Introduction
This is a collection of extremely flowery and sappy, sometimes funny, words penned in the emotional and untempered flush of my youth. Finding these is the digital equivalent of rediscovering an old shoe box of memories under the bed, dusting them off, and stepping back in time. And then your eyes going wide, your face turning red with embarrassment and exclaiming, “Oh my goodness, I can’t believe I wrote this!”
I wrote most of these within the space of about three or four years in high school and university. Some are inspiredy real life, friends and people. Some are just figments of creative imagination.
Why Publish This?
It’s a window in time, a chance to experience the emotional turbulence of one’s first forays into the real world. Perhaps some of the things I have written will tug a heartstring. Maybe one will make you think. Maybe a couple will make you chuckle, if not by intention at least when you think WTF and leave you laughing. Don’t worry, no need to take it seriously. I don’t claim any great skill or design.
Also on that note, I tend not to follow rules of poetry very well. Because I hate rules. Silly things that get in the way when I don’t want them too. Also, I never trained in writing poetry, so I don’t know the rules. Perhaps it’s something I should look into.
Poetry
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7
Part 1
- Uniquely Exquisite
- A Path Through Flowers
- Dear Fire
- Dear Rain
- It Takes Only A Second To Say Goodbye…
- Bonds in Time
- The Lights
- A Gift of Flowers
- Candy Cane
Uniquely Exquisite
A crystal ball with a star inside
A million unique snowflakes sparkling within the jewel
The light now white, now red, now blue
So mesmerizing, so captivating, so beautiful
A Path Through Flowers
Tread softly amongst the lilies
We begin anew
Soft tender petals encased in ice
A rose in the snow blooms cold and bright
Dear Fire
Flame so bright and hot,
Tell me a story, happy or not.
Of love of hope, sorrow or pain.
The sight of you is never the same.
With each little flicker and wave,
Memories ignite, these I crave.
You hold me, captured by a single eye.
Tell me a story and let my heart fly.
Dear Rain
Wash the world free
Caress ever so gently
Pitter patter and play
Dance, with me stay
Eclipse the tears on my face
I take comfort in your cool embrace
It Takes Only A Second To Say Goodbye…
It takes only a second to say goodbye.
A word, a wave, maybe a last glance back,
Then that’s all there is, the end of the song.
A courageous friend, a lifetime lover,
A younger brother, an older sister,
Wise parents grudgingly loved, grandparents that spoiled you.
Tears may fall, hugs may ensue.
As you walk off alone,
Memories will come flooding back.
A good feeling, a warm light in the back of your mind.
Laughter and love, good times but never the bad,
A smile.
The day you first met, meeting them anew every day.
Learning from them and teaching them too.
Exploring their minds and hearts,
Tentatively at first, but interest growing until
You have an appetite for it that can’t be satiated.
Each new experience is a learning one.
People change constantly so there is always something new,
Something fresh to share, so you can never wait to tell,
But not before you have asked about them.
Your new ideas and old ones, your respect for theirs,
Your experiences and memories, your love and support,
These are the currencies of friendship.
Sunset walks through orange wheat fields, shared jokes,
Late night conversations about everything, shared secrets.
A thrilling escapade,
The terror of a scary moment enhanced
By grateful relief finding yourself safe in their protection.
Recall faint brushes of their finger tips as you drifted asleep.
That look of understanding lighting their eyes
When you are surrounded by doubters and those that don’t,
An ally in hostile or unfamiliar territory.
As your footsteps lead away you remember.
How your footsteps once climbed the road of life together.
Loyalty never mistaken, hands taken,
The strength of your grasp of each other.
Remember the school-yard bully bearing down on them,
Or how you were there when disaster struck,
And how you said ‘together we stand and together we fall’,
And stood there ready to fight by their side.
But most of all you remember how you could sit next to each other
On that worn wooden bench on the porch,
On the warm grass under the summer sun while buzzing bees alighted the flowers,
On the couch in absolute darkness when the conversation lulled
Dark because the sun has set since you started and
You were too comfortable to rise and turn on a light,
On the sidelines after the game finished, win or loss
You didn’t have to say a word,
Neither did they.
There you sat, accompanied only by the sounds of nature,
Together, and you shared
The enjoyment of simply being there with them.
You remember that wonderful feeling
Because as you walk on and,
Even when you can no longer perfectly recall the details,
In your heart,
They are still walking along beside you.
It takes only a second to say goodbye,
But it takes a lifetime to say hello.
Bonds in Time
Sunny skies come and go
Seasons blend and pass
Yet still our bond does last
The Lights
The stars humble us.
Without them, we cannot
Feel that we are a part
Of a greater universe.
With our lights, our street lamps
Our giant skyscrapers,
Spears of brightness
Driving into the night sky,
Our universe shrinks,
Our ego expands unreasonably,
Arrogance breeds selfishness.
Without the stars, we cannot see,
The Earth we poison beneath our feet
The lights of Advancement
Blind us all.
A Gift of Flowers
On a wooden windowsill cracked and worn and blanketed with dust
They rest elegantly in a used wine bottle.
The Toscano Bianco label bears a yellow vineyard,
The glass top shattered, sharp edges remain.
Careful, don’t cut yourself.
Morning light cascades through the emerald glass,
Stems now immersed in an Amazonian feel.
The leaves are all alike with diversity and distinctiveness.
Some pale, some dark, some with yellowish undersides,
Some are long and narrow, others short and round,
Some just in-between but all are hues of green,
All with exquisitely minuscule veins flowing
Like eight million tiny rivers
Filled with water, sunlight, and life.
Petals like undulating silk dyed snowy white,
Rich and brilliant pink next to a lighter one of the same.
The inside of each decorated with a spattering
Of speckles of red and dapples of maroon.
Motes the shades of blood, earth, and lemon sherbet
Float atop streaks of white,
As if living fireworks had exploded
From the center of each and is now held
In a magical stillness.
Some are bound tightly and hard in their sticky shells,
Others have begun to split and taste the moist breeze.
Many have burst out in a dazzling display
That astounds with wonder and excitement,
And we are washed over with a feeling of enchantment,
Of vibrant life in a scene of such magnificence
That the human imagination and manmade creation
Could never do it justice.
We marvel at how nature has graced the world
With these flowers of beauty.
Each day when the curtains open to the morning rays,
And the melody of bubbling laughter
Plucks a tune on the strings of the fresh wind,
These flowers will perk with a renewed energy.
The classic happiness that is dear _____ ,
The radiant smile on _________ ’s ruby lips,
The welcome hospitality friends find in their home,
Their love and beauty, all will sustain these spring blossoms
That we have picked in appreciation
Of their friendship.
Candy Cane
In a swirl of candy shaped like a cane,
Red follows white follows red in a train.
Have Christmas without it you couldn’t feign,
For your life would become immensely plain.
Deprived we go depraved, simply go insane.
One taste and it goes straight to my brain,
I feel energized like the great Tamerlaine.
My thirst for that sweet twist shall never wane,
It is also a favorite of my great dane.
This poem is really quite inane.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7