Lauren M. Hancock Poetry and Prose

Tag: illustration

  • Poetry and Prose: A Lilt in My Rhyme, Thank You Very Much – 03/10/19

    Poetry and Prose: A Lilt in My Rhyme, Thank You Very Much – 03/10/19

    “A lilt in my rhyme, thank you very much,” I order, not ask.

    “You’ve got it, lady,” the bartender says, and turns his back to me. He commences his current task.

    Lady? Lady? I think to myself. I’ve never been called that in my life, at least not that I can recall. Sure, baby, honey, and so forth, but never a full-blown lady.

    The bottles and glasses clink and the blender whirls, the cocktail shaker with its ice cubes makes a nice heavy thud all of their own, and I, smiling to myself rest my chin in my hand, looking as pleasant as could be for my first date with What’s-His-Name. These dates are always the same; same formula, same format, just different person, different name. I’d rather a lilt in my rhyme than an extended purr to my name, and by goodness was I going to achieve this wish, one and the same.

    He shows in the doorway. My heart beats frantically. This one looks like a catch. My date approaches me with a great air of confidence.

    “What are you drinking, my lady?” There’s that word again.

    “A lilt in my rhyme, why do you ask?” I reply with a cheeky grin.

    “I do like them feisty,” he says, a twinkle present in his eye. And how do you think the night will unwind?

    © 2019 Alice Well Art, Lauren M. Hancock also known as Alice Well. All rights reserved.


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  • Poetry and Prose: Swinging Stages of Creation – 02/10/19

    Poetry and Prose: Swinging Stages of Creation – 02/10/19

    I go through stages with my words, my artworks, my creations. Lighthearted, jovial, childish antics. Then I’ll swing to the right, suddenly serious and in love, purging myself of the almost-sickeningly sweet tastes I have devoured when fed adoration from his gifting hand above. I swoon, how I swoon, when together we are in my words.

    Where to next? Maybe back to the storytelling, the longer expressions of my mind and imagination, the telling of tales, freshly beginning? Or should I remain where I also now find myself comfortable, no more humorous creature poems to be spoken of, instead remaining in the flight of heady love, my expression of how we once were and how we now always are? Should I speak for you, address my intentions, of encouraging you, inspiring you, to accept who you are, self-acceptance internally wrought, prompted, but also heaven-sent?  

    Or shall I not plan, but write as my heart desires? I have many tales to share, many worlds to recollect and connect, my arms can only reach out for so many, but I hope to reach you all, with my heart of hearts I hope to reach you, to speak to you all. I aim to express my heartfelt emotions, my best, to produce what I can with no judgemental pointing or disapproving voices. But because I know there is always the presence of that type, I shall smile in my whimsy, and dance the night away, critical beings I shall not acknowledge, instead I shall dream where I now comfortably lay.

    © 2019 Alice Well Art, Lauren M. Hancock also known as Alice Well. All rights reserved.


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  • Poem: Intertwined – 02/10/19

    Poem: Intertwined – 02/10/19

     Keep me warm, keep me warm, his heart said to me
     Hold me near, keep me close, his eyes spoke of his fears
     Love me tender, love me true, his lips formed his precious request
     Hold me near, love me more, never abandon,
     Appreciate me the most, never less. 
      
     As his hand slipped into mine,
     Intertwined fingers, 
     Yours and mine, he said with a smile.
     Love me eternally, I’m always here for you,
     Let us stay, let’s sit for a while.
      
     My hand casually relaxed upon his chest,
     Feeling his heart beating frantically,
     Was this how my love made him feel?
     Excitable, edgy, heightened, at its best?
      
     A racing heart and a raging mind can cause devastating effects,
     But he wasn’t of that type.
     He was perfect and he was mine.
      
     Instead I hold him, 
     Instead of him holding me,
     I nurture him, I cherish him, 
     Convince him that I will not leave. 
     
