Clarity
Clarity
I cannot stand, nor walk or fly
Only collide in my barren yard
In stunned moments of clarity
Soil still clutched in my hands
Taste this despair and wormwood
Still bitter on my tongue; I bruise my flesh
On bark, dead roots and cold abuse
My face still stings with toothless song
Puzzled by where I am, how I got here
Lost in the looming darkness, I am still;
Fragile as a pressed oak leaf
Pain the only constant
My mind maroons itself in some
Dismal place between earth and sky;
All around a river of noise is flowing
Indifferent to my pain, my suffering
Strange, how I fall into my body
It’s my tears that bring me back,
Spilling out like drops of blood
On radiant ground
My hope, once soft as summer sand,
Lifts one wing to embrace the frigid air;
When hunger finally has its sway and
Trembles like a woman nearing ecstasy
I rise; my bones sing like mist over the creek
Pain is blurred by time and healing
The outlines on my body softer now—
Truth, at last, ascends towards light
© Selena Howard, 2013
Simply beautiful piece
a children’s poem by Thomas Davis written for Sonja and Mary when they were young
There was a song that I once heard
When I was very, very young.
I heard the songs of bright night stars
Cold singing in a silent tongue.
There’s no one else within the world
Who heard their silver lullabye,
But now I’m telling you, my loves:
Go out and listen to the sky!
All I Am
All I Am
I hear his wings’ whisper; feel his eyes on me,
Know he is the body of my hunger
In all its rawness – I am his
Eat my father’s absence, where
Tears still echo in my bone vault
Eat my triumphs, all the pain,
Gained and lost between
Eat my small words flung against cliff
And stone, when grief takes flight
Eat my gossamer wings, where thunder
Roars and lighting moves my heart
Eat my spine’s ecstatic shudders
And wind my mind to thought
Eat my ponderings, my songs— then;
When all that’s left are dreams and dust
Eat my leaves, still wet beneath my feet
Here is all I am – There is nothing more
I hear his wings’ whisper; feel his eyes on me,
Know he is the body of my hunger
In all its rawness – I am his
©Selena Howard,2013
The Breath of Love
The Breath of Love
Love still exists and though
We are stung by life’s riddles ──
The rain, and by mourning;
The breath of love turns
Everything soft; we are
Lulled by the sound
Brushing through trees ──
The smell of roses pools
Like ponds over water.
Curling rushes form breathless curves;
Stars pour from the Milky Way
So dense, so bright, as if time were on fire
The universe looks back on itself
Through billowing rings of brightness
Our hearts leap to witness such beauty
We are alive with softening light.
Beyond our honeyed dreams
A thousand tongues are loosened.
As with the coupling of a leaf to twig
Love can find a heart where
Even the frost grows deepest.
©Selena Howard,2012
Acceptance
Acceptance
Brings
Compassion,
Delicate emotions.
Forgiveness grants hope,
Inspires joyfulness;
Kindness lingering—
Memory nurtures one.
Patience quickens reverence;
Speaking tenderly uplifts vision,
Welcomes xenium— youthful zeal.
Youthful zeal; xenium welcomes,
Vision uplifts— tenderly speaking.
Reverence quickens patience;
One nurtures memory,
Lingering kindness.
Joyfulness inspires,
Hope grants forgiveness.
Emotions delicate—
Compassion
Brings
Acceptance.
© Selena Howard ,2013
My newest constraint poem is called an alphabet poem because it follows the alphabet by using every letter in the alphabet and the order in which they appear.I took this a step further than most I’ve seen and added the difficulty of reversing it
Atty Awards Contest
I was informed earlier in the week that I have made it into the short list along with nine other poets on wattpads atty award contest.I am humbled and honored to see so many entries,to see so many styles of poetry some of which I have yet to try,to see the increased interest in poetry overall is one of the greatest things. The real winner when all is said and done is Poetry for it sparked a huge interest in both budding poets and in those reading poetry for the first time.For anyone that cares to have a peek at my entries feel free to follow the link below.
http://www.wattpad.com/list/23692689-shortlist
Dagda Publishing New Anthology Release
I am thrilled to be included in this publication,there are outstanding poets to be found throughout this entire book.Special thanks go out to Reg Davey for his vision and passion for the written word.
Available in ebook from Amazon (UK & US) and in paperback (Lulu)
http://www.lulu.com/shop/reg-davey-and-elena-hulme/the-road-less-travelled/paperback/product-20582574.html
To keep up to date on the news about this anthology,other news
about what we’re doing, and to read the best contemporary poetry by
new writers, follow the links below:
http://www.dagdapublishing.com
http://www.facebook.com/dagdapublishing
Echoes in the Closet
Echoes In The Closet
Time keeps bleeding backwards
You glide silently on, unmoved —
Sightless to your own reflection
Impossible to go back where
You started, the wind is tracing
Your lines on the bridge at evening
You lie down, wavering
Between shadows, bodiless
Voiceless in unvarying beds
You close your sleepy eyes
Your white dress flakes away
Layer by layer, history by history
Then rise like moonlight—
Climbing into clouds and
Make love to your own words
You run like water through
The fingers of morning — come
Back transformed as airy nothing
You’ve become echoes
In the closet, where even the
Coats have forgotten your name
©Selena Howard,2012
Finding Sunlight in The Storm
I apologize to those I follow and those that follow me, Life has been throwing some real harsh growth growers my way of late. I have two sisters who’ve had life threatening illness rear their ugly heads and I myself just underwent a spinal tap to rule out meningitis.I’ve been in poor health, I’ve written some new poetry but not done a lick of painting ,all of these things which bring me joy have taken a backseat to one illness after the other and today I became angry at once again having a raging fever and headache that left me flat on my back unable to even move my eyes side to side without excruciating pain.So I say to these health concerns that are happening I will not be reduced to a whining, sniveling shell of myself but I will fight back tooth and nail and I refuse to wear the cloak of illness!These past few months have been very trying,still I have much to be thankful for.I devoted the month of November to 30 days of thankfulness but have decided to carry this through into the new year. I came across a quote by Maya Angelou that summed it up nicely” I can be changed by what happens to me ,but I refuse to reduced by it” With thankfulness in my heart,spirit, and actions and most importantly love for my family and mankind,I ask that you be kind to one another,appreciate the time you have with those you love and tell them how much they mean to you in the here and now,not leaving it to when you are standing over a casket after they are gone.
Love Selena
Indigo child
Indigo Child
Eyes ruined from neglect
Strained below all she holds-
Above all that slips away
Her gentle flame draws breath
Igniting strength of ashen dreams
Commanding smiles of passersby
Slipping between beats in time
She proclaims love her sacred hymn
And so dispels all earthly shadows
Her nest lies upon ancestral plains
Sweetness of Mother Earth’s bosom
Moonstones held by courageous grip
She sings of praise and of light
Soaring where lilies lift their heads
Enjoining colors of summer’s blush
Her sails harness elusive winds
Embracing fantasies –embracing tears
To reach the willows’ feathery tips
She perfumes life’s vibrant rings
Longing that cannot be quenched
Thirsting flight of circling dreams
Her mouth sweet with velvet petals
Deep rooted seeds- compel poetry
Indigo child- this child is she.
© Selena Howard,2012
strongheart 