you weren’t there
when I looked over my shoulder
and discovered the place
where your shadow used to be
dazed and confused
I lay down feeling the ground
where once you stood
as if to conjure you back
but I’m too late
gone forever you will always be
© Dawn Whitehand 2014
ever present
there is a tightness in my head
creaking and groaning
it thumps
pressure builds
needing to escape
relentlessly pushing
my eyes
exploding red
and my soul escapes
floating
painfree
for just a while
© Dawn Whitehand 2014
still warm
crumpled sheets
your smell
wafting
jazz tunes
softly humming
your taste
lingering
cozy blankets
snuggling deeper
I lay
wondering
Water Soluble Ink Block on Handmade Paper
© Dawn Whitehand 2014
I saw you standing there
yesterday on the corner
collar up
hunched stiffly against the howling wind
whipping through trees
pulling at your hair
shiny black
I saw you standing there
yesterday waiting for me
patiently toe tapping
traffic passing by busily preoccupied
secure in pre-ordained destinations
I saw you standing there
yesterday
and abruptly turned away
Conte on Handmade Paper
© Dawn Whitehand 2014
cold rain
icicles dagger like
prickling my skin
piercing my veins
an endless trauma
enveloping my heart
saturating my soul
a merciless scourge
winter torment
Wax on Handmade paper
© Dawn Whitehand 2014
*SAD – Seasonal Affectice Disorder is often associatd with Winter : here is a research starting point from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder
crouching listless in the corner
your words are virulent
absorbed by the walls
relentlessly crushing my bones
till the rooms grows smaller
swallowing my lifeless soul
Wax on Handmade Paper
© Dawn Whitehand 2014
imminent death
I know the hour
the exact minute
nervously I anticipate
my heart pounding
awaiting
the final glimpse of red
the final waft of warmth
the final tinkle of laughter
the final tang of spice
the final caress of you
my final gasp of breath
Pastels on Handmade Paper
© Dawn Whitehand 2014
exhaustion seeps in
weary bones consumed
wasted muscles lax
forgotten memories continue foraging
scratching the very marrow of my soul
twilight years beckon
the applause stops
lifes curtains close
the cycle begins again
beckoning an empty stage of tomorrows tears
Pastel on Handmade Paper
© Dawn Whitehand 2014
Some regular readers may know that besides being a ‘poet’ i am also a visual artist, and maintain another blog about those shenanigans here: https://dawnwhitehand.wordpress.com/
But to address the point of this post …. I am sssooo behind on poetry posts because my visual arts life has exploded somewhat in the past couple of months & I have a multitude of projects that have occupied every breathing moment (besides the head cold I got in between) of my creative life …. these projects include:
Birds Beasts and Butterflys Group Exhibition – an upcoming event, I don’t have a post about this as yet
This may not seem like much on paper but these projects have occupied my already chaotic head to the point of implosion – but on the bright side I guess that will make for some good poetry fodder in the coming months….
(the only thing that has kept me sane -from a ‘writing’ perspective – is putting pen to paper when writing Artists Statements)
So, don’t despair, I have not exited ‘stage left’…. i am just temporarily preoccupied…. or something along those lines 🙂
And just to prove it, here’s a drawing…I’ll write a poem to go with it soon 🙂
© Dawn Whitehand 2014
dark and deceptive
it (I) emerges at night
parting the heavy curtains
of my Mahogany dreams
unwelcomely hovering
cumbersomely weightless
a floating scourge
pecking at my (own) soul
relentless in its (my) pain
too elusive to grasp
visiting incessantly
since childhood
Fine Liner on Handmade Paper
© Dawn Whitehand 2014
Poems and Drawings 