Defined Brightness

By Marshall Elmore

A collection of poetry by Marshall Elmore. This collection of poetry is composed of love, loss, and hope. With many days of reflection and compassion, I have come to understand more and more of what I have to offer. Please enjoy my collection.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookTrail Publishing
• Release date: May 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9781637678664

Marshall Elmore

I was born August 18, 1970 in Houston, Texas. I had a hard childhood, a rough teen life, even more difficult coming out to hate crime, and a journey to enlightenment.

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Copyright © 2022 Marshall Elmore

Paperback: 978-1-63767-865-7

eBook: 978-1-63767-866-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022906690

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Ordering Information:

BookTrail Agency

8838 Sleepy Hollow Rd.

Kansas City, MO 64114

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

A Moment

A Radical Life

A Truce

Above

Actualized 

Air

Alive

All Gone

All It Is

Alone and Afraid

An Invitation 

Angel

As I Ascend

Aversion 

Awakening 

Beach Boys

Beautiful One’s

Behind

Believe 

Beloved

Benevolent

Better and True 

Better Story

Better Than You

Bittersweet Life

Blessings Crown

Breaking Glass

Brilliance 

Bringing Fun

Butterfly

By Your Side

Cage

Carve

Cheap Anyway

Closed Door

Come Back into the Light

Coming Back

Connected

Conversation in My Mind

Curiosity 

Curled Up Hope

Cuts

Daylight Never Dies 

Deceived 

Decisions 

Deeper

Depraved 

Destiny 

Destroyer

Directions in Life

Divine Nature

Do Not Mind It

Do Not Stop

Do Not Tell Me

Do Or Die 

Do You Love Me?

Dream High

Dreamworld

Dry Eyes on Rainy Days

Dying Until 

Early Calls

Elements of Nature 

Empty Road

Empty Soul

Epistemophile

Every Blink

Every Torch

Everything I Do

Evince

Experienced Love

Facetious 

Fall In Love

Falling Apart

Falling For You

Fear That Consumes 

Finding My Soul

Finding Strength 

Finished

Flowers In Tow

Foresee

Forget Me Nots

Forget

Forgotten Thought 

Give My Time

Given Freely

Go

Gone

Grass is Greener

Grateful 

Grown

Growth

Hated Components 

HeadRoom

Heaven is Waiting

Here Without You

Hesitation 

High Hopes

Hold onto the Fight

Holding a Hurricane 

Hourglass 

I Believe 

I May Not See Tomorrow

I Will Go

If You Love Him

In the End

In the Eyes

In the Past

In the Rain

In This Moment 

Individuality

Intoxicating Smile

Introspection 

Invested Love

It Is Time

It Was You

Jayson

Kaleidoscope

Keep Me Waiting

Know My Place

Last Resort

Learning the Pattern

Leave Nothing to Ignore 

Left Behind

Lifting the Shroud

Light in the Mirror

Like Clockwork

Lost Sometimes 

Love Happened

Love My Way

Love Will Happen

Lovemaking 

Loyalty Due

Lying to My Face

Magnetism 

Making a Deal

Megillah

Memories Frozen in Time

Memories

Memory

My Brauine B and Me

My Fantasy 

My Mouth is a Pandora’s Box

Not Here

Nothing Wrong with That

Nowhere Without You

Oh, Happy Days

On My Mind

One Night Made

One of a Kind

Online Web

Only Time

Only You

Open Up

Opportunities 

Our Bond

Perfect Moments 

Permission 

Piecing the Night Together 

Power in Yourself

Prepared

Pride I Feel

Questioning Why

Rainbow of Colors True

Real Shifts

Reason Why

Reckless

Redirecting 

Release

Review Mirror

Reward My Skills

River Streams

Saying Goodbye

Seasons Change

Secrets Supplied

Self Confidence 

Sent a Letter

Sharing Your Light

Slide Over

Slowly Fading Away

Snow Globe

Somber Days

Sparing Time

Stake

Stalemate

Stay Happy

Stay Steady

Stay

Strain 

Strawberry Dazz

Strengthy 

Sycamore 

Tacit

Take Me, My Love

Telluric

The Catcher 

The Closer I Get

The Forest

The Good Days

The Knock

The O Neg Corral

The Reason

Thin Air

Ties That Bind

To Be a Soul Mate

To Be Human 

To Be This Afraid

To Be Understood

To Bruise 

To Heal

To Our Degree

To Say Goodnight

Together

Tomorrow 

Transference

Unchained

Unconditionally

Unflappability

Victim of This Love

Walk Away

Warmth of Christmas Time

Washout

Way You Are

We, Will, Be Together 

What a Day

What is Left

What is Time

When I Dream

When Will Time Heal?

