Today she’s gentle
Tomorrow she’ll be a bear
Approach if you dare
© 2021 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/girl-swing-rocking-autumn-fall-996635/
Writing prompt: The tower of terror and Autumn’s lair
Soft creamy centers
Chewy nuggets wrapped in bliss
So hard to resist
© 2021 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/cupcake-cake-muffins-dessert-baked-3712183/
Writing Prompt: Soft centers and chewy bits
She knew she was getting closer
as the crashing of the waves
could be heard just ahead.
And with each thunderous roar,
she felt the beckoning vibrations
welcoming her home.
Those undulating arms
grew her anticipation,
each surge increasing her desire
for all she had missed.
And as the last golden mound appeared,
her excitement could hardly be contained.
For she knew in just a few more moments
she’d be dipping her eager toes
in those wonderful frothy tides.
One last hurdle was all it took,
and then a sigh and gasp broke free.
It was even more beautiful
than she’d remembered,
and a sea of gleaming diamonds
met her wondrous gaze.
The lolly she’d been enjoying
suddenly fell forgotten.
The shiny morsel deeply embedded
in the powdery sand.
The jaw-dropping scene
left her limp and bedazzled.
The setting much too impressive
for any other cares.
© 2021 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/north-sea-mother-child-boy-499030/
Writing Prompt: Lost loves and unlickable lollipops
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/
Love can make a person crazy.
One moment we can be flying
high as a kite in bliss-filled folly,
and the next, be stuck knee-deep
in the fast forming muck of dolor.
Mostly makes me wonder,
is there ever an end?
Even though I already suspect
I know the answer,
I’ve still never figured out how
to live with the tragedies of love.
I just continue to remain tangled up
in all the delights and despairs,
entertaining the knock of love
whenever it happens to find me.
Seems like I would’ve learned
my lesson by now,
but I guess that just shows
the true value of love.
It’s worth more than any cost
we could ever bear.
So we open our arms to it,
time and time again,
hoping that someday
happiness will come along
instead of dismay.
© 2021 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/couple-romance-bike-bicycle-meadow-1718244/
And then the quiet came
Drenched with stillness
Like a room with no air
The light of day evaporated
Confined in a nothingness
A place of peace at last
© 2021 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/beauty-conceptual-dark-death-3881159/
I love being wrapped in the
warmth of a summer sun-ray
or doused in the drizzle
of an unexpected storm.
I love waking up to the sound
of a lazy locomotive
or finding myself lost in a dream
holding hands with the one I love.
I love listening to the whimsical
notes of wind chimes
or falling under the spell of a
tranquil, babbling brook.
I love being silly while dancing
and singing my heart out
or laughing til my stomach aches,
tasting my own tears.
I love rolling out of bed early
to behold a sunrise in full bloom
or staying up late stargazing
on a blanket spread for two.
I love feeling the warmth of soft
sand squishing between my toes
or listening to boundless waves
as they break along the shore.
I love witnessing the colorful birth
of a brand new spring season
or gazing upon a baby bird
stretching its wings for first flight.
I love watching the pure
beauty of a fresh fallen snow
or hearing the rumble of thunder
dancing across an amethyst sky.
I love thinking about all these
things, the things I truly love.
The world is such a magical place
when we choose to see the magic.
© 2021 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/storm-thunderstorm-lightning-730472/
It’s easy to relinquish
those timeless devotions
when disappointments
become standard issue,
and the old familiar stack
of unexpected surprises
becomes a thing of the past.
It’s easy to disregard anything
that stops feeling like home
because the heart can’t reside
in hollowed out places,
and it needs a strong binding
to keep it grounded aside a
meaningful attachment.
Intrinsic to human nature,
it’s easy to surrender compulsion
when magnetic forces
end up misaligned;
the resistance is a force of nature
that cannot be manipulated,
for it goes against the natural law.
© 2021 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/spider-web-bokeh-dew-web-nature-2732246/
Oh why can’t we make love instead of war?
Isn’t love supposed to make the world go round?
And if a thing of beauty is a joy forever
Then where is this everlasting joy?
A soft answer surely turns away wrath
But what ends up taking its place?
I’m always hopeful that love will find a way
And yet the journey of a thousand miles must begin with that first step
I wonder… am I really ready to begin that expedition?
I’ve been reminded in recent days of how misery loves company
And a friend in need is a friend indeed
But if opportunity never knocks twice
Then how did I end up here?
