Hold On

~ hollyisking ~ Leave a comment 
My rib cage aches for the daffodils
who refuse to bloom in dark places.
They weep for pollen to dust their bones.
And when a kernel of sunshine alights
my veins and nourishes those seeds deep within-
long buried inside that iron chest of pain…
I swallow those amber flames, the strangest
sea. Flaming embers that pierce
my skin like bumblebees.
I inhale.
Deep insidious breaths.
Cooling their tempers with that tepid smoke.
And finally feel the bouquet of daffodils
soften the strongest of wills.
 

My Crimson Enemy

~ hollyisking ~ Leave a comment 
Tear-laden stars relinquish
my lost hope, my violet dreams
upon the welcoming earth. 
It buries deep. Shrapnel gauging
wide scars that even she fears
won't heal. 

I scoop the seeds in steel teacups.
Molten-hot and pulsing in time
with my heartbeat. They eat
through iron & rust
but my magenta spirit contains
the violence - just enough.

Though the sunflowers bloom past
forgotten pain. Petals raised
in triumph towards the empty
sky. The damage is still there. 
The ache locked inside 
where it can't escape.

My past life, my crimson enemy
threatened to tear feathers
from stems tensed with rage
and rejection. No amount of time
could loosen my resolve. No 
amount of love could reseal
earth's cracks.