Category: poetry

Lion and Lamb

On By buildingalifeofhopeIn poetry9 Comments

Credit: www.thestar.com

 

Opening the window

Turning up the volume

on the wind and rain

drops beating

sounds: a metal drum

an unexpected rhythm

dancing on the chairs

elderly and youthful pines

swinging and swaying

an homage to one another

My world is a blanket of camouflage colors

Grays, browns, blacks and greens

Trees still lack their first season’s buds

I await the birth of their newest progeny

Winter’s white finally losing the battle

Snowbanks disintegrating and retreating

Transforming into rivulets

The earth beneath no longer stiffened

but softening, oozing a gorgeous liquid bronze

 

Buried Truth

On By buildingalifeofhopeIn poetry16 Comments

Credit: weheartit.com

I didn’t understand it then, but I understand it now…

What it means to be born from deceit

The lies they told themselves to protect you

I didn’t understand it then, but I understand it now…

Unconsciously rejected by the one who bore you

Lovingly accepted by the one who was betrayed

I didn’t understand it then, but I understand it now…

The secret kept from you until you were of age

You convinced yourself  that it didn’t matter anyway

I didn’t understand it then, but I understand it now…

Their union at last came undone, the past too much to bear

A slight shift in your world, one you could not even hear

I didn’t understand it then, but I understand it now…

You left them then, never to return again

 An anchorless  journey that continues today

I didn’t understand it then, but I understand it now…

Falsely sure of yourself and never whole

Flitting from place to place and woman to woman

I didn’t understand it then, but I understand it now…

Never quite trusting but always controlling

Hoarding your feelings, a collector of sins

I didn’t understand it then, but I understand it now…

The stain of  your beginnings remains with you still

A jagged edge, a dizzying precipice and a perilous fall

I didn’t understand it then, but I understand it now…

 Kellie gave us this one line today:

I didn’t understand it then, but I understand it now…

And this is what I created!

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#FWF Free Write Friday: Ponder this…

by Kellie Elmore

At Last

On By buildingalifeofhopeIn poetry20 Comments

Credit: wallpoper.com

I remember the first time I saw you.

Walking towards me in the heat of the day.

I remember that first conversation.

Hours of intimacy, our skin pruned and blistered from the water and sun.

I remember that feeling of connection.

Immediate ease, our bodies in unconscious rhythm.

I remember the endless days awaiting your arrival.

Airport greetings, my heart leaping and skin tingling.

I remember the soft downy covers.

Sheltered from head to toe, your heart on mine.

I remember knowing we were forever.

When just the sight of you

or the sound of your voice

or the touch of your hand

feels like the first time.

Another prompt from dear Kellie that gets to the heart of the matter. In love and in life it is always the small moments that count.

Click on the link to read other talented musings!

#FWF Free Write Friday: Ponder This

by Kellie Elmore

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Lover’s Creed

On By buildingalifeofhopeIn Lovers, poetry17 Comments

trust[4]

Meeting for a late night meal

Not quite strangers, Not quite friends

But something else unborn and unspoken

 

A forward movement,

                   A relevant transition,

A certain shift

resonating between and within us

 

The repast remained barely consumed

Our hearts full of anticipation instead

 

The ease at which we came to be joined

An affirmation that it was meant to be

 

The darkness deepened outside

The air breathing its long December chill

But here in this space lay newborn warmth

Eyes wide open

 Souls ready to receive

 

Two lovers sealing their covenant

A confident expectation

A credulous commitment

 

Thus, on this night,

in this blood-thin blackness

this achy, gasping vortex of interminable frost

A recollection of our whispered pact

soothes me in a blanket of torrid heat

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#FWF Free Write Friday: Trust

Just one word this week. It can mean many things can’t it? I am grateful to have it back in my life. I took  a trip down memory lane for this one. And I am glad that I still am making more with my beloved!  Perfect way to end the week.

