It was a cart once made for shopping
Now lost and long forgoten
It was a cart once silver and shiny
Now old, disgusting and grimy

She found it there in an unused lot
It was exactly what she had sought
In it she placed her worldly belongings
Including her hopes, her dreams, and longings

She took it with her wherever she went
Hours organizing it where spent
Not one thing about that cart was inept
She knew every scrap of paper, and were it was kept
There was room for her clothes, she had very few
Far less than anyone knew
A spot for the table scraps she managed to find
Who knew you could live on less than a dime

But there in the middle you'll find two old tattered tins
Her most prized possessions where tucked safely within

One tin was for the past and things that are no more
With child like eyes, she'd peek in and explore
For both Joy and Sorrow are contained inside
Amongst the Polaroids of life, a lock of child's hair did reside

The other was for her hopes and dreams
They carried her on, when there seemed to be no means
Even when all the dreams eventually explode and collide
Hope will still be standing strong by her side

Her life as it is now, out here on the streets
Was unexpected, not planned...... the memory repeats

A bright sunny day
Soaking up the sun's rays
Both out by their pool
Him sitting at the bar on a stool
But little boys sure do like to giggle
They squirm, and they wiggle

Her out stretched fingers grazed his shirt as he fell
Her screams of anguish no one could quail
As she held his limp body pleading for him to open his eyes
Screaming at the heavens..... WHY.... WHY.... WHY

Now on this block you can find her every day
Pushing that shopping cart as she limps and she sways
Come bare witness to the sad aftermath
One split second, changed a life's path

©Pauline Russell

In the coffin bare
You will find it there
If you want to know
All the secrets it will hold
All the sorrow and the strife
Will all end in the passing of life
Take a look at the empty shell
It's been released from it's cell

©Pauline Russell

Ties that bind
They do unwind
And there may never be an answer
It eats at us like cancer
It rots the brain
That inturn fills it up with pain
It hollows the heart
Because that's where it starts
It defens us to the truth
They did it to us in our youth
It's all been swept away Into the great abyss
And now it just grows on us like a cyst
Untill we're released
No relief

©Pauline Russell

You sat across from me with such happiness
I try to mimic your gladness
At this moment I'm so jealous
So wishing I wasn't callous

For I can't have your joyful feeling
Wounds constantly ripped open never healing
I try to match your smile as a tear forms in my eye
I divert my gaze I don't want you to see me cry
It's not fair to you
To always see my darkened hue

No one can stand my sadness
When they start to taste the madness
They all must go away, or the darkness settles in
Then I lose them to my greatest sin

©Pauline Russell

The rose has fainted,fell to the dirt
Sorrow lingers like a scent
In it's petals you can see the hurt
Such an agonizing event
I watched its' fall
I seen its decent
All I do now is cry and bawl
My love was not enough to circumvent
I couldn't stop the bleed
As it faded red to gray
It happened with such speed
Emotions bundled up in disarray
Now it's gone, turned to dust
But its' memories remain
In my heart the agony is ******
Not even eternity can ease the pain
My rose is gone
My lifes' sand now a desert
In this garden I know longer belong
For all there is left is grief and dirt

©Pauline Russell

I'm angry, I'm mad, I can only see red
This feeling is demanding, it needs to be feed

I'll rip and I'll tear flesh from the bone
I'll rip and I'll tear your feelings from thier home
I'll stomp on your head, till your eyes become lose
I'll even stomp on your heart if I chose
I will snap every bone in your puny little body
I will snap every emotion till you no longer  haughty
When done, I'll  have separated your muscle from skin
When done, I'll have separated your body from sin

I'm angry, I'm mad, I can only see red
But don't worry people, for we all end up dead.

©Pauline Russell

The American people have been Punked
His name is Donald Trump

©Pauline Russell

Like a tree in the night I get lost in the shadows
Standing here waiting my turn at the gallows

I'm just a mirage
Decked out in camouflage
A black silouet against a sea of gray
The drakness conceals the decay

Watching the moonbeams resistance Against the darks existence
The star's twinkle in denial
But the darkness has been there all the while

Consumed by years of agonizing pain
I don't consider myself even close to sane
Digging through life's haystack to find that proverbial needle
My search is methodical but the results are feeble

So I'm beginning to bending under the weight
Of this wretched life, this darkest fate
For I have already tasted the sorrow
Of every single one of my lifes tomorrows

Once a mighty warrior full of hope and fight
All that remains is poison tainted veins from life's snake bite
So here in the crushing darkness I stand and wait
Hoping the executioner, my years will soon abbreviate

©Pauline Russell

It's hard living in a world where no one cares
While your smothered and shallowed by despair
Sitting here wondering why I was born into this place
Not wanting to be part of this human race
Where money is the great and powerful Oz
It doesn't matter what's the cause
I look and see their hearts have grown cold and calloused
Everything is so off balanced
There is no more unconditional love
No help from up above
We have been abandoned
The trumpets have sounded
Humanity has been stripped of it's compassion
Empathy is in short ration
Gone are the ways of old
To these values we no longer hold
Now it's I'll do for you if you can do for me
That's not the way it's supposed to be
But everyone's eyes have been closed
Their souls have become thorny and cold
We are no longer judged on our thoughts and actions
But by how much money we have for the coming attractions
For if we don't have enough to pay
We become part of the play
We are condemned to be the *****
Then feed into the machines of war

©Pauline Russell

Splitter splatter, pitter patter,  rain dance my cares away
Pitter patter, splitter splatter, on this cold and lonely day

Doing your tap dancing on the crisp Fall leaves
In your rhythm all my worries are relieved

Slapping out the tune on the old evergreen
The most beautiful sound I have ever seen

Splitter splatter, beating on my windowpane
Trying to break my heavy mental chain

Pitter patter, rapidly tapping on the glass
Trying to warn me, of shadows yet to be cast

©Pauline Russell