Whisper and a Touch

Who Goes There? 

Whole Again

Wishful Love 

Without You

Wrong or Right

You and I 

Your Beg

Preface

To the dedicated ones and to anyone that will enjoy the poems that I have bared my soul.

I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I have enjoyed the voyage.

Marshall Elmore

A Moment

As I navigate my way through a moment 

Each thought turns to a new beginning 

Staring at the event horizon for the finish line

I find it begins again

And there I find another 

Only to amaze me 

I do not want to lose my way

So, I stay here 

Swept around in motion 

Not completely knowing my notion 

Or how all this reason is flowing 

Because waves keep waving 

And things are still going

I shall not lose my way 

There is enough for me to follow

I will stay warm in my belief 

December 23, 2021

A Radical Life

I started out innocently 

But life taught me a radical life

Always feeling alone and afraid 

As I stumbled through the way

Could you have told me I had a choice? 

I would have read the rules better

Or listened when you told me the little words

How the lies have dressed me up

Only to leave me naked in the truth

And the wind keeps my head high

So, cracks in the sky show light 

To keep hell down through its ground

I will not change who I am

For all is known is who I am

The rain will be my friend through the storm

No fight is left so, I leave pain behind

The unfiltered words spoken 

Speaking loudly to heal all scars

Giving yourself away may be the fault

But pay the price no mistake is without a cost

Do not candy coat the wonder 

Cut loose the rage and love 

I only wish I knew the darkness was over 

People pretend but no one knows

And perception is only in the eye of the beholder

But live like your life is on the line

I started out innocently 

But life taught me a radical life

October 25, 2021

A Truce

Is it driven crazy?

I am 

If I could be next to you

To find that almost mine

Well, you said it was mine

I knew it was mine a long time ago

But it is nearly hard to find

So, you act like I was your enemy all along

Only to ask for my truce

October 10, 2021

Above

In the unwelcome night 

Smiles to faces are bright

Innocence knowing 

To welcome seasons changing

Promises long-winded 

Speak of comfort strong-minded 

Fear no longer given 

This lonely place forgiven 

Tangled up in our embrace 

To love you I fell to grace

I give you everything anytime

To watch nature wind in time

Flowers tremble on their vine

Yielding to shelter shine

Look to the above

No temptation in our love

August 27, 2021

Actualized 

It is in your words that hurt

With no more to speak about our love

We are each one, more alone

Your breath touching each pause in me

The pictures move

Every syllable burns

Wish I could sing a song to you 

The beloved lips and tongue move 

Could they say?

Look at me

Only to hold at loves focus and speak

See you

It is a disappointment I know

Your absence is the abyss

Mornings jail our holds

Nights explore our passions

To only walk on quicksand

Without warning 

Ameliorate

Now we get higher

In one breath 

Synchronization 

Exploited for the sake of art

No blame art imitates life

Love when you hold me down

It builds me up

Only to hold you down

Love actualized 

August 14, 2021

Air

What if I told you, I needed more air from you? 

More air to breathe

Would you give it to me? 

All I wanted was you

Because this is who I am

In my last selfish act

Yes, to be naked and vulnerable 

In my change, I could not be

I am only me

I need more air from you

More air to breathe 

The seeds I have given are grown

In your silence, I knew what you needed 

All I could hear was your heart 

The will bears your name

Brightened your darkest days

Found a way to say I love you every day

Calmed the stormy chaos

Weathered the craziest dreams

Shelter from the rain

Can I close my eyes to make the present untrue? 

As my coughed blood splatters, the wall

Cut it out call it Van Gogh and sell it

No one will bury me too soon

I have more fight in me

Having lived ten lifetimes 

It is forthwith I will quit 

So, my ears only hear the gentle reaping 

I am scared 

My dear, I need your air

And there will be nothing left but you

July 18, 2021

Alive

Could you care?

I wonder if you are even there

Would you miss me if I died?

How empty I feel inside

I am already dead

Only to want to fall again

I feel you falling away

I feel so lost 

We are no longer the same

How did we get so broken?

How can we resuscitate this life?

Show me the way

We said forever and ever

Even with all these scars 

Mend our broken hearts

Leave the dark behind 

God help us fix the undone

Out of the dark and into the light

No longer the lost

And we will keep each other alive 

December 5, 2021

All Gone

Conundrum of love

The mind saying, I cannot get a break with anyone

The heart saying does not give up

It is time to find someone to start up

I do not want to finish this alone

To have it work out to have a backbone

Theoretically it looked so easy

I admit I missed making it breezy

For me