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  • i see the manger

    i see the manger
    By: Jim Kellogg
    (The Queer Poet)
    11-15-24
    (a great day — seeing the manger for the “first” time)

    i see the manger
    through the eyes of…
    the broken
    shards of glass
    stuck in their eyes
    blood-red tears streaming down
    their faces

    i see the manger
    through the eyes of…
    the refugees
    no place to call home
    just like the holy family
    far beyond
    a strange new world

    i see the manger
    through the eyes of…
    the queer
    rainbow blood
    flowing through their veins
    are they a part
    of the covenant

    i see the manager
    through the eyes of…
    the abused
    battered bodies
    battered souls
    battered spirits

    i see the manger
    through the eyes of…
    the poor
    the ones without
    i was naked
    i was hungry
    i was sick

    I see the manger
    through the eyes of…
    the illiterate
    those who cannot
    for whatever reason
    closed minds
    vulnerable minds

    i see the manger
    through the eyes of…
    the “unclean”
    deemed so
    by the plaster prophets
    and the pew warmers
    hypocrites

    i see the manager
    through the eyes of…
    the children
    laughter
    tears
    wonder
    pain

    i see the manager
    through the eyes of…
    the words
    spoken
    sang
    signed
    left unsaid

    i see the manger
    through the eyes of…
    the shade of gray
    the in between
    fresh perspectives
    blended thoughts
    the impolitically correct

    i see the manger
    through the eyes of…
    the marginalized
    those on the edge
    no way in
    no way out
    trapped

    i see the manager
    through the eyes of…
    revelation
    shaking with
    sadness
    joy
    hope

    i see the manger
    though the eyes of…
    the mighty counselor
    the son of god
    the everlasting father
    the prince of peace
    god with us

    James Kellogg

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    • James, this is a powerful and moving poem! I am glad that you have created a strong relationship with God that can help see you through life’s challenges and successes. By doing everything with faith and certainty that He is our Savior, we can find true peace. Thank you for sharing this poem!

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  • Vulnerability

    One of the best moments of
    2024 for me, was that time
    I decided to open Up
    And be a Lil vulnerable.
    Felt nervous but comfortable.
    As we sat at a table eating lunch,
    I let her read my
    {Broken or Broke in} poem.
    Opened me up more,
    Pretty soon I started reading aloud.
    Feeling high in the clouds,
    The feeling was “unique”.
    The way she sounds when she speaks
    Had me expressing more
    Freely & frequently.
    I just wanted to hear that
    Specific frequency.
    So grateful for that moment
    Of vulnerability.

    Michael L George jr

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    • Michael, it is amazing what letting our guard down can do for us. Though it sometimes ends with pain, vulnerability is the only way we can find true love and friendship in our lives. I am glad that you opened up to a person who enriches your creativity. Thank you for sharing this poem!

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  • "Rediscovering Me: A Journey of Healing and Release"

    This year began with me lost and confused,
    Ignoring God’s calls, his voice infused:
    “It’s time to heal, to let go, to break free,
    Release what no longer serves, and set boundaries.”

    Each time I smiled at my reflection’s view,
    The truth inside whispered, “I see through you.”
    I kept running, avoiding his steady plea,
    Until isolation season sat me down to see.

    Face to face with the shadows I’d flee,
    For the first time in my life, I discovered me.
    No longer bound by others’ demand,
    I took my healing into my own hands.

    This year’s ride has been a twisting road,
    A Rollercoaster of weight and soul unbowed.
    Through tears, I’ve released what held me confined,
    Through breath, I’ve found peace and time to realign.

    A spiritual journey, a path I now tread,
    2024 brought the tears that needed to be shed.
    It brought me closer to truth, closer to peace,
    This year, I discovered a version of me unleashed.

    Anita A Williams

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    • Anita, this is a beautifully powerful poem. I think we all experience times in which we feel lost and uncertain of the direction we want our lives to take, especially if we need to heal old wounds first. I am glad that you took control of your healing and have released what was holding you back. Thank you for sharing your story!

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  • James/Maintain4life shared a letter in the Group logo of Surviving AddictionSurviving Addiction group 6 months, 3 weeks ago

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    Weather the storm.

