Then renewal enters--
After the longest winters,
Strengthened setting sun.

Kindness touched a heart,  
the heart turned into a beautiful flower,
its fragrance is felt everywhere.

I’ve been stranded in a desert,
Two years behind the bars of sand.
Never tried to break free,
Just watched the sun sink with me.

Then one day— like any other,
Through my wreckage, I caught his gaze.
Shivering— I’m cold he says,
Burn me up with the fire you ignite.

Passed beyond my clouds,
Every scar of mine must be his guide.
So I’ll drop my broken heart—
Become the spark of your night

I’m in a contest I can’t win
Or even come in second.
My bird has flown from the streetlight arm
And taken promise with it.

Another lands and then departs
To mock my hopeful prayers
The sky teems with symbolic fowl
But I can’t suss their meaning.

A big one flew straight over me
But I can’t read its message.
Was it promising good health
Or telling me it’s sorry

That I’ll only get just what I have
To get me through tomorrow
And if I am not strong enough
The game will then be over.

Why are birds the messengers
In answer to my pleas
They send me signals I can’t read
And I walk on in darkness.
ljm

pearls
are my favourite
of all my jewels.
the way they're made,
from scratching, slashing, ocean water splashing fuels
intricate transformation, done in no haste,
but time.
not one is the same,
just like my curls.