"Home"
Today
when loud voices and slamming doors
have been replaced by an unbearable silence
when you are gone but living in every cabinet I open
books are an escape hatch.
when words beyond hurtful have been spoken
when my life blood dries in pools on the dining room floor
when my heart is shattered into a million pieces
books are soul glue.
Today
when all doors to happy family appear barred and chained
when the path to wholeness has ended at an unscalable cliff
when there appears no turning back
books are a flashlight on life's dark path.
Today
like a million other days in the land of hard,
books are truth
and home.
(C) Carol Wilcox, 2018
My hug is reaching over the mountains to surround you in the possibilities of peaceful love. Being a mother is such a painful challenge and such a heartwarming gift.
ReplyDeleteJean
I love the metaphors at the end of each stanza. I think all readers intuitively understand how books help us cope and escape, if only momentarily. And the "when" clauses serve as a wonderful reminder of the ways books serve us.
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful example of a metaphor poem. Love this one: "books are a flashlight on lIfe's dark path." Books bless us in so many ways. Thank goodness for books surrounding us in the land of hard.
ReplyDelete"books are truth and home." Yes. Always a refuge and a flashlight for me too.
ReplyDeleteI really love the way you begin in each stanza with today. The following details of hard times in each stanza really touch the heart. We do know hard times, but books seem to help pull us through.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for the escape hatch, soul glue, flashlight, truth/home BOOKS.
ReplyDelete(hugs)