Tag: creative writing

  • Poem: These Unknown Times – 26/03/20

    Poem: These Unknown Times – 26/03/20

    In these unknown times,
    where regulations reign to keep us safe,
    we stay home,
    we rest,
    we recoup,
    we pray to God that we will get through this biological affray.
     
    Burrowed down in our blankets,
    our eyes plastered to the laptop screens,
    watching the news with great earnest, 
    what is going on?
    How will this eventuate?
    What does this all mean?
     
    How will we survive when daily our lives are at risk
    and humankind is anything but unscathed? 
    We await with apprehension
    while some are blasé about the rules
    they go out,
    they socialise,
    themselves they gather without guilt.
     
    Selfish and ignorant are such types,
    but what can we do?
    We are right for staying in,
    it is our method of isolation,
    our following of instructions,
    the immovable truth,
     
    A means that surely will slow the rate down,
    of the infection taking as many as it can,
    to those undisciplined voyagers,
    I sadly say, 
    all the best to you,
    for us all, protect yourselves and remain strong.
     
    © 2020 Lauren M. Hancock. All rights reserved.
    Image by Валерия Шарагина from Pixabay

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  • Poem: Damsel in Distress – 22/03/20

    Poem: Damsel in Distress – 22/03/20

    I used to be a damsel in distress,
    I called and called to them,
    to assist me with my longing heart,
    yet all of them decided to leave.
     
    I worked so hard on being that
    which portrayed what I felt was visual worth,
    without understanding that what mattered 
    was not essentially looks
    but a kind, warm, and caring heart.
     
    Others stared as I went on by,
    my chest filled with pride 
    at knowing that I had drawn their eyes,
    but what I didn’t realise was that 
    I was only striking for a second,
    perhaps when I opened my mouth I’d lose their attention.
     
    In distress was I, 
    I wanted to be known,
    acknowledged,
    accepted,
    to be understood,
    to receive the gratification that came with being wanted,
    the validation I'd glean inside.
     
    However, the turnstiles kept turning,
    and the admirers kept disappearing,
    only there for a few fleeting seconds,
    I became more daring.
     
    Then underneath it all,
    I slowly realised
    that I needed to work on myself,
    not on the outer, exterior view,
    what mattered was my mind.
     
    My inner truths,
    the way I would treat mankind,
    and the most important things of all were love
    and the fact that I was grateful,
    that I was still breathing,
    despite the haphazard, lethal points in my life.
    
    © 2020 Lauren M. Hancock. All rights reserved.
    Photo by Alice Alinari on Unsplash

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  • Poem: No Matter What – 19/03/20

    Poem: No Matter What – 19/03/20

    I am rounder
    but I am happy,
    the streamlined silhouette once paraded
    has become modest at long last.
    
    Need I quarrel with myself?
    Discuss that which displeases me?
    No!
    I am stronger than this,
    the crumbling of that petty yet insidious disease
    which will no longer triumph above all else.
     
    I punished myself – ah!
    Self-persecuted mind and body,
    this was what it was all about.
     
    But now,
    I am rounder
    and I am happy,
    I am prone to breaking out 
    into song and celebratory dance.
     
    The draconian measures of self-punishment,
    to be others' fancy, starring light has long gone,
    I am myself,
    peculiar and particular
    throughout the day and night,
    I am unique,
    I am one.
     
    I am myself 
    and I am worthy,
    no matter what size I have become.
    
    © 2020 Lauren M. Hancock. All rights reserved.
    Image by 6563351 from Pixabay

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  • Poem: Salted Iridescence – 18/03/20

    Poem: Salted Iridescence – 18/03/20

    The taste of salt upon your skin,
    the glistening iridescence
    as I feel your glow within,
    the sun shining through your being
    as though warming my very soul,
    like the heated taste of winter when
    you and I were eternally enthralled.
     
    I can feel the gurgling of growing gumption
    from within your soaring spirit,
    rising from the former desolation within,
    and I know,
    you know,
    that we will remain entwined,
    as long as we stay heart-to-heart,
    forever in need of each other’s fair wine.
     
    Our necessity to be close to one another
    has the sharp addictive taste of that salt
    that I once tasted on your skin,
    and if I were to magnify this need
    I would understand that it comes from
    a state of savoury and lack of sweetness,
    a desire to cause that salivary moment,
    to keep it stirring,
     
    And while I knead into the skin of the
    effervescent sparkle that you bring,
    I know,
    honey, you know,
    that we were always meant to be.  
    
    © 2020 Lauren M. Hancock (including illustration). All rights reserved.

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  • Poem: Panic – 16/03/20

    Poem: Panic – 16/03/20

    Panic mode,
    the shelves stripped bare,
    triumphant shoppers walk with their prized packets of eighteen toilet paper rolls,
    the luxurious purple Quilton brand.
     