     This I do so without words, 
     With a simple but gentle touch
     Our hearts are intertwined like our fingers
     Together we have become.

    © 2019 Alice Well Art, Lauren M. Hancock also known as Alice Well. All rights reserved.


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  • Poem: The Creepy Crawly Paint Job – 29/09/19

    Poem: The Creepy Crawly Paint Job – 29/09/19

     He creeps on prong-like legs,
     looking for something upon which he can work his paint laden head
     Because this contraption cross creepy crawly is here to transform 
     private rooms in dire straits
     one feature wall at a time.
      
     He wholly enjoys 
     no, correction,
     he experiences much mirth,
     from dipping and rolling upon the ugly outdated shades and hues
     of olden times that were deemed as more than beautiful enough.
      
     He feels and knows he is doing the world -
     or at least the owners of the rooms a great service -
     by creepy-crawly-rolling along their walls that were doing their owners an utter disservice.
      
     He knows how to carefully navigate his pointy feet away from the fresh paint
     on one occasion he’d stepped in the fresh trail
     and after being screamed at?
     Never again!
      
     From then on, his feet were placed delicately outside of the paint trail,
     he understood that to be useful he had to correct errors immediately 
     without any time for a thought to be preserved about it still;
     it had to be automatic,
    no mistakes, no fails.
      
     His method of painting also had to be methodical
     not of madness or franticness
     painting feature walls might be boring but boy
     wasn’t the enjoyment of viewing the pleased owner’s pleased eyes ultimately worth it?
      
     This is what he lives for
     to change the world of others
     arduously labouring rolling here and there
     day in and day out
     without any care for himself: 
     personal time he has done without.
      
     He wishes for others’ happiness
     he knows that to attain this that his glorious paint jobs are the solutions,
     and one-by-one he transforms the world of a couple, single, or family at a time,
     While their smiles are collective,
     Appreciative as one.

    © 2019 Alice Well Art, Lauren M. Hancock also known as Alice Well. All rights reserved.


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  • Poem: Snorbert’s Deathly Device – 28/09/19

    Poem: Snorbert’s Deathly Device – 28/09/19

     Snorbert the Coiled Doggie possessed some terrible untoward thoughts
     he was obsessed with making smoke tricks with his vape
     he believed the special smoke gave him increased volume of thoughts
     and physical energy to make him trimmer and taut.
      
     While he was tripping on his words and slurring on his S’s and stumbling on his vowels
     his mind felt restless, more aware, yet not at ease at all.

     He imagined darkened thoughts of capturing ganders of geese 
     and frightening them into being tangled in masses of tall angry trees
     and then
     bucking with broncos and lassoing them with the most delectable of ease.
      
     His favourite method of his state of being was of course, coiled, or rather
     known as psychedelic.
     He could be entertained for hours it seemed
     when his lungs were pacified, but secretly drowning
     their futures breaths to be shallow and frantic.
      
     But there were moments when 
     the clouded sky of raw brutal thoughts was shifted aside,
     away,
     to reveal a clearer mindset and a satisfied ride, 
     where he could mentally feel the ease of calm trickling rain.
      
     Where for a moment there was no idle feeling of him drowning with meandering sensation
     a repulsing sense of mentally altered satisfaction
     Snorbert now had a clearer agenda and it no longer involved becoming elevated 
     because of the vapour.

     Realising in this moment it was responsible for his strange thoughts and lack of ardour
     he tossed the device into a lake
     watched it sink, 
     deeper, under, deeper still:
      
     Soon enough it would never again be seen.  
      
     There was no time in his world for potential future mental illness
     and lung disease, or even death.
     He was a smarter doggie now, 
     he had awakened, he now knew the facts.
      
     That tempting temptress of a device could cause him the loss of his life
     or at least the comfort of deep fresh breaths 
     his God-given ability to inhale and exhale freely.
      
