Poetry For Healing

When Your Number Is Up

When Your Number Is Up

She looked to the mountains
With the colors of red and gold
Like her brazen hair
A Celtic look strong and bold
Her husband a seaman
sailing the oceans seven
Like his father before him
a cabin boy at age eleven

Used to her loneliness
she cared for the croft
Sheep to be fed
and hay in the loft
Her feelings repressed
Who would hear her voice
The bairns too young
she didn’t have a choice

The small cottage
never dingy or unclean
A spotless home
A place that was serene
This day her thoughts
were indulgent and sublime
But they were ephemeral
Being in the world of maritime

A storm picking up
Dark clouds gathering
She rounded up the young ones
as the shutters began clattering
Just another day
This woman of resilience
Keeping home fires burning
Until her husband’s deliverance

Marking the calendar
Until his return on leave
Nine more days
Of wool to weave
One week and two days
Until he is home safe and sound
Sadly she did not know
That he had already drowned

Christine Bolton – Poetry for Healing ©

Word Prompts:

OctPoWriMo – Poem a Day #29 – By the Numbers

Photo by Sean McGee on Unsplash

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Homecoming

Homecoming

Mesmerized by the silence
In awe of the beauty
surrounding me
I am consumed by
a sense of peace
and harmony

Distant sounds of music
Drifting in the wind
Beckoning me back home
I have been gone
for a long, long time
allowing myself to roam

As tenuous as the life
of a single bloom
on a dying rose tree
As was my existence
Full of angst and turmoil
always needing to flee

Wrapped in cobwebs
my thoughts and feelings
finally uncovered
My voice was heard
and the hidden ego
ultimately rediscovered

With time to breathe
clarity was found
by prioritizing actions
My confidence regained
plans could be made
without distractions

The chasm between us
can now be bridged
Ready to return
Back to you
Living our life together
Is what I yearn

Christine Bolton – Poetry for Healing ©

Word Prompts:

Angst

Home

Cobweb

Prioritize

OctPoWriMo – Poem a Day – #28 – Split in Two

Song Lyric Sunday – Give Me One Reason – Tracy Chapman

Helen Vahdati’s Song Lyric Sunday prompt this week was “Give or Giving”. There were so many to choose from and it will be fun to see what everyone comes up with.

This Tracy Chapman song “Give Me One Reason” has always been a favorite of mine. I hope you’ll enjoy it.

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Give Me One Reason
Tracy Chapman

Give me one reason to stay here and I’ll turn right back around
Give me one reason to stay here
And I’ll turn right back around
Said I don’t want leave you lonely you got to make me change my mind

Baby I got your number and I know that you got mine
But you know that I called you, I called too many times
You can call me baby, you can call me anytime
But you got to call me

Give me one reason to stay here
And I’ll turn right back around
Give me one reason to stay here
And I’ll turn right back around
Because I don’t want leave you lonely
But you got to make me change my mind

I don’t want no one to squeeze me, they might take away my life
I don’t want no one to squeeze me, they might take away my life
I just want someone to hold me and rock me through the night
This youthful heart can love you and give you what you need
This youthful heart can love you and give you what you need
But I’m too old to go chasing you around
Wasting my precious energy

Give me one reason to stay here
And I’ll turn right back around
Give me one reason to stay here
And I’ll turn right back around
Said I don’t want leave you lonely
You got to make me change my mind

Baby just give me one reason, give me just one reason why
Baby just give me one reason, give me just one reason why I should stay
Because I told you that I loved you
And there ain’t no more to say

Out of the Blue

Out of the Blue

Sitting on the porch
My mood is blue
Staring at the moon
wondering what to do
You took umbrage
at what was said
now I’m alone
and full of dread

Sentences interrupted
Before I am finished
As you cut me off
My worth diminished
Your dialogue of
liquid adjectives
drenching me
in endless narratives

My brightness of color
Diluted by your fury
Vivid purple now a faded blue
You are my judge and jury
Masked in black
Solemn and severe
Passing sentence
With an expression austere

Our pieces don’t seem
To fit anymore
No matter which way
they scratch and claw
Throw me a bone
is all I ask
Why must you work me
like a task

My mouth feels gagged
I fear to speak
Whatever has happened
I am now so meek
The fight has left me
I want only some peace
Make up or break up
and let this cease

Christine Bolton – Poetry for Healing ©

Word Prompts:

Bone

Drench

OctPoWriMo – Poem a Day #27 – What Color Is It

Photo by Daniel Falcão on Unsplash

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Eyes Wide Open – Week #16

Good Saturday Morning!

Here are some photos from my daily exercise outings to share with you. All were taken on an iPhone. I see something different every time I am out and sometimes there is a thread. This week I found the fish seemed to be talking to me!

Enjoy your day and your surroundings

Pretty turtle found while walking my dog on the nature trail

There were dozens of these little crabs everywhere

Yellow Lab – SuperDog!

Flat Fish – Great parking lot dividers for the fish market

Flying Fish – pretty restaurant decor

Dead Fish – United in the end!

Thank goodness we have Mangroves for the protection of our shorelines and creating habitats for many creatures

Toxic

Toxic

We laugh and cry
Smile and frown
Usually together
We slip and slide
Soar and fall
Whatever the weather

Now your thoughts toxic
covering your heart
in a dark shadow
I hold a lantern
looking for some light
or an afterglow

Impressionable images
Clouding your brain
and misguiding
Festering memories
rearing their heads
and dividing

What comes out
is caustic and poisonous
Harming those in your path
Patiently I wait
until it is all spent
While shielding from your wrath

Christine Bolton – Poetry for Healing ©

Word Prompts:

Slide

Soar

Impressionable

Lantern

Toxic

OctPoWriMo – Poem a Day #26 – Inside Out

Photo by Lukas Müller on Unsplash

Personality

Personality

She is freewheeling and fearless
Forever the smile of happiness
Brightness wherever she goes
Life is good, life is kind
The girl has peace of mind
and the beauty of a damask rose

Her sunshine brightening the day
Brushing our tears away
She jumps into the deep
With never a care
Adventure is there
When we can hardly sleep

The door is revolving
Life is ever evolving
What goes up must come down
Her identical twin
Would sometimes win
And the smile becomes a frown

Opponents they are not
Good friends is how they fought
Each escapade a memory to share
One dips only their toes
The other wins by a nose
Tempering each other’s dare

The twins are one and the same
They share the same name
It is two personalities of one
Being joyful is the preferred state
and life can trip you, but wait
The cycle has again begun

Christine Bolton – Poetry for Healing ©

Word Prompts:

Identical

Friend

Escapade

Opponent

OctPoWriMo – Poem a Day #25 – Door goes both ways

Photo by Rishabh Butola on Unsplash

Muddled

Muddled

The events of these recent days
A frightening mix that will abrase
happiness once there
A crushing blow
that dulls the glow
and emotions are laid bare

Abstract havoc in my head
Manifesting in explosive dread
Where is the opening?
A way outside
That can provide
My sanity is beckoning

Two heads in a collision
Distorting one’s vision
The direction has been lost
Communication inconsistent
An approximation insufficient
When stars have been crossed

Word Prompts

Manifestation

Abstract

Frighten

Approximate

OctPoWriMo – Poem a Day #24 – Opening

Photo by Chris Barbalis on Unsplash