Lauren M. Hancock Poetry and Prose

Month: July 2021

  • Poem: Welcome Visitors – 31/07/21

    Poem: Welcome Visitors – 31/07/21

    Away with me as I fly
    to sea,
    watching the world fall beneath me,
    I am free
    to see the wonder and
    the mess of my land,
    that space in between
    falsity and reality,

    I need to realise the scarcity
    of danger does not mean
    that it is non-existent, but rather
    it is there lurking,
    waiting,
    attempting to gain its
    personal power,
    but what is the point in delving
    when no one is there to commence caring,
    to begin embracing,
    to be there, understanding,
    baring my soul
    for a silent audience?
    Shall I ever know?

    Did my words have any impact,
    will their truths finally be shown?

    I realise the long and short of the matter is
    that if I soared, on my own accord,
    there is no need to be admired,
    or reassured,
    no requirement to be acknowledged,
    a certain word barrage,
    and then I will know,
    to myself, that there is
    a time,
    a place,
    a space,
    for when I will be known for the words
    that I have sewn.

    The cobwebs can remain in my room
    for as long as they like,
    because the host,
    their lady with the most,
    will always be home.

    She will greet you when you arrive.

    © 2021 Lauren M. Hancock. All rights reserved.
    Image by Pezibear from Pixabay

    Previous Post: ‘Morning Walks’ – 31/07/21

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  • Poem: Morning Walks – 30/07/21

    Poem: Morning Walks – 30/07/21

    Horizon stretches so far away
    early in the morning,
    sunlight drenches, beckons,
    welcoming with fingertips
    gentle and knowing,

    strokes of sunshine,
    pristine perfection,
    our hearts pound as
    upon the pavement
    our pattering feet move,
    reaching our goal,
    though it matters not so much now
    as the bonding time does,
    this is so very true.

    My eyes dance upon the
    scene before us,
    pathway, passing neighbours,
    fluffy companions,
    smiles or avoidance?

    Masks may hide greetings
    but they cannot shield the
    glimmer and shine within eyes,
    and while the present climate may have
    crushed some from wanting to
    pass our forms,
    we know they’re practicing safety
    and looking after us and themselves.

    Still, I can’t help but feel a
    brushing off sometimes,
    it’s okay,
    if they’re afraid,
    we know the drill.

    Sometimes we cannot smile,
    but inside our hearts are
    grateful for being allowed out,
    to laugh and chat with each other,
    discuss our troubles and blessings with
    one another.

    The occasional Good morning! or
    brightened set of eyes
    are something to look forward to,
    inside we know that eventually
    the fear within the hearts of others
    will fade away.

    These days,
    these days, it’s different,
    though, like before,
    with time,
    it will return to the same.

    © 2021 Lauren M. Hancock. All rights reserved.
    Photo by James Wheeler on Unsplash

    Previous Post: ‘Strive’ – 28/07/21

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  • Poem: Strive – 28/07/21

    Poem: Strive – 28/07/21

    Consciousness creates change
    as I travel down a new path,
    my negative thoughts alter themselves,
    a turning point, a fork in the road,
    I do not beg to ask,
    consciousness is what creates our reality,
    I become what I think about, the most,
    my reflections flash as I stare into a clearing pond,
    eyes of goldfish bulge and bond,
    their gaze adjoins with mine,
    their forms start to bob,
    they rise for more,
    they learn to trust,
    a human with gentleness for them as one.

    I will never reach a point
    where I’m wholly complete,
    to finish this existence early,
    why, a thought ever so dreary,
    never having to reach for improvements,
    never again experiencing eternal growth,
    manifesting more,
    more,
    aligning my journey is required,
    to become in a way I’ve never known.

    While I am enough and enough is
    what I shall perhaps remain,  
    understanding the rise and fall of my life
    in parts and in its entirety,
    manifesting, creating,
    knowing,
    differences yet still the same,
    using the negative moments that allow me
    to know what is unwanted,
    and what can be improved on to rise forth,
    and grasp hold tightly, so firmly, upon this ride,
    a personal state of feeling so utterly divine.

    I will strive to feel good no matter what,
    whatever the situation or travesty,
    I will distract myself from pains and lack of
    positive source wholly and knowingly,
    altering my judgement,
    my anger and sadness from me,
    focus on the future,
    on all things possessing positivity.

