Best Divorce Poems
the holes in the walls are all patched
and the plaster is dry
the broken glass is swept away
or turned to sand
I only want that when I see you,
you not quickly turn away…
to be forgiven--not to start over,
we know how that ends
not to be friends, we’ve tried that, too--
but, that you include my wretched
name in your whispered prayers for
all humanity...
I hoped maybe we'd be
strangers and just
...smile
January 15, 2019
Free Verse Old or New Poetry Contest
Joseph May, Sponsor
I put a smile on my face when I go outside
My friends all see the pain I try to hide in my eyes
And I try to act like I can make it on my own
Since you've been gone I'm alone
I suppose I'm gonna be here a while
And for the rest . . . of my life
It only hurts when I smile.
.
I thought our love was strong
I didn't think you would leave
I think about about you all the time
Do you still think about me?
and when I think of how I threw us away
It only hurts when I think
.
The first time I laid eyes on you you took my breath away
I lost my breath again the day you walked away
Pain won't go and damage is done
And I just can't feel a thing
It only hurts when I breathe
.
And I see where I went wrong
And I see what I've done
But I don't see you coming home to me
And when I look at it all that way
It only hurts when I see
.
And I just can't live without you
My heart is still in your hands
And there's no "this" left to fix
And there's no "us" left to mend
And I guess I gotta live with it
So it only hurts when I live
.
I put a smile on my face when I go outside
My friends all see the pain I try to hide in my eyes
And I try to act like I can make it on my own
Since you've been gone I'm alone
I suppose I'm gonna be here a while
And for the rest . . . of my life
It only hurts when I smile.
And for the rest . . . of my life
It only hurts when I smile.
No matter how distressing
Everything comes with a blessing
A bitter divorce
seems wrenching, of course
Yet through its crucible of fire
you can emerge inspired
Both legs blown off in the war
What's left to live for --
See what you have that remains
your whole upper body
and all of your brain
The death of a child so painful to bear
For the longest time you just sit and stare
No easy 'answers' to comfort you
but perhaps there's this ~
You're still here for a reason, that's not to be missed
Dwelling in twisted tulips of fate,
I'm etching life's blackened stars beneath
Vehement veil of thunderstruck twilight, for,
Obsidian tornados have crushed affectionate shorelines.
Remorseful roses now unfurl like love's last perfume and
Crestfallen silence nestles in eclipsed eden, sighing at the
End of our poetic lifelines - lost within timeless agony.
our wedding day portrait
two made one
misted by years
masked by smoke-filled skies
bobby, gina—two of our three
days seared with sun and a child’s scuffed knee
through spelling tests piano recitals saturday games
kneeling together strokes of unquestioned belief
caps and gowns, crystal and dented brass
degrees in business and medicine
marriages grandchildren colors filling the sassafras
then job losses metastasis scares hospital gowns
loneliness
values smudged
quibbles spatter pigment
no one budged
boredom drowned in tanqueray the glass smelled of pine
blue smoke, screens, two strangers behind painted glass
lost in a bell jar of belladonna
two martini glasses, an untouched olive
the letter’s paper like granite, vows sun-washed away
body mind and spirit—desaturated
a torn canvas split along jagged lines
no reconciliation
reimagining life with unfamiliar faces
a torn canvas becomes two paintings
no masking tape or super glue
can ever repair a canvas torn in two
=======
Unfinished Love Affair
It's been so long since I've seen you.
Don't know how or why you remain,
At the forefront of my memory,
But you do and will always remain.
Time has passed, and the years have aged us.
What can replace the time we spent,
In our younger days.
Talking, dreaming and planning a life.
Laughing and hoping as time passed us by,
Our friendship would be never-ending.
Well, the years have passed,
We have all gone our separate ways,
But the talks we had,
And the dreams we dreamed still linger today,
As unfinished dreams and incomplete endings.
The dreams we shared,
Still bring joyous tears when I think,
How time has slipped past.
But yet I see your face as I did then,
Beaming with life, smiling and carefree.
