A thin blade of Light—
slips into the bruise no prayer can mend—
and still I cup it softly in my hands—
though the ache within me widens—
a hollow that refuses every remedy—
yet longs for tenderness like rain on my lips.
The heart keeps calling out—
but its rooms echo back with famine—
and Silence takes the shape of my companion.
There is a hunger no dawn can quiet—
an emptiness that eats the edges of Joy—
while Hope,
flares small as a lantern unseen in a storm.
Still—we chase the Radiance—
though it burns and never fills—
and we, the trembling witnesses,
write our name in the dark.
this is a song to say how much i love you,
and i love everything that you do,
to be beside me all the time,
and most of all to keep me right,
you may think my loves not true,
in what way can i prove it to you,
i will hold you all day and night,
and never give up without a fight,
all the things they throw our way,
been through it together makes us strong,
love being together all day long,
i may sit in my pjs to,
being happy just to be near you,
i look at you all day and night,
and i know my love is just right,
when i come and hold your hand,
would love to shout i love you from a band stand
and you make me proud when you say i am your man,
even though your a grand ma of ten,
you would never think of it the way you dress,
for what you wear is a sexy thing,
and i look at you and my heart starts to sing,
so come on over and hold me tight,
say you love me all through the night,
make me smile all day and night,
I know I love you and it feels just right,
all I am trying to say,
Caroline your perfect in every way,
By Izunna Okafor
Dear, Ify, I with a heavy heart,
Join to mourn Ma Caroline's tender depart.
Her love, a warm sun, now dimmed from our sight,
Leaving a void, a profound, aching night.
Tears may cascade, a sorrowful stream,
Grief's heavy cloak, a suffocating dream.
But hold onto laughter, the moments you both shared,
A love everlasting, beautifully bared.
Like sunrise, memories gently will bloom,
A warmth in your heart, dispelling the gloom.
Her strength, a compass, forever your guide,
A mother's love, forever by your side.
May time be your solace and a balm for your pain,
As healing unfolds like a gentle spring rain.
We, as friends and poets are ever near,
To comfort your spirit, which to us is so dear.
For Mama Caroline, may peaceful rest be found,
Her love a sweet echo on heavenly ground.
May gentle breezes whisper through the trees,
A lullaby of love for eternity's enduring peace.
© Izunna Okafor, 2024
There are very pretty girls in North Carolina,
But they’re not all named Caroline, or Charlotte
Beware of confusion, a summer at the beach,
Watch out for temptation, strawberry ice creams.
Brought to life
With her own deft hand
The Alpha female
to a daze she commands
Just by the power of her presence
A picture drawn at the age of four
Says it all no need for more
Without being told no doubt who was who
Drawn into the frame of the eyes of you
A mesmerizing essence
And your bedazzled paramour
George IV requested brandy
the first time he beheld her
horrified at the sight of she
who was to be his bride
Neither of them demanded a drink
so I couldn't be nearly as ugly
as poor Caroline of Brunswick
They wouldn’t have had time
to finish it anyway
both receiving word of a dire crisis
they had to deal with right away
so soon after their separate arrivals
on different days months apart
Deja vu
Apologizing profusely before
striding out the door
never to be heard from more
Quite a coincidence, don’t you think?
It must be bad luck to agree
to go on a blind date with me
Attire in the eye
Unaswered questions why
I starved for your soul
Passion your eyes
Blue like-minded mine
Given you my heart
My past part
Join together I share with you
Through future kind
You keep me fine, unbind
Golden I melt
And your kiss
others around us witness
An oath of love I chose
always mind my Carol Carol Caroline a caring lover
Music was my first love and it will be my last.
Its Just another brick in the wall.
They flutter behind you your possible past.
Come join the love boat
On the day the wall came down
The ship of fools had finally ran aground
She’s on my mind
Forever it seems, it seems
Future times will stand and clearly smile
Of the course of innocence.
But listen to the colour of your dreams
New ways, new ways
I dream of wires
That's radio, that's TV, but Visionary got the internet
Lovely to see you again my friend
Time is right to find one another
Music of the future
And music of the past.
