“Bonfire of Broken Hearts by Stewart Stafford A shivering man craving warmth, Mustn't let the fire consume him, Despite temptation heat flares, In arousal-seared microseconds. Lured in with passion's promise, A stray spark or lick of flame is all Love ignites into walking fireball— Devotion's immolation sacrifice. On a cracked cardiac bonfire, Toughened muscles take time to burn, An atrophied, coarse chest slump, Once burned it is charcoal brittle. In the hall of mirrors' reflection, ICU, but do you see any of me? No salve - a scorched psyche set free. © 2026, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.” LovePoetryHeartbreakPsychologicalSurrealismLove And LossContemporary PoetryDark PoetryAnti ValentineStewart Stafford Author:Stewart Stafford
“Speed of execution often trumps perfection of plan.” PhilosophyWisdomInspirationActionLife LessonsLeadershipStrategyExecutionTacticsStewart Stafford Author:Stewart Stafford
“Southpaw Serpent by Stewart Stafford She was a left-handed artist, More paint on her face than on canvas, 'Here, take this,' she said to me, 'It takes you to the snake with the atlas.' I grasped the nettle of her riddle, An eyeball roulette elixir of time. Each sandy step I took after that Veered from horrific to the sublime. I found myself at a beach house party, Remorse coiled in laundry bags hissed, They reeked of promise unfulfilled, And of sweet opportunities missed. Girls morphed into southpaw painters, Pointing and urging me to go on, A police raid, I fled to the rooftop, As dawn cracked open the sun. I frantically crafted glitter collages, Kaleidoscopes of close friends and I, The leftie girlie dyed her hair, judging, The winner was a mirrored all-seeing eye. © 2024, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.” IdentityTransformationSelf DiscoveryIntrospectionSymbolismSurreal PoetryStewart Stafford Author:Stewart Stafford
“None The Wiser by Stewart Stafford A blowtorch in my darkness, Flaming my head with "truth"; Regurgitated received "wisdom", Deviated septums only permitted. Envenomed cobra's indoctrination, Inundated with a fellow brainwashee, Love's verbiage fell side-mouthed; Shaved synapses of smoothed minds. Prematurely convention's captives, Identities wiped and rebooted for propagandist lobotomy, Induced comas—murky déjà vu. Age's heft drags down daily, Her "love" archived as interred lie, Slack-jawed deceit now perceptible, Disillusioned departure companion. © 2026, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.” PhilosophyDarkFamilyPsychologySocietySatireDystopianOrwellianLife CycleStewart Stafford Author:Stewart Stafford
“Shakespeare queried 'if music be the food of love, play on'; Well, I say laughter is life's champagne cocktail and humourlessness its bitterest rigour mortis vinegar. So sup well!” LovePhilosophyHumourLaughterMetaphorShakespeareJoy Of LifeSocial CommentaryRigor MortisStewart Stafford Author:Stewart Stafford
“Forgiveness is never condoning the terrible act; it is severing hatred's tumour bloodline for self-preservation. Only by refusing this amputation does the perpetrator's influence metastasise.” HealingPsychologyForgivenessHatredMental HealthMetaphorTherapeuticSelf PreservationCatharsisStewart Stafford Author:Stewart Stafford
“For Your Consideration by Stewart Stafford Stellar Scrutiny is required, Taffeta blindfolds though, Ordinarily obscure. Three and fifty miles hence, Wander those in denial, Of the untrustworthy father in the palace. Belated guests to the conflagration, Are served up as fodder, Consistently denied peerages and proper burial. Venerated with daggers, Erstwhile companions stoned, Ruled And Martyred. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.” PoetryPoemStewart StaffordFrancis BaconHidden MeaningsMasonic MysteriesCodedStewart Stafford PoemsSteganographic EncodingTemple Mount Author:Stewart Stafford
“There are some people in life who say things you inwardly agree with in ways you outwardly don't.” PhilosophyWisdomHumorLife LessonsCommunicationPerspectiveSelf AwarenessSocial CommentaryAgree To DisagreeStewart Stafford Author:Stewart Stafford
“Interstellar Corduroy Roy by Stewart Stafford Taunted since he was a boy, Thorn-crowned “Corduroy Roy”, Hurled across sanity’s border, A reluctant thundercloud hoarder. His spacesuit? Pants! - Shade? Maroon! Playing soccer-tennis on the moon, Astronaut dust, his alma mater, Hitched to Earth in a pocket crater. Leapfrogged back to terra firma, Just in time for his dog’s dewormer, Gravity’s cords in the machine, unclean, Freed himself from the lunar silt routine. © 2026, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.” MoonExistentialismBullyingSurrealismWhimsicalAbsurdismDark PoetryStewart StaffordBathosPsychological Poetry Author:Stewart Stafford
“The Cliffs Of Consolation by Stewart Stafford Don't fall meekly off Life's precipice, With Death stamping on weak fingers, Cling on, scream, fight the inevitable, For gravity’s jury's karmic reprieve. Souls crash in the surf beneath, The perennial tide of plankton orbs, In effervescent flows above the bluff, Doves flying back when the flood's over. If beyond salvation, down you plunge, Assuage yourself with lifetime efforts, All is pardoned, wiped clean in death, A phoenix risen from bodily constraints. © Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.” DeathSpiritualityDeath And DyingRebirthPhoenixLife After DeathStewart StaffordThe AfterlifeStewart Stafford PoemsThe Cliffs Of Consolation Author:Stewart Stafford
“Antiseptic Awakening by Stewart Stafford See the rainbow spattered With dark blood moon juice. This creeping haemorrhage, A lacerated spectrum merged. Bruised trickles not halting, Violations in crimson stealth. Impotent, alleged lifeforms, Ashen foot-dragging below. Casually surrendered hues, The arterial strain's zenith. No colour in cheek nor sky, Bleached by antiseptic snow. © 2026, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.” ExistentialismSurrealismColorsDark AcademiaContemporary PoetryContemporary LiteraturePhilosophical PoetryGothic PoetryUrban DecayStewart Stafford Author:Stewart Stafford