In your eyes you hold
A familiar but different sort of night,
It seeps through your bones and makes you tired
Without ever moving an inch.
I can see it by the way your music is turned up so loud you won’t need
To hear yourself think
And the way you’ll smile with that untouchable distance
Like you’re the only person in the world.
But unanswered questions go unasked,
I can guess the truth if you’re not ready to say it,
I’ll be here if you ever need to let go,
I’ll be here when you’re ready to forgive,
So please,
Never forget.

I remember the first time
My demon came knocking.
My brick house turned to straw
In front of his never-ending gaze
And I screamed
Because I couldn’t recognize the one place I called home.
I didn’t know what to do
I couldn’t breathe in the dark
I could see mile-deep cracks echo through my heart
As I tried to patch it up with tape.
I could see the dark swallow me whole
Without anyone to save me
And I could see...
Then it’d fade.
I’d be able to see through
The demon's eyes.
And I’d be able to see it’s curious gaze was not one
That wanted to leave me dead.
I’d be sad,
Knowing its secret truth,
But I knew that I could breathe.
And then I’d sing so some flowers would grow
And heal my heart’s small dent.
I’d look around
And I’d be fine.
I would face the dark and apologize
For mistaking it for a beast,
Then I’d snuggle up in my blankets
And fall to sleep.
I know I’ll wake up
When it’s time for me to leave.
But until then,
I’ll be here to say that our demons aren’t our ends.
I’ll be here.

I am the waves in the ocean
I am my past
my family and friends
I am my mistakes
despair and sorrow

I am pebbles on the beach
I am my present
my thoughts and feelings
I am my success
and my knowledge

I am seeds in the ground
and rain in the clouds
I am my future
once lost but now found
I am hope and desire

I am my heart and soul
the molten core of the earth
I am loved and cherished
casting light in the dark
I am the stars in the sky

copyright © 2018 Karen Horsley
blueskydays365.com

sunrise sweet silence
sanctuary surrounding solitude
sorrow springs since summer’s
shimmering sparkling sunshine
squandered sentiment
sundown’s smoky sunset
saddened sombre skies
starlight specks swallowed
shaded sublunary shadows
soon sunrise showers soft soil

if your life’s a vacuum with empty shades of grey
and no one there beside you to add colour to your day

trapped within four walls in an isolated room
the chill air and the darkness suggestive of a tomb

curtains drawn at windows, locks to keep you safe
a self-constructed prison, and no hope of escape

the phone as dead as you, disconnected from the wall
and technicoloured mailshots lie scattered in the hall

through the tiny window gleams kaleidoscopic light
dancing on the tiled floor until day meets the night

do you live in shades of grey?

I wanna share
all my poetry with you
but then you might
think
its
stupid
trivial
short
and
unremarkable.
Just like me...?
An insecure 'artist'
with too many
feelings.

So bad,
I want to impress you.
It sickens me
thinking of all
the ways I
put myself
up...
even in my humility
I'm trying to seem approachable.
wishing you
had witnessed
these highlights.
Not nearly so interesting
without commentary.

I fear
I won't be so free
to explain myself
without you
explaining me back.
Pinning me down
to get the jist.
Too familiar with my
angular hips
to pay mind
to a spirited mix.