Follow the crowd
Annoying as it is
Knowing what you say
Isn’t you
Nor has it ever been.
Great lies make up a world.
I wish for
Something real
Plastered smiles,
Authenticity’s eulogy
Illuminates
Necessity

Follow the crowd
Annoying as it is
Knowing what you say
Isn’t you
Nor has it ever been.
Great lies make up a world.
I wish for
Something real
Plastered smiles,
Authenticity’s eulogy
Illuminates
Necessity

The comfort in knowing
All is well
And will be well
The security felt
When a sound
Divulges its character
The overwhelming joy that
Echoes through the room
At a ridiculous story
The calm you keep
Close to the chest
Knowing your needs are met
The common conversations
That you simply
Must absorb in your mind
The familiar scent
Of a home
So loved
you get in the car
your glance rips
from familiarity
each mile
unnaturally separating
The love
The struggle
The pain
The growth
The peace
The memories you crafted fade
As the path ahead expands
You know you must
Commence
You tremble
But trek onwards
Hoping for greatness
Cautioned towards aversiveness
No easier to swallow
The tears well up
As you are reminded of what you had
Friends
Remembrances
Home
Family
Even so,
Being apart
Shows how well off
You were
And still are
They have given you this gift
To separate from the world they made
And form a new one.

I saw the stars this morning
The sun had not yet climbed the shingled roofs
Nor surmounted the plumes of smoke
Produced by the slumbering city
Each a fleck of twinkling perfection
My eyes gleamed alongside them
In a vast gift
A sight to behold
These gems of the sky are deceptive
They hide their torment
The destruction that defines their state
They are dead and dying.
That which is beautiful
Is temporary
Breathe in the expanse
The comforting peace
This quiet morning
For it is not forever
Although we wish it to be
There will be a last
Air leaves the lungs
Carrying the soul in its glow
These precious stars shine
Despite their fate
Despite their circumstance
Do not grieve
Let the feeling linger
Let the light bathe you
Do not taint it with sadness
For it happened
It was wonderful
I saw the stars this morning
And it was wonderful.

I feel your presence beside me
On the frigid, unforgiving Earth
On the lonely wooden park bench
On the gentle bed we shared
I hear your voice
In the corridor you passed
In the kitchen you cherished
In the doorway to our home
I smell you in all that is beautiful
A hint of lavender in someone’s hair
A box of oranges sold at the market
A loaf of bread I find at the bakery
I surmise that I’ve see you
Maybe?
Maybe not.
Perhaps it is madness
It’s hard to discern
The wishes and whims
The truth and sacred lies
Perhaps, I witness what I was too blind to see yesterday
No matter
Alas,
We are apart
But soon
We will feel each other’s warmth
In a plane unlike this one
My joy
My love
My apparition forevermore

What if I were?
Would my peers avoid me
Would my parents dismiss me
Would my God disown me
Would my universe mock me
What if I were?
Would I deny it
Would I despise myself
Would my mind denounce my thoughts
Would I curb my yearnings
Would my eyes avert their judging gaze
From the sight of her
Her dimples
Her smile
Her laugh
Her special beauty to behold
What if I were?
Would I love myself in time
Acceptance drives acceptance
If you were to love yourself wholly and completely
If you were to take on your internal quarrels valiantly
If you were to embrace those different from yourself
If you were to take them in with open arms
Maybe that love would double
Triple
Quadruple
Until it fills the very room
Crowding out the scrutiny
Expunging the former negativity
Love you
Love others
Maybe those around you will learn
To love themselves
What if you were you?

[To read an introduction to this column, please see the first paragraph of the initial post here]
This week I would like to feature a poem I found recently that I think is powerful and important to read. It is from the accomplished poet R. Erica Doyle, and her words about the poem are given at the end.