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Dec 2019 · 1.5k
Twas the last day of school
Nadia Dec 2019
Twas the last day of school
before a long winter break
Not a student was learning,
they were all munching on cake

The children had tidied,
supplies all snug in their places
With candy cane smiles
lighting up their sweet faces

The artwork was stowed
in their backpacks with care
In the hope that they'd bring
holiday cheer home to share

When outside the portable
there arose such a clatter
Ms. G sprang from the party
to see what was the matter

The class followed her out,
filling up the whole porch
And right out in front of them,
near as a bright as a torch

Rudolph, nose blazing red
through the dark Vancouver rain,
Behind him the reindeer
pulling Santa’s sleigh like a train

Santa jumped out spritely,
red hat bouncing with glee
He waved at the group and
boomed out, "Hello there Ms. G,"

“And Division 14,
all of you good girls and boys.
We’re rehearsing our run
to practice delivering toys”

The reindeer pranced all round,
putting on a fine show
Santa offered his hand and said,
“Come on Ms. G, let’s go,”

“We’ll drop you in Mexico
before we head back,”
Ms. G happily agreed, asking
“do you have time for a snack?”

The class joyfully welcomed
the jolly crew to the party
They delighted in the games
and the food, eating hearty

Too soon it was time
for the guests of honour to go
Santa sprang to his sleigh and
exclaimed, “**, **, **,”

"Now, Rudoph and Dasher!
Dancer, Prancer and *****!
Now, Comet! on, Cupid!
On, Donner on Blitzen!

“To the top of the portable
then over the school
To Mexico we go,
to Ms. G’s holiday by the pool.”

And off the sleigh flew
with Ms. G safely strapped in,
Her pink toque a-bobbing,
her face all a-grin

They heard him exclaim,
ere he drove out of sight—
"Happy Holidays to all,
and to all a good night!"
Wrote a little rhyme for little one's teacher holiday card after twas the night before xmas
Dec 2019 · 231
When We Are Gone
Nadia Dec 2019
When we are gone
And all that is left
Is a planet bereft
Of living souls

Will it matter
Who’s to blame
When none remain
To bear the shame
Of our downfall?

When we are gone
And it won’t be long
What will we leave behind?
Our legacies

Disposable things
Hoarded dreams
And fatal insistences
That everything will be fine
It doesn't have to be this way
Dec 2019 · 432
A Mother's Love
Nadia Dec 2019
Helpless to overcome the failings,

The fall out of a selfish, cowardly man

Heart broken, fury stoking, a mother

Does all she can
                             And then some


She’ll work until her fingers break

Holding tears, enveloped in rage

Impossible tasks she'll power through

A mother’s love will do
                                       As it needs to
Nov 2019 · 264
Try
Nadia Nov 2019
Try
I want to believe
That we are all
Trying our best
But sometimes
I wonder
If some people
Couldn’t try
Quite a bit harder
Oct 2019 · 237
Diversion
Nadia Oct 2019
If the clown is a-clowning,
then pay them no mind;
Now is the time to look around
and behind the spectacle
to find the real performance
And the true mastermind
Oct 2019 · 268
Doubt
Nadia Oct 2019
Shout into the void
Superfluous offerings
Am I a poet
Oct 2019 · 252
Someone you know?
Nadia Oct 2019
Clearly unstable
Lacking decency and grasp
on reality
Oct 2019 · 287
Apologies to the Cat
Nadia Oct 2019
I am sorry I picked you up
off the top of the fridge
and draped you scarflike
over my shoulders;

To be fair, the fridgetop
looked unsafe, even for
sure-footed feline folk;
then I couldn’t resist,

All that fur, fluffy and soft;
your reprimand was
fairly played; forgive me,
you make a cozy scarf


NCL October 2019
Oct 2019 · 353
Trash Dash
Nadia Oct 2019
Neighbourhood bash
In a flash
We dashed
We splashed
Garbage thrashed
and cached
We conquered trash
To earn our sash
See you at the rehash
Oct 2019 · 196
Stories
Nadia Oct 2019
She’s got stories buried inside her
Tho you’d never guess it at a glance
Hidden behind pleasant smiles
Under neatly normal clothes
Wild, wonderful tales nobody knows
If only they’d give her a chance
Oct 2019 · 581
Sticks and Stones
Nadia Oct 2019
I hope you don't mind
I've gone offline
to infuse myself
with adamantium

