Author: Words Wishes and Wisdom

I'm a NorCal mom working tech, raising young children, navigating marriage and divorce, life, work, and the emotions around it all. This blog grew out of my IG account where I share poetry, prose, and other posts that I hope speak to the soul. This blog primarily features my poetic musings and other writing. I hope you find something that speaks to you while you're here.

Oh Northwest Wind

(A Northern California Call for Autumn’s Arrival)

Photo by Zetong Li on Pexels.com
Oh Northwest Wind
Bring forth your breeze
And with your breath make summer ease

Oh Northwest Wind
Gift your crisp, biting air
That tells us Fall will soon come to bear

Oh Northwest Wind
Please do not tease
Instead, herald the changing of the leaves

Oh Northwest Wind
Return us our foggy blanket
So we may start dreaming of harvest banquets

Oh Northwest Wind
Please place kisses on our skin
So Summer knows its rule is at an end

Oh Northwest Wind
Time to dance through the pines
While we bundle in sweaters and sip rich wine

Oh Northwest Wind
Please bless us from above
So that we may give thanks with Autumnal love

-gws

Asking

Photo by JESSICA TICOZZELLI on Pexels.com
You ask what can you do
Nothing
You can do nothing
How can you offer what you do not have
How can you heal what you cannot perceive
How can you give comfort 
I speak with ghosts as you lay next to me 
So I can remember what it feels like to be seen
To be understood in a way you are incapable of
I don't know if you will ever be capable of learning to love me
In all of the deeply intricate ways that I need
Not If you can't learn to see me for who and what I actually am
-gws

Thousand Cuts

Photo by Rodrigo Souza on Pexels.com
I don't get to run from pain
It finds me
It circles like a wolf pack around wounded prey
I drop to my knees
Paralyzed and desperate for breath
Silent screams dying on my swollen lips
Tear tracks on my cheeks like tattoos
There's not enough rage to power a comeback
I've always gotten back up
But when is enough fight enough
When do I get to catch a break
Death by a thousand cuts is agony
Maybe I just need to lay face down in the mud
And let it drown me
I'm too tired to take another hit
-gws

Hollywood Nights

Photo by Nout Gons on Pexels.com
These Hollywood nights are long
The city filled with thousands of souls
All of us together yet alone
The green and white neon outside my window burns intrusively bright
Adding to my restlessness in an unforgiving summer heat
I imagine this is what Hell feels like
All sweat, restlessness, longing, and need
The fan whirls and clicks in the corner of the room
Impotent in its efforts to bring relief

I stare at soot-stained walls remembering
You are mine and I am yours
Though we are neither
You haunt my dreams
The smell of you
The taste of you
The dancing electricity of your skin against mine
The spark of us igniting together
I submerge into the memory of us
Distracting myself from the oppression of a city that welcomes no one

I see your silhouette leaning over me when I close my eyes
I feel the softness of your lips and the heat of your breath
I shiver as goosebumps rise on my too hot skin
I can almost feel your hands on my body
And the ghost of your lust-heavy voice whispering in my ear
I let out an inaudible gasp as rivulets of sweat run races along my throat
Reminding me of your fingertips

Sirens suddenly erupt from the street
The walls now the stage for the dance of red and blue strobes
Reality returns with its harsh shadows and sharp light
Razor-edged voices rise up from the sidewalk
Flavoring the oppressive night with desperation and power struggles
I take a drag off my joint in an attempt to increase the space between me and the world
I hold the smoke in my lungs for as long as I can
Praying that when I release it that I can float away from this existence with it
Back to the place where you held me close in a cool, comforting illusion of love

-gws





Holding Space

Photo by Harry Cunningham @harry.digital on Pexels.com
Holding space is a sacred practice
It is the ultimate act of presence
Holding space is like drawing a circle of protection
It feels like sitting beneath a bright sky on a warm afternoon in earl fall
It feels like opening your arms wide as if you could embrace all of Creation
It feels like sitting by a bedside in deep prayer
Holding space is allowing room for feelings to flow freely without concerns for time
Or worries of judgement, puzzling out solutions, or providing traditional comfort
Holding space is not about fixing anyone or anything
It is about allowing what is to just be as it needs to be
It is about allowing a soul to just be as it needs to be
For as long as needed
It is about honoring the process
It is about walking along someone in silent vigil as they navigate their journey
Sometimes that is just for a moment
Sometimes that is for a gauntlet
Holding space is saying that my heart beats with yours for as long as you have need
Without expectation
Without demand
Holding space is bearing witness with love, respect and grace

-gws