Tag: poetry

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The Stolen Child

Maria Fokas

The Stolen Child Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand, For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand. Away with us he’s going, The solemn-eyed: He’ll hear no more the lowing Of the calves on the warm hillside Or the kettle on the hob Sing peace into his breast, Or see the brown mice bob Round and round the oatmeal chest. For he comes, the human child, To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand, For the world’s more full of weeping than … Continue reading The Stolen Child

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Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage

Maria Fokas

[There is a pleasure in the pathless woods] George Gordon Byron There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, There is a rapture on the lonely shore, There is society where none intrudes, By the deep Sea, and music in its roar: I love not Man the less, but Nature more, From these our interviews, in which I steal From all I may be, or have been before, To mingle with the Universe, and feel What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal. Roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean–roll! Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain; … Continue reading Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage

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We Have Not Long To Love

Maria Fokas

We Have Not Long To Love By Tennessee Williams We have not long to love. Light does not stay. The tender things are those we fold away. Coarse fabrics are the ones for common wear. In silence I have watched you comb your hair. Intimate the silence, dim and warm. I could but did not, reach to touch your arm. I could, but do not, break that which is still. (Almost the faintest whisper would be shrill.) So moments pass as though they wished to stay. We have not long to love. A night. A day….     Continue reading We Have Not Long To Love

Free Verse - Poetry Prose2 Comments

Scars Set in Stone

Maria Fokas

Scars Set in Stone by Maria Fokas Just because you buried our journey Does not make it disappear Just because you have forsaken me Does not mean you never loved me That I have succumbed to defeat Does not mean I wanted to leave Your silence never depicted indifference As my smile did not prove a trace of hope Of stories which trouble the heart In words which sicken the soul Everywhere an abundance of woe: A half-finished love affair bound to crucifixion A misdeed triggered to destroy a kind gesture A deserted dream to leverage false sense of balance … Continue reading Scars Set in Stone

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Somewhere only we know

Maria Fokas

Do not stand at my grave and weep I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning’s hush I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there. I did not die. Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905 – 2004)    Photographs by © Maria Fokas 29/7/2015/All … Continue reading Somewhere only we know

Free Verse - Poetry Prose2 Comments

Beneath the Waves

Maria Fokas

Beneath the Waves by Maria Fokas The greatest treasures are simple things Few gestures that say; I love you! Take a sip Delight in a kiss Turn the last page with me – Blow out the candles Say good night Never regret the promises Vulnerable to the Waves Loyal to the rock The windmill spins The anchor pulls Under the sea the treasure will be Remember to embrace your dream The waking hour may change your wants But never your deepest needs –   Photo Credits: Brooke Shaden Continue reading Beneath the Waves

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Love After Love

Maria Fokas

Love After Love by Derek Walcott The time will come when, with elation you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror and each will smile at the other’s welcome, and say, sit here. Eat. You will love again the stranger who was your self. Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you all your life, whom you ignored for another, who knows you by heart. Take down the love letters from the bookshelf, the photographs, the desperate notes, peel your own image from the mirror. Sit. Feast … Continue reading Love After Love

Free Verse - Poetry Prose2 Comments

My Heart’s Whisper

Maria Fokas

My Heart’s Whisper by Maria Fokas She caresses the strings of her burning thoughts, Humming her secret in the midst of warm nights. A note or two off beat of course – but unique in all its beauty. Like the seasons’ cries,  she recounts her worries, Searching for that one to keep. She chants the letters of her lover’s name – A few drops on autumn leaves.   Then with time, Fragile snowflakes – between the sky and me – Descending – like expectations owed. And with the final season, She reclaims (the right) to love again. And I ask … Continue reading My Heart’s Whisper

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Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep

Maria Fokas

  Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep By Mary Frye Do not stand at my grave and weep I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning’s hush I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there. I did not die.   … Continue reading Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep

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STILL I RISE

Maria Fokas

STILL I RISE by Maya Angelou You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? ‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells Pumping in my living room. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I’ll rise. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops. Weakened by my soulful cries. Does my haughtiness … Continue reading STILL I RISE