Freebie Fridays: Selected Poems from the Past

A few weeks ago, I posted Distant Whispers – a song I wrote for a novel when my characters decided it was going to be important.

I will admit, I hoped writing that song would rekindle an old love of poetry. I used to doodle a few lines of poetry almost every day, just whenever random thoughts struck me. I fell out of the practice, though, and haven’t seemed to be able to get it back.

Creativity is a muscle, and this is certainly one I’ve allowed to atrophy.

Still, I have written a fair share of poems in the past. And some of them I even consider to be somewhat good. So I decided it might be fun to delve into my poetry reservoir and dust a few things off. If nothing else, it might help me rekindle that love I’ve been searching for.

Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t start with my most recent concoction:

Spyder on the ceiling
in the corner above my shelves
hiding from the raindrops
and chill wind outside
what makes you think I want to share my house
with a spyder on the ceiling
in the corner above my shelves?

Spyder on the ceiling
in the corner above my shelves
so stoic and unmoving
please don’t leap at me
when I come to fix my tea
we can share the ceiling
in the corner above my shelves.

Spyder on the ceiling
in the corner above my shelves
uncaring of my anguish
or sharp repeated glares
please stay where I can see you
and don’t leap from the ceiling
in the corner above my shelves.

Spyder on the ceiling
in the corner above my shelves
you may disappear one day
and I would never see you again
except that I would leap at shadows
far beyond the ceiling
in the corner above my shelves.

Spyder on the ceiling
in the corner above my shelves
I may never know what possessed you
to abandon the safety of your perch
but our stalemate ended the very moment
you left the ceiling
in the corner above my shelves.

I admit I was going for cute and whimsical here. It had been a long dry spell. What can I say?

As you can probably guess, I wrote this poem about a spider that perched itself on the ceiling above the armoire we use as a pantry in the kitchen. I’m terrified of spiders. And of course, my husband was out of town for a week and I noticed the spider on the first day.

Originally, I intended to leave the saga open, and add to it as things developed. But sometime in the afternoon the spider moved into range of the vacuum cleaner and, well, that was that.

It’s not going to win any awards, but at least I wrote a thing.

As far as poetry and I go, this is actually more complete than most specimens. As I mentioned, I used to doodle a few lines whenever the mood struck me (often every day). Here’s one labeled only “Untitled 6.” The date I typed it into a computer was August 13, 2013. I know for sure it wasn’t written that day but, alas, I failed to write the date on the paper it came from.

The winds whisper their secrets
The moon glows silver in reply
The whisper of the wind has reached my ears
And no one need wonder why

There is a light inside humanity
That the wind’s whisper can help unlock
If we look back to the place from whence we came
Listen to every creature, tree and rock

In the future, I can see
That which the wind has whispered to me
The world united in everlasting peace
Without hate, sharing love never to cease

I assume this was unfinished at the time I wrote it, but it works rather well on its own, I think.

I’m guessing that I wrote this at a time when I was feeling particularly pessimistic about the world I lived in and wanted to express my star-trek-like hope for humanity’s future. Not sure I’d write anything this optimistic today, but it has a nice ring to it.

Here’s something even older, and far more random. The date on the file is July 16, 2009. I honestly don’t know what inspired me to write it, but I think it’s pretty cool.

All sing Hail! For the Bonnie Boy in Spring
Who upon the grassy hill does lay
Beneath twilight Moon and Summer Sun
Among the waving blossoms, his hard work to delay
For he alone the secret does possess
Of Life’s true joys and pleasures

For as age to the last Winter draws us
We forget the joys every child treasures
So beneath the flowered fields I wish to rest
When finally Death does bid me go
So that forever may my spirit haunt
The fields where the spring blossoms grow
For always does the end approach
But expect it do we never
And You, my Bonnie Boy, and I
Our bonds shall never sever

So come not with me to the flowery field
To lie in Death’s embrace
But walk instead among the blowing blossoms
With no tears upon your face
For deep within the ground I shall not stay
And she whom you loved enough to call your wife
Shall find more peace and rest in Death
Than ‘Ere she found in Life

I wish I could offer deeper insight into this but, I really have no idea what I was thinking when I wrote it. In terms of flow, though, it’s one of my better ones.

Last, but certainly not least, here’s a gem from December 25th, 2003 – the year I graduated high school (also the year I married my husband).

After the drawing of blood
After the throwing of stones
After the crack of the whip
After the clang of the chains
After the thump of my heart
After the catch of my breath
After our bodies entwined
After my secret concealed
After the cold
And after the rain
And after my secret revealed
After the fire
And after the passion
After our joining
There is always our love
Beyond Death
Beyond Rebirth
Beyond our ends
Beyond their means
Beyond the seeds we sow
Beyond the plants we reap
Beyond our angry wars
Beyond the tears we weep
Beyond the empty miles
Beyond the endless years
Beyond all suns
And beyond all moons
Beyond the rainbow
And beyond our dreams
Our unbreakable love shall always live

This was later published in “The International Who’s Who In Poetry” by the International Library of Poetry – and a copy proudly sits on my mother-in-law’s shelf.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be a vanity press. BUT, I still really love the poem. If you’re wondering about the inspiration, it’s loosely based on Cazella, but there’s a lot of my life in there too.

If you’d like me to dig deeper into my poetry archives, let me know in the comments!