Love in Decay

In Memory Of by DefenestratedDuck @ deviantART

the fetid stench 

burns through my senses,  

my moldering heart 

abandoned long ago 

in an endless 

emotional 

wasteland.

a silent dirge

reverberates

through me,

leaving me

yearning 

for a healing hand

to reach into my desolation

and resurrect my soul.

~~~~  This poem was written for a prompt over at Poetry Jam, asking us to write a poem that evokes a specific mood.

A Cup of Sanity

© Margaret Bednar ~  i & I ~  2012

One
Sip of
Velvety
Cappuccino
Provides a moment
Of peaceful reflection
And the opportunity
To refuel my soul, a respite
From hectic schedules and demanding
Voices…serenity topped with frothed milk.


~~~~~ This poem was inspired by a photo prompt from Imaginary Garden with Real Toads featuring the photography of Margaret Bednar.

Thank you!

I had no idea a year ago when I posted my first entry to this blog where my writing would take me or if anyone would even read my words.  All I knew was that I wanted to make my voice heard.  And now, as I’m writing the 300th entry a year later, I’m so incredibly humbled by the support and encouragement I’ve received.  Thank you so much!
                                 Mary

Scraps

Scraps of memory
Flash by in a broken montage,
A testament to the flawed design of my life…

A red dress meant to accentuate
The ample curves
Of jasmine-scented teenage flesh…

Sneaking out the window
Upon hearing a whistle
From a quintessential bad boy
Whose demons I would never understand…

Sunset bonfires and beer
Leading to sunrise regrets…

Nights of anguish
Trapped in a demon‘s domain,
Praying for a glimmer of salvation…

I will no longer be trapped by my history.
The past may be etched in immutable granite
But my future has yet to be written.
Although I feared that knowledge
Had slipped beyond my grasp,
The power to transform my world
Has always rested in my hands.



~~~~~~  This poem was inspired by a photo prompt from Poetic Bloomings and used this week’s words from The Sunday Whirl.

Bottled Wisdom

If I could,

I would bottle

Snippets of wisdom

And deposit them

In the sands

Of your future,

In hopes that

My advice

Can offer

Comforting help

Long after

My own beaches

Are deserted.

~~~~~~~~  This poem was inspired by a prompt from Imaginary Garden with Real Toads asking us for poems about messages in a bottle.

The Secret Keeper

For the sake of self-preservation
I became the secret keeper,
Hiding the warts on my soul,
Denying access to anyone
Who would use my weaknesses
As ammunition for their next volley of bitterness,
But that which remains hidden
From the healing light of the sun
Putrefies and festers.
These secrets metastasized,
A cancer growing in my soul,
Oozing a poison that infected my life.

Now, for the sake of self-preservation,
I must find a cure,
A way to remove
This tumor of isolation,
Give someone access to my soul,
Warts and all,
And trust them to keep my secrets.



~~~~~~~~~~  This prompt was inspired by a prompt from Poetry Jam asking for poems about questionable choices and their consequences.

Arsonist

his words 

were firebombs 

to my kind-

ling heart, 

his aggression 

gasoline thrown 

into an inferno, 

reducing me 

to ashes,

burned 

to near nothingness…  

scarred…

disfigured…

but still surviving.

~~~~~~~ This poem was inspired by a prompt from Poetic Bloomings asking for poems about fire.

Passing the Torch

The familiar smell of smoke
Wafts from my daughter’s bedroom.
I find her cross-legged on the bed,
Teddy bear at her side,
Red hair almost hiding
The concentration on her bowed head,
Eleven year old fingers
Furiously scorching words across paper,
Firmly in the grasp of inspiration’s fire.

I’m torn, part of me wishing
To tenderly stoke those new embers,
Another part wanting
To extinguish that flame,
Knowing the difficult
And sometimes frustrating path
That lies ahead of her.

