I haven’t written a poem in three years. I’ve written song lyrics but not a poem for the sake of being just that. A poem. Words that rhyme and tell a story and take a heart somewhere. And yet poetry was my first love, even before music. So, welcome back the words and the joy.

Isn’t it stunning when we change our whereabouts, silence our racing mind, and let our muse come alive again? What is yours?

So, here on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, on a mini-vacation, I brought my journal/notebook/songbook/idea planner, lol, you get it – papers that are bound together for potential words, and out came a poem. I was staring at the stunning ocean, and the words came. Words had been vacant, but they arrived with the salt-dabbed winds of the Pacific:

Inspiration comes from nowhere,
And yet everywhere.
The browning of a leaf’s end,
The flowering of a dare.
The start of something new,
The ending of a flame.
Troubled thoughts that escape,
Feelings of love that remain.
Knowing when it’s done,
Believing love is not to be won.
Trials, passings, how time endures,
Facing our misgivings but reality cures.
Inspired by a breath to have, don’t forget.
No time travel back, no regret.
Faith in a future that’s yet to give,
A heart left open, time to live.

© 2023 Laurie Markvart