I crawl through the wreck that is my life
Armed by despair
Hope lies trapped in a dark corner
Where my hand cannot reach
Through the maze of grey matter
That is my mind
I hear the chatter of many voices
At last, I make my way back
To a stash of bright smiles
The land survived without me
The corners are no longer dark
I am free to walk outside
It feels as if my feet
Are touching new ground…
Will tomorrow be as good as yesterday?
The storyteller began his tale
On his neck hung a chain
With a bright jewel
Which held the mystery
So he said.
I ask him about it
Truly, I wanted it
I felt like Gollum.
He winked at me
It’s but a wee thing
Nothing special.
This angered me
which felt like a small
stone growing inside me
I knew I would do anything
to have it
Watching as it changed colour
from blue to green then blue again
It flickered, as if a shifting light
lay behind it
It will be mine.
His story ended with a question
Where does magic come from?
From the jewel around your neck
I thought.
The heat of the day was fading
Dark tendrils of night swept across
the dark sky
Right now, my only thought
will he sleep outside
with the rest of us
Or move on like a wandering minstrel?
I thought him sly
Neither minstrel nor storyteller
He lay his cloak on the ground
as we did
Faking sleep I’m sure.
I kept one eye on him
When time passed
I crept closer
Lay awhile listening
to his breathing
I couldn’t tell if sleep had taken him.
Sly as a fox, I slid my hand beneath his collar
Trying to undo the clasp, he woke
I slammed my fist into his face
He lay quiet.
The jewel and I took off
Not turning to see who I might have woken
I ran deep into the woods before stopping
To look at my prize
Heart beating, legs shaking,
I slumped beneath a giant oak tree
Glad of its support against my back
Opening my hand, the jewel shone
Like the eye of God
Now all I need is for the magic to start…
Wordle 444
I want to go back to the beginning
Design my own life
To live under blue lace clouds
Chase the wind
Sit fishing with no hook
On a slack line
So the fish can swim on
Feeling just fine
Trace patterns in my mind
As clouds roll by
I see Granddads smiling at me
A sleeping bear, best leave that be
Go back to mine
Where the grass is always green
Relish the fact that my design
Has managed to rub out
Fate, misfortune, karma
Hope that the spear of destiny
Like a double-edged sword
Doesn’t come back
To bite my backside…
Lost beneath the blood red moon
The air electric with anticipation
Something was coming
The hairs on my arms
Stood to attention
Telling me to run, move,
Fear had no limit
Gripping my mind with iron claws
Imagination ran like water
Sweeping into a giant pool of horror
I should write it down
Hope to come out of this with a best seller
The moon shone red shadows
Through tall dark trees
A feeling of cold dread
Slyly brushed the left side of my body
Something solid had passed me
Now walked behind me
I turn slowly to see I am alone
My thoughts jumping one over another
My thinking strange
A child you need to take care of
Stands to your left
Waiting, his time will come.
I had not planned on having children
My wife and I agreed before marriage
That thought could not be mine
I need to get out of these woods and write it down
Could be I had found the Holy Grail
The inspiration that had been missing for months?
My wife will be fascinated by my adventure today.
When I had done telling her
A strange look came across her face
Right after I said,
how daft to think we would have a child…?
The future is no more than a breath away
A sigh from God’s lips
While demons’ smirk, keeping score beside the fire
Time has come to shower God’s new garden
As humans form from clay
The first murmur comes from female lips
Demons jump as fire sparks
Angels chime protection
First mans cry as Adam speaks
We have time to learn before the cauldrons churn…
©anitadawes 2020
Today I chopped my way through the woods
My arms beginning to ache. The mist began to lift,
the sun burning across caught something on the ground,
lighting it with a starburst, tiny fingers of light dancing
A small gold token teasing, come see, pick me up
My mind still whirling from yesterday’s demons
I took it as a sign of good will from the universe
It felt warm in my hand
Turning it over to find a rope design around its edge
With an open eye in the centre
This brought a smile to my face
As if someone had whispered
I am watching you…
I told myself I could not fix the wrong in my life
don’t stand still, start walking
A blue shimmer of light from the woods
Caught my attention. Blink and the world changes
So I kept my eyes wide. A lone fox stared back at me,
dark black eyes full of knowing,
cunning, deemed me no threat, moved on
Standing so close to this wild creature
My heart felt soothed, touched by invisible balm
That’s when I decided to turn off my ring tone
Silence the world outside
I realised the blue light was fading
Trying to hurry towards it, I could feel magic calling
I caught the last shimmer, stood staring at a small pile
of white stones. One blue crystal lay on top
As I touched them, I felt a strange pump
to the beat of my heart as if something had tried
to kick start it into a new rhythm
There was nowhere for the light to have come from
Or know who arranged the stone there
I left the woods feeling glad a strange hand
had placed them there for me to find
Somehow, I knew a part of my life had been fixed
Magic, imagination, strange gift from the woods
I don’t care which. I felt mended
Ready to turn my ringtone back on
Meet the world head on
I would start by opening an account
For the Woodland Trust, by way of thanks
Maybe next year, check into a woodland retreat
I would put the kind of magic I found there
On the National Health, if only I could…
One slim chance to catch the wolf
The chill wind at my back
Nicely scratching the itch
A warm sun tendril illuminating
The ground beneath my feet
My home-made arrow flew
Missing the dark brown fur by inches
He lives to swagger through another day
I allow myself one shot, and that was it
Time up, I will set my cloak
same time tomorrow.
Walking home to the hoot of an owl
I knew tomorrows arrow
would miss its target
There’s no fun in taking
down such a beauty
After all, I am not one of
Robin Hoods merry men
My age is ten, the wolf
and I have grown together
I never stand downwind,
so he knows where I am
We are connected…
Some say it is best to cut your cloth
According to the times
I say it is no more than a disguise
To hide the buzz inside your head
To be different, fly your own flag
Fly in the face of convention
To ring the bell, shout for change
Be proud to walk as if you know
the new style you carry has deeper meaning
Let your words channel a new path for the young
Sign your name, tie it in a silken bow, wear it loose
Burn the old files, let the sweetness of sugar
Be the taste for life that guides the new you…