Instead I silently close her door.
This fire is not for me to control.


~~~~~~~~  This poem was inspired by a prompt from Poetic Bloomings asking for poems about fire.

Nightmare Hours

nightmare by lucyluh @ deviantART

Hours of darkness
Spent in the fetal position,
Invisible demons
Whose monstrous claws
Tear flesh from bone,
Eviscerated with every slash,
Praying desperately
For the redemption of dawn.

Hours of light
Spent in the same position,
Invisible to those around me
Whose monstrous claws
Tear away time, faith, sanity,
With no sign
Of pending salvation
At the end of day,
Despite my desperate prayers.


~~~~ This poem was inspired by a prompt from Imaginary Garden with Real Toads asking us to consider dreams and nightmares.

Centos in Exile

Love in Exile

Do you remember how it used to be
You and me, together, dancing real slow
Just holding you tight, all night?

You can see it in my eyes,
Painted all over my face…

I can't find the right words to say.
I played the fool.
If I could only make time stand still,
If I could only show you…

You turned my life around.
I don't know what I'd do without you.
My heart won't let go those memories you left behind

Now that you've gone, I'll try to pretend
But no matter how hard I keep trying,
Still there's this emptiness inside…

Exiled to the Movies

Up on the silver screen

She touches me 

Like no one I've ever known,

Another love casualty

Breaking my heart 

As I throw my money down.

~~~~~  This pair of centos was written in response to a prompt from dVerse Poets Pub asking us to consider the idea of exile.  I took a different approach and wrote these centos using phrases from the lyrics of some the band Exile’s songs, including “Give Me One More Chance,” “Super Love,” “She’s Too Good to Be True,” “Kiss You All Over,” “It’s You Again,” “I Don’t Want to Be a Memory,” “Hang on to your Heart,” “She’s a Miracle,” and “Nobody’s Talking.”  And just for fun, here’s a video clip of one of an Exile tune.

Reunion

Dark Reflection by larafairie @ deviantART

I saw an old friend,
One long absent and feared lost
To time’s meandering path,

Location unknown,
An artifact from my past
Brought into the light once more,

A damaged woman
Whose healing and redemption
Was never a guarantee.

The fate of rash hearts
Is often desolation,
Eternal exile and grief,

But she has survived,
A renewal of the life
She was always meant to live.

Welcome back, old friend.
It’s nice to see you again
In my mirror’s reflection.



~~~  This poem was inspired by a prompt from Poetic Asides asking for a poem about meeting someone, also written for a prompt from dVerse Poets Pub asking for us to use the triversen form.

Behind the Veil

The Veil by Mylares @ deviantART

She hides behind her bridal veil,
A wedding band, her holy grail.
The single purpose in her mind:
To catch the first man she could find

To lead her down the wedded trail.
She hides behind her bridal veil
The wounds that cut her to the bone,
A pain unlike she’d ever known,

Caused by the lover’s broken vow
That set the path she’s started now.
She hides behind her bridal veil
A muffled, melancholy wail.

She’ll never give her heart away,
Only her hand this wedding day.
Her false love that is doomed to fail
She hides behind her bridal veil.


~~~~  This was written for my prompt this week over at Poetry Jam asking for poems about celebrations.  I’d encourage you to check it out!

Cleansing

Our tears 

Cleanse the wounds 

Inflicted by 

The thoughtless,

The ruthless, 

The careless, 

And the clueless.

~~~ This poem was inspired by a prompt from Poetic Bloomings asking for poems about water (in any form.)  I also linked this one up with dVerse Poets Pub's Open Link Night.

Shadows on the Water

Copyright © 2012 Hannah Gosselin ~ Pier Post Persisting

I ventured through the mud and stones
Until I reached that special place
Where the lingering shadows
Of willows trembled in the dying light,
Cooler of cold Corona in hand
And memories of you in my heart.

Seeking salvation for an aching heart
Is much easier here than in a field of stones
Shaped and engraved by a mournful hand,
Finding comfort in a familiar place
Where we watched divine light
In its endless dance with the shadows.

I truly understand those shadows;
They now occupy my heart,
Their darkness choking away your light,
Brushing across the stones
And desecrating this place,
Dusky phantoms melting in my hand.

I cup water in my hand
To wash away the shadows
Yet they remain in place,
The stubborn stains of a wounded heart,
One martyred by Death’s stones
But still seeking the redemption of the light.

