A look back and forward

I wrote this poem a while ago, during a migraine that happened during one of the hardest times of my life. Today was a difficult day, and I went back and edited this poem. I am sharing it more as an anthem for others who may be struggling right now, and who need to know that they are not alone. We all have times when we feel that there is little we can do but survive. After a long winter, when the flowers start to bloom, sometimes surviving is enough. In looking back at that time, and forward to seeing Maddy in less than two weeks, I offer this poem.

Constant blinding pain

Flowing through your veins

Building up in the capillaries

Flowing through the synapses

Stopping for a while to pressurize

Creating blockages of the mind and heart

Cascading views bring the colors of agony

Flooding along the energy lines

Meridians of darting, slamming, drudging pain

And none of it is mine; it all is simply my legacy

To the children I love more than life

And to whom I leave nothing but the slaughter of their nerves and minds.

I love you, and hope that my pain will somehow shield you,

Or at least teach you how to survive it.

Uneven ground

Daisies side-by-side,
Triplet flowers of darkest blue.
No one would mistake them for nature's work,
And yet they are natural in this dream world
Where daisies turn navy, to make matches
Red hair and brown mingle in whispered secrets.

Twin nymphs smile their excitement,
Hoping to catch a glimpse of fairy dust,
Wondering if the fog hides pixies, magic and butterflies,
Winking at the solemn guards
Who hide nervous dreams of their own.


Hiking boots tromping along a trail,
Longer than the lives of those living.
Connected to generations of those who have walked the uneven ground,
Following dreams that were mere wisps when they started,
Solidifying into lives of earnest endeavor,
That create impossible flowers against brown hair;
So four more wood sprites can find their way out of the woods
On this morning's hike.