Sticks and stones haven't
yet broken these bones
but rampant selfishness
and greed just might
Found this in my drafts. Peace and love to all the peeps who find themselves overwhelmed by the world
Oct 2019 · 371
What If
Nadia Oct 2019
In this wondrous world of ours,
What if kind was enough;
What if we all wanted
To be sorted into Hufflepuff;
What if compassion counted
Far more than being right,
More than being the best;
What if, in kindness we unite


NCL October 2019
Oct 2019 · 201
Fall
Nadia Oct 2019
let go
twirl
and twirl
and twirl

flutter, tip, tumble

whirling
swirling
floating
flying

spin, spin, spin

dive down
veer up
slide over
dive in

softly settle, dream



NCL October 2019
Oct 2019 · 222
Mad Hope
Nadia Oct 2019
It’s ok to be mad
You’re right to be worried
Don’t tamp down that fury
Don’t talk yourself down
You don’t have to turn around
or be quiet
You can stand your ground
You don’t have to
stay behind
There's no need to
watch it burn

There is hope
in mad -
Awareness of
a better way -
Demand it



NCL October 2019
Sep 2019 · 1.2k
Like an Octopus
Nadia Sep 2019
She hugs like an octopus
Long, slim limbs
Wrapping around
With surprising force
Until fully bound
Too late to react
You are trapped
By her love
Sep 2019 · 243
Pickled Wicked
Nadia Sep 2019
Mama always says
The wicked live forever,
Preserved in a brine
Of their own selfish acts

She says the wicked
Never die; if they fall,
They bounce somehow;
They always come back
Sep 2019 · 255
Lemonade
Nadia Sep 2019
Life didn't give her lemons
It gave her a whole ******* grove
She made oceans of lemonade
From an early age
Serving it with flair
In pretty glasses with umbrellas
You never taste the pain
When she serves you
We don't deserve her
But that's not how lemonade works
Nadia Sep 2019
Rhyming Review - Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come by Jessica Pan

Introverts unite
(separately, of course),
This book is for you,
Jessica Pan is your force

For a year she denied
Her introverted tendencies
She e-dated for friends
Gave up shy dependencies

She tried stand up comedy
She spoke at the Moth
She signed up for improv
Things that make shy ppl froth

Her anxieties could have come
Straight out of my own head
You could try extroverting
Or watch Jessica try it instead

You will learn new tricks
While you frown and cringe
Or snicker sympathetically
Through your reading binge
This book was awesome!!! I listened to it while my podcast app was glitching and I am so glad I did.
Sep 2019 · 354
Feline Greetings
Nadia Sep 2019
The cat saunters through
Orange, brown and white,
Large, fluffy, and regal;
She might hypnotize you
With her glowing, green sight

She’ll sniff you, dainty-like
If you compliment her suitably,
She’ll rub up against you
With a cat hug
Leaving cat love and fur

She might accept
A chin scratch,
Also an ear scratch,
Maybe a sweeping pet
- no, you’re not done yet

Then she’ll flop
to the ground, like a hippo
Going down in slow-mo
It’s an alarming show
but she’s quite fine

Now it’s time
There’s her tummy
(It’s white and velvety)
She’ll stretch backwards
Into a donut shape
So you can scratch
That belly properly

But it’s a trick you see
Soon enough,
She can’t help herself
And your hand becomes
Her enemy
Nadia Sep 2019
The things we don't talk about catch
In my hair, invisible webs strung
between here and there, and people
and places we've known and been;

The things we don't talk about, words
we'd choke to speak, the stories we
Keep inside, afraid of what else
might leak if we let go, when we let go

The things we don’t talk about, float
In the air; dust motes of thoughts
And we try not to stare or meet their
Eyes; yes, we try - sometimes we fail

The things we don't talk about live
in the spaces between; in between
intention and outcome, in that viscous
place between hope and dreams;

