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Friday, July 10, 2009
"Three Sisters" by Kip Decker
***For this "Hallmark" poem, the vocabulary word of the day is ekphrasis. It's basically a written representation of a visual art. I learned the word yesterday. This poem I wrote as an art education class assignment, based on the picture below. Since I have two sisters, I related.***
I remember a sunset
where our wet bodies glittered like lightning
and where we twirled and whirled and danced on
clouds of sand stolen from an hourglass.
I remember the creamsicle haze and peach laughter
that filled our summer evenings,
too full with the deliciousness of living to eat up
anything but each other.
Do you remember what it was like before we were
old and careful, when the only jewels we needed we
could find in the sand and keep in a handmade
treasure box under our beds, to whisper to us in our
lemon chiffon dreams? Were we ever young
enough?
THE SPRING FROM WHENCE I COME
***This is the first of two poems that I like to think of as my "Hallmark" period. This one, I wrote for my mom and framed it with a lovely picture as a mother's day gift a few years ago. So I suppose this is for all you mothers out there...***
With the brave watchguard of her mountains
And her humble valleys winding low,
With her creative spring buds blooming,
And her honest winter’s snow,
With her striking daily sunrise,
And her constant sunsets, too,
With the wisdom of the wisest
Formed from years of tears so true,
With passionate fire her very core,
And rich soil nurturing new life,
With her powerful sway of wind and storm,
And her selfless rays of light,
With her timeless ocean rhythm
And gentle spirit like no other,
As dynamic as her seasons,
Of course the Earth would be called
Mother.
And her humble valleys winding low,
With her creative spring buds blooming,
And her honest winter’s snow,
With her striking daily sunrise,
And her constant sunsets, too,
With the wisdom of the wisest
Formed from years of tears so true,
With passionate fire her very core,
And rich soil nurturing new life,
With her powerful sway of wind and storm,
And her selfless rays of light,
With her timeless ocean rhythm
And gentle spirit like no other,
As dynamic as her seasons,
Of course the Earth would be called
Mother.
THE MIDDLE IS THE BEST
***Just so you don't think I'm always depressed...here's my "happy song". I put a bit of all my favorite things into it. Enjoy!***
If life had a fast-forward button,
I wouldn’t use it,
‘Cause life is made of something,
And I’d lose it.
You dream of what may be
Tomorrow,
But that leaves a tomb of todays
Filled with sorrow.
No more waiting! And no more regrets!
Push yourself into the moment—
‘Cause the middle is the best!
(chorus)
Like the filling of an Oreo,
Like the thrill of a great ride,
Like the chill of a scary story,
Like the still of a summer’s night,
Like driving on a road trip,
Like trying to solve a riddle,
You could rush you to the end,
But then you’d miss the middle!
A fairy-tale with just “The End”—
Where is the “now?” What was the “then?”
Even if I knew the answers to this test,
I wouldn’t use it,
‘Cause life is made of something,
And I’d lose it.
You dream of what may be
Tomorrow,
But that leaves a tomb of todays
Filled with sorrow.
No more waiting! And no more regrets!
Push yourself into the moment—
‘Cause the middle is the best!
(chorus)
Like the filling of an Oreo,
Like the thrill of a great ride,
Like the chill of a scary story,
Like the still of a summer’s night,
Like driving on a road trip,
Like trying to solve a riddle,
You could rush you to the end,
But then you’d miss the middle!
A fairy-tale with just “The End”—
Where is the “now?” What was the “then?”
Even if I knew the answers to this test,
I’d still wanna take it—‘cause the middle is the best!
(chorus)
While I’m with you I’m looking forward to
A happy ending where there is no end…
But the middle’s still the best!
Like an Oreo cookie, the middle is the best!
Like a Forties’ movie, the middle is the best!
Like an epic journey, the middle is the best!
(chorus)
While I’m with you I’m looking forward to
A happy ending where there is no end…
But the middle’s still the best!
Like an Oreo cookie, the middle is the best!
Like a Forties’ movie, the middle is the best!
Like an epic journey, the middle is the best!
Like a life with you, the middle is the best!
SECRET PASSAGES
***This is another frustration song, although I don't know that I'd say it's tinged with hope. Sorry.***
Slipping through my fingers,
Racing endlessly through my mind.
Every time I think I’m one step ahead
Every time I think I’m one step ahead
I find out I’m three steps behind.
I’ve got every reason in the world to be faith-full and free,
But I just can’t seem to find it in me!
(chorus)
Why does everyone know the secret passages but me?
Why can’t I break the lock and walk through the door?
Why don’t the pieces of this puzzle fit together?
Will I never know the feeling I felt before?
Swimming in tears,
Suffocating by sorrow,
The fears of today
Spoiling the hopes of tomorrow.
Playin’ hide-and-seek, come find me, can’t relax behind this hill.
Don’t even know quite what it means, but I want it still!
(chorus)
Searching the Rubik's cube and it’s all a dead end!
Through the telescope I’m seeing a star I know I’ll never touch.
Can’t get out of my mind, can’t get in it again…
Through the rear-view mirror, seeing everything backwards, and it’s too much!
(Can you tell me—)
(chorus)
(chorus)
I’ve got every reason in the world to be faith-full and free,
But I just can’t seem to find it in me!
(chorus)
Why does everyone know the secret passages but me?
Why can’t I break the lock and walk through the door?
Why don’t the pieces of this puzzle fit together?
Will I never know the feeling I felt before?
Swimming in tears,
Suffocating by sorrow,
The fears of today
Spoiling the hopes of tomorrow.
