Cems

 

Speak to me

Speak to my pain

When you verbalize

When you put into words

What has been unspeakable

You let me know 

It is acceptable

To have this pain inside

Speak to my hurt

As if by sharing

You divide the weight

You shave off 

Part of the unbearability

You bring a brief respite

Creating less of a strain to stand

Speak to my sorrow

So many times

In this short span we call life

This heavy laden brush

Has painted scenes

Sloppy and running

Finding its way

Filling the crevices

Speak to my loneliness 

Let me know

We share this darkness

Speak, so we may commiserate 

So we might drink together

From the same bitter cup

And know we are not alone

Speak to my error

Tell me, life is not all sadness

Make me see, the sun still shines

Help me understand, what is beyond

Past my pain, through my hurt

On the far side of my sorrow

In the middle of my loneliness 

Speak to me of love

Show me the unsparing outpouring

From family and friends

Gleaming beneath the smudges

Of living my life

With its dramas 

Of death and betrayal 

Speak to me of healing

Tell me of its silence

Stealthily moving inside

Gently binding the edges

Permeating throughout 

Working its slow magic

Allowing belief and trust

Speak to me of joy

Operating at a depth

Far greater than happiness

Not tethered to circumstance or event

Happiness is an escaping balloon

Driven by every wind

While joy is in every breath

Speak to me of living ..

A collection

A hodgepodge 

A collage

With pain and hurt and healing

With sorrow and joy

With loneliness and love

Remind me 

With your words

Laced with life

Speak to me

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

Dragon

 

In The Days Which Follow

Your days upon this earth

have come to an end

We have gathered together 

To say our goodbyes 

As I sat in a corner

I watched as your spirit jumped

From conversation to conversation 

As family and friends shared your life

Your spirit was tugged by memories

Rehearsed in practiced tales

As you lit around us all

A sparkle here and a twinkle there

Eventually, As I watched

Your spirit spread across the room

As so many lives, changed by your presence 

Filled the room, each carrying a part of you

Family reunited

Friends introduced 

Stories shared

Memories relived

At some point

The speaking will wane

And we will return

To our varied and separate lives

You will go with each of us

In laughter and tears

In joys and sorrows

In life and death

We will leave a part of you here

But, we will take much more with us

We will take new shared stories

And newly rekindled memories

We will say goodbye

To some parts of our conversation 

However, we will take some of you

Keeping them safe for future generations 

Goodbye is never really goodbye 

As long as we carry your spirit

In our hearts

And in our lives. 

When next we gather

Your tales will lighten our hearts

Your spirit will refresh our spirits

We will laugh once again 

A lighter tear may fall

In the days which follow

We will share your life

In the days which follow 

We will be together 

© Ron Simpson Jr

July 26, 2019

In Life

“Life’s a bitch,” she said. 

Life

Is hard sometimes 

Is often painful 

Is a struggle at times

Life 

Same life 

Is joyous 

Is happiness 

Is victorious 

Life 

Is up 

Is down 

Goes sideways 

Meets you head on 

In life 

There is death 

There is sorrow 

There is grief 

There is struggle 

In life 

There is joy 

There is happiness 

There is victory 

There is life 

In life 

We weave our way 

Between extremes 

Between joy and sorrow 

Between pleasure and pain 

Because 

There is hope 

In Life 

© Ron Simpson Jr.

December 1, 2021

I Will Carry Your Light

I lived in the aura of your light 

Illuminating opportunities 

Chasing away shadows 

Providing warmth 

Your words 

Infused with your light 

Walking with me 

In my dark times 

So many sacrifices 

So many times 

You shuttered your light 

To let mine shine through 

My most ardent supporter 

My fiercest defender 

Always nearby in my life 

A consistent light 

The lamp has taken a journey 

To another shore 

To share its unique light 

In the eternal 

All my life 

I have collected your light 

From today 

I will carry your light 

As I travel 

As I live life 

as I walk daily 

I will share your light 

As I visit home 

I will carry your light 

As I go to the places you loved 

I will carry your light 

As I travel to places you dreamed about 

I will carry your light there as well 

I will 

Carry your light 

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

January 25, 2022

My Mask

I wear this mask to protect myself

I hide behind it, secretly peering out

Seeing without being seen

 

I see your world

I write about its defiant depths

I write about its dizzying heights

I write about the width and breadth of it

 

I am like the child

Trying to feel the thrill of the roller coaster

By standing beside it watching others faces

I can feel the shaking as it rumbles past

But I will never know the cold feel

Of that bar cinched down across my lap

 

I am your secret admirer

Always watching as you live your life

Trying desperately to feel your passions

But from the safety of my mask

The words behind which I cower

 

Desire drives me

Fear restrains me

If I could, I would not

If I would, I could not

My hands shake and my palms sweat

And the words cover my angst

 

I am your stalker

Flowering your world with my prose

Phonetically espousing my mask of love

I have such passion and ardor

Behind this mask of words

 

Live your life and pay no heed

To the man behind the curtain

As he weaves his words

And creates the next mask

To distract anyone from ever seeing

 

I wear this mask of words cleverly knit

And no one really knows me

It makes me alone and very afraid

And yet, here I am, creating another mask

 

This mask wears your face

These eyes see your world

These lips speak your words

This heart feels yours beating

For this one brief intense moment

We are one and the same

 

For this one moment

I feel the cold metal of the bar

I feel the wind in my face

I feel the roar of the wheels on the track

I feel that inescapable pull

Of Earth’s tender tether

 

And then I know

For this one moment

This one short powerful moment

As we share your world

We share my pain

 

And I am not so alone

For a moment

 

© Ron Simpson, Jr.

November 25, 2008

Dawn

 Dawn

There is no light of hope. 

There is no glimmer of joy
The darkness bounces the sound 

And echoes the loneliness
Cold and dark, melded as one
Indistinguishable, as I sit 

At the edge of dawn

There is no adjustment 

For my eyes to reach
No matter how I strain, 

No light to gather in
Not even a fleeting of the diehard idealist
He cowers beneath the growing damp misery

Time is suspended or so it appears
For a moment, for one overwhelming moment
It seems this is to be the only reality left
Even without hope of an illusion

Then it happens, far far away
Whether it makes a sound, I cannot say
But something stirs in a distant land
Is it a break? Again, I cannot say

The sun breaks the horizon 

Tearing the fabric of the blackened sky
Cutting like a sword 

Through the thin velvet veil of misery
Darkness flooded with a brilliance 

Of orange and gold
Washing away the haze of yesterday's grays

Yellows and reds 

Strive to break the bonds of misery
Chasing away 

The heretofore smothering darkness
Light slashing through the horizon, 

Leading the sun's charge
Emboldened by the retreat of the shadows
There is something undeniable 

About this slicing light
Bringing to the front 

Previously hidden half truths
Exposing suspicions and putting them to flight
Advancing warmth encroaching on the pain

The sun emerges like a drowning man
Breaking the surface of hopelessness
But it is too late ....
I am already dead.

Welcome dawn.


© Ron Simpson Jr.