Weekends at cottage
we’d linger over coffee,
dew sparkling on primroses
How we’d race to the lake
laughter emerging
from cool depth
Flowers scowl now
Lake’s chill hardened
Do you wait for me
in the eternal darkness?
(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own)
In increments
we measure the rain
as if centimetres
can quantify sorrow
A falcon has chased
the birds away,
naked, a tear-stained
tree stands alone
Our hearts resonate –
arms, like branches, aching.
(Image my own)
Our world spins
in contradictions –
grief prominent
Women and children
facing oppression
Indigenous souls
coming home –
So many dying
courtesy of lies
If there is a song
for our times
it is a wailing.
(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Art my own)
Shadows stalk our conversations,
hovering between lines spoken.
Mother fears death and I,
sidestep darkness…
It’s delusional to believe
we can think ourselves well
or avoid pain by seeking only light
I chew on my words
not wanting to inflict harm –
have done enough of that over the years
Pray for peace to guide her passage
the reassurance of forgiveness
love unconditional
Times like this, language
is sorely lacking, we stumble
build sentences, capture moments
Tell ourselves it will be enough.
It won’t be in the end.
It never is.
(A found poem, borrowed from a previous post, July 2019, on One Woman’s Quest II. Submitted for Eugi’s Weekly prompt: peace. Image my own)
Abandoned, this heart –
old walls scarred but solid
Lest you look upon me with pity,
remember – roses grow here
planted at the peak of love’s hold
vibrant despite the ensuing thorns.
(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson.
Image my own.)
How long the soil
housed tiny souls, pleas ignored –
crimes leave footprints
Plant a rose for each child
blood red to mark evil’s path.
(Image my own. Poem borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson)
This shield of granite
birthed from grief
no match for vibrancy
of heart – her song
bright as cardinal
must be heard –
love outwitting loss
(Tuesdays I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own.)
These thought processes…
I am inside out, shredded…
on so many levels
out of sync…
hear my own words
nothing but hot air
making me so dizzy
that I’m becoming afraid
of heights….
phobic, actually
Breathe,
I remember somewhere
between gulps of helium
and the hammering
in my head…
breathe…
Platitudes have no place
in this moment
in the inside out
emotionally raw now
So, I’ll quit the words
breathe until I find ground
again….
then repeat.
(Inspired by the prompt of Reena’s Exploration challenge which can found here. Image my own.)
Two mothers were we
frozen in disbelief
as smoke rose
Cried for the losses
for our children
for a future devoid
of peace
Two mothers
hand-in-hand
shattered
A Christian
and a Muslim
War destroys all dreams.
(Image my own.)
Dare I confess
the hollowness
of my heart
How emptiness
echoes in its chambers
How lost I feel inside
This is no sanctity
no secure refuge
my withdrawal is a sham
I stand by, observe –
circles entwine, embrace –
recognize the power of love
Practice the words
extend warmth
and retreat, before
connection ignites
convinced as I am
that the vacancy is merited.
(Image from personal collection.)
One Woman's Quest 