The Poetry Marathon

In times of glee

In times of sorrow

You stuck with me

Through dawn of tomorrow

Beautiful smile

Eyes of love

Had me thinking all the while

You came from up above

To my mother

A woman so great

A superhero and friend

She is irreplaceable.

I found a road

Long and dark

With me was a heavy load

Lighting my way, not a spark

Onward I went

No turning back

Though it may be bent

I must follow track

Wanting to return

Somewhere far away

Forward I continued

Down the one way road

People in pain

They lie

Just like the rain

They cry

People who worry

Hide behind fiction

Always in a hurry

To escape a mind of friction

Whether to protect those we love

Or escape critique

Lying to those above

The situation is quite unique

So the truth is

Our voices are controlled

No matter what words are his

There’s always truth behind the lies

Today I met the grim reaper. He showed me what death was really like. He told me not to be afraid that there wasn’t a bright scary light. He started to tell me about my friends – the loved ones I would meet when I went. I wanted to go. I wanted to see them. This earth wasn’t worth it anyway. But, he grabbed my hand and stared into my eyes. He said, “Dear girl, it is not your time. Do not be ready to go for I am not ready to take you. I’ll come back for you.”

Moonlit empty coffins

Finally walk away with the stars

Peace settles at last

Another new camera

Another closed eye

One more upgrade

Outdating the mind

We trade in technology

Giving up intelligence

Got to get the next one

Patience and wit become obsolete

Power on

Charge it up

All the while

Blinding ourselves

Even More

The moon was high

So was she.

The blade was sharp

Her thoughts were violent

She mimicked them.

The blood was fading.

So was she.

She felt her spirit

Go.

She was sleeping.

She never woke.

Even in death she was alone.

Before Darkness

The sun is in the sky

Cumulous clouds cry

Rain while the wind

Whispers your name.

Before Darkness

A rainbow arches

Across the blue

With birds and

Freedom that remind

Me of you.

Before Darkness

I knew nothing

And I remember

Not who I was

Before it slept

In my soul and

Made a home

In my heart.

Before Darkness

There was no me

And there was

No you

And there was no

Day. There was

Nothing.

My words are loud

My silence louder

My tears loudest

Silence

Filled

The air

All alone

Back and Forth

Suddenly

You were gone too

The world was loud

The people louder

The pain loudest

We’re different

Yet the same

Drowned out

By hustle and bustle

Conversation was loud

Words empty

Hearts emptier

I cried for help

You cried for help

My thoughts drowned me

You were sinking too

Help me

But not a soul

Was listening.

Eyes meet across the room

Irises contracting in the light of fate

In one glance you lifted my gloom

And relieved my shoulders of all that weight

Awkward hello

A shy wave

Conversations start to flow

To your words, I became a slave

Say goodbye for tonight

“Be here next week if you can”

For farewell I did recite

Bye for now, question mark man

Meet again, we did

Closer this time

Butterflies I could not rid

But, loving him would be a crime

And I was the criminal

Arrested by my heart

A cage completely fictional

But he was such a work of art

Send me a text

We’ll talk, that’s the plan

What’ll come next

That’s up to question mark man

Turns out we are strangers

But we own the same soul

Our hearts are old friends

Who bear equal burden

One date later

We were quite smitten

But chaos bloomed

Nothing made sense

Another girl

One hard choice

Just stay friends

But for how long?

The passion died

Friendship faded

Your words cut me

I knew we were broken

But I was ok

Goodbye for now

Meet again if we can

We got lost somehow

But I’ll never forget you question mark man

Hi, my name is Hailey! I live on the east coast where I am a full time student. I am participating in the full length marathon. I currently work at a local newspaper; however, fiction is what I love the most. I am currently in the editing process of one novel and the first draft of a second. I am also working on short stories and poetry. My website will be launching soon so keep an eye out for www.sleepwalkingprose.com. I hope to learn a lot and really challenge myself throughout this process.