Sentences are clipped
and displeasure apparent
Words becoming terse,
sharp and cutting
Behavior aberrant
A blindside occurs
Sudden and intense
Innocent party
reeling from verbiage
Scrambling for defense
A foray is unwise
with no gift of fortitude
Holding breath, closing eyes
praying for silence
until furor subdued
Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing ©
Word Prompts:
Foray
Fort (itude)
Terse
Photo by Ashton Bingham on Unsplash
Innermost thoughts
Without filter
Free to flow
Wherever they may
Maddened and irascible
They come and go
Hungry for an outlet
to spread through the air
Finding a place to settle
Reaching out to anyone
or anything
With the sting a nettle
Cantankerous
Slicing like a knife
Rousing screams
Heard above tree tops
Gratifying and satisfying
Fostering dreams
Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing ©
April is National Poetry Writing Month
NaPoWriMo
Day 9 prompt is:
Our (optional) prompt for the day asks you to engage in another
kind of cross-cultural exercise, as it is inspired by the work of
Sei Shōnagon, a Japanese writer who lived more than 1000 years ago.
She wrote a journal that came to be known as The Pillow Book.
She recorded daily observations, court gossip, poems,
aphorisms, and musings, including lists with titles like “Things That
Have Lost Their Power,” “Adorable Things,” and “Things That Make
Your Heart Beat Faster.” Today, I’d like to challenge you to write your own
Sei Shonagon-style list of “things.” What things? Well, that’s for you
to decide! Some of her writing
In some of her writing she could be quite caustic and offensive
with her thoughts. I chose this dark side as my muse today.
Today's Word Prompts:
Tops
Hungry
Cantankerous
Photo by Mubariz Mehdizadeh on Unsplash
Like a thief in the night
Stealing my fragility
My heart still weak
in its recovery
Destroying my stability
Empty promises
and broken dreams
Snatching my soul
Silently unravelling
my life at the seams
Kindness disguised
A wolf in sheep’s clothes
Preying on vulnerability
Inserting yourself into my life
Collecting my woes
I have become your possession
With no voice of my own
You manipulate my actions
and my every thought
All I want is to stand alone
Release me, I beg
From this obsessive control
Suffocating in your oppression
I can no longer breathe
Slowly drowning in this black hole
Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing ©
Word Prompts:
Release
Thief
Photo by Dmitry Schemelev on Unsplash
Will your cold heart
ever begin to thaw?
Will it ever stop seeing
what had gone before?
Powerless and
Frozen in time
Robbed of dignity
A heinous crime
Retribution or retaliation
an impossible task
Lady justice
She wears the mask
The ghosts from your past
Still hidden from view
Never knowing, just guessing
What you went through
Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing ©
Word Prompts:
Justice
Thaw
Power
A silent scream
that fell on deaf ears
she had become
insignificant
A cry for help
that no one hears
in misery she succumbs
to her predicament
A neglected
and used soul
Her heart trampled
down in the dirt
Her melancholy
takes its toll
her neck strangled
Her life now subvert
Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing ©
Love is joyous
but sometimes it bleeds
Love is complicated
and gets tangled like weeds
Squeezing and squashing
always into your mold
Our pieces don’t fit anymore
I am losing my hold
Dare to open that box
it is not yours to look
Curiosity killed the cat
That is all it took
You have stolen the key
I was not ready to let it go
Disappointment is inevitable
But you will soon know
There is no silver bullet
to solve our predicament
Beautiful on the outside
but missing the fundament
The key will not bring
jewels of the kingdom
Like opening Pandora’s box
showing lack of wisdom
Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing ©
Hélène Vaillant's What Do You See Photo Prompt
Word Prompt:
Missing
When did this fairytale
become a nightmare?
How did the laughter
disappear into thin air
The chain of love
pulled until broken
Words of love
No longer spoken
Living in your chaos
Has taken its toll
Which end is up
as I fall into the hole
Anger the only emotion
Portrayed
Understanding now
Forever mislaid
The gentle heartbeat
Now a pounding in the chest
Anxiety devouring
A life much stressed
A diametric relationship
Opposite ends of the continuum
When all said and done
Little left of the residuum
Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing ©
Word Prompts:
Devour
Diametric
Chain
Who cares
For the caregiver?
Pained and weary
But must deliver
Quietly absorbing
another’s pain
Shouldering the weight
Suffering the bane
Does anyone ask
How you are feeling?
Bring me this, don’t do that
Can’t they see, you’re reeling?
Tired from journeying
Several times a day
Waiting, watching
Hurry up and stay
Observing from the perimeter
Of the hospital room
Nurses and doctors
And aides, none of whom
Will ask how you are, or
anything they can do
Can you come again at noon?
There’s something you must do
It’s a thankless task
You do out of love
Your kindness unnoticed
misplaced like a lost glove
Excuses made
Even when things are better
A convenient punching bag
tied down with a fetter
Paradise lost
What was it worth?
Forgotten dreams
Fallen to earth
Feeling used and abused
but the words can never be said
You are not the one sick
But wishing you were the one dead
Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing ©
Word Prompts:
Worth
Lost
Paradise
The range of emotions
Disturbing and alarming
Unforeseen
Out of the blue
Possibly harming
Feelings cut deep
A woeful heart bleeding
Vagrant feelings
Homeless
and needing
A future in suspension
Spirit crying for healing
An empty shell
Cast aside
Forever haunting
Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing ©
Word Prompts:
Haunting
Vagrant
Woe
Range
D'Verse Poets - Open Link Night - Hosted by Grace
Photo by Aarón Blanco Tejedor on Unsplash
The ice in your heart will not melt
Even in a springtime thawing
Nor will the wall around you fall
Unless you stop withdrawing
In-between the bricks and mortar
I search for the invisible gap
Hoping I might find a way in
But I fear that you will entrap
You are a pillar of stone
That will never crack
Cold, hard, impenetrable
All I want is to have you back
Playing your unfair game
of three strikes and you’re out
Punishing and cruel
You are a brute and a lout
Banished from your world
Never more can I enter
You have chosen to be
The ultimate tormentor
Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing ©
Word Prompts:
Thawing
Three
Wall
Gap