squeezed like an orange to get the last drop
craving solar energy's darts of elixir
extracting the last of summer vitality
in an eleventh hour effort
to caress every curve
of this diverse globe
meanwhile wishes and prayers
are tossed freely just
in case anyone out there
makes a career of hauling in
hopes and dreams cast out
desperately to the sky above
heartwrenching as it may be
a heartfelt goodbye
poignant as if it might be the last
should life never wake
from harshness of oncoming winter
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
ALUMINUM SIDING
my heart is buried behind the aluminum siding,
trapped inside that bubbly feeling i’d get when your arms would graze my waist,
in the late night bus rides when the light slipping through the shutters swathed your smirk in soft, blazing bandages.
you called me darling back then.
why won’t you call me darling again?
your love was scrawled between ink splotches, inside hugs and eyebrow raises,
while i thought it was too timid to beat its way out of your rib cage.
why didn’t i see where everything was hidden sooner?
my metamorphosis into something more unhinged began the day i left you.
and with you, i left everything i love behind.
you twirled saturn’s rings around my fingers
and scribbled possums on sticky notes that i treated as love letters, hiding them in scratched phone cases and backpack pockets, carrying your heart on my sleeve, mushed in with chewed erasers and tangled earbuds.
so now i walk the heartwrenching path of least resistance away from you,
but it’s not the path around the aluminum siding we used to take.
People grieve the loss of their moms and dads,
and the worst thing is that they couldn't see
them on the their final moment and hold their hand
by the bedside...how horrible that is!
How heartwrenching it must be!
We all have been affected in tragic ways,
but if the soul can't weep, that pain remains
acute and won't ever escape misery!
Have you lost a dearest friend,
so suddenly and the least expected?
A good cry can heal and comfort
the saddest and the lonliest heart,
if it finds who can alleviate its sorrow;
only a few are able to heal their wounds,
but who's willing to sacrifice their time,
putting aside vanity and pride...
before they notice the glances of afflictions?
Can anyone prevent what is to come?
Our present day is the worst time
for afflictions and its hopelessness is invasive
and mortal thinking that we are trapped and eventually die
of depression and solitude before we are rescued by others
can prayers alter fate when all attempts have failed us?
What else can we do to stay afloat and survive?
Beyond your causes, past your past,
For all the reasons you stayed in hopes it would last,
Placing your trust in people who you knew would leave,
For the faces ingrained in your memory,
Hoping love would knock all the walls down,
Perseverance stays to see, love stands its ground,
Asking yourself why, what could this possibly mean,
Most of them all eventually leave,
So then hurt just becomes part of this normal routine,
Tears aren't scared to cry, your just able to see,
Truth becomes inviting, nothing can stand in its way,
Even if they get offended and walk away,
Love presses in to where it never has before,
Deep calls upon deep, your tears left on the shore,
The tide rolls in and washes them away,
You start over again, you accept the pain,
Abuse, neglect, heartwrenching tears,
The wind blows them away and they all disappear.
Such an overwhelming,heartwrenching disease
from a baby,a parents pain,sheilded yet knotted inside
non facial expressions,no tears,no laughter
how do you detect the mood of your infant.
Discovered from a cist on the brain
a young mum, to finalize her vital exams
grandma`s love, family and friends too
help make this possible.
A non existant forward, it may seem
weeks of contiuous tests,hearts full of hope
proven that it can be overstepped
grown teenager speaks of his ordeal
Today is the day,that consultant is seen,apprehensive,nrevous
tears of joy,negative test, a normal life,others not so lucky
Paul Beadnall for Brian Strand`s ( free verse contest) 19/7/2011
I dreamt of her again last night.
In my dream she was not dead.
She stood there in the fading light
But not one word she said.
She did not answer when I called.
She was watching the ravens in flight
Circling over the foggy graveyard.
It was such a heartwrenching sight.
I called and called but she did not hear.
She did not know I was there.
Then she faded before my eyes,
Vanishing into thin air.
I dreamt of Raven again last night,
Awakening with tears clouding my sight.
Francine Roberts 13/01/2011
for Constance's contest "Among the Dead"
She felt the kiss of a single raindrop
fall ever so gently upon her cheek
its feel reminded her of their last kiss
a kiss shared between two lovers
destined to be together forever as one.
But sadly, the fates intervened
seperating them with this simple kiss
and a tragic heartwrenching goodbye.
He made her promise, from her heart
to go on, to live her life to its fullest
and to remember him always.
Time soon, his promise to her
they would come together
to be as one with the ages.
So, with the release of hands entwined
he slipped slowly beneath the surface
into the dark frigid water
and disappeared forever!
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