Neuvalence: Favorites

Dec 2017 Neuvalence

sage

It was a freezing night,
I could see my breath in the air,
I sighed and shivered,
and you leaned over and stroked my hair.

You asked if I wanted your jacket,
it was too big, even for you,
I shook my head,
and you smiled because you knew I was lying.

You wrapped around me,
it was warm and soft,
I still remember the feeling,
it can never be worn off.

The jacket was your father's,
the man you barely knew,
16 years,
and all He had was this jacket and you.

And when I had to take the jacket off,
I sighed and handed it to you,
And all the moments afterward,
were the loneliest I'd ever known.

this is barely even a poem, but I can never forget that leather jacket.

Dec 2017 Neuvalence

When a Hero Falls

Dec 2017 Neuvalence

Kat

When a Hero Falls

When a hero falls,
What can they say?
That "he was great;
He saved the day!"

But why would they cry?
He was just a mask,
The embodiment of good,
Who took up the task.

No one even knows,
The wife he holds dear,
The place he calls home,
What he has to fear.

His children will cry,
But no one will know,
Why they shed tears,
For the man they don't know.

For when a hero falls,
His name goes too,
Staining the memory
Of the man who never flew.

Dec 2017 Neuvalence

What Poetry Is

Dec 2017 Neuvalence

Valsa George

What Poetry Is

When letters wait
to pounce on a blank page
when thoughts crowd the mind
like frothing **** in a pond
I keep wondering
what poetry is to me
what poetry is to many

Is it not the language of the heart
with no intervention of gray matter
the unlocking of closed vaults
stirring the embers of love, hurt or pain
or giving a free rein to fancy
and flying on magic carpets
to lands forlorn

Sometimes it is
a glide into a sea of tranquillity
an escape from
the humdrum of the world
a flash of liberation
from assaults of pain
a sedative
to numb the turmoil
a sanctuary
for a burdened heart
a window
to look at the world through
a companion
when one is inconsolably alone
a candle flame
in a darkening world
a cloth line
to hang the ***** laundry
a water lily blooming
in the pool of tears
a shelter
in homelessness

sometimes it is a ladder
to climb up to Heavens
an angel on wings
with tidings of hope
peace in a world
braced for war

Poetry, if you are all these
let us fall at your feet
bless us in our art
may we splurge in fancy
and conjure up worlds from words!

our poems may not be light houses
but could be fireflies
on a starless night!

Thanks friends for the loving encouragement you have given! I must thank two of my friends in particular.... Kim Johanna Baker for giving an extra shine to my poem and Sarita Adhitya Varma for helping me post this poem when my repeated attempt at posting failed! She patiently directed me.

Dec 2017 Neuvalence

A Few Square Miles

Dec 2017 Neuvalence

Meadow

A Few Square Miles

To many this town makes up the world
To me it is nothing more than a few square miles
There is a world, far larger than the familiar faces
That I crave to be a part of

Instead I am here
Confined within these few square miles
That make many happy
But make me count down the days

The days until I can run and never look back
And be a part of the world outside these walls
Then I may finally answer my greatest question
What is life beyond these few square miles?

Dec 2017 Neuvalence

Not Today

Dec 2017 Neuvalence

Meadow

Not Today

Sometimes you just don't want to hear anything
Not praise, not comfort, not pity
Because in that moment it means nothing

You just want to get it all out
And have them agree
And not say another word

Because in that moment in time
Nothing they say will make you feel better
And there is nothing they can do but listen
And watch you cry
And accept that no matter what
It just won't get better today

Maybe tomorrow it will
But not today