The Blossoming

The bud awakens
slowly from its dormant
state, and unfurls
its tender heart
in blushing innocence
To tempt the bees
caught off guard
by the blossom's
intoxicating splendour.

© Eleanor Clark
28 March, 2016

I am strong

some nights, like tonight,

when I want to crawl

out of my skin from

the leeching pain 

of withdrawal from what

was once pain relief, 

I see a post on heroin

overdose and death -

and think:

opiate withdrawal is hell. 

it really is.

but I have to remind

myself that I am strong. 

so damn strong. 

like you don't know

how damn strong I am.

there might be tears

welling up and running down

my cheeks as I breathe in and 

out in an attempt to fight

the waves of pain keeping 

me awake, but I am strong. 

I will smile and go to work

and make it seem like 

nothing is wrong. and fight

to live. to breathe. free

from this rewiring of

my brain and body. 

I am strong. 

© eleanor clark

22 March, 2016

untitled - 22 march, 2016

some days you walk through hell,
unscathed - sometimes.
but today is not one of those
days.

bomb blasts, pain, horror, death -
become nonchalant afterthoughts
in the media-frenzied aftershock
of waiting for more news.

until the cycle repeats again.
and again.
and again.
and again.
and again.
and again.

when will this all be enough?

until only cockroaches remain
on the dusty ashes
of towns and tombs
amid the shrapnel of
what once were
men with guns claiming
this bit of land their own -

until a hundred years from
now, someone else will do the same.

© eleanor clark
22 march, 2016

acid pain

chronic pain
wears me out
like acid water
dripping through
my bones
into my veins
and heart
and brain
until "I"
no longer
remains

© eleanor clark

15 march, 2016