The poem on the Statute of Liberty

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Emma Lazarus (November 2, 1883)

It is during the odd
Witching hour
In the quiet time, that I seek
My own norm
Never really belonging
Strange
Weird
Mad
Crazy
Labels I have often worn
Comfortably? Well, who’s to say?
I cling to the shadows
Even while I seek the light
Neither here, nor there
I am in between
Twilight
Struggling to accept
I will never blend
Abandoning the window
And looking in
I struggle to accept my own norm

Kelly Rose
© February 22, 2018

A not so perfect sestina
For me the sestina is a perfect way to tell a story.
This is a wedding rehearsal dinner told from different points of view.
The rehearsal dinner

Father of the Bride
God, she’s beautiful.  My poor blind baby
Girl.  She thinks he is some kind of white knight
Tomorrow will be the blackest of days
Married to a gold digger. No more time
No, the thought…Tomorrow will be his last
Lost her to a cur. Pain colors me blue

Maid of Honor
Oh my God, he has gorgeous eyes of blue
What he sees in her, ug! She’s a baby
She’s kidding herself, this will never last
She’s so gullible. Yeah – he works nights
Like the night he’ll have with me, our last time
On to the next, tomorrow’s a new day

Groom’s Mother
What a farce! Tomorrow is a wasted day
A loveless marriage is living life blue
This smile hurts.  Unfortunately time’s
Run out.  She’s gotta be knocked up – poor baby
But we need the money; right now, this night
****, how much longer can this agony last

Best Man
He’s such a man *****.  No way will this last
Getting married is just another day
She needs to be saved. I would be her knight
If she were mine, her life would not be blue
She’s perfect. If only she were my baby
It should be us.  If only there was time

Groom
Too bad she’s not the bride, she’s a good time
God, how much longer can this dinner last
At least her friends are hot, oh yeah baby
I don’t know how I’ll get through this long day
Marriage, ick, man I’m crying the **** blues
I’m gonna bang the bridesmaid all through the night

Bride
Oh my God, he’s mine, my shining white knight
I’ll love him always, until the end of time
He’s so perfect - I’ll never sing the blues
He’s my first, my only, he’ll be my last
My wedding will be the most perfect day
Perfect, I can’t wait to have his baby

Envoi

He’s no white knight and she is such a baby
She’s doomed to sing the blues, while he’ll be caught time after time
At long last, the day will end

Making me believe I was unworthy
This was the most unkindest cut of all
Wanting to please, I gladly take the fall
Shamed to the core, I feel deeply *****
Seeking self-acceptance, I take love’s journey
I cling to the shadows, feeling most appalled
Making me believe I was unworthy
This was the most unkindest cut of all
Can I forgive and show myself mercy?
And not hit my head against the hard wall?
I long for the light, still I feel *****
Making me believe I was unworthy
This was the most unkindest cut of all

Kelly Rose
© March 1, 2018

Time drifts
Moments just pass by
How I long
To grasp time
Bringing it to a standstill
As I struggle
With dreams
At a crossroad
Autumn’s chill
Holds me back
As dreams are
A young one’s game
Opportunities have
Gone away
Dare I pursue
The unexpected paths
That have opened before me
Even if time is
Elusive
Extinguishing
Faster than I’d like
Afraid of making
The wrong choice
Feeling life
Slip through my fingers
As I linger
Feeling
A bit dazed and confused
As the future
Becomes the present
Time drifts
As I stand still
Lost

Kelly Rose
© December 23, 2016

She thought she found love
Joy filled her heart and soul
Her heart once held beauty
But now it has withered and died
Betrayal left its rancid seed
She loved a god, who took her as his bride
They sanctified their love in
A temple of the goddess Athena
Furious, Athena’s wrath fell upon her
She sought help from her beloved Poseidon
He smiled and walked away
Her heart slowly turned to stone
Where once glamorous tresses hung
Now poisonous vipers gleamed
So filled with bitter rage
Just one look from her transforms
One to stone
A love betrayed
Her heart now unfeeling stone
It is a monster that she has become
As betrayal’s rancid seed grows
Her soul silently weeps
As she seeks those who betray love
And turns them to stone
With one glance
Her tale has become myth
But still she exists
Even if only to be found
Within the hearts of those
Whose love has been betrayed

Medusa’s Legacy

Kelly Rose
December 8, 2015

True Love Scorned

She scorned true love
betraying her soul mate
with another

Finding his lover
in Love's illicit embrace
a dark rage came upon him

When the dark cloud of rage cleared
he saw what his rage had
wrought

He left the bedroom
stained blood red

Just remember....
those who scorn true love
end up dead
                 or worse

Betrayal’s scars leech life’s colors
Tears sting the eye, but nary a
Drop will fall
Forgiveness paints with hope’s brush
Torn between tears and hope
Longing for an explosion of color
A battle reigns deep within
Yearning for the road less traveled
A road of dreams fulfilled
But the lure of the dark road overwhelms
Still, I fight to take that road less traveled
Yearning for the unknown
I battle the bleak comfort of the known

Kelly Rose
© December 29, 2017

Empty, am I
The well
Has gone dry

Not empty,
You simply need to breathe
Maybe even cry

Black is the Silence
That fills me
Madness reigns

Not black, just hurt
You need to find words
To express the pains

And all is Lost
Hope has Flown

Never lost,
You've just grown

No light
Do I deserve

Brighten up,
Keep a smile in reserve..

