The Poetry Marathon

I rose up

and walked

away

from what I knew:

my comfort zone,

familiarity,

knowing what I had,

knowing what I

would never have.

I built my walls

and my own comfort zone,

became familiar with myself.

I have been lonely,

I have been broken,

I have felt hopeless.

But I rose

up

from my own

ashes…

I am

a phoenix.

Eve Remillard

8/13/2016

My heart carries yours

Wherever I go

And you are with me

In my prayers,

In my thoughts.

It is how I keep you

Near.

Eve Remillard

8/13/2016

Man in work shirt

weary through the shoulders

dozes on the train

as it winds and careens

through the subway.

His blue-black hands

rest folded in his lap…

what does he see behind

his closed eyes?

His wife, a lover?

His children, grandchildren?

His home, with its comforts awaiting him?

What are his thoughts as he rests

after a long day?

Does he worry about his job,

his boss, his business,

bills he needs to pay?

Does he remember the young man

he once was, with dreams

he had for himself,

now long dissolved?

The train arrives at a random stop

and he exits into the crowd

of anonymous people

to his life that awaits him…

whatever that may be.

Eve Remillard

8/13/2016

So much like me

And yet, yourself

In your own right.

Your intuitions, emotions,

Feelings, and thoughts

Are your own

But they were grown

In the garden

Of your childhood.

I tried to pull the weeds

To keep them from choking

Out the beauty of

Your mind,

Your heart,

Your soul.

But weeds have a way of

Taking root

Winding and twisting,

Pushing through the natural growth.

Your tears can wash away

The hurts, the mistrust,

The past memories,

And nurture all that is good

In your being.

You are special, cherished,

My special daughter.

I’m sorry for the baggage

You carry in your heart,

Your psyche.

We are connected in ways

Deeper than you will ever

Understand.

Eve Remillard

8/13/2016

One day, I saw my father’s mother

in the mirror,

looking back at me.

Her face the same as the

one I had seen

in pictures, but had

never seen or touched,

whose voice I had never heard.

Another day I saw my mother’s mother

in my hands

as I prepared a meal.

The same blue veins

and fingers

that I remembered holding my

little girl hands

as she told me stories

and held buttercups

under my chin.

This is how the love

of those we carry

in our hearts

never dies…

We see them

in the mirror,

in our actions,

a smile we give,

a gentle touch to another,

and they come back to us

as if they never left,

but were waiting for us

to notice them again.

Eve Remillard

8/13/2016

For sale, black leather

baby shoes,

worn, cracked, aged.

Twenty-five dollars,

found in a tourist shop

among patriotic towels,

candles and soaps,

all over-priced.

Forgotten by the buyer,

unknown by the feet

which wore them

so long ago.

Where is the man

whose mama carefully saved

to buy those shoes,

who lovingly tied them,

kissed his round face,

and held his hand

to steady his steps?

Where is the man

who loved his mama,

and smiled up at her eyes

and went on his way

in the black leather

baby shoes?

Eve Remillard

8/13/2016

Blue eyes

as distant

as the

HORIZON

I reach

to pull

you

IN CLOSE

Our hands

holding,

entwining,

GRASPING

Love and desire

you spark

in the green flame

of my EYES

I breathe

my light

into your

SOUL

My heart

beats in time with yours

the rhythm playing for you

my LOVE

Eve Remillard

8/13/2016

The end,

They say,

Is just the beginning

Of something new,

Unexplored territory

The unknown.

I used to fear

What I couldn’t see.

But now

I embrace

The tectonic shift

I feel inside my soul

Telling me

I need this change

To recreate myself

Eve Remillard

8/13/2016

Hello, I’m Eve. I am a 5th grade teacher from Massachusetts. I love words…reading them, writing them, teaching about them.

This is my second marathon. Last year’s was a lot of fun for me. I had not written a lot of poetry in years, but set that challenge for myself and achieved it. This year, the weekend of the marathon has a lot going on, but I have once again set that goal for myself, hoping to achieve. I am at that point in my life where setting goals for myself and trying to accomplish them is important to me.

I look forward to spending an all-nighter with people from all over the world again this year. One of the highlights of last year was the 2-4 a.m. window of time when everyone was really struggling and we had the ability to communicate through the Facebook group, being silly, and feeling connected through the bond of words (and no sleep!).

The key to the marathon is to have fun! I know I will be!

See you in a couple of weeks!

Eve

Sleep…

the great escape

for the mind,

body,

soul.

I dream of

faraway places,

people I love,

darkness, light,

words in my heart.

I dream the ultimate dream:

to be loved

wholly, completely.

Sleep one day

will be eternal.

But now it is

fleeting,

the dream state

the story board

for my heart,

my soul.

Eve Remillard

6/14/2015