Brokeness & Hope: 3 poems by Ann Christine Tabaka; art by Tim Cottengim

By beagarth on January 1, 2018 • ( 1 )

"Untitled, no. 3" oil painting by Tim Cottengim, copyright 2009

Brokenness

There is no black and white
anymore. Everything is gray
as I wade through Indecision.

I do not remember how to pray.
My knees now fail to bend.
Desperate hands forget how to fold.

The words no longer form in
my effete heart, nor do they
pour forth from my mute mouth.

Emptiness reaching out, searching
beyond a sacred scripture, for a
faith larger than taught words.

Malignant desires, like invasive
vines, overtopping the forest.
Choking out all natural beauty.

Frenetic lives cluttered with
belongings, void of any true value.
Broken beings in need of healing.

An urge to be filled. A question
to be answered. A new spiritual
awakening rising from within.
Broken no more.

Hope Rising

The metered march of madness
ferrets along the path of bewilderment,
forsaking all rational thought.

Finding fallowness where
once great riches presided.
Painted with the darkness of doubt,

migrant minds do wander.
A small trinket of enlightenment,
the prize above all prizes.

Propelled beyond the distant reach,
while finding one’s way back
through the loneliness of lost time.

Salvation lies ahead
within the sheltered steps of truth.
One slight push and the

paper thin walls of deceit collapse
under their own weight.
Hope rising from the rubble.

At What Price

He stood outside the door
asking for directions,
lost hope in hand.
Paying the toll with
a pocketful of dreams.
Aspirations evaporating
at the sound of his own voice.

A pervading ache,
a need he could not fill.
Giving blood to pay his dues.
No where left to go,
he steps off the curb.
His foot sinks into the soft mud.
He watches while it sucks him in,
even deeper as he struggles to get free.
He is gone

—–

Bio: Ann Christine Tabaka lives in Delaware. She is a published poet and artist. She loves gardening and cooking. Chris lives with her husband and two cats. Her most recent credits are The Paragon Journal, The Literary Hatchet, Metaworker, Raven Cage Ezine, RavensPerch, Anapest Journal, Mused, Indiana Voice Journal, Halcyon Days Magazine, and The Society of Classical Poets.

Bio: Tim Cottengim was a brilliant painter who showed his work in the underground San Jose, California art scene in the nineties up until he died in 2009. He was often found helping his close friend Al Preciado put up yet another amazing art exhibit. Tim’s work showed an earthy sensitivity, gentle irony and transcendence one does not often see.