Archibald the Prophet's blog

How do you do it?

I clearly cant

I can’t sleep

Because every little thing

Every little move and little action

Is symbolic of my mistakes

And everything I do

Everything I feel

Everything that happens is

Too little

Too loud

Too quiet

Too long

Too short

Too much for me to put up with

And for once I’d like to stop

To catch my breath

But apparently

That’s too much to ask for

But all the little things

Little moves, and little actions

Build up on my back

And you know I can’t run faster than bullets

Yet you fire anyway

Knowing that I’m

Too slow

Too weary

Too weak

Too soft

Too tired

Too far out of my league

And it’s always too much to ask

As I do in every line, every night

For something

So simple

So little

So easy

So quick

So cheap

So out of place

As someone to help me carry

All the little things

Little moves, and little actions

Like little gunshot wounds

There’s an atomic bomb inside my head

Trapped in a suspended stasis

And everything just pushes

Just a little bit harder

On the inside of my skull

And I’m sure it’s ready to burst

For it is full

Of the things you need to hear

But I can’t say

The things I need to say

That you won’t hear

And all of those little things

That are so trivial

But amassed into a multitude

Of tiny explosions

That rattle and ravage my thoughts

And one day

One burst

Will be one blast too many

Next bounce!.mp3

So I think this is ready for some feedback. It's a work in progress, and not even close to half done. So tell me what you think. I was picturing a character in one of my stories when I was doing it, thus the title happened. 

So, I’ve had this stuck in my head

And I haven’t known what it was

Or how to say it

And I still don’t know

So the verses run wild and free

Through the vast confines of my brain

And I can’t catch them

Or put them to paper

And every other long night

I stumble across one that’s asleep

Long enough for me

To trap it in my words

And some people like what I write

But I just see bad memories

And a bloodstained page

Nothing very “likeable”

So I guess this is about words

And not having the right phrases

When I want them

Or when I need them

So I’m not sure if this is it

If this is what I really need

To get off my chest

Or to let go of

But I know one thing is for sure

Is that tomorrow I’ll be back

With my pen in hand

And another bloody page

Some nights I just hide

And bury myself in sound

Hoping it’s enough to stop time

But it only seems to move faster

And the next six hours are upon me

And the next day is behind me

And puts a gun to my head

And whispers in my ear

“Give me what you have”

And I’ll empty my pockets

And walk away

And return to my room

Where it’s safe

And bury myself again

And I will lather, rinse

And repeat this routine

Until all I can give tomorrow

Is my life

Shut Up Mom Just Five More Minutes.mp3

She nags and she pleads

Screams “Get out of bed, please!”

I’d yell, “Five more minutes!”

Shed reply, “Goodbye, car privileges.”

I suppose it’s her job,

To make my life hell

After I spent so long

Making hers hell too

Eighteen years of shenanigans

It’s amazing that she still can

Put up with me daily

Without trying to strangle me

I guess it’s her duty

To keep my on my toes

And although it annoys me

I suppose she’s annoyed too

She’s the spine of the family

And sometimes it’s quite scary

When she’s at the end of her rope

Best not to get too close

Maybe she’s a superhero

When I get on her nerves

Maybe she’s a god, or

Maybe she just loves me

Sometimes she upsets me

Irritates and dictates me

And although she’s a terror

She’s my mom, and I love her

I’m trying to hide

The pain in my eyes

That festered and grew

And looks just like you

And eats me alive

And then over time

I would realize

I’m dying inside

I tore out my soul

Left behind a hole

My heart torn asunder

Six feet down under

So why does it hurt

The pain still subverts

The nightmares persist

The fear still insists

I’d kill for a cure

A drug that endures

But for now, as of yet

All they do is reset

So when you see me

I hid the debris

Of dark stormy nights

Behind tired eyes

Just shut your mouth and listen

Because I have been stuck

Inside of this cage

Writing stanzas into the cement

And trying do dig through it

With a plastic spoon

Would you please pay attention?

