Your words are filled with anger
Resentment lingers like secondhand smoke
on your grandfather’s favorite wingback
I knew you were bitter the second you spoke

Her words are filled with sadness
Sorrow consumes her like death
as she witnessed her mother fade away
I knew she was depleted by the sound of her breath

The battle began when tensions were high
Blinded by judgement you lost your sight
entangled in the web of misunderstandings
I knew your agenda and your need to be right

They sweep their truth up under the rug
conceal closets full of skeletons with doors that won’t close
Buried in the trenches of guilt and shame
where approval is smothered and bitterness grows

Both crying to be heard with mouths full of fear
spewing venom of spite laced with years of pain
Two prisoners of the past
a place neither one could sustain

Their connection is deep but riddled with scars
unhealed wounds have festered, tainting their hearts
Like unraveling wool on their favorite sweater
each longing to mend it without knowing where to start

Rain of lost hope
Tears of fearful pain

If I could touch the clouds
I will do just that
If a single tear drop could fill the ocean
I will create a water Nation
If the rainbow could form shapes
I will see love
Failed love, emotions crashed
And nothing more

Rain of lost hope
Tears of fearful pain

My mind has this place
where wisdom conquers madness
and beauty meets grace

where I surrender to reverie
into slumberless dreams
a fleet of ships drifting the open sea

A shallow brook travels slow
its lure a whisper
as I sink into her flow

Where honeybees buzz as wildflowers sway
a tango with the wind
and I am carried away

Sunlight glitters through endless trees
where I inhale deeply
and draw in the summer’s breeze

Soiled by the earth, my skin in bloom
where we reunite
as I am nestled into her womb

Where I am greeted by love and welcomed home
conceived into wholeness
and never alone

I wish to be a butterfly
spread my wings
and soar the skies

Ignited by the summer’s light
I will have hues of the rainbow
and shine so bright

I wish to flutter through maple trees
dancing gracefully
with the morning’s breeze

Excited by the flowers in bloom
I will be drawn to the nectar
by their sweet perfume

Hollyhock and sage wait for my arrival
while marigold and lavender
ensure my survival

I will bask in the glory of the morning’s sun
play games with the bees
chase humans for fun

Oh I wish to be this grace and beauty
shed the chrysalis and emerge
so you can truly see me

It’s dark I should be sleeping
but the worries are a creeping
into my head like spider webs
I beg until I’m weeping

I fluff the pillows and make the bed
I pull the covers up over my head
and in they prance like army ants
to feast until I’m dead

I flip and flop, then toss and turn
Getting mad at myself, will I ever learn?
There’s just one way to make them pay
off I head to the nearest tavern

Thoughts rush in
consuming at will
like breaking waves
gorging the current swill

Miles of redundancy
another storm settles in
as thunder strikes a blackened sky
familiarity floods begin

The wake of this fury
leaves no stone unturned
but hope drowns its sorrows
as the bridges burn

Chaos persists
with no end in sight
fear drowns all courage
with despair it’s plight

The eye of the storm
now center stage
reflects calmer waters
within a sea of rage

A deeper dive
redefines a battered shore
as lost meets found
I am within the cure

It’s never a gentle knocking
Whenever it comes a calling
Fists full of endless fury
Invoke pain with no warning

No forgiveness and no mercy
As white knuckles break the glass
Can’t escape the comeuppance
Nor out run your past

With causes all in question
The effects won’t be denied
Review all of your actions
And you may uncover the why

The totality of our existence
Every action, feeling, thought
Will make its way back to us
Because our karma can’t be fought