Lauren M. Hancock Poetry and Prose

Tag: poetry collection

  • Poem Trilogy: As Close as Could Be – 29/12/19

    Poem Trilogy: As Close as Could Be – 29/12/19

    Part I: The Ebb and Flow of Healing 

     Press forth,
 her gesture whispered,
 you can do it,
 reach that realm.
  
 Her hand gently pressing the 
 small of my back,
 encouragement to reach that certain angel.
  
 An angel who would heal me,
 remove from me all 
 the pain and 
 suffering
 that I was feeling,
  
 brought upon me by a being 
 so nasty and calculated,
 I don’t know why or how I loved him. 
  
 With him I felt the drag,
 with her I was allowed to
 be myself,
  
 I could stay awake until three,
 write, draw pictures, sing, dance,
 do anything.
  
 Feverishly I wrote and wrote,
 wrote and posted, 
 in my crumbling state of 
 heightened illness,
 I made sure I was heard by my world.
  
 These people, I did not know
 who I had reached,
 whether I was well received
 or even understood.
  
 But the numbers didn’t matter,
 it was the act of self-expression,
 to be prolific in my work 
 was very important.
  
 It was most important 
 that the ideas were expelled from me
 like endless buzzes from a 
 curious yet insidious bee
 turned rogue wasp,
 I wanted to be belligerent in my exposes,
 to a certain degree.
  
 Because some needed to be spoken of,
 others needed to be hidden and taken care of,
 but I most needed healing –
 purging was my means of achieving this.
  
 Meditation also called to me,
 I practiced it religiously,
 sometimes thrice daily. 
  
 And once I removed the 
 sin from my system,
 forced upon me via devilish means,
 I felt a sense of tearing,
 a breakage within,
 I wept and wept as though 
 a staining upon my soul
 had been removed. 
  
 I healed in her presence
 but I still longed for the perpetrator,
 in both my mind and reality 
 he was the culprit
 but of my heart, 
 somehow he would be my saviour.

    Part II: The Cost

     He came into my life, 
 she came into yours,
 jealousy seemed to rear its ugly head.

 We had always had each other,
 but now we had lovers to occupy our 
 hearts and time,
 less and less did we see each other, 
 and when we did, 
 mostly talk did we of our others in our lives.
  
 Becoming tamer and more domesticated
 we calmed in times of love and lust,
 another’s hand to hold and to accept us
 for who we really were in life.
  
 They seemed to be more
 than our friendship could provide,
 but these unions came at a certain cost.

    Part III: Who I Once Thought You Were

     Who I once thought she was,
 is not who she is now,
 her new identity is now sharper, 
 harsher,
 well defined,
 strikingly and painfully real.
  
 Her care, love, and concern,
 dispersed to other sources,
 grown apart, it does seem,
 new friends in her current life courses.
  
 We were like slippery fish playing together,
 rolling in the deep, 
 enjoying each other’s company,
 slapping our tails playfully, 
 even taking on a curious eel 
 who simply wanted to grin.
  
 Then, prolonged silence, 
 we would no longer speak,
 for an age it would be that we would 
 not bother to take our fill of 
 each other’s words or efforts at counselling.
  
 Disapproval from both ends of the spectrum,
 who knew what was unfolding, if even anything?
 The silences initially made me angered,
 but I would not call, I would not give in.
  
 And so, I observe the changes, 
 not the physical, but the mental and emotional,
 it appears there is a great disconnect 
 and unsurprisingly 
 I can feel the presence of it. 
  
 My fellow slippery finned friend who was 
 once well featured in my life,
 where day by day we shared each other’s moments,
 then side-by-side we fell from one another’s 
 stories, both public and private. 
  
 And now it seems as though we are
 on the way to becoming strangers,
 it’s amazing how these things can unravel,
 this notion of being “best friends”
 it sometimes ends in upheaval. 

 © 2019 Lauren M. Hancock. All rights reserved.

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  • ‘Where I Ache’ Poetry Collection Review and Interview with the Poet, Megan O’Keeffe

    ‘Where I Ache’ Poetry Collection Review and Interview with the Poet, Megan O’Keeffe

    I found Megan O’Keeffe’s poetry collection Where I Ache a moving and relatable read which I enjoyed immensely. Arranged into six sections labelled as “My Foggy Head”,  “My Weak Spine”, “My Bruised Heart”, “My Grieving Knees”, “My Greedy Green Eyes”, and “My Soothing Arms”, Megan explores the self and her world in terms of mental health, addiction, love, acceptance, loss and death in beautiful and poignant poems and phrasings, as well as moments of boldness and firm articulations. Her sparing use of italics and bold font allow certain points to be felt stronger or driven home for the reader. I found the use of these elements were well employed and added to the reading experience. I also enjoyed viewing the accompanying images by Kevin Furey, as I feel that it’s nice to have a visual attached to poems at times.    

    I found myself able to identify with and relate to many of the themes and poems Megan has written about, and could feel her pain, suffering, joy, and love bounce forth to me from the pages. Her sense of aching is there to be seen, and her open vulnerability to the readers is very touching. It’s something I also found humbling, that I was being allowed into her private world, an open door for me to enter. With a raw and honest style, she quietly and beautifully details her inner strengths as well as what she views as her inner demons.

    Her poetry touched me on many levels, in that I felt an affinity towards the topics and feeling she has detailed, as I have experienced similar myself. I draw attention to the poem “Hey You”, where she is striving to be enough for another – “Am I good enough for you now?” repeated over and over,  really touched me; it’s something that hit home with me. So too did this line in “Fragile” – “I don’t handle criticism well and I handle compliments even worse”. Additionally, I adored the visual of her line in “No Quick Fix”: “flaws and flowers, a garden growing in my heart, I want to bloom for you”.

    Megan’s work emphasises that no matter whether there are dark or painful times, there is still hope and love in life to be able to carry on seeking and experiencing. That change is not something to shy away from, and learning from the past will carry us through.

    –Reviewed by Lauren M. Hancock

    And now let us share some words with Megan herself, and get to know the poet a little more.

    What did you learn after publishing Cracked Open that you implemented for Where I Ache?

    I basically just organized Cracked Open and published it. It was my first publication so I knew nothing and I also had finally worked up the courage after years of telling myself not to publish, so I didn’t want to lose my nerve. But from my first publication, I learned the importance of beta readers, taking the time to build buzz before launching such as blog tours, and using ARCs to get the word out to readers ahead of time. 

    What do you hope readers will take away from your newest collection Where I Ache?

    I hope my readers will feel a sense of community with these sensitive topics that normally make them feel alone. I hope they find strength and comfort in that support.

    What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made as a writer? 

    My biggest mistake as a writer was probably not believing in myself and taking so long to put myself out there. I never thought I’d be writing past high school and I definitely didn’t think my blog Debatably Dateable would last more than a few, short months.  It took me a long time to start promoting my work and grow my audience. It’s hard to promote yourself, it feels a bit unnatural. Don’t be afraid to try all means of marketing – social, email, print, and networking.

    What do you hope to accomplish in your writing endeavors?

    I hope to continue publishing poetry books for many years to come so that readers can find support and community through my collections. I also hope to publish in different writing styles and genres.

    Blog: http://debatablydateable.com

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/DDateable

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megokeeffewriting/

    Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44444533-where-i-ache

    Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Megan-OKeeffe/e/B07D24KQ7L?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1554267881&sr=8-1

    Disclaimer: Megan and I traded copies of our books in exchange for fair and honest reviews.