And The Clouds Parted - Poetry by Gabrielle Yetter

REMEMBER ME

Don’t remember me
As the man in the wheelchair
Staring at the street
As the lights go out.
Think of me
As the lad who lit sparklers in the snow
Watching them twinkle as he
Plunged them into the cold
Shaking icicles from his hair.

Don’t remember me as the fragile old lady
Wrapped in a shawl in front of the fire.
Think of me as a giddy young girl
Stepping off a plane
To explore a faraway jungle
With a backpack filled with Mars bars and dreams
As she fearlessly strode into the void.

Don’t think of me as the grumpy old codger
In a nursing home
Who groaned about the heat
When summer cracked through the rain
Think of me as the boy who
Drove dune buggies up sand dunes,
And ran naked through the waves
Laughing at the faces as he
Plunged into the sea.

Remember me as a whirling dervish,
A liberated woman forging a path of her own.
A man filled with passion
With a voice loud and strong
Don’t see us as the men and women we became
In Winter
Remember us as
The budding flowers of Spring,
The roaring waterfall of Summer
The shimmering shades of Fall.
Don’t remember us with pity or sadness
Just think of us
And smile.

(GY)

LOOK UP

When the path ahead
Is tangled with weeds and
Choked with debris of discarded waste.
Look up.
See puffs of gossamer clouds
Drifting in an azure sky
As the breeze whispers toward the sun.

When the street is jammed with cars
And enraged drivers honk and swerve in anger.
Look up.
See tips of fir trees swaying
Leafy silver boughs bending in the wind
In a gentle ballet of the day.

When your heart is clouded over
And your soul screams
With a jagged voice of anguish and defeat
Look up.
Where silvery shadows part
And the silhouette of the emerging moon
Glows with the omen of a better tomorrow.

When the route is drenched
In chasms of depression
Dark floods of despair washing away hope.
Look up
To cleansing drops descending from the sky
A dusky, greying sky of evening
In an expanse of wondrous tumult.

So even when black clouds gather
And the air hangs heavy with thunder
It’s just Nature’s way of painting the sky
With a mystical show of darkness and light.

Up above
Is the home of stars and birds
And trees and clouds
To raise the soul from the depths of despair
Where the mind can drift and be at peace.
So, when you’re feeling down
Look up.

(GY)

When I run poetry workshops in primary schools,
I always ask the children what colour the sky is and they always say ‘blue’.

And you should see their faces when I show them photos of the night sky, of sunsets, of stormy skies, of snow-filled skies, of the northern lights.

They get more and more excited with every new picture as they realise that the sky can also be black and orange and red and yellow and grey and white and green and purple.

You see, when I work in schools, I try to answer the age-old question

“What is poetry?”

And it’s a tough question because there are no real rules with poetry. It can rhyme but it doesn’t have to. It can be really long or really short. It can tell a story or provide a snapshot.

But, for me, poetry is words that alter our perspective. Even if it’s ever so slightly.

And that might be our perspective of the world around us. It might be our perspective of others or it might be of ourselves.

Poetry, for me, is words that make us say
“I never thought of it like that”
or words that help us articulate things
we never even realised we were seeing or feeling.

Yes, that’s what I tell the children when I’m working with them.
That poetry is actually words that can change the way a person feels about themself, about others and about the world around them.

And as such,
words hold so much power.

Never underestimate yours ❤️

******

Happy World Poetry Day 📚🖊️

THERE’S A PLACE

There’s a place
Where mornings sparkle
With the glow of dawn
And the day folds
Into a blanket of velvet dotted with crystal stars
As it kisses the world goodnight.

There’s a space
Where arms embrace
Hands reach out
Hold, Caress, Touch,
Eyes shine with love and kindness
And everyone is accepted
For who, what, why they are.

There’s a time
When fear, hate, and sadness melt away
Into a shimmering bottomless pool
Disappearing into a limitless universe
Of peace.