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  • leslieann96 submitted a contest entry to Group logo of Write a poem or letter about your best memory of 2024Write a poem or letter about your best memory of 2024 6 months, 3 weeks ago

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    Where Your Spirit Lives

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  • A Letter From Croatia (Pismo iz Hrvatske)

    Dear Unsealers:

    Dobar dan iz Dubrovnika!

    It’s the afternoon of Friday, October 11th, 2024.

    I’m walking along the city walls surrounding the old town of Dubrovnik. With each stick tap and every step, I can see more and more of the Adriatic Sea. The old town of the city is on the horizon. Red roofs as far as the eye can see.

    This is the last day of a ten-day trip to Croatia. I don’t want to go back to NYC.

    I’ve seen a bit of everything as we’ve moved along.

    From the urban sprawl of the capital city in Zagreb. Gritty, quirky, and fiercely proud of its place in the Balkans. The shades of gray in the sky didn’t stop the sightseeing. From the Stone Gate to the Zagreb Cathedral, there are still signs of damage from the earthquake in 2020. To the Lotrščak Tower with a canon that fires every day at exactly noon. And the local delicacy, a cheese-filled pastry named Strukli complements all the pivo and lamb on offer.

    A mishap happened during our tour of the Plitvice Lakes National Park. I nearly lost one of my hiking sticks in the lake but was able to recover it One step at a time, I was able to navigate the 2.5 mile hike in the rain.

    As the trip moved on, the gray skies of the continent gave way to the coastal portions.

    From Split and its starring role as the backdrop for Game of Thrones to departing the mainland for the island of Hvar. The moonlit skies in the harbor overlooking our hotel, with the islands of Brac and Korcula on the far horizon.

    Here we are in Dubrovnik. It’s every bit as scenic as my mind thought it would be. The city walls surround the old town, tiled streets, and views of boats in the harbor leading excursions out to the other islands off the coast.

    Thirty-eight of us are in this group, and I’m the only solo traveler. As in previous trips, I didn’t let that fact deter me from befriending the group. Everyone’s been so kind to me, especially our tour guide Nikoleta.

    I released my first poetry book while this trip happened, “A Poetic Journey, Staying At Home” and to my wonder and amazement, everyone took a liking to me and to my poetry. In fact, there’s a bit of a surprise during the farewell dinner later this evening.

    I was worried that there would be a letdown after the epic trip to Greece the year before. But thankfully, that didn’t materialize. This was a fast-paced trip, and I enjoyed every minute once I touched down in Zagreb.

    I was able to forget the delayed flight to Munich from JFK and the fact that I missed my connection to Zagreb. When you have views of the Adriatic in front of you as I do, all the negativity gets pushed aside and the joy is what remains.

    It’ll be tough to say zbogom Hrvatska!
    But I leave Croatia in awe of this country and all of its beauty.

    I hope to be back again soon, as there’s so much more to explore.

    Oswald Perez

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    • Oswald, I so enjoyed reading your description of Croatia. I have never been but have always wanted to visit the country. It sounds like it is just as beautiful as I imagined! I am impressed with you for having the courage to travel alone and I love that you made friends with the group. Thank you for sharing this experience!

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  • sadie submitted a contest entry to Group logo of Write a poem or letter about your best memory of 2024Write a poem or letter about your best memory of 2024 6 months, 3 weeks ago

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    A memory served Hot

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  • James/Maintain4life shared a letter in the Group logo of Surviving AddictionSurviving Addiction group 7 months ago

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    Run In with [the Gator ]

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  • Shelby Warren Gomez shared a letter in the Group logo of Surviving AddictionSurviving Addiction group 7 months ago

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    It's Not Over

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  • Addictive

    Anxiously waiting an emotional state
    Anticipating just so I can relate
    You’re addictive, I’m the addict
    Bad habit forming, so eager to date
    Compulsive behavior that couldn’t wait
    You’re addictive I’m the addict
    Compelling thinking,
    Let’s keep it straight
    Put you on a peddle stool
    I needed you, not hate
    You’re addictive, I’m the addict
    Everybody was doing it
    Falling so deep,
    In my eyes, it was great
    Good feelings I couldn’t shake
    You’re addictive, I’m the addict
    A feeling that creates, a feeling of escape
    My problems you eliminate
    You’re addictive, I’m the addict
    The real problem was you LOVE
    I thought I found it in many versions of him but I couldn’t find it within
    You became a drug,
    Always needing, looking, searching
    Finding that thing called love
    You’re addictive, I’m the addict
    Confessions of a recovered Love-aholic
    Looking in the mirror,
    Contemplating the reflection looking back at me
    Appreciating that feeling,
    The beauty that’s skin deep
    The feeling of self love

