A fool can’t see
all he holds so near,
yet others do;
it’s often crystal clear.
So then that special gift,
or treasure at hand,
finds its wings,
but he can’t understand.
And that’s the way
love eventually escapes;
the heart loses hope,
and then it breaks.
There is a way, though,
to hold on to the prize,
but it only happens
if we realize.
© 2024 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/flower-rose-petals-plant-bud-6646037/
I had to say goodbye,
not because of what was said
but because of the unsaid.
Your words just never materialized,
and words being as they are,
the lifeblood of my being,
I began to die from the lack of them.
Long ago, I knew your words so intimately,
but then they remained frozen,
resting frigidly on the tip of your tongue.
And even though I trusted you in earnest
with the conviction of a true believer,
you stopped being as you were,
the truth and spirit in you unrecognizable,
just a breath away from mine.
Your silence flooded my body,
and I was drowned by words
that never surfaced.
You felt empty to me
like ashes in somber refrain.
And the wind took you quietly away from me
on a path that never belonged to me.
It was in that moment I realized
we were never meant to be
because real love speaks
from deeply buried places
and never runs out of words.
© 2023 Michelle Cook
Through tides
that pull me away
somehow
you always stay
I’d do anything
to reach that shore
always wanting you
so much more
Instead I drift
as close as I can
weary from time
and it’s distant plan
Why can’t the waves
crash in my favor
and bring me closer
to what I savor
© 2023 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/girl-sitting-jetty-docks-boardwalk-1822702/
And then suddenly you were gone
like the rustling of crumpled leaves
fading against the backdrop
of a saturated city
My sails became limp and lifeless
hanging threadbare
against Times Square temptations
leaving me with a melancholy mindset
in the midst of a cosmopolitan dream
Manhattan meanderings
simultaneously stifled
an adventure left orphaned
under clouds full of finality
A meteor shower of emotions
enhancing the dimly lit depression
causing a crater of convictions
to overflow and seep into the crevices
flooding my ever-dispirited heart
© 2023 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/ai-generated-woman-rain-night-wet-8020990/
Do you ever wonder why things
can’t be as they were
Time always changes things
and causes such a stir
People eventually change
and that’s because everyone grows
still I miss the old ways
and change I do oppose
I miss when my kids were little
the times of simple bliss
now the world has gotten so hectic
everything’s amiss.
I struggle with the here and now
and the moments way back then
still knowing I’d never want to do
all those years again
As great as they really were
life was hard then too
I guess I need to remember that
whenever I’m feeling blue
One never really thinks
about the day their children will leave
and it’s sad when they forget you
It’s something you forever grieve
I know my very own parents
probably feel the exact same way
but the distance makes it harder
and so we drift away.
And friends are difficult to follow
everyone’s here and there
but there’s only one of me
though I’d love to be everywhere
And now that I am older
I find myself learning to be still
sinking into the background
not looking for a thrill
Still I am very happy
and maybe more content than most
but very humbly I say that
for I’d never want to boast
I do enjoy my life though
and yet some days are still so sad
but they’re few and far between
and for that I’m really glad
And today I’m just reflecting
missing those who’ve gone afar
and I think I’ve come to accept
I have to leave them where they are
© 2023 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/young-woman-meadow-lie-relax-girl-2194038/
Her Writing Haven 