Unexpected.
My soul relaxes when you are near.
My body senses that there is no need to be scared.
A feeling of safety unfelt before,
Grounded by a single gaze,
Happy to get lost in your eyes.
The deepest desire to truly know who you are,
More than just what the world sees.
I want to know what makes you tick,
What makes you smile,
To know every hidden piece.
I want to heal the broken parts,
The good, the bad, the ugly—Nothing is too much.
Butterflies flutter at a simple smile,
A voice that makes the noise stop.
No judgment, no games, just honesty,
I never knew what this would mean to me.
You have inspired me to be unapologetically me.
If this is all it ever is, it is enough.
I don't need anything more from the world,
No desire to unlearn what has been found.
Sometimes the things that make us happy are just that.
Unexpected.
The petals never last
wilting upon the ground
The beauty must be appreciated
when it happens in time
The heart can be strong
during weak emotions
Beating, beating, love from within
The sky doesn't stay the same
Evolving changes bright and dark
Clouds are missed or seen in passing
Sometimes things rush like the river
or pile up like a mound of sand
sliding in avalanches of change
The tears can paralyze, but cleanse
The sun can burn as shade protects
Life is so full of feelings and events
It can be a masterpiece if chosen
Sometimes things are over load
Other times smooth or simple
Acceptance becomes a necessity
In a world where the unexpected always waits
Heidi Sands
8/7/26
(C)opyright
When it’s unexpected? I’ll burn alive.
My insides will become hundreds of stars.
Little bright lights pressing me to survive,
every scar fills up glass lampyrid jars.
Rings of glowing halos freckle lush skin,
spirals of smoke leave puff lines on exhale.
This montage fusing two horns and a grin
blend together for the perfect cocktail.
A scream will linger more than a whisper,
perhaps I’ll simply try this new tactic.
Ashes contort and diction’s now crisper,
making my phrase a bit more sarcastic.
Maybe I’ll catch fire in my darkest hour,
the pinnacle of sweet turning to sour.
I found a little picture once
On my way to work
It caught my eye and hooked my lip
and evoked a little smirk
This colourful little doodle
Struck me as profound
Amongst the hustle-bustle crowds,
Dreary sights and sounds
The entire world trudged along
With nothing new to say
But this little bit of colour
Stood out amongst the grey
There’s an artist that I came to know
Who is wonderfully inclined
To leave scraps of magic in the world
Just for us to find
The war began after-
After the sun felt the stormy kiss
and swallowed hopes' tears
It had never burned so bright
The blossoms sing, even the river dances
From the warmth of its smile.
The heat never burned its desires
They were exposed, raw and unfiltered-
The ocean feathered the sky.
Now here I am-
Laying in the drought of ecstasy-
The undesired one.
Your sheep-skin echoes of yesterdays'
are now dancing little fires.
They still burned, they fade quickly
Yet they scarred like lightnings' kiss .
I breathed in its ember, my soul cries
for a fleeting night
That was like wind on your skin.
We're now strangers touching the edge of the moon
I live a little, I cry a little, I heal a little
Kissing the echoes of your memories.
has become
expected.
If I was reading
this to my son
he would look at me
cross-eyed and walk
out of the room.
I held the book I wrote
for the first time today.
It was waiting for me
at the front desk
because I asked a friend
I love and work with
to please, please, please
bring her copy in
so I could see it,
and hold it.
I am still laughing
at the fact that I wrote
something that my friends
and family have purchased,
held, and read before me.
It is very wacky.
I was manning
the front desk
for my school
and I must have looked
insane, as I laughed
and cried and turned
the precious pages
of my little book.
That is how it goes
when you publish a book
these days,
I suppose...
A bond unquestionable
Until now
A love so deep in its entirety
I truly wonder how
Yet it has happened
There is definite change
A disconnect unimaginable
Sadness knowing...It will never be the same
We view life so very differently now
Our thoughts and values no longer align
Sadly, there is no going back
No repairing nor healing with time
You have your own life
I have mine
Our lives became disconnected
Without warning, without a sign
I have a churning in my gut, an emptiness
I miss who we once were
Our relationship has disconnect and distance
But know l will never love you any less
I have received a lot of unexpected sad news from friends lately
- But this shocked me -
I came home from town and my neighbor with her younger daughter approached me
She asked, did you hear? I said what?
She told me her husband died in a tractor trailer accident!
As I was responding, her daughter suddenly started hugging me and would not let go!
I kept hugging her tightly and kept talking as my mind tried to absorb the shocking news
A heavy sadness consumed me
I told them I know what loss is like and gave all the positive advice and support I could
For some reason the world seemed small
Just the 3 of us standing there as pain lingered in the air
- God Bless Them -
Heidi Sands
3/7/26
(C)opyright
Subtle tee preferred the company of those in sweet repose
His presence needless to say, an easiness would impose
We tried to engage him but this seemed to enrage him
So we settled for making him the subject of this prose.
My feelings of love are in overload
If my love was dynamite it would definitely explode
The emotion of my love for you seems so very right
My heart beats out of control and my chest is getting tight
I am feeling like I can't fill my lungsI need to take a breath
I have never felt like this before and it scares me half to death
Just for you to be near me and to return the love I give
Knowing what we have gives me a reason to live
I love you so much and you know who you are
I bet you all thought I was talking to my wife but actually it is my car ......
The colours haven’t changed yet in the Autumn trees
Yet many have already lost their Summer leaves
Often in the past songbird’s chanting you would hear
But no birds are seen nor heard anywhere near this year
On the mountain top Winter has brought some early snow
To forest floors where wild pigs roam and poison mushrooms grow
This is a country place where people are loud and crude
Sometimes you can hear unwanted talk that strikes as very rude
I would never have chosen to live in this place here
But it was just the flow of life, a stroke of fate, destiny
For in this life of ours we live so hard and dear
Many things happen quite unexpectedly
The streets were wet, from mist or rain
When they met each other, on Lover's Lane
Walking casually through Market Square
With her with her flamboyant attire and long brown hair
A gentleman, had caught her eye
And he made her smile, as he walked on by
The fire was lit, the timing was right
It sparked their love, on a moonlit night
Sent by no one that I know
From the mailbox I did find
A violet paper soft like snow
A darker grapey purple kind
It wasn’t sealed nor stamped at all
There was no writing I could see
I wondered who had come to call
And left this purple note for me
I turned it gently in my hand
Not wanting to disrupt its look
Looking at the Hallmark brand
It had me now, bound and hooked
I lift the flap up just enough
To see the paper tucked within
I tried to pull it, not too rough
For ripping it would be a sin
The paper came and it was white
A contrast to the darker sleeve
And then I saw to my delight
My love said he would never leave!
Life is not easy
It’s not cheesy
One day everything will be alright
Next day you will be on the dark night
Unexpected turns and twists built overnight
There is no ray of sunlight
There is no way to look for a bright
Eyes are not ready to see the reality
Mind is still dreaming the fantasy
Unexpected turns and twists built overnight
Happiness faded into shadow
Sadness comes with combo
Peace is in the sideshow
Serenity lost in road show
Unexpected turns and twists built overnight
UNEXPECTED GUEST
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Though unexpected, he arrived,
a flash of color,
a feathery creature, divine.
I asked not for him,
this vibrant surprise,
dancing on the edges of my reality.
I asked not for him,
this vibrant surprise,
yet there he was, a living brushstroke.
I asked not for him,
this vibrant surprise,
nudging me to seek the unexpected.
I asked not for him,
this vibrant surprise,
expressing beauty in the mundane.
I asked him not to leave,
this vibrant surprise,
but he took flight,
leaving traces of magic in the air.
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