Yearning for renewal
we wrestle dragons –
unsuspected passages,
like time machines
scattering ticket stubs
We distract
seek nourishment
percolate meaning
Nostalgic nuances
succumb to
jagged memories –
Cubism in motion.
(Art mine)
Spring’s Antics (tanka)
Oh that Spring gale,
she’s such a storyteller –
awakens the land
fiddles with expectations –
Welcome post-Winter trickster.
(Image my own)
Discourse on Love
Gathered up all the love
I’d previously rejected
pulled it to me
like a well-worn cloak
Imagined the comfort
such a vibration would bring
oblivion amounting to bliss
But love –
my interpretation of it –
does not nullify pain
And I writhed in its intensity
pain physically ingrained
burdened by memories
How can this be? I cried
In darkness I turned to love
projected nirvana
uncovered such an ache
Rejection, I surmise
allots protection
Love reveals
source of suffering
depth of denial
neglect of self
I’ve conjured only what-ifs
and could-have-beens
deluded attempts at restoration
Love does not dwell
in fantastical places
but here, in the moment,
when wide-eyed, I embrace
what is, walls down
vulnerability inviting compassion.
(Art mine)
Sweet Solitude (tanka
Sweet solitude
sacred silence, surround me
Imagination
thrives under your spell – unleash
the magic; I shall create
(Art my own, with a nod to AI)
Labour
Extract the miracle
from the celebrated
Each story is lifeless
until told – its patterns
Stubborn, are innate –
We all crave renewal
I crave renewal
arms extended
fists unfolded
Believe in will –
the power to breathe life
into inert corners
Does not life support us?
Is not consciousness infinite?
and the divine patient?
Yesterday, I gave up
resigned myself to failure
(It’s a joke I play on myself)
This soul labours to find meaning
and I will breathe life into form
until quitting time finds me cleansed.
(Art my own)
At The Edge (tanka)
Paddle to the edge –
life has falling off points, and
I am curious –
Defy fear and leap, or freeze?
Faith armours brave, takes a chance.
(Image mine)
Uncertain Times
Like living in the shadow
of a volcano, each complacency
shaken by treacherous rumbles
While some see equality
others chew on bitter lack,
and who profits when
tempers succumb to
the hot lava of anarchy?
(Image my own. Poem first appeared here 04/21)
The Way It Is (tanka)
At every turn
a challenge – prefer scenic
forays, encounter
rocky climes – ironic twists,
stretching this reluctant soul
(Image my own)
Doctoring
Doctoring broken hearts –
my own legacy a training ground –
like an anesthesiologist
I keep the patient breathing,
asleep – muted by kindness,
unconscious and unable to react.
Why?
Because lulling others is more
effective than operating on self –
faux obligations such a balm
Administer lidocaine to the wounds
Numbness preferable to open-hearted
investigation…
no sutures strong enough
to remedy internal bleeding
(Art my own)
Facades
Somehow I knew his mask was porcelain –
impossible to hide the soul’s light
reflected in troubled eyes…
I played along though,
humoured his self-deception
nodded at assertions of calm
Knew that one day the facade would crack
the mask would slip and the rage escape
Why I didn’t run; I do not know
Maybe it was recognition –
my own countenance a carefully construed lie
Maybe I needed to prove to myself
that no matter how violent his storm
this time I would emerge triumphant.
(Poem inspired by Sadje’s What Do You See image prompt.)
One Woman's Quest 