Thankful

by M. Elaine Moore         
    
Last minute Thanksgiving details,
     and trip into town.
He stands along the roadside,
     fighting the bitter wind.
Tattered coat, torn gloves,
     boots having seen a thousand miles.
A single plea written on cardboard.
There will be no feast for him,
     no warm bed tonight.
I stop to offer hot cocoa and cash,
     and I say, "God bless you, sir."
A solid nod in return. "He does. Every single day."
The man smiles around a hundred wrinkles,
And I learn the meaning of thankful.

Writer

by M. Elaine Moore

The voices surround me,
    some quietly tugging
         at my subconscious,
              others screaming loudly
                   for my attention.
In the midst of it all
    I sit with pen in hand,
         trying to capture it all,
              listening intently
                   as the story unfolds
                        around me.

Strength

by M. Elaine Moore

She sees his face
    in the cracks of a crystal ball.
Distorted, broken dreams,
    the jagged edges of a false reality.
Painful truths, lessons learned….
Never trust, never believe, never love.
Somehow, she survived him intact.
She breathed with her heart ripped out,
    and stood defiantly on the other side,
         facing the world with jaded cynicism.
She fears for those who stand before him.
She pities those left in his wake,
    destroyed by his deception,
         eviscerated by his charm.
Yet despite him, because of him,
    She has found strength.