Poetry is a balm for the soul. At least, it is in my opinion. Whenever we learned to analyze poems in school, I was more likely to admire the work than to dig deep enough to tear it apart. Whether it was Emily Dickinson, T.S. Eliot (..."Do I dare to eat a peach?"), Tennyson or even Aphra Behn, they all spoke to me on some level. I believe poetry can heal and make us think about the human condition. Which we certainly need a lot more of these days.
Check out some of these links to the stunning work of contemporary poets on my blogs:
https://iloveromanceblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/31/guest-poet-spotlight-d-l-owens/
https://iloveromanceblog.wordpress.com/2016/02/10/guest-poet-spotlight-honcho-mars-returns/
https://iloveromanceblog.wordpress.com/2015/04/20/guest-poet-spotlight-honcho-mars/
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2017/06/poetry-spotlight-ricardo-mejias-on-muses.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2017/05/poetry-spotlight-honcho-mars-on-love.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2017/02/poetry-spotlight-d-l-owens.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2016/03/poetry-spotlight-heidi-renee-mason-on.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2015/06/poetry-spotlight-malay-upadhyay.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2014/11/poetry-spotlight-j-rose-alexander.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2014/09/poetry-spotlight-miles-rothwell-on.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2014/05/poetry-spotlight-penny-estelle-on.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2014/04/poetry-spotlight-devika-fernando-on-love.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2014/04/poetry-spotlight-l-e-barrett-on-maine.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2014/01/poetry-spotlight-l-e-barrett-on-human.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2014/01/poetry-spotlight-caryl-mcadoo-on-vow.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2013/12/poetry-spotlight-mark-randolph-conte.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2013/12/poetry-spotlight-murray-alfredson-on.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2013/12/poetry-spotlight-jeffrey-gonell-on-love_13.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2013/11/poetry-spotlight-pam-handa-on-dreams.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2013/11/poetry-spotlight-michele-harvey.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2013/10/poetry-spotlight-michele-harvey-on.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2013/09/poetry-spotlight-lance-sheridan-on.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2013/08/poetry-spotlight-jeffrey-gonell-on-love.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2013/08/poetry-spotlight-pallavi-pissay-on-love.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2013/07/poetry-spotlight-cj-heck-on-gentle.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2013/07/poetry-spotlight-pam-handa-on-love.html
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2013/06/poetry-spotlight-pam-handa-on-hope-and.html
Also, in honor of National Poetry Day today, I'm using Throwback Thursday to feature some of my past poems. Keep in mind, there is no particular theme to this grouping...
Enjoy! :)
Dream
with Me
My
yearning for you is strong,
something
I’ve never felt for anyone else…
There
are nights like tonight,
when
I ache so much for you that sleep eludes me.
With
bated breath
I
remember our last embrace,
savoring
your arms around me,
the
warmth of your body against mine,
your
chest beneath my ear as I witnessed the steady beats of your heart,
a
constant comfort.
I
recall our quiet talks about nothing and everything,
our
shared laughter.
You’re
the only one who reaches me on all levels,
physical
and emotional.
But
the convenience of technology – firing up a text thread or dialing your number
–
is
a poor substitution for the real thing.
The
truth is
I
need you in my life.
It’s
a forever kind of thing.
With
the storm striking outside – rain pattering against the panes of glass,
the
occasional rumble of thunder
and
each curse of lightning –
despite
it all, I’ll do my best to keep you safe in my heart tonight.
Soon,
maybe
not tomorrow,
possibly
in a week or so,
I’ll
see you again and then our bond will be reaffirmed.
We’ll
be one once more.
There
are few things in this world that last,
even
fewer powers resilient against time, hate or destruction.
But,
love? Love will stand up to anything.
If
you were lost to me,
I’d
go anywhere,
do
anything to search,
to
find you again.
You
mean that much to me.
It
has nothing to do with loneliness.
This
is about two hearts that were born for each other,
Two
halves of a whole.
When
we met, we spoke like old friends.
It
was different yet utterly natural.
And
no matter what happens in our lives,
this
bond cannot bend or be broken.
This
is love.
So
close your eyes tonight and think of me, my love.
