#poems

I think the primary reason tumblr became irrelevant is due to their business decision to remove all porn. Several years most of the tumblr accounts were dedicated to porn which resulted in a demand for their services.

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Personally, I decided to delete my tumblr account, which was where I had posted over 200 original poems, because they changed my password and I could no longer perform edit functions. After unsuccessfully reaching out to tumblr to correct the problem, I got frustrated and deleted my account and along with it over 400 followers. I will never use tumblr again.

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And to be honest, I am very close to leaving askfm. Why?
Because askfm used to be fun when it was mostly used for questions and answers, but it seems now it has become a dating application where many people are looking for a partner or some type of long term relationship which I have no interest in

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I have been looking for a social network dedicated to writers, but most require a monthly subscription fee which I am not willing to pay for. So I think what I will try doing with askfm is sending more anonymous questions to avoid the Woke Cowards from constantly reporting my account as "hate speech" which I am not only frustrated with but totally bored with. So ya, my days hanging around askfm are coming to and end. Freedom of speech no longer exists in America.

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When you say "out here" I assume you are referring to social networks like askfm, facebook, etc., right? In my own personal experience, askfm is a great place to meet new people and ask questions, post quotes, poems and songs; however, I am not convinced that if I was looking for love or a meaningful and loving long term relationship, I would expect to find such a thing on any social network for reasons that should be obvious. For example, would you purchase a house online, or a car or a guitar, sight unseen and without actually driving the car and sitting in the car and using all of your senses to evaluate the car? I believe most sane people with common sense, would not behave in this manner. Why?
Well there are a myriad of reasons not to take such risks.

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For example:
- Age: the person you meet on line lies about their age, gender, financial situation, weight, looks and potentially a whole host of false attributes and psychological conditions that some might call.... defects.
- Look under the hood: when I evaluate a car or a guitar, I drive it, plug it in and play it, perform a visual inspection, research it's fair market value, etc. How it this possible on social networks? It is not.
- Character: the true test of a man or woman's character can not be evaluated accurately when times are good or when texting online for 30 minutes each day. How a person handles tragedy, disease, misfortune, rejection, anger, depression, and reality can best be assessed when the person of interest is under duress and is forced to react to negative situations and make split second decisions. How is that possible when staring at a computer monitor waiting for the next alphanumeric character to arrive?

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In conclusion, I would say that it is not that anonymous people on the internet do not care, but rather they all have their own reality to live and often times social networks like askfm are merely seen a distraction and a form of entertainment. With that said, my advice is this: do not expect to find love or a soulmate when frequenting places like askfm, twitter, instagram, facebook, or whatsapp, where anonymity rules, humans manipulate, computers deceive and the person whom you are infatuated with sees you as "entertainment" or a "distraction." It is therefore reasonable to surmise that entertainment and distractions do not make for good bed fellows and certainly do not provide the strong foundation required to build a lasting, loving and genuine relationship that many of us spend our entire life searching for but never find.

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When I ask a question it is primarily to inform, challenge and educate those people who follow me. There is also a component of entertainment because I also like to read the responses and occasionally, if I find the answer to be thoughtful and intriguing, I might respond and initiate a conversation.

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The majority of the time I post quotes, poems or I post my own questions and then answer my own questions as a means to educate and inform. It is an interesting exercise because it helps me to improve my writing skills while also forcing me to perform research and organize my own thoughts after careful consideration of the subject matter. For me this is entertaining and many of my followers also seem to enjoy what I write, so it is a win, win. That is why I usually respond to questions, such as yours, by stating that I am here on askfm to entertain, inform and educate.

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Cheers.
/Alex

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I want you to know that when I give you my heart, hope you accept all the broken pieces and keep them safe with you, and I know that there will be some missing pieces too, but I hope you do not mind. I will come vulnerable, soft, and breakable, but I hope you accept me as I am. I will write you silly love poems and texts with all the words you know and I hope you will smile whenever you read them, just like I do whenever I think about you. On some days you will find me sitting next to
you, and I'll still be so far away, and I hope that on those days you will hold my hand a little tighter, and hug me a
little longer. On some days I'll be upset with you, but I hope that on those days you will try to talk to me even more. Probably there will be days when we will have a fight (like there are), maybe not talk to each other the entire day (which I hate so much), but I hope that at night we come back to each other and sort things out. Even after fights when we sit at the dining table, and I offer you a slice of cake with my hands, I hope you do not refuse. I hope you will take the entire cake and smack it on my face and laugh out loud saying this is how we make up. I promise I won't mind. Instead, I will kiss you with my cream covered lips and we will choose a different flavour for the next time. On the days when I make you cry, hope you remember all the times when I made you laugh too. I hope you will forgive me for my mistakes, and if a day comes when you think that you do not love you anymore, I hope you will remember that I wrote you this letter with all my heart, and that if needed, I'll write you a thousand more ❤️

