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C. Oulens

@owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social

1.6K followers 1.2K following 5.2K posts

Poet, thinker, dreamer, scribbler… in ascending order differently logical . . . I sense, I feel, I write . . . Winner, 3rd Annual Poe-it Like Poe Poetry Contest 2025 by sixdegreesofpoe @owlnsquirrels1111 on Threads

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C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 1d

For this #PoemsAbout I’ve found the perfect #ImperfectMe (no lying🤥) and now that the 🐱 out of the 🎩 (was it a 🛍️?) I’m gonna 💨 for the day (JK…) Thanks to host @alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk
also for #haikuchallenge #anecdote for host @bleuowl.bsky.social
#tanka #Oulens #blueskypoetry

Confessions of an unabashembellisht
- C. Oulens

Oi, I’m a hatful
of lies that hurts umm… no one?
okay… almost.— there!

you browse your own bags while I
~embellish~>
anecdotes of…
nowhere—… .. . _ -

Afterword

* if I’ve to ‘embellish’ (instead of ‘spin’) ‘anecdotes’ (instead of ‘tales’) it’s reasonable that I be permitted 2 extra syllables in the #tanka for my extra-churned services…?🤔

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C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 15h

Much appreciate your read and the repost🙏🙏
@davidbirch.bsky.social
got overwhelmed today. Will read yours and a few remaining tomorrow.
#poemsabout

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C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 16h

Ooh… I’m really happy! I had the most fun playing with that particular line… was somehow coming out too long in the beginning. Much appreciate your response. 🙏🙏

Reposted by C. Oulens

Alan Parry He/Him @alanparrywriter.co.uk · 16h

That ‘okay... almost.— there!’ hits like a stammer caught mid-lie, all nerves & bravado at once. Love how the poem plays with confession as performance, messy yet self-aware. #KeepWriting #PoemsAbout #ImperfectMe

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C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 16h

Thanks for the repost
@alysseaallyn.bsky.social
@binny123.bsky.social
@blueskypoetry.bsky.social

C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 16h

Thank you! Was inspired by @bleuowl.bsky.social tanka to my previous poem. Glad you liked it.

Reposted by C. Oulens

Alan Parry He/Him @alanparrywriter.co.uk · 17h

‘soulless prosthetics / of pre-approved aesthetics’ the diction is sharp, metallic, perfectly mirroring its critique. Small poem, big voltage. #KeepWriting #PoemsAbout #Mannequin

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C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 16h

You’re most welcome. 😊💫

C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 16h

👍💫👏

C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 16h

this whimsy #instance
where I #write in #verve
of unnerving silence

#2WordPrompt #vss365
#Oulens
#haiku #senryu #tanka
#blueskypoets #blueskypoetry
#poetrycommunity #poems #poetry

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C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 18h

Thank you! 🙏 😊

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C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 18h

👍

C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 19h

Thank you! Have you received the draft already? Haven’t received mail yet.

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C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 19h

Can really relate to it! 😅

C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 19h

One for you… this was from my phone cam… with the clouds playing musical chair on the blood moon night

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C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 19h

You’re welcome! This is really nice music 🎵

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C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 20h

Really like how you’ve treated a “consultation”… the second stanza esp captures a zoned out mind so well.

C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 20h

Great write! Hope this piece restored your faith! 💫

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C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 20h

Beautiful imagery! Esp love “regard the spine…” onwards

Reposted by C. Oulens

Anna Orridge @anna-orridge.bsky.social · 1d

Forgive me, I am by nature an open book,
but was discarded carelessly halfway through
a reading, pages splayed, binding strained.
But regard the spine: creases long and smooth
as the lines of the South Downs viewed from afar.

A chance, my friend, that’s all I ask.

#PoemsAbout #ImperfectMe

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C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 20h

Perfectly captured!

C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 20h

“Pareidolia”… learnt a new word, thanks! “Jesus on toast”… “…burnt bread” all those images really bring out the essence of the title. Loved it.

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C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 20h

Beautiful piece! I esp love the sounds… the repetition of “never” and “too” so effective.

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C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 21h

Most welcome! A stunner!

C. Oulens @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social · 21h

Such an amazingly expressed “dread”! “I’m alone with my killer”… awesome finish.

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Reposted by C. Oulens

Jan Peters - Solivagant Wisdom @janpsolivagant.bsky.social · 1d

#PoemsAbout #ImperfectMe @alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk

#adaptation: ©Jan Peters/Solivagant Wisdom, 2025

#Expressionism #Trakl #PoetryInTranslation #DepthPsychology #TheShadow #CainAndAbel #Blake #Nightmare

Dread

After Das Grauen (1909) by
Austrian Expressionist poet, Georg Trakl (1887-1914)

I drift through deserted rooms.
Frenzied stars dance upon a blue backdrop.
Dogs bay in beck-rimmed yards.
Manic chinook roots through the treetops.

Then all stir ceases.
Aglow with choleric ardour,
Venomous blooms sprout from my mouth.
Blood-drip sap from marred branches
Shimmers pale as dew.

From the mirror’s specious void,
From the mirror’s pearly shade,
Contours merge vaguely into the
Visage of Cain.

Curtains rustle softly.
The moon stares vacantly
Through the window.
I’m alone with my killer.

Free adaptation from the German:
©Jan Peters/Solivagant Wisdom, 2025

"The Body of Abel Found by Adam & Eve", William Blake, circa 1826

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