Writing Prompt
Writings
Writings
POEM STARTER
‘All that glitters is not gold.’
Write a poem that begins with this line. What might this common saying lead you to explore?
Writings
All that glitters is not gold
With the shimmering in my mind
The desire in my blood
With what once felt like freedom Now feels like a prison I can’t escape from
It’s been years since I’ve seen the Dust in the palms of my hands But I still feel the jump of flying the moment I close my eyes
It’s an addiction I’ll never grow out of A fall I’ll never fly away from A life I’ll never get back
He showed me death He showed me pain And yet When I myself started bleeding He threw me to the wolves
And for that I’m getting revenge On the one and only Who makes dreams come true
If that makes me the villain So be it
Inspired by “These Deathless Shores” by P.H. Low
All that glitters is not gold.
You don't know what happens behind closed doors.
Family photos full of smiling faces.
Faces that look down at you with disappointment.
Shattered glass.
Yelling.
What's wrong with you?!
What's wrong with me? __ __ I don't know how to decipher my own emotions.
Am I angry? Am I hurt?
Will I ever be happy? __ __ __ You used to be such a good kid.
What happened?
Why can't you recognize yourself in the mirror anymore?
Why can't you smile anymore?
Family photos look like pictures with strangers: awkward and distant.
You don't say 'I love you' to your mother anymore.
You can't look into your father's eyes.
What changed?
You did.
They've always been like this, you just never saw through the polluted fog.
Open your eyes.
You're not that naive little girl anymore.
Grow up.
You're failing school.
You're smarter than this.
When will I ever get a break?
You're going to break.
In youth, I yearned for grown-up days, For freedom's call and adult ways. Then 18 came, and I was grown. So I set forth, to make the world my own.
I wish I had known those were the golden years, When worries were scarce, and there was nothing to fear. The world was a canvas waiting to be painted, My heart was innocent, pure, and not tainted.
But the rush of time brought truth to light, With every dawn and every night. The burdens heavy, the struggles real, Life's complex layers began to peel.
Love's sweet embrace, I knew it well, And in its loss, I nearly fell. Pain's sharp sting, a teacher stern, In darkest nights, I'd sit and learn.
From depths of sorrow, strength I drew, Each scar a lesson, each day anew. I climbed from valleys, dark and cold, To find that all that glitters is not gold.
All that glitters is not gold.
Is what the counselor consoled .
To the lad who wished to be bold .
Like the heroes he knew of old.
Finding wonders to behold.
Seeking treasures to withhold.
And to finally fit the mould .
Of a person uncontrolled .
Or, so that’s what he was told .
By the voices that cajoled.
Never once fortold.
Of the events that would unfold.
Of the hunger and the cold .
Of the dangers that fate rolled
Withheld from tales sold. 
Beckoning to those who wished to be bold.
To try and fit the mould.
Of the hero’s they Knew of old.
To be taken into the fold.
Of persons to behold.
To have their tales told.
To encourage and embold.
So the lad, he went untold.
Trying to be bold.
As he came across the hunger and the cold.
Facing the dangers that fate dolled.
Still searching for the sights to behold.
Of the treasure to withhold.
Never once consoled.
By the voices that once cajoled.
Still trying to fit the mould.
Of a person uncontrolled.
Like the hero’s he knew of old.
Or so that’s what he told.
To those he tried to embold.
Until one day he fit the mould.
Of a person uncontrolled.
Coming across the sights to behold.
Finding the treasures to withhold.
Though if you were to be told.
By the lad who wished to be bold.
Time had passed and he’d grown old.
Finally seeing passed the tales told.
Of hero’s they knew of old.
Because he had faced the cold.
Defeated the dangers that were dolled.
Overcame the dice that fate rolled.
Because he was controlled.
By the tales that were sold.
To encourage and embold.
Because the lad had grown old.
Didn’t care if his tales Were Told.
By those who wished his story sold.
Because he had claimed the gold.
By his deeds and what he could hold.
And in the end for the lad who had wished to be bold.
It hadn’t been worth it.
All that glitters is not gold Midas sparingly slits his wrists The prophecy soon to be foretold An age of bronze achingly persists
Doctors frantically rush to his aid Maids begin reaching the next of kin Relatives come to enact their charade The feast of wolves is ready to begin
Treachery abounds as the master is tended Serving interests that are wholly their own Machinations sewn and knees bended Familial heads lain at an unseated throne
The king lay dead in his blood soaked silk sending no riches for his household to adore determined to steal some treasure of their ilk Hounds lap their inheritance off of the floor
All that glitters is not gold Like the charming guy at the bar He looks pretty and beautiful and bold But he’ll flirt with you and take it too far
He wants the women with the pretty confidence The tough outfits He twirls his hair Hits on the misfits They feel wanted like they never have before
Now the misfits have been used Because men like that only want one thing All that glitters is not gold Mr. Charming just left them in the cold
The story isn’t finished The women won’t have their image diminished They want their victory They want that fools gold out of the bar
The women deserve the freedom They deserve the break They deserve to throw their hands up in the air and not have a care in the world They don’t deserve to be prayed upon by the glittery things that don’t have worth Because all that glitters is not gold It doesn’t always have worth It doesn’t always deserve her time His worth isn’t determined by his looks He has a heart of rot
All that glitters is not gold Not the light that hits your eye Not the stories that you’ve told Not the colors of your lies
Little white or big and red Shining with the tears they’ve wrought Love slain, strangled, and shot dead Illuminates the times we’ve fought
All that glitters is not gold I wish I could blink back our past And never let our love unfold A lie is never built to last
All that glitters is not gold And you dare to close your eyes All those stories seldom told Turn into a bunch of lies
All that glitters is not gold When it turns to stormy skies In your hands a life you hold It will die despite your tries
All that glitters is not gold When your talents turn to rust And your memories get old And you are tired of trust
All that glitters is not gold You’re done making the same mistakes All your feelings feel so old But, really, gold is all it takes
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