    SashaPoet

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  • James/Maintain4life shared a letter in the Group logo of Surviving AddictionSurviving Addiction group 7 months, 2 weeks ago

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    A Bad dream

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  • The Crystal Ball

    What is it that you seek?
    What is it that you saw?
    You should never listen to my wicked crystal ball.
    What is it that you seek?
    What is it that you saw?
    You should never listen to my wicked Crystal Ball.
    Have you seen the crystal ball?
    Have you heard the souls scream trapped in her cloudy walls?
    Everything you love gone before it even happens,
    nothing left of your soul among the cold dark ashes.
    They say fools wish to be free,
    until they’re in a free fall…
    Fools gamble time and the ball she takes it all
    ‘Cause the crystal is a cheat,
    the crystal is a liar,
    The crystal is a frozen world of ice and of fire. To live in a lie the price is the truth,
    to be frozen in time the price is your youth. But you knew, it never tricked you,
    You let it seduce you, left scars on your skin-as if it ever needed you.
    Some always come crawling,
    some may escape her call.
    But you should never listen to my wicked Crystal Ball…
    What is it that you seek?
    What is it that you saw?
    You should never listen to my wicked crystal ball…
    You should never listen to my wicked crystal ball.

    A young boy sits in a wooden chair
    Gazing forward
    A ball of crystal perched before him
    Almost invisible
    It warps and clouds what lay behind it
    He knows there will be a price
    But he must try
    He wants to know,
    He has to know.
    He gazes into its prism chamber
    And it tells.
    When he lifts his head, his breath taken away
    The awe of the secrets told to him
    Fade
    When he sees his reflection
    He sees that he is no longer the same man
    But old, so old.
    The ball has told him what he wished to know
    But he had to pay the price of time
    He walks away, as many have before,
    Feeling cheated
    Feeling like it all went by so fast
    If he could only have another chance
    If he could only get that time back
    But he can’t
    Time is the only thing you have
    And the only thing you can never have
    It is yours, spent
    And the crystal ball will steal your time
    The crystal will steal your life.

    Cheyenne Jamerson

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    • Love this! I’m a recovering addicted also but, mine was opiates. Now I’m going on 7 years clean.

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    • This is really powerful and well-written. I feel like it’s a story that people could read and apply to their own lives in myriad ways as the crystal ball can represent so many different things – depending on the person and their story. Thank you for sharing! <3 Lauren

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  • Shelby Warren Gomez shared a letter in the Group logo of Surviving AddictionSurviving Addiction group 8 months, 3 weeks ago

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    "War of an Addict"

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  • Surviving Addiction

    I had an addiction for 23 years, I have been clean for over 30 yrs minus my slips and falls that through me into the ring of addiction, because I let my guard down thinking that I was stronger than it, when actually the addiction was stronger than me. But such as life try and try again. I am clean and have been for many years. I allowed myself to lured back but the last time was the last time. I asked myself some questions and the most important was do you want to live or die, do I want to live a full life filled with endless possibilities or die not reaching my full potential. I choose life . I became to love self, and wouldn’t accept any old thing , I have been hopeless and helpless and I have done things that only me and God know about. I have come full circle I know my value . I graduated from college and wrote a book. I hope to be a recovery coach, where I help those who are still trapped be free and stare in the face of addiction and say I won and I am stronger than you. Now in my life there is so many things I want to do all for the glory of God not for fame or fortune all though these things have there place, that is not my motivation. I survived so that I may be a help to others.

