Nov
17

Night Time in the Hollow

The Chamber

A cavernous hollow
one area of my heart
long shut
‘til you broke in,
is now emptied by
your vacating.

It echoes my loneliness
to any near enough
to hear it.

To my ears every wind
carries on it
your name.

Night time
in the hollow

The hardest
time for me—
practicing belief
that I
am alone
deliberately.

Pretending to ignore
the recurring
butterflies as
my resistant parts
insist on waiting for
the call I know
isn’t coming.

Hear now the
raging battle between
head and heart
as it threatens to
rend me apart
exploding me
at my naval.

Here now it
almost seems possible
enough love
can resuscitate
that considered dead
before it’s time.

©2009 Shari Lynne Smothers

Prompt: Write an explosion poem or an implosion poem. This is my poem for Day 17 of November 2009 PAD Chapbook Challenge, from Poetic Asides.

Apr
24

Walk on By

Remember that song?
And the message?

It’s Dionne Warwick’s version
I can hear
playing in my head.
She’s hurt and
implores her ex-beau
to ignore her—

I understand this.

Nothing in your head says
he’s even alright for you
yet nothing in your heart
will stand up for you.
Telling him to walk past
spares you trying to muster
a resolve not present in you.

Not only did
hating him never work
you tried—I know
you found out
after concerted effort
removing any doubt that
love
is the only thing
your heart understands
to do to him.

I know, sucks, right?

©2009 by Shari Lynne Smothers

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