raise me from this grave.
I hope the ground stains your hands
from the life you stole.

Time keeps on ticking
regardless of cost
taking all with it
seems all is  lost

Written down words
bleeding through pages
gentle reminders
from imparting sages

Keep at the task
let the ink flow
stop keeping track
let everything go

Sighting a muse
is easy to do
just look inside
you'll find her
... in you.

Cherie Nolan © 2016

I met the man by chance on that riverside town.

The only one around at the deserted strand
I asked him the shortest way out
after I had my fill of the river.

He told me about the fish market
where the fresh catches arrive every morn
and the place ten minutes farther north
where if I slowed down
could catch the magnificent spectacle
of the orange orb thirstily dipping in the river
and if I stayed back for the night
would surely go insane
when the moon sets the river on silver fire
but if I was really intent on leaving
a half hour's drive would get me the highway.

I was thinking of the amazing mathematical probability
of my traveling over three hours to see the river
and his traveling ten minutes on a bicycle
to fetch his son from school on that riverside town
for our once-a-lifetime meeting on the life's highway
and then having him a permanent visitor in my memory
at sunsets and moonrises over the river.

So far the story goes
Miss Place keeps everyone on their toes.

For her finding things is not an easy thing
Most of her possessions invariably go missing
Nowhere to be found are objects of her use
And the ones she blames find some excuse
That she is unmindful and blatantly unfair
Her missing comb is there only in her hair
To her desperate hunt for an important file
She's told she's sitting on it all the while
When she lost an earring and was sulking morose
It so happened they said she wore it on her nose
She wonders why her family should at all blame her
If her car keys are found in the dickey of her car
and why on earth should the blame be all hers
when her money is in a book and not in her purse.

Miss Place thinks she knows the reason for such mess
others' gross negligence in putting things in place.

i. don't forget to eat today,
your body needs it;
you deserve to be healthy.

ii. Lay in bed if you need to,
taking a break from it all is okay.
                                  
iii. Don't worry about everyone else,
put yourself first;
you deserve it.

iv. Love your body;
because it loves you,
and it protects you everyday.

v. Cry if you need to,
don't bottle everything up,
let yourself feel the pain.

vi. It's okay to get lost in
the darkness sometimes,
just don't forget to come from us.

vii. You don't owe anything to anyone.

viii. Watch your favorite movie,
read your favorite book,
listen to your favorite song;
do what makes you happy.

ix. Eat that piece of cake,
and don't you dare
go near that scale.

To whom it may concern,

x. don't forget to love yourself,
don't forget to find your happiness.

My heart is a desert,
Parched,
Ready for the soothing rain of your love.
But the promise of your affection
Is a mirage.

Grunting and growling,
Like a feral animal in a cage,
Her spirit lashes out,
Clawing at the bars of convention.