To my Friends and Fellow Poets!

Maddy

She was lovely and lonely
Her copper-red belly stood out on a gray rainy day with patches of blue
She seemed to be listening to other birds' chirps and squirrel noises
She hopped on just taking everything in
Lovely company
Hello Robin

C@rainbowchaser2024

for the day that i go
beyond the grave
please know
these words that i say:
i'm happy here
it's what i've always craved.
spaces to fill unseen
without meeting any stares.
no longer losing hope
or places to be
ending endless penance
for straying from god's will.

the fault lives with none
except with me,
who did nothing of use
but hurt everyone i see.
- - -
so when i leave you
within my wake
my departed soul
wants this for you to take:
this was my song
sung by swans
singing the words
of my deepest love
before i return again
but as a mourning dove.
remember now
my unbeating heart
rests finally full
in a world revealed
only to those who look.
- - -
go in grace
and live life freely
when you call my name
find me perched upon
the nearest tree
watching over lovingly
and being proud of you daily
from the moment you rise
and smell the air
to the close of dusk
as you go up the stairs

wherever you meet me
just as you are
i'll be happy to share
with you the moment
and show you i care.
- - -
yes i've left
before i'm old
but the bell waits for no one
and continues to toll

so i bid you adieu
and have given you the words
to know and to remember
you can find me among the birds.

It's hard being sober
It's hard staying clean
Hard making a living
If you know what I mean

Hard loving your neighbor
Harder loving yourself
Could you do me a favor
And go bother somebody else

It's hard to smile in certain crowds
And not tell the truth sometimes out loud
It can be hard to make a move
When you're not sure of what to do

It can be hard to do what's right
In everybody's sight
Hard to extend the hand of kindness
To those you do not like

It's hard to know when to let go
Be it people or worrying
Hard at times to give up hope
And other times a simple thing

It's hard being a witness
In a world that's part of you
Hard like nobody's business
If you want to know the truth