There’s a world
Where everyone sings a common melody
Connected by glittering cords of hope
Renewed in the awareness of endless love.
Just close your eyes
Take a breath
And you’ll be there.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

WAITING

He stands at the station
Woolly scarf coiled around his neck
Leaning heavily on the wooden stick.
Eyes straining
Heart pounding beneath a well-worn cardigan.
She’s coming home.

Distant rumble then
The train pulls up
He holds back
Standing in the shadows
Lips trembling with unspoken words
Waiting to embrace, caress, hold tight
The girl he’s missed for so long.

Young men shove him aside
Girls chatter as they disembark
Families, children, blue-collar workers and businessmen
Stream past
Until
The doors slide shut
The platform empties
He stands alone
Among echoes and shadows.

A vibration in his pocket
Shaking hands, fumbling, searching
Then a voice on the phone.
‘Sorry, Dad. Something came up’.
He draws his coat tighter
Slowly retraces his steps
To the empty loneliness
Of his one-bedroom flat.
Returns the homemade cake to the fridge
Tucks the gift-wrapped box into a drawer
And turns out the light.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

GETTING ON

We’re quite different
You and me.
I like running and chasing balls
Golden hair flying in the wind,
While you like sleeping, snuggling up and purring
Happy in your solitude
As I crave company.

We’re as dissimilar as clouds and volcanos,
Toffee apples and trombones,
But here’s what matters:
We like one another.
I’ll curl up with you and you’ll run with me
Appreciating the diversity
That makes us unique.
Unlike humans
Who disagree, disappoint, and quarrel.
Unwilling to learn
How to care for someone who’s
Different.

We may not look alike or sound the same
You purr, I bark
My tail is short while yours is long
But I think we know
More about the world
Than those who growl and shout
And forget
How to appreciate
The difference.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

SLEEP WELL

She wafts in on a cloud of Chanel
Scarlet fingernails and silk sleeve caressing my cheek
As she presses her lips against my brow
And whispers,
Sleep well, dear heart. I’ll be here when you wake.
Eyes closed
I drift away in a cloud of slumber
Knowing daybreak will bring
Cornflakes, buttered toast, and morning hugs.
And the security of knowing she’s there.

Days roll by
Homework, graduation, job, travel across the country
Months alone
Getting by in a different place
With strange people and confused emotions
Reaching for the phone at midnight
To hear the comforting voice that murmurs
Sleep well, dear heart. I’ll be here when you wake.

Moon after moon after sun after darkness and light
Dark days, grey hair, sunken cheeks, drooping back
Distance, silence, absence
Until
A call from home, long haul flight
Dash to the childhood home
Where she lies
Silent, still, distant
Withered hand clutching mine
Chipped polish and crumpled feathery touch
Waiting
To let go
And to hear my words
Sleep well, dear heart. I’ll be here…

Dark, grief-filled days
Float by in a mist of pain
Where meaning feels lost and loss feels eternal.
Until, one day
The faint aroma of Chanel infuses the air.
And a whispery voice deep in the night
Touching my dreams, my heart, my life
I’m sleeping well, dear heart.
And I’ll be here as you wake.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

NEW BEGINNIINGS

It began with a twinkle. A shimmer.
A glimmer.
A sparkle of light
Glowing softly in the darkness.
Flickering, waiting,
Arriving like a whisper
To those who were watching.

Holding breath
Clutching hands
Hoping for a sign that would
Bring
A tomorrow of promise
After a yesterday of shadows and heavy hearts.

Sunken eyes strained the darkness
Searching
For a heartbeat
Buried in the wilderness.
Then gradually
As midnight slipped into dawn
Darkness faded into yesterday
And the flicker of light
Expanded.

Whispering words of comfort
On wings of hope
As the new year
Like the unfolding petals on a winter rose
Opened its arms and embraced the world.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

SUNFLOWERS OF HOPE

Last night I planted a seed
Pushed it deep into the dark, moist soil
To hide it from danger.

Today I planted more
And tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow
I shall continue
Until the ground is blanketed with mile after mile
Of splendour
In a land torn apart by war.

