Do I miss you
I can't say that I do

but make no mistake
this is still a love poem

but about loving different
things

about opening my eyes
and smelling

a much different flavor
of coffee

Whit Howland © 2020

I was so angry that day
crazy
from the heat

it's in the eyes
the grimace
on my face finally

leathered and lined
with crow's feet
you captured me with your lens

at my most naked and exposed
my stoic plaster mask
now smashed

swept away
in whitewater and rapids
you captured me


and I've loved you ever since

Whit Howland © 2020

She was wide awake in the dead of night
With her thoughts in a violent disarray.
Some are kind and some are sweet,
While some are hard to keep at bay.

Sorrow accompanied confusion,
and confusion accompanied grief.
And as she cradled the pain she felt,
She found herself in utter disbelief.

And as the room drowned in silence,
She was convinced of her version of truth.
That she was just too unloveable,
A mistake in the face of youth.

She couldn't see beyond the wall
But she could feel her heart break.
So she finally let her tears fall
Until she was no longer awake.

to me,
you are
an art

                              to you,
                              I was
                              a tragedy

dear you,

please remember that your voice has power.
power to raise an ocean of words,
please make them mean something.
power to create a storm,
please don’t destroy too much.
you have been given hands to create,
a mind to wonder,
a life that is worth living if you make it worth living