Inhale,
love, compassion and kindness.
Inhale,
care, positivity and happiness.
Your soul needs it’s replenishment,
before you exhale it out as others encouragement.
So sow and grow fields of flowers,
flourish, bloom and bathe in the sunlights nourishment.
Then give, give and give.
For what we give,
enriches us as well, from day to day.

thunder, lightning
rain pours on our heads
you look up and smile
a not so rare moment
of pure happiness and
you are beautiful
your long locks now wet
and dripping and
you are still smiling
glad to be alive
i wish i was like you
but i am not
don't you realize
you are the only reason
my heart continues to pump
and my lungs continue to
inhale
exhale
inhale
exhale
i feel your warm breath
on my skin
and we finally meet
in a passionate kiss
inhale
exhale
inhale
exhale

(for Terry McMillan)

I was a *****
glacier cold solid ice

claws for fingernails
man killing eyes

not myself, not someone else
thirsty for the wild hunt

self-loathing eating away
the way aphids eat the orange tree

no more empathy
where’d that go?

probably jumped off the same cliff
as romance and joy

at the bottom of a cold canyon
swirling in roaring deep water

caught in the current
beneath the surface, far beneath

carried away for three years
no lifejacket, no life

behind reinforced steel
behind the *****

I was a ***** for three years
until the ***** took a scraper to the icebox

climbed over the edge of the canyon
breaking clawed nails on orange clay

****** at the bottom, ****** but alive
swam to the bottom of freezing waters

found my groove
got it back

shot up from the icy foam
exhaled

picked ripe fruit from the tree
cut it into four pieces

one for romance, one for joy
one for empathy, one for me

no more aphids on the orange tree
no more glacier, no more hunt

oh yes, the ***** is still here
nourishing my soul with the fruit of knowledge

reminding me don’t let go
don’t let me be all they see


[Notes:  This poem was published by Cadence Collective: https://cadencecollective.net/2015/01/17/for-3-years/

First published in Men’s Heartbreak Anthology.]

Life Is...
by SelinaShardaye
Life is so Poetic,
Rhythmic, growing, with so much
Knowledge.

Just pulsating always waiting.
For us to inhale, exhale, breath it, live it, explore it.

Ride with it, just enjoy it.
Take Stands because of it.

Be strengthened from it, learn more about it.
Baby just welcome it.
Oh just taste of it,
Life!
When things in your life are really funky.
Don’t be afraid to cry because of it.
It’s alright to vent due to it,
Stump, pout, shout but don’t try to take your life because of it.
Just cry your way through it.
Life keep living it, breathing it, struggle to over come.
To enjoy the best of it.
When life is horrific dare to challenge it.
Life we must all live and do our best with it....

Inhale.
Exhale.
You're doing better than you think you are.
The break downs are few and far.
Inhale.
Exhale.
This is just an episode that will pass you by.
You won't be stuck here, you'll be out in no time.
Inhale.
Exhale.
You'll be fine, you'll be okay.
The thoughts are lies, don't believe what they say.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Just breathe and hold on tight.
It'll all go away, it'll be alright.