A land where hands are reaching, touching, pulling, helping,
All standing strong, looking toward the sun
As they spread their arms to embrace their home.

Then the day after tomorrow
When the landscape is littered with debris,
Scarred with wounds,
And watered with tears,
Spindly stalks start to pierce the surface
Unfolding their beauty
As they turn their faces to the sun
With prayers for peace.

And field after field
Of this battered land
Will flourish again
As the sunflowers spread their leaves
Embrace the earth
And wrap the mornings in glorious carpets of gold.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

MOVING ON

A touch shared, a glance, a fragment of joy.
Memories that emerge only in dreams
Then melt away in the morning's glow of waking.
Gone.

Spaces filled with words
Silhouettes framed with faces
Once securely taken for granted
Now cherished and grasped and devoured and inhaled.
Holding on.

The vast searing chasm of loss
Whispers
Empty chairs
Cries in the dark
To the bleakness of
Nothing.

Walking away, taking down, clearing out
Hunting with desperate hungry eyes
For something beyond the grasp.
With open scars and weeping hearts
Every cautious step a new beginning
Without.

We wear the wounds and make them precious
Tucking them from sight
With empty smiles and vacant gaze
As the pale sunlight of a new season unfolds
And wings of hope seem to soar out of reach.
Invisible.

Yet tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow will dawn
Draped in a cloak of memories and shadows and ghostly embraces
Always connected.
Linked by the days and years of life
As we step toward another day
Raise our face to the sun
And learn to live
Again.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

WAITING

He sits alone at a corner table
Rheumy eyes downward cast
Staring blankly at a menu of jumbled words.

With shaky hands
He sips from a mug of tea filled with
Sugar and memories.

Waiting
For the one who never arrives
A day that never begins
And a night that never ends.

A trickle slides down a sunken cheek
As patrons pass the table
Together.
Fumbles for his cotton hankie
In a desperate desire to hide
To vanish into the peeling wallpaper
Scattered with faded umbrellas and sandcastles
Where time ceases to advance.

While above the paper mask
His shiny eyes
Grow dim
Memories of when and then and us and them.
Days fallen away
Into shadows of yesterday.

Until a word, a whisper,
A gentle touch from a stranger
Pulls him back
To a place where he matters
Again.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

TIME

An hour that feels like a day, like a second,
Like a year.
Stretched into an eternity that never comes, never heals, never blunts the pain.
Every second stabbing like a jagged shard.
As the memories fill my world.

What you said.
How you looked.
What we did.
Together.
Until Then.

Seconds, minutes, hours ripping at my soul,
Forcing me to remember.
Clocks creep forward,
Their hands painfully dragging me,
Desperately clutching to the past as shadows fade into yesterday
And tomorrows disappear.

Glimmers of light slither through
Eyes open, limbs move, doors open.
And the hours start to move
Swifter, swifter,
Pages turning on another month, another day, another year.

Then, one day, a smile.
A moment of joy.
Wrapped in a suffocating cloud of guilt.
Force back the smile, down into the pit of grief
As another page turns.
Shadows fading, slipping, falling,
Tulips bloom, days lengthen, leaves drop, snow falls from grey skies
The planet turns.

A moment of laughter, a curtain of peace
Enveloping, holding, easing, comforting.
Allowing joy
And while the silent scar and ragged heart lie dormant
Layer upon layer and minute upon minute
Remind
What was will never change
And those hands of Time caress
Holding close with tender touch
To show the way to tomorrow.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

NOBODY

Nobody came into the bank today
Lingering in a cloud of lavender,
As she traversed the room
With a tap tapping of the stick on the tiles.

Nobody tried to get my attention
With a flutter of a twiglike arm
That emerged from an immaculate mauve coat-sleeve
While I smiled a greeting,
To the man in the suit, the girl in the blue dress,
The family with the toddler.
Ignoring the lines and creases,
Sparse grey curls under pink woolly hat
That belonged to no-one.

