Return to Sender

A collection of Poems by Rachel Coonley

Only a Second
It takes only a second For reality to drag you down, From your cloud of perfection, Into the icy waves to drown. And while you try to float Upon the thoughts of love and trust, The cruel hands of doubt Wish to pull you to the dust. So claw at those waves, With their icy fingertips, And fight for every moment, As your body bobs and dips. Harsh reality can be beaten With the simple urge to live, To never renounce hope, And offer all that you can give.

An Arrogant Mask
Its your right to choose To walk in his shoes, To carry yourself with his self loving swagger. But to carry the best, You must also the rest, And the weight of his life could make others stagger. Each step that he takes, He counts all his mistakes, And buries himself deeper and deeper. Til the point that his smile, Would turn dark and vile, And every word sounds cheaper and cheaper. So before you leap, Let this knowledge seep, And promise me that youll think of your actions. Because of course it looks grand, To the ones in the stand, But never the ones getting those satisfactions.

bACKWARDS
i LIVE IN THE lAND OF rEVERSE. wHATEVER YOU DO, i DO NOT, eVERY eRROR YOU MAKE IS A wIN. AND eVERYTHING YOU DO rIGHT IS FOR nAUGHT,

Smile
We sit together Creating silly faces Tweedle Dum and Dee

Collection
Crumpled dollar bills Piled high into a stack Childrens allowance

Joyride
Sweeping through the streets, A breeze flows and flutters through, Carefully it greets A floating leaf, green and new, And carries it to its home.

Midnight Glance
The rain falls heavy Against dingy window pane, While two lovers, warm, Share their heat with another On a perfect, rainy night.

Nostalgia

A bubbling brew of Toadstools, dandelions, Hose-water, sand, worms, Acorns, mud, Leaves of different shapes and sizes, Concocting the most Putrid smell. Two giggling witches Pour a vial into the cauldron, The liquid shiny and multicolored, Labeled bubbles. An earthy green mixture is Overturned in the grass, Tipped over by Overexcited feet of Equally overexcited children, In their haste to get inside And wait for more Ingredients to grow.

Normal

The funny thing is? Everyones pushing for normal, They look at their hair, Their eyes, Their nose. Every little tick about them, Every little tick that defines them, And they think, This isnt what everyone else has. This isnt normal, This is strange, unusual, Abnormal. And then they try to change themselves, New clothes, Nose job, Hairstyle, And soon its how they act, Soon, they lose themselves Into that hateful sea of normal which is really Just as abnormal as the rest of us. Just so someone else can look at them and Change themselves just the same.

War
New York Times - Jul 23, 1894 Forces Conflict between old enemies, Never a War, Only Peace, CostGold, Silver, and Copper. Refused Aid in restoring order, authority Presented protest, proposed mediation, Refused. End exacts that shall be retained.

Sleepy Hollow
The river lives among high hills, A listless, rustic dreaming influence over the land, His power, a spell given all kinds of vision Not confined to the valley, the ghost rides forth, That region of shadows.

The Tree

She is Sitting in the darkness Of its stretching, twisted limbs, Every swaying leaf takes its time to invade Her vision on the bright and sunny day. It dims That intense light she had so long that shed dismissed Such a song as the shaded, earthy ground, the muted heat. Contrast to the blowing dunes, of waves hugging with a twist, Where instead of burning sand, theres cool grass under her feet. And how wonderful a day, could be spent under trees that sway, And inching insects climbing, crawling, rolling to their homes, All the colors shifting in to a spectacular display Of browns and greens, a little blue if the eye roams Up to the branch where a blue jays nest, Perched quietly on a branch, rests. All Held Sturdy By her Backrest Of bark, A firm Tree trunk, Tall and dark.
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html? res=F30B16FF3F5A1A738DDDAA0A94DF405B8485F0D3

Whispers used to dance on the tip my lips. And laughter used to sing the most beautiful prose, Words wouldnt be reduced to meaningless gestures, And looks that never fully speak for themselves. (A downward V on the forehead, wrinkled and crowded By eyebrows could be Anger, or Confusion, or Anguish) My lips can still move, but the wind wont blow Into beautiful chimes that I used to know. And eyes, as much as windows they are, Are foggy and misted and can only go so far As to communicate, alliterate, everything that Needs to be said. At least, if I was deaf, I wouldnt know what must be told.

Everythings moving, shifting, dancing around me In a graceless waltz with those fumbling steps of living. Birds sing, wind whistles, dogs bark, Humans laugh. But all that accompanies me is a void, Dark and deep, sucking out my very life force Every year, Every month, Every minute, Every second. That dark echoless place drags me deeper, And all the while, it feels like the world Has a joke Im not included in. Theyre shutting me out, Tearing me down, Brick by silent brick. This will be the death of me, Im sure. At least if I were blind, I wouldnt see what Im missing.

The world is a presence of great darkness, Color lost long ago under shadows and shades. Relying on soft touches and outstretched hands Leads to bruises and bumped knees and knocked heads. To let an animal lead my life, Is that what Im reduced to? And have everyone around me question, And comment, And judge. My own glasses are tinted, To block the whispered question Mommy, why are his eyes all white? And friendly glances I can feel Pity. At least if I were mute, I wouldnt have to answer Im Fine.

Lets make the Rain fall Upside down, Sideways, backwards, Round and round. Lets have the cars fly Off the ground, And make it Really Crazy. Lets stop the time and Send it back, Rewind, pause it, Fade to black. Lets make the mirrors Show what we lack, Instead of Reflect Hazy. Lets keep ourselves from Getting old. Fountain of youth, Liquid Gold. Lets let our hearts Grow never cold, No broken Heartbeats Lazy.