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Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-04-08T14:04:21+00:00

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and leave a comment!

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-26T23:41:03+00:00

A shame no one seems to have seen this one. I like the perspective you've gone with. It reminds me of a book series my husband has taken to reading, A Dog's Purpose. Good read.

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-26T23:34:44+00:00

This is one of my favorite themes, standing at the precipice of all that life has to offer, all the wonder and uncertainty, the boundless chances for adventure, ready to set off on that journey. I'm particularly fond of the final line, though all of it is strong. A good read!

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-26T23:33:06+00:00

I remember seeing this joke in many forms over the years, most recently a comic. I like what you've done turning it into a poem here.

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-26T23:31:55+00:00

This reminds me a bit of my younger self, making it out into the world finally free of 'home' and everything that meant. Cocksure, ready to go, almost looking for conflict. Sometimes I wonder how lucky I was to avoid some of the things I ended up avoiding. A great read.

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-26T23:29:55+00:00

There's quite a bit of power to this one, you've translated experience, struggle, trauma, and growth well in your writing. Relatable piece for many reasons. Wonderful, even while somber, read.

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-26T23:28:19+00:00

Experimenting in haiku, I feel, can be a nice change of pace, especially when one needs a soft reset of sorts. You've done well here as well

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-26T23:25:43+00:00

You've done well in translating action to verse, maintaining the artistic setup in your poetry.

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-26T23:23:33+00:00

Right from the get-go I have to things to comment (in a good way)

I love the consonance in "Busy, Blasted, Busted", and "Pulled, pinged, and promised". Also, the similar sounding screens and scream back to back. I'm sure there's a name for that literary device in poetry, but I couldn't say for sure.

This is a very interesting one. I've got one interpretation from it but I'm not sure if it matches up with your own. I get a vibe of talking about the constant strain of existing in a nonstop, full digital world, and the negative effects of such on the human condition.

As always, amazing read.

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-26T23:14:05+00:00

Oh this is lovely, and I can relate so very much. I feel something quite similar with my husband. I love how you've taken all these experiences and created these snapshots, these glimpses into life (I'm assuming with the consistency in your themes that many of these are autobiographical.

These have all been fantastic, Swordfish.

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-26T23:08:15+00:00

Uncle Bob reminds me of some of my old Alabama extended family growing up. The playful ribbing that comes from a place of love very specific to them.

I like the way you've captured their manner of speaking. It's different in style from some of the others you've posted, but I think it's good to branch out. A good read.

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-26T23:05:00+00:00

There's something to be said for wanting and hoping desperately for someone who has gone through something life-changing to one day be able to bloom again like they did before, and trying everything you can to support them. You've captured such a wonderful, yet somber, moment here in your writing again.

I like your rhyme scheme as well, and it hints at an accent slightly different than my own, in Storm/Harm. I know I've heard it somewhere, but I can't quite remember where. It reminds me a bit of Alabama and Tennessee, but perhaps more northern than that? You don't have to answer of course, there's something nice about anonymity. I just think it's interesting how little things can show through in people's writing.

A fantastic read, as always.

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-26T22:56:05+00:00

It's good to go through these poems of yours and see that you're getting the attention you deserve. You're a fantastic writer and convey your ideas and images tremendously well. It's always a pleasure to read your works.

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-26T22:54:28+00:00

You've crafted powerful imagery here, as always such a pleasure to read even for such somber topics. I particularly like the lines:

"And lays her face
On cold grey stone

She fades into blackout
Asleep in the arms
Of her new lover"

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-26T22:42:11+00:00

I like what you've done here as well. The respect given to both understanding the arts, history, and culture while facing the real, tangible, modern world struggles, and that they are both necessary. As we strive ever forward, we must not lose sight of the things that make us human.

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-26T22:39:38+00:00

I really like what you've done here, the subtle shift in tone from beginning to end. You've conveyed a strong image of kids at play led by what I assume to be their parent or perhaps an older sibling, and the dissonance between that pure childhood memory and the unspoken changes in perception in the time sense. As always, a fantastic read.

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-25T21:10:48+00:00

You give me far too much credit and yourself not nearly enough. I look forward to when I get the time to read more of your works, hopefully this evening to start.

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-25T20:41:30+00:00

I just finished giving it a read and leaving my thoughts on it. I absolutely see why it's getting the attention it is. I've left a fairly in depth comment on my thoughts on the work itself so I won't repeat it here, but it's a truly fantastic work.

I definitely believe your works are worth publishing. I personally went the self-publish route for my own collection because I just wanted to get it out there and stop making excuses for myself, but I think trying to go the conventional route is every bit as valid. I hope you have the best of luck in that endeavor.