Alone Without You

On By buildingalifeofhopeIn poetry2 Comments

Credit: www.soulcerer.com

Sluggish- asleep with grief

Silent-unusually absent of words

I left you this morning

In the dismal liquid haze

of the winter tropics

Nothing can describe this unjust

And too common a parting once again

Each egress excruciating

My heart holds you here

Two souls, joined as spirits

Sanguine and seeking

Still lustful, blissful

Slaking our thirst

in our union’s oasis

We are artists of Love

Constantly Creating

Fleshing out new the landscapes

Still lifes

Abstracts

Self-portraits

Of this torrid and tranquil love affair

I long for you before I leave

Already missing the sweetness, serenity and sensuality of you

Awaiting our new awakening once again

Undone and Reborn

On By buildingalifeofhopeIn poetry26 Comments

fwf image prompt

Yep-she thought she was up against it

Never forgiven for sins

That she didn’t commit

Walking that broken road

Stoned, Icy Cold, Alone

Peeling her face off the pavement

His fist crushing her like cement

Cornered in the last round

Her body relenting for another pound

Cries for help never making a sound

She offered herself over to the battle

Her breath nothing but a rattle

Then words of comfort that began as a hum

Gave way to the beating of a drum

The rage of her warriors too strong to ignore

Help and Healing oozing from every pore

She learned to stand tall

Protect herself from another brawl

Now she knew there was no need to crawl

Moving forward in joy and delight

She is one fetching lovely sight

Taking on the world with all her might

I am dedicating this post to victims of abuse. There is a way out. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Special thanks once again to Kellie Elmore for the inspiration!

#FWF Free Write Friday: Quote Prompt

Communion

On By buildingalifeofhopeIn poetry18 Comments

Source: We Heart It

Source: We Heart It

Bear:

Primal Mother

Fierce Protector

Keeper of Wisdom

Instinctively Intuitive

Ursus Major:

Keep me Fearless

Heal Me

Allow me to Ponder and Reflect

To Be Still with Thoughts and Emotions

To Discern and Discriminate with Astute Mindfulness

To Love and Live and Be True to Myself

To Know that I am a Part of Infinity

And at One with the Universe

Magnificent Beauty

On By buildingalifeofhopeIn abuse, Independent Woman, poetry, Recovery10 Comments

quotes-about-strength

I am dedicating this week’s post to Jasmine and the women of Amirah- a non-profit organization located in the Boston area that provides a wide range of services for survivors of commercial exploitation* (amirahboston.org). Jasmine spoke at author Anne LaMott’s book event (Stitches) on Thursday, November 7th. Her story of degradation and triumph was moving and inspiring. Jasmine: You are Beautiful!

Live Long Enough and You Will Find

Beautiful Treasures on this Earth

People You Meet, Come to Know

Who Share Their Stories

Filled with Grief, Heartache,

Struggle and Strain

Addiction and Abuse

Sickness and Death

 

They’ve walked in Darkness

Alone, left out, Hanging by a thread

Made to feel Powerless and Worthless

An Object for others to use and throw away

Then one day they hear a Whisper

The sound of their Own Voice

They gather Strength and Taste their Freedom

They see their Worth and the Beauty Within

Their Voice becomes a Roar- a Cry for Others

As they walk the Path of Healing

To the Light of Wholeness and Joy

A fully realized Human

Touched by Grace

*The Stats on Human Trafficking Around the World:

20.9 million adults and children in forced labor

8.7 million number of these exploited by private agents for labor and commercial sex purposes

2.2 million forced to work by the State or rebel military groups

$32 billion total year profits, in U.S. dollars, generated by the human trafficking industry

$14.8 billion The 2012 Video Game Industry in the United States

98% percent of victims of sex trafficking are women and girls

Here in the U.S.:

100,00-300,000 number of prostituted children in the U.S.

98.8: Percent suspected or confirmed child victims of domestic sex trafficking taken in by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NMCE) nationwide from 2004-2010 who were classified as endangered runaways.

(Thank you to Amirah for providing these statistics through the International Labor Organization , the Polaris Project, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, U.S. Department of State(Trafficking in Persons Report) and http://vgsales.wiki.com/wiki/Video_game_industry)

THE SCARF

On By buildingalifeofhopeIn poetryLeave a comment

Credit: www.ebsqart.com

It sat in a holiday bag

Hidden in a corner of the room

Collecting dust

Unsure of its status

A gift given to another from someone she despised

I took it out one day with its tags still on

The colors bright and bold

Much like myself

I gave it a wash to cleanse it of bad karma                  

In due time the intended passed it on to me

 

Its pinks and purples capture my face

Drape my body in brazen confidence

Captivating in black tights

I am a sexy bitch

A provocateur

Defiant in the face of the vapid vamp

Yeah bitch you bought it

And now it’s mine

 

I am a tangible tasty power

Unstoppable in my cape of fetching femininity

Unconquerable to attempts at intimidation

This cloth of steel will bring you to heel

Empowering hues

A fiery fuse

Freedom Forever

That’s my muse