with blame, judgement,

shame where love should be…

And I think…

Am I accomplished in the art of disappearing?

Or am I an expert in the art of being made invisible?

.

.

Thank you for reading my words. I hope they help and heal you as much as they do, me

.

Image: Canva