A Forest of Poems

What is horror?
It seems to excuse the desire to include gore and violence.
It gives the excuse to jump scare.
It gives the excuse to be convoluted.
But, why do something fancy to illicit horror?
Do you know what is more horrific, dear reader?

When the ordinary does one off action.
An action that seems innocent.
One that looks as normal as anything else.
Like putting your hand into a basket of cabbages.
What's horrific is if you feel a bite.
One at first ... maybe your imagination.
But then a second ... and a third ....
Suddenly, the entire basket is hopping like an angry family of piranhas.
That would be horrific ...
Until one brave soul feeds them carrots and cuddles them.
A bond then forms.

What good use is a cabbage?
Other than to add to a salad?
Maybe to pair with an entree?
Maybe to decorate a plate?
Maybe to smother it with dressing to make it taste differently?
Cabbage is normal.
I doubt anyone could call a cabbage scary ...
Unless it can bite!

What does it mean to live a life of meaning?
All without a shred of intervening.
Like a politician holed up in their office scheming?
Or how about a child demanding?
Perhaps it’s with your thoughts as you're dreaming?
More accurately, lives have meaning,
As we enjoy the outdoors with the sun beaming,
Filling us with happy thoughts teeming.
Why, our lives have meaning …
As the warmth’s impacts on our minds are healing!

As the days grow longer and our nights shorter,
Life bursts from the ground,
Coating the earth with leaves and flowers,
Blossoming in the sun,
Blessing us with a mixture of colors,
All are designed to give us joy and happiness.

With this change, the cold blanket of winter is lifted.
The ground is no longer a frozen mass,
Instead, it thaws in trepidation,
Like a newborn, freshly born,
Turning its bright eyes to the sun to see what our world has in store.

With Ostara bringing us a new season,
And the Spring Equinox has passed,
To help breathe life back into our world,
Full of flowers and fungi,
Critters, big and small, roam the earth.
Fruit spirals to the ground,
Coating the grass with delightful nutrition!

Tis the season of growth,
Renewal,
Light,
Warmth.
Of new beginnings.
A sign of a brighter future.
An appreciation of what nature holds for us,
A celebration of life.

Finding one’s place in the world
Amounts to a bunch of opinions that were whirled,
Combined with the threads of our desire,
Similar to how we style our attire.
The right fit is elusive,
Until our experiences become exclusive.
Competing thoughts
Litter the mind like a greenhouse with its flowerpots!

Bearing for everyone to see,
They all agree,
Trying is the key,
Without having to plea!
The mind will fill with glee,
As we see, we’re meant to be carefree!

Who cares if we fit in?
Where there is a vast range of ideas in Britain,
Just like the thoughts on my page, I have handwritten.
I will forge my path, where in my diary, it will be written,
That I am unique.
Yet still full of critique!
I will find my passion, where my mind will not be weak.

Creativity flows through my bones.
My art silently drips on a canvas and even a few stones!
My poetry knows no bounds,
My rhymes color the page,
Filling me with happiness despite my young age.
I feel like a dancer on a stage,
Bright lights cover me with heat,
My movements are graceful and light on my feet.
I like being creative because it fills my soul with a drumbeat.

I look around myself,
Past all the books on the shelf.
My eyes glaze over,
Since I’ll need a four leaf clover,
To help deal with the pain I feel,
The shadows of my former life play in my mind like a film reel,
Yet, they do nothing to mend my broken heart to heal,
Where sorrow and sadness is now my deal.
How can I give my heart to someone to make my feelings real?
When my heart is broken in a million pieces, which does nothing to conceal,
How my life needs something to pull it together to mend it with a seal.

I sat at my desk,
A pencil in my hand
Scratching away at the paper in front of me.
Filling in bubbles, writing sentences, and calculating values.
I’m taking an exam.

My eyes glaze over the questions, racing through the words.
These terms became second nature to me,
After all the hours of studying, revising, and making notecards.
I have answers memorized, word for word, in my mind,
for likely hundreds of questions, not just for this subject
but for all of them.

And yet, as I work, I can feel it.
My heart rate quickens,
My breaths became shorter and more frequent.
I can feel my body call out for air.
The space around me seems to close in.
Claustrophobia roaming through my mind.
The grip on my pencil feels like a vice.
My script is becoming more erratic.

‘No, not now! I cannot be suffering from a panic attack!’
My mind whirls behind my eyes.
I try to focus on my breathing.
Forcing myself to take much longer breaths.
To hold the breath.
Then to let the breath out, slowly, slowly, s … l … o … w … l … y

I can feel my breath even out.
My mind becomes more open.
My body feels springy.
The claustrophobia passes.
I need to be careful,
Otherwise, a calming draught may be needed.

I’m taking a test,
For I must pass,
To jump to the next year,
And become a successful witch.

It starts with a toss,
So innocent,
Spreading out little pieces of hope,
Over a vast area,
Letting the wind carry the small sparks around.
Then burying them in the earth.

It feels like time slows down.
With each ray of light,
With each gentle drop of water.
All to nurture a new life,
To bless Mother Nature with a new joy,
To give some extra color to a mundane scene.

That is not all, too!
It also blesses our minds,
It clears the dark clouds of a busy mind,
Giving us something precious to watch,
As its growth finally takes hold.
First with roots,
Then, with the stem and leaves slowly bursting out of the ground.

Plants are so joyful,
They give us something to do,
When we water and fertilize them,
All to nurture their very existence.
Plants spread love around,
By merely existing.
Their bright colors brighten any mood,
And brings a smile to my face.

Do you know the best part of gardening?
It is the knowledge that this bundle of joy is because of your efforts.
Your love.
Your desire.
Your time.
Your effort.
All to give a handful of seeds a chance.
A chance at life.
Then to watch it bloom and mature.
Growing a plant warms my heart,
And brightens my garden.
I know there is no place I’d rather be!