296. The Way Back Home

It was one of those bitter days,

When the cold gets to ones’ soul,

And one wonders in a million ways,

If the freeze will ever thaw.

She sat there on a concrete slab,

While the snow around her fell.

The world one color white and drab,

Was a snowglobe for a God.

She had no place to go to,

Home was many hours away,

And as the frosty wind blew,

She wished she’d worn a coat.

Hours flew by as she sat there,

Like a statue made of ice,

When a man nearby stopped to stare,

And they smiled to each other.

Sometimes we don’t realize,

How lost we truly are,

‘Til someone makes us recognize,

Through a simple phrase: “Are you okay?”.

She smiled like an automaton,

Replying: “Yes, I’m fine”.

-“Well, the storm is hitting us head-on,

So you should get home soon”.

He walked into a store nearby,

And as soon as he was gone,

She clutched her chest with a sigh,

And her eyes filled with tears.

Her heart began to weep…

She’d thought she was invisible,

Living in a hole so deep,

If she died none would see.

So many people walk right past,

They don’t care or realize,

How long a kind word can last,

Within a human heart.

One kind thought or word,

May save a soul one day;

Building a bridge with each word,

For a lonely castaway…

To find their way back home.

K. Aldaya, 3/31/15

Picture: Photographer Unknown; https://p.gr-assets.com/540×540/fit/hostedimages/1423681671/13657858.jpg

289. The Nameless Speech

The man said to the boy one day.

“How is it you can’t see?

That holding onto the past and its’ pain,

Is not the way to be?”

The boy looked to the gentleman,

And softly he replied.

“Does energy die when it’s changed?

And does its’ spark subside?”

“Well no, replied the gentleman.

You speak to the facts in this case;

Yet how does this concern my assertion?

Your query seems out of place.”

The boy retorted with a smile,

“All things once set in motion.

They cannot be taken back;

So I reject your notion!

When evil deeds are done,

(And yes, good deeds as well),

That energy must go somewhere;

In someones mind it must dwell.

Pain spreads out more pain.

And love spreads out more love.

So when pain fills up my head,

Don’t ask me to ‘feel’ love.

The pain, it is now mine.

I know you may not understand,

And I’ll not burden you with it;

For I won’t be the devils’ hand.

I know more then most,

How important kindness is.

The universe is in a battle,

And I know which my side is!

Don’t ask me to forget the pain,

For the pain is part of me.

It made me who I am today.

It lives inside of me.

One day if I live in love,

And I try to spread some good;

Maybe someday it’ll return to me…

Maybe bad will be conquered by good.

There is no way of knowing,

If time will be kind to me;

But time, it stops for no one…

Even those pained as me.

So my point, my good sir,

And what everyone should know,

Is once pain is spread…

Pain it will sow.

Every evil deed that’s done,

It has a price to be paid.

So always try to care and love,

Don’t let the worlds’ hope fade.”

The gentleman stared at the boy,

And nothing was replied,

As he grabbed the child into his arms,

And held him while he cried.

-The universe, it is not fair, and all things have a cost.

For a battle’s always waging,

Yet the war is never lost.

Until the end of human life,

The fight’s not fully won,

And the casualties should remind us all,

Of the cost of each deed done.

K. Aldaya, 3/18/15

Picture: “Just a Little Boy” by zznzz on Deviant Art; http://zznzz.deviantart.com/art/just-a-little-boy-272998865

284. To My Children

Someday when you read these poems,

I hope that you will see,

That although I had ups and downs,

I never ceased loving thee.

Someday when facing ups and downs,

I hope you’ll think of me;

And remember that though life’s often hard,

Please fight and stay afloat for me!

Someday when your ship is lost,

And storms barrage and sting…

Thy face…it is the face of one,

Who gave my life meaning.

Someday when you read these poems,

I hope that you will know,

How much I want the best for you.

How deeply I want you to know…

That when you were born, my darlings,

I couldn’t have loved you more;

And when weak and tired from the long swim,

Your boat brought me to shore.

And on that shore we lived together,

For a time, in the home we built.

And no matter what the days, they bring,

Our time-built love will never wilt.

So, someday when you read these poems,

I hope you will understand.

How much joy you brought to my life,

From the first day I held each little hand.

For when you reached out to me,

I too reached to thee.

K. Aldaya, 1/22/15

Picture: “A Mother’s Love” By Dean Jacobs: http://deanjacobsillustration.com; http://theskunkpot.com/index.php/digital-hyperrealistic-illustrations-by-dean-jacobs/

277. Seduction

He knew better than to dream.

Yet he,…he dreamt anyway.

Darkness lifts for a time as days’ gleam.

Ah, the temptress-sun loves to play,

With the hearts of hopeful men.

Oh, see well what cannot be.

See thee clearly what will die,

When dark descends and souls we bury.

Unadjusted eyes more outcry,

The loss of ‘what might have been’.

Time is both reaper and muse;

E’er blooming and withering.

Aware it’s the reapers’ time we use,

To grab hope-worms a’slithering;

And live as ‘productive’ men.

He knew better than to dream,

Yet he,…he dreamt anyway.

The pain is greatest for men who dream.

Agony is sure,…Yet lo, the day!

What a seductive oarsman!

…on this boat to the River Styx.

K. Aldaya, 9/22/14

Picture: Photographer Unknown; http://hdwallpapersly.com/favourite-river-boat-at-sunset-wallpaper/favourite-river-boat-at-sunset-wallpaper-2/

257. An Ants’ Life

I always get lost in crowds.

I never stand out.

Sometimes I do for things I wear,

But that’s not what it’s about.

(If not for that) I am fast lost,

Into the crowds of day.

There is nothing special of me,

At least that I can say.

I am yet another ant,

Trampled by the Gods.

Slaving under the hot sun,

Or spiting those same Gods,

For creating us to suffer:

To exist to feel,…

To feel so sad in crowds,

One does not want to feel;

Want to feel so lonely…

Or want to be an ant.

I,..I want to be a butterfly,

With vibrant wings with which to fly.

K. Aldaya, 1/20/14

Picture: Artist Unknown; http://flywithmeproductions.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Girl-Butterfly-Light.jpg