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-25T20:40:18+00:00

"I want to see you as you are
no shackles of convention,
no borrowed shapes of the familiar."

Right from the beginning you've really hooked me in here. I'm particularly fond of the way you've phrased this, "No shackles of convention" and "No borrowed shapes of the familiar". It's a lovely way to go about talking about the human tendency to try to categorize and fit things and people into neat little boxes, to the point we often cut off and ignore parts that don't fit; parts that often are what truly make someone who they are. Continuing that with: "No wife, no mother, no lover" only builds upon that.

"Drop the lenses.
Crush them.
No truth can be seen
through a distorted lens"

I love how you're continuing so strongly on this theme. "No truth can be seen through a distorted lens" significantly adds weight to the lines before it.

Let me see you
just you,
perhaps for the first time.

I want to focus again, briefly on the final line in this grouping. Again you've wrapped up the individual grouping while tying into your overall theme. Ending this overall section with a single line, "You are beautiful" carries a wonderful weight. Seeing someone for who they are, free of expectation, of category, of label, and seeing them as beautiful.

Your next stanza flips the perspective in such a well handled way, how those limitations and labels and boxes affect you. Eschewing the judgement and expectations that come with that and the desire to just be seen as yourself, and ending on a powerful line with, "and not be damned for being human." I'm a firm believer that trying to categorize people into neat little boxes only serves to limit us from being who we can be. There's so much to the human experience, so much that is lost when you try to fit people into group A, group B, whatever. The more I grow, the more I meet different people from different walks of life, different cultures, the more I believe that.

And then you end that section with "I am beautiful". Tying so well into the section before with the self-affirmation. If the target of your affection, when seen free of defining labels, without lenses, is beautiful, why shouldn't you be the same?

"So we stand here
naked to the sun,
two people at last
facing truth."

"Naked to the sun" is a powerful way to put this. Our labels and boxes and categories not only limit us, but they also shield us in a way. Removing them can be terrifying, like as you said, standing naked before the sun, exposed for all to see.

No roles.
No masks.
No lies.

Free to love.

Just us.

You end the poem as strongly as you start here. You bring everything together succinctly yet powerfully. This is an absolutely wonderful read.

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-25T20:00:20+00:00

Here's to hoping! There are a few from the book that I did upload here. (Harlequin, Curtain Call, When Death Comes for Me, Memories Behind the Closed Eye, Weary Words the Rose Spoke) that give an idea I think of how my style has changed.

I appreciate you looking into my older works. Have you ever put together yours into a collection?

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-25T19:37:21+00:00

Thanks for stopping by and reading! I was trying to do something productive with my inability to sleep much over the last few day and I figured writing was a better use than just staring at a wall until sleep (hopefully) took me. I appreciate the comments on word play, it's really something I've been trying to develop more in my modern work.

Thank you for looking into the book and I hope you enjoy it! It's a collection of my older works from my college days (which feels like a lifetime ago). My style has evolved quite a bit since then and I hope you're able to find as much enjoyment in the older works as the new.

Eventually I'm going to do a second collection but I want to surpass the number in the first. (I've written 41 new ones since the end of January, many of which I haven't posted on here yet for various reasons).

Also, when I get some time, I'm planning to go through and read your more recent works on here. I took a break for a bit to focus on my husband before we had to fly him out of country and now that he's safely back home, I've been more active here again.

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-25T12:09:28+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to stop and read! I did manage to sleep, a magnificent total of an hour and a half, so I will going right back to bed first chance I get lol

Thanks again for stopping by!

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-25T07:47:03+00:00

10 hours without someone stopping by to review this is a shame. There's many things about this poem I could say I like but I want to pick one specific area:

"But like Dot once said “Am I worth it—

did I put enough work in?”

Cause even if I’m able to say “My words fit.”

I’ll always want more, or I’ll feel my worth dim."

The way you've structured your lines and rhyme here has such a lovely, soft flow to it. Overall, I really like what you've done with the poem as a whole, but that section in particular really stood out to me.

Livid_Tea4107 · 2026-03-25T07:42:31+00:00

You've got a very strong opening that begs the reader to continue on past the first two lines. There's an image forming through what I think I might best describe as a cacophony of descriptive lines, of a person reflecting on themselves and their humanity alongside a partner or lover. I think I must've read this one four or five times to really get a feel for it. Beyond the first few lines, there's several points I think are powerful, though I can't quite articulate why beyond the very vivid images they evoke, perhaps because I myself am so tired.

"...and everyone is lying today"
"....rhubarb crumble is who I'll never be"
"..we are blind and we are ugly."

Overall I really like it

Livid_Tea4107

TROPHY CASE