Poem: Tick-Tock

The clock on the wall
Goes tick-tock, tick-tock
Am I going to fall
Down below on the rock

It's a slippery slope
Up ahead on this trail
But today is my hope
That somehow I'll prevail

Do I have it inside me
To conquer and win
Or is my fate to be
To be dormant within

The clock on the wall

Goes tick-tock, tick tock

I need to stand tall 

So I won't get stuck

It seemed I'm still young 

But now I'm almost forty

A third of life gone 

But where is my glory

What have I achieved

That's worthy of praise

The things I have grieved

The things yet to chase

Don't yet know my story

Don't yet know my ending
Don't want to be sorry

Or be left pretending

As if everything's fine

When in fact I am lost

On this journey of mine

With uncertainty's cost 

Do I even belong here

And what is my worth

In this world so unclear

In my life on this earth

Written September 19, 2022

© 2022 by Lena Kovadlo. Use with permission only.

Poem: I Remain a Mute

You silence my words
They remain inside
Can't say how I feel
Can't voice what I hide

They need to escape
But buried they are
And what's on mind
Can't get very far

I fear your reaction
And what you will say
That you'll shut me out
Or ruin my day

Protecting myself
From the heart and the pain
I remain a mute
With nothing to gain

So when will I say
That enough is enough
Your reactions won't hurt me
Because I am tough

And let them escape

These words of my heart

These thoughts that are yearning

To not fall apart

Perhaps I can do it 

Perhaps I can soar

Once this crippling fear

Is here no more

But how can this fear

Be gone from within

When it's always there

Not letting me win

Guess I should accept it

Embrace my own fear

And that's when these words

Won't be silenced my dear

Written February 9, 2022

© 2022 Lena Kovadlo. Use with permission only.

Poem: Stuck

Stuck
Unable to move
Can't escape
No way out

Pull me
Out of this hole
Out of this hell

Push me
Help me take that first step
Make that first move

Lift me up

Help me accept my fears

And embrace them

Be my lifeline

When I can't be my own

When I'm stuck

In my own cocoon

Written January 31, 2022

© 2022 Lena Kovadlo. Use with permission only.

Poem: White Daisies

Your white daisies in the vase
Are slowly shedding their petals

One by one they fall
One for every piece of you
That is slowly fading
As your days are coming to an end

Soon all that will be left are the stems
And the individual memories of you
That will forever bloom in my heart

Whenever I think of you
I will always envision a beautiful field
Filled with endless rows of white daisies
That stand tall beneath the warmth of the sun

And I will be surrounded by the love

By the comfort of your presence

That will always linger

Until the day that we meet again

Written November 27, 2021

© 2021 by Lena Kovadlo. Use with permission only.

Poem: Time to Say Good-Bye

It's time to say good-bye
To the last one left standing

To the one now in eternal slumber
To a generation that has lived through it all

Gone but never forgotten
Whose legacy will live on

In the generations of the present

And the future ones to come

Written November 20, 2021

© 2021 by Lena Kovadlo. Use with permission only.

Limerick: A Guy Named Barry

I ran into a guy named Barry
Whose outfit looked rather scary
Lots of blood everywhere
So I fled far from there
From a monster that was way too hairy

Written October 19, 2021

© 2021 by Lena Kovadlo. Use with permission only.

Poem: Remembering Our Time in the Woods

The flames of the fire pit
Soar higher and higher
As the winds increase
I am standing frozen in place
Lost in the orange glow
Remembering our time in the woods
When it was a bit of a chilly day
And I yearned for some warmth
Having you there, embracing me,
And offering me your jacket
Gave me all the warmth I needed
To make it through the winding trail
To the comfort of your cozy car
And into your loving arms

Written September 6, 2021

© 2021 by Lena Kovadlo. Use with permission only.