Poems about Escape
me another thing
to worry about.
See this sea-
shell? It gives
me enough when
it whispers You
are no longer
by the sea.
What can I
say that will
convince you
I cannot carry
one more stone
one more sea-
shell. A bottle
of water and
a biscuit will
need to see me
through one foot-
fall and one
thousand more.
Laugh if I ask
you for anything.
We wave our union flags and clap and cheer
Long live his majesty.
God bless us all.
But you, you’re not welcome here.
We’re not interested in your innocence,
or your naked vulnerability.
You are on the take.
You’re just a drain on our society.
What contribution can you make?
You’re not welcome here.
God save the king!
Long may he reign.
We stand and cheer and shed a tear.
The red, the white and blue.
Let’s keep alive this fairy tale,
Maintain the mask, don’t let it slip.
But you, you’re not welcome here.
Keep your hard luck stories
Of wars and famine. death and drought.
What’s that to us?
What do we care? We’ve heard it all before.
Can’t you see, you’re different.
You’re not welcome here.
God save the king!
Ruler of this broken nation.
First among unequals.
Today we subjects stand united,
or so the press proclaim.
Wave our union flags and clap and cheer,
all enmity forgotten.
Patriots each and everyone.
on this a sugar coated day.
But you’re not welcome here.
God save the king and all his clan,
Take a solemn oath,
allegiance to our monarch,
protector of the faith, all creeds embraced
we need not fear, we know our place.
But don’t overstep the mark.
Don’t peacefully protest.
Don’t speak your truth.
Don’t hold your banners in the Street.
Those sort of people are no longer welcome here.
And what of you, you’ve washed up on our shore
to seek a safe and better life.
Did you expect empathy and compassion?
For those in power these are empty words,
and like those who try to speak their truth,
You’re not welcome here.
You did it.
It’s been more than one hundred days since you last laid your head beside his.
Three months since you smiled with your eyes at him, burying your face in his shoulder as he
made you laugh.
A quarter of a year since you decided he is an ellipsis and not a full stop, and finally permitted
him to run on and on. He is not your semicolon; the story of your lives together ends here in
black and white.
Breathe, rest. Take time to gather your strength. Your candle guttered in that fragile parley-
battered, almost beaten in his raging storms, but all is calm and peaceful now. Lay here,
recover.
The warmth of freedom seeps into your bones, and with it a sense of peace that’s been missing
for years. A shaky gasp for air after so much pain and tension.
It’s over, my darling, and you won.
It feels like drowning
but I just can’t die.
I’m in over my head,
lungs burning with the strain,
but the peace won’t come…
While I’m thrashing, fighting
demons you had tamed,
a small, traitorous voice
whispers in the back of my mind
“All these boys are not him…”
I don’t know if you mean so much to me
or I mean so little to myself,
but I know I miss you-
The only place that felt like home
I came to you for refuge at my lowest ebb.
You told me you had ‘got’ me, but that was just a fib.
You said that you would listen and never tell a soul,
But I had yet to realise that was not your goal.
I came to you for refuge; a place of shelter from the storm.
You told me I was crazy, not within the norm.
You said to be accepted, I should do as I was told,
But I dared to ask you questions in a way deemed far too bold.
I came to you for refuge; a place of hope not fear.
You told me to be quiet so that others would not hear.
You told me I was safe, while you stabbed me in the back,
And left me bruised and blooded, stretched upon a rack.
I came to you for refuge, but instead you took my voice.
You told me I should shut my mouth; you took away my choice.
You thought of me worthless; just a menopausal wreck,
And complaints met with derision; my safety went uncheck’d.
I came to you for refuge; my concerns found unlistening ears.
You told me I had to leave you, and sparked my greatest fears.
You knew just how to hurt me, much more than any other,
Because I bore my soul to you in trust, just like a brother.
I came to you for refuge, I believed you on my side.
You saw the anxiety and pain that I could not seem to hide.
You used it as a weapon; a way to bring me down;
Because I was feeling weakened; you wanted me to drown.
I came to you for refuge, I was sick and needed help.
You used my vulnerability and turned it on myself.
You did not seem to realise that I was wounded but not dead,
And now…
I rise! A fiery bird to soar above your head.
In friendships garden,
Roses bloom so bright,
But fake friends hide in shadows,
Out of sight.
With smiles so sweet,
They weave their wicked lies,
While trust and loyalty,
swiftly disguise.
They like the autumn leaves,
So quickly to fall,
When storms of trouble on your life befall.
Fair weather friends,
They vanish with the breeze,
Leaving your heart alone,
Your soul ill at ease.
Their promise,
Like sand,
Slip through your hand,
In times of joy,
They dance with you in glee,
But in your darkness hours,
They cease to be.
Yet from these trials,
True friendships will emerge,
The ones who stay when others quickly purge,
So, cherish those who stand with you ,
Steadfast,
For fake friends may crumble,
But real ones will last.
