potential

Potential

~ ~M ~ 2 Comments

I looked down
and there you were
an annoyance of nature
a small scratchy burr

Little did I realize
what you were about to do
such beautiful potential
nestled in my shoe

A mystery waiting
so eager to unfold
I tossed you aside
then your roots took hold

And what I saw later
was the biggest surprise
you blossomed to life
shedding your tiny disguise

Once barren and brown
with a prickly outer shell
now all grown up
birthed from where you fell

It’s amazing to see
what you’ve become
once such a nuisance
now flourishing in the sun

© 2025 Michelle Cook

Photo generated with AI

This is the why…

~ ~M ~ 6 Comments

You can’t erase a feeling
It’s like lying to your soul
Everything you feel
is a product of the whole

The sum of our emotions
remains buried deep inside
Sometimes they all surface
to be a witness or a guide

Everything we hold onto
has a purpose to protect
We mustn’t overlook that
in our attempt to neglect

The will that gathers within
lives to set our spirits free
Provoking our potential
to be what we might be

© 2024 Michelle Cook

Photo generated with AI

Vibrant verbena and alabaster artichokes

~ ~M ~ 16 Comments

The verbena still grows
lovelier than ever,
vibrant in violet,
ever reaching toward
the noonday sun.

And yet here I am
in a state of utter confusion,
still looking at the world
through the dullest
shades of gray.

I’m increasingly in awe
of all the flowers in the fields,
the way they sit so simply,
poised in elegance
and imbued with grace.

I reckon I’m more like
the alabaster artichokes,
colorless and thorny on the edges,
still waiting for my chance to revel
in the realm of my full potential.

© 2021 Michelle Cook

Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/flowers-verbena-violet-blossom-756181/

Writing prompt: Vibrant verbena and alabaster artichokes

There I was…

~ ~M ~ 26 Comments

landscape-342149_1280

There I was,
a tarnished piece of nothingness,
just another fowl crumb of an existence,
with all the potential of a rain gutter,
yet still, you chose me.

You unearthed my shameful soul
and held me lovingly in the palm of your hand.
Then, after peeling away mounds of corroded debris,
I was no longer a piece of blackened chaff.

Instead, I became your prized gem,
an anomaly I hadn’t foreseen.
And your sovereign hand still continues,
to unfold each gossamer petal of my potential,
showing the world what real love can do.

© 2020 Michelle Cook

Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/landscape-sky-dark-clouds-storm-342149/

Isn’t it true?

~ ~M ~ 13 Comments

board-2161880_1280

Isn’t it true
There’s a writer in you?

Can’t you see
All you’re meant to be?

Why would you be here
If this weren’t true?

Best get to writing
It’s expected of you.  😉

© 2018 Michelle Cook