Chorus
Let your light shine out
Let all the world see
Just how special you really are
Just what you mean to me
Verse 1
Who lights a lamp
Just to hide it away?
Why won't you show what you're capable of?
Why are you ashamed?
Chorus
Let your light shine out
Let all the world see
Just how special you really are
Just what you mean to me
Verse 2
You're beautiful, you know
You know that's what they say
Why won't you let your colours show?
Why are you ashamed?
Chorus
Let your light shine out
Let all the world see
Just how special you really are
Just what you mean to me
Bridge
Your gifts and your talents
Are unique just to you
Embrace it
Believe it
And to yourself stay true
Chorus
Let your light shine out
Let all the world see
Just how special you really are
Just what you mean to me
The Tree of Temptation
Just as Eve and Adam by
The tree of temptation fell
So too, did I
Just as they indulged in
The vivid crimson fruit
So too, did I
Just as they then lived
With the consequences,
So too, did I
And just as humans lived
On in hope of salvation,
So too, do I
Loren, I missed your poem last night, and I'm sorry I did, because it's been a long time since I've seen you post here. I read all your earlier work shortly after I joined, back when I was still too shy to comment. I'm over my shyness now, though, so let the comments rip :). Not that I have much to say, other than I envy you your talent of description. You capture pain and love and hope and despair so succinctly; so beautifully. I need acres of words to describe the emotion that you effortlessly portray with a single line. You're an amazing writer, both in prose and poetry. I love your last poem. It's so simple, and so easy to relate to. I don't know what you were thinking of when you wrote it, but when I read this just now, it made me think how often we do things that we regret. That we know we shouldn't, though in the heat of the moment, they seem like the right thing to do. And then we live with the despair or the shame or the embarrassment, until someone comes to give us the hope we need to continue onwards. 'So too, did I'. I don't know why that line grabs me so much, but it does.
All your work is amazing, but do you know - your 'I am not my illness' work is probably the one that grips me the most. It gives me the tiniest insight into what you need to deal with as you battle with your own illness. And I hope you believe your words. You aren't your illness. No matter how dark the days may seem, there is hope; there are people who care, and who know you are a beautiful person. Take care of yourself, and I hope you continue to write, and that the perfection of your words bring you some measure of comfort.
Much love for "The Tree of Temptation" Love the repetition and the huge meaning in so few words.
11 years ago
Sun Aug 12 2012, 09:15pm
Dysthymic Paradoxicality
So hard to pretend
But so easy to lie.
Not wanting to live
But too scared to die.
The feeling rises up
But drags me down.
It's less strain to smile
But easier to frown.
It's hard to ask for help
AND YET
Easy to accept it
It's selfish to ask others to help
BUT THEN AGAIN
It's selfish not to give them the chance to
I feel I don't deserve love
AND YET
I yearn for it anyway
I need a response
BUT THEN
I can't bear to read it
You give me hope
AND YET
My cheeks burn in shame
I have nothing to apologise for
BUT...
All I can say is sorry...
Because it's the only thing that even comes close to summing up what I feel:
Gratitude,
Regret
Affection,
Self-hate
Pain...
...and shame.
The Only Me You Know
You look at my legs and see them slim and tanned and smooth.
I look at my legs and see the cuts and bruises. I see the places I've pinched and punched and scratched them. I see the scars that will never truly heal.
You look at my arms and see my pretty bracelets, the long slim fingers.
I look at my arms and see the reminders of the promises I made. I see the fingers that have drawn blood. I see the invisible scars that will always stay with me.
You look at my face and see laughter, a smile in bright blue eyes, kindness on soft lips.
I look at my face and see the forced smile. I see the pain and heaviness in eyes that are more grey than blue. I see the suppressed tears.
You look at me and see a girl: happy, intelligent, with her whole life ahead of her.
I look at me and see a girl in pain, suffering but trying to hide it, wishing she was normal, wishing she was dead.
You look at me and think you know me. But you only know the 'me' that I want you to know. You only know the mask.
Let Me Fly Free
I'm bound,
Caught up in
Ribbons of steel
Across my flesh.
