The River and me
Both long for the sea
She knows better though
Where to bend and where to flow
Quick, quick, then slow
She is not always rushing about
She knows how to calm down
Slow her pace
Calm and still
Up a mountain
Down a hill
Knowing her destiny filled
To reach from whence she came
Am I not the same
Explains this yearning in my soul
For a world I have never known
But I got a deposit in my soul
Just long for the pace that is tov
©2024
Me and the moon
Had an interlude
We didn’t scream or shout
Yet we figured out
We both have our phases
Darkness and light
But we both like it best
When we shine bright
Seems the moon and me
We both agree
Even the darkest dark
Can’t hide a spark
So even though
We ebb and flow
Our inner glow
On the darkest night
Keeps the light
Of Hope
And the darkness cannot overcome it
Trying to find that rhythm
Trying to find that flow
Going too fast
Need time to slow
Down
My thoughts
My breaths
My movement
Trying to find that place
Trying to find that peace.
That transcends
Landscapes
Circumstance
I caught a glimpse
Of it perchance
A gaze
To get me through the days
When it’s rushing around the bend
And all my soul craves
Is a peaceful drift
Afloat a river
Whose banks are carved
Amidst red giants
Reaching heaven bound
Yet just as content
Their foundation is a dusty ground
For now I’m in this sweaty bog
Taunted by a frog
Whose insect snacks
Are slowly eating at me
Why can’t I be like that toad
And consume the thing
That bugs me
Not just to stuff and hold
Til I explode
But digest
Process
Excrete
Defeat
Then Rest..
Head is swimming round
Keep feeling I might drown
In all the things I must do
Got to stay afloat
Grab the rope
Call out to Hope
Cause it’s gonna pull me through
And today might be my breakthrough
©2024 sillypoeticnurse (Shelly L. Huckaby)
We think we all know the truth
But the truth knows you
And we are only guessing
Answers to questions
And we fill in the gaps
To feel less trapped
To satiate, placate, compensate
We want to relate
But we can’t truly state
That we don’t know
Cannot know
What is mystery
Want to burn that down
Drown it out
Explain it away
Killing the truth along the way
I read and I heard
You’re wrong
You read and you heard
My thoughts are absurd
And the whispers want us in despair
To think this goes nowhere
To think hope is lost
That we can’t afford the cost
And the kingdom and its treasures
Were only for them anyway
Not for you
You’re not chosen
You’re just too broken
You’re just cannon fodder
In a war of gods and politicians
Forget truth , throw out traditions
Nothing matters , no one cares
That’s the lie they serve
And the deceiver is convincing
We drown in our sorrow and shame
Forget the one who knows our name
Who places his claim
Cause they twisted the truth
And said it’s not for you
The lies they weave
And we believe
Too easily
Because we know what we’ve done
But the truth is real
Slowly revealed
And it’s not wearing crown jewels
And it doesn’t get first bill
Not winning plastic trophies
Or making dollar bills
So don’t listen to the masses
They are just as broken as you
Don’t listen the headlines
That say the sky is falling too
Here’s a little secret they won’t tell you
It’s been falling all this time
And yet we’re fine
Cause there is a truth
That drowns out lies
Capsizes fear
Defeats despair
And it does not discriminate
It does not hate
It rescues
It renews
It resurrects
Restores
Hope is alive
Cause hope was born
Before we ever came
Before we had a name
So tune out the lies
And the egotistic
Narcissist
Chest beaters that say they know
Look to see the truth being shown
Love being grown
Life being sown
Lost coming home
Mercy being shown
Because justice reigns
But Truth and Love proclaims
Mercy Triumphs!
©2024 Shelly L. Hickaby
Stabbing Windmills – the poetry collection.
After sifting through a lifetime of verse, organizing, editing, typesetting, formatting, reformatting…alas! It is finished!
For me it has always stood for freedom and opportunity for all borne out of sacrifice.