Dream
with me…
Imagine
a place of peace,
with
lush, green land,
endless
blue skies and beautiful seas.
A
place where we’re together, dancing clumsily,
laughing
and resting in one another’s arms.
Keep
me in your heart, the same way I keep you.
I’ll
see you soon,
on
the other side of this hazy, slumberous journey,
to
a world where eternity resides.
I
wake to your face,
your
warm smile,
the
sound of your soothing breaths beside me.
And
I know this is right where I belong.
You
and the Muse
There
are few things in this chaotic world that make total sense to me.
Two,
in fact, which I can name right now…
Often
it feels like I’m a mere pawn on the chessboard of life.
Some
choices are strategic; others are left to chance.
A
few are mistakes one would rather forget.
There’s
so much about all of it we can’t control.
The
sun will rise and set regardless of what we do.
There
are few parts of life I can totally rely on.
Two,
in fact…
You
and the muse.
As
you held me in your arms last night,
with
your perfect embrace and your scent in my nose,
I
had to fight back tears.
It
wasn’t sadness which moved me.
Instead,
it was a sense that everything was right.
Very
few things in life make sense to me.
But
you and our deep connection?
I’ve
never been more definite about anything in my life.
We’re
meant to be…
Then
there’s the muse.
Writing
is a drive inside me,
an
unstoppable force.
The
story calls, demanding to be told.
The
characters live for a reason,
and I live to get those interpretations on the
page.
But
I live for you too.
I’d
be lost without you,
my
soul mate,
my
best friend,
my
lover.
My
lover and the muse…
two
constants I can’t do without.
There
are times when the pressures of life get to be too much,
when
stressors drag me down.
The
muse inspires me to tell a tale,
to
explore the human condition.
But
you…
You
inspire me to keep dreaming,
to
keep loving you and every moment we spend together.
The
truth is you are my muse.
My
eternal muse.
You
and the muse are the same.
And
I’d be very little without you,
my
love.
The
Other Side of Our Dreams
Do
you sleep?
Do
you dream?
At
night, do you sleep in hopes of meeting me when you wake?
Do
you dream, dream of me the way I dream of you?
Do
you pray?
Do
you pray you’ll see my face? To hold me tight?
Because
I think of you every night…
Every
day, of course, but each night many times before I sleep.
It’s
not because I’m lonely.
When
the day’s demands are winding down, the night gets so quiet you can only hear
your heartbeat, the soft thump aligned with crickets humming in the darkness.
I
think of you, imagine your face, your voice blessing me, your arms surrounding
me.
I
don’t think of you because I’m lonely and I need someone, just anyone.
You’re
in my thoughts, always.
You’re
the missing part of me I didn’t know about until I found you.
You’re
everything to me…
My
friend, my lover, my soul mate, all wrapped up in one fine package.
Even
without the trappings, I would’ve known you were the one.
Our
hearts still would have called to each other.
We’ve
always been this connected.
On
a night like this, with the wind whipping around the house and the moon so
bright, it’s hard not to think of you, to feel you afar.
I’ll
give you this other thought before I sleep…
Keep
thinking, dreaming, praying, my love.
We’ll
both slumber and find one another again, beyond our dreams, beyond time even.
Because
this?
This
is forever, and that’s more than enough for me.
Gentle Giant
Lovely branches,
The limbs are shorn,
lopped off by heartless men,
Thieves of beauty,
like those who disturb consecrated ground.
I weep for the trees,
the fine yet hard surface of their depths,
The massive arms
stretching out to hold us as Mother Nature does.
The earth must
tremble with disdain at this,
Should punish and
maim the blind agents of our despair.
Commodity has altered
our purpose,
Our origins.
We have succumbed to
the final capital gains.
At what price?
At what cost do we
say we have attained pleasant comfort?
At the sacrifice of
breath, of livelihood,
Should we really dare
to destroy that which made us,
Provided us humbly
with gifts?
Why seek to destroy
our souls for creature luxuries?
I weep, I beg for
compassion.
Please understand,
dear critters,
dear structures,
dear Mother.
We are a wasteful,
stupid lot.
