Jennifer Batch

As a young poet I was told
Write things of a tender heart
Write of blue skies high above
Write of bluebirds sweetly singing
...

Illusions, every one of them, everything she's come to know
Her whole world crumbles before her, disappearing colorful vapors
Leaving only shades of gray desolation and destruction
As if a dream were being transformed into an unfathomable nightmare
...

I am who I am; I will not bend nor change in a manner
Swaying with the direction of the wind to suit another
Having learned from my past, from my mistakes
I intend to remain true to myself
...

Ribbons and bows all pretty and pink
Fairy tales teach little girls not to think
Wait for Prince Charming riding to the rescue
Isn't it alarming how quickly we believe?
...

Affairs of the heart concerning that of great wondrous love
Perhaps are not meant for me
Alas, some in this world are meant not to fall folly
To such perils concerning the heart
...

So many things are said about a smile
A smile is worth a million words
A smile can launch a thousand ships
Did I ever possess such a smile? For I dare say
...

It lay dormant within her quietly waiting
Like a storm brewing on the horizon
Being conjured up by angels or by demons
Haunting her very essence
...

When a wounded heart is set free
Doth it bring sorrow or joy?
Sorrow for what cometh to an end
Or joy for what the future holds
...

Oh how the mind attempts to protect the heart, protect the soul
Veiling the unbearable truth in mist, fog, cloudiness
Alas, what lay in the past could not be accepted or sorted through
Without woeful companionship of insanity
...

She reaches out her hand into the mist
Reaches out into emptiness where nobody exists
The one she thought you were has never been
Just a shadow lingering until the break of dawn
...

Cruelty masked with kindness plagues me
Cutting deeply to my core
Tis a maddening thing to comprehend
How the smile can snare the heart within
...

As she turns her face towards the heavens
She cries out for the sweetest mercy
Begging mercy wash over her, stripping away her pain
Alone she'll face the battlefront
...

Such a familiar face I see before me
Though I do not recognize your heart
How can I not know the one who's touch is so familiar?
Deep within you've kept your true self hidden tightly under guard
...

Deep within the quagmire, far beneath earth's surface
Her body lays hidden, forever shackled in her bondage
She sits alone within her room praying she'll be saved
Pleading sighs which flee her lips float upon the air
...

Can't get the thoughts out of my head
Round and round they spin
Feeling sick like I could spew thoughts out of my mouth
Filling caskets full of wretched memories
...

Feeling all alone and deceived
Manipulation delivered drenched in sweetness
How could you be so blinded
Cold hard facts don't exist
...

Blinded by what was perceived as kindness
Entangled in a spun web, is it love or is it madness?
Knowing something isn't right, unable to determine my plight
My mind is numb, too numb to think, too numb to function
...

Icy mounds of pure white snow melting in the warmth of day
Ah, a sense of spring tis in the air as gray begins to turn to blue
The sullen mood of melancholy winter's heart beholds
Tis soon to turn to joyful song as flower's bloom and fragrance fills the air
...

Ever-present darkness swirling all around
Memories decaying like rotting corpses on the ground
Being pillaged by centipedes and worms
Crawling in my mind, they've been buried for so long
...

Voices shout like barbaric drums pounding in her head
A resounding scream sends shivers
Turning the blood in her veins a pure icy cold
Wailing fills the air like the wind howling in the darkened night
...