Playin’ hide-and-seek, come find me, can’t relax behind this hill.
Don’t even know quite what it means, but I want it still!
(chorus)
Searching the Rubik's cube and it’s all a dead end!
Through the telescope I’m seeing a star I know I’ll never touch.
Can’t get out of my mind, can’t get in it again…
Through the rear-view mirror, seeing everything backwards, and it’s too much!
(Can you tell me—)
(chorus)
(chorus)
MY FIRST BREATH
***I struggle with depression. There, it's out there. Every once in a while, it comes back with new wartime strategies and I have to regroup and fight the battle all over again. But the one tactic that always remains the same is self-deprecation--the self-exploration that leads to the regret that I wasn't better. I see my mistakes in a new light, and I have to work my way through them and rearrange the meaning so that I can make peace with it and move on. This is one of those frustration-tinged-with-hope songs I wrote while I worked through a particularly tough battle, and even though I wrote it half a decade ago it still pops up in my mind from time to time. I guess you could say it's my own personal fight song.***
It started with just one stone, in a field of flowers
In sleepy summer days spent away, too good to be true, it seemed.
But then the rains came, the winds came, now see how she cowers
In the corner of this very bad dream.
Every lowered expectation, every blow of realism,
Every self-imposed inhibition, every self-doubt and self-denial
Was a stone upon a stone, meant for protection, became blinding—
A wall so high, so deep, now she can’t see anything at all.
(chorus)
She’s locked herself away in a tower stained with tears,
But she was made for better things than the prison of her fear.
She was made for smiling and sweet dreams and singing to the starlight.
She was made to live—she was made to breathe.
Broken hearts and dreams suffocate her, she’s fading fast,
Trapped inside the shadows that this fortress casts.
Tear it down before you lose her forever—
It’s a risk, but one worth trying for—she is dying! (For)
(chorus)
Who she wants to be, who she is, who she was before—
Who is that girl? I don’t recognize her anymore.
Fight for her, free her, find yourself again,
Knock down that wall and step out into the sun…
I have locked myself away in a tower stained with tears,
But I was made for bigger things than the prison of my own fear.
I was made for laughing, loving, dancing in the sunlight.
I am going to live—I am going to breathe
My first breath.
In sleepy summer days spent away, too good to be true, it seemed.
But then the rains came, the winds came, now see how she cowers
In the corner of this very bad dream.
Every lowered expectation, every blow of realism,
Every self-imposed inhibition, every self-doubt and self-denial
Was a stone upon a stone, meant for protection, became blinding—
A wall so high, so deep, now she can’t see anything at all.
(chorus)
She’s locked herself away in a tower stained with tears,
But she was made for better things than the prison of her fear.
She was made for smiling and sweet dreams and singing to the starlight.
She was made to live—she was made to breathe.
Broken hearts and dreams suffocate her, she’s fading fast,
Trapped inside the shadows that this fortress casts.
Tear it down before you lose her forever—
It’s a risk, but one worth trying for—she is dying! (For)
(chorus)
Who she wants to be, who she is, who she was before—
Who is that girl? I don’t recognize her anymore.
Fight for her, free her, find yourself again,
Knock down that wall and step out into the sun…
I have locked myself away in a tower stained with tears,
But I was made for bigger things than the prison of my own fear.
I was made for laughing, loving, dancing in the sunlight.
I am going to live—I am going to breathe
My first breath.
I COULD'VE BEEN
***This angry and self-empowering song is for all the exes out there. I'm happily married now, so these feelings are long gone. But I'm sure anyone who's been jilted will at the very least relate. You don't have to like it.***
If you feel like you missed out on something amazing,
It’s because you did.
I put my heart out on the line
And like a coward you ran and hid.
My head spun in circles, I never knew quite what to say,
But it doesn’t really matter, you never did a thing about it, anyway!
(chorus)
I should’ve been the tune you sing!
I would’ve been your everything!
I could’ve been the one you dream of!
I could’ve been the one you love!
I could’ve been anything you wanted and everything you need,
But you didn’t even glance—
Oh! You should’ve given a chance
To all I could’ve been!
I tried to be patient while you tried on other girls,
But I’m through waiting.
Now that you’re way over there and I’m away over here,
There’s no time left for debating.
You thought I’d be around forever, then you blinked, and now I’m gone,
Why wasn’t who I am enough for you to act on?
(chorus)
You should’ve been more careful,
I should’ve been braver.
You would’ve been my first love,
I would’ve been there.
You could’ve been fun.
I could’ve been the one.
Oh, what we could’ve been!
(chorus)
It’s because you did.
I put my heart out on the line
And like a coward you ran and hid.
My head spun in circles, I never knew quite what to say,
But it doesn’t really matter, you never did a thing about it, anyway!
(chorus)
I should’ve been the tune you sing!
I would’ve been your everything!
I could’ve been the one you dream of!
I could’ve been the one you love!
I could’ve been anything you wanted and everything you need,
But you didn’t even glance—
Oh! You should’ve given a chance
To all I could’ve been!
I tried to be patient while you tried on other girls,
But I’m through waiting.
Now that you’re way over there and I’m away over here,
There’s no time left for debating.
You thought I’d be around forever, then you blinked, and now I’m gone,
Why wasn’t who I am enough for you to act on?
(chorus)
You should’ve been more careful,
I should’ve been braver.
You would’ve been my first love,
I would’ve been there.
You could’ve been fun.
I could’ve been the one.
Oh, what we could’ve been!
(chorus)
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