A Safe Place To Hide

My heart hit the wall like graffiti spray.
Shakespeare could have cast you 
just as you had cast me.
Playtime was rushed to sleep with resistance, 
as cinderblock thoughts tossed and turned 
until drifting became corroding numbness 
like the rusting rain refrain.
Each drop held my eyes then fell from their reach. 
My tears mirrored in a fog, my grasp uninhabited.

You move on to reach me.

Although not alone, we become isolated. 

Pity's alone, in bitter contemplation.
She tilts the hour glass to watch sand pass
and beacons a question, challenging to answer:
Is unrequited love a crime?

Shadows fade- each shade of grey blends.
Casting aside the stormy forecast,
I forgot about you, 
but I don't remember when.

You took my words back
(once vibrantly alive, now aborted)
in self-defense of your own heart,
for I can bring you honor or shame.

Sorrow and indifference blend.
I hold them together, as they do me.
I forgot about you, but I don't remember when.

Staring at a stationary page marker stone, 
I observed the outcome.
My muscles were limp, 
each limb like a redwood tree branch in stagnant air.

I surrendered in acceptance of my perceived absence.
Preferring my own attentive company,
I'm given a renewed heartbeat. 

I forgot about you, but I don't remember when.
As I slipped off into the distance, 
a redemptive mystery began seeping through, 
ready to free me from my ebony prison:
blackboard slate, forgiveness' weight.

A warm, white noise water rush of comfort 
cradled me back to the days of my womb home, 
with the only goal of growing and thriving. 
Warmth startles,
light seeping anew like birds through obscurity.
With childlike innocence, a rainbow sits.

I forgot about you, but I don't remember when.
Cares become lost in uncharted territory.

I will brave a smile that could have been a child's.
She retraced her steps, 
each flower a token of curiosity's feat 
and feet gone awry.
Flower petals tapping together were drumming.
Just as forgiveness empowers rebirth, 
emotive blooms burst forth to magnify. 

I forgot about you, but I don't remember when.

Without the daily piece remains hunger. 
Feeding tube- last meal?

Could a single sifted grain of sand ever disappear?
Over nature man has no power.

I forgot about you, but I don't remember when.
Listen to me; never mind what I say.
You keep rewinding that old cassette.
Like your rugged bristle terrain, 
my arm hairs stand erect. 
Maybe I could never forget.

I leave behind a safe place to hide.
Hugging the wall like a child in the deep pool, I rise up.

3-14-2021
FRAGMENTS OF VERSE Poetry Contest
Sponsor: John Lawless

All lines were compiled from previous poems, mostly endings. (Too many to reference.)
Copyright © | Year Posted 2021

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Agustin Avatar
April 14, 2021 at 12:22 AM
Wow! Congrats! Thanks for sharing your talent, exemplified by this awesome piece. God bless you!
Ligon Avatar
April 15, 2021 at 12:21 PM
Thanks, Beata. God bless you.
Faulkner Avatar
April 13, 2021 at 5:47 PM
Happy to return to wish you very well earned congratulations on your win in the contest, Juliet, this is even better the second time~
Ligon Avatar
April 15, 2021 at 12:21 PM
Thanks, Michelle!
Faulkner Avatar
April 14, 2021 at 4:40 PM
Came back for thirds, so now am faving it!
Lawless Avatar
April 13, 2021 at 6:32 AM
"I forgot about you.....but I don't remember when"...the silver thread that stitched this together into a seamless garment of its own. Masterfully done Juliet
Ligon Avatar
April 15, 2021 at 12:20 PM
Thanks for hosting this contest, John. It was a headache to unscramble all the lines, but I was surprised to find commonality in poems written on completely different subjects.
Faulkner Avatar
March 16, 2021 at 7:14 PM
It's doubly impressive that your stitched this magnificent write together from lines of your other poems, this feels like a cohesive composed piece, I think this will be a top winner for sure, Juliet~
Ligon Avatar
March 17, 2021 at 3:26 PM
Thanks so much, Michelle. It was a challenge to piece together, but it was fun finding new correlations while combining lines.
Wolf Avatar
March 14, 2021 at 6:10 PM
Absolute FAVE, Juliet! A stunning write. Would never have believed that it was for a contest either (which I consider a great sign, personally). This simply knocked me off of my cinder blocks. Wow! Powerful penning! Bravo, Gershon
Ligon Avatar
March 14, 2021 at 9:01 PM
Thanks so much, Gershon! You should give this contest a try too.
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