Some bridges are better off burning
Leaving the past buried beneath ash and embers
Smoke drifting away from the devastation
Like fading memories
-gws
Bridges
Tag: NaPoWriMo
Your Move
I see you watching
The sway of my hips
The set of my lips
The unapologetic way I take up space
You're wondering about me
Imagining my mysteries
Gauging if you are worthy
To kneel in worship before
My dark goddess displayed
Exhalant in my glory
I will take no audience
With ordinary souls
They do not ignite curiosity in me
I like those who recognize
Their audacity in approaching me
Because my eyes show
I give no fucks
I do not play
If I let you in
Doesn't mean you get to stay
I have danced with devils
And cast them all out
Barely a glance spared them
I see you watching me
What's your move
-gws
How to Woo a Poet
Crave deep and honest conversation
Sit with her
Like a blind man tracing her face
Run your curiosities
With careful deliberateness
Across her mind
And allow her to do the same
Lean into the exchange
And let the world fall away
Spend the night in philosophical repose
So you may greet the dawn
With your souls on fire
Make evenings like this a ritual
This will light a fire in her blood
This is how to woo a poet
-gws
Panels of Poetry
I do not wish to cover my walls with too many paintings and pictures
I wish to cover my walls with panels of poetry
I want beautiful words to surround me
Like a sacred spell
Speaking truths and insights
Prayers and pleas
Into my home like a silent Gregorian chant
Poets' words holding a vigil of inspiration
Painting my walls with observations and emotion
Experience and wisdom
Humor and passion
Poetic versions of our human condition
Illustrated in language
Forcing me to pause every time I pass by
And ground in this moment by reading
Someone else's soul imprinted upon my wall
Reminding me of the depth and breath of living
Reminding me to look for the beauty inherit in experience
Reminding me to feel deeply and love fiercely
Reminding me to embrace every moment regardless of its pleasantness
I wish my home be a celebration of
Poets dreamers philosophers and storytellers
My home will be no dead poets society
But a celebration of the living truth of their words
May all who cross my threshold find something that speaks to them
And after sitting within my walls
May they leave feeling just a little more deeply than when they arrived
-gws
Salt and Sage
In sacred prayer
I place myself in Her protection
Amongst a ring of salt and sage
To cleanse and clarify
Purify and protect
Grounding me to earth
Connecting me to sky
-gws
Possibilities
I fall in love multiple times a day
I am wooed by the beauty of the waking sky
The feel of hot water on my skin
The rich deep smell of brewing coffee
Enchanted with my children's laughter
A stranger's smile as we pass on the street
A friend's text message saying hello
Captivated by the crescent moon in a starry sky
A blazing sunset over a summer ocean
The fog spilling into the valley over the coastal mountains
There's so much to love if one chooses to look
So much to be delighted by
All it takes is a willingness to see the possibilities in the world
-gws
Rivers
I have cried rivers
To cleanse my heart
Of the goods and bads of you
In those waters
I finally see my own reflection
Haloed in sunlight
Instead of your shadow
-gws
Better
I have been asked
If I thought I didn't deserve better
If I thought I couldn't have better
If I thought he was the best I could do
NO
I knew I deserved better
I knew I was worth better
I knew I could have better
I was in love
I believed my relationship
Could become better
Would become better
I just had to wait and believe
I clung to breadcrumbs
While my soul starved
I believed in a dream
Long past its expiration date
I held onto hope
Even when the nightmares
Haunted the wakeful day
I had to do everything I could
Until it became undeniably clear
There was nothing else I could do
When it was clear it was him and not me
I had shown up
Put the work in
Tried and cried and tired again
And he wouldn't meet me
He couldn't accept responsibility for his part
He wouldn't do the work
He wanted me to keep changing
Transforming
Making myself less so he could be more
Smaller
More compliant
Less of a person
More of a puppet
A Stepford Wife
That could never please him anyway
I knew that my luminescence was what drew him to me
My shine was acceptable then
My shine is acceptable now
Just not to him
I knew love shouldn't feel like this
Be like this
Behave like this
Hurt like this
Love does not bully
Love does not belittle
Love does not plot against the one it adores
Love does not manipulate or blame
Love does not destroy others to make itself feel powerful
My hope became my prison
An escape room I allowed to be created around me
I found myself trapped in its ever shifting walls
It would take time
It would take opportunity
It would take all the courage I had to leave
To choose me
And to not look back
I do deserve better
And reclaiming myself
Is where I start to create better
-gws
Late Summer Afternoon
Warm lazy afternoons in late summer
Hazy and tea-colored at the golden hour
Dragonflies dancing through the tall grass
While crickets hum contentedly
Air scented with summer earth
And hints of coming autumn rain
The world readying for sleep
Eagerly awaiting the slowing of things
-gws
Nothing to Prove
When the truth comes out
It's quiet
No pomp and circumstance
The truth has nothing to prove
-gws
Words Wishes and Wisdom 