The simple truth, I’m afraid,
With all the things we can’t say,
We talk so much anyway, but we
Don’t talk about much these days


NCL September 2019
Sep 2019 · 598
I wish I was already done
Nadia Sep 2019
But I’m not
So
I guess
I’d better get started
Sep 2019 · 350
How Dare You
Nadia Sep 2019
Greta sat alone that day,
Presence more than words could say.
And in the time that's passed since then,
Greta's warned us again and again
The time is now, we need to act;
Earth is in danger, that's an urgent fact

Power tells us there's nothing we can do,
We're too small to see changes through;
But Greta won't cower for lying buffoons,
Their disdain of her only self impugns;
The earth is for all, from tiny to massive,
Those who can speak can't remain passive

If one girl's message can gain velocity,
One girl's uncensored words unveil atrocity,
It's hard to feel that hope's not there
When together we act, together we dare
To demand action, demand accountability;
Then maybe we'll survive past this century
Sep 2019 · 1.5k
Found in an old notebook
Nadia Sep 2019
Wasted space
Weak; no base
I am the solitary shoelace
Love finding random bits and pieces in old notebooks. wish I could remember what prompted this scribble.
Sep 2019 · 342
Lost Girls
Nadia Sep 2019
They prayed to porcelain gods
In pursuit of imitation beauty;
Blithely sacrificing their youth
At the altar of fraudulent immortality

On hardened knees, they offered pleas
And the remains of their unconstraint;
They worshipped at magazines,
The gospel of each shiny, shallow saint

They believed in their inadequacy,
Failing scales, they purged their dreams;
Feeding hollows with empty fantasies;
Less is more is not always as it seems
To all the lost girls, I hope you've found your way
Sep 2019 · 354
When the sun came out
Nadia Sep 2019
The maple trees, their trunks festooned with moss and lichen;
Tiny ferns wave in the breeze where the branches meet;
Further out, limbs bear an expanse of rain glossy leaves,
High fives in a million different shades of shiny green


NCL September 2019
Sep 2019 · 1.1k
Guilt-wrapped
Nadia Sep 2019
For the first time in a long time
I grab a plastic sandwich bag
Out of the drawer.
Wracked with guilt
I try to tell myself
It’s not the end of the world
And I’ll try harder
To be greener tomorrow.
I wonder
If that’s what the oil companies think too


NCL September 2019
Sep 2019 · 548
Bravado
Nadia Sep 2019
I’ve got my big girl jeans on
And a take no **** smile
I’m ready to kick *** today
Though it has been a while

Go ahead, neg on me
Or anyone else nearby
Come on, show superiority
I’ll show you that won’t fly


NCL September 2019
I might be nervous about today
Sep 2019 · 777
Atmospheric Sway
Nadia Sep 2019
The morning is dark, as
if the sun never truly rose;

the street is lit in sepia
tones, heavy clouds
repose on the canopies
of fall-grizzled oaks;

unseen birds warble
in hushed, muffled tones,
while ghostly cars travel
on cloud-dampened roads;

the children, buttoned in
to their back-to-school
clothes, weave or meander
the sidewalk, half-asleep;

- gather the little ones close
in this quiet calm before
the madness strikes -

- know your exits, know
your foes - who knows
what might... happen -

then sun parts languorous
clouds, sending rainbows to
vanquish the mists; sunlight
sparks warmth inside;

gloom and doom forgotten,
a golden day to seize and fly


NCL September 2019
Ever ask for feedback before a piece is done and regret it?
Sep 2019 · 412
Tell Me
Nadia Sep 2019
Tell me what to do
So I can do the opposite

Tell me what I want
So I know I don’t want it

Tell me what to say
I’ll find my voice another way

Tell me what’s right for me
I’ll find out what left for me

I don’t know what I like
Until I know what I don’t like

Tell me what to think
What to drink, what to wear

Tell me that I don't care,
That I can’t spare the time

Tell me what I don’t need
And where not to go

Tell me what I don’t want -
I really need to know


NCL September 2019
Sep 2019 · 1.6k
Delivery
Nadia Sep 2019
You release your words
Deliberately;
Measuring each syllable,
Carrying all the consonants,
Gathering up the vowels,
And waiting for the light
Before you cross.
Certain words put a curve
To the shape of your mouth
And your eyes, confidence.

