-
It’s All about Death, Really
Barbara Harris Leonhard The gap between compassion and surrender is love’s darkest, deepest region.—Orhan Pamuk, The Museum of Innocence I am ready to shed the old clothes,the tatters that hang off my heart that I thoughtheld some comfort but that no longer fit me.I lay them out for display. Touch each one,each fear & attachment… Continue reading
-
In A Silence
Paul Cannon I love the quiet placewhere the trees meetthe water and wherethe stars are welcomedas friends who speakin a silence feltmarrow deepas they searchmy dark corners,lessening the dullconcerns of days lostof light and take meonce again colouringoutside the lines ofthe narrow,and out, out, beyondto the potent throbof life that lives in theveins of my… Continue reading
-
Accepted
Luke Meyers I smileWhen they smile I laughWhen they laugh My anger ragesSilently inside But I smileWhen they smile I laughWhen they laugh Maybe thenI’ll be accepted At leastOn the outside. Luke Meyers is a Welsh writer and poet who started writing during lockdown. He has been published in anthologies by Icebreakers Lit, From One… Continue reading
-
Remembering This, You’ll Laugh
Frank Johnson It hurts to see you looking so depressed.So depressed you looking to see it hurts.The worst thing is I don’t know what’s the best.What’s the best I don’t know thing is the worstway to help put your troubled mind at rest.At rest your troubled mind to help put way.As you can see, I’m… Continue reading
-
Flood
Erica Johnson It wasn’t until I noticed the dog walkers returningfrom the singular trail ahead of methat I discovered there might be trouble at the turn –a flooded path blocking any progress forward. Cautious, I paused my walktaking a seat upon a rock half-warmedby the weakened winter sun whichhad itself been washed out for several… Continue reading
-
Capacities
Kerfe Roig Just make it simple, I tell myself.A few black lines, a white-shadowed structure. A ladder of black lines leading into white shadows.If there’s a way down, there’s a way up. Up and down are not the only dimensions.Infinity is full of expansive emptiness. Emptiness can expand, saturate every illusion.I want to become a… Continue reading
-
The Pool Leaks
Joshua Walker I have a pool. It has a hole and bleeds,but I keep pouring in water,watching it vanish like everything elsethey try to steal from me. A tree leans over, a vine crawls its fingers in,but I skim the surface anyway,ritual after ritual, daring it to win. I have a wood fence; it splintered,… Continue reading
-
A Quiet Companion
Carol Anne Johnson Anxiety knocks without warning,slipping into the room like a draft,cold fingers tracing the edges of thought,whispering what if, what if, what if. It builds a storm from silence,turns footsteps into echoes,breath into burden,and the heart into a hurried drum. But still—I learn to breathe around it,to plant my feet on steady ground,to… Continue reading
-
The Order of Things
Meridith Allison I’ve retreated from the world,from the fractious unfolding of things,and set my sights instead on all that is,or ever was, or ever will be– these motes of dust suspended in the morning light,and the crumbs behind the toaster,dog hair on the floor,chaos at home as it is in the heavens. The nerve to… Continue reading
-
I Say the Words and Dance
Merril D. Smith “Do not obey in advance.”—Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century When they ban the booksand suppress the press– I’ll whisper the wordslest you forget the world’s not flat,there are still facts, there is still this,despite the that. For now, I titter at the naked king,percolate slogans,salt the air… Continue reading
Support The Poetry Project
The Chaos Section Poetry Project is independent and ad-free. If you like what we’re doing and want to help keep the light on, you can support us here.
About the Project
The Chaos Section Poetry Project publishes curated poetry collections rather than individual poems on a rolling basis. Our work is primarily rooted in contemporary free verse, though we’re open to a wide range of forms when they serve the book or project.
Each collection is built around a central theme and shaped through close editorial collaboration, with an emphasis on voice, craft, and emotional honesty.
All books are available free to read on the site and as free high-quality digital downloads. Print editions are offered for readers who want a physical copy.
Record of Dissent: Poems of Protest in an Authoritarian Age
Order your copy direct from the printer.
Click the button below to purchase securely through IngramSpark.
The Chaos Section Poetry Project 