My Rock
Blue sky’s cast cloudy
shadows on the concrete
that is your love. My rock.
Ladder to Heaven
Reaching, pulling..always
pushing myself to go farther, but never getting anywhere.
I am climbing this ladder, Continuously all night
The moon, so bold, it’s full tonight I cannot
Stop! I say to myself
But I can’t…Why am I doing this?
Is it for glory, this journey I am climbing?
Fame never interested
Someone like me, who always knew brains
Took you places and allowed you to
Meet people, that beauty never could
I am reaching over the debris of
Forgotten dreams and painful memories…
Though Panic grabs a hold of my legs
In the form of self-doubt and people
Telling me that I can’t do it
I won’t keep reaching
For the sky…
I’m pushing myself past my limits, working
My body, my mind, my spirit
Like I’ve never done before!
This fucking ladder, it won’t end, it’s
3 am and still I’m climbing I know I’m sleepin’
But I can’t stop reachin’, for the next bar, and the next
And the next…I can feel my heart
Pounding against my breastbone, I am
Not going to make it.
I looked down by accident, what the hell was I thinking?
I had broken free of the haters, conquered my
self-doubt..or so I thought.
And then, I looked down.
I can see the broken liquor bottles
On the sand by the Lake down below
I’ve come so far from where I started
And now, it frightens me
To see how far I’ve come.
Heights never bothered me before,
So I’m unsure why they are starting now
That it is my own past trials and tribulations
I stare down at that want to spark fear in me.
I look away from my down below, from my past and
Take a deep breath. I focus on what is
In front of me, I can smell the sweet rust of the iron
Nearly taste the bitter salty sea air
And feel the cold of the ladder
Under my numb hands…
I say the prayer that has gotten me through times
Worse than this, “The Lord is My Shepherd, I
Shall not want” and suddenly, my purpose becomes clear again.
I keep pulling, keep reaching, and suddenly…YES!
I’ve made it! My fingers touch thick leaves
I pull myself into a grove of trees
Filled with every fruit imaginable and
Some never before seen.
There is a golden light, I
Cannot see its source, but
It bathes me and every living creature around me
Butterflies settle on my nose and on my back
My grandmother waves to me from the pond side
Where she soaks her feet in the still water there.
I take one delectable-looking fruit from the tree nearest me,
Look at the God in heaven for permission first.
He nods His approval, and I take a bite.
No, it was not from the Tree of Knowledge
As I’ve never been here before so I am unsure what
Any of these trees are supposed to symbolize.
But later I find out that it’s from
The Tree of Triumph..He’s seen me struggle and overcome
And He is telling me
To rest easy. Now and Always.
Missing
I remember the cold dreary day in the begging of December when I was told you were gone. You left us. On your own accord. Just like that. you. were. gone.
You left us. On your own accord. Just like that.
On your own accord. Just like that.
Just like that.
you. were. gone.
I didnt think it was true, I didnt want to beleive it, I refused to. the news knocked the wind out of me
the news knocked the wind out of me
I remember every detail of that day
the ice that fell made the pipes freeze and I couldnt wash my scrubs
I needed to wash my scrubs, I needed to wash something, to occupy myself
to do something
other than to think about you being gone
I sat on the couch and watched the TV about Berts Bees
I know the TV was talking but all I could hear was our last conversation
and how you were doing better
just days before
you were okay
and now
now you were gone
and all I could do was sit and watch the ice fall from the sky
Prompt 13
Hunger
Each casino
has a special hunger,
an acquired taste.
This hunger runs deep
for more than money,
which has no value.
One may devour cars,
spitting metal chunks
into the desert.
One may drink souls,
leaving empties
at its bars.
Flee the casino
where the elevators
smile as they open.
©Ardelle Hollis Ray
Dance and Sword
An evening full of shower
A girl’s coming out
The music got slower
As she stepped out
The lad moved about
Trying to sneak a peak
The girl stayed hidden
No features of her leak
A collective gasp sounded
As she came in full view
There was a scramble
Every song introduced someone new
She danced all night
All night she twirled
She followed every ritual
She posed in her frills
As the night ended
She thanked her partner
And eagerly got back
She donned her armour
The sword gleamed in her hand
As she swished it around
The night came to full end
With her last deathly dance round
All the girls out there who would rather kill then love, say Woohoo!!
Missing
I’ve gone missing
have you seen me?
my pictures are everywhere
placed on milk cartons
my family and friends, they care
I’ve gone missing
have you seen me?
did i just run away
or was i abducted,
in a ghastly way.
i’ve gone missing
have you seen me?
my pictures on the TV
they haven’t found my body yet
my families cries still relevant
I am missing
have you seen me?
©2016 Amanda Potter
The last pursuit
She has almost catch up on him a few minutes ago
Before that corner – before reaching a passage linking the KLCC and the LRT
He strode through the crowd like there’s no tomorrow
Making her at her ends, trying to catch up on him
Unlike him, she didn’t possess the same strength he had
Making it tireless for her to fought the crowds marching from the opposite direction
Not far from a second to minutes, she lost him forever once he rode the last train to the future.
Missing
Her cries go unheard
she wails to the night sky,
alone and cold
Where’s mama?
Too small to bear witness
Too young to talk
left to fend for herself
against the elements
she wails at the moon
no one hears
a barren land, she’s left
helpless
Where’s mama?
Baby? Baby where are you?
I can’t hear you! make a sound, please
I can’t find you, though I too am lost
Baby?! Where’s my baby? I am breathless
No one can find me, I can’t find her.
It was to be a short trip, a few days away
a break from life, some relaxation
What happened to me? What happened to her?
Where’s my little girl?! Where are you?
Where am I?
Silent screams
no one hears
her voice carried off into the nothing, on the wind
13
She was afraid she wasn’t good enough
He was afraid she wasn’t good enough
He was afraid he wasn’t good enough
She was afraid he wasn’t good enough
He is afraid she isn’t good enough
He is afraid he isn’t good enough
She is afraid she isn’t good enough
She is afraid he isn’t good enough
She will be afraid she isn’t good enough
She will be afraid he isn’t good enough
He is afraid she won’t be good enough
He is afraid he won’t be good enough
She has been afraid she isn’t good enough
He is afraid he has not been good enough
She will have been afraid she isn’t good enough
He is afraid she will have always been good enough
Murphy’s Cave
Murphy’s Cave
May 10, 1967
Three boys went in
Exploring for treasure
Searching for snakes
And rocks
And bugs
And all those things
Boys like to search for
Inside creepy old caves
May 10, 1967
Three boys went in
With shovels and
Flashlights
And a science kit
Searching for an adventure
Three boys who weren’t
Supposed to leave their yards
That night
But
They had to follow
The darkness
Into
Murphy’s Cave
May 10, 1967
Three boys followed the
Path into
Murphy’s Cave
Three boys never returned.