I Have Managed, So Far: Poem

I Have Managed, So Far

But it was much more than a summer's song on
A winter's day; more than a whisper into a brick wall:
A long, winding road, a road where even frozen
Winter birds wouldn't call.

I have managed the silences, the tears,
The questions on existence, and then
All that went into the mind when thoughts
Stilled; when paused the pen.

I waited so long, the dreams were so strong.
Life's episodes taunted me:
I have managed so far, so long, so far
I have won my life but lost the key.

Copyright: Rani Turton

Stone Face, France

Full of character,this stern  stone face gazes out in Strasbourg, France.

Street art, Evereux

Bright turquoise for this depiction of street art on a wall in Evereux.

On Losing: Poem

On Losing

Walking on the edge, walking, walking on the edge
It could have been now or never; now or forever.

On losing, or letting loose consequences
Often life's bitter sequences;

And then dawn would come.
Hope beckoned as alone

Hiding in an alcove dark and aloof
Rain splattering on the roof

Words fond their way to my soul:
Strummed, drummed and made me whole.

Copyright: Rani Turton

Moonlight: Poem

Moonlight

There is a stillness in the night that, softly
Unfreezes the most frozen of hearts;
There is a glow about moonlight
Which can touch your face
And set it a-glow: like candlelight it lights
And highlights even the most humble place.

There is the sun in everyone
But the moon, like a loom
Works on the finest of stuff
In a silent shuttered room.

Copyright: Rani Turton

Woman's Face : Wooden sculpture at Vannes

Interesting woman's face carved in wood, decorating a building at
Vannes in France.

This Burdened Heart: Poem

This Burdened Heart

This burdened heart speaks low but clear
That today destiny’s lanes are not very clear;
That pain, like rain, can mist up the eyes
That clouds, like pain can block out the skies

That somewhere else my heart wants to go
There are dreams and all I had to forego
Burdening my heart: where lies happiness
If my mind lies elsewhere, oscillating and vacillating:
Restrained and constrained, layers within layers
Life is but a stage and we, the players
But also when total liberty beckons, perplexed
My soul is vanquished, there are no walls to demolish
No mountains to climb, no one to care;
Nobody to say, nobody at all
“Not now, not like this, not this time”
That somewhere in this century we are alone, bewildered,
Abandoned, that we are
Parts of burdened hearts, that lie lost, thrown aside
Neglected, dejected, rejected
That there are no signposts on the crumbling way.

This burdened heart stops and starts
Carries on, bump-a-lump; will not give up
Life is but a brimming cup.

Copyright: Rani Turton