     There is a lesson to be learned
     but he shall not righteously parade his tale before you all
     Snorbert simply sits calm, still, clear-minded,
     as I finish recalling his story to inform, not to enthral.

    © 2019 Alice Well Art, Lauren M. Hancock also known as Alice Well. All rights reserved.


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  • Poem: Mellow Yellow Lemon – 27/09/19

    Poem: Mellow Yellow Lemon – 27/09/19

     A mellow yellow lemon liked to watch their faces as they ate.
     His juice made their eyes wince and squeeze,
     how mighty pleased this made him feel.
      
     Because he enjoyed absorbing other beings’ emotions,
     taking the negatives away that they felt,
     and altering them into something fabulous
     which he could later use for himself.
      
     For example, there was a girl sobbing with great sorrow,
     at the loss of her baby teddy bear which from a friend she’d been allowed to borrow,
     the mellow yellow lemon winked at her and absorbed her pained emotion;
     suddenly her head was wiped of any sense of feeling that hadn’t needed to be awoken.
      
     He transformed her sorrow into something great!
     A state of trance, a fabulous world of emotion that could be taken later 
     to further complicate —
     
    a mess within the ears 
     a cacophony of sound
     the ultimate in lucid dreaming 
     this was what the mellow yellow lemon was all about.
      
     In his altered state of being, 
     the lemon danced himself into a frenzy,
     so much so he removed part of his peeling,
     zesting himself into an utter state of heightened feeling.
      
     He was made useful now for others,
     leaving his zesty pieces behind,
     a chef nearby picked up each piece,
     added it to his cheesecake recipe.
      
     And wasn’t the world glad that not only could he take 
     but could also give back,
     the mellow yellow lemon
     always there to alter the human’s negative feelings and facts. 
      
     So ends the tale
     of the lemon who could change the world,
     with a little zest here, 
     a little squeeze there,
     he could make others smile as he absorbed from them what he could change 
     and what he could share with them from himself.

    © 2019 Alice Well Art, Lauren M. Hancock also known as Alice Well. All rights reserved.


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  • Monochrome: A Poem – 26//09/19

    Monochrome: A Poem – 26//09/19

     Imagine:
     Life as we knew it but in monochrome
     the moody film noir of everyday monotony 
     seeping grungy gunmetal greys into our retinas
      
     Sleek stallions on a merry-go-round with eyes bulging
     reflecting the wild freedom of living under a cape of black and white 
     anonymity.
      
     Situations take on a dramatic hue
     the chaser, the chased, 
     through damp dingy dimly lit alleyways
     where there reveals a girl resting on her stomach and chest
     whiling away her monochromatic days.
      
     With glances so beguiling
     inviting to those who wish for nothing more than 
     precious time with her
     her histrionic hair-brained schemes in shadowy scenes
     could blow your mind away
     break you into two.
      
     Although she will not present
     will not allow the lure to become
     for her method of amusement in this monochromatic world
     has only a small intent and then a little some
      
     To amuse herself
     to play in the growing gloom
     to pass away the time until hopefully
     the sun will rise against the hollow faced pitted white moon.
      
     To return the world into one of colour and life,
     nothing chased, nothing desired,
     nothing overly and willfully needing to be satisfied. 
      
     Where an explosion of rays will cast over the 
     previously dismal days,
     and relinquish all from monotony and return us to 
     brightness and joviality.

    © 2019 Alice Well Art, Lauren M. Hancock also known as Alice Well. All rights reserved.


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  • Poem: The Smile – 25/09/19

    Poem: The Smile – 25/09/19

     The Smile causes such greatness of cheer
     wherever he happens to travel or whatever he happens to go near.
      
    His charismatic image bears much bubbling mirth and joy 
    dispels any negativity or unwarranted misery 
    which others may know of 
    but for some reason cannot erase away -
    helplessly they’d cry, "Why?"
      
     One look upon his smiling face
     his full beaming grin
     would cause a person deep shivers of delight 
     a warmth of emotion growing from within.
      