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"Smartphone Society" by Alex

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I am only aware of two mental health pages run by askfm users who were studying psychology. I think they either lost interest or just got too busy with their personal lives to answer questions every day and so they abandoned their accounts.

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As some of the long time askfm users can attest, depending upon how you use askfm, this social network can consume a lot of time. That is why you will often see some of the more articulate and prolific writers lose interest and pursue other outside interests and abandon or disable their askfm accounts. I can't even begin to tell you how many great writers have abandoned askfm and will never return. Times change and people move on.

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This is why I primarily write for myself and only post things that interest me. If I used askfm as a mechanism to communicate with other people, as so many good writers have done in the past, I too would have abandoned askfm many years ago. So I post my own questions and then I answer the questions I post to keep my mind lucid and my writing fluid. Once in a while someone will engage me by asking a thoughtful question that will provoke me and inspire me to respond; but, I have little doubt that in time... I too will abandon askfm and simply disappear into the ethernet as so many great writers who preceded me have done.

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I've deleted my accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr for the same reason. You post an essay, a poem, a quote or a photograph and when you are the only person reading the essay's and original poems you create, you simply lose interest and move on with your life. Yes, I still intend to publish a book on poetry, but I am not going to post any original poems on social networks anymore because the truth is that few people, if any, care. So what's the point? There is no point and I suppose that is the point, right?

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It would be like playing the guitar or piano in a bar or club and either nobody is physically there or the few people who are there, don't listen and do not care. In a strange sort of way, our society has become an echo chamber where people gather together to hear themselves bloviate and hear only what they want to hear and see only what they want to see, while everything that exists outside of their self induced "echo chamber" is completely ignored. Heck, sometimes I wonder at what point those folks would recognize and react to an asteroid that is about to hit earth and cause mass extinction? I bet they would not notice the asteroid until the moment of impact. Sadly, that is how self absorbed people are in our "smartphone society."

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I See Nothing - Sgt Schultz
https://youtu.be/34ag4nkSh7Q

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It depends what you are looking for and what your expectations are.
- penpals/ friendzone: those accounts looking to meet new people and engage in friendly discussions without getting serious, in my opinion, do best.
- dating/hookups: this is not a dating site. I've seen some users who have developed intimate relationships, but very few seem to last and based on my observation they end up disabling their accounts.
- Cheating: unfortunately I have seen some users who are married engaging in sex fantasy (roleplay) where the flirts and the male send the woman he is infatuated with poems, songs or they even imagine a virtual life together as soulmates.
- Bullying: I do not see this too much anymore. When I first joined in 2015 there was a lot of bullying. In fact, many of the conversations were based upon ripping innocent people to shreds, where in some cases suicide resulted. This is why askfm implemented a reporting mechanism and it is the reason that probably 75% of the account no longer accept anonymous messages. 5 years ago 95% of the account were anonymous. I think this is one of the reasons askfm is dying a slow death.
- Sex: a few years ago sex was probably the most popular topic on askfm. The accounts were anonymous and people enjoyed roleplaying, fetishes, honest hour (hh), and honest porn (hp) where some users uploaded nudes, phone numbers, porn fantasy and even created BDSM accounts where they would talk about their sexual adventures and orgies.

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I do not see any of this behavior on askfm anymore and I think the primary reasons are (1) askfm moderators do not tolerate such behavior (2) reports and blocking, (3) many of the teenagers have abandoned their accounts (4) the askfm users are older.

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In the past the average age of the askfm user was probably 15 - 18. Now, I suspect the average age is probably 30 - 40 and they do not support any abuse, bullying, sexual innuendo, roleplaying, porn, etc.

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I do not know what you are looking for, but the days of the wild, wild west where anything goes are over. Tumblr also experienced something similar around 2016 when they removed all of their porn. Tumblr was another social network where people were allowed to post anything and honestly, much of it was disgusting and extremely offensive.
So I hope I have provided a little background for you.

