Traffic Lights (Poem 1)

Smile brighter than Christmas lights,
Superior to the sun
Carefree
That’s just me
I’m having so much fun
Dry eyes
Days pass by
Not a tear has fell from them
At least not one that he has seen
Lights turn to green
When no one’s around,
My tears are on the go
Pouring down my face until lights flash YELLOW
And I’m hearing someone close enough to tell them to slow down, no rush
I battle myself to hush
I want to cuss and scream
When lights skip red and just go to green
And I realize I’m seen
My tears expose everything
How much I’m dying inside
I need someone to confide in
He doesn’t know it but I’m tied in my own misery,
Dizzily in daze
A faze that I can’t break lose of
I’m in too deep
And if not already,
I’ll drown
Hands began to shake
Legs vibrate
I’m breaking down
I hit the ground
Harder than the first time
When I first fell in love with him
Got a shorty singing the blues
I’ve confused myself with my emotions,
My devotion to trying to get over what once was,
What’s no more
But every time I’m starting to get up
I hit the floor
Getting over him is a chore
And when it comes to those,
I’m sure he knows I’m pretty lazy
It’s so easy to take him back and relax
Pretending like nothing ever happened
I’m still the princess who holds his crown
I act like being without him is nothing but deep inside,
I’m breaking down
I’m falling down
I feel so down
I think I’ve drowned
No lifeguard here to rescue me
My tears are still on the go
Who ever said you can’t die from heartbreak
Must not know,
I’m already dead





Inhale (Poem 2)

You ever take it all in?
I’m talking about the skies, the earth, the animals
The atmosphere, the beauty
All that life has to offer
Everything
Do you ever just take it all in?
Trying to touch every solid object
Feel everything that to the naked eye is unseen or unnoticed
Like the wind
Like emotions
Like love
Infatuation
Anything
I mean, just feel it with your heart
Do you ever take it all in?
Trying to remember the fragrance someone special wore
How their eyes light up when they see you
How their skin felt
How beautiful or funny their laugh was
How contagious their smile is
What it felt like to embrace that person
I mean, is it just me?
Or do you take it in also?
Living life as if it’s your last
Appreciating small things
Reminiscing on the past
Remembering the crazy things he did or she said
Or how one moment you were down
And someone turned your day around
Do you ever take it all in?
I know I do
Because any day it could be taken away from me
Gone,
Moved on,
Torn
Or just having me long for its return
I don’t want to be Usher
I don’t want to let it burn
I want to remember days in January
To nights in December
I want to be able to say
“I know what it felt like to live on earth and love as well as being loved in return”
I want to describe how grass felt beneath my feet
And how the clouds take shape above my head
I want to describe how my favorite food tasted
And how my favorite perfume smelled
How special my best friend’s touch was
And how meaningful my boyfriend’s touch was
I just want to tell the world that becoming an aunt to my first nephew was the happiest day of my life
How much I cherished it
How I took everything in
Appreciating my bundle of joy to the last drop
And maybe no one will ever know how I feel when I say these things
Maybe it’s just me
But I’m not afraid of death
I’m afraid of not remembering
Losing all those memories
Because it will be all you have left when I’m put to rest
Or after a loved one’s death
A good time is what they call it
It surely helps a broken heart mend
So I hope your answer is yes
The next time when asked,
Do you ever just take it all in?

By Sarronda Offord