Cause I’ve been wrongly accused

By my own mistakes

That just sort of caught me unaware

And locked me inside this place

Without food or drink

And I got caught up

And a swirling pool

Of things

And reasons

And stuff

And excuses

And shenanigans

Without a life vest

And my cell is filling up

With a torrential downpour of tears

And lost emotions

That I’d lost on purpose

Subconsciously, to escape my life

But my plans backfired

And the flames swallowed me up

And dragged me into a dark cell block

To interrogate

To drown me in my past

And to beat the truth back into me

A new sensation

Without hesitation

A new declaration of war

An urban apocalypse

A world in extremis

Tonight a new crisis is born

I’m burning a universe

I’ll show it no remorse

Submersed in the flame

I’m sick of the tension

I abhor your convictions

Intentions without aim

I won’t die for your cause

Or stay caught in your jaws

Won’t applaud your crusade

You are my misdeeds

On my suffering you feed

You know that I’m sick of your shit

But you keep on degrading

Continue berating

Assailing my soul until it splits

It’s sick and you know it

The rest of us see it

While your pedestal degrades

We died for your show

In your status quo

Just playing your game

I can’t meet your mark

With shots in the dark

Buried under shame

One last revolution

One last evolution

To show you that we aren’t the same

Cause I will not take this

Trapped in a stasis

When I’m the one left to blame

I don’t have any friends when I’m asleep

And I won’t waste time counting sheep

For there are miles to go before I’ll die

And I’m alone for most of that time

Just waiting for the pills to take

Just wishing they would stop the aches

Sedate my pains, and cure the itch

When I’m not strong enough for this

I can’t carry both you and the chains

There’s not enough left in my veins

To keep my moving through the crowd

Of empty nights and empty towns

Left empty by my own design

Deserted, decaying and confined

And if I could, I’d cut my heart

Free from all these broken parts

So I wont have to carry the weight

So that I don’t have to suffocate

So ask me what it’s like to burn

Ask me why I just let it hurt

And I’ll tell you of devastation

A tale of my incineration

When I tried to give it all away

When I was in the darkest of my days

Blacked out by shadows in chest

The wounds that scarred and never left

The nightmares chase and cut me deep

For I have no friends when I’m asleep

Compound Eyes Convict Me.mp3

Everyone else would see just a fly on the wall

But I know the truth

I see you for what you are, “insect”

I see you stare, and it’s hardly fair

That you chose to antagonize me

Me! Of all people! Why?

