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Best Poems Written by Charlotte Cooper

Below are the all-time best Charlotte Cooper poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Charlotte Cooper Poem

Toddler

There’s glue in my plug sockets
Chewed pasta in my pockets

Lollipops always stuck under my shelf
Oh my love, you are a naughty little elf

Crayons and paint colour the dogs bed
And again, today, another bruise on your head

Where, this time, have you put my other shoe?
And please stop throwing the lid for the glue

Yet again, there’s a dinosaur in your potty
And why is your face constantly snotty?

The rubbish bins will never be your toys
Oh my gosh, the wonderful wildness of boys

Bending down one more time, will mean I won’t get up
Oh my darling, you are a mucky little pup

Details | Charlotte Cooper Poem

Divorce

Divorce

Blinded by the dream, ignoring the rust
Ramshackle bridges are now burned to dust

Years of effort gone to waste
Keeping a smile near my face

Deaf to my awareness and strength
Putting me back in the kitchen at any length

Polishing your plastic award and crown
Top marks for keeping me down

I may be beaten but the fight isn’t over
For me to love myself and start over

It’s not me, it’s you

Details | Charlotte Cooper Poem

Bygones

Too much water under the bridge
So many bygones knocking on the door

My words bounce off ignorant armour
Repeated arguments rattle around my skull

An infinite ticket to a fairground ride on fire
Someone has to stop paying the fare

Trapped in a loop, caught in a cycle
We need to end it, we have to break free

My fight has faded, a snuffed out spark
Now I patiently await an escape path

Details | Charlotte Cooper Poem

The Time Has Come

The knowledge drags me down to the floor
Whatever you do, don’t write it out loud

Don’t give it a life, find any distraction
Too painful to process and look in the eye

Tears drown our eyes, blurring the scene
Reality hovers on our shoulders, demanding to be heard

The minute has come, you need to walk out the door
If only for now, please not forever

Details | Charlotte Cooper Poem

Not Good Enough

So keen to get it right
Desperate to stop the cycle
I gave you love, trust and freedom
Used to turn away from the light

The lies never showed on your face
My heart longing to believe you
Whatever you do don’t say it out loud
Now bags are packed for a brand new place

Why didn’t I give you more of my time?
Why didn’t I try even harder?
Why didn’t I listen to all of you?
How could you ever commit a crime?

So I was never good enough
My heart knows that I have failed
New opportunities you can get without me
I send you away with all my love

Details | Charlotte Cooper Poem

It's all the same to me

Each day starts with hope, yet nothing ever changes    
It is all the same to me

Say what you want, do what you will
It’s all the same to me

Seal your words with promises, certain to be broken
It’s all the same to me

Stay, go, do as you please
It’s all the same to me

Say you care, but act like you don’t
It’s all the same to me

It is what it is, you will never change
And it’s all the same to me

Details | Charlotte Cooper Poem

A Villain

I know every story needs a villain
But I promise you I don’t fit the part.
Villains are strong, mean, callous and cold.
I only built walls to protect my heart from your hurt,
Stopped wasting my words on your deaf ears
And turned my back on your condemning gaze.
Though these things looked the same to you,
They are not in my heart.
I wasn’t mean, I was surviving.
I needed love, not ostracising.

Details | Charlotte Cooper Poem

Kinswoman

I came to know a kinswoman recently.   
Someone who spoke my words and used my tongue, 
who saw my heart and called it her own.

We shared our deepest pains and ugliest thoughts.   
We told no lies and spread out all our truths.  
We wailed, we screamed, we swore, we wept and we never turned away.

She had been there, done that, said yes too many times, no never enough, 
stayed when she should have run and left when she should have stayed.   
She yearned for more when she had plenty and given up when she’d almost won.

She was wrong and she was right, she knew nothing and she knew enough.  
She questioned herself and turned in to the dark.
She saw the light but didn’t believe it’s glow.  
She let herself be played when she forgot the rules of the game. 
She put her love in all the wrong places, not giving it to herself first.   
She expected more but often settled for less.   
She learned her lessons the hard way and often repeated mistakes.

I came to know a kinswoman recently and she is my greatest strength.

Details | Charlotte Cooper Poem

The Ambulance

Buckled up, blue lights, let’s go
We’re taking you to the best place
Get you the special help you need
You’re going to be ok
Just hold on
You’re doing so well
Keep fighting
You can do this
You’re so strong
Not long to go now
Everything is going to be ok
We’re nearly there baby girl
Mummy is right here
I’m so proud of you
You made it
Well done
You’re going to be ok now
We’re here

Details | Charlotte Cooper Poem

Silence

They say silence is violence,
But it felt the easiest way to avoid yours.
I never knew how deafening the hush was to your ears.
But don’t think that when I’m quiet
That I am not speaking,
In my head I am on a tirade
That won’t stop for days.
See I learned what you did not,
To think before I speak.
It’s just I obsessively overprocess 
And lose my opportunity to tell you,
Eloquently,
What’s really going on.