A Glimmer of Light

Leaving behind a passion of heart
in words left unwritten
words fading as ghostly images
when pen is not put to paper
when inspiration is set aside

always fearing unfounded criticism
of those you will never know
those never to breach your life

always choosing moral acceptance
rather than acceptance of self
acceptance of gifts setting idle
as dust settles upon them
as motes floating in air

ignoring a brilliance of light
that follows you in footsteps
as you close each door approached

a glimmering light shining
beneath its sill
until there is nought
but a darkening foreboding
becoming as tarnished silver
that no longer gleams

& only echoes fallacy of choices
that leaves voids want of filling
giving no purpose of self
as only seeking light will do
and in opening doors

© February 2019 Renee Espriu

Photo Taken From Public Domain Pictures & Created As Art

Brilliance of Light

Beyond Affairs of The Heart

Once someone told me
I was not done having affairs
I surmised its meaning
a human touch of warmth
as felt in dreams fleeting

yet years watched me falter
confused with sightless eyes
though clear with seeing
trapped me as blindness nigh

looking beyond lackluster need
striving toward pleasing
to win acceptance
in uncertainty

in platitudes shown vaguely thin
rooted amid trivial detritus
I stepped into an empty life
always out of reach
in plaintive din

I clearly discovered as late
the affairs of life I sought
walked alongside me
each step taken
each breath
of naught

are not affairs of the human kind
nor affairs of a heart of flesh
but an affair of a desperate need
to create missives with words
of light and breadth

that require none but my own
masked eyes to open and see
to cause my own spirit to soar
giving respite to my soul
without fear
nothing more

© February 2019 Renee Espriu

Image Taken From Public Domain Pictures & Created As Art

Beyond Affairs

Brilliant Crystals on Wrought Iron

The stark contrast of white
made of brilliant crystals
against the shiny black
of the wrought iron fence

brings to mind the striking
dichotomy of life’s journey

parallel to my very own
stretching out farther behind
with a shorter distance
forward

being finally alone within
my own skin, my own otherness

a life of contrasting colors
of realizing differences
of trying to fit into
a smaller space
of acceptance

yet in doing so, giving away
pieces of my ‘self’
until I am left wondering
what is left

as I now turn the page
of another chapter
to come facing the mirror
reflecting my own image

do I realize I am now alone
to accept my otherness
my differences

understanding the helix
of the genetics snake
is both the same path taken
of flesh and blood

but also parallel beside
others in my diverseness

is that which makes me unique
both repelling me from
yet pulling me to others

like that of the white crystals
of stark white snow snaking
around bushes, curving ’round
branches and clinging lightly
to the black wrought iron fence

there is a twisting and turning
only barely discernible inside
the double helix of
a strand of genetic DNA

telling me to be accepting
of my otherness even in needing
to be with others

© February 2019 Renee Espriu

Image Taken From Public Domain Pictures & Created As Art

Stark Contrasts

She Never Told Me

she never told me
who she was
attaching herself
to me as calmly as a
shroud, a winding sheet

nudging me ever so
slightly like a shadow
ever-present even
after the sun
diminishes in the sky

she never told me why
her hair was short
whilst mine was
braided long with
ribbons twisted in
colored fashion

my body captured in
dresses and hers
a bit of shorts and
summer shirt bare
feet running past

my own in shiny black
leather reaching for
conformity, acceptance,
approval but sadness
overwhelming as i

looked back to see her
smile to beckon me
closer to not look
back at life come
lately heartless
without forgiveness

she never told me
who she was as i
took her hand in mine
holding tightly we
twirled dancing
free,  cutting

loose the winding sheet
collecting our shadow
unto ourself as we
sped toward loving

who we had to become
she never told me
who she was
she did not have to
for she was me

© May 2012 Renee Espriu