To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
– Leo Buscaglia, Living, Loving, and Learning (1982)
“Idylls of the King”
…but, friend, to me
He is all fault who hath no fault at all:
For who loves me must have a touch of earth.
– Alfred Lord Tennyson, Idylls of the King, “Elaine”
Twilight
Tonight once more we shall meet
As I wait in the still of the night
Watching the darkness, once again
You have been delayed.
Your desire a thirst too great to quench the craving
That has embedded itself in your soul forever
Will you be cursed never to redeem your soul
That aches for redemption to love once more
To feel that of which you are incapable
Of expressing human love.
The darkness engulfs me, my thoughts
I feel the teasing of the wind in my hair
The soft whistling as the leaves prepare
To dance the song of death.
© Sharon Kaur-Schuelke
“In Memoriam”
I hold it true, whatever befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
‘Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.
– Alfred Lord Tennyson, “In Memoriam”, Part XXVII
Polar Opposites
Last night you came to me once more
Like death knocked on my door,
Pure white angels snowy white
Jerked me right out of sleep,
Standing dark and solemn at the foot of my bed
You said let’s fly away over the pale moon,
As warm wind did we embrace
Your touch so cold on my heart,
My soul yearns for the light so warm
So why can’t I see the light at the end of you?
The promise of a new day bright and clear
Brings neither joy nor love into my soul,
Polar regions need no ends
For there is no end to the cold,
Solar regions feel no bends
Because light rays reflect off my soul,
My heart is not yet warm
My soul still so cold,
Take me away from this cruelty
Let me make you my choice.
© Sharon Kaur-Schuelke
“Sonnet 116”
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments; Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no, it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although highth be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
– William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 116”
Quote – Martin Luther King Junior
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
– Martin Luther King Junior (1968 speech, where he reflects on the Civil Rights Movement)
Quote
A friend is one to whom one may pour out all the contents of one’s heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping and, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away.
– Arabian Proverb
Forgive Me
You have hurt me, hurt me deep
You stabbed me once before
And I forgave you
But now you stab me once again
Wounding me deeper than before
Betrayal embeds itself in my heart
Twisting itself viciously
Lurching and thrusting unnaturally
I see the sardonic smile, spreading
The silent scream that no one hears
Disappointment twists in the depths of hope
Leaving behind a tiny shard of doubt
Forever embedding itself in my heart
I hear the malicious laughter
Reverberating through my mind
I am in so much pain, but yet I cannot cry
My mind’s eye, a hazy maze; I cannot think
I know my heart is not my own
That maniacal laughter is all I hear
That cold-blodded smile is all I see
My soul cries out for help
Blood curdling screams that fall on deaf ears
No one hears? No one cares?
The very thought that shatters
The brittle wall of my sanity
Who would throw themselves into this abyss?
No one sees, no one knows; only you and I
How can they help what they cannot see?
How can I tell if I cannot speak?
How can I think if you do not let me?
I want to break free from this pain
But no, I will not die; it shall not be
I must be strong for you
I must hold on for me
For life is such a precious thing
This cancerous pain grows everyday
Engulfing all of me, while I breathe
There is just one truth today
That I know I hate you, but oh, I must forgive
For how can I hate myself?
© Sharon Kaur-Schuelke
Quote – Shakespeare
My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep;
The more I give to you, the more I have,
For both are infinite.
– William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
Quote – Salman Rushdie
Love does not conquer all, except in Bombay Talkies; rip tear crunch will not be defeated by a mere ceremony; and optimism is a disease.
– Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s Children
Quote – Leo Buscaglia
Perfect love is rare indeed — for to be a lover will require that you continually have the subtlety of the very wise, the flexibility of the child, the sensitivity of the artist, the understanding of the philosopher, the acceptance of the saint, the tolerance of the scholar and the fortitude of the certain.
– Leo F. Buscaglia, Love (1972)
“A Red, Red Rose”
Till all the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt with the sun;
O I will love thee still, my dear,
While the sands of life shall run.
– Robert Burns, “A Red, Red Rose”
“they say that Hope is Happiness”
And all that memory loves the most
Was once our only hope to be:
And all that hope adored and lost
Hath melted into memory.
– Lord Byron, “they say that Hope is Happiness”
“Song”
How many times do I love thee, dear?
Tell me how many thoughts there be
In the atmosphere
Of a new fallen year,
Whose white and sable hours appear
The latest flake of Eternity –
So many times do I love thee, dear.
How many time do I love thee, dear?
Tell me how many beads there are
In a silver chain
Of evening rain
Unravelled from the tumbling main,
And threading the eye of a yellowstar
So many times do I love again.
– Thomas Love Peacock, “Song”
Expectation
Anxiety from something missed
is replaced with the joy of discovery
and disbelief that we have been blessed
with the miracle of life.
The joy of discovery
is replaced with the excitement of tomorrow
in anticipation of announcements and congratulations
for the change that you would bring into our life.
The excitement of tomorrow
is replaced with the horror of today
when the illusion of happiness to come
is shattered to slivers within mere seconds.
The horror of today
is replaced with hope for another day
and strength to start over again
for life must go on without you.
© Sharon Kaur-Schuelke
Little Red Dancer
little pure light
shining bright
innocent eyes
sweet smile
twirling twirling
clockwise anticlockwise
dancing feet
red frock swirling
infectious giggles
jingling bangles
swaying to music
the pretend princess
© Sharon Kaur-Schuelke
D-Day
Today is the Day of Truth
I vowed to be True to Myself
But I have done nought except let Me down
Dare I say No More
Dare I tell you to Fuck Off
Today is the Day I teach you how to treat me
Keep your Lies in your Purse
I will not corrupt my Soul with your Untruths
Your curses are nought but a reflection of You
You Fool me No More
Today is the Day I am Free of you
Your words have an Effect on me No More
I See you, all of you, in a way your Minions do not
They will do your bidding, of that I am Sure
But not me, No More shall I let Me down
Today, I tell you to Fuck Off.
© Sharon Kaur-Schuelke
Raindrops
Sipping hot tea by the fire, watching raindrops
leave trails on the windowpane;
There she was, walking idly in the rain,
strolling along, not a care in the world.
Here and there they rush around, hunched over to
protect themselves from the icy onslaught;
And there she was, enjoying the feel of cool rain on warm skin,
sticking her tongue out to taste the sky.
The streets are dotted with umbrellas, both young and old
decked out in vibrant and colorful raincoats;
But she, such a silly girl, had want of neither,
lauging instead at the quizzical stares of passersby.
It is warm and dry by the fire, safe and sound
wrapped up in a blanket, so afraid to catch a chill;
She was thoroughly soaked, her clothes sticking to every curve,
leaving so little to the imagination of twisted minds.
She stares out at the throng, all hurrying to some place new,
thinking about the girl she once was;
She skipped in the rain, splashing puddles all the way home,
dreaming of love, romance and Paris.
© Sharon Kaur-Schuelke
Progress
one step forward
two steps backwards
two steps forward
one step backwards
on and on spinning the wheel
round and round the wheels go
so much movement
too much inertia
so much ability
too much exhaustion
on and on spinning the wheel
round and round the wheels go
© Sharon Kaur-Schuelke
Rainbow of Madness 