life – Page 16 – One Woman's Quest

Irreconcilable Differences

Could talk for lengths
about manifolds,
hydraulics – hands
stained with grease

And when I offered
carefully manicured
heart, spoke words
of togetherness

Silence engulfed him
ducking beneath hood
wrench twisting –
relationship vanished

(Image mine)

Frozen Waves

Snow drifts in blanketing waves
I’ve forgotten the colour of grass

We plow out paths, add salt
pretend it’s all manageable

Do not speak of risks
how slippery the route ahead

Soon, the thaw will come
temperatures rising, rain

We’ll slosh through the mud
disgruntled and weighed down

Projecting hope in the first sprouts
Spring bearing the promise of renewal.

(Linking up to my weekly challenge: waves. Image my own.)

Dear Legs

I’ve been remiss
in expressing appreciation
all the years you’ve carried me –
stride confident, pace swift,
head turning grace –

We wobble now, you and I,
strength questionable
stilted soldiers forging against
a tide of contrary currents

Remember endless laps in the pool
prepping for provincial meets,
then dancing till the wee hours
getting down with disco?

We were champions, you and I
beauties taking on the world
leap-frogging in a race against
a undefinable foe, determined
that destiny held no limitation

I may not have expressed it
but each step is precious to me
and every time you hold me
upright, my gratitude’s sincere

There’s life yet to discover
and dreams still burn
Can you hear the drumming
will you join me in the dance?

(Dear Legs first appeared here in October 2017. I submit this edited version for Eugi’s Weekly prompt: champion. Image my own.)

IT Takes Grit

Calm belies the storm
dis-ease spawning a flurry
fractured ideas
peppered with glints of hope –
with focus, I too sparkle.

(There have been many instances this week that have tested my grit.
I am learning to harness the good moments and hang on.
Linking up to my weekly challenge: I’m learning... Image my own.)

Revel

Postcard happiness –
not a thing –
life is fluid
textured
mystery

Revel in each breath
each pain
the strength
of Spirit guiding.

(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own.)

Perspectives Shift

Remember youth?
Life an adventure
heart full of dreams

Responsibility made us quartz
working machines, focus
on destination – life as goal

In the gloaming, time blurs
nostalgia and regret dance with
perspective – the irony of it all.

(Tuesdays I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own.)

Parenting Lessons

For every child
vowed to be the calyx
to cradle each budding soul
with a tender heart

But I am imperfect
ideals devolving
in the face of loss
cross unbearable

Tend my own garden now
recognizing the power
of example overriding
oppression of control.

(Image my own)

We Are Clay

Erasing the past –
collecting ash with chopsticks –
infertile practice
embrace, learn, and recreate
we are clay – artist’s magic.

Re-Cycling

Age, a rocky tor
begs attitudinal shift
more wonder
than fortitude

Cyclical, actually
wisdom allotting
childish valour
a dash of mellow.

(For RDP’s prompt: mellow. Image my own.)

Sustenance Rekindled

It wasn’t the knowledge of stability –
chaos had the upper hand back then.
It wasn’t even that love was expressed –
unconditional an unheard of concept

It was an unspoken presence
the reassurance of rocks
the irrepressible allure
of a freshwater stream

How a child’s heart
found encouragement
in the whispering wind
solace in arbored shelter

Naturally the din of home life
overpowered this self-assured
passage, disrupted kinship
and shattered childish faith

But all that is behind now
and when I clear cluttering
thoughts, disperse static
emotions, still the heart

The rhythms are still there –
presence offering sustenance…

(Image my own)