I met my younger self for coffee.
That morning.

Only I never liked the taste then.
Like I still don't like the taste today.

I sit across from a wide eyed girl.
Dressed like she was attending a funeral.
With big dreams to become.
Everything they never thought she could be.

Her smile filled with hope.
With a single question in her mind.
"Did we make it?"
She's too excited to stay still.

I sipped the tea I ordered.
While she is served hot coco.
That reminds her of better days.

She thinks she knows everything.
So it's hard to tell her she doesn't know enough.

Her smile I know hides.
A million secrets.
She puts on a good facade.

It would **** her if I told her.
All things they did.
The men she met.  

Yet if I told her we went to a theater in london.
With friends we never thought we'd find.
She'd scream out with glee.

But it's not my place.
To mess with time and space.
So I saved the good stuff as a secret.

All I whisper.
All I can say.
"We made it out alive."

She stares out of the window in disbelief.
Wanting to have heard much better news.
I take her hands in mine.
"Your better days are still to come.
We have so many more dreams than we did before."

She smiles through the disappointment.
As her phone begins to call.
We still keep our phones on silent.
Because we never liked the noise.

As I ponder, sweetly mused,
your grace against the breeze,

I cower at the frightful task
of earning but a please.

Your humble smile, your giddy laugh,
of which I must appease,

I sink into my sullen soul,
unable to unfreeze.

For with this heart, I cannot pledge
to you your beauty’s ease.

understand the pain you hide,  
The way you keep it locked inside.  
You push away, afraid to fall,  
But still, I love you through it all.  

Your heart may doubt, your mind may race,  
But in your eyes, I see a trace.  
A love that’s real, a love that’s true,  
And I will stand right here with you.  

Though you retreat, I’ll never leave,  
In every storm, in every grieve.  
I see the scars, I feel your fight,  
But I’ll keep loving through the night.  

So don’t be scared, don’t push me away,  
I’ll love you more with each new day.  
I understand, but know this too—  
My heart will always wait for you.

In the quiet of a cluttered room,
a glimmer flickered, an idea in bloom.
I held it close, a thought so bright,
now lost in clouds,
drifting out of sight.

A glance, a turn, a fleeting chase,
I search the corners, I scan the space.
It danced on the tip of my eager mind,
now a whisper, elusive,
and unconfined.

Was it a word, a thing, a dream
or a thread of a half-formed theme?
Time ticks on, relentless and still,
as I shuffle through remnants,
against my will.

Where did it go, this moment, this spark?
Did it slip through the cracks
and into the dark?

I pause, I breathe, I let out a sigh,
in the chaos of life, as my thoughts fly
out the window or through the door,
leaving me stumped
and pondering once more.

©️Lizzie Bevis

Whiskers twitching, sharp and keen,  
prowling silently, slinking, unseen.  
With curious eyes, so alert and bright,  
investigating all within their sight.  
So lithe and nimble, quick to pounce,  
on playful paws as they bat and bounce.  
A skilful mouser, stealthy predator,  
a beast of surprise and graceful wonder.  
Yet gentle too,
when snuggled up having a nap,  
curled up and content in my cosy lap.  
As comforting purrs soothe my weary soul,  
making me feel loved, at peace and whole.  
My treasured companion and loyal friend,  
Aloof yet loving, wild yet tamed,  
my mysterious moggy a master of might,
endlessly captivating me with pure delight.

©️Lizzie Bevis