Children perceive the cries of their mother,
Mother unsupportive for the father’s noiseless soreness,
Soreness forgotten under the heaviness of days,
Days that build futures they never admire,
Admiration to mother’s effort, not to dad’s hands that strain.
Strain symbols his forehead, but silence skins the reality,
Reality ineffable by lips that profile their vision,
Vision of love biased, bitter and fictitious,
Fictitious the hate women hold since tender youth.
Youth forgets the man, who walked unaided,
Unaided in storms to shield his children from the cold,
Cold are hearts that never have been told,
Told of the shadow where love was strewed.
Poem by Mugisho N.
They came together, love entwined,
When stars in heaven were aligned.
But their love hit a hurdle,
When their vinaigrette failed to curdle,
Their blitz emulsification ill-fated,
leaving oil and vinegar separated.
They crossed their fingers together,
Looked up at the sky, to see whether
The stars had crossed to unsupportive.
Sure enough, the stars were abortive.
So they went their separate ways.
Pledging to try again on better days,
When double-crossing stars crossways
Had unclasped to an uncrossed phase,
And they could dump their mayonnaise.
The Journey
Watching her suffer with a limited life
I did not cry
Caring and cleaning with all my might
I did not cry
Groomed and abused before my teens
I did not cry
Putting daffodils in her hand to say goodbye
I did not cry
Prison for dad when it wasn’t him
I did not cry
The family torn apart
I did not cry
An unsupportive partner in my time of need
I did not cry
Having to stand on my own two feet
I did not cry
Struggles to pay bills with a new born
I did not cry
Escaping from reality
I got high
Criminal convictions
I did not cry
Abusive husband and broken finger
I did not cry
Divorced and insolvent
I did not cry
Qualifications, supportive partner, happy home life, great job - counselling
I cried
Time to stand up
No more sitting and waiting for the blaming
Don’t want to feel like I have to give up
For the ones that love to do the shaming
Never see the good only what wasn’t done right
That’s why it is time for me to stand up and fight
Fight to be seen as an adult who can make a decision
Decisions that don’t need to be part of an inquisition
There is much needed distance
Space that is needed for me to find where exactly I am in existence
Focusing on my children to be innocent and free
Need to remove all the toxic drama and unnecessary debris
People without demands or expectations, not changing who you are
Because that will only scar
Let the kids finally be who they truly are
Each will be their own true star
Not based on everyone else's judgement or unsupportive opinion
And not to be used as your own little minion
It’s time to stand up
She is filled with hope
She has courage
No obstacle can with hold her
She follows her dream
Goes for her goal
No matter what people say
She keeps her head held high,
Eyes straight,
And keeps moving forward
She doesn't look back.
The nasty words and comments she has heard,
The bad looks she's seen,
And the unsupportive people
Have not brought her down
But instead given her strength.
The more people that put her down,
The more she keeps going.
She is strong,
Intelligent,
And beautiful in every way.
She's My Best Friend.
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.