You open early morning
to sunlight in a chamber
past the threshold.
I’ve yet to know
what the day may bring
late summer
a calling to live
live again.
The cat roams
the room
after I give it
water and food.
Someone sleeps
in the front room.
I’ve closed you
for now. I must
awaken to what
lies ahead.
The voice of someone
I’ve known calls
then another and another
a chorus of memories—
I’ve never forgotten.
Bedroom door
I’ve closed you
but dreams linger.
The branch still in bloom
waves in the wind
and a sparrow flutters
by the window
and yes
a threshold to embrace
but I can never close
passages to my many lives.
Take me back to when I was free
Growing up took from me everything
Just give me back the happy key
To climb a tree or scrape our knee
To be the highest on the swing
Take me back to when I was free
Growing up takes the fun that's free
It will fight till it pulls the string
Just give me back the happy key
Watching loved ones go hurts to a degree
It's a part of getting old, the whole thing
Take me back to when I was free
Getting older ends the wild spree
You watch things pass and leave, it'll sting
Just give me back the happy key
You'll miss your childhood like you do the tree
The pain will fly at you full swing
Take me back to when I was free
Just give me back the happy key
At times this may be hard to do but must be done
It may be easier to do after considering a fight won
When it comes to moving forward the battle is within
You know your destination and where you have been
Doing this will require putting the past behind you
Forgetting about everything you see in your rearview
These steps helps you to get over your pain and hurt
Gradually you will start to see your greater worth
Never allow anyone or anything make you stand still
Push on to better days with bigger goals that are real
Constantly looking behind gives you no rewards
There's always hope in the steps of moving forward
Sun ray sneaking up through the leaves,
Paving the way towards me hiding a story up in the sleeves.
A freshly brewed coffee in an undiscovered café,
While a heartfelt letter to a disputed man living the cliché.
A secluded place surrounded by every lover's dismay,
Completed by their unconditional love in display.
The sweet dreams are strangling my present days,
While the feeling of once felt love is left in haze.
The shining sun of different unknown places,
Hiding the constant doubt of fading those traces.
The heart-wrenching memories are in an attic now,
While nonchalance is the new reality somehow.
The once walked path is now a whole new lane,
While following it will lead to the same old shame.
Author Dana Redricks
January 14, 2025
I must keep moving forward and never look back, for if I do, I'll get off track. I must leave my past, to reach the future's light, and live in the moment, with all my might.
Life is an everyday journey, in which there is something to learn, yes, we might get burned. In the deepest night, I trust in Yeshua's embrace, knowing in His love that everything will be alright.
He will help me, and where I'm broken, He will heal,
With His guidance, my soul will seal. Through every trial, and every fight, His presence will guide me, and everything will be alright.
Knelt down by the graves
Of every self I've laid to rest
Listening as their ghosts whisper by name
I hear myself in all of them,
to this I can attest;
I am no different
but I am no longer the same
Made an off offering of rosemary,
a promise to remember;
One day I'll grow the grass as green as they,
and some newer self will kneel here,
in a far off late December;
Knowing that she bloomed from my decay
Knelt down by the graves
to pay the changes my respect;
With my knees covered in dirt,
my soul is clean
For all my ghosts stand hand in hand;
every before with who came next
I am only who I am,
because of who I've been
I don't know why we do this...
As another year waves bye-bye,
We reflect on what it's brought us
Of some things we question, "Why?"
We've faced the unexpected
As it's hit us in the chin.
We've found strength, we've mustered courage,
Learned to bear things with a grin.
Deep down we know we're hurting
But it all seems like a blur.
While looking for the sunlight
The storm just doesn't care.
When you're standing in the eye
You've time to stop and think.
Don't let it overcome you.
Don't allow your heart to sink.
When you find that you are facing
The things that you've most feared
It's amazing how they shape you
When they've disappeared.
How ever the thoughts affected you
The many nightmares you have had,
You're looking back from the other side
Saying, "It really wasn't as bad!"