Nobody whispered my name
In a fragile voice, her thin lips lingering on the words
Written on the shiny tag on my lapel
Before I turned my back to attend to my supervisor
Demanding personal service and appreciation of clients
At all times.

Nobody’s eyes brimmed with tears
As she waited,
Precariously,
Slender frame swaying, seeking support,
Aware that her wrinkles, stooped back and shaky hands
Rendered her invisible, unwanted, unseen
In a world that notices
Beautiful,
Strong,
Confident.
The person she used to be
When she was
Somebody.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

LEFT BEHIND

As I sit on the couch and sip my tea,
A child is crying, a man is dying, a woman is begging
For her life to change
For the world to change
For a chance to be free, to escape from terror and begin anew
In a safer, kinder world.

As I watch the news
A plane is departing
Soldiers ushering, helping, protecting,
Searching for signs that
The world might change
That their outstretched hands might
Bring one and one and one to safety
To a kinder, gentler world
Where nobody is
Left behind.

As I eat my dinner,
A million tears are flowing
Hope is ebbing, lives in threat,
Souls abandoned, waiting, yearning
For the world to change
For arms to embrace and carry them away
Hoping for one more moment, one more day, one more chance
To pull through.

And as I turn out the light
I pray
Wishing my God was one who might hear
And change that world
For those who cannot.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

DIFFERENT

Cheeks flushed,
He jabs a pudgy finger at the button on the machine
And waits.

Cars speed by,
Passengers gape at the odd-looking boy,
Drivers idle.

He searches for an opening,
A moment of safety in a dangerous world,
Smiles at the man in the grey suit who
Moves away.
It might be catching
This invisible affliction.

Voices in his head murmur,
You’re not like them. Don’t speak to strangers. Don’t take the wrong road.
But all roads are wrong when you’re
Different.

The padded straps of a Big Bird backpack
Filled with jam sandwiches and hope
Press on his shoulders.
A strip of tape on his glasses rubs his nose
As they steam up from nerves and anticipation.

Whispers from behind.
Fingers pointing.
Kids race past
Skateboards whizzing, arms shoving,
He moves aside, eagerly smiling
Keen to please.

Then once again the light changes,
The gap closes
And he’s left
Staring at his chunky shoes
Clutching a plastic bag full of coins
Until the traffic slows and a girl appears.

He hesitates
Will she step away?
Or laugh or tease
Like the others.
Raises his gaze to meet hers
Shyly tries out a grin.
Then she reaches out a hand
And smiles back.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

PERSPECTIVE

Too hot,
She moans
Smearing a smudge of makeup with a damp rag
And fanning her brow with a sweaty hand.
While across town,
A young woman dangles her toes on the edge of a pond
And turns her face, like a sunflower, toward the sky.

Too cold,
He groans
Tightening his fur-lined jacket and stabbing a finger at the heater
While along the street
A young man rolls his wheelchair to the window
And smiles as he watches snowballs fly.

Too much traffic,
The businessman grumbles
Honking the horn of his Mercedes and hollering at passersby.
While in a nearby lane, a woman sits behind the wheel
Humming to the strains of classical melodies
And noticing newborn lambs in the meadow.

Too busy,
The store owner gripes
Frowning at customers lined up at the door.
When around the corner
A nurse wipes another cheek,
Holds another hand,
Grateful for the contact of a human soul
As another and another and another wait outside.

Too long,
Mutters the executive
Tapping her foot and huffing loudly in the queue.
While five steps behind her
A single mum takes a breath
Relieved to have a few moments of alone-time
As she composes a new poem in her mind.

In another town, another space,
A young woman walks,
Head bowed,
Clutching roses,
And lays them on the ground
For one who
Will never be too hot, too cold, too busy.
For him it is
Too late.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

BUDDY

I shrink into the shadows as he approaches
Broad shoulders,
Tattoos down both arms
A rusted chain attached to a hound
With a head as big as a pumpkin
Muscles to match.