Your my sweet Caroline
Now and forever you are a part of me
Because we’re keeping the dream alive
i don't want this life anymore
should i have to want it?
everything i do
everything i say
will die alongside me
i could slit my wrists
jump off a cliff
or die in the most gruesome way
but it won't matter
in a state of decay
when my flesh melts
no more cards
will be dealt
except some bones
that will recall to whoever i'm found by
what i felt
i'm a dreamer
make-believer
miscommunicator
why'd you have to leave me, caroline?
what did it prove?
who do i have to kill
to keep you?
locked in my bedroom
together, we'll be entombed
together, we'll be consumed
and together, wear costumes
dressed as corpses
early doom
why do you scream?
when i am who bleeds?
rejoice, my love,
i love it when you sing
but stop playing with my heartstrings
today
i own the stage
Caroline stepped up to face the world,
Her pink-grey face grew more than slightly pale,
Her hands clasped a microphone of intimidating scale,
Oh how they wanted her to sing.
The audience with sat with expectation unfurled
But seemed so far away, so hard to hold,
Stale and fusty like a blue green mold,
Oh how they wanted her to sing.
The words came out timidly and slurred,
A sea of faces murmured as she spake,
With smiles quite bright but invariably fake,
Oh how she wanted them to sing.
She woke up with her ginger locks uncurled,
Despite the meek applause that she had worn,
The next day she moped sad and forlorn,
Oh how she wanted them to sing.
The world is but a stage
and we play but a part.
Oh my precious lady Caroline
Confused as a peach on a grapevine
She Forgets to think
Then she drives to drink
And spills her homemade muscadine wine
She wakes to scrub the walk with brine
as endless tales pile in her thoughts.
This, shy young maid named Caroline,
she fears labors will be her lot.
Reprieve, a pen is her best friend;
wearisome work, few hours to lend
for frivolous pursuits and cares.
Alone, flowing words wash her bare.
Late night, find her by candlelight.
She writes until her fingers bleed.
A writer born, her words alight
with blazing pen, an innate need.
She scrubs clothes in the stream each morn,
admiring roses, pricked by thorns.
The struggles she cannot foresee,
will one day make for great stories.
my hero is the black moon that properly blinds
the lumps in every thought only hurts when always continues
the hammer throws leave marks that i can only pretend to withstand
the heart within never mends, and it causes me to dwell slow and thorough
how low do i have to be to produce a smile at many takes
how high do i have to be to direct the jigsaw puzzle that is my life
no matter the level of the middle, the freefall still makes me hurl
the heart within never mends, and it causes me to dwell slow and thorough
i want to cut myself and suck out the blood of every brief memory
i want to take that blood and toss it in the most rank septic tank
i want to take the contents of that septic tank and pour it straight on down your rusty throat of shame
the heart within never mends, and causes me to dwell slow and thorough
as you go on with your hollow happiness, i go on with my painless pretending
as you go on with your salvaged smile, i go on with my mangled motion
as you go on with your convoluted countenance, i go on with my frustrated feelings
the heart within will never mend, and it will cause me to dwell slowly and thoroughly....
** This poem is in memory of Caroline Previdi, a child who was killed in the Sandy Hook shooting.
Laugh.
For Caroline wants you to laugh in her honor.
She wants to see you smile all the way up in Heaven.
For her and her friends are smiling every night.
When you look up in the sky the stars will shine brightly because their smiles are lighting up the sky.
For Caroline is making them laugh.
She is tickling them until they burst with laughter.
Making their hearts fill with joy with every laugh.
Now laugh until you can't laugh anymore.
Don't worry, when you are down,
Caroline will find a way to make your frown turn upside down.
O Caroline,
Your lips are so divine.
That, I wish I were the rose,
You kissed and left for the crows.
For, flawless I would be beneath the tip,
Of your sweet tasting lip.
O Caroline, answer me or is that even your name,
Or did you change it to Annabel, just to put this love ever rising to shame.
O Caroline, O Annabel,
Whichever is fine, as long as my heart doesn’t dwell.
On this Rose you kissed and left to decay,
To the beaks of these, crows to sway away.
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