Paradoxical Phoenix

Paradoxical Phoenix Pain, passion, poetry
(434)

unawareI don’t know,How you couldn’t see;Somehow you were blinded,To the things inside of me. It didn’t matter,If I whis...
09/08/2026

unaware

I don’t know,
How you couldn’t see;
Somehow you were blinded,
To the things inside of me.

It didn’t matter,
If I whispered or screamed;
The indifference was painful,
It ate at the seams.

It’s impossible for one,
To hold together two;
The desire must be,
Within me and you.

“It takes two to tango”,
That is what we said;
Funny how that resonates,
Bouncing inside my head.

Now we can both,
Look back and see;
If we’d only communicated,
How different it could be.

Leslie Bertrand
©Paradoxical Phoenix

Photo: The Guardian

Discovery I stand on the precipice teetering on the edge of awarenessbalanced;poised on the sharp knife’s edge,gathering...
09/05/2026

Discovery

I stand on the precipice

teetering on the edge of awareness

balanced;

poised on the sharp knife’s edge,

gathering myself and flexing my wings

feeling the itch across my shoulders

as they burst forth and unfurl

fresh and new

like morning dew drops on a spiders web;

crystalline and pure,

radiant.

Testing their strength

the passage of the wind becomes music

as it rushes past my ears

overwhelmed with the wonder of discovery

I give in to the calling and soar

rising towards the sun,

floating on the breeze

catching the updrafts beneath my wings

and my heart soars...

becoming one with the dance

an interlude with the universe

a witness to the dawn of creation.

Leslie Bertrand

©Paradoxical Phoenix

Graphic artist: unknown on Pinterest

Loki’s WheelMy life slipped into overdrive,Who the hell hit go?Time is speeding up,When I want it most to slow.Each and ...
09/04/2026

Loki’s Wheel

My life slipped into overdrive,
Who the hell hit go?
Time is speeding up,
When I want it most to slow.

Each and every moment,
Flies by one by one;
Suddenly I look up,
To find the day is done.

I wish I could buy one back,
A day, an hour, a minute;
It’s getting so damn hard,
Imagining life without you in it.

I’m watching you slowly fade,
A little more each day;
And I know someday soon,
I’ll find you’ve slipped away.

I watch each autumn leaf,
As it’s shaken loose from its tree;
And wonder if it’s accepting,
Of the way that things must be.

We’ve talked about how the end,
Is merely another beginning:
And I hope the next turn of the wheel,
You really end up winning.

Loki is a tricky bastard,
Walking hand in hand with Fate;
You don’t often see his shadow,
Until it’s already far too late.

Leslie Bertrand
©️Paradoxical Phoenix
Original penned 11 November 2025
Edited for publication 4 September 2026

-What about wishes?-If every wish you ever made,Found it’s way home to you;Then we would know,If your intentions were tr...
09/04/2026

-What about wishes?-

If every wish you ever made,
Found it’s way home to you;
Then we would know,
If your intentions were true.

Your words may bless,
Or they may curse;
Who is to say which is better,
And which is worse?

Are you truly blessed,
With a long, long life;
Or has it been chaotic,
And full of strife?

Is it a curse,
To feel so much;
Or is it better,
To be completely out of touch?

Are you blessed,
With peace and calm;
Or is the discord in your existence,
Like a neutron bomb?

Did you wish someone,
All the best;
Did you truly wish,
That they were blessed?

You do reap,
What you sow;
It always returns,
To the sender you know.

Once you can see,
Beyond that shallow mirror;
Endless depths,
Do appear.

Always send out,
What you intend to receive;
You can reap those rewards,
If you believe.

But you can also destroy,
What you create;
For only you are the divine architect,
Of your fate.

Leslie Bertrand
©Paradoxical Phoenix

Integration You slipped seamlessly into my life. Leslie Bertrand ©️Paradoxical Phoenix 3 September 2026
09/04/2026

Integration

You slipped seamlessly
into my
life.

Leslie Bertrand
©️Paradoxical Phoenix
3 September 2026

Life’s Paradox You can’t rise up If you keep letting yourself down You can’t learn to fly With your feet on the ground Y...
09/03/2026

Life’s Paradox

You can’t rise up
If you keep letting yourself down
You can’t learn to fly
With your feet on the ground

You can’t open new doors
When your mind stays closed
You can’t mind the thorns
If you wish to pluck the rose

You can’t scream
And make no sound
You can’t stay lost
When you’ve been found

You can’t make friends
With someone you hate
You can’t get started early
When you arrive late

You can’t dive deep
Into a shallow pool
You can’t act like an idiot
And have people think you’re cool

You can’t leave
If you decide to stay
You can’t ever find tomorrow
It’s always a day away.

Leslie Bertrand
©Paradoxical Phoenix

meeting our hearts meltedthrough openeyesLeslie Bertrand ©️Paradoxical Phoenix
09/03/2026

meeting

our hearts melted
through open
eyes

Leslie Bertrand
©️Paradoxical Phoenix

Tangled at 2It’s in the quiet, darkest hours While I lie awake in my bedWhen my thoughts begin to race And run amok in m...
09/03/2026

Tangled at 2

It’s in the quiet, darkest hours
While I lie awake in my bed
When my thoughts begin to race
And run amok in my head

Try as I might to stop them
They end up taking flight
And then they keep me company
Through what is left of the night

They seem to run in circles
Then tie me up in knots
I try to remember how they started,
But dammit, I forgot!

I cannot grasp their pattern
I seem to have lost the thread
Still they keep on coming
It’s getting crowded in my head

One more random thought
And I think that I may pop
All I really want to do
Is simply make them stop.

Leslie Bertrand
©Paradoxical Phoenix

*For Jon*Departure When did you realize you’d stepped away from your own life?At what point in your self-imposed isolati...
09/03/2026

*For Jon*

Departure

When did you realize you’d stepped away from your own life?

At what point in your self-imposed isolation did you realize that you’d turned life’s unexpected corner, and suddenly were faced with a precipice you couldn’t negotiate?

Was the denial protection?

Was it the ultimate rejection of a life you felt you’d already sacrificed?

Were those pieces of soul, so freely given in love turned to loss, now millstones to weigh down your spirit?

I can pray and ask God but the only answers I receive are the ones that were already given to me.

In time, I will be able to sort through those last mad, painful, life filled days and find understanding.

And in time, I shall rediscover my peace even through the haze of my tears when they fall.

No regrets.

Leslie Bertrand
©️Paradoxical Phoenix
2 September 2026

Crush Depth I was unprepared for the depth and richness of your soul. I am mining never discovered territory that has lo...
09/03/2026

Crush Depth

I was unprepared for the depth and richness of your soul.

I am mining never discovered territory that has long been overlooked and hidden in the shadows of your discontent.

It takes my breath away when we dive deeply into the ocean of emotions that we share.

With every unexpected exploration, I lose myself so completely that the boundaries blur and expand far beyond the here and now.

For half a lifetime I have waited for you unknowing.

This unexpected gift continues to draw me in as I work to peel back the complex layers of our former and present lives while we try to set a new course for our future.

Where these travels will lead in this world and beyond I do not know; what I do know my beloved, is I look forward to sailing the seas of time forever with you.

Leslie Bertrand
©️Paradoxical Phoenix 🐦‍🔥
2 September 2026

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Greenville, SC

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