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Best Poems Written by Karen Price

Below are the all-time best Karen Price poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Karen Price Poem

Downstream

The water is cold, 
I sit stiffly in the boat.
Again, I am lost.

The oars are secured.
Going downstream is a risk,
My eyes are open

I am quite a wreck,
Not knowing where to begin.
My eyes squeeze shut.

Where will I go now?
Lethergy lulls me to sleep,
I breathe in and out.

Surely, I must move?
The wind is silent and calm
I spin all around.

Let go of the oars!
Today is the day to trust.
The sun is warming,

Stretch out and relax.
Shallow water is muddy,
Not life threatening.

Details | Karen Price Poem

The Elephant In the Room

His steps are heavy
Yet he is invisible
The panic sets in

Take him for a walk
Leave him some where safe and sound
To find his own way

The grey, dreary, day
Sputtering and spurting now
Big crocodile tears

Details | Karen Price Poem

Spirit Dancer

I was just so young,
And searching for something new.
I wrote a letter.

Pouring out my heart
To you, a complete stranger,
I let it all out.

I turned a corner.
I danced toward a new life,
Risking what I knew.

The uncertain path,
A sort of yellow, brick, road,
Stretched out miles ahead.

Finding the wizard
Was never my intention.
I wanted freedom.

Life was so crowded
With responsibility
I could never rest.

I looked to you then,
As the model archetype.
You guided with care.

"Finding our own way."
Aspirational thinking,
Robust and naive.

You have now passed on.
Many miss your wisdom still,
Knowing you were real.

Your spirit dances!
Stirring our hearts and our minds.
Even as old crones.

Leaping into view,
We remember your unique 
Choreography.

Details | Karen Price Poem

Secrets

Our secrets have life
Enormous flagellation
Waiting to be told

"What is it?", I ask
What is this dark atmosphere?"
"You are so quiet."

He will not tell me
Do I really want to know?
It may make things worse

Risk is always there
The friendship is suffering
The still, cold, silence

We dance around it
He goes back to his crossword
Productivity

Do we need secrets?
Preventing insanity
Keeping ourselves whole

Marriage is a gift
Yet, its burdens weigh on us
Too many questions

I will stay quiet
Until I find an answer
He does not know it

Details | Karen Price Poem

Between Venetian Blinds

Tuscany beckons
Wandering minds traveling
On the sun's last rays

The pale flesh glowing
Mother stirs from her closed bed
She slides to a stop

Where is she going?
When will the awaited day
Arrive for our sakes?

Letting go is real
Cry, celebrate, or wishing
Through it all we wait

Touched by the angels
Her heavy eyelids closing
Old thoughts will return

A warm offering
Quiescent reality
Numbing all to sleep

Brother's soft hair
Sobbing through the stagnant air
Breathing in deeply

Distant music plays
Chords of joy and pain wander
Forever reaching

Sister's loss held in
Bursting with the hope for death
Squeezing in the love

Past, present, future
Father's sad joy leaking out
Through Venetian blinds

There are no angels
Hovering where we can see
Belief quivering

God sends us no signs
Mortality challenges
At sunset right here

Details | Karen Price Poem

Approach

Sledge hammers breaking
Through the invisible walls
Holding me hostage

Chip away the pain
Moving toward releasing
The bricks and mortar

Where is my power?
My strength is dissipating
My resolve so weak

Needing to move on
Two heavy feet are throbbing
My balance is off

Summoning courage
I swing wildly back and forth
Expecting a change

Details | Karen Price Poem

Roy

A Merchant Marine
At fifteen, he went to sea
A way to begin

Harsh Realities
Learning to be a real man
Life was on the run

Scrapes and falls and bumps
Toughening the young fledgling
Losing some feathers

A long way from home
He creates identity
Memory soon fades

Glipses of the past
Filtering through the sunlight
Illusions of life

Like dust collecting
Every surface is covered
Every thumbprint counts 

Opening new views
Just for a moment to smile
Tears too, can release

As an old man now,
At odds with modernity
Trust or suspicion?

The doorbell rings now
His only friends, the roaches
He opens the door

A bright face looks in
"I've come to clean up today"
"Why?", he clearly asks

"Exterminators"
Surely, they must have some rights?
"Tomorrow", she says

"Will you have some tea?
Nodding her head, she goes in
Cautiously, sitting

The dusty, white chair
By the table piled with books
Classical relics

A cup is wiped clean
The kettle is on the stove
A tin is offered

Inside, a real mix
Crumpled bills and Lemon Creams
A small roach appears

A blue note is taped
On the refrigerator
"Remember, I am stupid"

A Merchant Marine
Waiting out his days alone
Not a way to end

Details | Karen Price Poem

Dawn Chorus

The birds are singing
Declaring territories
For their survival

We cup both our ears
Straining to hear the high notes
A diverse chorus

The morning is clear 
The moon is trading places
With the new daylight

Our daily lives rush
Tuning out the sounds of life
Right here in our world

The Black Birds do fight
For territorial rights
Wasting energy

The Gold Crest sings out
Exposed on a fragile branch
Hoping to be heard

The trained eye and ear
Understand the differences
Pointing their fingers

Quickly, they fly off
Most of us can not keep up
But we do not tell

It feels good right here
Taking time for fantasies
Imagining lives

Furious cycles
Birthing, living, and dying
Nature reminds us

We all sing our songs
Caring for our babies too
Urging them to fledge

Our joy and relief
Lasting only for a day
Now that they are gone

New generations
Taking on their own journeys
Fly free in new zones

Details | Karen Price Poem

Father

He is still living.
"There are more fish in the sea."
We all hold our breath.

At ninety, he plans
For a future to unfold.
We do support him.

Our fears and cautions
Seem to cramp his style these days.
We all scratch our heads.

A new woman now?
Wanting to make a new life?
What is he thinking?

We are all busy.
We feel the passing years too.
What can we offer?

We are changing too.
Aging faster and faster.
Children now switch roles.

"Do what you think best."
We still stumble with questions,
Risking disrespect.

Details | Karen Price Poem

Retribution Or Redemption?

Life can cause us pain.
The chapters of life vary.
There are lessons here.

No one escapes them.
Every challenge teaches us
Where to start again.

Our childhood lives on,
We rebel and we resist.
Change is not easy.

Mistakes remind us 
Of momentary lapses,
We have created.

Life provides balance.
There are highs and there are lows,
But joy does exist.

Keeping our focus
Demands a steady heartbeat,
Keeping us alive.

Redeeming arms reach,
Touching us at finger tips.
Safe retribution.