Poetry Potluck–Love and Romance: Where Are You?

This is my entry for the Monday Poetry Potluck over here: http://jinglepoetry.blogspot.com/2010/10/poetry-potluck-love-and-romance.html!

Where Are You?

I see you in my dreams
My love
I see you when I wake

I hear you in the radio’s songs
And the trills of the birds in the trees
I know all of your favorite things
And just what you love about me
I understand your moods
And all your little quirks
I can tell when you are holding back a laugh
And the tears you hate to have fall
I know everything about you
And you know everything about me

I see you in my dreams
My love
I see you when I wake

Now all you need to do
My love
Is enter reality

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The Sea of the Forgotten

The Sea of the Forgotten

I sail out my boat
Into the sea of the forgotten
Despairing for the abundance of new inhabitants
The friends tossed aside have nearly tripled
The missed birthdays are one greater
The ignored achievements are disgustingly large
The unheard words are wailing death

My boat is an old rusty thing to be sure
With a hole right through its core
It sinks slowly as I sit and watch
A fishing pole in my hand
For while I am sinking into the black depths
I continue to hold on to my rod of hope
That one day I’ll reel in enough of me to keep afloat

September 30th – The Cost

The Cost

You know everyone hates you
Even as they worship at your feet
But you don’t care
Because you’ve got everything they want
You’ve got everything you could ever want
And their loathing just makes it better
So you plaster on a Barbie doll smile
Give out a well-practiced wave
Toss your hair
Flash your bling
Hear them ooh and ah
Why don’t you just fashion yourself a crown?
But don’t you look to me Queen B
Don’t you ask me what I think
Because all I’ll ever give you is one sad smile
Since I know what it cost you to get here
And it doesn’t outweigh the return

August 13th – Wanderer

Wanderer

Wanderer
Do you ever get lonely?
Do you ever feel like giving up?
When your feet ache
Can you stop?
Or do you trudge onward
Into blackness?

Have you family?
Have you friends?
Have you any shoulder to cry on?
If you get lost
Can you call someone?
Do you ever get lost at all?

I beg you
Find my doorstep
I’d sleep on the floor
If you came
For, Wanderer,
I was once you
And I cannot sleep
Until you find your peace

August 2nd – Mediocre

All right, I’m back to spam your blogospheres and inboxs with another handful of poems! 😀

Mediocre

I used to love me
I knew who I was
I had all the confidence
I thought I knew it all
I believed I’d be a superstar someday

I don’t know me anymore
I make promises I can’t keep
I have no faith in myself
I know I know little
I no longer see my name in lights

I suppose that’s what happens when you discover you’re mediocre

July 6th – Why I Write

So … yeah. If you’re looking for optimistic poetry, give it a good scroll down. I haven’t got much lately! This one, despite the title, is no exception to that…

Why I Write

I never really asked myself
Why I write
It seemed a silly question
With a long vibrant answer

But I can’t give that today

Don’t ask my
I won’t answer in voice
But if you wait long enough
I’ll answer in words

Because that’s why I write

I can put a pen to paper
And just as easily put a mask on myself
That character there
That narrator here

They are all me

The one who cries herself to sleep
The one whose got nothing figured out
The one who always thinks they’re alone
The one who wants it all to end

Yes, the screamer is me too

I’m yelling at you, whoever you are
Wanting to be heard
Needing someone, who needn’t respond
To read my work and nod

I want you to understand

With every word, that’s what I’m doing
I’m screaming
I’m pretending
I’m begging

Today, that’s why I write

June 21st – Forgotten

I suppose today’s poem has something to do with my latest short story, which was titled The Forgotten. However, while today’s poem doesn’t start today, I think it’s more upbeat than the first draft of the story! The word “forgotten” was, obviously, rolling around in my head and I got to thinking about everybody is afraid to be forgotten in the end–and today’s poem was born!

Forgotten

I don’t want to be forgotten
My name removed from all minds
My face wiped from all memories
My smile removed from all photographs
I don’t want to be the one
Who people only semi-mourn
Who leaves no mark on the world
Who slips away unnoticed
I don’t want to be the person
Left with a heart still empty
Left with a dream unfulfilled
Left with no hand to hold

I want to be someone
Whose name is on everyone’s lips
Whose face is recognized
Whose smile is glory-filled
I want to be the one
Who no one forgets
Who leaves giant footprints
Who goes out with a bang
I want to be the person
With a heart full to bursting
With a dream achieved
With a loving hand to hold

I refuse to be forgotten

June 20th – A Different Kind of Love

I know I wrote this whole thing about not writing dark things yesterday, but sadly my pencil decided to jump onto that bandwagon again today! Don’t even ask me where it came from because I’ve never felt this way before, but there you have it. Perhaps I will have happier messages tomorrow!

A Different Kind of Love

I wasn’t aware that love meant
Chaining me to the wall
And locking me away
Because the outside is dangerous

I wasn’t aware that love meant
Blind folding my eyes
To block out the light and the dark
So my sight would stay unblemished

I wasn’t aware that love meant
Telling me everything about me is awful
So that I would be too afraid
To share it with the world

I wasn’t aware that love meant
Silencing the truth of my heart
So I could lie to myself
That all this is good for me

I wasn’t aware that love meant
Belittling myself always
And hating my own soul
So I could love another

I wasn’t aware that love meant
Learning to stand up for myself
And let go

June 16th – My Eyes

I was in a meeting of my Creative Writing Club today, and an idea was sparked as we were talking about the personification of eyes and what they could say. Something started rolling around in my head that turned into today’s poem. What DO eyes say about a person? Do they show the facade people try to place there? Or are they truly windows to the soul that show everything? I haven’t a clue–that’s why it’s a good poem!

My Eyes

What do you see in my eyes?
Strength I hope
And courage
Pride certainly
And life
Maybe you see
Wisdom too
And a slight hint
Of innocence
Mixed with cunning

I hope you don’t
See fear
Or loneliness
Or uncertainty
My insecurities
Should be hiding
Behind everything else
And masking
My worries
And dislikes

Eyes are supposed to be
Windows to the soul
But I hope they are not
For I am far too scared
To bear my soul
Even fully to myself
I know what I feel
Deep inside
And I’m ashamed
To share it with others

So answer truly
Do you see the facade?
Do I always seem happy?
I should appear
Ruffled by nothing
At all times, you see
Not worried or scared
Or about to cry
Never–
What do you see in my eyes?

June 14th – Strangers

Everywhere you go in public places, there are always those people you don’t know standing by themselves. Do you ever wonder if they could be friends to you? Does it ever cross your mind? It certainly hasn’t done so to me recently, and yet that is what today’s poem is about. Rather, the reason none of us ever talk to those people across the room.

Strangers

Hey Stranger
You there
Across the room
If I said hi
Would you respond?
If I asked
To sit next to you
Would you let me?
Or are we cursed to
Stare across the room
Forevermore
Because neither of us
Will take a step
And try to speak
For we are comfortable
As strangers
And it’s frightening
To see
If we would be friends
Or enemies
For I don’t want
To hate you
Even though
I might love you
So I suppose
We must
Stay strangers