    There is much work to be done,
    I acknowledge this myself,
    so much time has been spent
    wrecking myself,
    I need to undo the harm,
    backtrack the repeated mistakes,
    unravel the consciousness
    and become more, more,
    like I’ve tried to,
    and am trying to,
    as of late.

    A picture is worth more than I can currently accommodate.

    © 2021 Lauren M. Hancock. All rights reserved.
    Photo by Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash

    Previous Post: ‘Flushed Magnolias’ – 28/07/21

    Previous Post: ‘Rows of Rosies’ – 26/07/21

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  • Poem: Flushed Magnolias – 28/07/21

    Poem: Flushed Magnolias – 28/07/21

    the strength within is something which
    must be seen,
    peel away those layers,
    let us view within,
    the armour, so thickly wrought,
    over years of abuse and mockery,
    self-taught, self-taught.

    darling, it’s time to make that move,
    inhabit a better place,
    wipe away your gloom,
    shine bright unto another day
    and then the next,
    your armour always protects,
    come what may.

    I know, I know, sweetheart,
    that at times it hurts,
    recalling that past behaviour,
    sour-filled words,
    you didn’t speak kindly to yourself,
    you spoke down to your ego,
    denigrated your heart,
    and at times, you tore yourself apart,

    but now, you can reach forth,
    aim for the stars,
    show that strength within that
    came with truth, experience,
    and the strongest of arms.

    know this, darling,
    my sweetheart,
    the yearning
    for more, from life,
    from your world,
    the pain is done,
     
    watch as your kingdom will come,
    truth be told the errors of self-talk
    will come undone,
    and your language will become fluent
    with self-love.

    it’s time to breathe freely,
    no encumbered breaths,
    infant-milky scent,
    from innocence you have grown,
    and into more, a strong woman
    you have become,

    in fact, shed that armour,
    for its strength has become a
    part of you,
    there’s no need for chainmail
    or steel layers
    when life’s become more peaceful,
    beautiful,
    more spiritual
    than a vase of flushed magnolias.

    © 2021 Lauren M. Hancock. All rights reserved.
    Photo by photos_by_ginny from Pexels

    Previous Post: ‘Rows of Rosies’ – 26/07/21

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  • Poem: Rows of Rosies – 26/07/21

    Poem: Rows of Rosies – 26/07/21

    Rows and rows of rosies,
    we bend and sniff,
    achoo,
    we’ve more to fear these days
    than an ancient dreaded plague or flu,

    we link arms,
    ring-a-rosies,
    we hold each other tight,
    we’re here for all
    through thick and thin,
    through harsh morn’ scratchings
    and eerie dead of night.

    The home becomes a zone
    where no fresh soul shall pass,
    each contagion has already been
    unknowingly passed.

    Families isolate,
    quarantine with hope,
    watching loved ones repair themselves,
    immunity must grow,
    it’s the only option they must know.

    Recovery, or treatment
    when possible,
    required if ease of breath abates,
    this playtime of ring-a-rosies
    has been forgotten as of late,
     
    but still we all link arms,
    hold each other tight,
    spin, focus now, less our prior delight,
    for it is with determination,
    solidarity and fight,
    that we will win these battles,
    calm seeps into our nights.   

    © 2021 Lauren M. Hancock. All rights reserved.
    Image by Kate Greenaway in ‘Mother Goose’, sourced from Wikimedia, use under Public Domain

    Previous Post: ‘Perfect Imperfections’ – 24/07/21

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  • Poem: Perfect Imperfections – 24/07/21

    Poem: Perfect Imperfections – 24/07/21

    Desperation doesn’t dance in my lair no more,
    ancient lands where false paradise laid in store,
    I drag my feet, trail my hair,
    catch myself in a transient mirror,
    I stare, lower gaze, then bravely rise,
    continue to stare some more.

    It’s difficult to gaze into ‘imperfections’
    that make myself me,
    my mind calls out with interjections,
    telling myself I’m exactly the way God intended
    me to be,
    self-acceptance,
    understanding,
    it slowly grows like soft moss within,
    flourishing,
    lush,
    promising,
    plush and ever-green.

    The sadness that used to plague,
    the desire, the want, to always change,
    the need to shrink, slim,
    now I raise a hand craftily,
    cock one hip,
    I am cheeky,
    for I know the secret here,
    I became more within,
    image doesn’t always have to fuel
    internal fires,
    in fact,
    focusing out the outer can fuel
    a dangerous inferno,
    an unwanted din.

