Poem: Always Eager

Posted on by Astrid

A very hungry caterpillar,
Never enough, always too much
I consume…

Insatiable I feel,
Always eager
For more…

Will I ever be content?
Feeel that my needs are met?
Or will I never…

Wrap myself in a cocoon,
And wait
Patiently…

For myself
To emerge
A beautiful butterfly…

This poem was written for dVerse’s Poetics, for which the prompt is “cycles of life”. I often use the metaphor of the very hungry caterpillar as a way to describe my perpetual criticism of the care system. In reality though, I think that, when my needs are met, I could evolve like a caterpillar transforming into a beautiful butterfly. Or maybe I’d turn into a moth, who knows?

Poem: Self-Love

Posted on by Astrid

Self-love
isn’t just
a bubble bath,
a scented candle
or a comfy blanket.

Self-love
is more than
good food,
exercise
or relaxation.

Self-love
isn’t the same
as self-centeredness,
selfishness,
not loving others.

In fact,
self-love
is essential
to love another.

After all,
if everyone
loves themself,
no-one will be unloved!

This poem was written for dVerse’s Poetics, for which the prompt is to write a poem about self.

Poem: Light and Dark

Posted on by Astrid

Light
Feels good
Like the sun
On my skin
On a warm day in May

Dark
Feels bad
Like a rainstorm
Soaking me
In the midst of November

Light
And dark
Seem to contrast
Like one is always negative
And the other always positive

But without last November
May will never come
And so it is
With light
And dark

Feel all the feels
And remember
You’re alive
And so it is…

This poem was written for this week’s dVerse Poetics. The prompt was to use a piece of instrumental music as inspiration for a poem. I have a lot of playlists of instrumental music in my Spotify library, but choosing a piece was harder than I thought. I eventually went with a piece for which both the title and the music spoke to me. This seems to be intended for meditation and relaxation practices.

Poem: Giving Up Is Forever

Posted on by Astrid

Pain is temporary, they say
Things will get better (eventually)
Give it some time…

Giving up is forever, they say
There’ll be no point of return
Be more resilient…

God has a plan, they say
He doesn’t give me more than I can handle
Surrender to His will…

But what if God’s will
Is to give up on me
Forever?

I wrote this poem for dVerse’s Poetics, for which the prompt today is to incorporate some form of the word “give” in your poem. As a spiritual wanderer, I find myself perpetually wrestling with the idea that life has meaning. I came across a comment on Reddit recently in which a chronic pain sufferer said more or less that the idea that one day they will be dead and no longer need to suffer, is comforting to them. The comment didn’t come from a position of “I’ll be in a better place then”, which made me think really. I am not in a space to ponder this topic further right now though.

Poem: The Onion to My Core

Posted on by Astrid

On the surface
I appear quiet,
Collected,
Maybe a bit timid

Underneath that layer
I look angry,
dissatisfied,
Always oppositional

Even lower
Sits the sadness,
Depression,
A deep-seated despair

Yet another layer down
I don’t even know…
Not sure
I want to go there

Do I even trust
That as I peel the layers
I will find myself?

And if I do,
Do I want to get to know her?

This poem was written for dVerse’s Poetics, for which the inspiration is the onion. I’m not sure whether we’re supposed to include the word “onion” in our poem. I didn’t, but I hope the metaphor is clear.