     For, The Smile was created and born with an intent
     to make pain and sadness wiped away
     away it would be sent
      
     An encounter with The Smile could only result in a 
     permanent lift in mood 
     in one’s saddened state of affairs which would only leave 
     that individual’s mood rectified
     it would be as though they were dancing pleased upon the moon.
      
     The knowledge that such a being as The Smile exists
     to cheer up our world often fraught with misery
     makes me feel truly thankful and utterly blessed
     that The Smile is here to rectify our occasional negative moods and process.

    © 2019 Alice Well Art, Lauren M. Hancock also known as Alice Well. All rights reserved.


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  • Poem: “The Angular Monstrosity” – 24/09/19

    Poem: “The Angular Monstrosity” – 24/09/19

     She rises from the depths
     from the phantom-riddled deep
     the angular monstrosity of the high North Sea.
      
     She attempts to make a show of her pride
     with the way she presents herself
     a reflection of the way she views her interior —
     her internal kaleidoscopic picture.
      
     As a beautiful creature with so much to offer
     she cannot understand why observers would shriek run and hide 
     when they would see her:
     Would they prefer she introverted, 
     and be the one to emotionally and physically hide?
      
     What was so terrifying with her
     means of angularity
     of differing degrees of separation —
     the very thought of her apparent failings
     caused her severe crippling anxiety.
      
     Was she truly less than perfection?
     Was her interior view an entire riddled mess?
     How could she bear to survive when before others
     she was viewed as unwanted, undeserving, severely unblessed?
      
     What it all came down to
     was an understanding of self-acceptance
     that there was nothing there for this angular being to
     reconsider in a negative means 
      
     nothing to make her feel her presence was
     unwarranted unnecessary completely underwhelming. 
      
     Instead her heart beats with renewed vigour 
     as we smile upon her, cheer her on,
     allow her to grow with her quiet confidence to reconsider
      
     that the negative views were borne of nothing true in reality
     and here she is in her beautiful angularity
     showing us her truths,
     in all her perfection and polarity of thoughts, feelings and views.   
      
     For we are all different but essentially we are one
     together our hearts can beat
     Our chest swollen with pride at knowing that
     we, like this beauty, 
     are the emotionally strong ones.
      
     And for those who are not quite there yet
     you will make it with some work 
     some trust
     some dispelling of inner hurt.
      
     You will make it, my friends,
     simply view our angular beauty as she 
     twists and turns her limbs in celebration
     of her personal development and love and acceptance which
     we truly must commend.

    © 2019 Alice Well Art, Lauren M. Hancock also known as Alice Well. All rights reserved.


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  • Poem: A Resplendent Explorer – 24/09/19

    Poem: A Resplendent Explorer – 24/09/19

     A resplendent fish swims through the seas
     his angelic wings become of him
     intricate his image be 
     the seas warble fondly of him.
      
     With outstretched limbs he reaches forth
     into a mass of conical rocks of sorts
     he understands that with his fine winged hands 
     he cannot delve too deep 
     else he cauterises and causes his fateful end.
      
     A surprise! A proclamation —
     what has this beautiful thing found?
     in a world that’s utterly damning; 
      
     it’s a shock that his wings and arms are still here 
     intact and fanning
     for his secret discovery to be revealed
     to be told among those witnessing its handling.
      
     A florid limb unfolds
     revealing a tiny perfect white luminescent pearl
     with a sheen of such exquisiteness 
     it blinds those here 
     their eyes pain at its brilliance within their world.
      
     And with a little smile to himself
     the resplendent fish moves on
     clutching his treasure that will remain his
     until the moment he is captured 

     but even then, the pearl will not
     be permitted to be taken
     not from his hand will it be pried
     in death he’ll clutch until its presence ultimately
     becomes forgotten.  

    © 2019 Alice Well Art, Lauren M. Hancock also known as Alice Well. All rights reserved.


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