Sample poems from each chapter...

 

To LOVE

— He was always thoughtful and affectionate toward her, 

and so she was a sweetheart to him. —

 

IN LOVE WITH YOU

 

I am falling in love with you,

but I can’t say a word.

You don’t care for love.

It has bruised you, broken you, burned you.

You call it a curse. Yet I fear I am captive of this enemy, love.

 

You warn of its destructive power.

Oh, but it warms me like none other! It engulfs me in caressing flames, and foolishly I crave more. I can’t bear to suffer the cold, so I let you feed the fire unwittingly.

 

I am falling in love with you.

I am in love with you,

and it’s getting worse.

 

____________________________________________________________

To LOATHE

— He was a volcano that spewed only ashes and destruction, 

and they despised him for that lying tongue.—

 

HOW I FELT

 

I’ve longed to tell you, darling, how I felt

Throughout the many years we spent as one.

Five thousand days in tented homes we dwelt,

Two thousand more were spent under the sun.

 

O’er rugged trails and through red pines we hiked.

Beneath the watchful stars we made our bed.

You picked for me the blue-eyed grass you liked,

To weave a tangled crown upon my head.

 

A great deluge of days spent on the lake

Concluded with fish shriveled o’er the fire.

On moonless nights, advantage you would take 

Of evening swims in birthday-suit attire. 

 

For years our home was nature’s habitat.

How sad you never knew I hated that.

____________________________________________________________

To LAUGH

— How sweetly delirious is the tinkling and trilling of mirth 

that draws to its sound the friendliest hearts. —

 

 

LAUGHTER’S FATE

 

Where does our laughter travel to?

Does it search out monkeys in the zoo?

Or settle on the heart like dew?

Or cling to lip-glossed smiles on me and you?

 

Does it hang around throughout the day?

Or spread its wings and fly away?

Or gather-in like puffy clouds of gray?

Perhaps it hooks a rainbow’s end

And melts to make the colors blend.

Or paints a happy face upon a friend.

 

Does it turn to stardust when it’s late?

Or in a windstorm, circulate?

Or does it simply fade and dissipate?

What is our laughter’s merrymaking fate?

____________________________________________________________

To LAMENT

— The weight of my grief in the depth of sorrows rivals 

the bliss of our love at the height of past joys. —

 

 

THE SOFTNESS

 

There is a softness in my breast. Deep beneath the skin.

There is a softness that stirs at the stories you tell.

A hardship you confess.

An abuse.

A fear.

 

My cheeks swell up as the softness melts to liquid.

It rises and pools until a portion spills from my eyes.

A confrontation you confess.

A battle.

A risk.

 

I hold my breath as the softness turns to tissue paper.

A portion of it is torn to shreds.

An influence you confess.

An angel.

An ally.

 

My heart starts as the softness turns to hope.

It forms a prayer, and a portion of it wafts from my lips.

An escape you confess.

A sanctuary.

A law.

 

The softness that remains congeals like gelatin, sensitive but secure.

I am relieved.

There is a softness in my breast. Deep beneath the skin.

There is a softness that stirs at the stories you tell.

 

 

FLEETING NATURE OF

 

Grief

Heavy, Harsh

Aching, Agonizing, Afflicting

Worry, Work, Rest, Relief

Calming, Comforting, Curing

Silent, Soft

Peace

 

____________________________________________________________

To LABOR

— Rewards live at the far edge of honest sweat, heavy toil, 

and dogged determination. —

 

ON WORE THE DAYS

 

On wore the days.

Sunlight, hot and taxing,

Never easing a scorching ray.

To prove and strengthen,

On and on wore the days.

 

Serpentine trails

Rotate hill after hill

As the vigorous sun beats down.

To feel and endure,

On and on wore the days.

 

 

Under high watch,

Progress surveyed and logged.

Footprints pounded into the sand.

To want and humble,

On and on and on wore the days. 

____________________________________________________________

To LAZE

— I pondered the day away at the changing shapes of 

passing clouds, lazing in the shade of palm trees. —

 

 

UNDER THE WILLOW TREE

 

Sit down

Under the weeping willow

Where the grass is a welcoming cushion.

 

Lean back

Against its heavy tree trunk

Where the wood stem is a sturdy backrest.

 

Relax

Behind its drooping branches

Where the vines are a concealing curtain.

 

Drift off

Amid an afternoon breeze

Where the winds are nature’s lulling whispers.

____________________________________________________________

To LIVE

— There are more books than can be read, 

more friends than can be made, more laughs than 

can be chortled, and no time to waste. —

 

 

TO LIVE ONE’S LIFE

 

I’ve found that the best way to live one’s life

Is above the fog of negative thought,

With gossiping lips outside of earshot,

Keeping harsh criticism far less rife.

 

I’ve found that the best way to avoid strife

Is by sharing with others who have not,

Seeing the good, speaking kindness a lot,

Burying hatchets as well as sharp knives.

 

Every compassionate deed we have sown

Lifts a heavy burden from a brother.

Each positive thought and comment we own

Extends joy and love to one another.

Life was not meant to be traveled alone.

It is where we learn we need each other.

 

 

 

MY FRIENDS

 

My life is enhanced

By kind and supportive friends

Whom I trust and love.

____________________________________________________________

             Copyright 2023 Richelle E. Goodrich