Hold my breath as he draws near
Clutching my handbag
Preparing to run.

His heavy boots clomp along the cobblestoned road
Closer
Until he
Stops
Bends down.

I grip my phone
Fingers poised atop the screen.
He kneels by the hound
Wraps an arm around his neck
And from my shadowy hiding place
I hear the raspy whisper
Buddy,
You’re all I have.

I silently slip away
Leaving a man
And his dog
Alone in a world of judging eyes
And false impressions.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

MOMENTS IN TIME

A smile. A touch. A moment in time.
Etched in vapours as the shadow of a memory lingers,
Reaches out through the mist and fades into obscurity.
The earth slowly turns,
Moon fading into sunlight to be replaced by dark.
Bare limbs silhouetted against frosted skies,
New life awakening,
Bursting forth in flurries of colour, leaf and brilliance.
Until the glow fades, the fog descends,
And the path is blocked and broken once more.

Then movement. A ruffle, rustle,
Shifting of space and silence.
A sound, whisper,
Message of hope from beyond the veil of grey
And the daisy chain of solitude breaks.
Hands reach out, pulling, touching, embracing, saving.
From beyond the stars,
A single moment
A flash of awareness and joy and love.
Knowing. Feeling.
There is no bottom to the pit of despair.
Only silver-tinged clouds that entwine and hold.
Embrace and support, sustain
On wings of hope.
Promise.
There is no alone.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

WHY

She tosses the lipstick-stained stub to the ground
Grinds it into the dirt with the heel of her stiletto
Inhales deeply
And turns back.
To one more man
One more beer
One more night of leering, groping, prodding, snorting
In the suffocating blackness
Where her soul vanishes inside an empty shell
And the wounds of her past sink into pits of pretense.

When the artificial smile and the artificial hair and the artificial nails
Reveal artificial canvases of pretend horizons,
All she can ask is
Why?

Then the door slams shut.
The lights go out.
Coins heavy in her pocket, she draws her coat tighter
To keep out the cold
To keep in the pain
To cover the scars
From probing eyes that pierce her skin once again.

Guarding her fractured heart, she walks
And walks
Footsteps echoing on the wet pavement
Until the key in her hand fits
And she stumbles down the steps,
Past her snoring neighbour spread out on the sagging couch
To the room where her treasure lies.
Eyes firmly closed with feathery lashes; ebony locks curled around the face of an angel.
A tiny hand.
Reaches out.
Holds, grasps, squeezes, breathes.
And she remembers.
Once again
The answer to the question,
Why?

https://rb.gy/frd

FRAGMENTS IN TIME

Ten thousand steps
Thirty-three likes
Nine tweets
Eleven comments.

We count. And watch.
And post pithy truncated characters of people and places in our world
That don't exist.
Flashing empty smiles on shiny screens. Glossy snaps of shiny moments
That vanish with a click to stay frozen in time.

We wait, snapping an image of a sunset, a breaking wave,
A moment of madness or hilarity.
Swallowed up by a monitor,
A click on a phone,
A filter on a lens.

Unreal.
Not real.
Unfocused, unseeing of moments that matter.
When a breath, a pause, a fragment of time
Must be inhaled, touched, caressed.
Captured in the heart, on the lens of an eye,
Etched on a canvas of permanence.

Yet still we sit, heads bowed, fingers tapping,
Eyes frozen, shoulders rigid.
Desperate for new likes or comments or shares.
While a friend cries, a bird twitters, a sun rises, a baby lamb is born.
Unseen by the eye that is focused on the screen.

Moments vanish.
Reality wraps itself around us like a cloak of fog,
Present only for a moment then vanishing forever.
While we tap and swipe and click and believe
That is Life.

It Is Not.
Switch off.
Hold out a hand. Step onto the grass with bare feet and open heart.
Let beauty and pain and laughter and love appear
Before they disappear into the digital ether,
Numbing the awareness
Of fingertips touching fingertips.
And eyes seeing souls.
In a place that holds fast to the tendrils of the earth,
Where now is all that matters.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

COMPANIONS

She remembers the day
When he was a bundle of fluff
All ears, tongue, and tail
Panting at the door to go out.

