Even a crow…

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It seems even a pesky crow
Can look beautiful as it flies
Its annoying little habits
Suddenly become quite disguised

As breathtaking wings soar
Toward the heavens above
Somehow trapped in a current
Filled with hope and endless love

And I’m reminded that even
Something so often despised
Can be so very lovely
If you just open your eyes

And so this example I capture
And affix to my heart
For the next time my thoughts
Threaten to tear me apart

© 2018 Michelle Cook

This is love…

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As I sit here and ponder
There’s life all around
Though hardly any
Ever makes a sound

Grown up so handsome
Exquisite and tall
Each one is there
To watch over us all

If only these beauties
Could somehow speak
And give us the answers
We so desperately seek

However, a tree
Could never talk
It’s seen merely
As a perch for a hawk

And yet it really is
So much more
A lovely place
To go and explore

Its branches always
Spread so wide
A real haven
In which to hide

The perfect place
To lie under and exist
Its outstretched arms
So hard to resist

Each leafy canopy
Has seen it all
Leaves delicately spread
To cushion our fall

Can anyone imagine
A more perfect place to be
Other than inside the crook
Of an old oak tree

I can hardly think
Of any other
As it whispers softly
Like the voice of a mother

And I get lost
In the day
As every branch
Begins to sway

This is living
This is life
This is love…

© 2018 Michelle Cook

Many loves…

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Many loves
She did find
Ever existing in
The hopeless kind

Hearts scattered
Far and wide
None of them ever
By her side

Fond remembrances
Of what couldn’t be
Heart still breaking
Wanting free

Empty reflections
Left in the mirror
Hidden behind
One final tear

© 2018 Michelle Cook

The Secret Key

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Sometimes you reach a point
Where you must let go
And that’s always hard
When you finally know

But then you just pray
That the hurt will go away
Hopeful that a friend
Will brighten your day

And it doesn’t always happen
But sometimes it does
And the reason doesn’t matter
It’s all just because

So you go on with life
As well as you can
Trusting that someday
You’ll understand

And even if you never do
You trust in the process
Trying to think positive
And not count your losses

And try as you may
You might never again feel whole
In fact you might just hide away
Like a reclusive little mole

But you realize life goes on
And you can’t just feel down
You know you don’t want your smile
To turn into a permanent frown

So you drag yourself to your feet
And you give it all another go
And you tell yourself
That this isn’t all for show

And you trust that you’ll overcome
For you cannot fail
Because you make your mind up
That you will prevail

Because that’s what a strong person does
And they’re the ones who always survive
They hold the key to the greatest secret
The one about being happy just for being alive

And if each of us can grasp this
And find that secret key
We can all be happy
Full of life and living carefree

© 2018 Michelle Cook

Hope

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Hope whispered a promise
Quietly in her ear
Reminding her that happiness
Would eventually draw near

© 2018 Michelle Cook