    Anita Jordan

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    • I am so glad you chose life. Addiction is not an easy thing to battle. I congratulate you for fighting it and coming out on top. With each day that comes, keep making the most of it. Congratulations again. Thank you for sharing your story, and thank you for being part of The Unsealed. <3 Lauren

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  • Benjamin Fuller shared a letter in the Group logo of Surviving AddictionSurviving Addiction group 10 months ago

    Tree By Many Waters pt. 1&2

    Tree By Many Waters pt.1

    There was a tree planted by many waters and it did grow, oh how it did flourish
    There was much of creation which this tree was able nourish
    Birds from afar would come make their nest
    And many creatures would lay under the tree to find rest
    Then one day a serpent slithered under its shade
    And while it was there, the tree it did persuade
    To drink from a pond that was stagnant and full of pollution
    Promising that the solution was sweet to drink, and good to the taste
    So the tree took a drink and saw what the serpent said was true and let none go to waste
    Day after day it continued to drink the poisonous waters by its root
    Until it’s limbs began to wither, and it’s trunk started to rot
    Then came the day which the tree longed to bear fruit
    But alas, it could not

    Tree By Many Waters pt.2
    (Seed of Hope)

    There was a tree that once was, but alas is no more
    For the tree was deceived, and believed the words of a serpent
    And drank from poisonous waters until the rot ate through to its core
    Once the pride of the forest, standing so valiant and tall
    Able to give rest and nourishment to all
    Reduced to nothing but a hollowed out shell
    Until a mighty wind came, and what remained finally fell
    But as it fell, one little seed crashed to the ground with a “thunk”
    And deep into the ground that little seed sunk
    Its roots began to web through the earth
    And from this little seed, came forth a new birth
    A tiny little sprout, with a hope of reaching the heavens beyond the sky
    A dream in which it would let no one deny
    It began to fight its way through the old trunk
    Chipping away through the rot, chunk after chunk
    The rains beat it down, and the winds meant no good
    But yet unmoved, the young tree stood
    Before long the tree began to gain nature’s attention
    There was not one creature who could not make mention
    For the trees trunk had grown very large, and it branches began to cover the forest
    And much of creation would flock to it to find nourishment and rest

    Donald M. Clyde

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  • Shelby Warren Gomez shared a letter in the Group logo of Surviving AddictionSurviving Addiction group 10 months ago

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    Hope

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  • jpck918 shared a letter in the Group logo of Surviving AddictionSurviving Addiction group 11 months, 2 weeks ago

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    Addict in the Mirror

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  • sarabrooke88 shared a letter in the Group logo of Surviving AddictionSurviving Addiction group 1 years, 1 months ago

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    This old house

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  • Torrie Hrdlicka shared a letter in the Group logo of Surviving AddictionSurviving Addiction group 1 years, 2 months ago

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    Havoc

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  • From my heart to yours...

    I normally pre-mate poems with pen and paper But, this cannot wait any longer or later. Your words truly have pierced mine, and I remember surly the same state of mind. So, I will simply type on this phone my friend, even though it might not have another end. Sitting alone here on a 5 corner square, I look and see nothing in the middle of nowhere I will re-read your note that was truly wrote- From eyes of faucet water-in these tears I float. Though there’s no end at all to this telephone line, Emotions they do crawl from your heart to mine. Surly an addiction at the bottom of Erie’s Lake- I had no problem fixing every high I had to make. I would want to write to you from the bottom where it comes, But I don’t know if that is true, when mind games are so dumb. Nor has any heart bore but only similar strings, Unless one is ripped apart-it’s just not right it seems. I just cannot believe there’s people out there like me, Nor do I ever think I’m any better you see For God has made different all human existence, Yet we’re all still sinners so full of resistance And the very best thing that came from covid disease… Is the simple quote that had the note, “Please”. Now we clearly see, “We are all in this together”… In the same boat-(as light as a feather)… Is the message of Salvation for the world to live forever! The basis of a Christian is not a perfect life, It’s more of who’s been missing-but been found by Jesus Christ! It is that of progress and not of perfection… It’s a brand new spirit that with God has made connection! Jesus promised all that whosoever will… On Himself may call-that He’ll save forever still! All the talents and gifts He gave to express Of how it’s always Him to pull us out of our mess. And to lead the way over glassy seas to shore My dear friend I pray-may this heart get to yours.

    Timothy T. Willett

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    • Greetings, a beautiful expression of a deep connection and appreciation for shared emotions, despite physical distance. Very heartfelt, touching on themes of vulnerability and hope. The personal reflections and spiritual elements add depth, offering comfort and reassurance to whoever reads. Thank you for sharing!

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