When looking back I dimly see
The trails my feet have trod,
Some hand divine, it seems to me,
Has pulled the strings with God;
Some angel form has lifeward leaned
When hope for me was past;
Some love sublime has intervened
To save me at the last.
For look you! I was born a fool,
......
In spite of war, in spite of death,
In spite of all man's sufferings,
Something within me laughs and sings
And I must praise with all my breath.
In spite of war, in spite of hate
Lilacs are blooming at my gate,
Tulips are tripping down the path
In spite of war, in spite of wrath.
"Courage!" the morning-glory saith;
"Rejoice!" the daisy murmureth,
......
There is a dark cloud over my head
With every move i make, every step i take
It keeps following me
Lord you know i want to free
Dark clouds, dark clouds, dark clouds
Now as the rain begins to fall, i feel so small
I'm always getting wet with the rain of prejudice
Look there is a mist of discrimation
And the fog of injustice
Dark clouds, dark clouds, dark clouds hanging over my head
......
Today I have been issued a dare, by my peer,
If I do what they ask I will get in trouble, but they swear,
my life they will not spear
And if I don't they will make me into a rubble I am so
scared, who cares?
Tonight I can't sleep, this trouble is too deep,
I can't make a peep, I began to weep,
Is there no one who cares? That I am so scared?
Because of my Peers, I am filled with fears
I cried out in despair, is there no one who cares?
......
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: 'Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear --
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
......
These are poems about relationships, including poems about mothers and their children, and poems for mothers and their children: i.e., the closest relationships of all. Also, poems about children and poems for children.
Infinity
by Michael R. Burch
Have you tasted the bitterness of tears of despair?
Have you watched the sun sink through such pale, balmless air
that your soul sought its shell like a crab on a beach,
then scuttled inside to be safe, out of reach?
......
There was a girl
Turned 23 last year
Only a year ago
She knew something had to change
So she wracked her brain
Looked for an answer
Her river of hope ran dry
They all turned a blind eye
......
The feeling is sickening
What else can you do
No control whatsoever
It keep trampling one muscle
Numbness sets in
Pain spasming its course
A killing pain yet death stands aloof
Grueling suffering pounces on the heart
Wishes for death remains unheard
Oh why ?
......
In the shadows of the mind, where darkness weaves its threads,
A sorrowed symphony of whispers fill the voids unsaid.
Where heavy hearts reside, and hope's ember wanes,
I gather words as balm to soften pain's gnarled chains.
Within this intricate tapestry, let me now explore,
The depths of sorrow and despair that life may have in store.
For in such fragile moments, when light seems far away,
A poem's embrace may offer solace, a glimpse of healing's ray.
......
The angels' wings are broken, their halos lie upon the floor,
I gave all I was to the heavens, and still they wanted more,
All I feel is the dread of waiting, all I know is to count my breaths,
I sit upon the cliff's rocky edge and contemplate how many are left.
And today I watched a vulture pick over a rabbit's rotting corpse,
And today my church told me this agony was a gift from the Lord,
Today my doctor told me this was par for the course,
Today I sat on the cliff's edge and considered falling on my sword.
......