24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
Homeless
Adrift, I wandered seas of grass, across the
uninhabited places, a desolate and forlorn land.
Where I was destined, bound for, no one knows,
compelled only to rid myself of thoughts of you,
a task at which I persistently failed. Even
now, years later, when hope has fled, when
your face recedes slowly from my memory, you
linger in the corners of my heart. There you are,
in your own cozy home, and I? I remain lost.
There is a journey
Not a path I chose
But a life chosen for me
I was given an opportunity
A chance to love hopelessly
To take the journey of difficulty
One day I met you
That first day I met you
That’s when it all started
I didn’t know you
I had never met you
But I knew God has a huge design for your life
You were chosen for something greater
I was chosen
And didn’t even know it
To be part of that grand design
I got so lost in chasing it
I got so focused on being there for you
That we fell when we thought we could fly
We decided to spread our wings
We decided to jump from the nest
Everyone was cheering us on
Telling us it was time
Telling us this was supposed to be
So
We jumped
We spread our wings
And began to fall
We weren’t ready
It wasn’t time
We just saw how happy they were
How happy it would make them to just jump
We were stupid
When we finally hit the ground
We were more broken than ever before
We picked up what was left of us
We put our heads up tall
And as friends
We shook hands
and knew together
we could be no longer
I was sad
Depression overflowing out of every fiber of my being
We were both alone
We were both apart
We both gave up
As time went on God allowed us to grow new feathers
We lost the old
He renewed our strength
He revised our minds
That did not mean the journey was over
That did not mean the journey was easier
He simply began to equip us
Our wings had grown
And now they are fully equipped
This time we aren’t falling
This time we aren’t hurting
We look at each other
We are together
Hand in hand
Hearts together
Our time is now
Our lives intertwined
Like a grape vine
After being pruned
Green and beautiful
Completely intertwined with one another
Ready to take flight
We look in each others eyes
We spread our wings full span
And now
We are diving off the tallest mountain
We are doing it together
It is time
Time to fly
Our journey isn’t over
Our journey is just beginning!
“The land knows you, even when you are lost.”
Rich and Raw Unblemished and pure Wild and free Mother Nature The earth runs in my veins her soil feeds my hunger affinity divine kinship and familiarity, You give unto me. Nurture so sublime. A perfect balance Harmony of a kind You provide We thrive upon your providence. Sustenance dependence Mother nature is the gift that keeps giving, -Janice Raquela Mendonca
(2nd attempt at Half Marathon)
It was Elton who said you were back,
Not quite with the same polished,
Eight letters that might confuse some
Into thinking you had class.
Bill S. came much closer,
But Bill was always classy
In that we think we understand
What he was talking about.
At first, we spoke pejoratively
But behind your every slanted glance
Hid perhaps an attempt at courage
That another had robbed you of.
Cheers to you then, you shrewd,
Manipulative excuse for a role model.
We saw your filtered Insta story
And we think we’d rather admire from here.
I stand upon a barren ground.
It’s time to start anew.
I’ve never walked this path alone.
I’m not sure what to do.
The past is gone, and it’s unknown
just what the future holds.
With courage I must carry on.
I must be strong and bold.
I see scorched earth
at every turn.
As tears run down my cheeks.
But I can’t let myself give up
or give in to feeling week.
I’m thirsty for a drop of grace
and hungry for some sweet.
But I steady myself and forge ahead
upon my own two feet.
I know that I can survive this.
I’ve survived so much before.
And though this is the worst so far,
there are better days in store.
I walk through the wasteland of my past
and gaze up at blue sky.
I feel the hope within me grow
and hold my head up high.
The world’s largest open-air factory
The cornfields that sent us to space
The ethanol that is virtually useless
The prairie grass that choked out the trees
The vast grand stretches of nothing
The towns that pepper the waste
The green and the blue in the summer
The grey in the winter and dawn
The clouds that inch towards the earth
The horizon precisely defined
The vortex the Ancients called gods
The storm cells and the splendor of rain
The cities that mimic the mountains
The drawl that unites all the tribes
The dust stirred up during harvest
The endless expanse of the sky
The little green leaves of the soybeans
The liquor that passes the time
The old stone shops of downtown
The farmhouses that sprout between crops
The machines that keep it all running
The floodlights that blot out the stars
The fires that burn up the stalks
The silos that sparkle with rust
The flat that slowly creeps skyward
and grows to knee-high by July
The land knows you, even when you are lost.
Ignorance of the land comes at much too high a cost.
When your feet leave the trodden path
Follow the signs, or face its wrath.
The wind blows with a slurry of tempo
Through the trees, dropping leaves below
Like meeting people who breeze into your life
Who, in leaving, cut your soul like a knife.
The birds bring song that floats in the air
Flying so high with nary a care.
Life can bring music that touches your soul
Raising you up to reach your goals.
Tiny animals scurry and scamper about
Finding nourishment, for which they scout.
Friends bring sustenance for your body and mind
You return the gift in a similar kind.
Nature and life have two comparable trials
If you follow the path, it can take you miles.
The land knows you,
even when you are lost.
For lost is only in your mind,
you are here …
never to fear …
The spirit within is you,
it is never lost.
For truth is, you are God,
creating from thought,
the truth you sought.
The land knows –
You -were born of it
womb from loin
fire burns, ashes lay
blackened darkness
Even- when you are lost
stop to listen
the land – knows you
seeds buried deep
sow, what you intend to reap
tears- like water flow
tis not the only way, to grow
know, you. Are not alone.
Even – when you
are lost.
Amanda Potter©: 2019 Poetry Marathon
“The land knows you,
even when you are lost”
The soft imprint of your foot
in the malleable ground, shows
exactly where you’ve been.
The weathered trail shows hints
of each person who has passed over it,
a faint trace of unhampered moments
spent connecting with the self and the world
Rays of sun or flakes of snow,
each reminds your body of a day
a feeling, a person
the walk just outside home
bears marks of your footprints,
knows you,
expects you.
The natural world embraces you
in a way people never could
and even if you think you are
dislodged or out of place,
when you are with nature you are more
at home than you’ve ever been.