Performancepoetry Stories

A Carnival of Small Apocalypses These are poems for the hours after midnight, when the neon hums louder than reason and the world briefly forgets how to pretend. Inside these pages, goldfish learn theology from television screens. Ghosts linger in diners. Prophets miss their exits. Machines dream of salvation. The faithful wrestle with doubt, the doubtful wrestle with faith, and ordinary people carry the quiet weight of living through strange times. Part witness, part confession, part roadside sermon, these free verse spoken-word poems wander through forgotten towns, crowded headlines, broken promises, flickering screens, and the stubborn mysteries that refuse to leave us alone. Some are angry. Some are mournful. Some laugh in places they probably shouldn't. Together they form a carnival of small endings and unexpected beginnings-a collection of voices searching for meaning beneath neon skies, beneath static, beneath the noise. Step right up. The lights are already flickering. The ride has already begun.

A spoken word poem I wrote in under ten minutes. Ten minutes isn't enough time to make anything up, so all I had was truth an experience.

Some hauntings don't scream. They wait. Each night, when the world grows quiet and defenses fall, a presence returns-familiar, intimate, impossible to fully escape. When Shadows Settle is a lyrical exploration of the things we bury by day and confront in the dark: memory, desire, guilt, grief, and the habits that refuse to loosen their grip.

"Good Enough" is a raw and unapologetic spoken word piece that dives deep into the struggle of identity, self-worth, and survival in a world that still places labels, stereotypes, and barriers on Black lives. Through powerful repetition and unfiltered honesty, the poem captures the weight of depression, the silence of invisibility, and the ever-present question: When will I be seen as enough? This piece weaves together the personal battle of inner darkness with the collective reality of systemic injustice, shining light on the pain of being overlooked, underestimated, and dehumanized. It is both a cry for recognition and a mirror held up to society's ongoing failures. More than just words, "Good Enough" is a testimony-an emotional journey that gives voice to the unheard, honors the resilience of the oppressed, and demands reflection from those who listen.

Not every sin looks like sin. Not every judgment comes from God. Rolled Snake Eyes is a raw, confrontational poem about desire, hypocrisy, and the moment chance runs out. It moves through intimacy, faith, and consequence with no absolution and no apology. This isn't about redemption. It's about what happens after the roll- when the numbers stop moving and everyone has to live with them.

A short poem about perception, poverty, and the moment life turns upside down. Every morning, the performance begins. A street corner becomes a stage. Cardboard signs become scripts. Tin buckets fill with coins and folded bills as passersby glance away. Under the faded lights of a traveling carnival, two performers sit quietly - a guitar player and a painted clown - collecting sympathy from the crowd. Their sign reads: "Visions of Cheeseburgers." To most people, it's just another scene of poverty. Just another group of strangers asking for change. But what happens when the distance between observer and performer disappears? What happens when the coin flips... And you wake up on the other side of the sidewalk? A Turn of Event is a haunting short poem about poverty, perception, and the fragile line between spectator and survivor. Sometimes the show isn't entertainment. Sometimes it's a warning.

***poem*** A spoken-word spiral about loving too hard, pulling away too fast, and pacing the line between obsession, jealousy, and self-awareness and the struggles of BPD.

These are the poems that raised me and continue to raise me. Each one a phase, a feeling, a fight. Spoken Out is a timeline of truth-soft, sharp, and still standing.

A free verse poem of the struggle that is foster care. Written in 2012

Short quotes/poems by me If you enjoy my new short book please please follow my instagram and show support I'm trying to grow and it's awfully hard ❤️ IG poetryscentt With two ts Also name is hiraeth