Rhiannon Raventhorn's blog: "Raven Haven"

I have no excuse
I was angry

I kicked him because I was angry
I punched him because I hurt
I wanted him to hurt too

After all those words
I couldn't find anymore to say

I explained I needed help
He stood there

Wow Mom...
I know how you felt
When you hit dad

You had an excuse
You were drunk
Tired
Hurt...

I have no excuse
I was angry

At least when you hit me
Shoved me
Pushed me around

You had an excuse
You were drunk
Tired
Hurt...

Funny how that works

He runs in the house
After running his mouth
Hurt that I would dare raise a hand to him

And the Saint arises
How dare I?!
Where do you get the soap box?

My glass house
Shattered a LONG time ago

Yeah, it's wrong
I shouldn't get so angry
I start beating on him

I'm his wife
We should be able to talk it out
But he's such a confrontational bastard

Instead of saying
How impressed he was with the work I had already done
And that he was only calculating how much more we needed to do

He said, "Fuck you, I was only smoking!"

When I told him I didn't need him
He could leave the garden

He said, "Fuck you, you get out of here."

When I expressed I needed him to go
So I could relax and work

He opened his mouth again

My peace and pleasure vanished
The sanctuary broken
I had been having so much fun

I was covered in dirt
The rows looked good
The weeds were pulled
Strawberries, going in

And there in the middle
Was this ugly mess
I wanted him to go away

Instead he kept on
Mouth moving
Telling me to fuck off!

I kicked him
I punched him in the head
And found myself flat on my ass

The kids were scared
Confused
He ordered them to go inside
They started, then returned to me

No one wanted to go
He grabbed the baby
And opened his mouth again

Reminding me he could call
An old boyfriend of mine
If I wanted him back

What a JERK
I slapped him
Then he paraded into the house
As if he hadn't done a damn thing wrong

I was just crazy
What I did was uncalled for
How dare I strike him
He had our son

Okay...
Reminds me of New York
Except he head butted me while I had our daughter
She and I fell through the screen door

Fuck I'm just as crazy as him now!
Oh wait...

He had an excuse
He was drunk
When he hit me

Sounds familiar, funny isn't it..

I have no excuse
I was angry

So why am I so much worse?

Because I wasn't hiding in a bottle???!

I HAVE NO EXCUSE
I WAS ANGRY

At least YOU have a place to hide

I AM JUST ANGRY
AND I WANT TO KICK YOU
UNTIL YOU KNOW
HOW I FEEL!

© Rhiannon Raventhorn, All rights reserved.

The peaceful slumber of tensions released
As another year comes to a close
Such like the gentle death of autumn
Blanketed beneath the calming breasts of a winter snow

A single kiss to seal our fate
As passions seed within
A dancing flame, flows like liquid rain
To tower on molding sands
In regret we do not gain

The leafy sorrow as unfolds
To crystallize again
Soon sun's sweet light will spread its wings
To take flight on hearts dismay

The seething breath of season's tides
Shuts the door, a sunset to the day
And love in time too..
Does fade away

© Rhiannon Raventhorn, All rights reserved.

By pledge, oath, promise
You dutifully swore
To be my defender
My sentinel

No husband
No guardian
No protector you are

You whom so coarsely defile your wife
Abusing the mother of your daughter
Daughter of my mother
Sister of my brothers

I wish you to rot
From core to skin
Every vessel, vein, cell
Decomposing from within

May this memory
Encase, envelope and enclose

Each time your eyes lay upon

Another
wife
daughter
sister
woman
friend

I pray your soul
To writhe inside
Burning guilt plague your mind

You are disgusting, vile, lurking slime

May you lose control
Lose all you hold dear

This declaration
Is a mirror
A mirror reflecting
By you, back to you

May agony be your bed of  unrest
As you attempt to lie your head
Be condemned in worry, woe and wretchedness

For thirteen years you thieved away
Now thirteen life times you will stay

Caught in constraint, confined.

One life per year
You stole away

May punishment,
Torment you
emotional pain

Your own life
You cannot take

These words
You cannot break

In conviction
By my will
My essence, I do so charge

I evict you from my life
Abolish
Discard

© Rhiannon Raventhorn, All rights reserved.

http://storywrite.com/poem/1576657-Warrant-by-argyra-potameides

Like being trapped in brambles
Thorns ripping at your hide
Thrashing about
Feeling there is no way out

The burning sensation
Of your skin pealing off
Or feeling as though
You wish you could

The utter primal rage
To reach out
And pull her throat
Free of her body
And bath joyfully in her blood

As if your stranded
In the center of a gravel road
Barefoot mid-summer
Each grain piercing your tender feet
While you sweat
And carefully find the next step

The dire need of breath
As you fight the weights
Pressing down upon your breasts  ~ 12 APR 2008

© Rhiannon Raventhorn, All rights reserved.

http://allpoetry.com/poem/4119531-The_Texture_of_Jealousy-by-argyra-potameides

He came again
This ancient ghost
Battered by time
Frail, haggard

His eyes...

A distantly faint light
Flickering as a projector
Viewing the movie of his life

Pause, rewind, replay

A handsome youth
Full of heart, flourishing
Bounding through life
Eager to see what lies beyond
What happens next

Fast forward

An apprehensive adolescent
Brandishing roses
Red as the blood in his veins
Pulse pounding as she comes into view
Her smile

Pause

His angel
Heaven in her eyes
Through her lips
Her touch

Play

The proposal
Her spirit danced
She was aglow
They set a date

Fast forward

Something went wrong
The doctor swore
He had done everything
Medically possible
Maternal, fetal mortality

Pause

At her bedside
His wife
His angel
Bled white

Frame by frame

Holding her hand
Limp and cold

Emptiness

Rage

Torment

Guilt

A kiss
Upon frozen lips

He died

His daughter

Perfect

Wrapped in a sheet

He waited
For her to breathe

The nurse
Apologetic

Restlessly paced
Beyond the curtain
To bag the still born fetus

He died

Denied the pride
Of being a father

Fast play

The roses now white
As the gown she wore
His wife
His angel
In her final bed

Friends gravely saying farewell
Attempting to give comfort
For which they had none to give

The days
The nights
Utter anguish
A tortured man

Fast forward

...

...

...

...

He came again
This ancient ghost
Battered by time
Frail, haggard

Slow and steady up the walk
The night
A single red rose in his grasp
His wife and daughter

At their grave
An earthy mourn escaped his throat
Between the two he laid
A single breath

Closing his eyes
He saw
Her smile
As darkness closed in

His beating heart
Beat less,
His journey absolute
He was finally laid to rest   ~12 APR 2008

© Rhiannon Raventhorn, All rights reserved.

I saw a woman standing there
Alone in the crisp night air

The moon full
Brightly highlighting her features
Long hair in the night reminiscent of raven
Rustling in the wind

Her gnarled and twisted fingers
A testament to her years
Love, laughter, heartache and loss
So deeply etched into her face

She spoke, though her lips remained
frozen
In a knowing smile

It was her eyes:

"To the breast I brought you, daughter of my womb.
Drink deeply, for this is my life I pledge you.
Take of me so you may grow. Remember my sacrifice
and of yourself go onward. Pass this I grant you
onto another. I heed a warning, forgetfulness abounds.
Keep me securely in your heart. Speak the legends, pass on
the generations a lineage of their birth. And never forget
to care for me, your mother... earth."     ~ 06 APR 2008

© Rhiannon Raventhorn, All rights reserved.

http://allpoetry.com/poem/4097167-Gaia-by-argyra-potameides