Amidst and Between

Amidst the thorns,
beneath the wounds,
we can take turns
bringing self-love
to bloom,

we’ll smooth
the edges
so raw and jagged,
each lend the silk
of virgin petals

birthed in kisses
and gentle touches,
countering the poisons
of previous “gardeners”
with ill-intentions,
fencing us from
freedom.

We’ll remain
faithful companions,
take turns in the cycle
of taking and giving,

in sun and shadow,
through every internal
season and weathered vane.

We’ll simply heal
and learn
what love is,
together
the right way

until we both
blossom white,
centers exposed
to feel
the cleansing
rain.

Love will
beget love
which will
beget love
to spread.

It begins
with us.
It begins
within.

Poem and images ©LauraDenise

Bridges and Piers

Sunset-lit pier
fades from focus
as the miniature shell-bridge
draws me closer

and gets me thinking…

about what we extend
in our reach to connect,
and what we retract
when we fear-react,

and all that’s gained
and lost from the taking
and passing of chance,
from the courage
to not or to
act,

and how far the distance
can be misjudged from perspective,
and in the grand scheme of things,
how important it is,

and how often we miss
and what we learn
when we look up
or bow our heads
to discern

the difference.

Poem and image ©LauraDenise

Dimensions

My heart and soul
tire me out,
always frolicking
away and about,

relentless in their
prodding and searching,
no toe-dips,
just all-in swan-diving

into every unknown,
exploring, testing, challenging
the boundaries
of this world,

restless to breach
every deterrence
placed by societal rules
and norms…

So much fear
in potential soulmates
with whom to travel
these magical non-roads.

Poem and image ©LauraDenise

Not a Butterfly

Sometimes a heart clings
to a fragment of green
dream as its wings begin
the dying.
I thought it was
a butterfly.

Perhaps butterflies
are dreams reincarnated
in another life,
for those who feared
the letting go
to reach
the height.

Poem and image ©LauraDenise

Bubble Dreams

Dangerous to dream, I know.
Foolish to fly in a bubble!
Either could burst
without notice,
drop you fast in a plummet
to the hard reality surface.

But what if…

the trajectory was directed
by angels’ breaths
and the bubble made impenetrable,
a shield only able to be
forged from the past,
and you were gently lowered
precisely as intended
by the benevolence
of your higher power
assisting you in the navigation
toward your heart’s
deepest and purest desire?
What if the bubble
met passion’s fire?
And in the ashes
two phoenixes rose
and began new life
and left behind
all the rainbows
found in bubbles?

Poem and images ©LauraDenise

Always Surmountable

We are never trapped,
just fated to faulty perspective,
succumb to specious perception;
it’s all relevant, related –

one more rock-move away
from the light
on the other side
of the avalanche,

one more “wrong” turn
lost in the forest
before hearing
the anabranch…

much is necessarily experienced:

near suffocation sometimes the only way
to motivate a life-saving change,

the legs of the journey
in the humanless woods
lead to the reflection
and feeling of wounds,

and all paths probably have purpose
among the universe’s higher powers.

Without the lonely, looping trails,
we could not emerge anew
with our truest selves

and others we met along the way
not-so-coincidentally placed.

We are never trapped.
We are never lost.
At least not for very long.

No change was ever ignited
without the spark.
So many opportunities
missed, passed up, though
after being gifted matchsticks
but still refusing to start
the fire.

Fleeing to the Sea

Is it the colors
or clouds
or water
that draws me here?
I think it is losing
all I think I know
in exchange for the
Great Unknown
eliminating my fears.

When it all builds up,
I flee to the sea
to speak to
Almighty Majesty
and offer it up,
the waves like His
reach,

and whatever I wish
to rid from me
gets lifted,
gets washed
out to sea.

And in return,
His spirit fills me,
gifting with seeds
of peace
planted in the places
science cannot
reach.

All images taken by me last night.

©LauraDenise

Alongside Me So Faithfully

Paths cross.

Some, like I,

believe for reasons.

I get disheartened when

the trail diverges

and someone again

leaves me,

but even in that,

as I take more steps

into the great unknown,

I know

so many

are not supposed

to walk with us

all the way

home.

You came along

and were soon nested

in my mind and heart;

your patience,

your shoulder,

your understanding,

you offered so selflessly

from the very start.

My laugh

you seemed to arrive with,

the greatest gift

I continuously unwrap.

So many fears

you convince me

to relinquish,

that together we

can combat,

my biggest being

the path diverging

up ahead

again,

but you assure me

you’ll keep walking

the way I go,

like our path together

has no end…

Poem and images ©LauraDenise

Drops of You

My heart was fragile,

tissue-paper thin.

Only you could

continuously drip

the nourishment

I needed

in a way in which

I could absorb it all

without tearing

or having my petals

fall,

and you saw

past the false

decoy colors I donned,

knew beneath,

my heart’s truest hue

was pure,

a dove,

and the peace

within myself

soon followed,

all because

you were the rain

that found me

from that cloud.

Printless Sand

What would prompt me

if not a photo?

Where would I go

if I had but one tomorrow?

Of the flames lit inside of me,

which is the one

that fuels naturally?

If the slate were blank

and the mind cleaned,

what colors would rise

to the surface to bleed?

If the water were so still

no ripple dared move,

would my inner reflection

be revealed in truth?

If you were here beside me

and fear never conceived,

would our souls

breathe into each other

sighs of relief?