Introducing a new series of poems by Julian Matthews. Julian is a writer and Pushcart-nominated poet published in The American Journal of Poetry, Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, Borderless Journal, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Dream Catcher Magazine, Live Encounters Magazine, Lothlorien Poetry Journal and The New Verse News, among others. He is a mixed-race minority from Malaysia and lived in Ipoh for seven years. Currently based in Petaling Jaya, he is a media trainer and consultant for senior management of multinationals on Effective Media Relations, Social Media and Crisis Communications. He was formerly a journalist with The Star and Nikkei Business Publications Inc
Link: https://linktr.ee/julianmatthews
By Julian Matthews
Today, I offer my shoulder as a well
to contain all your tears
When you are all cried out, let me be
the underground river that floats all your burdens away
When your heart sinks lower than it ever as,
let me freedive, on a single breath, follow its air bubbles
to the bottom to retrieve it
When the sadness pours inside you like a drowning wave,
let me conjure up a pea-green boat and sail us both off to sea
Today is a bad day–
No owl, no pussycat
All I can offer are these paltry, made-up metaphors
Strung together as hasty, temporary band-aid
Frosty comfort amid frustrating pain, I know–
I know also you know today will pass
Knowing doesn’t make it any easier
We’ve had enough bad days to know better
And all these Nos, and knowing, never adds up to a single Yes
Blessed are the mothers and fathers
Blessed are the sacrificial care-givers
Blessed are those who have no other options
Blessed are those who endure lengthening bad days
Blessed are those who never see the light
of a good day, only rare moments,
fewer and farther between
I pray, our day will come
It is just around the next bend, my friend
Pass the well of tears,
over the river of burdens,
above the sea of sunken hearts,
Just one sail away through this ocean of sadness
Where one day, one bright night, soon
we’ll play Owl and the Pussy-cat again
Go hand in hand, on the edge of the sand
and dance by the light of the moon
and dance by the light of the heavenly moon*
(*Paraphrased lines from The Owl and the Pussy-cat, Edward Lear)
First published in Lightwood Magazine, USA, edited by Laurence Carr