Because I see you silently judging

Silently tormenting

Silently torturing

Silently silent

Because I can hear in that silence

Every wrong word, every quiet curse

Everything I have ever said

And it burns

Because I see behind your eyes

Every misdoing, every transgression

Every false play I have ever made

And it stings

I see you watch

As if you would have the final say

As if you would seal the gates of Hell behind me

As if you would be my undoing

And maybe you’re right

To antagonize, to judge

To torment and torture

And to silently wait until my end

Because you know

You know my guilt, and my pain

You’ve seen my shortcomings

You’ve heard the things I wish I’d said differently

And you know what I’d be willing to do

To do it all another way

So maybe you should hold the trigger

Maybe you should tip the scales

Maybe you know

But I’m not sure how I really feel

With my lies and my life in the eyes of a fly

I don't have the conviction

to suit up with the other good soldiers

where the systems are cannibalized

where every day is meaningless and stand silently at attention

just waiting for permission

To let the windows shatter

so all the pressure can just escape

and I can rise up and conquer

the habits that feel like cancer

Cause I don't want to die

with hearts that wrapped themselves

around street signs  and other lives

in the dead of unending nights

In a world that's just grotesque

and life is but a burlesque

The world tells me to appeal

and dress my life up in drag

to show you what isn't real

so you don't know how I feel

Because feeling is unacceptable

at least when you're honest about it

so no one thinks you're capable

it's why I might seem so unstable

So if you see me out in the streets

this emotionally hazardous specimen

know that it's not what it seems

a ghost of what it used to be

I've been fatally compromised

by trying to keep march in time

with all the others in line

trying to live a real life

My words are old and dying

my bones are frail and failing

the pain inside my aching skull

is why my body's breaking

The lines replace the organs

and missing bits and pieces

I'm sewing up infected wounds

with words made into stitches

Because I'm conflicted

Because everyone expects something of me

whether it be implied in their words

or forced upon me like shackles

whether they know it or not

whether you know it or not

every breath you take

silently judges me

And I don't want all this

I do not want to stand behind someone's cause

I want to set the world on fire

for almost no reason at all

other than to understand

other than to simply see

if it's possible

or if I can escape

Just for a few moments

to gather myself

and rebuild from the ashes

of all those expectations

that I never really asked for

and that I never truly wanted

because everybody assumed I could cope

that I could carry them

But here's the ice cold truth

that I never could

amount to what you wanted

rise up to what you needed

because I can't carry on like this

and your weight is starting to kill me

I can't imagine what I would or could be

without that as my vice

I'm not what you're expecting

my soul's worth next to nothing

my tongue is tied, and spinning lies Read more »

Once upon a time

there was a boy

who could stand on his own two feet

and run with the wind beneath them

He grew up quickly

into a man

who held himself with mighty wings

and held a storm within his heart

And for several years

that suited him

But time was stronger

than this angel

and the storm tore away slowly

at his raw and churning insides

When eventually

his strength would fail

and cause his legs to bend and break

or keep his wings from holding wind

And he let the storm

tear him apart

But when he shouted

for a savior

the old memory of his strength

screamed louder than his broken heart

Illusions had him

overpowered

caging him in his own legends

killing him with his own weapons

When what he needed

was to be heard

My latest poem, brought to you in sound form!

A present for everyone.

Another present for everyone.

Hello good citizens of YWP! I have brought you some poems for your reading AND listening pleasure. First I would like to post the words to all of my poems that I am uploading. (They may not match the recordngs 100%. Sue me, I'm bad at talking.)

1) Dancing with Puppets:

You know, it hurt

When I tripped and cracked

My metaphorical skull on

The proverbial pavement

But I got up

And licked off my wounds

Cause I did not want you to see

Or tell any other soul

And the truth is

That after all this

I never fully recovered

Or at all for that matter

And every day

I’ve done stupid things

To make it look like I wasn’t

Missing some bits and pieces

I walked around

While missing a leg

So I crawled off into the woods

And found a wooden decoy

And I tied it up with string

To make my ruse more convincing

When I limp away

All by myself

But I’m dancing with puppets

Held by strings made of iron chains

That move me because

That’s all I am

And you had asked, “did it hurt?”

When I cut out my heart with words

And I responded

With just a nod

While they all yank on my chains

For that is how I learned to walk

And how I learned to

Lie through my teeth

So I’m waiting for someone

With just a small bit of mercy

Stored inside their soul

To set me free

  Read more »

Full Instrumental Bounce.mp3

So this is no english piece. Weird, right? But technically, I did write it. So, for all of you guys to listen to and critique. I composed this in Logic Pro (Music software). It has taken me months to get it from a 20 minute epic beast to a 4 minute song. I need to buy some more gear before I can record vocals, but they are coming. So, for now just tell me what y'all think.

A powerful wind broke through the tall structures of the tropical Gosheng-Kai district. The towering skyscrapers and majestic pieces of architecture stood higher than any other on the planet, Eos. The scene was peaceful and resolute, until a loud crack erupted from between two towers. A small flaming craft hurled from between the gap, followed by a fleet of police crafts. The flaming ship twisted and turned through the city, dodging buildings, bridges and other ships. The police crafts were struggling to stay on its trail. Inside the cockpit of the flaming ship was a panicked Archibald Hartman.

Steam spat violently from the console before him. Every warning and cautionary light and alarm was going off, and he had no idea how to stop it. He gripped the controls with shaking hands and screamed as he swerved between the buildings. A voice came in over a built in intercom in the ceiling. Archibald jumped, startled by the noise, and the ship lurched upwards.

“Archie?” the voice came in again, “Is that you?”

“Who want’s to know?” Archibald shouted back.

“It's Mercedes, you idiot," the voice came through again.