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One last thing, I avoid discussing politics and religion because askfm is full of woke activists who will report your account to askfm if you post anything that offends them or causes them to retreat into their "safe space" with anxiety.

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Good Luck

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Yes I do forget things. To combat this degradation of memory I do the following:
- Appointments: I keep two calendar books. One is a physical calendar and one digital.
- Lists: I make a to do list
- Appointments: All doctors appointments are entered into calendar and also posted on my desk.
- Speech: I always try to think before I speak or act so I avoid looking or sounding incompetent. This might sound strange but every word that comes out of my mouth or is written on paper is predetermined, planned and prepared within my brain prior to my audience hearing it. This also applies to music as well. Otherwise I would sound like the MSM talking heads. Nothing but an incoherent rambling idiot speaking in fragmented sentences with mispronouncing words.
- Keys: I hang keys on key rack
- Tools: I organize my tools
- Clothes: I put my clothes in predefined spaces
- Writing: My music, poems and essays have titles and are stored in alphanumeric sequence and according to style or topic
- Time: every room has a clock and I always leave early whenever I have appointments to avoid getting lost or creating needless stress
- Routine: I adhere to a routine whether it be exercise, eating, reading, practicing, etc. Without a routine I literally cannot function.

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I appreciate your advice and I also agree 100%. I think when I originally joined askfm I wanted to simply answer questions, post quotes and poems. Somewhere along the line people began asking me questions about depression and other types of problems and because of my age and experience I thought I might be able to help. In many cases I believe people were appreciative, but not all were happy.

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Maybe I was naive because I thought common sense plus a persuasive argument would prevail; but I now recognize that with some people, unhappiness and emotional outrage is a way of life and a choice. Still, walking away from people who are suffering is difficult for me because, as with depression, I've lived with it for most of my life and have found many ways to effectively manage it and that is what prompts me to want to offer advice based upon my own personal experiences. But as you so aptly noted: "you can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped."

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Amen to that!
Thank you.

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Not fair! You are implying that I sent you questions and yet you remain anonymous? And then you run away by logging off? Please review all my posts before making a rash decision. I try my best to offer advice, write poems, post music, etc. And if you can find something I wrote that is offensive, please send it to me and I will apologize and promptly delete it.

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Now not to go on a rant here but this unprovoked claim says a lot about the society that we live in known as the "Cancel Culture." Where is the "due process?" And why do so many young people not seem to give a damn about due process? When accusations are made for such things as sexual assault or defamation of character, you need to provide something known as "evidence." For without evidence the accusation carried no weight and is moot. Any other interpretation risks declaring the innocent guilty for a proposed crime they did not commit.

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So what better place to practice "due process" than in our everyday life with the words we use and the meanings we convey, right? We need to stop making false accusations and if we do make an accusation we MUST provide and we MUST demand evidence! Enough of this false reality and propaganda that if someone makes an accusation it must be true!! As if humans do not lie of some people could not possibly be dishonest when all sane humans fully acknowledge that most if not all people can be dishonest whenever it suits their personal agenda's.

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Sorry for the rant but I am totally fed up with the Cancel Culture and if someone attempts to cancel me, I will fight and fight to win!

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In what way were they annoying?
Were they hateful and mean?
Were they speaking an inconvenient truth that upset you?

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It is impossible to advise you because your original statement is conflicting. You claim they annoy you while also claiming they were really nice to you.
Which is it?
- Annoying or Really nice?
Also, why are you confused about your feelings toward them? Are you afraid of falling in love?

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I had a similar experience, except I was the one who got blocked. It happened a few months ago when I was writing and posting original poems and one of my followers said she really enjoyed my poetry. So we began texting and eventually became friends. Then one day, one of her friend from Spain, who is a drama queen and who gossips 24x7, told her that I was this evil, hateful and untrustworthy SOB who must be blocked. So my virtual friend who enjoyed my writing blocked me without offering any explanation other than she disliked me.

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I guess what I am trying to say is that yes, sometimes blocking is the proper thing to do, but just understand that it is not always easy to analyze and understand the motives of other people or whether or not they are a good person or a bad person.

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I prefer to give people the benefit of the doubt and when I have concerns, I will attempt to ask questions and try my best to be patient and understanding before I block someone and destroy the relationship.