Those were the days of happy tears,
And unfinished love affairs.
You made me love yellow flowers
in the middle of July,
when everything was dying
because the ground was so dry.
You offered them to me
with the faintest smile on your face,
caressed the lemon petals
as you put them on display.
I looked at them quizzically,
questioning there presence.
You embraced me with laughter,
said they’re my essence.
You told me a short story
of blossoms and blooms,
and strength and survival,
in the midst of gloom.
And I fell in love with yellow flowers
because of the story you shared,
and I cherished their sunshine,
and the meaning they bared.
And then they were gone.
Along with you
and your stories and smile.
No laughter or embrace.
No petals or blooms,
sunshine or lemons.
The ground was dry
and cracked
and barren.
And I was alone,
with just a fading scent
and drifting memories.
You made me love yellow flowers,
then you took them away.
copyright 2017 rapsedeblu/'raps?de blü
Just a writer who needs to write.
How much do I love thee
Let me tabulate all the ways
I bought you a new Mercedes
With gold plated tire rims
I bought you a humongous diamond ring
The size fit for all Royals and King
I bought you a store of the finest lingerie
Secrets still held at the door by decree
I bought you a garden of roses so red
My love was surely in bloom, or so they all said
I bought you a ticket to heavens pearly gates
So that in paradise you’d have not to even wait
I bought you your very own private Lear jet
To see the world through champagne eyes
My love was a vault and you emptied it dry
My heart has now learned to never cry
How much do you love me?
Your lawyer seems to know
You claimed mental duress
Suffering under such stress
The Mercedes was the wrong color so I am told
I should have known, pink, not gold
The diamond ring was too heavy to wear
Your back injuries caused you painful despair
The lingerie didn’t cover you just right
So medical ailments kept you up many a nights
The roses in bloom where not the right flower
Your allergies they caused, thus making you sour
The ticket to heaven you plain out refused
Said it was one way, and that just wouldn’t do!
You had no issues riding my Lear jet
You rode the pilot as well, a mile high kinda bet
My love you tossed into the bin out in back
The divorce lawyer smiles at me, saying she sure is great in the sack
The moral of the Story is this!
If you are sitting at the table, and
You see a few beetles scurrying about
Maybe even whistling a tune or two
Listen carefully to what they say
Another One Down
And another one bites the dust.
Marriage.
My friend, my neighbor, the lady next door,
Rampant miscalculations of being too nice,
two people that complain, endlessly.
She does not do enough.
I have not had “any” in weeks.
I work all the time.
What do I show for it?
When do I get my due?
These are the words,
That he would spew.
She did the dishes,
She worked two jobs,
She got the kids to school,
What a fool…
She made dinners,
and kept appointments,
made small talk with your mom,
who hates her.
Yet… She does (did) not do enough.
I wanted, need(ed) more.
I wanted my feet rubbed, twice each night.
I wanted someone to bring my dinner in the chair.
When my plate is empty, I want more…
I want her to fill it,
and every need,
that I can think of,
until,
I feel…
loved,
enough.
I am “first” not last, I am the husband.
I am the King of everything.
I sit alone in my new apartment.
“Why… is she mad at me?”
Red roses bleed...you just can not see it...
You must be in so much pain to be considering this.
The hurt, the misery, the anguish, the agony;
you can feel it burrowing its way deep inside,
gnawing voraciously at the very core of your being
and you would do anything - anything - just to make it stop.
I know you're scared; but that's okay - the World can be a scary place,
but can this last, desperate, act that you're deliberating,
really, truly, genuinely be what you are seeking...?
Dispel fanciful notions of sliding into Death's warm embrace;
there is no gentle kiss, no sweet release and off to sleep.
You will simply... no longer be; and that is just too dreadful to contemplate.
It might not feel like it now, but things *will* get better.
The future is laden with hope and ripe with potential,
however, the complex rivulets of life are often turbulent
and we must ride them out if we are to reach the next bend.
But if you take this final, irrevocable, step... you will never know what awaits.
And therein lies the real tragedy.