    We have already rushed from your home,
    with few moments to spare,
    the opening time has already occurred,
    there are barely any essential products there.
     
    Hastily, you grab the items from the shelf,
    long-life, of course,
    why would we deal with anything else?
    
    For we have been encouraged to purchase ahead for two weeks,
    the panic,
    the panic ensues,
    ensures that we here in the supermarket,
    at this usually sleepy hour.
     
    Seven in the morning is now its busiest,
    when the visitors will arrive,
    the peak of scanning,
    the competitive nature rises within shoppers,
    perhaps all shelves of essential items will be stripped in time.
     
    We are even more fearful of handling money,
    of being within another’s close proximity,
    we purchase hand sanitiser,
    believing it will purge the virus from our skin,
    we wash and wash,
    but on occasions, the virus will be silently welcomed in.
     
    Our systems were not made for this,
    this is a pandemic,
    do you hear me?
     
    We need to take precautions,
    self-isolate when required,
    only leave the house when needed,
    avoid close quarters with others.
     
    And the ideal situation has commenced,
    the virus is winning at this fact,
    we are together, yet away from one another,
    fearful of something which we cannot see
    but which, if caught,
    could cause saddening fatalities,
    need we stay away from all others?
    
    The question remains: 
    how will we combat this insidious virus, 
    this society-killing disease?
        
    © 2020 Lauren M. Hancock. All rights reserved.
    Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

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  • Prose Poetry: The Realm: An Exploration – 14/03/20

    Prose Poetry: The Realm: An Exploration – 14/03/20

    Since the dawn of time, we have existed. And breathing out fire and brimstone are the ones below us, but we live on a middle plane, known as Earth, where soil is beneath our feet and the endless sky is a twinkling seascape in our curious, admiring eyes.
     
    The singed beings, they wish to harm us, to draw us into their world, of fire, smoke, of fire, smoke, until all our brittle bones will cry out NO MORE! And everyone, hands held in a circle, crumble to the ground. Only some will rise, and the others will remain face-down, unable to snatch that moment, that last breath of life, that fleeting air, because they could not rewind. We can never go back in time, what is done is done, it is dusted. It is history, as I call to the little returning memories which niggle in my ear, in my head, in my eyes, as I recall those confusing moments – did they mean something? Had something occurred, or really, not even at all?
     
    I confront these sizzling, smoky demons, stopping them, now stagnant, in their tracks. What they do not know won’t hurt them, this I understand to be true, because these cold, unfeeling beings are exactly that: emotionless and malicious. They enter dreams and make me toss and turn and bore holes into my heart until I feel the dire attack, and that there is nothing left within my former safety, due to their ability to arm.
    
    I manage to walk up to one, my face inches from his, and I hiss and hiss because this is the language that they are familiar with. And now he laughs, he cackles, he is unmoved by my display and with a sense of cruel poetic injustice he bites my thick thigh, inserting his poison. How I adore the chill as it enters my muscle, those two puncturing fangs. Though I know this can only mean certain death, I relish the coldness entering. Strangely, it makes me feel alive.
     
    He then removes his weapons from my skin and carries on, passing by. I am left to handle my damaged outer and slowly disintegrating inner layers which burn and itch incredibly. I am left unknowing what to do, unknowing how to handle this vile situation. But, it seems that this is meant to be my fate. I lay down and shudder, cold and hot chills, there may not be a second left to waste. I huddle into a ball, attempting to retain the remaining heat I have within my form, and lull myself to sleep with pleasant images in my mind, my wanted dreams, my dispelling of those nightmares which perpetually plagued.
     
    With a sense of melodramatic finality, I heave my final breath, my ostentatious sigh, and pass into the spirit world, where I can finally access the information I would like. I am here and now, yet not here, and this is something I must contend with, between worlds, floating, my body upon the ground, my spirit rising, free. I will return to myself soon, but I am yet to explore this new realm presented unto me.
     
    At this current moment, I am the only one permitted entry. I silently thank the being who harmed me, for he allowed something great to transpire. This opportunity I will not allow to pass me by. I will connect with my past beings, with knowledge and gracious gratitude, and a feeling of fine ardour.
     
    © 2020 Lauren M. Hancock All rights reserved.
    Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay

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  • Poem: Shrieking and Calling – 13/03/20

    Poem: Shrieking and Calling – 13/03/20

    The genius within you calls and calls,
    reckoning like secretly potent anemone,
    contemplating as to whether
    it’s worthwhile for him to be seen,
    or whether, in fact,
    he should remain hidden,
    and cease his calling for you day by day.
     
    The exotic being within you sings,
    eyes casting upon the sumptuous feast on offer,
    she provides for you what you have been lacking,
    that serendipity brings a sense of welcome tumult,
    a feeling ongoing,
    worth growing.
     