My words are forced unwilling
out the door; each one
pushing on the one ahead,
an unbalanced mass;
tipping forward until they fall
Out in a rush, elbows out,
Knees weaponized;
Falling over each other, still
breathlessly barrelling on.


NCL September 2019
Sep 2019 · 351
control + Z
Nadia Sep 2019
i have felt
the rush of blood
pounding in my veins;

surrendered
to over-reaction,
cursing the same


NCL September 2019
Sep 2019 · 197
The End?
Nadia Sep 2019
When the ships finally left,
massive cities escaping to the stars
in solitary flights,

One remained behind,
hidden away, waiting,
in case she changed her mind.


NCL September 2019
Sep 2019 · 188
There is a poem for that
Nadia Sep 2019
Words to hold the lonely, to embrace
the mourners and their memories;

Comfort for love unrequited; heartening
For a heart cracked, collapsed or broken;

For the days when you’re sick, wallowing
In mountains of tissues, guilt-free self-pity;

Depth for the shallow yearning to be deep,
Camaraderie for company loved by misery;

For the days when you are filled with joy
And want to share it with the world,

An escape, a diversion or submersion,
Appreciation of nature’s glory and tragedy;

Words for the brave and for those who
Need a little help finding their capes;

An outlet for those cupid’s arrow struck
And space to celebrate every kind of love;

For the times when you are helpless
And you would give anything to help,

For the nights when you can't sleep
Because the silence is too loud;

For any feeling, any time, for everything,
no matter how common or obscure

You never need to feel alone, someone has
been there before and left you a poem
Thank you to everyone out there for all of your poems
Sep 2019 · 910
Orb Weaver
Nadia Sep 2019
Orb weaver
Of the gorgeous webs
By the courtyard gate
We don't go through
That way anymore
Respectfully
It is all yours now


NCL September 2019
Sep 2019 · 215
A Beginning
Nadia Sep 2019
The autumn canvass
Blurs beneath busy feet
A chorus of umbrellas waltz
Along the bustling street

Cars splash through puddles
Spray crescendos joyously
It was then that their eyes met
Across a city sidewalk symphony



NCL September 2019
Sep 2019 · 683
Uncomfortable
Nadia Sep 2019
Myriad miniature migraines
Bounce off the waves
To zip by
Gleefully stabbing
At my eyes


NCL September 2019
Nadia Sep 2019
All hail children of the waning summer
Sour and prickly, soft and sweet
These sun-wild children wander free
Blackberry stains on callused feet


NCL September 2019
Sep 2019 · 250
Cacophony
Nadia Sep 2019
It's hard to produce a cacophony all by yourself
She was never one to back down from a challenge


NCL September 2019
Sep 2019 · 516
September
Nadia Sep 2019
With each passing breeze
Dry leaves rustle,
Taking turns to fall
Swirling, lazily to the ground


NCL September 2019
Sep 2019 · 409
Want
Nadia Sep 2019
You have never gone after
what you really wanted.
Sure, at the last moment, you
have desperately leaped out
and tried to grab on to something
as it went by. That doesn’t count;
you never stood a chance,
you never put all of your heart
and soul on the line, to humbly and
doggedly pursue anything at all.

Maybe you’ve never needed
anything, but I think that’s a lie
and you know it. You might say
that you needed it too much,
so much so that even the thought
of failing is too painful to endure.
You froze that feeling out, called it
impractical, unreasonable,
unnecessary. Those were lies
as well. You can hide behind the lies
but they will never feed your soul.

There is something you need.
Something you want down to
the very spark of your being,
something that will fill you up
with the life force of the universe
and set you ablaze to hang
in the heavens, among the stars.

You can continue failing through
inaction, hoping your passion
will atrophy, and it might, but that
inner you, the you that wants so
many things for you, it will atrophy
too, until you are a husk
of a person. There is nothing
sadder than a person who
used to have fire within their soul.

You can choose to smother yourself
or you can choose to go for it,
to coax that spark to flame and feed
the fire until it blazes forward carrying
you along. You can choose.

NCL September 2019
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