A Net Full of Butterflies

Linking with the Sunday Muse for Muse # 113 Hosted by the utterly awe inspiring poet Shay! Come join us!
My heart is like a child that still stands beside me Uncertain but hopeful of what the future holds We watch the world together standing at the steps Hoping the world will see the beauty we hold So I wear my best hat even on the windiest of days Yet it is always my heart that gets swept away.

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Linking with Poets & Storytellers for Writers' Pantry #23

We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own.   ~Ben Sweetland
True words linger like memories of the moon washing out doubt's shadow giving hope a lit stage for there are those that listen and those that speak poets that spark fires and heroes that live by a brighter light their tracks in the snow lead the way and if you watch the moon it follows too brilliant light flows wide and long and true words always linger like memories of the moon as imprints upon our heart.
This is dedicated to Marin Luther King Jr, Mary Oliver, and so many that are boldly inspiring change in this world.  They are the ones who enlighten and move others with a brilliant light that lasts many lifetimes to come.

©Carrie Van Horn2020

Linking with Verse Escape for the May Friday 55 Thank you Joy! Come join us!
There is a loss I cannot name It is an empty cry And the only thing my voice can speak is  why? I reach my hand into the dark of night And no longer see myself I wonder who I have truly become And I can only utter A sigh… To the entire world, Why?

I take in the day like an elixir swallowing hard as it both gives and takes away It slows the disease of indifference yet adds to the baggage my mind seems to hoard like an old fool and his guns waiting to shoot into the distance but the time never arrives you see complacency never pulls the trigger yet neither does courage there is a progression in the daring of bravery but that same force also holds a stillness a silent strength and knowing that where one stands is destiny butterflies know that strength they do not contemplate yesterday nor analyze what tomorrow holds unaware of the confines of time they linger in the moment and there they truly live.


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I have found shelter in many places in this world But the important ones were never formed with shingles nor brick For my heart longs to linger in the softest of places Where kindness and love are the glue of all that is held together It is stronger than any mortar More enduring than the largest steel It keeps me warmer than any furnace ever could You just have to open your heart and your eyes to find it For it has a map that can only be traced upon by the fingers of the soul You see love reaches out a hand and holds no matter how many times we let it go And that is where I long to stay and no matter what the weather holds that is where you shall find me.

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Linking with the Sunday Muse for Muse # 107
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“No language can express the power, and beauty, and heroism, and majesty of a mother's love. It shrinks not where man cowers, and grows stronger where man faints, and over wastes of worldly fortunes sends the radiance of its quenchless fidelity like a star.” ~Edwin Hubbell Chapin
I parade my scars like a mighty flag Bearing stripes for all to see Lapping love from every bowl Knowing it is a true luxury My mother was the first to wash my face To provide sustenance yet my first greatest ache for a child was not meant to be motherless so early in the race So like a tiger I became an early hunter Searching for the warmest of hearts Longing for something more But I never had to venture far For women are nurturers From every valley to mountain top And they will carry you to their den If they see that you are lost Love is a mighty force That drives us to and fro It keeps us ever searching Further down the road The memory of our greatest lov…