    The megalomaniac within you screams,
    he wants to be heard,
    he demands to be seen,
    and the trying notion he experiences when he grates
    on your skin
    with a voice as harsh as sharpened nails,
    he announces,
    no, he commands,
    well, of your wishes,
    he couldn’t give a single damn.  
     
    And then the chorus of these characters rise and combine,
    their voices, harsh, sweet, ideal,
    in their tones I can hear their smiles,
    there is nothing worth separating here
    for their conjoined state offers this vibrating prize,
    their voices make you tremble,
    their power is unheard of,
    but you can’t walk away,
    doing so seems to be unspoken of.
     
    So, you sit in their presence,
    imagine their voices resonating in your mind,
    the differing beings,
    different identities,
    and then it all becomes too much,
    you must block them out,
    squeezing shut your eyes.   
     
    The silence allows your heart to swoon,
    its warming words allow your truthful connection
    to everything that is devout.
    
    © 2020 Lauren M. Hancock. All rights reserved.
    Image by Thomas Wolter from Pixabay

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  • Poem: His Arrival – 12/03/20

    Poem: His Arrival – 12/03/20

    A level of exhaustion beginning to grow,
    then an unexpected expenditure of energy comes alive
    as I reap what I’ve sown.
     
    The quietening down of my mood,
    the lessening of my agility,
    strangely enhances me,
    it does not hinder me.
     
    I am cumbersome, but,
    my mind is crystalline clear,
    open and free,
     
    I rise to the challenge,
    whatever has crossed my path,
    that which is unspoken,
    unexpressed, 
    I know this breath won’t be my last.
     
    And in the still,
    the calm of the air around me which
    heaves and sighs,
    like little droplets of condensation meeting
    glass sheets in the sky,
    I wait and I tremble
    expectant for your arrival.
     
    My cheeky prince,
    now a loving benevolent king,
    you offer me an arm and
    we interlink,
    the kingdom sighs with contentment as they see,
    sensing the rightness of the present karmic breeze.
    
    © 2020 Lauren M. Hancock. All rights reserved.
    Image by klimkin from Pixabay

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  • Poem: I Await – 11/03/20

    Poem: I Await – 11/03/20

    Awaiting that irrevocable touch
    Upon my hair-raised skin,
    I know it will be magnificent, the time for reflection,
    To make myself chaste, from within.
     
    Butter me up, darling,
    I know the emotions too well,
    Of diving, sinking,
    And finding no treasure,
    The tides know my desires all too well.
     
    But I will leap from the depths,
    I will soar with grace and humanity,
    The beauty of the softened mammal,
    Splashes, re-entry.
     
    And gyrations of the bluest truth,
    Which, occasionally could not –
    Cannot –
    Be handled,
    Herein lies the beauty of
    the wondrous world of self-reliance.
     
    And although most live and yearn to find a mate,
    A twin flame, a soul matching ours,
    The blueprints complex, though matching in many ways,
     
    The phoenixes from their burning pasts,
    Rise and soar,
    Reaching their own old effigies,
    Amazing and looming that they are.
     
    We can live as one,
    Or two,
    A little of both,
    That soft, generous touch I long for,
    Why, it seems to come from the grasp of
    A myriad of stars,
    A bank of overwhelming hope.
    
    © 2020 Lauren M. Hancock. All rights reserved.
    Image by Pexels from Pixabay

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  • Poem: Ornate Wooden Box – 09/03/20

    Poem: Ornate Wooden Box – 09/03/20

    What’s in the wooden box?
    An ornate engraved chest –
    Does it promise me treasure?
    Diamonds, jewels, gold?
    It must with any luck.
     
    I approach the container with trepidation,
    My fingers tremble with delicious anticipation,
    And the tremor which should rile me awfully
    Pushes me forth:
    The adrenaline is potent.
     
    What will I find?
    Something pleasing to the eye?
    An ornate dream awaits me,
    And I beg to see,
    Continuing to hungrily breathe the moments in and out 
    And in.
     
    Each second,
    Every centimetre,
    My reaching hands,
    My claw-like fingers,
    Closer and closer until:
    Revelation!
     
    Inside there is nothing,
    Illusory, so potent.
    I tear aside all crushed expectation within.
     
    The thrill was most certainly in the pursuit,
    The hunting,
    It was within the chase,
    And I realise that what my mind,
    My imagination,
    Can conjure up
    Is far more magical and worthwhile than
    Any gold or diamond or jewel sparkling within my eyes.
     
    More than anything these material possessions can prove 
    At a later date,
    My internal world,
    The breadth of my dreaming,
    This is the true gift I should accept 
    As a prized possession in my life,
    It is irrevocably part of my healing.
    
    © 2020 Lauren M. Hancock. All rights reserved.
    Photo by myself.

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