Desktop Nexus: Fantastic winter forest shadows at night
The choices we make,
chances we take.
Right or wrong
is the cost worth
the price?
Some wait in the wings,
watching,
judging.
Never taking that first step.
The fear of the unknown,
of being alone,
to great.
Waiting for someone else
to give them direction,
strength.
All the while hating,
despising,
those with courage,
a will of their own,
perceived freedom
to be alone.
Not understanding
while fearless outside,
the same doubt,
fear
dwells within.
The choice is,
will always be,
give into those fears,
remain in the darkness,
allow others
to own your soul,
or break free.
Live
Love
Make those choices
on your own.
Copyright 2016 Heidi Barnes
This is a poem/story that came to me while driving and listening to Phil Collin’s, In the Air Tonight. Where it has seemed to take on a mind of it’s own, as with all stories, that firs initial push to write furiously has slowed down. So I will post as soon as my stewing and listening to the song repeatedly give me inspiration. If you have just found this story, here is the link to Part 1. I hope you enjoy. 🙂
Growing up, I spent a lot of time in the summer at my grandparents cabin on an island near the San Juan’s in Washington State. We would spend our days riding around the island on our bikes or playing on the mostly rocky beach hunting for agates and small rock crabs. (Going to California and seeing nothing but sand was a novelty.)
The channel between us and the next island was always running. Sometimes, between the wind and strong tides, it sounded as if a river was outside our door. But on rare occasions, the waters would be a smooth as glass. This usually happened during ebb tide, when the direction of water flow was in the middle of changing, but when I was up there this last July we had a day that when the clouds broke at 2 pm there was not a wave to be seen far into the night, even with the tide coming in. The sun shone, the slight breeze was warm and it stayed warm enough that I sat out in shorts and a tank top until almost 9 pm. That is unheard of. Usually the winds will have picked up, and being off the water, the breeze would be cool enough to at least warrant a sweatshirt. It was a beautiful evening spent with neighbors eating crab, drinking wine and enjoying conversation out on the deck with the beautiful sunset in the distance.
Do not judge what you cannot see
What lies at the surface
is only the beginning
It’s what lies underneath
that counts
It’s what lies underneath
that is joyful
angry
in pain
Do not judge what you cannot see
unless you want to be judge
so callously
Lost
Forgotten
Waiting for that someone
the right one
to come find me.
Waiting as the weeds grow
around me
through me
covering me until no one
can see me.
Until all that is left
are the memories of a once glorious
life.
A life filled with joy
sorrow
a little fear
and a lot of love.
Come find me
and together we will fill our memories
with all that is good
and bad
and a little in between.
Come find what is lost
before it is all forgotten
in the misty
hazy
vacuum of
time.
Straight lines
point A to point B
Never deviating,
never detouring from your chosen path.
But what if you put a curve
in that path so straight and true?
Will you stumble and fall,
the world imploding around you?
Will you still be able to
breathe?
Black and white
Truth or lie
There is no other way,
no gray between the lines.
But what if we put some color
in your monochromic world?
Will you stumble and fall,
the world imploding around you?
Will you still be able to
breathe?
We live in a wonderfully diverse world.
To put blinders on
to all the different colors,
all the curves and angles around you,
is an empty
sad
place to live.
Open your eyes to all the possibilities
one step can make,
and dream an impossible dream
that just may come true
if only you let yourself
breathe.
Time is fickle
ever changing
Never yielding
Yet always bending
Time to go
Time to stay
Too much to do
Not enough time in the day
Mundane chores
Wasting away
Time to work
Time to play
Staring at the clock
Waiting for time to speed by
Slowly ticking
Each second agony
Time to love
Time to let go
What will happen to me
Where will I go
Time to think
Ponder all I know
Time to say goodbye
My journey continuing
Spider webs glisten in the moonlight
Tales of woe and dark mysteries
Spin around the firelight.
Misty mountains call weary travelers
Come to my forest
Rest yourselves
Fear not the darkness or tales of plight.