But that was a million walks ago
When fields were for running and sticks for throwing.
Today he hobbles to the door
Glancing back to check she’s there,
Both heavier, older, fading
Companions through the years

With creaking joints and unsteady gait
Like hers.
Shuffles along the trail with near-sightless eyes,
Tail drooping
Waiting for the woman who has always been
By his side.

She reaches down,
Caresses his neck,
Whispers words of love
As they walk together
One cautious step after another
Down a path well worn by prints and paws
Along a trail of unbroken habits and shiny pebbles.
Until one of them
Can no longer.

Then together they curl up
With a warm blanket, a hot meal and a cozy bed.
A mountain of memories
Of chases and races and laughter and whistles
And baskets filled with puppy dog kisses.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

LIKE HIM

He lifts the box with shaky hands, glancing at the label then sliding it back onto the shelf.
Eyes darting along the aisle as he straightens his bow tie.
Is anyone watching?
Will there be markdowns today?
Aging, crumbling, leftovers that nobody wants.
Like him.

A strip of fabric hides his quivering lips.
Lens misted, blurring faces he ought to know, wants to forget.
Bends further, back aching, to search the bottom ledge
For a dropped tin, a dented package, a bruised apple.
Something rejected, overlooked, abandoned.
Like him.

A shove from the side as greedy hands grab, push, ignore.
Trolleys rattling, heavy with lushness, steered by arrogance and affluence,
Oblivious to the figure stooped over,
Steadying, leaning, waiting
For his invisible world to become seen.
He waits.
Shuffles to the corner.
Slips his hand into the crease of his worn coat,
Touches the notes once again.
Just enough.
Like him.

Across the aisle, a box is unloaded.
Fresh fruit, boxes of soup, loaves of bread.
Almost waste. Ample. Within his means.
Shoulders hunched, legs shaking, he hobbles
Toward his target.
Slowly, too slowly, as strong arms reach out, s
Sn**ch, claim, leave.
Then the box is empty.
The light is fading.
The day is ending.
Like him.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

HOPE

To pick up a friend who’s hurt you
And care for them until they’re safe
That’s forgiveness.

To open your eyes when your heart is breaking
And all you want to do is retreat
That’s courage.

To see a single ray of light
Shining through a sky filled with menacing clouds
That’s positivity.

To feel sympathy for one who’s struggling
When you feel too poorly to function
That’s compassion.

To plant seeds in an arid wasteland
Water them every day
And wait for flowers to bloom
That’s hope.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

EMPTY DAYS

Days crawl by like molasses
Dragging her
With agonizing listlessness,
One excruciating minute to the next
From a world that used to exist
To one that vanished beneath a blanket of gloomy fog
The day he went.

Miniscule points of light and memory
Pierce the soul
Taunting, haunting, suffocating
As she waits,
Numb,
For the day to end,
The pain to pause,
The world to stop spinning
In dizzying dark circles of infinite denial
Until the comfort of darkness descends again.

Every day a bottomless chasm
Of emptiness.
Then
One day,
A sliver of light
Creeping, cracking the darkness
One breathless second at a time.
Blackness fading to a shade of grey
One hue at a time
Time passes.
Pain recedes.

Millimeter by millimeter
Sunrise by sunset
Moon after sun after moon and moon
As the looking glass of images
Start to dim
And the morning
Comes into focus.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

BEING SIX

I want to be six.
To wake up to the joy of crackly cornflakes and chocolate milk.
Where sunshine means running in the park
Rain means building blanket forts,
and nighttime means bedtime stories and cuddles.

I want to dress in sparkly dresses with unmatching boots,
To roll down grassy hills getting dirt in my hair
Knowing that if I fall, there will be
Someone there to pick me up, comfort me,
And stick a yellow plaster on my knee.