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"Depressing Love" by Alex

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Yes it is depressing when you love someone but they accuse you of not loving them, especially early in the relationship when the couple are still trying to understand one another. I admit that I get distracted with my music and writing and they become an obsession. Once I put my pen to paper or start playing my guitar, I do not like to be interrupted unless it is an emergency. Unfortunately, most people I have lived with whether brother, sister, parents, wife or children, do not understand or appreciate the mind of an artist and so they confuse my passion and concentration as disinterest.

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It is one of the reasons that if I am ever single, I will remain single. Living by myself is the only way I will be able to create poems and music uninterrupted and without having to justify my behavior or being forced to deal with the constant complaints and accusations of disinterest. And as for me, I will never comprehend why people cannot understand that a writer cannot write nor a musician practice his music while simultaneously talking to family and friends or painting the house, washing the dishes or mowing the lawn. Music and writing require silence and concentration without comment or justification.

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So to answer your original question, yes it is most depressing to love people while also being accused of not loving them. It is also depressing to write poems that nobody reads or to write songs that people do not hear (because they are too busy talking) or to strive for perfection in an imperfect and uncaring world. And might I propose that this is precisely the reason why so many talented artists decide to end their lives. I completely understand! To be a sensitive soul living in an insensitive and uncaring world is, in my opinion, a profound and painful reality that is impossible to reconcile. Luckily for me, I am able to co-exist in both worlds, but I would much prefer to be a full time artist who devotes all of his time and effort to creating music and poetry.

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Thank you for your sincere and insightful question. /Alex

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"The Devil Came to Fort Wayne"

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The devil came to Fort Wayne looking for another deal.
He was in a bind, falling way behind and needed a soul to steal.
He came across a young man writing poems nearly non-stop.
The devil pulled out his golden pen and said "Bard, let me show you up!
I bet you didn't know this, but I invented the haiku.
And if you dare, don't mind or care, I'll place a bet with you.
Now, you write a pretty good riddle, boy, but give me credit too,
I'll bet this pen of gold against your soul, saying I am better than you."
The kid said, "Call me Glory.
And I don't believe in sin.
So, I'll agree to that bet, and make you regret ever thinking you could win!"

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Glory better fill his pen and find those words that rhyme
'Cause hell's broke loose in Fort Wayne and the devil wins all the time.
And if he can win, he'll get that pen made of shiny gold
But if he fails, the devil prevails with his soul.

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The devil pulled out his page and said, "I'll start this silly show."
And fire flew from the tip of his pen, and his page was aglow.
He scratched one line and his pen made a wicked hiss.
Then the words appeared right out of thin air saying something like this,

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Manifesting fear
I am everything you hear
Both the far and near

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The words faded, and Glory said, "That's pretty good, old one.
But shield your eyes, my words inscribe by the power of the sun!"

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We need not live fear
Our love is the brightest sphere
Our souls always near

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The devil bowed his head for he knew that he was beat.
And he laid that golden pen on the ground by Glory’s feet.
Glory said, "Just come on back, if you ever care to try again,
'Cause I told you once, you son of a myth, I'm the best there's ever been!"

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That depends upon the reasons given by all parties involved. The behavior may or may not be justified depending upon the facts. Sometimes the parents are wrong and other times the children are wrong and there are times when both the parents and children are wrong.

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In general, I would try my best to avoid complicated relationships with excessive emotional baggage; but, one could also argue that there are not any "perfect" relationships. So I suppose most relationships have problems and what matters is how much chaos, dysfunction and irrational behavior you are willing to tolerate. At my age I would prefer to avoid all of the interpersonal dysfunction and live my life in peace, performing music, playing golf, writing poems and enjoying each day with minimal stress and the absence of irrational behaviors that result in chaos and stress.

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If you are "flirting" online and your partner is uncomfortable, at the very least, you need to have an honest discussion about it. A valid question might be: Why do you have the need to flirt and what are your intended objectives? If, after the discussion, your partner is still uncomfortable then a decision needs to be made concerning whether or not to end the relationship.

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The other scenario, which I find myself in, is when you enjoy writing and you allow your partner to see your writing and you are not involved in any salacious online affair. In my case, askfm users ask some very good questions that motivate me to write and many of my thoughts eventually become poems that I post on my poetry blog. So I have explained to my wife what I am doing and why I do it. Also, I am not interested in extra marital affairs nor am I interested in online virtual affairs.