Can we know better?
Why, yes.
Even the spiders
reuse,
Even the sloths and
birds treasure their homes.
We love our temporary
dwellings,
Not so stationary as
massive destructive metal contraptions ruin the moment,
The pleasant symmetry
we had.
I cry out, I grieve
for yon simple creatures,
Critters, insects in
the earth.
Your home has fallen
in ruin.
I weep for that which
is gone,
For the humongous
brown and green leafy foliage that once was,
That was a simple,
beautiful embryo,
Little seedling in
the days of old.
Gone back to the time
of my great great grandfather and beyond.
But, times moved on
and the child became wise and large,
Wisdom was ingrained
and sought after with greedy hearts.
And then like
something shallow and useless,
our elders were
thrown away.
Elderberry,
Elderwood,
Elder blossomed into
a great thing,
Then to dust,
Made into spindly,
decrepit stumps and sold off to the highest bidder,
Overlooked in its splendor.
Oh, useless silly
limbs, reach out and tear the hearts that made you thus.
Perhaps gain some
recompense for what was done.
Find some peace, dear
tree.
And one day, those
blind, unseeing souls will beg you and your Mother for forgiveness.
The abandonment was
committed,
Now the sinner should
pay.
In what form,
I leave that to your
discretion.
Forgive our
imbecilic,
Fiscal plans.
I weep for your life,
Your history.
And I kneel, humbly
asking for your Mother’s permission,
To start over.
A new beginning,
A beginning without
destruction,
Only peace.
And Mother can be
herself.
Thank you for this
chance, dear spindly limbed thing.
Thank you.
Pressure
Head
pounding,
heart
aching,
words
tearing through her like swords,
her
eyes closed,
she
prays for the voices to stop,
her
beating heart to quit its painful onslaught,
for
the madness to end.
Craving
peace,
she
ducks her head,
still
resigned to the pressures surrounding her.
They
will never stop,
never
cease,
the
voices blathering on about what she should or shouldn’t do.
The
pressure builds,
she
wonders how much she can take.
Tears
echo like the raindrops above,
mixing
with her agony.
Yearning
to scream “stop”,
seeking
peace,
she
opens her eyes.
The
rain is gone.
The
cement beneath her feet is calming,
her
hands braced on the ledge.
The
buildings stretch far and wide,
each
edifice glistening as the new sun touches each surface.
The
light blesses her face,
warm.
She
takes a deep breath,
smiles.
Hope
fills her weary soul.
It’s
her life…her journey.
And
that should be good enough.
The
War Inside
Dark
secrets,
ghosts in
the machine,
tool of
demise,
the demise
of our souls,
who we are
at the core.
We never
think about the war inside,
trouble in
our minds,
a heart’s
conflict.
When the
war is over,
what is
left?
How do you
pick up the pieces of your life?
You just
try.
Lift your
head up,
your voice
will be heard.
Let your
conscience be heard till we…
Live
better,
Breathe
better.
Moral
codes are fine,
but to be
human is to err.
Forgive
first.
Humanity.
That is
also important.
Yearning
The
moon over this cool night appears lonely,
its
sole, pale white disc yearning for another,
perhaps
even for its fiery opposite which rises each dawn.
I
imagine the moon is a bit like me tonight,
somewhat
heartsick,
waiting
for a hand to hold.
You
see, I yearn for you like no other.
A
thousand years could pass and I’d still want you,
need
you,
love
you.
This
isn’t some temporary fling.
This
is real, and I can’t stop this yearning within.
I
know regardless of what I do,
what
I accomplish,
how
I laugh or cry,
I’ll
still want you by my side.
That’s
my unspoken vow.
We’ve
expressed our feelings many times,
marveled
at the deep connection between us,
but
I don’t think you understand how much you make me whole,
on
fire,
alive,
fearless
even.
Without
you, I know I’d try to dig deep,
I’d
do my best to survive,
I
might even accomplish something.
But
life would be duller,
a
part of me missing,
yearning
for you,
waiting
to find you once more in another life.
And
even if I had never met you,
well,
I’d still search for you like a time traveler who’s lost his way.