As night approaches, the light
Crawls across the bluffs, God’s hand
Stroking color across the stones
But not banishing the shadows
That now haunt my heart
Every moment in every place.

I’m merely a vessel floating in place,
Unable to move forward toward the light,
The loss of you a nail through my heart.
I take another bottle in hand
And make a toast to you, to shadows,
To lost heroes in a sea of stones.

Here in this place I feel you close at hand,
Your spirit now a part of that dance of light and shadows,
Bringing just a bit of peace to a heart battered by stones.


~~~  This poem was inspired by a photo prompt from Imaginary Garden with Real Toads that featured the photography of Hannah Gosselin.  It also fits with this week’s prompt from Poetic Bloomings, which asks for poems about water.  I incorporated this week’s words from The Sunday Whirl into this poem.

Corpse Bride

bridal glow 

turned sallow, 

her life force 

siphoned away 

by the one 

she trusted 

above all others,

leaving only

an emaciated shell 

wrapped in 

satin and tulle

as the honey-

moon wanes

into oblivion.

~~~~ This poem was inspired by a prompt from Poets United asking for poems inspired by the works of Tim Burton.

A Missive from the Lair

E_E_V_U_L_Lair by AEigner @ deviantART

Unappreciated for so long,
I was treated as nothing more
Than background scenery
For your paranoid suspicions.
In your world I had no meaning,
But this is not your world anymore.
The balance of power has shifted
And a new world order is at hand.

You are the one who created
A monster from a martyr.  
Your treachery pushed my fragile heart
Past despair into bloodthirsty vengeance.
Are you delusional enough
To believe anyone would face mortal danger
To rescue the likes of you?
Treason comes at a price,
And your demise will be
Solitary, agonizing, torturous,
And greatly enjoyed by me.

So many armaments at my disposal,
So many ways in which I can destroy you…
Releasing my horde of minions
To eviscerate your flesh?
A laser death cannon
Aimed at the vital organ you prize most?  
No, I think the most effective weapon
In my vast arsenal is my poison pen,
Poetic retribution for your actions,
Your sins laid bare for all to see.
An opportunity for you to experience life
Lost in the dark, twisting shadows
Of my write wing conspiracy.


~~~~~~~~ This poem was inspired by a prompt from Imaginary Garden with Real Toads, in which we were asked to pick out our favorite break-up song, take a line from that song, and use it to write a reinvented anthem for ourselves.  The song I picked was "Missin' You" by John Waite.  You can check out the video below.

A Ritual While Camping in the Wilderness

let us shake off the dust 

of our civilized lives 

and dance naked in the firelight, 

arms outstretched,

only the nonjudgmental eyes 

of the moon watching us.

shed our inhibitions

and the shackles of doubt,

casting our fears 

toward the heavens.

drink of the power 

of the earth and cosmos 

and enjoy the freedom 

most only find in dreams.

~~~~ This poem was inspired by a prompt from Poetic Asides asking for poems about camp/camping. This also was inspired by this week's prompt from Carry On Tuesday.

Weathering the Storm

Chisel my epitaph
Onto the storm-weathered stones
That crouch along the shoreline,
Where the jagged edge
Of lightning’s glow draws the eye
And winds of discontent split the soul.
We drifted apart in a deluge of tears,
My bruised and beaten heart
Crashed mercilessly against the rocks.
Pierced to my core from your outburst,
I crumple, rain-soaked,
Under the weight of my despair,
But never stop seeking
The glimmer of redemption
Contained in a rainbow’s promise.


~~~~ This poem was inspired by the prompt from Poetry Jam asking for poems about water.  I also used this week's wordle words from The Sunday Whirl.

Vampire

Vampire - Edvard Munch, 1894

Her seduction is subtle,
A tender vapor drifting
Through the crevices of his soul,
Her innocent demeanor
Masking a coquette with fangs.
Her words of love eternal
Are easily believed,
And another willing victim
Volunteers for his own demise,
One more withered corpse
Desecrated and discarded
On her path into immortality.


~~~ This was written for a prompt over at Poetry Jam asking for poetry inspired in some way by painting.  I decided to write an ekphrastic poem inspired by the painting Vampire by Edvard Munch, 1894.