Inelegant and rough hewn
Invisible to all but me
Oppressive and injurious
This prison of grief and fear
Holds me fast
Arrested
The key to joy held tight in my hand
I wait for the guard to look away
So I can fly free
-gws
The Cage
Category: NaPoWriMo
How to Eat a Rainbow
Glittering seeds that sparkle in winter
Much like a geode cracked open
Textured spheres like palm-sized suns
Perfume the grove with citrus tang
Oblong bunches entice with
promises of creamy, tropical sweetness
Tart, crisp heralds of autumn
Ready to move from bushel to Thanksgiving pie
Baskets of chewable night-sky pearls
Fresh from bush to muffin tin
Plump globes hang heavy on the vine in the tea-colored afternoon sun
Destined for bottle, jar, or a snack popped between a lover’s lips
-gws
Ecstasy
(A palinode to Grief)
Ecstasy illuminates
It amplifies joy
Making time feel inconsequential
Grounding me deep in the moment
Called by the here and now
Allowing full presence in the experience of it
Ecstasy demands we be seated in our bodies
To experience pleasure
And laughter
And belonging as part of the great tapestry of living
Our senses acute and engaged
Begging we greedily partake
In the gifts that life offers
Richly
Vividly
Intricately
With all of our senses
Inciting never ending curiosity
And a desire for the bliss of it to never end
-gws
Not Enough
Not enough resources
Not enough time
Not enough support
Not enough me
-gws
Name
My name is: Woman Daughter Wife Mother Teacher Student Warrior Healer Friend Foe Philosopher Dreamer Writer Lover Artist Seer Goddess Spirit Light Gladys -gws
I Might Have Been
In another life I might have been A pirate queen A courtesan A poison-wielding spy A teacher's pet A protégé The apple of your eye A doe-eyed starlet A beatnik poet A comic, humor wry An astronaut A swimming star A mime who would not cry And yet I have this life to live One shot for this go 'round For all the mes that might have been I like the me I found -gws
Seeking Release
Each time the house shook I knew A storm was brewing With unbridled rage Knew that pools of acrid magma Were rising to the surface Seeking release Each time the house shook I knew That nowhere was safe There was not enough time to escape The maelstrom was coming Wrathful and vicious Seeking release Each time the house shook I knew I would stand against the gale Diving deep into my power Drawing on an ancient strength Of ancestor, element, and divinity Seeking release -gws
A Love Poem
Your love has me floating Like a helium balloon Tethered to the ground By a heartstring Your love caresses my senses Like the sharp, clean freshness of pine Endlessly stretching heavenward toward the azure sky Crowned in misty clouds and enduring Your love has me believing in forever Like the love found in bedtime stories and fairy tales Two hearts forged into an infinity loop As twin souls merged will do -gws
An Education I Have Failed to Get
I often wonder if I'm missing something I keep seeming to make the same mistake Unable to avoid the pothole I know is there To avoid the nail that snags my sweaters Every time I walk past Always forgetting the indulgence that makes me ill Perhaps these continuous tragedies are the result of An education I have failed to get Or failed to learn from The ripping and tearing The tripping and falling The banging and bruising All from things I know will cause me harm Things I should know to avoid And yet I cannot seem to hold the lessons I cannot seem to employ the learning And I wonder what is wrong with me -gws
Strangers
I think we are strangers I want to love you, but I don't know who you are Do you know? It's hard to love someone you don't know You don't seem to know who I am Do you really want to? We continue to dance in circles But never to the same tune All stomped on toes And elbows to the ribs Frustrated and blaming the other Our sketches of the other Horrific distortions Each of us unrecognizable In the images we hold up to each other Like a horrible collaboration of Salvador Dali and Marc Chagall We speak to each other in discordant tones Two different conversations occurring in the same time and space Cacophonous and dissonate Everything lost in translation -gws
Words Wishes and Wisdom 