So please, I implore you, reach out to a friend or a loved one;
talk to them, share your burdens and, maybe, even shed a few tears.
The future will look brighter tomorrow and I want you there to see it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
15 September 2017
Written for Suicide Prevention Month.
My thoughts go out to all those affected by the tragedy of losing a loved one in this way and, especially, to those struggling with their own thoughts of suicide. Please... speak to somebody.
How many tears must fall from brown eyes before I lay me down to sleep.
Where hurtful dreams of betrayal and lies hide in shadows they creep.
How long did you think you could go around cheating and not be found out.
With all your two dollar whores and think I'd not scream and shout!
See if they'll put up with your bullsh**, until the next one catches your eye.
As for me I'm done with your no account two timing a** once and for all...
GOODBYE!!!!
https://youtu.be/eopNLWRW0IM
Rick was violent and showed no remorse
His alcoholic outbursts lead to their divorce
Wife Sue moves away with Billy their son
Then Billy’s badly injured in a hit and run
Sue contacts Rick, he dashes to the scene
Billy’s hooked up to a life support machine
Parents sit at his bedside both day and night
Brought together by their son’s terrible plight
Billy’s badly injured, his recovery is slow
When he wakes from a coma he says ‘hello’
Huge tears of joy well up in Billy’s blue eyes
Seeing mum and dad together is such a surprise
Billy’s pulled through, everyone is delighted
At such a crucial time his parents were reunited
01/19/21
You say you love me but you’re not
You say you’re going to fight and give it all you got
You say you find it hard to breathe
You say you’re mad at me but I’m the one who seethes
You say you love me but you’re not (in love with me)
~ Tears falling, relationship flailing, love failing… ~
You say you need a place to stay
You say you’re asking me to find another way
You say you thought about the debt
You say you’re leaving but it hasn’t happened yet
You say you need a place to stay
~ The time, the hurt, the pain, the drain… ~
You say you overcame the jones
You say you’ve analyzed it to the bare bones
You say you finally found the cure
You say you’re righteous, clean, happy and secure
You say you overcame the jones
~ Familiar lies, thin disguise, love’s demise … ~
You say you love me but you’re not
You say you’re going to fight and give it all you got
You say you find it hard to breathe
You say you’re mad at me but I’m the one who seethes
You say you love me but you’re not (in love with me)
~ Tears fall, relationship flails, love fails…
Familiar lies, thin disguise, love’s demise …
This time, this hurt, this pain, this drain…
Time runs out… no more to gain. ~
***
October 29, 2019
F T I series 12 heartbreak
Brian Strand, sponsor
========================================
I wake up next to no one right at dawn
to check for late night texts that don't exist
The paperboy throws news toward the lawn
and moves on, even though he knows he missed
I (yawning) fight to brush the blues away
but when I touch my eyes, I find them wet
God! I could not foresee the dawning day
when you would leave for someone you just met
We've been together since the dawn of man
but looking back, it's clear that things weren't great
Im cooking, but here I turn from the pan
to stare at my reflection in a plate
You're gone. And as my breakfast burns to black,
it dawns on me that I don't want you back
========================================
07/22/2018
I was at a crossroads in my life when I met you.
My heart was in turmoil and indecision infiltrated
every fiber of my being. Should I stay or should
I move over two thousand miles away?
I was off balance with two small children to consider
who counted on me being the stable mom they knew.
I cried for them not me, I cried because I had no answers.
Your strength without promise got me through.
I had never met a man like you. A man whose kindness
knew no bounds, a man who listened without judgment.
A man who had the same kind of baggage I dragged behind,
who understood the pain of divorce with children at stake.
You made me feel safe as I mourned my loss, you were my rock.
Neither of us was looking for love, yet we were drawn
together by invisible forces we later accepted as destiny.
Your handsome face caught my eye, I won’t deny, but
your soul-light shined so bright I couldn’t help but love you.
I then knew the right way to go at those crossroads, I
took the path that led straight to you.
9-20-19
~Second Place~
Crossroads Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Silent One