FromOneLine Anthology

Volume 3

2022

4 poems

~

A spoonful of dreams to dilute the

cupful of nightmares, swirling,

swirling, a bitter taste

of torment.

Sweetness lingers

on your lips. Leaves your

tongue in the tones of soft words

that make all those bitter things alright.

~

~

A butterfly in the classroom

painted blues and greens on the walls,

told stories of cheeky fairies.

If only the adults saw.

She sprinkled glitter on freckled noses,

joined in with all the sneezing,

they roared at the private joke.

If only the adults saw.

She promised bright futures,

whispered in ears of silent souls,

flitted out, wrote 222 in the mist...

...If only the adults saw.

~

~

If I rise before the sorrow,

I will wait, watch it unfurl,

let it catch up, for time has

slowed it down. The ache

that used to pang will ask

for acknowledgement,

before the echo drifts away

and the day is full of bright

things to say.

~

~

I tripped over your first 'I love you'.

I looked back to see what it was.

I picked the words up

to check if they were real,

not some shiny coated scrap

flung in a fleeting moment.

A common ferrous fable.

But the words were pure as platinum

and glowed like the sun.

~