You're speaking again.
I'm listening.
You're crying again.
I'm listening.
You're lying again.
I'm listening.
I'm still hoping.
I'm still trying.
Poor little Sunshine.
Not a clue what to do.
why.
words words words.

They're yelling again.
I'm listening.
They're hurting again.
I'm listening.
They're learning again.
I'm listening.
I'm praying.
Hoping.
Waiting.
words, words, words.

I'm hurting again.
who's listening?
I'm trying again.
who's listening?
I'm dying again.
who's listening?
who's watching, hoping, praying, waiting, trying, for me?

Words. Words. Words.

who is listening...

it’s time to rest

for a little while, not think
about what’s to come

just listen

remember everything, listen
to the echoes

rest

play with the cat.

I never thought I'd see the day
that I didn't think the pain
would be the death of me.
The pain of a life lived in Voluntary solitary.
I never realized I made myself a prison
when I put my walls up so I didn't have to listen to what they had to say.
Then, one day, I decided to listen to someone new, and their voices finally started to drift away.
But it wasn't the voice of God, or an angel.
It was someone who wanted to be a friend. And that's all I needed to be free in the end.
The message I hope you take from this tale
of woe is that not everyone's out to get you. And some people can even help you grow.

The mountain calls to me, demands my presence, I meet its gaze.

Me: What do you want from me?

Mountain: I want you to climb to the peak

Me: I can’t bring anyone else with me

Mountain: I do not ask of you to bring anyone else, in fact, you should leave them behind, now climb me

Me: No, I can’t just do that

Mountain: Whether you listen to them or listen to me, makes no difference but I know you, and you want to climb, with no safe pathway down, no net to hold you, you want to see from this height and this height alone

Me: What if I want off?

Mountain: Then jump, but know the ground awaits you, you are never free

I stand in its shadow.

Be silent. Listen. Breathe. Easy enough to say, but much harder to put into practice. Sometimes I talk to fill a void. I talk to avoid having to feel the weight of silence like judgement, so I don't have to go down deep and see what actually lives there. Help me deal with my emotions, help me feel my emotions, especially those that are uncomfortable or unnatural to me. Be silent. Listen. Breathe. Maybe the hurts and sadness, the hungers and scars deserve to be recognized for what they are. They are part of life. The help me know and feel I am alive. They help me remember and be more grateful for the many wonderful blessings I have in my life. There is a time for talking, but now it is time To Be Silent. To Listen. To Breathe.

Listen to the Lord in the silence of your heart
Be still and know that He is God and King
The Author Creator Sustainer of Everything
Be filled with His presence in every breath you take
Know that He is with you in every choice you make
To know Him is to love Him to love Him is to see the light
To listen to Him is to hear the words of everlasting life
May the peace of the Lord shine upon your face
And may you walk forever in the light of His grace

Amen

Listen,
poems read
differently
when you're close to the poet

Listen,
run your hands
across my pages
caress the dents
feel the depth in some
and the lightness in others

Listen,
come closer
place your ear
on my papers
listen to the waltz
my pencils do
with every
stride, every curve

I'll go first,

Growing up, there was a huge emphasis on marriage in my community.
Everything I watched was about love,  lust and relationships, this was all I consumed.

Later on in life,  I began to crave affection and attention from many if not all the males in my life.

This lead me into a spiral of thinking that every male I had an interaction with was going to be my husband.

We listen and we don't judge...