Ever since I started reading historical romance novels in my teenage years, I dreamt of wandering through castle halls, climbing spiral stone stairs, and looking out from the parapets. Forget that last part, as I’m afraid of heights. Fact is, though, I had been dreaming of a castle tour of Europe for over 20 years,Continue reading “Climbing Castles”
Category Archives: Poems from England, Scotland, and Ireland
Last Woman Standing
She stood waiting Against a backdrop of timeCrumbling with the weight of her tears.Where have her knights gone?She looked around at her ruinsThe frailty of her once proud visage.Where have the years gone?The memory of those long forgottenStill lay at her feet in perpetual worship.How long before she’s gone too? While this series of poems isContinue reading “Last Woman Standing”
Medusa’s Legacy
Children are to be seen and not heardWomen no differentGuilted into a life of celibacyOf abstinence from allLest we be ostracizedBy the gods and menAn anathema, Snakes hissing around our heads Medusa, too, was a victimOf the gods’ whimsLocked into a life of celibacyDisfigurement the price of sexCursed to hide her formHunted and fearedLust for herContinue reading “Medusa’s Legacy”
Drive-By Memories
We’d been driving for days, Eyes drained and uncertainYellow peaked through the leavesPiquing our imagination.How? Why? What does it mean?Sudden memories flash“Auntie Em, Auntie Em!”“Step on a crack” and “Swing on a vine,”The floor is lava! Breadcrumbs trail down the yellow brick road.The house sunk in the grass as if dropped,Parachute failed. Crash rippled the Earth.“B’deep, b’deep,Continue reading “Drive-By Memories”
Missing Pieces
At life’s end, we’re buriedWhole yet incompleteWe leave bits of ourselvesHearts and soulsWith those we’ve lovedHoping we fit into their puzzlesIn the same way we woveThem into our tapestriesShrouds of memoriesFaded over timeYet unforgotten.
Lost in the Ivy
Many of us are driven by fearHoping to stand out, yetLonging to fade into the backgroundSecluded from prying eyesWhile putting our lives on displayWe stand in the sunStatues unyieldingSuspended, bronze tarnishedYears etched by vinesTaking root around usClimbing our immovable facadesAppearing as accessories of timeHistories adorning us in starlightGrowing with the wind, and sun,And rain washingContinue reading “Lost in the Ivy”
The Great Migration
Souls animate the fleshMoving us through lifeExperiencing the good and badCarrying memories like feathersFloating through the worldDriving our emotionsTiring the mindDragging us kicking and screamingPromising forever on dormant wingsWaiting in anticipationHolding out hope for winds of changeBasking in the sun of borrowed timeRemembering seasons gone byReaching for othersLamenting it’s corporeal formDreaming of a future unseenAchingContinue reading “The Great Migration”
The Parapet
Life is not happenstanceThere are always choicesThough they’re not always at oddsAnd sometimes neither’s idealPlaying tricks on the mind Indecision stands on the brinkBetween staying or goingTaking the leap of faithOr staying firmly plantedFear keeps the teeter totter swing Decisiveness saysGet off the rideJump at the opportunityOr turn sharply awayNo thoughts of could’ve been TheContinue reading “The Parapet”
Long Forgotten Ghosts
Parapets unmannedMoat of dried tearsLandscape littered ruinsMuseum of unrealized dreams Crumbled wallsDungeons bars ajarUncovered passagewaysScreams of sunken lies Stale stench of centuriesShadowed empty corridorsCold walls bereft of tapestriesEchoed sounds of laughter Knights darkened in their cupsBrandishment of steelLadies still in waitingHopes misplaced and unfulfilled Mossy dampened stonesSpiralized stairVisitors still and millingHalls of dancing ghosts
Suspended Childhood
The patina of weatheringShows the passage of time,Yet we hope to maintain Our innocenceOur delightOur enthusiasm for life. Life that consumes our energy,Hones our ambitions,Molds our beliefs, and Hardens our convictions,Until we dream again. Dreams of a new-found loveOf people,Of art, andOf restWhen our weary soulsHold onto the vestige of a childhoodCaught in suspended animation… If onlyContinue reading “Suspended Childhood”