Cold hands are supposed to equal a warm heart
So I’ve been looking for the chilliest weather I can find
But I know Rome wasn’t built in a day
And it seems that time is taking its own sweet time
It definitely takes two to tango
And you can’t teach an old dog new tricks
So where in the world does that leave me?
And don’t get me wrong…
I know you can’t win them all
But people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones
Especially since all is fair in love and war
© 2021 Michelle Cook
* Here’s a glimpse of some of my old writing, all the way back from 2016.
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/goodbye-kiss-couple-relationship-1441470/
There she was, umbrella in hand, floating down towards the edge of a gentle stream. At times she’d been like a whirling dervish, full of boundless energy and chaotic vigor. And yet, at the same time, there were other occasions where the current would carry her over long, tranquil airstreams.
She’d glide along over the endless fields, absorbing the grandeur of the picturesque valleys, which all looked more like patchwork quilts than anything else. Then suddenly, she’d hit an air pocket and be frolicking away again, like a frenzied feather on an urgent mission.
Once touching down, she gasped, as crisp waters from a melodious little brook jarred her breezy state of mind. Now, wide awake, she looked down at the icy waters lapping at her bare feet and wondered how she’d come to find herself in such a fantastic place.
© 2021 Michelle Cook
*This brief reflection is based on a dream I had last year. It was the kind of dream that one never wants to wake from. The kind that leaves your heart soaring and your mind enraptured by a carefree spirit. I smile every time I think back on that lovely dream. I just wanted to explore further and see where all those hills and valleys would take me. To get lost in a dream is often such an awe-inspiring experience. I can only hope this year will be filled with more visions like this.
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/woman-girl-model-umbrella-parasol-3795636/
This is my chosen place
here in this footloose space.
My niche where anything goes
cause nobody really knows.
I can be happy, or I can be sad;
I can be the good girl or even be bad.
And people can only ever wonder
what kind of spell I’m under.
Nobody ever really knows
my story and how it all goes.
I love this unconfined space.
This is my happy place.
© 2020 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/book-landscape-nature-wind-weather-2929646/
I stepped away,
left the beaten path,
and traversed my own way
to find my way.
It wasn’t easy,
and I’m still not quite there,
but the decision
to take a different course
has enabled me
to leave behind everyone
and everything
that was steering me towards
that dreadful rocky road,
the one we all sometimes face.
It was lucky for me
that somehow in my heart,
I knew I was going nowhere.
I remember peril,
urging me on
from that tempting horizon,
and it was so hard to say no.
But now,
after walking away
from where troubled waters
sloshed at my feet,
I see peace,
at last,
urging me on,
guiding me towards
the finish line.
Of course, now
It’s up to me
to regain my bearings
and finally go after
what I’ve been seeking all along.
And if I can do all that,
I might just have done
all that I was meant to do.
© 2020 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/countryside-crops-dawn-dusk-1835847/
Sometimes love is more than love;
it just happens, and there isn’t a doubt.
And you try so hard to hold it in,
but you’d rather scream and shout.
And it’s funny how it catches you
in those moments you thought wouldn’t exist.
And once it takes hold of your heart,
there’s just no trying to resist.
Your soul is somehow captured,
beholden forevermore.
And you’re left at the mercy of things
you’d never even considered before.
The emotions are so overwhelming
as the feelings flood your body and soul.
And you find yourself losing
all that’s left of your self-control.
When love is more than love,
there’s no escaping its merciless grasp.
So instead, you breathe it all in
because you just wanna make it last.
© 2020 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/couple-love-sunset-young-5028352/
Writing prompt: When love is more than love.
He lingers nearby
On the edge of the page
The page we’re still writing
Where love continues to blossom
Unfolding ever so delicately
And he’s mesmerized
By the mind-boggling splendor
His eyes so bright
Enthusiastically consumed
With the miraculous happenings
Of what he observes
And he stays a little longer
Leaning in for a closer view
Lingering in the loveliness
Of our imperishable page
So beautifully written
Full of all the days we’ve shared
Memories of us
And the many years we’ve loved
© 2020 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/address-book-notebook-notes-2246432/
About to embark
On a journey
A new way of life
I think this beginning
Is just what I need
I have nothing left here
Nothing holding me back
So I will chase my dreams
The sky is the limit
Look out world
Here I come!
© 2020 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/woman-umbrella-floating-jumping-1245817/
