DS Coremans is the lead writer, editor, and founder of the creative writing website Forever Distracted By Life established in 2014. Works of poetry and short-fiction by DS Coremans have been published in several print and online publications including the annual Poetry Marathon Anthology (2019-22); The Lockdown Writing Initiative 2021 Collection and, in the online literary magazine The Pine Cone Review.
The girl in red slayed the wolf.
The wolf never stood a chance.
He took her for a complete fool
but she taught him how to dance.
He raced her to her Grannies’ hoose,
he kicked Granny out of bed.
Granny’s teeth fell out as she tried to shout
as the wolf locked her in the shed.
He quickly pulled her goonie on
and donned her bonnet too.
Her polished glasses were far too strong,
he couldnae hae seen a coo.
When the girl arrived,
the wolf tried to hide,
under covers which were far too tight,
as the girl turned oan the big room light.
She put her hooded cloak upon the chair,
the wolf leapt out but hit the flair;
the covers wrapped right roond his knees
he fell so hard he squashed his fleas.
The girl she scruffed him by the neck
said, ‘haw, don’t chance it, am a vet.’
You want tae keep they family jewels,
then goan stoap acting like such a tool.
She threw that wolf right oot the back
and telt him tae bolt and pretty fast,
the sheep next door saw everything
when the wolf comes back they laugh at him.
The girl went searching for her Granny
who was hollering about her wallies.
The girl got her Granny back to bed,
and that’s why the girl always wears red.
The year of pain brought me to where I am.
Losing my job, starting over again,
falling on holiday, breaking my arm,
breaking my heart when love finally ends.
There is no doubt that all of this was tough
but they were just droplets in the pond.
When mum died, I came to understand loss;
this forever changed the path I was on.
I am coming to terms with where I am
but there are still some things I have to learn.
Until I learn I do all that I can
hoping to find a truth I can discern.
Knowing you taught me to see the divine.
Knowing the future you gave me is mine.
Has it really been two years
since I last saw you all together?
I would have been of my greatest fears,
has it really been two years?
Had I known I’d have shed tears;
but now, it’s nothing we cannot weather.
But, has it really been two years
since I last saw you all together.
Toothy was a friendly shark
he liked to help his friends
and play with them in the park.
Toothy was scared of the dark
but his friend the glow-fish helps
because Toothy was a friendly shark.
Always down for such a lark,
his friends can always depend
on Toothy to play in the park.
A wary dogfish started to bark
but Toothy tickled his chin.
Toothy was a friendly shark.
Toothy had a friendly heart
and his friends saw past his skin
and played with him in the park.
Toothy could swim like a dart;
he liked to take his friends on rides
because his friends were Toothy’s pride.
Toothy was a friendly shark
who played with his friends in the park.
Free Verse (Monettian) – In a Belgian Kitchen Cupboard
I REMEMBER the food on that trip
not the trip itself not the beaches
or the sand no I REMEMBER the late night
tip-toe reaches into the kitchen cupboard
to get to the hidden marshmallow fluff
that sticky white sugar crash waiting
to happen I REMEMBER a mountain of
waffles and syrup not the bird in the cage
in the corner or the man of such a great age
who regaled my parents with tales of their
parents who never shared the stories
they thought it best to keep hidden away
no I was amazed that the man of great age
could work in the haze of heat that came
from the ancient waffle iron that he used
to build up that mountain which had all of
my attention that day and days to come
I dreamed of those waffles and syrup and
cream, not my favourite thing but plenty
enough eaten anyway I REMEMBER
the fish-bone which stuck in my throat
while I was alone and I panicked and moaned
until Dad slapped me on the back a welcome
attack but one which left me scarred afraid
mistakes were made but never again no
nothing with fins would ever pass my lips
no not after that I REMEMBER the chips
slathered in mayonnaise late at night
by the sea as the sun sets getting lower
and lower until it sinks in entirety into the sea
no not the sea into infinite but just until
tomorrow when we would see it again
when we walked along the sand hand in hand
with ice-cream cones so soft and cold and white
and delicious delicious ice-cream it helped me
to REMEMBER to remember to REMEMBER
those days before now those days
so far away from here from where I am
now where nothing ever tastes
quite the same as I used to REMEMBER
You both would have been the kind to sit
down together your rest, your only reward,
when you had done all that you could not to quit.
When life had delivered the hardest of hits
you were not the type to plead to your Lord;
you both would have been the kind to sit
together until you had a plan, and that is it
the way you intended on moving ever forward
when you had done all that you could not to quit.
You walked together on a path that was not lit
but you never lost your way or failed to take record
as you both would have been the kind to sit
…and wait, together
You both avoided along the way each trap and pit
as you tied together all you loved with your familial cord
when you were doing all you could not to quit,
because you shared your time together like a precious gift
accepting only what you had, without ever getting bored.
You, who were both of a kind that liked to sit, together
as reward for doing all that you had and never quit.
They were
together, then
life separated them
but even now their love endures
and grows.
Senryu – Love
Love was their answer
any questions asked in life
only one answer.
Triolet – Together
They chose to be together
because their love was strong
They stood strong in any weather
They chose to stand together.
Their earthly bond was severed
but their love goes on and on.
They chose to be together
because their love was strong.
Haiku – The Leaves That Leave
Do trees love their leaves
even when they cast them off?
Do trees remember?
Do not cry my love, I miss you too, you know that I
have never once doubted that I will see you love
another as much as your have them, for me. You
are my pride, he remains my joy and my hope to
find you when it is time will never dwindle on the
path towards a future which is hidden from the moon.
My love is weary, but I know that he tries for you and
my patience will continue to test and hold back
the tears I save for when I see you all again.
Until then my love, I love you the moon and back again.
Don’t cry,
share your sorrow;
give yourself time to grieve
then hold them deeply within your heart
and soul.
Senryu – Growth
Bodies turned to ash
have let their spirit move on
so that they can grow.
Triolet – Nothing to Say
I didn’t have the heart to say goodbye
because I knew you would never leave me.
You were always there to keep our eyes dry
and I didn’t have the heart to say goodbye.
To think of you as gone still feels like a lie,
which offers none of us any real reprieve.
So, I didn’t have the heart to say goodbye
because I knew that you would never leave.
Haiku – Fire
Fire doesn’t burn
to destroy but to provide
heat and energy.
