I cannot describe the powerful alchemy that occurs when I engage in deep conversation with someone I vibrate with It fills up the place where magic lives in my soul It is like rain in the desert It makes me whole -gws
Whole
Category: NaPoWriMo
No One
No one knows No one knows the unfathomable rage I am home to No one sees the hot coals behind my eyes No one hears the internal screaming resounding in my chest No one feels the radiant heat of my simmering anger No one knows the infinite plans of vengeance I push down No one knows the resilient heat of the embers of resentment hidden just below the surface No one witnesses the growing of my impotent fury I am a soul under pressure I am determined to produce diamonds and not explosions Some days the beast pleads to be freed so its tongue can lash and its claws can rip I am stronger than my base self And I will restrain the monster until I can heal the wounds that feed and fuel it I am resolved to not become or be consumed by the monster My desire to be whole is greater than my desire to fracture and destroy No one knows I am fighting to heal No one knows that I am determined to heal I know I will heal I will heal I will be whole -gws
The Rider
You don't know me But you think you do I am the one who rides The one who looks out from the eyes with impartial curiosity I am here I am, also, not I am the third person perspective Existing in a first person world Standing in front of you But hiding in plain sight -gws
Judging a Book By Its Cover
A Book of Images by W.T. Horton & W. B. Yeats Published 1898 What wonderment do you contain Are you an account of actualities Or a tome of terrors A book of observations Or imaginings Your title so simple Your cover art surreal With its hand drawn landscape Or is it a dreamscape Did you inspire Did you create controversy Did you find a home on many Victorian library shelves Or did you gather dust in obscure bookshops Unnoticed and unread Your goldenrod cover calling to patrons like a beacon -gws
A Mother’s List
Wake them Dress them Feed them Then it's off to school Pick them up And bring them home Provide a snack or two Help them with their homework Hold them when they're sad Help them learn to regulate Themselves when they are mad Attempt to feed them dinner Then it's time for bed Pick out a book or two From favorites we have read Bandage up their owies Make sure they brushed their teeth Check beneath their beds to prove There's nothing underneath One last kiss for comfort And then to tuck them in Then off to sleep for mommy To begin it all again -gws
Dear Book Boyfriend
Dear Book Boyfriend, I missed you. I can't wait to spend time with you. Who will you be this time? Are you tall and dark with a brooding manner, Or are you dapper, dashing, daring, and dangerous? Will we play games of will, Or will you lure me with chivalry? I'm ready to match wits with you. Ready to be Incensed, Worshiped, Betrayed, Persuaded, Enthralled, Rescued by you. I am ready to despise, Entreat, Crave, Trust, Betray, Rescue, Surrender to you. Are we friends this time? Lovers? Strangers? Enemies? Will we live a fairy tale, Or a war? Will there be a cliffhanger? Don't tell me how our story will unfold. I'd hate to spoil the journey. I will join you soon, Amongst our wood of dead trees. My kettle is on, and my blanket is ready. I cannot wait to fall in love with you again. -gws
Metaphysical Intercourse
The most sensitive area of my body is my mind Exchange thoughts with me Stimulate me from the inside out Engage me in metaphysical intercourse Lead me down your roads of contemplation Let me chase you through the field of your philosophies Make my pulse quicken by describing your deepest passions Touch me with your dreams Your secrets The intricacies of your core beliefs Take me on a private tour of your sacred spaces Turn me on with your vulnerability Make me crave your speculations Let me ache for the details of your considerations Expand my mind to bursting with our conversations Until I stop your mouth with the heat of mine -gws
The Shedding of Skin
Today I chose to stay present I chose to stay in sync with my breath I chose to stay with the rhythm of my resting heartbeat Today I chose to just listen I chose to release my assumptions I chose to keep my defenses sheathed Today I chose to show up curious I chose to leave my assumptions aside I chose to suppress my desire to make judgements Today I shed the skin of old behaviors I chose to make conscious choices in the face of old fears I chose to prove to myself that I can evolve -gws
Encouragement for the New Poet
A reply to an Instagram poet’s profile quote
You are everything and your words are but an opportunity to climb a tower of knowing to get to you. Those who do not rise to the challenge to make handholds of your lyrics and footholds of your prose are the ones whose lives lack the enrichment of your visions and the music of your descriptions They are the ones who hold nothing in their hands while you hold the world -gws
Grief
Grief smothers
It slows minutes to seconds
Linear experience is arrested
And time becomes one, disconnected moment
Followed by another disconnected moment
Like a damaged film reel
Jumping from one stepping stone to the next
Each leap a gaping chasm
Light too bright
Sound too loud
Words have no meaning
Colors leeched of their vibrance
The body feels both weighted down and untethered
Feelings resonate acutely beneath numbness
Does life still make sense when it feels senseless?
Is it possible to live when one cannot seem to draw breath?
Grief feels like drowning
Tumultuous and savage
Full of ache, helplessness, desperation
Roiling and hollow
Swinging like a pendulum from feeling too much
To nothing at all
-gws
Words Wishes and Wisdom 