An Overcomer Pauses, Momentarily, To Reflect
It is the rising back up
not the falling down
which determines
your character…
make yourself proud.
I SHINE out brightly
‘Creativity’…
an equal b-a-l-a-n-c-e
of positive and negative
… for such is life.
I want nothing,
nor no-one… I cannot
achieve honestly,
and adds to my Flow.
I’m coming at success
from a disadvantage…
a position I helped
construct from disaster.
Yet, I’m pleased with
the man I am today…
and even happier with
the one I am becoming.
Different, Now… No Hand Of God, I Sculpt Myself
I refuse to accept relationship retreads
… Winter is warmed
by logs once planted in Spring…
seesaw ‘Effort’ or lose ‘Balance’
… carrying someone else’s share
is either ‘Temporary’ or a BURDEN.
Empathy will only help ‘Support’
but will not FIX any Shadow Work
… Healing Thyself stops you
reaching outwards
and (Instead) finding Adult Solutions.
Each time you’ve got an Opportunity
to be ‘Mean’ and you turn away
… you GROW, and are Rewarded
with Elevation, and (Healthy) ‘Pride’.
I used to consider myself a Mirror,
giving/dishing out exactly what I got
… now, I am not even in the room,
a Ghost, you are lucky to be even near.
It Ends Here
No Jamboree awarded
… frown-wrinkled…
the gulf between
a narcissist’s REAL
SELF and its ‘mask’
is phenomenally wide.
Bang your pots,
make a loud noise…
you only ‘intimidate’
weak people… coward.
Learning To Grow Where There’s No Light But Hope
Replacing ‘Binge’ and ‘Moodswing’
with consistent productivity…
to not be ‘Triggered’
requires the wearing of less Armour.
I’m not arguing with you
because you’re ‘Angry’…
I’m not ‘Angry’, I’m ‘Smiling’
and taking the scenic route to Calm.
My ambition requires solo journeys
… with occasional handshakes
with mutually respectful individuals
where ‘Deals’ are made
towards ‘Advancement’ not ‘Snake’.
I do not predict ‘Trouble’,
I’m merely aware of its presence…
along the Pathway to Success which
‘Intertwines’ with that Road to Ruin.
The Spell Is Broken
Just watch her ‘Composure’
absolutely do one…
the moment he walks in,
and completely ignores her.
There are 3 of them,
foolishly and egotistically
playing ‘Musical Chairs’
in his Energy and Attention.
He’s after ‘Clemence’…
but, she’s not here, is she
… no, she’s not interested
in ‘Playas’… she’s decent.
We’ve BLOCKED them
out completely…
took us months to do it
… we lost Natalie, Sarah,
Bridget and Lorraine
in the complicated process.
And now, the Predators
are ‘Optionless’ (at least
in our circle)… so have
fallen back to swordfight
amongst their wicked selves.
Seating Arrangements
‘Wending’… only whilst
up to no good,
otherwise on a mission
marching direct/focused.
You’re complaining
about the ‘inconsistency’
of an inconsistent person
… that’s why I stopped
bothering with you…
I’m not offended, at all
… you can make
no sense all by yourself.
I do not ‘approach’
nor ‘close the distance’
… I decide, fixedly,
upon whom to let sit
down upon the handful
of valuable ‘Chairs’
which I am entertaining
at the changeable moment.
Unconscious Soul-Prisons Be Damned
I sat listening as you kept referring
to her as your ‘Rock’
… whilst, observing her
Basting your ‘Misery’ moist
with a delicate, calculated Cruelty.
Each time you… reached…
to do something ‘Independent’
she was there to Intervene
with a “Let me, dearest,”
and you’d (unthinkingly) SHRink
back down to ‘Pet Size’ again.
Whenever your contagious,
brilliant Enthusiasm and Passion
… reared their beautiful heads,
they were met with “Be careful
that you don’t excite yourself
too much, and have another turn.”
‘I can’t watch anymore’ I thought,
rising up onto my feet to leave…
“Don’t you ever get lonely?”
you asked at the front door step
as we said our last ever goodbye.
“… I couldn’t do it, myself,
I just don’t know what I’d do with
-out her in my life, I really don’t.”
“Become ‘Yourself’ again,”
I answered sincerely, walking away.
Paul Tristram is a Welsh ‘Street’ Writer who has poems, short stories & flash fiction published in hundreds of different publications all around the world. He yearns to tattoo porcelain bridesmaids instead of digging empty graves for innocence at midnight, this too may pass, yet.
His novel “Crazy Like Emotion”, shorter fiction collection “Kicking Back Drunk ‘Round The Candletree Graves” and full-length poetry collections “The Dark Side Of British Poetry: Book 1 of Urban, Cinematic, Degeneration” and “It Is Big And It Is Clever: Book 1 Of A Punk Rock Hostile Takeover” are available from Close To The Bone Publishing.
