The familiarity of the unfamiliar
passes in my mind like a muffled sound
It puts me to sleep so I don’t
let it overwhelm me with pain
I try to understand, analyse, hear, see it
but its foreign language evades me
The confusion brews about
a pressure cooker feeling
I try to ignore, deflect, hide, blind it
But it rears its head
So I attempt to understand it again
Understanding means realising
Realising means being conscious
But confirming the existence of unfamiliar
nudges at my deepest hidden fears
The safe haven of ignorance is out of sight
Where is the bliss they promised?
Where is the feeling of contentment?
Where are the sensations familiar?
Why do I always find myself
in the grips of the unfamiliar
Smoke words every day. 
16 responses to “[364] The Negative Space”
Incredible words.
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Thank you! 💫
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😍
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Hmm. Too much thinking is not good… But I do like your poem! Well done! 🙂
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It is what it is 🤷♂️ thank you 😊
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Same thoughts me man, thanks for sharing
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Thank you for reading 🙂
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I love the first half of your second stanza! (and I relate to this SO much.)
Also, it feels to me that you could capitalize the first letter of the word unfamiliar… that would make it a proper noun 🙂
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Thank you. I think I can have a lil bit of poetic license there :p
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yeah for sure – the poem was utterly fantastic. I was jus’ thinkin’ aloud 🙂
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Your advice is always helpful, Ben. Thank you so much 😊
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A well written, relatable poem.
We face the unfamiliar every day in our lives – there really is no end to it 🙂
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Thank you Jan. There sure isn’t, all we can do is look at them positively 😊
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Fantastic words
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Thank you!
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You really have an amazing talent for expressing feelings of doubt and insecurity. The words help me stop being so busy and think. Thank you for sharing.
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