    It is what is within that counts,
    am I happy with how I’m feeling,
    that matters most,
    am I confident,
    can I take my world in my stride,
    get up upon that rhetoric in life,
    and ride, ride, windswept, breathless,
    in control,
    ride?

    With maturity came preservation,
    with preservation came self-understanding,
    comprehension, direction,
    I know what truths I am sowing,
    even without the drive to direct in just one direction,
    I know, I know that my heart and mind
    are peaceful together,
    they’re becoming a solved puzzle of
    correct interaction.

    My soul doesn’t call out for acceptance,
    no longer calls out for
    painfully obvious acknowledgement,
    I don’t need the eyes to
    view what I already know,
    that my presence is enough,
    I am enough within this world.

    My heart, once a prison,
    is a cage thrown open,
    the dove is free for escaping,
    but she remains,
    treasured,
    adored,
    she is amazing,
    her own form of perfection,
    in short, she makes it.  

    © 2021 Lauren M. Hancock. All rights reserved.
    Photo by Fuu J on Unsplash

    Previous Post: ‘Luminous’ – 22/07/21

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  • Poem: Luminous – 22/07/21

    Poem: Luminous – 22/07/21

    I am brightness within eyes and
    air between wings,
    rise with me,
    moods heightened,
    how amazing salvation is.

    I have been forgiven and it was
    granted many years before,
    acceptance, realisation,
    have long been in the making,
    my life, my world,
    I now treasure, I adore.

    Acknowledgement of the
    gravity of my former situations,
    I know now how darkly luminous my fate glowed,
    insinuations,
    whilst glowering were heavy eyes
    above my form,
    their unhappy windows,
    but still they watched over me,
    for then, for future tomorrows –

    I had protection from angels,
    from generations of loved ones,
    from heaven above,
    and the benevolent calming God.

    How else could I describe my survival —
    triumphs over tribulations,
    scraped stifling walls for air,
    learned to be humble,
    in reality, I could be away from here,
    six feet under,
    or scattered in pieces,
    what a moment to comprehend,
    how one might shudder.

    I lived under calculated stares,
    by some, I suspect I was abhorred,
    raging thoughts,
    temporary damning thunder,
    they’ve forgotten with time,
    softness beneath me grows,
    a sense of quiet personal power.

    An important being to some, to many?
    Yet to others, a nameless entity,
    and now here I am,
    within the arms of comfortability,
    of safety,
    and most grateful I am,
    gracious in Life’s undertaking,
    because I know,
    I understand,
    I comprehend that my place within this world
    is something to respect,
    for I have been spared from a fate
    potentially dared and wiped,
    into nothingness I would have become,

    obliterated,
    faceless, lost,

    yet here I am,
    saved,
    like a turtledove
    I have returned to the flock.

    I am at one with them,
    I am treasured,
    I am youthful yet I am growing old,
    life is amazing once I’ve accepted it,
    truth be told:

    of its glorious moments
    there are so many forthcoming, past and current,
    of Life’s glorious abundance,
    I am sold.

    © 2021 Lauren M. Hancock. All rights reserved.
    Photo by Monica Turlui from Pexels

    Previous Post: ‘Waltz’ – 20/07/21

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  • Poem: Waltz – 20/07/21

    Poem: Waltz – 20/07/21

    Our feet together,
    they step in time,
    gentle footsteps,
    intertwine,
    yielding memories,
    forthcoming hope,
    endangered circumstance,
    thoughts, hearts, pump, grow.

    I know the understanding I have is
    too right,
    that the assertions made shall
    linger into the night,
    hands held,
    palm to palm,
    they know,
    intuitively speaking,
    they meld,
    we meld,
    complex love disarms,
    its truths it is singing.

    We are not borne of wind
    nor shore,
    we do not trail the sand of
    distant moors,
    we enlist the capacity of a
    united front,
    our waltz is independent of others,
    desperate need will not depart.

    So, I cling to you,
    and you latch onto me,
    holding us together,
    our pieces join so lovingly,
    there is little to say further
    on the matter,
    the county knows our hearts’ patterns
    by now,
    we are wild circumstance and longing,
    our youthful love
    steals the show.

    So, quieten down now,
    these wild-footed, sweeping beats,
    gentle taps now,
    our sweet soft melody,
    our beat, our rhythm,
    our precious time,
    taken in as our developmental style,
    we shall remain together,
    despite all paraded before us,
    protests spoken all the while,
    our bond is special,
    it reassures us.