“Oh good!” He sighed, “I was starting to think I was in real trouble.” The controls sparked and steam shot out of another corner of the ship.

“You are in real trouble, you nut,” Mercedes scolded, “You drove through a building, incase you didn’t notice.”

“Oh, that’s what that was?” he remarked, “I thought it was just old scaffolding.”

“They were still building it.”

“Ah, well, sorry.” Read more »

I had a map on my arm

To show me the world

Bit it faded and smudged itself

When I unrolled my sleeve

To not feel so alone when

The winter wind blew

And sent me miles down the street

So far away from home

So I stopped at your doorstep

Thinking that maybe

You would find mercy in your heart

And let me come inside

But I couldn’t find the strength

To knock on the door

And try to sell you my story

So I’ll think about it

And decide to change my mind

And stash it inside

My pocket full of fancy words

That aren’t well dressed enough

To be invited to parties

And paid to perform

And tell the tale of how I fell

And landed at your feet

And then at your mercy

Stood up, and took a step backwards

To gather my thoughts

But they had escaped my reach

And ran into the forest

Leaving me far too petrified

To open my eyes

And remember how to walk

And maybe one day soon

I might walk back to your doorstep

With my fancy words

And use their vibrant color

To vandalize your door

With my conflicted emotions

And my second thoughts

That I’ve been sword fighting with

To catch your attention

So that you might see my motives

And I hope they’re pure

Enough to make you smile

I’ve been playing around

With syllables that might please you

So that you might say,

“Come inside out of the cold.”

I can stare at a blank page

In a black book

For hours

While my mind swims laps

In a pool of analogies

Where everyone is trying

To tell you how I feel

While drowning in the past tense

And choking on their rhymes

And the only thing they can say

Is that today, I’m fine

That it will all be all right

That I will last the night

In the morning, I’ll be fine

Except for when I overdose

On the words I wrote

To tell you

That what I meant

Was that I’m slowly dying

I have a lot of things to say to you

but no words to say them with

I wish I could have saved you sooner

but I had no words to heal you with

I want to go back and break your fall

but I have no words to catch you

I wanted to keep you safe from harm

but I had no words of warning Read more »

I was never exceedingly good

At focusing

Or staying in one place for too long

So most of what I say Is my wishful thinking

Grabbing the wheel

And driving off into the sunset

As we drive past dead towns and cities I will wonder

About better ways to fade away

And better ways to die

When I give you my word

I am responsible for mass murder

And possibly arson

When I sign of my poems

The kick drums are beating very loudly

Deep inside of my chest

And beating out these words

But before you read

I must warn you

I have slain millions

With my diction

I have toppled empires

With my satire

Cities were razed

On the drop of a phrase

On all of the days

When I was upset

When my life was offset

By those who don’t get

How I want to live

And so I shall lie

And say, “It’s all fine.”

But the secret I hide

Is that you’re dead in my mind

You fought valiently 

with your graphite sword

and rubber sheild

until you fell and were slain by a rhyme

We fought many wars

against wild plots

and viscious stanzas

that ran rampant across paper fields 

So here are a few words

to be said over your grave

to remember your battle

with the beastly words that bested you

When bodies fall from the sky

and the world is slain by fiction

my pen is back to the pages

and forcing the hard decisions

To vex the written citizens

of worlds I have destroyed

and others I have mended

with graphite to tie off the ends

The pages of a black book

are painted with the crimson stains

from my victims and creations

so they will carry my pain

And deliver it to your doorstep

in the form of a fiction

that towers above your house

and asks you harder questions

So answer if you dare

don't let it smell your fear

and past this point, beware

there be scarey monsters here

Hello my fellow writers, and welcome to the beginning of a new world! I have started a semi-new project I will be calling "Children of War". I shant say much about it now, but I am here to bring you a preview of the whole chapter that I am working on. If you have plot related questions, please hold them until I have posted the full chapter. My name Is Noah Smith, and this is a sneak peak at "Chapter 1: Secrets are how Wars Begin"

Lightning shot out of the pit, taking the flock of scientists by surprise. Then something more alarming happened. A screaming, half-torched man hurled its way through the air and impaled itself on some of the nearby equipment. The scientists rushed over to find the man dead. They stopped and stared in silence until other bodies began to fly out of the pit, smashing the gear and crashing into the tundra. The scientists scattered in fear. Then one of the lodge doors swung open to reveal Peterson. He began t scream, “What is going on!” He then looked out to see the massacre that was taking place.

