M. Stephens Hall INFJ
M. Stephens Hall is the author of The Other Boy, a memoir about navigating his son's brain tumor and special needs as a sensitive, intuitive father. He is an INFJ, a father of three, and a technology professional who has spent decades processing the world by writing it down. Ink & Gravity is where that processing takes the form of poetry — compressed, imagistic, and unafraid of the dark. The work here is spare by design. Every word is load-bearing. He believes some truths are too precise for prose. Poetry is what's left when everything unnecessary has been stripped away. What remains is the weight of the thing itself. Some things leave a permanent mark. This is where those things live.

Celestial Notion

Regardless of how loud the wolf howled I showed you love and strength I kept whacking the mole back down An offer of kindness to endless lengths Fixated fascination to

Gravity For Two

When I saw her face, my heart began to rip at the seams. Her pain. The earth quaked, blood seeped out, but only for me. Thick like glue. A simple

The Stare

Today I sat alone pondering it all. From where did we begin to how will we fall. The deeper I went into the abyss of my mind. The more I

Not For Me

My tears are not for me, they’re for you. When I think about what lurks down deep. That which nips at your heart and torments your soul. The visions you

Soul Famished

I fought hard to understand inconceivable actions. That felt like an ousting from an exclusive faction. As the emotional pain struck each insufferable blow. I felt the coruscating spotlight in

Alone on the Gray

Inconsequential fusion. I’m one with the pain. I can carry it and shape it, all the same. A most puzzling prophecy of distorted intent. Misconception interpreted while the truth was

Jaded

I wanted to versify about the glory I see But the darkness and pain ever returned to me As I was called to fight as my tears made a plea

Hate Concession

Do you feel justified as you warm up to my friends? After you cast me out like a unwanted trend. Then painted a mosaic from a difficult past. And sent

Gavel Feels

Why do they fear us? Have we killed before? Some murderous monster with a ghastly roar? Our ways seem uncommon and quite aberrant. While their judgemental gavel feels so inherent.

Uncompromising Post

She stands so tall with dark eyes lifeless Pondering perfection with moves so cautious A warrior rages in her soul ever jaded This lady, her power, a mystery braided Now,

Where Tears Die

No easy way out, her tears say it all. They brew so salty and pour out so sweet. Propelled by purpose, they begin to crawl. Pondering reason as they inch

Your Box

Something happens and you see only a box. Face value is invaluable to you, so you assume you see something, perhaps a fox. You act with dexterity, but the joke

Prison Bubble

When in the snap of a finger, I am gone, I will be waiting for you, instantly. Out there, beyond that great big something… a sky… an atmosphere… a world.

Not To Be Seen

I belong in the shadows. I find comfort there. I can relax and breathe. I can be nowhere. The walls offer safety. A private place. Where no one can judge

Mud

You can drag my name through the mud. You have. Tell them all about the monster you think I am. I’ve tried to hate you because I needed to. I

Calloused King

Kicking a dead horse in an existential droop. The vinyl slowly repeats in a mysterious loop. What once hurt so badly is now forgotten pain. But unanswered inquiries in this

Amor en el horno

Train derailment of a friendship in the making. Tossed out like garbage after many hours of baking. Oh, you haven’t heard? The best friendships are baked! They take time and

Bitter Linger

I saw her as a sister But she saw me as a bae. He saw it as betrayal And feared that she would stray.   The picture doesn’t paint Itself

Divine Deflection

She’s as solid as a rock, but soft like feathers. She’ll juke the jackasses and shun the weather. Those floundering fools in their solo acts. Like demon-possessed doofuses strung out

Bears and Pumas

If we passed each other by, you’d look to the sky Perhaps even ignore me or let out a sigh I’d be oblivious to your confusing anger But when you

Diminished

You try to hold love because you see it as solid. A sensory endeavor, lacking and stolid. But as I see love, its celestial and magic. The worldly perspective so

Flutter

The leaves fluttered gently and floated slowly to the ground. Brisk wind portrayed the fiddler, the leaves made not a sound. We left a lifetime of triumph, as we worked

Cave of Sorrow

Trapped in my cave like a retreating spider. Paralyzed by seasons, a prison so cold. Deprecating self for a plethora of reasons. Searching for comfort in the things I should

Control Conundrum

I’ve seen the ugly face of control! It has a bony nose much like a troll. A helpless longing to consume the soul. It hides like the wolf, but can’t