Crescendo
EXCERPT FROM PURE A BOOK OF POETRY
Inevitably Swooped off my feet A leaf in a windstorm
Rooted once as a tree
Ripped to plummet
I--a mere piece in a tsunami
This the essence of a life
I buried scripted poems in my
Veins Hoping they would write me
A new lifeline Called out to
God with painful Cries
And disappearing diamonds in my eyes
I once glistened while my smiles lit up
Like The sun now somber and dismayed
Uneasy unsure.
The brink of a new version of self
Unsure or ready to relinquish her
Reaching ions for the sanctity of my sanity
The overwhelming brain transfers of
The fear of actually going insane
Waiting for the main to tame the maintain
Slipping essence of her like water slips through rocks Naima, the woman of strength
And power
The woman of hope and positivity
Falling into the suction of depression
The upheavals of anxiousness flowing
Over my body like tidal waves
Push and pull, push and pull
The waters aggressive like hurricanes Washed up ashore no rest on assurance This is what it feels like to die
The person you once knew dies
Slip and fall, struggling to gain footing There is no ground to step on
Last long, the sad song on repeat
Fall, fall deep into the consciousness Of unconscious wanting to be free Free like a jaybird in beauty of blue Wisps with wings from tree to tree Leaf to leaf, twig to twig
Twinging at the sound of my own voice Shaking as if to have
Parkinson's or that of a junky
Coming down in cold sweats
The sound of cackling and crashing verbs And words from tones of others
Erupting emotions rising like the
Height of mountains
Busy streets passing the eardrums like trucks In a car cash or screeching sound of
Nails on a blackboard
Reacting to the point of seclusion. Agoraphobia
Pushed feelings that froze
My steps to set
Foot on the pavement
Forget 10 toes down
Keep me safe in the comfort of familiar territory
Home.
Home became the prison I hid,
In prison in my own
Mind running, running
Vigorously out of time.
Passion drowned in the depths of the sea
Slipping from my grasp.
Edgy depression keeping
All senses submerged in a dark hole
Numb the outcry fell on deaf ears
Hands of care swept off my back
Nothing but the feeling of the wind
Air wasn’t strong enough to dry tears on the inside Tears fell often,
Collecting in a puddle beneath
My bed large enough to bathe in
Hoping the bath would replenish my soul
Dying and being conformed
I felt the voice inside me as loud as God
Bellowed out wanting to hear again
Accept, accept the new you my daughter Defenseless and fearful
Seconds, minutes from dying
This is the onslaught of a never-ending spiral Doing your best to find the grip of an invisible rail Spinning, spiraling out of control no explanation For the tremors and tripping, panic, the static
The inability to hear past the brink of shaking
The body reacts like being triggered
By electric shock
Locked into a State of unbelievable fear keep me grounded. Lifted up,
Up so high the stakes are high
Boom the bottom hits like bricks
Stick to the flows that remind You of home.
Lost a long way from home. Accept what, how can I...
I have to remember to survive The lift was that of a crescendo.
Penned-Naima Yetunde Hammonds.
Let’s Hear It!
I warmly welcome your thoughts and responses to the poems you read, as well as your original works for consideration to be published in the Poetry Corner. To submit your poem, please use the form below and include a brief bio. Please note that submissions should be original and unpublished elsewhere. Let’s celebrate the beauty of language together!
