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Clare Coffey Jan 2019
Write something happy they said
Something uplifting and nice
Don’t write about your depression
Was the sum of their advice

Your moods are way too gloomy
Your anxiety is too stark
How can things be that awful
You have to be wide of the mark

Write something less sad they said
No one wants to share your pain
To feel how badly you’re hurting
Just go take some pills again

Don’t talk about all your grief
Your world full of stress and strife
It’s better to count your blessings
And pretend you have a great life

Write something less mad they said
Your chaos will drive us to drink
Nothing is as bad as it seems
Of course your life doesn’t stink

Keep your crazy in your head
We don’t like the way that you think
Write about glitter and unicorns
Clouds that are fluffy and pink

Write something less dark they said
Demons are not your best friends
Now if you keep on like this
You know where it’s going to end

We don’t want to hear your story
Or understand why you feel this way
We only want to listen
When you have something sweet to say

Well my hands are over my ears
I don’t want you talking at me
I’m alone fighting those demons
In a battle you refuse to see

The struggle is never ending
To be who I am meant to be
But one day I will find my truth
And know what it is to be free
I have sometimes been accused of writing too much about dark and depressing feelings - but this helps me heal from wounds some of which go back to childhood
Clare Coffey Jan 2019
See me lie here quietly
The grass cool beneath my back
Watching clouds chased by the breeze
The sun peeping through the cracks

The shafts of sunshine shifting
In patterns of dark and light
Highlighting a world in contrast
One moment black the next so bright

Rays land on petals and leaves
Bright splashes of joyous colour
Spread out on a carpet of green
Waiting to be discovered

The tree that spreads its branches
Softens the sting of the wind
That still has an icy tang
But speaks to the fire within

I hear the river waters
A cascade’s glory unfolds
Flowing across the dark rocks
I feel it call to my soul

Constantly changing and spinning
I find the shapes in the sky
I yearn to join their dances
Before the chance passes me by

I look at their once white faces
Turning quickly to grey and black
I know a storm is coming  
I await its fierce attack

A raindrop trickles down my cheek
A sign there are more to fall
I tilt both my palms upward
Maybe I can catch them all

Strips of burnished lightening
Flash their way across the sky
Thunder grumbles loudly
I wish my heart could fly

There is beauty in the tempest
A wild symphony unchained
I embrace every sweet moment
And dance with joy in the rain
Clare Coffey Dec 2018
Today I feel so alone
I don’t know what I should do
To stop my life from hurting
My heart is breaking in two

You don’t understand why would you
How rejected some of us feel
We were never in with the in crowd
That isn’t part of our deal

Such smiley happy people
Laughing and having their fun
I’m here dying in the shadows
While they have their day in the sun

Jealous no I don’t think so
More a crushing sense of guilt
Wondering what I did wrong
And why no friendship was built

I made the gestures I could
But I don’t find that easy to do
What seems impossible for me
Seems oh so simple for you

I know we all have our problems
Believe me that I don’t forget
People make their own choices
That’s something I have to accept

But it doesn’t stop it hurting
When you are left out again
Like some rusty old toy
Not brought in from the rain

Why oh why am I crying
Tears from deep down in my soul
I wonder if I will ever feel loved
And will I ever be whole

Maybe it makes me remember
Being a frightened lonely child
Unable to comprehend
Why I couldn’t win her smile

Lost in permanent limbo
No one to soothe or to care
Not knowing how I could live
Or even if I dared

So next time you raise a glass
At some jolly party or do
Check who wasn’t included
They might be needing you
Clare Coffey Dec 2018
I am the voice that whispers
Words of comfort in the night
Holding back the darkness
Until the dawn brings light

I am the ray of sunshine
That falls softly on your face
Chasing away the sadness
With the warmth of my embrace

I am the glistening raindrop
That washes away your pain
Healing the hurt in your heart
So you can feel whole again

I am the breath of summer wind
Ruffling the locks of your hair
Leaving you gentle kisses
And carrying away your cares

I am the frozen snowflake
As I am you are unique
In our world of silence
We don’t need words to speak

I am the coloured rainbow
Lighting the grey of the sky
Bringing your hope in my wake
To give life one more try

I am the moon at midnight
A shining crescent of silver
Guarding your dreams at nighttime
Today tomorrow forever

I am the earth beneath your feet
Solid and firm as can be
Helping to nourish your roots
So you can grow strong and free

I am the arm that lifts you
When you feel tired and weak
I will be there to guide you
No matter what it is you seek

I am the eye of the storm
Your safest place on the earth
You are my soul my angel
Since the moment of your birth
We don’t always get the love we need as children but with courage we can break the cycle and be the parent we would have wanted for our children. It’s never too late
Clare Coffey Dec 2018
Today I am leaving this place
I say goodbye to my pain
Good riddance to all the heartbreak
You will not hurt me again

You used me and abused me
Made me feel lost and small
I’d hide like a frightened child
Now I stand proud and talL

I am never coming back
I pick up my case from the floor
I put on my coat and boots
Then I walk out of the door

I hesitate on the door step
In my hand a silver key
I push it through the letter box
In that second I feel free

The taxi cab is waiting
The driver is patient and kind
As I pause to remember
Just what I am leaving behind

I don’t need your gilded cage
I don’t need your money or stuff
Without love and compassion
Even the world is not enough

I grieve though for our ending
And yes I shed some tears
It was good in the beginning
In those our golden years

It didn’t happen overnight
It took time for the light to dawn
Gradually I understood it
Was time for me to move on

We were both simply too flawed
Nothing so damaged can last
I believe in my new beginning
And put you deep in my past

I turn around and walk away
I feel raindrops soft on my face
Washing out the sadness
Today I am leaving this place
Clare Coffey Dec 2018
I walk in the land of the ******
Over hot coals burning with fire
A black hearted witch my mother
A hell spawned demon my sire

I whisper in unkind melodies
Friends and families to divide
Causing a lifetime of conflict
I walk invisible by your side

I steal into the dark corners
Of minds sleeping unaware
Planting the seeds of nightmares
Of stress of worry of care

I tell the suffering addict
That just one more will be fine
Pushing without any mercy
Until they cross that last line

I lead the depressed and grieving
Down into the depths of hell
They beg for the hurting to end
To hear death’s final knell

I pause by the ill and the dying
To give them false hope of release
Knowing that in their last moments
I will steal from them any peace

Yes my eyes will tear your soul
Carving it up into shreds
My bile fills each tiny breach
Till the poison invades your head

But to name me is to know me
To give you a demon to fight
To claim back your soul and reason
The name you call me is Spite
I try to remember how damaging spiteful gossip can be to us all
Clare Coffey Oct 2018
Rich as precious rubies are
The reds of the autumn leaves
Dancing in the kindly breeze
Not yet fallen from the trees

Flaming orange bright as a flame
Burning proudly in the sun
Burnished copper and polished bronze
The new season has begun

Still I see some gorgeous green
The mantle of summer lingers
The light caresses their beauty
With the touch of a lover’s fingers

Yellow as butter fresh from churn
Warm tones of shining gold
Basking in the afternoon heat
As the year grows gently old

I will cherish all the hours
The joy of this autumn day
I will celebrate my harvest
Before the glory turns to grey
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