Even the moonlight
runs and hides away

But my sunlight
Is forever here to stay

Scared, am I
of that forever night

Don't be scared,
Take my hand
Together we can fight

That empty place
that does devour
and holds me tight*

No, a special place
For only you and I
Where our smiles
Will shine bright

Joy exploded
within her heart
Lightening her smile
She shined with beauty
All because....
    he finally understood!

The future lies before me unwritten
Blank pages begging to be stained with ink
Ink only spills through action, not thinking
The future is unknown, fear springs unbidden
Words choke, action stalls, I’m unforgiven
Dreams plague me then vanish in a blink
The future lies before me unwritten
Blank pages begging to be stained with ink
Daring to take risks, words flow, now written
My tale stains the pages in vivid ink
Life thrives, dreams come true and now I’m smitten
The future lies before me unwritten
Blank pages begging to be stained with ink

Kelly Rose
© December 28, 2017

No! It’s my cup of poison
How can I live?
Without its bitter burn

Yes, yes – I know
The ambrosia of life
Is excellent too –

But…
My poison beckons
Its pull so strong
I really do want that ambrosia

But…
Darkness’ allure
So back off! It’s the bitter burn I crave

Kelly Rose
© March 6, 2018

Some days you can’t win for trying
When darkness prevails

Pain slices through his heart
As he watches her
Once again
Beat herself with that
Whip of Intolerance
Each time he is Stunned
By the Violence
She directs at herself
His heart bleeds
As he wonders....
          as he wonders
If she will ever find
Acceptance and Tolerance
Of her self
That she so freely gives to others

Words have power
They can reveal
our desires
They can be weapons
that tear another down
They can bring joy
and lift another's spirit
They can be used
to form laws
and bring justice
They can spread love
build empires
bring forth destruction
So choose your words wisely
Words have power

Words
     Rendered
           meaningless
Spoken softly
Or harshly
No longer do they
       M
       a k
       e
         se..nse
What infuses meaning?
Fact?
Emotion?
Words
        Fall
             O
           f
              f
Leaving the sentence bare
No longer understood
In this mad crazy world

Words
       Rendered
             Meaningless

Kelly Rose
© January 26, 2017

Words
So many words and languages
Often confuses more than clarifies
I pull words from deep within
And am left
        Inadequate
        Voiceless
        Wordless
Sil­ence reigns
Meaning is lost
As words pour forth
        Then,
In an instant
A moment is perfectly captured
And I feel I finally know myself
       Then,
Silence reigns
Meaning is lost
As words pour forth
          And I am lost

Kelly Rose
October 6, 2015

***** and Pillaged
At a young age
A veil descended
Closing her heart to others
Yearning for love,
She understands not
That the veil must drop
For love to fill her heart

You are a lie

Don’t - life slips through your fingers
Even Poe could not grasp time
Stop hiding in illusions, coward
You are a lie
Shattering another’s dreams
Even if you don’t understand
The destruction you cause
One day you will wake up
To the reality of ‘what ifs’
As you look at withered hopes
And dreams that you hide behind
You are a lie

Kelly Rose
© March 13, 2017

You have given my life grace and beauty
Offering your light when darkness filled me
Never has your love felt like some duty
No, you have filled my life with joyous glee

Offering your light when darkness filled me
You gave me courage to discard the hate
No, you have filled my life with joyous glee
Always, you make me feel lovely and great

You gave me courage to discard the hate
Allowing me to discover my way
Making me feel like your wife and soul mate
And always meeting me more than halfway

Allowing me to discover my way
Is a gift beyond compare, truly
And always meeting me more than halfway
You have given my life grace and beauty

Kelly Rose
© December 24, 2016

Young love,
Bitten by the Rose’s thorn
Giving the lovers’ their first blush
Powerful imagery stirring memories
Of first love, of true love

There was a time when
He would have suffered
Her pain as his own
So connected were they
That even in dreams they were one

Sadly, Rose’s thorn
Left its poison behind
And betrayal cut
Deep and true
Its ravaged scars
Leaving an indelible stain
Upon their souls

Bonds torn asunder
Young love’s blush
Turned scarlet red

How I yearn to warn the lovers
Of the Rose’s devious ways
Slyly infusing their love
With betrayal’s bitter pain

For in that moment
When they thought
Love was won…
Well, I guess that’s why
First love’s wound
Colors forever one’s love

Kelly Rose
© January 27, 2017

This poem was inspired by an image - The Thorn by Charles West.  Here is a link to the portrait is you wish to view it.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CharlesWestCope-The_Thorn.jpg