Caught up in the chains
Of urges, powerful and deep
Addiction to the pain,
Pain –
Pain.
Oh please,
Please, no more pain.
Let me fly free...
Of these chains that bind.
We're here for you Loren. If it helps at all, your beautiful, sincere writing makes it painfully easy to get a glimpse into what you feel. Only a glimpse, of course. But enough to say that there's no shame in talking and asking for help. And a hope that being able to express yourself so powerfully like this gives you a little comfort. Thank you for sharing.
Mystic Ward
11 years ago
Mystic Ward
Twentyfamilies Gypsy
beautiful expressed Lauren. I too hope that your writing brings you some comfort. Getting bad feelings out is good.
Something I wrote today. It's pretty rough - I seem to have lost the magic touch...
Also...please tell me, is it too obvious?
Compassion in your eyes
As you watch me slowly breaking
Trying to hold on
Heart always aching
You watch me with compassion in your eyes.
Compassion in your arms
As you rock me to and fro
Tightly you hold me
Help me to let go
You hold me with compassion in your arms
Compassion in your words
As you murmur in my ear
Talking softly of
How I don’t need to fear
You soothe me with compassion in your words
I like it, Loren. The repetition makes it soothing, I think. I love how you've got the lines describing the person's compassion surrounding your narrator's anxiety and fear. Just as if the person offering the compassion really is putting his/her arms around your narrator and giving her some comfort. It's beautiful.
I think it's a really lovely poem. I like how the poem progesses from the narrator feeling hurt or pain in their lives, to the comfort they feel at the end of the poem. I think it's really touching and heartfelt and as a reader, I'm very glad that the narrator feels soothed and comforted at the end.
Mystic Ward
11 years ago
Mystic Ward
Twentyfamilies Gypsy
lovely Loren. You haven't lost it at all.
Wow. I love "The only me you know," "Let me fly free," and this last one. They're really pretty and powerful... and amazing.
Wow thank you guys. I don't know, it just feels really clunky.
But yes, the person I wrote this for, they comfort me. No questions asked, they're just there.
I guess it's not too obvious at all, given that none of you guys have mentioned it. Try reading that last poem as an acrostic.
11 years ago
Mon Jan 07 2013, 10:50am
Not enough to make a story out of, but...
Drunk on Depression
“Happy New Year!†“Happy New Year!†The cheers and shouts mingled with the bangs from the brilliant fireworks display to create a cacophonic symphony of noise and celebration. She leaned against the railing, soaking in the atmosphere, the excitement, the feeling of belonging. Maybe – just maybe – this year would be the year for her.
It hit her like a sucker punch to the stomach and she staggered, mind reeling at the edge of the black abyss. Willing hands caught at her; as she fought her way back to reality, shouts of laughter reached her ears: “Whoa, girl, how much have you been DRINKING?!â€
She laughed shakily along with them, her mind’s eye still on the blackness of the abyss, not daring to remind them that she’d had nothing but water to drink the entire night.
A very beautiful, frightening description of something that I think might be a personal experience to you.
You capture emotion perfectly, Loren. I hope this year is one of belonging and not one of such darkness.
Thanks Darga. I took a little bit of artistic licence when it came to this piece - I certainly did stagger like a drunk, but no one noticed. But yeah, my first minutes of 2013...
I really hope this year gets better...
Mystic Ward
11 years ago
Mystic Ward
Twentyfamilies Gypsy
That seems eerily familiar to me Loren. I hope 2013 gets better for you.
:/ Thanks Deb.
Not really long enough to be anything, but...
Depressed and trying to fight it
Lonely and trying to hide it
Crying behind dry eyes
Dying beneath blue skies
Long enough to capture how hard things still are for you, Loren :(
Mystic Ward
11 years ago
Mystic Ward
Twentyfamilies Gypsy
short and succinct. sending you hugs.
Sometimes I wonder if it'll ever get better, or if I should just get used to it being how it is.
[act]grugs[/act], Loren. The only thing I can do is say, again, that we're all thinking of you and praying it does improve. So sorry you're hurting.