expectations

Disappointments

~ ~M ~ 6 Comments

We never expect that dreams will fade
but somehow, they always do.
And the only way to fix those dreams
is to eventually dream anew.

Disappointments are never fun
life is much more than just a game.
Yet sometimes hearts and minds disconnect
and things just aren’t the same.

We can feel empty, defeated, deflated
as time begins to wear us thin.
And as much as we don’t want the changes
we’re often forced to begin again.

We can’t always see all the positives
even though they’re not that far.
In the meantime, we might just have to sit alone
and be happy with who we are.

© 2025 Michelle Cook

Photo generated with AI

Conclusions

~ ~M ~ 8 Comments

There are levels of love
pain flowing through each one
when you consider the depth
the intensity is overwhelming

I cry when I think of the ones
who left their scalding indentations
I smile with immense satisfaction
realizing I survived them all

I have grown with every storm
as tears watered and rejuvenated
rooted in newfound knowledge
reaching for an endless sky

And all the levels of love
make perfect sense to me now
I’ll be holding onto the ones
who understand these words

© 2024 Michelle Cook

Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/woman-field-sunset-grass-twilight-4405820/

Misplaced things

~ ~M ~ 15 Comments

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I once wrote about a place
That was neither here nor there
A place found between the realms
Of hope and despair

And in that in-between place
I remember finding what I’d lost
Yet finding that place
Came with innumerable costs

And I wonder now
If it was all worth it in the end
For finding what I’d lost
Only made me want to lose it again

And isn’t that how life is
Always searching for things misplaced
So many wonderful things
Seem to vanish without a trace

And when we think we’ve found our losses
We cling on with all our might
Hopeful that somehow
They’ll bring back our lost delight

And yet sadly our thinking
Often leads us further astray
Until we finally realize
We just need to go another way

© 2019 Michelle Cook

Rule breaker

~ ~M ~ 34 Comments

field

I grew up believing
That poems needed to rhyme
Without rhythm and stanzas
I was perhaps committing a crime

Then one unexpected day
I began not to care
Looking through the window
I was lost in an intent stare

And I realized in that moment
That the rules didn’t have to exist
Even though scholarly persons
Did often persist

I began feeling the pull
To write whatever I wanted
No matter the amount of lines
I couldn’t allow myself to be stunted

So without losing another moment
I began this journey of writing
I gathered my pen and paper
And decided to write something exciting

Each day I became more eager
Than the day that came before
Because now I was participating
In something I truly adored

Nobody could tell me
I was doing it all wrong
For the words flooded my soul
Like an old forgotten song

And I finally remembered
Who I was deep inside
The girl who no longer needed
To be completely qualified

I just needed to express
Everything I’d buried in my heart
And I wish I had done this
From the very start

No longer letting others
Tell me what to do
I followed my passion
And then I finally grew

I learned to stop letting others
Continually hold me back
To take charge of my own life
Even through many attacks

And now I’m happily
Living out my dream
An amazing realization
I could have never foreseen

 

© 2018 Michelle Cook

Originally written, October 2016