relationships

The end of an era

~ ~M ~ 8 Comments

We have but one journey,
and the path is never straight.

We think we have lots of time,
but like sand, it can’t be held.

We learn after the goal is complete
that the end is really the beginning.

We realize all of our joyous moments
have been happening all along.

We discover that the journey
was never about reaching our destination.

We notice all the people we’ve met
were never there to stay.

We feel bittersweet and unsettled
by all the things we’ve accomplished.

We are grateful for the sunset
reminding us to live in the here and now.

© 2025 Michelle Cook

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There are days…

~ ~M ~ 23 Comments

There are days
when everything is right,
days when all the fields
shine so bright.

But today is not
one of those days,
instead, it’s just proof
of how nobody prays.

Today the sun
has lost her glow,
and the rain sent instead
has been all just for show.

Fattened gray clouds
still gush in sheets,
flooding sunken corners
on empty streets.

Sorry puddles
reflect sullen skies,
waters blurry black
like mascara eyes.

Echos of harsh words
woven in the winds,
a mournful reminder
of how the story always ends.

© 2025 Michelle Cook

Photo generated with AI

More of me and you

~ ~M ~ 11 Comments

He could always inspire me
no matter time or day
Like two peas in a pod
we’d finish what each would say

But the difference was
he could never love me like you
He only really wanted
to tell me what to do

I felt guilty when I wouldn’t
ashamed for who I was
Becoming very lonely
all just because

And I realized what I was doing
I wasn’t living for myself
I was trying to give someone
what they couldn’t give themself

Those years were difficult to weather
so glad they eventually blew
In the end I found what I needed
more of me and you

© 2025 Michelle Cook

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Trying…

~ ~M ~ 9 Comments

We take the good with the bad, all the while just praying that the next thing that comes isn’t more of the stuff that keeps us awake at night. Our minds drift in and out of memories, some too hard to cling to for very long. Those are the recollections we try to leave behind, but they end up sitting like an undigestible pit, and oh, the ache they bring! I try only to remember the good, but oh, how the bad torments me so. The bad seems to weigh significantly more and is noticeably burdensome as it tugs at my side. The good is light and fluffy, like a soft, comfy pillow. And yet, it’s much easier to forget the good, as I’ve become so immersed in its feeling that I soon forget where it came from in the first place. But we mustn’t forget! Happiness and good days should be cherished and treasured without fail; the locket of bright and lovely things should be kept close to our hearts so we have it with us wherever we go. Today, I’m holding onto the good, trying to erase most of the bad. I may not get there, but at least I’m trying.

© 2025 Michelle Cook

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Separation sufferances

~ ~M ~ 10 Comments

Being separated from the ones you love is a lonely place to be.

I suppose some may never understand what this is like, but I believe most will know this feeling well.

I have had enough of this torture to realize that we don’t get to decide how or when we will be separated.

There are even those we love who will never be able to grace our paths no matter how long we yearn. 

The distance from those loved ones may as well be a trip to the moon.

These are life’s true tragedies, and the heart cannot comprehend why this is the way it has to be.

It’s especially difficult during a dark night, one void of loving arms and reassurance.

We cannot then comprehend the reality of our circumstances.

That’s when the heart realizes how truly alone it is and suffers in silence as it mostly always has.

These are the sad truths that often live inside us all.

Few speak of these sufferances, but that doesn’t make them any less painful.

The only way to survive the distance is to reach out as much as you can, sending deeply felt “I love yous” and sincerely honest “thinkings of you.”

© 2025 Michelle Cook

Photo generated with AI