Ray Bear

Member since March 24, 2026

Member for 2 months, 9 days

The Unanswered Glow

Posted May 26, 2026 · 38 lines · 8 critiques

The screen lights up the darkened room:
a sudden, shrill, intrusive bloom.
He turns away; he lets it ring,
he wants no part of anything—
just idle chatter, dull requests,
the daily strain of small behests.
He leaves it humming on the wood,
and tells himself it’s understood.

It dies away, then starts anew;
the second ring cuts through and through.
It jars his quiet, breaks his rest:
a sharp and irritating pest.
He pushes down the plastic spine
to choke the frantic, buzzing line.

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He claims the quiet for his own,
and turns his back upon the phone.

A third time now, the plastic shakes;
a frantic rhythm that it makes.
But stubborn pride has sealed his mind;
he leaves the flashing screen behind.
He lets it wail, he lets it weep,
and sinks into an easy sleep,
unknowing that each rising tone
was love's last, desperate, broken moan.

For miles away, on blood-stained glass,
the sirens wail and minutes pass.
A sterile room, a fading breath,
a quiet walk with sudden death.
The hospital, in urgent plea,
had dialled his number, three times three.
They begged him to be there, to hold
a hand that soon would be too cold.

He wakes to find the morning space
beside him cold, without a trace.
He grabs the phone with sudden dread,
and reads the news that she is dead.
The calls he dodged to stay alone
bore her last fading, final tone.

Ray Bear’s timeline

May 2026
31 Sun

Contest commendation
05/26 New Member Contest

with "The Embers Burn Low ".
28 Thu

Received a critique
on The Unanswered Glow from @Sen99
"You have made me think with this gripping narrative poem Why should I have s landline ? I have hardly made any calls I just receive spam 📞 Then I read this a phone is like a lifeline keep open Well scribed again Sen99"
28 Thu

Received a critique
on The Unanswered Glow from @Geezer
"I would like to remind everyone that if you see a comment or response that you find especially good, you should tap that little heart button in the comment section and watch it turn red! This is to help let the commente…"
27 Wed

Received a critique
on The Unanswered Glow from @Geezer
"go way back. I was just a kid when I saw House on Haunted Hill and Pit and the Pendulum, and his voice gave me chills. I followed his career as an orator and was amazed at the depth of his voice. He made you want each l…"
27 Wed

Critiqued
"We Laugh Instead" by @Wallyroo92
"Life's like that sometimes regards Ray"
27 Wed

Received a critique
on My Liquid Eden from @Wallyroo92
"Great rhyme and flow, all around. It keeps the reader engaged, especially with that amazing flow. Well done."
27 Wed

Received a critique
on A Glitch in the Tapestry from @Wallyroo92
"It's interesting that sometimes we capture something we can't explain or that our brain is analyzing the subtle things others won't notice. Nice work here."
27 Wed

Received a critique
on Gamble for your Life from @Wallyroo92
"Loved the intrigue and atmosphere you set up here, and those closing lines are very tense with the outcome as a result of the game. Awesome rhyme scheme and flow from beginning to end. Well done."
27 Wed

Received a critique
on The Unanswered Glow from @Geezer
"hear in my inner mind's ear, one of my all-time favorite orators, Vincent Price reading this! I beg to disagree with the A.I.'s call on "plastic spine" and "buzzing line." I think it adds to the hostility of interruptio…"
27 Wed

Received a critique
on The Hunt from @Geezer
"I do suppose that my remarks could have come across that way. I failed to recognize that my sarcasm may proceed me. I AM sarcastic and sometimes fail to see that it might have a deleterious effect on my overall commenti…"
26 Tue

Posted a poem
The Unanswered Glow
"The screen lights up the darkened room:"
Open thread 38 lines
26 Tue

Posted a poem
The Hunt
"Dawn breaks like a bloodshot eye,"
Open thread 14 lines
23 Sat

Critiqued
"drops of heaven" by @Flower Girl
"The cadence here is lovely. You’ve perfectly captured that quiet, wondrous magic of nature and renewal. Thanks for sharing this piece of peace! Regards Ray"
23 Sat

Critiqued
"jeong" by @crypticbard
"Well done, the line about the body avoiding the kitchen island out of habit rather than longing is brilliant. You’ve perfectly captured how grief and memory live in our muscle memory long after a routine changes. Beauti…"
22 Fri

Critiqued
"The Calliope Played" by @William Lynn
"This is absolutely stunning. You’ve captured that bittersweet, aching nostalgia of youth so perfectly. The imagery of the carnival lights blinking awake like fireflies and the town shrinking beneath the Ferris wheel fee…"
22 Fri