When
we met, I found the mate of my soul,
my
counterpart, so to speak.
Maybe
I took time to admit it, and I love you for being so patient,
but
the moment we met…
It
was fate.
The
stars brought us together that night,
sought
to align us like a constellation,
two
halves of a whole.
For
I knew even then,
strolling
and talking for hours so easily,
a
conversation that had no end and somehow began like the echo of an old song,
I
knew this was different,
special.
I
know now that night after night,
I’ll
still gaze up at this brilliant moon and still yearn for you,
time
endlessly passing…
but
the heart doesn’t care for trivialities.
I
know if I bide my time,
perhaps
in a few days,
maybe
next week,
even
if a month has passed,
before
I know it,
you’ll
be at my door,
and
I’ll be in your warm arms again,
absorbed
by your love.
I
have this ring that speaks my promise,
the
symbol that is solely ours.
And
I have you in my heart.
Your
voice over the phone is some comfort.
The
little notes you send are evidence of how you feel.
We
talk like old friends,
we
always have.
But
still, I’ll yearn.
And
I won’t be whole until you’re here, my head cradled against your heart.
And
I won’t be complete until we say the vows that make us one.
Until
then, my love,
I
will wait.
I
will yearn,
until
our eyes and hearts meet again…
Memory
I remember…
Fields of lavender,
as far as the eye could see,
Raindrops glistening
on cheeks,
The ripe smell of it
in the air.
Puddles of mud over
laces,
A child in a raincoat
and rubber boots.
I remember…
Pasting stars on a
poster board covered with glitter,
Sharpening pencils,
The dust of lead
soiling hands.
Riding a bike with a
banana seat,
The wind whizzing
past my ears,
The neighbors’ houses
flying by too,
The windows' wide
mouths open with laughter.
Playing hopscotch in
the street,
Fresh dew on grass
shining like emeralds.
Running on a beach,
Tripping over sand
castles,
The water catching
the sun, almost blinding.
Shopping in the town
square, mistletoe everywhere,
One might think it was
Christmas all the time.
I remember…
Being grown,
Moonlit walks on the
beach,
Amazement at the
dark, watery abyss calling to me.
And the moment your
hand touched mine –
On campus we talked
like rampant parrots and walked for miles and miles,
Tireless.
Now, I see your face
in my thoughts,
Your wonderful
countenance before me at times.
Thinking back to that
girl, I remember…
But, she wouldn’t
remember you. We hadn’t met.
That dreamer is me,
yearning, wanting –
Yet I have you now.
Take my hand and
we’ll…
Watch the bursts of
light on the Fourth,
Make out like we used
to,
Silly with hormones.
Knowing your love
completes me.
Let’s make a new…
Memory.
I truly believe words have power.
Here is a list of other poems I've written before.
https://iloveromanceblog.wordpress.com/2015/09/20/home-a-poem/
https://iloveromanceblog.wordpress.com/2015/08/04/a-language-of-our-own-a-poem/
https://iloveromanceblog.wordpress.com/2015/05/05/in-your-arms-a-poem/
https://iloveromanceblog.wordpress.com/2015/03/22/your-kiss-a-poem/
https://iloveromanceblog.wordpress.com/2015/02/28/lovers-like-us-a-poem/
http://marielavenderbooks.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-magick-poem.html
http://marielavenderbooks.blogspot.com/2014/05/your-kisses-new-love-poem.html
http://marielavenderbooks.blogspot.com/2014/04/new-poem-all-i-need.html
http://marielavenderbooks.blogspot.com/2014/04/savior-new-love-poem.html
http://marielavenderbooks.blogspot.com/2014/01/poem-forever.html
http://marielavenderbooks.blogspot.com/2013/12/new-poem-erotic-love.html
http://marielavenderbooks.blogspot.com/2013/10/i-love-you.html
http://marielavenderbooks.blogspot.com/2013/09/new-sensual-poema-passionate-embrace.html
http://marielavenderbooks.blogspot.com/2013/08/new-poem.html
http://marielavenderbooks.blogspot.com/2016/03/empress-of-the-universe.html
Happy National Poetry Day, everyone! ♥
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