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.

Too Easy

Over the years I’ve heard people say, “I don’t care”. A good friend recently told me that he didn’t care what people thought. I thought it was silly for someone

The Furry

The furry searches for food. But finds nothing in this baron place. All dried up. Not a nibble around. Heart now beating at a snail’s pace.   She stumbles upon

The Goblin

The goblin pops up from a nowhere place. Always in dark and absent of grace. Lurking in a shadow, until dark becomes light. The corner now empty as day defeats

Eyes Fighting Blear

Have you ever seen the rain. Fall from the sky. It hits your face. Or floats on by.   Time slows down. A backdrop of gray. A quick, brisk breeze.

Exaggerated Sense

I’ve been around for a while and if there’s one thing that has become abundantly clear to me it’s that people are self-absorbed and many of them portray narcissistic behavior.

Foggy Night

Wandering late. Under street lights. Feel the calm. Feel the cool. No one else in sight.   All of the sudden the light goes out. So, I approach with doubt.

A Dream as Sweet as This

I see her in chocolate, covered in sprinkles. Of all different colors. I take a bite. And caramel pours out, lethargically. She floats, covered, in a blanket of silk. The

Black Hole

When I withdraw to my room, I often feel like they (my family, friends, whomever) want me to come out. So, I sit there and I think, “How long can

Beyond our Reach

“Where did the years go?”, I constantly ask myself. I feel like yesterday I was in college. For some reason college feels like yesterday and high school feels like a

Purpose to Pain

Emotional pain. Sadness. For me, things are different now. I’m starting to understand these things (emotional pain and sadness) better, at least how I feel them, but it can still

Security Solution

My boosted intuition, excessive information. Emotional pain night after night. Locked away on a grace citation. As you observe so keenly, and hide in plain sight.   What I discerned

Circe

She’s running rampant. Releasing dread. This version of her, who’s in my head.   I want to believe. That she’s not this way. I’ve asked her to leave, but she’ll

Pain Channel

“You’re so creative, Matt!”, they say to me, while in the same breathe they ask, “Why are you in so much pain?” Heh. Wow. If there’s one thing I’ve learned

Haunted Control

I am your dog. That’s how it feels. Beat me! Make me kneel.   Lock me up. In this metal cage. If you hate me this bad! Unleash your rage!

Torpefied

Outcast and left on my knees Torpefied as my broken heart bleeds.   Passersby glance and keep going. As the life from my body is steadily flowing.   Incoherent, I

Progenation Price

I bang my head against a wall That doesn’t even exist at all. Just a mirage, a barrier of air. An object that isn’t even there. The frustration is taxing.

Spiral Stair Cage

“I’m so tired”, I whisper. As my head slouches low. Caged in my mind. Twisted and twined. As I try to let go.   Just do [this]. Or just do

My Dreams

She gave me the key to my heart. And unlocked a beautiful work of art.   She opened a path to my soul. And allowed me to share my words

I Don’t Pray

I don’t pray for us to be friends. But I do pray for you, for healing within. Because I know there is sorrow. And I look forward to a restored

All the Rage

Your calloused heart. Imposed on me. A gift. Of pain, and agony.   Everyone hurts you. You attract the pain. You welcome the dark. Your mysterious game.   Isolated, from

Empty Town

I wonder what it really was as I abdicate! With your fallacious argument spawning transparent perplexity. Has grieving callused your bleeding heart? Or have bygone transgressions wounded you? It’s perfectly

Aching Taradiddle

I know you’d have me disappear. But that’s an option that won’t cohere. Believe me, I’ve tried it before. As I merely made it to the shore. For the ocean

When They’re Sleeping

It’s at nighttime when they’re sleeping. And my mind does all the thinking. About the little things I did. And all the foolish things I said.   It’s at nighttime

I Know the Pain is Coming

I know the pain is coming. It’s hiding in the night. The hurt will show no mercy. I’m sure to feel it’s plight.   At first I’ll try to run.