I hear your voice
I see your burden,
Heavy with doubt and dread.
Come and I will chase away
Those who shall
Try to lead you astray.
Come to me
And know no fear.
Come to me
And all will be clear.
Spider webs glisten in the moonlight
Whispers of peace and contentment
Dance around the firelight.
The idea is to look at the picture and then write what comes to mind. This picture might give me a couple more poems because I love the color and the way the sun comes through the lace of the leaf, but for this Free Write the poem above is the one that popped into my head first.
If you would like to see others from Annie’s Writing Challenge click here and it will take you to this particular prompt. Then take a look around the site, read the other prompts and submissions and then, maybe, try one yourself. It doesn’t have to be a poem. It could very well be a memory you’d like to share, or maybe a short story, maybe even the start of a longer one. Lord knows it’s happened to me a couple of times. Ask Annie. I think I’ve left her hanging more than a few times. he he he
The wall seemed to go on forever. Not unlike the road I was traveling that was my life. And endless nothing that was only broken by the cracks and cranny’s filled with moss and grime, clogging up what was once beautiful shiny new. I’m not sure how my life became this way, or how I came upon this wall. All I knew was it seemed endless and daunting and worn. Worn away from time and neglect. Never turning, never changing, always endless.
A flash. Nothing more. Just a quick glimpse of blue in the faded orange and grey. Stopping I wonder if maybe I was seeing things. Wishful thinking for something that I could never have. A different path, a bright light in the dimness around me.
Change.
But it cannot be. Not for me. I have done nothing to warrant a chance to evolve, to change. I take a step forward then stop again. Uncertain of what I should do. Should I keep going on the endless path that is taking me nowhere, or should I turn back and see if what I saw was true.
Curiosity overcomes me and I turn around. I was always told never to look back. That the past is in the past. Yet today, this moment, I look back and I see…nothing. Frowning I almost turn around but now that I have looked I cannot look away. Another step and I see a sliver of something in the wall. Something that is not natural, that is…blue. Now I move quickly, wanting, no needed to know what it is that has broken this endless cycle. And there it is. The flash of blue now revealed in all its glory.
As I stared at the door, as worn and neglected as the endless wall, I wonder how it came here. Who put it here and why? Where does it lead? There is no handle, although it looks as if all I have to do is breath on it and it will fall open. Before I realize what I am doing, I reach out, my fingers hesitating just before they touch the frail wood and peeling paint. My heartrate has skyrocketed, my breath coming in gasps and I struggle to suck in precious air. I have no idea what lays behind this door. How can I just push it open? I know the path I am on is endless and worn, but it is also safe. What if whatever is behind this door is…new? What if it is one of those dreams I used to dream come to reality and everything…changes for the worst? What if…?
I look to my left and I look to my right. Endless crumbling moldy wall greet me and suddenly I realize that I cannot do this any longer. I cannot live in this safe world I have created around me because it is slowly suffocating me. I need to live. To enjoy the precious gift I have been given called life. I need to soar.
Determination takes a hold, and before I can say no my hand pushes on the peeling paint and the door flies open revealing…..
2015 Heidi Barnes
Each of us has our own journey. Whether we go left or right or simply open the door everything we know will be changed for better or worse. Or you can continue on the path before you that is safe and maybe a little worn. I did not finish this because I believe you need to find your own answer as to what is behind the blue door. If you wish to share I would be interested to hear what it is.
If you would like to join this Free Write or read some more submissions visit Writing Outside the Lines.
You stepped away
Only for a moment in time,
Yet it seems like a lifetime ago
That you held me in your arms
Telling me you love me,
That you will never leave me
No matter what life throws are way.
Giving me the security that only
Unconditional love can give.
Then a stranger took it all way.
Yet as I crave the safety of your arms,
The soothing sound of your voice,
I still feel that you are here,
Watching over me
Protecting me as you promised
So many time before.
And I know that one day
I will once again feel your arms around me
Hear your voice promising me that
You will always be there for me.
That I will once again be
Home.
To See What I See 