Stay

Why does happiness have to be so fleeting?
We think we can hold onto it, but it’s ever taking flight.
Happiness can morph into madness in an instant
or be extinguished in a sad, unexpected moment like a moth to a flame.
If only I could hold it always and keep it safely cradled against my chest.
But happiness always finds a way to elude me.
I’m watching right now as it inconspicuously floats away.

© 2022 Michelle Cook


Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/heart-balloon-sky-love-red-balloon-1046693/

In-between the gloom

Heavy hearts
and ruined days
Sunlight sparkles
shadowed by haze
And yet in-between
is a glimmer of gold
A future so bright
the perfect secret untold
Layers of pristine petals
align in an exquisite array
Carpeting our path
showing us the way
Guiding our footsteps
providing us with hope
A gentle reminder
helping us to cope

© 2022 Michelle Cook


Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/pink-rose-papillon-petals-in-water-3580202/

Diminished divinity

Her hair smelled of lavender,
and her skin was velvety smooth,
and I’d wanted to bask in her loveliness
as she stirred neath the purplish moon.

But soon, the luminosity faded,
and her body grew cold and gray,
and I cried for never being able to tell her
all the things I’d wanted to say.

© 2022 Michelle Cook


Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/window-wood-frame-fantasy-full-moon-4670739/

Shelved hopes

Silent shelved hopes
and bitter tears;
lifeless and disfigured
by mascara smears.

With gloom-wrapped shoulders,
she reaches out a hand,
but the majority pass by her,
and few can understand.

So she sits in stilled anguish,
waiting for a promising sign,
but the world is relentless
and only seeks to undermine.

She realizes she’s a burden,
another rift in society.
And so she sits and languishes
for all she’ll never be.

© 2021 Michelle Cook


Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/homeless-beggar-woman-poverty-cry-3584319/

Writing prompt: A bottle of hope sat on the shelf

Say goodbye to the war

Detach and draw away
Under the covers
Cold and gray
Endure the cycle of decay
Bury your head
And fill it with dismay

These are the fallacies
We choose to believe
Filling up our heads
Causing us to grieve
Not even worth repeating
Such thoughts are just defeating

So push through and release
While all your troubles
Beg to increase
Say goodbye to the war
The one that’s hidden
Behind your door

© 2021 Michelle Cook


Photo credit:  https://pixabay.com/photos/cold-frost-winter-the-disease-2722002/