Child of mine

That fascinating first moment
I looked upon your face,
I was devotedly in love;
no time could I waste.

I held you so closely
upon my proud mama chest,
staring so intently;
no time for me to rest.

Barely daring to breathe,
you were a most profound gift;
more important than anything,
my focus made the shift.

Counting all of your fingers
and your sweet, kissable toes,
you were my darling angel
with the cute button nose.

Never before witnessing
a wonder such as this,
I whispered, I love you…
and gave you your first kiss.

You were my tiny bundle of joy
securely wrapped all for me;
a whole new world unfolded;
you were all that I could see.

Such a beautiful young lady now,
and I miss you more than you know;
I’m thankful for our years together
and the time I watched you grow.

© 2022 Michelle Cook


Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/hand-newborn-birth-hands-child-1502538/

Cranberry shag carpet and glinting gizmos

Gadgets and gizmos,
trinkets with silvery trims,
these were the things
that were most important to him.

The old, cranberry carpet
was forever threadbare,
but that was no worry
because daddy didn’t care.

His only real concern
were his shiny new toys,
and when mama would yell,
he’d just block out the noise.

The house was rather unkempt
and in dire need of repair,
but my dear old dad,
he never did despair.

He’d just shrug his shoulders,
in his nonchalant way, because
there was nothing he loved more
than all his junk and disarray.

I think mama finally gave up
cause she knew she’d never win.
Nobody could ever change him;
it’s just the way he’s always been.

I guess I’m secretly proud
that he never gave in.
I think people should stay true
to their passions within.

There’s no telling who he’d be
if mama had had her way,
and I surely wouldn’t be
the person I am today.

So thank you, Dad,
for being true to who you are.
I still love you so very much,
even from afar.

© 2021 Michelle Cook


Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/auto-car-garage-auto-shop-vintage-1868726/

Writing prompt: Cranberry shag carpet and glinting gizmos

Pep talk

Capture

Been caught up
in an expeditious experiment
A plethora of knowledge
And facts

These things whirl around me
Senseless things
Meaningless and trivial
Things I do not wish to know

And I struggle with mediocrity
Without the faintest idea
Of why any of this is important
Always falling short of my peers

This newfound lingo
Is just so discombobulating
Piercing my young flesh
With worthless
Uncreative filth

Feels like rubbish
Perpetually seeping in
Corrupting my right brain
Controlling my left
All nonsensical rigmarole
Yet fundamental to my worth

And I can’t see past
all these rudimentary devices
So what does that mean?

Am I somehow less brilliant
Because of my perception
of these uncertain
edifying truths?

Maybe my rationale is slanted
But I happen to think
I’m still somebody pretty great

And I may not ever be a superhero
Or even get a gold star
planted on my chest

But I’m me
and that’s pretty remarkable
I’m amazing! I really am!

© 2019 Michelle Cook


Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/classroom-girl-student-turtle-wal-3779035/

*Inspired by a little bird named Auti.  😉

One Unsympathetic Night

 

sleep-839358_1280

There was a time, long long ago,
when grief consumed and controlled me.
Desperate thoughts and delusions
carpeted the walls of my mind.
And if memory serves me correctly,
it all began one unsympathetic night.

I was lost in empty thought.
Resting quietly,
against the old familiar comforts,
which only a saggy, depleted featherbed can give.

But powdered blue notions,
ran rampant that eve,
spinning a trap, right in front of my eyes.
And nothing could have prepared me
for the ambush; I was about to face.

Typically, I have always been on the offensive,
but that night, I was taken by complete surprise.
It seemed as if a tornado,
one filled with erratic and overemotional thoughts,
had somehow landed on top of me.

I felt my chest tighten,
surrounded by every last unfortunate thought I’d ever had.
Even the cuckoo down the hall
seemed to chime a little less enthusiastically
as I wrestled with my mind.

Every hope, wish, dream,
seemed to vanish into thin air.
I was left nauseated by midnight blue reflections,
and I laid there motionless,
desperately waiting for dawn to arrive.

At first light, I knew something was still terribly off.
I became temporarily crippled,
the fear of ignorance—all-consuming.
The overwhelming feelings,
ones comprised of dolor and distress,
clung to the recesses of my troubled heart.
I was quite literally suffocating,
in-between swells of uncertainty.

It wasn’t long before mama came looking for me.
I must’ve had the look of death itself,
as the light in her eyes
grew instantaneously dim.

Mama worked to make sense of my sickly state,
and I tried to give her all that remained of my spirit.
But my half-smile looked more like a frown,
and there was just no way of deflecting
all the worry situated in her gaze.

I knew right then and there;
mama had recognized my face as her very own.
It seemed the dispiritedness in our humble abode
had finally caused the undulating waters to reach me.

As I now reminisce,
recalling the details of that one unsympathetic night,
I realize just how long it’s taken for the floodwaters to recede.
And even though the waves have since quieted,
I am still not the same girl I once was.

© 2020 Michelle Cook


Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/sleep-bed-sheets-covers-comforter-839358/