Lightning shot out of the hole once more, and the scaffolding that lined it was ripped from its place and thrown off into the night. Peterson looked on in shock as the dig site was torn apart by a storm of dead bodies and electricity. Then he saw something even stranger than what had already been going on. Read more »

I wish you could hear all my screams

Although they are always silent

I wish you could feel all my pain

When it is too hard to bear it

When the scars reappear

And bring back the fear

And my dreams aren’t enough to suppress it

When the songs can’t fill all the spaces

And the words can’t patch up the wounds

The dreams are all broken Read more »

Burn the pages

Of misplaced words

And past mistakes

So they don’t follow

You throughout life

And beyond it

He messed things up

And tore them down

To rebuild them

Into something more

But the pieces

No longer fit

The things she wrote

Screamed for something

To save her life

But she dug too deep

For anyone

To bring her back

My head is full

Of the black books

And bad ideas

It’s hard to focus

On anything more

When it all hurts

It will not stop

Until it has brought

Me to my knees

And my chest implodes

And I’ll fade away

In white hot rage

So when we fall

And they all say

That they’ll be there

They can’t really save

Us from the things

That we have done

To ourselves

*This poem was a little weird to write. The rythm is a little off, and I think it's because I've been listeneing to a lot of "Fall Out Boy" recently. That may also explain the title. But I'm still getting back into the swing of things as far as my writing is concerned, so just tell me how to make this better if I screwed up somewhere. 

I remember all the scars like yesterday

And I remember all of the reasons why

For a second they had hurt a little less

But I remembered why I was a mess

I wish that I could make you all see

That no one hates me more than me

So I’ve spent a lot of my time hiding

And building a little Hell to live in

But they told that there was no Hell

They said to me that time would tell

But it hasn’t told me anything

Let alone something to believe in

So I might just be an angry cynic

And none of these words are realistic

But I know that I begged for an end

And I made all the scars that had bled

And I’ll never forget how words felt

When I left them on a page to be held

In suspension by paper, metal and thoughts

But they grew old and lots the color they’d caught

I remember a time when I could paint

The walls of my skull with my hate

And turn it into something to read

That people would gather to see

But for a moment the hate went away

And I put down the brush for a day Read more »

*Hello! I have returned to this site after a moment of confusion on whether or not I should stay. Now, I am back, and I have more than a few ideas cooking now. For a breif moment I had lost my "mojo", so to speak. But here's hoping i can rediscover it. Here is a darker tale of a woman named Helen, who is faced with an impossible choice. I thought I had uploaded it here before but apparently I didn't. And as per the usual, I want feedback, and lot's of it! So, feel free to tell me what I am doing wrong because I am fairly out of practice. Enjoy!

The Terminal

By Noah Smith

She closed the book, placed it on the table, and finally decided to walk through the door. She had sat in a mysterious room that held nothing but a grey plastic chair and a small wooden table. The walls were a dirty white color, making the room seem rather bland. Helen had no idea how she had gotten there, or even where there was. However, being a naturally calm and reserved person, she had simply sat down in the chair and begun to read her book that never left her side. She had noticed the door only moments later. Read more »

*I got bored and decide to write several little Haiku poems that fit togther as one. It explores all the different types: Traditional, Hokku, Waka, and Contemperary (Not necesarily in that order).

A sudden snafu
The moments of sheer chaos
Are what I live for

Seas roil, and twist
Twisting, churning emotions
Tearing their shorelines

A dissonant clamor
Lions roaring at my doorsteps
Impatient

Fiery explosions
Humanities war
Against the night sky
Celebrates revolution

Caged by the systems
Twisting sea, furious beasts
Exploding brightly
Some moments of sheer chaos
Striving for something better