I want to see the world through shiny eyes
Of hope and breathless anticipation.
Where every stranger is a friend
And every day a chance to play.

I’d like to know the future will be safe and happy,
That rainbows will follow storms,
That people will be honest,
And that I’ll always have enough
To share
With the woman with sunken cheeks and lifeless eyes,
With the homeless man hunched in a rusty wheelchair,
With the grief-stricken old lady whose sad eyes follow me,
With everyone who needs a hand to hold and a shoulder to lean on
Since they’ve forgotten
How it feels
To be six.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

JUST LIFE

It’s just life
They say,
When your best friend doesn’t arrive
In time for your wedding
Saying she’ll be there
But isn’t.

It’s just life
The day he leaves town
Saying he’ll phone every day
And doesn’t.

They say
It’s just life
When your parents drift away,
Leaving hollow rooms filled with cobwebs and photos
Of ghosts and shadows
Lingering amid unshared laughter and unwept tears.

It’s just life
When the ache in your chest
Squeezes hard.
When the rent money’s due and the work’s running out
And the long nights
Choke and torment
Every minute a breathless scream for survival
In a realm of sightless eyes and empty words and naked pain.

It’s just life.
When your sight start to dim and your joints start to ache
When the grey starts to show and the days feel too long
And the void feels too great and the hole looks too deep.
It’s just life.

Then you wake up one day and open the shades
As the sun starts to rise
And a bird song rings out
Where splashes of colour paint a canvas of sky
And the day reaches out in a morning embrace
As you begin again.
And understand.
They’re right.
It’s just
Life.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

They feel so huge
My problems.
The bus is late, I lost my bag, ran out of milk, forgot to call.

Then I read
About black holes and neutron stars
Colliding
Nine million light years away.
Ripples across the Universe,
And implosions in outer galaxies.

I stand
Beneath the twisted branches of a century-old oak,
Touch the cold stone walls of a two-thousand-year-old castle
That endured the ravages of storms, wars, and weather
My shoes scuff the dust from ancient cobblestones
Worn away by kings and horse-drawn carriages.
As the cosmos eternally spins, explodes, creates, evolves

While I wait for the bus,
Search for my bag, scold myself for being careless.
And realise
My concerns
Are more microscopic than a bead of water in all the oceans of the planet
And I start to
Relax,
Let go,
And be at peace.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

INFINITY

They feel so huge
My problems.
The bus is late, I lost my bag, ran out of milk, forgot to call.

Then I read
About black holes and neutron stars
Colliding
Nine million light years away.
Ripples across the Universe,
And implosions in outer galaxies.

I stand
Beneath the twisted branches of a century-old oak,
Touch the cold stone walls of a two-thousand-year-old castle
That endured the ravages of storms, wars, and weather
My shoes scuff the dust from ancient cobblestones
Worn away by kings and horse-drawn carriages.
As the cosmos eternally spins, explodes, creates, evolves

While I wait for the bus,
Search for my bag, scold myself for being careless.
And realise
My concerns
Are more microscopic than a bead of water in all the oceans of the planet
And I start to
Relax,
Let go,
And be at peace.

https://rb.gy/frdos8

AND THE CLOUDS PARTED

In the morning it began
As the filtered sun started to fade behind veils of grey
And the horizon blurred into a pale wavering strip of fog.
It came closer. Swallowing the light. Wrapping sinister arms of darkness around the day
Until the sky was black
And thundery billows merged and hid our future.

Fear hung in the air. All was silent.
We held our collective breath waiting
For the thunder to begin,
For the threatening sighs from the earth,
For the endless nothingness that threatened to suffocate us.

And then, in a far distant spot
So far away it was hardly perceptible,
A crack of light
A sliver that grew to a wide gaping mouth that murmured hope.
A whisper that promised a new tomorrow
Where we could laugh and touch and dance and love.
And as we watched, the blackness scattered,
Fragment by fragment,
Until the glow began to spread
And the clouds parted.

https://rb.gy/frdos8