The world feels heavy, a mountain of lead,
With sharp, silver needles that pull at my head.
A hollow in the stomach, a weight in the chest,
While the heart tries to find just a moment of rest.
I reached for a hand that I thought was a light,
But they traded my trust for a shadow in flight.
Now the hallways are long and silence is loud,
Just a face in the distance, a ghost in the crowd.
The ink on the paper felt tangled and wrong,
As the rhythm of "self" lost the words to its song.
I'm weary of carrying the blame and the ache,
Of feeling so brittle, I'm destined to break.
But in the quiet, I'm turning my eyes,
To the one who can hear all the world less cries.
Though my body is weak and the road is uphill,
I'll walk through the valley and try to be still.
If the world has forgotten, I know He has not,
I am more than the pain and the battles I've fought.
I'll keep my solitude, sacred and deep,
Until there is peace in the promises I keep.
When you go down the hallway of dreams,
Doors opening to the right and left,
There is no choice
Until you decide there is.
So many doors, so many choices,
Each opening into a different world,
Spanning time and places,
From childhood to old age
As well as before and after.
In my hallway lots of doors open into school rooms
And lots into old homes
And old jobs, old wives and young children,
Places never visited, and others apparently
Never left.
I’m sure there are other doors
That lead to dinosaurs, and aliens,
As well as fairy folk and gnomes,
And life forms I have not yet imagined.
It seems to me this hallway stretches on forever
Without a bend or curve
The rooms behind the doors
Providing enough twists and turns.
But this is all just a guess
As the hall remains unlit in my unconscious.
And yet still I know exactly what it looks like
And where all the doors lead...
(10/2/25)
Hallway
Things the upstairs hallway desperately needs to
make her feel like a
hallway include:
jugs of
water with a
hint of
lemon and
sarsaparilla (yuk!), heads of
asparagus, afros, viruses (non-
life-threatening
only), accounting ledgers, human
toenails, frog
farts, TV static, nautical
caps, half
rainbows, a
cat – any breed will
do – meows, stamps (blank), bucket of
courage, two hand size steel
blocks, Ag chemical silver shavings, hair strings (chimp
only), dice x
10, white feathers of
any white-feathered bird, angel
pubic hair (men’s only), Chinese buttons, and
fly eyes.
School certificates
work awards poetry praise
life accomplishments
They are everywhere, constantly moving,
Amongst the mass of humanity.
Opening new doors in their travels,
While they redefine reality.
With a stride from all walks of life,
A measured gait describes the pace.
As they begin a distinguished path,
Along a higher road they must face.
These corridors often seem endless,
Like a trains tunnel with no light ahead.
Yet their bravery sees beyond the darkness,
With courageous vision that fails to dread.
i once knew a girl whose mom got sick.
she'd sleep the days away, laying in the dark.
perpetually tired, "maybe next time" was the distant sigh.
her mom would forget things easily
and could often be found
with red tear stains on her pale face.
they lived in a midnight home.
the girl didn't understand the sudden change in mood,
but she had a problem:
the night didn't stop at the frame of her mother's bedroom,
it bled into the foundation of the house.
One afternoon the shadows found her in the hallway,
and so I wasn't surprised when I heard the girl got sick too.
I hear loud clamoring and yelling.
It sounds like a rumble in the school hallway.
I know it is the older students.
The young ones do not dare.
YOU’RE FIRED! Someone yells.
You’re going to jail! says another voice.
Lots of snickering and laughing.
Maniacal giggling. It is not this funny.
Joy in the hallway because it is Friday.
Kindergarteners are on the other side in a straight line.
Looking straight ahead, keeping their bubbles. Voices off.
One of the sixth-grade boys gives them the stink eye.
A little boy screams.
“It’s okay. He is my brother! “he tells the teacher.
The teacher begins to give him the what for.
The kindergartener smiles, because he did it first.
I fly across a lively splendid hallway over to the cross side.
Stirringly, my body is as yet stored on the acrid, cold ground.
My weights are lowered, relieving a large burden off my gear.
Alike a shouting newborn, entirely bare and defenseless.
Written: August 15, 2021
Heel, breaking the plane;
Subtle distance unexpected -
Body charged numb
With fear of death,
Or perhaps the fear
Of not quite dying.
Clutching at items,
Clutching at nothing.
As your fists curl in
A whoop of breath
Escapes,
Sprawling,
Fallen,
Or saved
From a lower stair’s perspective.
I see a ghost standing
At the end of the hallway.
Or is it a person,
I ask myself. A child or friend
In fuzzy outline,
An empty figure.
Can anyone else see it?
The ghostboy stares
Through empty eyes,
Blackened pits void of sight.
Behind him lies an orange tabby
Swatting at a ball of yarn
And making colored banners.
A festival of streaming ribbons.
The past is gone, I murmur.
A cloud of despair crosses the face
So full of loss
And longing
For the world
That forgot his name.
we both are in
the same time
zone but it's
like being in
a large room
where you
are by the
furthest
window
and i'm
all the
way on
the other
side near
the door
The Long Dark Hallway
The long dark hallway
The glow coming from the end
It’s the place I lay my head
The space that I can’t win
The feelings - troubled
Long and fearful were the nights
The emotions seemed so loud
I frantically played - to make my world alright
Cowboys and Indians
Drawing pictures by night light
I remember the hunger
No appetite - despite
As I drifted into a slumber
All my troubles seem to fade
I look forward to the blessing
The hope – the desire of a better day
As the hallway began to glow
The late night’s shadows disappeared
The sun would always rise
Freeing me from all my fears
Seasons have come and gone
Some memories seem to never fade
The long dark hallway
It’s made me who I am today
Love is a hallway built between two hearts, where the doors to each are always unlocked and with no secret rooms in the blueprint.
Another empty hallway
Cobwebs on the door frame
No slidey floors for puppy paws
No rollerblades or ball games
On rainy days I'm missing
While staring at the dishes
The midnight flight with valentine
To where the moonlight kissed the beaches
Nocturnal flames burn low
With a somber bluish glow
No sunrise on horizon
Just an empty hall of silence
Foot steps along the wooden floor
Heard from the outside of my bedroom door
I'm Wondering who it could be
Hopefully it will be my daddy
Away with work for months on end
Leaves me pining on the end of my bed
Missing the summer garden games
To the family BBQ with high reaching flames
The summer walks down by the riverbank
The river as clear as if looking at a fish tank
The trees above my head absorbing the sun
Allowing me and my daddy to have fun
Then, the bedroom door opens wide
My heart races as if on a joyride
My daddy was home from his time away
Yes! Daddy’s home, its time to play..
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