I slipped from birth
wet with tears
into arms
stretched out in hope,
from womb to ward
to other woman,
I slipped from birth
into being;
being had,
being held,
being handed over,
to being held again.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
BORDERS
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO.4, NAPOWRIMO
I thought I would learn something more fortuitous
than just fear
in those hollow halls
I learned to hate,
but books were not bats
when boys became bullies.
Fragility can grow like strength
but the wonder we weigh
on the fragile flower
only overshadows
the tears that stem
beneath to petals.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO. 3, NAPOWRIMO
In many rooms
in multiple houses
in a dozen cities
I pulled shadows
over the light
mistaking the darkness
to be a better blanket
to twist around the truth.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO 2, NAPOWRIMO
You cannot go back,
to return does not mean to rerun,
I recognise these streets,
recall a certain laugh,
a twisted lie,
an open door,
but my footprints have changed,
I cannot find the same sunflower
I drew when I was younger
than this youth I now cling to
and so many
of those old doors have twisted
and the lies opened out to be
nothing more than lessons.
I cannot go back,
the streets now wear shadows
that never fell from my form.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO.1, NAPOWRIMO
Walls can comfort or confine,
fine is the line between
what to fear and how to flee,
freedom is not found
in any one format,
it is not math,
we can only count the cost
of what is lost.
Walls can be a comfort
and still surround like a cell.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
DROWNED IN DENIAL
Taken by the sea
And buried in the sands
As man could not claim him
Hold him, place him,
Lost to the world
A loss before life began,
He crossed the waters
Of hurt, in hope.
We may cry for him
We may mourn for him
But we are the makers
Of this wicked world
And in our failing hands
We sealed his fragile fate
They come with only hope
But drown in our own denial.
Words and Pictures by Damien B. Donnelly
Damien B. Donnelly 