THE ALMOST
Your eyes spoke more before you said a word,
your smile shone bright before your name was known.
I remember those eyes that looked with love,
I remember those moments more than my own.
Every moment, every word
had light, love, and shyness,
till both of us came to know
our hearts were meant to beat together.
We learnt each other's laughter,
those dreams filled with you,
those momentary pleasures of love
that fluttered my heart like a dove.
I noted everything down,
in the back of my mind,
wishing someday
you would become mine.
I thought you would stay till the end,
but I don't know what made your heart bend.
For everything that ever happened
filled my heart with the almost.
And the only thing I did
was break into pieces.
But wasn't it too late to realise
that the thing was my unwavering trust?
I still remember those moments, but now,
those eyes turned away from me without a word.
Your smile faded,
as your lips no longer shaped my name.
Your eyes spoke less
before you left me unheard.
~solace ash
He’s almost half-blind now
his right eye, oh my!
Once-fabulous hand-eye coordination
replaced by daily frustration
Doesn’t hear too well these days
"Again... Please repeat! What did you say?"
His spine looks like a barber’s pole
feels like a whack-a-mole
Hips stiffer than petrified wood
his walker does him little to no good
Knees like old-fashioned shoes, they buckle
if it weren’t for the agony, he’d chuckle
As for his feet, the bottoms have no feeling
the slightest crack in the pavement sends him reeling
But he’s determined to count his blessings
even if with his body nature seems to be messing
He can still see well enough to write a story
his left eye spared damage, thanks to God in all His glory
And the latest gossip he doesn’t have to hear
doesn’t even have to cover his ears
As for his crooked spine, mindfulness came with it as a gift
a practice - a habit - he now knows not to give short shrift
I could go on through the rest of his body's litany
but surely you already know ~ this poem is about me
My feisty Yorkie, who has a bag of personality,
Got hold of my last roll of toilet paper.
Attacking brutally, mauling half the roll.
Paper confetti flew around as it paraded, looking gratified.
Horizon holds hope
tomorrow, crowds out the scene
clouds rehearse elsewhere—
sunshine has packed for the road
leaving warm coats on the hook.
The mirage shimmers
beckoning us nearer still
distance swallows steps
closer is, further away
the mirage has played its game.
Footprints trace failure
back to where old hope began
mud obscures the route
the horizon keeps its word—
always staying over there.
Evening inspects shoes
muddles, each odd pair—
the map folds itself
learns to leave the porch light on
for what was never coming.
Evening shuts up shop
footprints wander back, alone
the horizon stays
still selling tomorrow's light
to those who come to its stall.
The roll of paper white now thin,
Grows threadbare, tattered and quite lean,
A silent signal, soft and low,
The final sheets starting to show.
Each tear a whisper, a slight grace,
As emptiness soon fills its place,
No more a buffer, soft and kind,
To replenish one can just find.
Like paper thinning, life recedes,
Fulfilling all its earthly deeds,
The gentle turning, day by day,
Leads to a quiet, waning ray.
With the bones slim, a fragile shroud,
Above the whispers of the crowd,
Each subtle shift stamps a sign,
Along the path of one`s lifeline
The roll will soon be spent and gone,
Beneath the supple shining sun,
A quiet sigh, a letting go,
As softer currents start to flow.
When the toilet paper roll
is almost empty,
it may cause panic,
but only temporarily!
You just have to make sure
a full roll is close by,
for if not, there may be no one
to hear your anguished cry!
In my parents' house, the extra bumwad
was in a closet,
but not in the loo;
a circumstance that should have been outlawed,
for what was a child to do
with the poo
that was still stuck on his smelly backside?
Some ingenuity must be applied!
Well, the toilet paper roll is paper too!
Unroll it, smooth it out. That oughta do!
In the wilderness of life’s changing landscape,
the pathway across the tortuous topography
winds through perceived present to formless future,
I traverse following the faint footprints of fate.
Many surging streams in spate I swim in storm
with hopes held close to the heart lest they drown.
Chasing the beguiled butterflies in the verdant valley
the fervent dreams fly through the rainbow arc.
As the spent sun sinks in the tinge of twilight,
from the cryptic crypt of uncertainty I look back,
see the snapshots of convivial contentment,
resplendent in the benevolent glow of God’s grace.
With weary steps I now walk the last mile,
perceive the beginning of the journey’s end.
The sands of my penultimate time slide away fast,
I sense the rolling hourglass is almost empty.
Pretty flowers were what we looked for,
had no money for the store.
Bathroom to save the day,
soft white flowers not gray.
Toilet paper roll no more.
unfinished sunlight
lingers on the open door~
a thought almost whole
Almost Mistake
I'm alright, I'm okay,
I just made a mistake.
I think this is the end and I’ll never see you again.
It’s me, not you,
I am not for you.
I thought it could be something.
But it was just me, wanting to be something.
not hurt,
just sad.
This ending
came too fast.
A bit mad at me and you, maybe the good Lord too?
Too late, my fault.
I got lost in my thoughts.
Like I always do.
I need to be free and
run from this dream
before it completely traps me.
It’s too good, it's too wrong,
I don't want this to stop.
This mistake is the worst
I feel like I'm cursed.
What's wrong with me, I'm stuck in this dream.
I'm not okay, I'm burning away.
I know I’ll miss every part of this,
I was in bliss and all I needed was this.
Last straw...
last step...
I have some regrets.
Will you miss me?
Maybe think of me?
I guess I'm alright but I'm not okay
this...you...maybe we weren't a complete
Mistake
So, If
Delighted Joy
Is Somehow
Undeserved;
***
Whereby Suffering
Is An Obligation,
An Unending Quest
To Ease All
Suffering...
***
See How
It All Spins...
***
Reiterating...
Refreshing...
***
With Each Its Own
In-Un-Intention...
***
(Pause.)
-Gray Squirrel
08-13-2026
she had the dress
the ring
the future
she had dreamt what their life would look like
a house filled with laughter
and beautiful memories
and suddenly the future she spent years imagining
because something she had to grieve
she never walked down the aisle
she never heard him say I do
she became a woman
who grieved not for him
but the woman
she was supposed to become
I almost didn't make it to be here today,
So sit back and let me tell you the story my way.
I was walking out of the store one day
when some guys wanted to take my life away.
Bullets started flying, people running for cover.
They shot me three times, over and over.
As I lay on the ground, I'm screaming for help.
Had to crawl out of the street and dialed 911 myself.
I'm laying there dying, and the Angel of God spoke to me and said,
"My son, I'm with you here today, and you're not dead."
That's when I closed my eyes, and the ambulance drove away.
I woke up from a coma; that's when I started to pray.
God spared my life. He loves me so much.
I talk to Him every day now with a heavenly touch.
I Nearly Pinned
It Down, The
Core Of My
Stupidity, Had It
In My Grasp...
I Didn't Use No
Grease, But It
Squeaked Away...
With Humility's
Grace... Sounds
Good, But Almost
Had It, And It’s
Vanished.
It Was Hard To Catch...
Oh Well, Doesn’t
Matter Now.
My Bad.
Thumbs Down.
No Giggling.
Pipe Down.
Not You.
-Gray Squirrel
06-19-2026
i almost had it all
i almost had my dream come to life
but flying too close to the sun comes with a price
then fate decided to burn my wings
and i began to fall aimlessly
looking for a ground and stay for the summer
but i couldn't tell it was winter in the summer
now i just stare at school bus that refuses to pick me
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