With renewed strength of character,
Self respect and dignity,
You have the power to help someone
With your experience and empathy.
What ever troubles lie ahead
We know we can survive.
Let's look for the daily positives.
Bring on twenty-twenty-five!
Keep moving forward, do not look back
New freedom in the air, no more lack
He is the great I AM, who aligns
The sun, moon, and stars, all in perfect lines
He will align our lives too, just trust
According to His plans, which is best for us
Don't fret, for He will restore our inner joy
The trees will clap their hands with heavenly joy
Our path through the trees, will soon appear
We will out run the horses, have no fear
Cut through the fields, work with what we got
For He will make a way, no matter the enemy’s plot
Where there seems no way, He will pave a road
For we are His destination, His chosen abode
So keep moving forward, with faith and fortitude
For His presence will be our shield and fortress.
moving from own child
to adult having child
comprehending change
Set me free....
Set my soul free so I can leave.
I want to love and I want to laugh.
I want to dance, barefoot down the winding path.
I want to sleep under the darkest skies with the brightest stars.
I was to sing in fast cars.
I want to fix myself so I'll get better.
I want to write you a letter....
I want to drink coffee and smoke a cigarette.
I want to chase the wind hold memories where they have been kept.
I want to see life beyond this space I'm in.
I want to have beautiful experiences ones that touches the soul within.
I want to eat food from Italy, Paris, and ireland.
And I want to follow my favorite bands.
I want to lay under the red wood trees and read my books.
Or in a book store, against a pillow, in a tiny nook.
I want someone to give me that sexy, I want you, infatuated look.
I want to smile, for real.
I want to finally feel.
Bacon and sausage.
Dogs and music.
Whiskey and a wife's smile.
Sometimes, surely,
it is just that simple.
Lately it has not been.
Not in life, not in fiction,
not in poetry.
One year, maybe three poems.
All about grief.
One imagined, yet real -
a son's song for a father's tale.
Two, too true and too close -
a brother to the scion, a brother to the sire.
Tributes written, loss spoken,
still silent the muse,
on all besides -
stanzas only flowing
when so too the tears.
Yet, my life ended not with theirs;
neither will I let my story.
Not my life's, not my characters',
not my verses.
Songs and stories yet remain,
so too adventure and poetry.
Amidst vowing not to forget the fallen,
I forgot those things instead.
that.
They will see my pen fly on,
for thoughts large and little,
momentous and mundane.
No peace comes from staying my hand.
So I will write, today,
of bacon and sausage.
Of dogs and music.
Of whiskey and a wife's smile.
Today, if no other,
it is just that simple.
School and work resumed today,
The holidays complete,
So now we’re moving forward,
Hoping slips we won’t repeat.
Of course, there will be blunders
And perhaps a huge snafu,
But the ways we botch and bungle
Should at least be fresh and new.
If we’re fortunate, then maybe
We can laugh at our mistakes
And accept that there are times when
We just can’t catch any breaks.
So far things are going smoothly;
Well, at least they are for me,
Thought there’s lots of time ahead
To mess up 2023.
Convincing oneself of a better way
When the mind is set on the status quo
Can certainly be most disconcerting
Especially if there is no reverting.
Letting go of old tried and true ways
When new possibilities open to grow
Can tax the mind when it is firmly set
Sometimes it’s hard to know which way to go.
Decisions always call for careful consideration
Pros and Cons must be taken into account
It’s never good to rashly set a new course
But new possibilities one should never discount.
written February 27, 2022
Watch me as I close every door.
No need to compromise anymore.
Moving forward is what I do one step at a time
With the mountains in site
Just ahead of me
Fearless like a lion
Is how I feel
As I take one step forward
Each and ever day
Moving forward is what I do
As action has me climbing the stairs
From morning till night
As soon as I jump out of bed
Moving forward is what I do
As I work towards climbing the ladder
With all my heart
Moving forward is what I do
Each and every day
As I see my desires and dreams
Right in front of me
And moving forward
Is what I will continue to do each and every day
With my guardian angel by my side
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