This is my country
She is not perfect
In fact she has many flaws
But what she wanted all along
Was freedom and liberty for all
She had a rough start
Made mistakes along the way
Had to make changes
So EVERYone could get a say
She won’t sugar coat it
Some were excluded at first
That has left a lifelong scars
And it will take years to overcome the hurt
she knows the scar always remains
She hopes it keeps her from that mistake again
She wants to make her mission reality
That liberty and opportunity
Is for all in this land
And while we are given voices
And freedom to take stands
And promote or cause
And defend what’s right
She wants us all to know
We have to find that thing
That is worth the fight
That one thing that can unite
She is aching and bleeding
From the division and wars
When what she wants the most
Is together let us be kind
And in kindness show love to others
Ocean calls me
Like she’s my home
But I only just met her
And yet I belong
Waves rushing in
To greet the boulders
Waiting on the shore
Welcomes strangers
Same as friends
Sitting on that rock
Contemplating
Reminiscing
Dreaming
Seeking
Solitude and peace
Her icy waters soothe
Burning desires
deep soul wounds
Salty spray meets my tears
Been here a minute
Feels like years
Salt in my lungs
Water in my veins
Sun on my face
Here comes the pain
Quit holding back
Gotta let it out
Cry a sea of tears
Crashing waves of fear
Sand, sun, and sea
What a beautiful place
To make peace
With my grief
©️2023 sillypoeticnurse
You wept over Jerusalem
Because they did not see
The grace that stood before them
The chance to be free
And the house of prayers
Became a den of thieves
You must weep for us now
Because we’re too blind to see
The grace offered to us all
The chance to be free
We prefer our cheap substitutes
We’ve murdered the mystery
We cling to earthly treasures
And have turned our back on Thee
Self sufficient but self has limits
Temporary pleasures of desire
Trying to warm ourselves in dying embers
Lost our touch with the Holy fire
So we bicker and fight and blame
We share so much doubt and pain
It’s more contagious than
The one hundred year plague
Despair corners us in and chokes
Out any last breaths of hope
And though I have not yet seen
the holy eastern land
I look on this land before me
And weep for my fellow man
Lord we need you
Wake us up
Too okay with sleeping
Or numbing pain with drugs
Lost our will to take a stand
Pain ain’t the only thing that’s numb
Our desire for justice for all
Our ability to discern the truth
On lies we sleep, slip and fall
We waste away our youth
Our lamp oil is running low
Wake us up from our slumber
Ready us, ignite our souls
Break this spell we’re under
Starting with seeds of doubt
self condemnation and ambitious gain
settling for counterfeit truth
Just to avoid temporary pain
Forgetting that for want of a horse
A kingdom can be lost not gained
Darkness has reared it’s head
And the headlines says evil wins
But Victory is still on the throne
It’s up to me to join in
Which side am I on?
Which side are you joining in?
Cause even the sidelines aren’t safe
And they are preying on our children
We have to stand up and fight
Or else we get sucked in
To the illusions of the night
And the labyrinths of our sins
All is not lost
But there is a cost
But a little pain
Is worth the gain
Of the precious lives at stake
Cause love alone is the final fight
and we have some ground to take
Leaves of bronze , cider, and marigold
Greens hide deep with strongest hold
But those painted with autumn’s brush
Soon will let loose and take the plunge
Falling down
To the ground
To be trampled on
Or gathered up
Giving a time of frolic and joy
To any spirited girl or boy
Don’t you just love the sound
crunch of leaves on the ground
Trees so kind to give up her coat
Despite Winter’s customary advent
Yet Winter is the one to gloat
And makes her entry in her own time
She has caught us unaware
Coming unexpectedly in the night
And times she made us beg her here
As if we’d offended and kept her in flight
And there are times our icy friend
She lingers just a bit too long
Though you bid her adieu
She refuses to take a clue
And just continues on and on
I think her to be a tad bit vain
Unlike the timely autumn rain
Yet our trees, rooted deep and strong
Are sustained by Earth’s warm core
Til Winter permits a new guest along
Then hues of green shall spring forth
Stabbing Windmills 