DEMISE

The warm sun shines upon every blissful place,
But never as bright as my child-like face.
Innocent to what my future may bring,
At my beginning, the blossom in spring.
Feeling the loving embrace of my mother,
Affection soothing any pain I discover.

My smile falls like autumnal leaves,
My innocence dead, my loneliness bereaves.
A negative thought fostered unsaid,
My blackened heart among millions red.
Solitude my only familiar place,
The last tear falls from my forgotten face.

Embittered winter is the death of so much,
Like a forgotten creature or an affectionate touch.
The chill of a lost soul has frozen my heart,
Conceding today, my end will start.
For when life offers no ray of hope,
Solace is found at the end of a rope.

FAILURE?

I cannot kiss red, red lips,
For every rose I pick has wilted.

I cannot speak to new people,
When society is foreign to me.

I cannot knuckle down,
I have already fulfilled my potential, sir.

I cannot be swifter,
Or higher, or stronger.

I cannot be the life,
When no one invites me to the party.

I cannot find my place,
When I've nowhere else to go.

I cannot find a family,
Even though I already have one.

I cannot see the horizons,
I'm told I have to broaden.

I cannot climb the career ladder,
When the first rung is out of my reach.

However, I did try.

HANDLE WITH CARE

This vase I carry,
No ornament, no souvenir.
The only one I'll cherish
For all of my years.

My pattern expressed
More vividly than some.
However, there is always a
More ornate and attractive one.

I adorn my vase
With radiant flowers.
But beware; decadence
Turns a sweet bloom sour.

Without providence
My hold is freed.
My vase falls to smash,
To sin, to bleed.

No; through redemption
I'm blessed not to break.
Reclaimed from apathy,
Never to forsake.

Now holding my vase
With tender care.
Mine is unique,
Distinct, extremely rare.

PEOPLE, PEOPLE EVERYWHERE,
BUT EVERYONE A STRANGER

As another day of opportunity closes,
I shy away to be on my own.
I'm visited by my good friend Loneliness,
Who comforts me when I am alone.

We share an evening, speaking of how
Interesting, witty and popular I was today.
But the jokes soon follow,
Realising no one else saw me this way.

We reminisce through
An array of memorable stories.
And talk hopefully of days
Full of future glories.

Loneliness is a regular visitor
And his timing is never wrong.
Although, he does have one flaw,
He always stays too long.

These four poems and one picture were completed a few years back when I experienced a very lonely time. I felt distant from my family and had no friends to speak of. Writing gave me an activity to divert my mind and a means of trying to understanding how and why I felt the way I did. It certainly helped me greatly.

Burton McCann