The Poetry Marathon

When we feel old
the years have drifted
without us

This is not in “The Bop” style, as the Official Prompt suggests; but it does discuss many current world problems. So, I hope this may suffice. {Potential Trigger Warning!!}

THE HUMAN CHASE – By: H.J / author H.J ©️

They only love me when I’m beaming,
only love me when I’m strong;
they only love me when I am standing on equal sides of wrong.

They will hate me for my lover and they’ll hate me for my voice;
They’ll hate me for my body,
for my peace
and for my choice.

To be up before the sun
To see the dawn of day
To wade in the murky sea of night
To watch it dry away

To sketch the silhouettes of trees
To paint the gradient sky
To be up before the sun
To see the stars outshined

Been a long, hard day
feel like I’m about to
drop where I stand

The jobs been tough
And normally I pull
through without a scratch
But tonight was the pits

Shoes are off
the bath has been drawn
steamy and fragrant
with peaches thrown
in

The fires been stoked
and banked
the lights are down low
A little bit of music on
softly

The snow’s raging outside
angry and churning
demanding someone listen to it
but I pay it no mind

A book to leaf through
before a long soak
While I take in the
near silence

No demands on my time
nothing else I’d rather do
off for the next three days

My recipe for a perfect
night.

I have watched you from a distance

have loved you from that same distance

My heart cries out for your love

Cries out for your touch, your caress

I see you with others and I cringe

I see you love others and I flinch

Please love me too

I need to be loved by you

I need you to look at me with that peculiar glint in your eye

That look of affection you give others

Please love me

Please set my heart afire

Set me aglow

Set me a lit

Please love Me

As a woman longs to be loved

Love me as one you’ll cherish, forever

Please love me

Home lies far away, in a land I saw once,

tired, dizzy, no sleep on a plane alone,

first Continental visit, mind whirling,

heart pounding, and yet when I stepped down

and looked, there was a beginning,

and fear was there, yes, but hope.

and I stepped down, coming home

to a place I’d never been before.

_______________________________________________________________

{Sorrow is my saviour}      

Sorrow is my saviour

Unlike your cold behaviour

At least I can feel my pain

But you are once removed

Emotionally unavailable

and already out the door

That’s what I get for ignoring red flags….!

No more will I fill your void

That great gaping hollow

Which screams to be filled

With bits of the other

Bitten off in chunks

And devoured with relish

I became your receptacle

Where you dumped your baggage

That’s what I get for ignoring red flags….!

Well, I have emptied the bin

Your rubbish has gone to the dump

I’ve gone and washed my hands of you

Sanitised and disinfected

There’s no more harm you can do

You’re out of my life, you’ve been rejected.

That’s what I get for ignoring red flags….!

The country is burning

Brown skin a death sentence

Children locked in cages

No justice for the wronged

Fascists in power

Simple-minded individuals screaming about masks

And you ask me if I’m okay.

Citizens angry for all the wrong reasons

Racism bubbling over

Ignorance is a flavor they’re too comfortable with

Misinterpreting the bible

Highlighting history to justify their hatefulness

Know when to play the victim

Beliefs not their own

Hate in their bones

And you ask me if I’m okay.

In the middle of a pandemic, we fracture and crack

We argue over who is allowed to be murdered

You choose a job over another humans life

You purposefully choose not to save others

Masks are uncomfortable but you’re okay with murder

And you cling onto your hatred colored morals for dear life

And you ask me if I’m okay.

I can hear her voice now
the cadence, the shape, the brilliance and power
Of her words.
I remember the first time I saw her speak
and thinking, she is my forever hero.
(I will later introduce myself
In awkward, gushing fan struck style
which she will graciously and with abundant humor and humility
accept in stride)

How she walks upon this land
tilling soil
growing rice and hemp and faith
Defending her home
Speaking out, showing up
through hours and years
Of procedural hearings
Against those who would profit by devouring water and land
with their sickness of consumption,
while all the time raising her children
in power and love.
I am proud to say I have sat at the table with this amazing
and most courageous woman.
Honor the Earth,
Indeed.

Lathering at the sides of your mouth,

your tongue curled at the tip, you’d smile and let out a half bark.

Black and white collie/shepherd,

you were a soft mass of long fur.

Always excited to see us, you’d run up,

cry out in dog laughter:  “Hello.  Glad you’re home.”

You’d jump upon me, loving me, lapping my face with your kisses.

Those darn claws had to be clipped.

Your big body could not grip the stairs.

When we’d leave you down in the basement, your tears welled with saliva

as you’d look up to us saying:  “I love you.  I love you.”

Waiting for our return, trying to get up the stairs, the door locked,

your hind legs giving in…

you’d hear the key turn and smell us.

“I’m down here!  Come and get me!  I love you!  I love you!”