Whisper Not of Loneliness
Daphne Sullivan
February Poetry Feature

Life

This road is long and hard to follow.
The end seems much too far.
But when I have reached the end
I will wish to walk it, once again.

Echoes

No questions,
No promises,
Exchanged or borrowed.
No words left unspoken
From the lips of desperate
Heroes.
Forbidden hands caress the
Fragile skeleton
Confined
Behind concrete walls.
Unable to
Breathe
This dying prisoner.

The Gates of Heaven

She stood alone
as dreams
turned to
nightmares

Faith
Fear

Love to hate

Alone
she stood
weeping

Protecting her womb

Empty now

A mother mourning
the loss of
a child
taken
before its

first breath.

Silence

She stood before the mirror A broken mask
Laughter silenced
Gasping for air

Staring back
A beaten image
Stained in black and blue

A glass of wine
Crystal
Sparkling red

Shattered bones
Mending pieces
Violated
Destroyed dreams

A beaten image
Stained in black and blue

Number 2

I awoke and found myself
in love with you.
We are a picture
that with time shall fade.
A story with no beginning.
A story with no end.

Shade of Gray

Rainbows are only colors
Which hide the shade of gray.
Black and white
Do not exist
And rainbows never stay.

Death of a Turtle

The fires burned.
The skies wept.
No grass to feel beneath my feet.
No water to cool the burning sun.
Glass shattered
Scattered hopes
And dreams.
No food to nourish my body.
No food to feed my soul.
Suffering
Holding only
A cardboard box
Wrapped in
Plastic.

Sea of Solitude

Whisper not of loneliness
When time has passed you by.
Be graceful with your weeping
As the sea with raging tide.
I am an empty shell
Washed away into the sea.
Stones and pebbles scattered;
Broken pieces
Just like me.
This garden I have planted
With a handful of seeds.
Growing or dying
Wildflowers or
Weeds?

Fear Not!

Allow yourself room
To spread your
Wings.

Freedom, so that
You may
Fly.

Fear not, to land
When you need
Rest.

The open sky
Awaits
You.

Words (of War)

You declared war on my soul
Using words as your weapons.

I began to dread the tone
Of your voice.
Cruel things said--
As if
They were said
Enough
They would be true.

So, I heard nothing.

Still
Your war raged on.

You condemned many
For their sins.
(Your sins).
Born with a defect
of character;
An inability
To simply
Be.

God's mistake
That we are
What we
Are.
(Or aren't).
You say.

You declared war
On grounds
Not meant for battle.
Against an enemy
Impossible to
Defeat.

About the Author

Daphne Sullivan is a thirty-something mother of three who helps manage a shelter for abused women. She is married with three children and says that her favorite things are "daffodils, the changing seasons, and keeping my life simple."

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