Before the Rain

Before the Rain
by Nina Spink

Have you ever felt that silence
Just before the rain starts to fall
The changing light in the heavens
A bruised blanket spreads over all

There’s a sense of quiet foreboding
Hushed echoes deep in prayer
A halting breath in time and space
Nature’s heartbeat pulses the air

Darkening skies a backdrop to
Intense light each shape outlined
In a saturation razor sharp
A vibrancy unreal defined

The sudden chill that fills the void
Left by the departing sun
Rustling whispers through the leaves
Give fore-warning of what’s to come

First softly, then with heavy drops
The cracked, parched ground to sate
Releasing its earthy scent
When rain and soil do meet

 

Ravages of Time

Ravages of Time
By Nina Spink

Where is that fresh faced boy
Without a care in the world
save for the latest toy
and the girl in his dreams?
Who saw only challenges and not risk.
His unquenchable thirst for life,
Eager and strong, vital
With limbs that obeyed his thoughts
Now only give way to persuasion and effort.
When food was luscious
Now without taste, a cardboard shell.
Those bright eyes lost to faded and dull sight.
A sharp mind, now struggling to recall

 

But sit again on a balmy night in earshot of the ocean call
Listen once more to the conversation of the sea
Feel the wind upon those weathered cheeks
And be transported back to the heady days of youth
To brush a stray lock from upturned lips
And to cup her face between two palms
So there in rapture gaze on a love once held
Fragile, delicate but soon to fade
Yet in a memory lingers long … never to be forgotten.

Open House

Open House
By Nina Spink

Just out of reach – one step too far?
There’s an open house waiting, the door slightly ajar

One gentle push – is all it would take
Standing just outside, such a small step to make

Once over the threshold – there’d be no turning back
Having left the highway for “off the beaten track”

And if I should get lost, completely lose my way
I may never find the way out, in limbo I’d have to stay

There’d be no regret, no experience I could unlearn
But the simplicity of pain before, would transform to a deeper burn

So should the sense of reason or curiosity prevail?
To choose safety or adventure, either way, I’d be doomed to fail

A tantalizing agony, an argument I cannot win
To chance an inquisitive nature or
remain on the outside, looking in

Beneath

Beneath
By Nina Spink

There’s a beauty in this landscape
Though the mist obscures its view
There’s an eerie sense of tranquility
known only to the precious few

And as you tread through sodden grass
to the gate at the distant end
tears seep into your shoes
through the holes you forgot to mend

If you scratch away the paintwork
from the lock upon the gate
you will see the rust spots poorly patched
Repairs done in much haste

Though there’s years of sad neglect
of resignation etched upon its plaque
tell-tale signs of reparation
reveal a heart that’s not all black

Turmoil

Turmoil
by Nina Spink

There’s a screaming inside your head
Ever present, casting doubt
Is it frustration, fear or passion
Which causes your mind to shout?

There’s an empty space of yearning
A craving from within
A gaping wound, an aching void
Stripped bare beneath the skin

Deep in the pit of your stomach
A pain pierces like a dart
Tears choke back in your throat
It’s a sadness in your heart

There’s a hollow sense of victory
When each day comes to an end
As the steps stretch out in front
The mountain you must still ascend

With heavy limbs and even heavier heart
You climb the thirteen stairs
You fall into bed, switch off the light
But neglect to say your prayers

No respite comes, as hours tick by
Shadows swirl in unconscious stream
Secrets swim in nightmares caught
To drown in restless dream

Miss Lucy

Miss Lucy
by Nina Spink

She’s the best friend one could ever have
Never short of sayings to make me laugh
And when I’m careworn, down or sad
Her infectious smile melts away all that’s bad

I can never wait to hear her news
whether it’s about a dress or a pair of shoes
she thinks are perfect for me
they’ll be still up on her mac for me to see

She has a passion for capes
In fact anything that drapes
As long as its black or red
In which others wouldn’t be seen dead

Yes, she is a little strange and quite unique
Can recite “word for word” the song about a spinning leek
She’ll answer my questions that I haven’t said
And seems to know what’s mulling around my head

And on those rare occasions I may be in a mood
‘Cos she can’t make a decision about which food
to have, she’ll never let me get away
with a sarcastic comment cast her way

Having said that she is abundantly kind
One of the sweetest girls you could ever find
If you knew her, you couldn’t fail to see
just how wonderfully special is Miss Lucy

Note:

I wrote this little poem about my daughter.  She is very special.

Online Friends

Online Friends

by Nina Spink

Bouncing in the dock
He appears but he doesn’t speak
I wait

I can’t initiate
I want to but I am shy
I wait

He’s otherwise occupied
I don’t want to intrude
I wait

He signs out

Captivity

Captivity

by Nina Spink

I can’t bear to be here anymore
It’s been a grave mistake
What started as a home of love
Has now turned into hate

I feel the handcuffs chafing
And the chains no longer stretch
To the window where I’d look out
On the beauty just out of reach

The walls are closing in
On my sterile padded cell
The straight jacket binds me fast
In my corner where I dwell

The window now dark and dingy
Through which the sun no longer shines
Into this love forsaken hell hole
Wherein I am confined

What happened to our garden
I never saw it spoil
What had blossomed in the Summer
had died upon the Fall

This oppressive silence stifles
Here I can hardly breathe
If I don’t escape this prison now
I know I’ll never leave

I’m pleading for this broken heart
You only hold the key
That opens up this bolted door
Unlock and set me free

To feel the wind upon my pallid face
Oh! what I wouldn’t give
To spread my wings and fly away
Once more …. begin to live

Note: Can’t make up my mind whether to switch the last two verses round …..

Thanks …. yes I think so too – have swapped them round now. Thanks Miss D.

Don’t Tell Me You Love Me

Don’t tell me you love me
by Nina Spink

Don’t tell me you love me
It doesn’t mean a thing
You lie through your teeth
I’m done with all this crying

Don’t tell me you love me
When you treat me like this
Hold me close in your arms
Then another shares your kiss

Don’t tell me you love me
I can’t bear to feel your touch
You’re not who you pretend to be
You’ve hurt me so much

Don’t tell me you love me
You never listen to what I say
Your vacant expression
You just turn your head away

Don’t tell me you love me
Then shout me down
At every opportunity
Making me feel like a clown

Don’t tell me you love me
Just to get your own way
Don’t you think I don’t know
These mind games you play

Don’t tell me you love me
Don’t you dare go there
You are nothing but trouble
Just get out of my hair

Don’t tell me you love me
I just don’t want to know
Here, I’ll even hold open the door
Go on, NOW … Just go

Flights of Fantasy

Flights of Fantasy

by Nina Spink

On a bed of crimson and gold
Beckons a world of pleasures untold
Transporting into sheer delight
I’ll lay with you and spend this night

In darkened room the flickering flame
Casts soft shadows upon your frame
And beauty bathed in quiet glow
Arrests my heart, stirs deep below

Chocolate silk melts over ivory skin
Contours perfection cupped within
Breaths whisper light her torso raise
Capturing light in a shimmering blaze

Long slender fingers with crimson tips
Trace inside softly parted lips
Glistening mouth and smoldering eyes
Her silken hands that tantalize

And would that I should be so bold
In lustrous curls of molten gold
To bury my face and so to rest
In her embrace, palms together pressed.

Drunk with desire, such sweet perfume
Does permeate throughout this room
To lose oneself in ecstasy
Entranced in flights of fantasy