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Now with all that said, I have seen askfm users who are married flirting and making plans to cheat on their partner. Typically the flirting starts as a series of daily questions that gradually become more personal and sexual in content. Once the online couple become comfortable and trust each other, the alpha will obtain the private information (phone number) required to communicate privately using applications such a Snap Chat or Whatsapp. At that point the relationship becomes much more intimate with the goal of meeting and spending time together without their respective partners discovering the sexual affair.

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I have explained this behavior to my wife and even provided examples of real people who engage in this type of immoral behavior. And that is why I post poems, songs and do not get involved in the personal lives of my followers. For me, askfm helps me to improve my writing style and is a source of entertainment where I can meet people from around the world without getting too involved in their personal lives.

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As to your original question whether your partner should stop, that is a decision that only you can make. If they are not doing anything wrong or hiding any text messages from you, then you probably do not have anything to worry about. Just ask your partner why he has a need to text strangers online and evaluate his reasoning to see if it makes sense or if it is bullshit. You'll figure out what the real truth is, one way or the other. But please don't assume that he is doing something nefarious simply because he likes to write. Always evaluate the content of the writing before forming an opinion. And be sure to check his search history if you still have doubts. Also, consider this, how does he behave when you unexpectedly enter the room and approach his computer monitor? Does he appear nervous and hide his desktop from view? If the answer is yes, then you need to have a "come to Jesus" meeting with him and potential seek professional counseling to repair and save the relationship.

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Good Luck.

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My junior year of high school someone taped a love letter to my desk before my first period class. The letter was written on patterned paper in red thin tipped marker. It mentioned how pretty I was and how I had a great sense of humor and a really nice smile, and that my laugh was infectious. The writer said that they really liked me, but I never gave them the time of day. It was signed, "Your Secret Admirer." To be honest, I was horribly creeped out. I didn't find it sweet or endearing, I found it unsettling. I asked my teacher if he knew who wrote it, which he did, but said he wouldn't tell me, but that the individual was in our class. My teacher finally ended up telling me after several days that it was this kid that I had little to no interaction with. It creeped me out even more to know that this kid I barely knew was lusting after me and thought that this juvenile display of interest was the best way to win my affections. I have a box full of them back in my old room at my parent's house. Ahh, high school! I love them all. They were all from serious boyfriends, telling me how much they cared about me and how I made them feel. The most important thing is that they were sincere and from the heart. Each one is unique, because each person and each relationship was unique. I still read over them every now and then and smile, because we had great times while it lasted and learned valuable lessons. No regrets, even the scumbags and idiots. When I first got them, I thought they were adorable and I would read them all the time when I was missing my boyfriend.
I received quite a few really beautiful ones from my significant other, primarily when we first started seeing each other. The part that stays with me from those is the glimpse into how he really felt and that he shared the wonderment I did about falling in love. I do still have them, but wouldn't feel right about sharing the details of something only meant for my eyes originally.
I have had love letters written to me. My first was in 7th grade. Pretty sweet, but I thought at the time it was a tad creepy too. More recently, my ex husband wrote them to me before we started dating, and they really made me feel special. These love letters included poems he wrote about me. He stopped writing them right after we began dating and never wrote another one. I still have those he wrote me though, somewhere.
I've never received one. The closest I ever got was because of an assignment in my honors humanities class in high school. Everyone had to write a valentine poem to whoever's name they drew out of the hat. The guy who drew my name made a giant card and a handmade mirror in the shape of a heart. Unfortunately, he was just an overacheiver as I actually had a crush on him.

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Very organized.
In fact, I could not function very well without being organized.

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Teacher/Course Developer - When I developed curriculum for high tech, I performed a needs analysis and from that derived the goals and course objectives to develop the course material and lab exercises.

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Writing - I catalog my poems, reflections and political essays based upon subject and date, so that I can retrieve specific works as required.

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Music - My studio is design as a concentric circle with my music stand and chair in the middle so I can rotate between my computers, effect processors, amps and various instruments. All composition is cataloged alphabetically and based upon style i.e. Jazz, Rock, Folk, etc.

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Tools - are stored and hung in specific order so when I am involved in a project I can quickly located the appropriate tools.

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Vacation/Travel - all aspects of the trip are pre-planned and estimated costs are calculated. I do not like to leave things to chance because whenever I do, mistakes happen and the vacation negatively affected.

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