Letting Go

Letting Go

https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com/2026/01/letting-go.html

Now I am awake I can imagine letting go of her jam stained fingers 

Which have been locked inside mine for many a dangerous year 

I would like to cast her up to the stars and the moon so she can finally be free

I do not imagine our parting as sad

It would make me proud to see her climb up a ladder of stars

I would watch with excitement to see the joy on her face 

The possibility we both have inside to be free 

Freedom seems to be what makes life magical - being well and safe enough to play

Bouncing words like rubber balls, catching petals as they fall from trees -

Jumping in puddles and being warm inside, but also knowing when to stop 

Before play becomes reckless and bad habits return with their false promises of fun

Of course there will be times when I would miss her

But I am ready, I feel it inside - not a single moment or a flash of light

Rather, a collection of sea-weathered stones warm in my pocket - ready to (re) build my path 

Maybe I would even paint the stones yellow - bright as sunshine - shining and wild 

If not yellow, then solid and grey would be just fine - any road is better than some that we have tread and trespassed on -

Now it is time to gather in our lessons and cast out our mistakes

Always building, building, building to create our bestest selves.   

Somebody Loves Us All

https://dversepoets.com/2026/01/06/poetics-borrowing-bishop/

Title taken from The Filling Station - Elizabeth Bishop 

Somebody Loves Us All

The pew is cold under my seat, I can feel the traces of wood knots

And prayers both answered and put on hold (they will be fulfilled in time)

The air is damp. Old stones and broken ceiling slates

It makes each breath in and out like a magical gift

So many people have been here - now, I am too

That makes me want to giggle and burst

Not cry silently into the empty font

I brush my fingers over the knitted kneeling pads

Made with so much care. A little dented. Much used

Like the skin on my body also knotted and (mis) used

Perhaps I am comfortable now, more at ease with my body and soul

Just how did I spend (and waste) so many years in the toil of pain -

What I thought was my work and purpose

Now I have to forge a new and different path - fashion a different prayer

Always knowing deep inside that somebody loves us all.  

Epiphany

 Epiphany 

https://dversepoets.com/2026/01/05/haibun-monday-1-5-26-epiphany/

I stand at the window of my life. I am warm and dry and my stomach is comfortably full. Outside there is a small splattering of snow. I hope there won't be ice in the morning. I am still worried about falling over. Perhaps all is well. Perhaps I am well. Perhaps it is better not to chase clouds or daydreams. Perhaps it is better not to seek dreams at all, but rather magical moments. Like the owls who sing when I awake at half-past two. Perhaps those magical moments will grow like flowers. Tiny leaves. Strong roots. Colourful petals. Of course there will be days when they struggle to thrive. When their petals drop off and they have to grow again. Such is the nature of life. And perhaps in understanding that I have reached a kind of epiphany. 

The stars shine bright

The moon is out in splendour 

I breathe and smile.  

Fireworks

https://poetsandstorytellersunited.blogspot.com/2026/01/friday-writings-208-fireworks.html

I think I like red sparks of light and life now

They shimmer and shine in the night sky

Sweet as the hooting owls in the tree as my day begins

It is good to see a punctuation in the darkness

A glimmer of hope and new beginnings -

Or at least a revision of bad, old habits

I like the feel of sparklers in my hand 

They have a smell - not quite burnt but on fire

Perhaps a catherine wheel will be attached to the gate

Spin and turn quick as her twirls and turns

That would make me smile

I hope my days won’t go up in flames but rather have a steady glow

Like the sun on the horizon lighting my way

Two steps forward, one step back -

No matter, as long as I do keep moving and breathing in and out 

I raise a glass to all that could be if only I keep trying

A new year, a fire inside - a much needed desire to change and be.

The Things I will Remember

https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-last-things-ill-remember.html

Perhaps when I close my eyes for my final slumber

I will remember you - your shining eyes - blue as the moon

And the glorious halo of spirit you carry around your body and soul

I don’t think I will remember words - perhaps word pictures -

Snap shots of remembrances that don’t quite capture the spirit of all that is -

And all that was

I hope that as my breathing slows and I close my eyes

I will feel peace - no more fighting myself, just gently rolling in and out

Like an early morning tide - my work complete but still room for others to continue

To make the world what they choose to fulfil 

I will remember the sea of my youth

Sitting on rocks and gazing at the movement when all else was stuck and rigid 

Perhaps my next place will be a valley full of the smell of roses, growing wild 

A field Alice will be free to dance in - for she will live on

Of course, there will be fear - but I sense there will also be a peace

A resolution and not the painful one others envisaged for me

A natural closing down and letting go of pain and hurt

I wish that for everyone - One final dream that will last for an eternity 

And keep us warm and dry and most of all, happy inside. 

Twilight

https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com/2025_12_24_archive.html

Perhaps this is the twilight of my life

A little sunshine in a world of fog

A little clarity after many years of cloudy thoughts -

And pain. So much pain

I gather my senses under the moon

Wait for lighter days to come 

Look for stars, listen out for the owls that rest on the tree

Perhaps it is the time to cast away bad feelings

To celebrate the little joys of ageing 

I hope in time I will move forwards - in mind and body and spirit 

Perhaps every day each tiny step counts

No need to click my red shoes three times anymore

Less need to reach for her sticky, jammy hand

And so today I will breathe - as if it is my first day, and one of my last

I will gather the extended light and feel the sun and moon bathe me

I will never be washed clean but I can make my soul shine. 

Silent Night

https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com/2025_12_17_archive.html

How I ache for a silent night - 

To have the whole world and all its possibilities laid out bare

Of course, I would still like to hear the owl calling at three in the morning 

But to have peace outside would let me feel safe inside

It seems there have been no truly silent nights

The thoughts linger - I rehearse in my mind - the words -

Her beautiful voice and big blue eyes - her honesty and pain inside

It makes me want to cry - to erase the marks on my skin

I love the way she sways as she sings

I like hearing her - in my head - to guide me through 

Another night - another day

As it is, I rise at one in the morning 

And sleep at four in the afternoon 

Anything to avoid the monsters inside - and out 

And so I run through the words and my lips move soundlessly along - 

They fall like honey - tough to get out of the jar -

All is calm, all is bright - sleep in heavenly peace - Silent Night.