Critiqued
"Today " by @Eric Clausen
"This is incredibly raw and powerful. The progression from isolation and burning anger into that heavy, hollow exhaustion is so relatable. That line about the "question stones" grinding into dust perfectly captures the w…"
21 Thu

Critiqued
"Carnival NIght" by @Karriss Carey-ivory
"Love this! It starts out so magical and sweet, and then that plot twist at the end hits you like a bad mix of fairy floss and gravity. Perfect ending! 😂🎡 regards Ray"
21 Thu

Critiqued
"as memory fades" by @crypticbard
""Hours of toil simmer away in rivulets of forgetfulness." What a gorgeous, heavy line. The pacing of this perfectly mirrors the rain cascading down. Beautiful tribute to hard work and quiet release. Regards Ray"
21 Thu

Critiqued
"Sweet the rain fall" by @poetaldo
"A brilliant depiction of sensory overload and eventual peace. The water feels like a total reset from the oppressive heat and the weight of the crowd's stares. Beautifully structured as a full loop of a day. Beautifully…"
20 Wed

New follower
@Summer Days
19 Tue

Posted a poem
The Severed Wings of Midnight
"The golden sun is but a heavy chain,"
Open thread 16 lines
13 Wed

Posted a poem
Heaven or Hell
"Damnation"
Open thread 30 lines
12 Tue

Posted a poem
Turquoise Shadows
"The water breathes a heavy, leaden sigh,"
Open thread 18 lines
10 Sun

Posted a poem
Gone Unnoticed
"The air would not thin. The sun would not cool."
Open thread 10 lines
09 Sat

Posted a poem
Dawn has Broken
"The final shell has hit the floor,"
Open thread 28 lines
08 Fri

Posted a poem
Between the Den and the Dusk
"The golden fields began to blur,"
Open thread 56 lines
07 Thu

New follower
@Candlewitch
07 Thu

Posted a poem
The Debt of Eternal Dusk
"The moon was a sickle of rusted old bone,"
Open thread 74 lines
06 Wed

Posted a poem
The Embers Burn Low
"I set the plate, the chipped blue rim,"
Open thread 30 lines
05 Tue

Posted a poem
My First and Last
"We met when we were barely seventeen,"
Open thread 27 lines
04 Mon

Posted a poem
Colour of Sadness
"He is a lighthouse built for everyone but himself, casting his marrow into the dark to guide ships that never look back once they reach the shore. He has spent a lifetime pouring his own water into their cracked tanks, watching them drink until they are full, only to find that when his own throat is parched, they have forgotten the way to the well."
Open thread 4 lines
02 Sat

New follower
@Clentin
April 2026
30 Thu

Contest commendation
04/26 When the Sun Says Goodbye

with "The Violet Tide".
23 Thu

New follower
@Karriss Carey-ivory
18 Sat

Contest commendation
Neopoet Weekly 04/12/26 to 04/18/26

with "Almost Glass".
15 Wed

Highest posting month
April 2026 — 19 poems
04 Sat

Contest commendation
Neopoet Weekly 03/29/26 to 04/04/26

with "A Brief Forever ".
04 Sat

First contest commendation
Neopoet Weekly 03/29/26 to 04/04/26

with the poem "A Brief Forever ".
March 2026
25 Wed

First critique offered
on "SCREAMING TREE!" by @Ebon Croe
24 Tue

First publication
Gamble for your Life
24 Tue

Joined Neopoet
Membership begins

First poem published 1 days later.

About Me

About me

From Sydney Australia. I love Villanelle and Lyrical Prose. Creative writing is a dual-purpose lens: it helps us zoom in on our own lives to make sense of them, while also providing a wide-angle view of worlds that don't yet exist.
I love adventure and write not only of my childhood but of cowboys, pirates and treasure hunters. Also Romance and undying love.

Location: Sydney Australia, AUS

>> View all work

Contest Wins

Winning Submission	Contest	Contest Date
The Embers Burn Low	05/26 New Member Contest	1 May, 2026 – 31 May, 2026
Almost Glass	Neopoet Weekly 04/12/26 to 04/18/26	12 April, 2026 – 18 April, 2026
The Violet Tide	04/26 When the Sun Says Goodbye	1 April, 2026 – 30 April, 2026
A Brief Forever	Neopoet Weekly 03/29/26 to 04/04/26	29 March, 2026 – 4 April, 2026