24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
Hi, my name is Tanya and, I was in the 2017 Poetry Marathon. I did the 24 then but I only completed 21 poems & in 2020 I did the 12. In 2021 I did the 12. This year I'll be doing 12 again. I used to write stories and poems all the time but I reached a low in life around 1992 and attempted suicide, I’m so glad I lived because I would’ve missed so much in my life no matter how good or bad; my experiences have taught me so much. I lost a fiancee in 1994 to drowning and then in 1998 I lost another one when he was hit while riding his motocycle. I have kids by both. Anyway I’ve been busy raising my kids and just trying to get back to me. I now have 4 adult kids; a son soon to be 28, who is now a stepdad and married, a soon to be 26 year old daughter who is a new mom and made me a grandmother, a 24 year old son who recently got married and doing well in his job and soon will be a daddy, and a 21 year old son with autism spectrum disorder. I myself became a new mom at 48 years old she is getting ready to turn 4 and I got married in 2020, my little girl was born 2 months early on December 17, 2018 through emergency c-section due to a placental abruption she weighed 4lbs 7ozs. She has brought such a light into my life. Thank you for letting me be involved again. I am excited every year now and can't wait for the marathon.
Hope is present in us all
A lingering whisper
Helping us gain the strength
To pick our selves up again
Things go bad
People hurt us
Loved ones die
or disappear
And that lingering whisper
Sneaks up on us
Helping us gain the strength
To once again hope.
December 17, 2018 is the day
You came into the world to stay
I didn’t know what to say
Except you’re perfect in every way
Tanya Raine West is your name
And my life has never been the same
I can’t believe you were sent to me
You are a special ray of light
In my heart you’ll always stay
Though we may fight along the way
I will always love you
Fighting to live
Living to fight
It’s relentless
Like the rubber tree plant
Standing firm never moving
Freedom always freedom
Never moving standing firm
Dying to live
Living to die
It’s relentless
Sad really, is it not
The piano wasting away
Thrown away so carelessly
Oh what music could come from it
Now it’s just a shell of what it was
What it could’ve been
Grand in its day, but left alone
Rotting, unspeakably sad
No more playing to be done
No music to be heard
Serving no purpose, no joy
Because of such a careless act
Silently she left putting the wine glass on the pavement outside the cottage
He begged her not to go and took her satchel down the road to where
She had stopped by the old oak tree
She pulled up a sunflower
Handing it to him as she grabbed the satchel and together they disappeared
Not a city person
Oh no not me
Too much noise
Too many lights
Buildings are hideous
With their metal,
concrete,
and glass
Metalcrete city
Nasty
Smelly
Loud
And just obnoxious
Too many lights
Too much noise
Oh no not me
Not a city person
My kids are my joy
Tanya Raine the youngest at 3
A little spitfire, funny, and boy can she dance
Chans Ryan 21 on the autism spectrum
He has a unique perspective on the world around him, isn’t afraid to share his views, loves his mom
Aaron Alan Michael 24 mommas boy,
stubborn, observes and pays attention, funny, big heart like his momma, has his first child on the way
Cheyenne Lynn 26 a spitfire as well, funny, big heart, strong even though she doesnt think she is, made me a grandma first
Nathan Scott 28 mommas boy to this day, funny, big heart, having a hard time with life at the moment.
They are my joy now and forever
The three looked dumbfounded
At the opened doors
Simultaneously running in
Unbeknownst to them
Simultaneously running out
This was the end
At the opened doors
The three looked dumbfounded
Lovely evening is upon me
Reds, blues, so many hues
Clouds rolling across the sky
Like waves of an ocean
Enjoying every color and hue
Forgetting the world is in chaos
How can I just stay in this moment
Freeze it and never leave
But no, the world keeps moving
And I along with it
Evening is upon me lovely
Reds, blues, too many hues
Rolling across the sky, the clouds
Waving to the ocean
I can’t explain what I felt
But it was real
You didn’t want to know
It was hard not letting it show
I cared right from the start
Things just seemed to keep us apart
I was so full of shame
Wishing you felt the same
Thoughts of you were never far
I never knew loneliness till you
And I didn’t know what to do
Saying goodbye was best for you