just beyond my pleading grasp
it lay
tempting my blank memory
ever elusive
I had seen it before
awareness
at that heightened moment
bewteen pain
and
giving life
the meaning of existence
revealed
only to instantly fade
a vague notion
hovering
on the periphery of my soul
the existential truth
Pastel on Handmade Paper
© Dawn Whitehand 2017
lying still
my head
sinks deeper
into the pillow
and it arrives
the buzzing
in my body
every extremity
vibrating
to my core
then floating
gradually
an arm
a leg
a sudden pulling
sucked into a vortex
I am flying
escaping the earthbound anchor
that is my body
Astral Travel – Ink on Handmade Paper
© Dawn Whitehand 2017
TIME EXPLODES
and I remember the wretched childhood
the unending moaning
emerging
from behind closed doors
as you mourned what was no longer
yet I was still there
I still am
yet the wretchedness lingers on
ignoring my existence
as though I too never was
but i was
and I still am
Biro on Handmade Paper
Dawn Whitehand © 2017
A New Years Resolution…
to smell warm eucalyptus and forthcoming rain
not the smoky black burden of fires ferocious aftermath
to listen to a gentle summer breeze rustle green leaves
not unseasonal winds wreaking havoc across the now barren land
to taste clean fresh water gurgling
not greedy corporate pollution running through my veins
to feel warm sun and green grass
not despair at the grisley cries of once bountiful Mother Nature dying
to gaze upward and outward
not inward where gloom grips the soul with an unending relentless grasp
My New Years Resolution….
Conte Sketch altered in Prisma
© Dawn Whitehand 2017
the grey bare Earth shivered
a harsh scathing wind enveloping her
as icy rain lashed her naked body
silver tentacles spiralling upward
squeezing her vulnerable flesh
until finally erupting
and the grey bare Earth was no more
Pen on handmade paper
© Dawn Whitehand 2016
darkness seeps through these veins
my pounding heart an unlikely companion
invisible ceiling hovering
crushing my body
the absent tick tock of the clock
trawling through the long hours
dreamlessness a curse to my once stable mind
the sweet peace of sleep evading this restless soul
as I wait night after endless night
© Dawn Whitehand
I wrote a poem in my head today
but now my mind is completely dead
and I think back on it bleakly
hoping for that extra creative hit
even becoming unusually meditative
then it comes to me and I write furiously
my spirits to an even greater height
inspiration – the great inflater
Conte on Handmade Paper
© Dawn Whitehand 2016
do you miss the child we never had
that cheeky smile that never was
joyous shrieks of delight at new discoveries
pitter patter pitter patter of little feet
on the cold bare floor
that could have been warm and cozy
do you miss the sparkling sunshine
shining on her golden hair
that innocent trusting stare of clear blue eyes
gazing blankly at eternal nothingness
clap clap clap clap of chubby hands
excited beyond belief at what could have been
do you miss that little life denied by fate
our child that never was
Conte on Handmade Paper
© Dawn Whitehand 2016
tiny pin pricks in my head
threatening an incision
feeling heavy as solid lead
struggling to make a decision
reluntantly clambering out of bed
barely with any forward vision
I start the day with bitter dread
Conte on Handmade Paper
© Dawn Whitehand
YAY! I made it through the month 🙂
I remember the first time I saw poverty
a shrivelled old woman sitting hoveled, I remember
I remember the first time I felt hungry
a calculator in hand at the supermarket, I remember
I remember the first time I saw powerlessness
a faceless person in a mindless queue, I remember
I remember the first time I felt passion
a niggling feeling slowly awakening, I remember
I remember the first time I saw needless suffering
a forlorn mother cradling her child, I remember
I remember the first time I felt outraged
a life changing epiphany, I remember
Pastel on Handmade Paper
© Dawn Whitehand 2016
Today’s prompt www.napowrimo.net – to write a poem based on things you remember.
Poems and Drawings 