    Who knew we’d be present, together,
    after all this time?
    Ached through much,
    years of frenzied dance,
    yet remaining palm to palm,
    an intricate understanding,
    a gentle touch,
    our voices now,
    we sing in rich key,
    beautiful duet —
    an honourable melody.

    Richness of understanding,
    how well you know me,
    our interactions are made with
    the smoothest of ease,
    our version of love blossoms,
    like wildflowers, it grows with speed,
    some don’t understand us,
    but we’ve nothing to prove,
    it’s our land,
    our world of in-between,
    that we inhabit and waltz through
    with joy, so freely.

    © 2021 Lauren M. Hancock. All rights reserved.
    Photo by Andrew from Pexels

    Previous Post: ‘Battlefield’ – 20/07/21

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  • Poem: Battlefield – 19/07/21

    Poem: Battlefield – 19/07/21

    As I sit in my rocking chair
    I ponder to myself,
    what is there to contemplate or even know,
    how should I proceed in life,
    these stumbling blocks keep coming,
    they are rife,
    and they trash my days and hours,
    slitting them open like warm butter
    attacked with a knife.

    Eyes within, they glower,
    witnesses who think they know me more than me,
    so much better,
    they glance upon with mediocrity in their eyes,
    pity begins to flower.

    I cannot help myself,
    despairing feelings overwhelm,
    they irritate and sadden me all
    at the same time,
    emotions coagulate,
    they brew inside of me,
    whilst the others watch on freely,
    I’m ashamed in this moment
    to be such a sensitive entity.

    Because usually, generally,
    I am adamant,
    I do not let damp sadness get the
    better of me,
    and yet
    here I am,
    looking out upon myself,
    like a sad sack of sand on the pavement,
    where is my power,
    my strident ability to rise above
    this ailment?

    Still, I sit,
    rock and rock away,
    mechanically, forward and back,
    whiling away the day,
    and eventually, the aches and groans internally
    might fade away,
    there’s no room for brightness but
    at least the clouds have maybe cleared
    for the day.

    And perhaps this is all a mere moment which will
    pass away,
    the gloom will leave this room,
    this mental space, cavity, prison, I’ve assumed,
    soon I will take the reins
    and ride forward, tossing my mane here and there,
    astride will I ride into battle
    without a single care.

    And then I will pre-empt the almighty force
    that beckons and crawls to me
    making me feel so unassured,
    I will become belligerent toward the pain,
    I will hunt it down,
    I will triumph above,
    sadness squeals in vain,
    how about that,
    I tell the witnesses,
    as I dismount my beast,
    evermore the battlefields with my
    courage and valiant honour
    are stained,
    I have allowed them to see
    the true me.
     
    © 2021 Lauren M. Hancock. All rights reserved.
    Photo from Pexels

    Previous Post: ‘Away Without Leave’ – 18/07/21

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  • Poem: Away Without Leave – 18/07/21

    Poem: Away Without Leave – 18/07/21

    I am currently away without leave,
    taken steps to walk from progress
    so I can be there, to care
    for the ones I used to revolt against,
    those who love me with every inch
    no matter past sadness,
    but pray tell I do digress,
    I need to be here,
    not unavailable, but present,
    my presence used to be far, far less.

    I have relearned the role of
    family amid this chaos,
    upsets, Life’s bad news,
    over years together when my
    desire to stay home faltered,
    when I needed to be
    belligerent to others,
    now those days have all but
    faded away,
    love grown and nurtured,
    here I am,
    I will stay,
    give back
    for it’s the least
    I can do,
    promise their needs will be
    attended to,
    it’s not about my former
    wreckages now.

    Gently, I will lace the new
    understanding of family
    and closeness and inherent need
    and trust,
    being here, breathing there,
    even in silence
    company is a must,
    spread my opening wings around
    their hearts,
    stop the chance of bruising
    through my chrysalis,
    boy, am I wondering
    will this ever be enough,
    as repayment?
    This tender notion of love versus love.

    I am away without leave,
    I have taken the time,
    a step away from requirements,
    daily life now starts to sway,
    we are in our vortex where
    time learns to stand still,
    and we can appreciate one another’s
    company again,
    adoringly drink our fill.
    For, time is fleeting,
    Life seems to know that drill.

    © 2021 Lauren M. Hancock. All rights reserved.
    Image by Terri Cnudde from Pixabay

    Previous Post: ‘Seasonal Affective’ – 17/07/21

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