the bitterness wall




I was gathering stones
and each one had a name ....
they were meant for the people
who'd caused me much pain
from childhood and older
I gathered them all
and slowly I built it .... the bitterness wall


for mortar I used
all the lies I'd been told
and teardrops were mixed
so the stones would all hold
from childhood and older
I gathered them all
and slowly I built it ... the bitterness wall


the stones grew so tall
and there wasn't a door
to let me escape
all the years gone before
and the Wall, it surrounded
and smothered my breath
until I saw ashes as tributes to death
of things in the past
now long over ... that's all
and it pens me
and keeps me
this bitterness wall




© ingrid havens-trinka 1993

bang

she put the gun 

next to his head

but something changed her mind

instead

she shot him looks of vengeful grief

'if looks could kill'

was all she said

© ingrid havens-trinka 1993

Honorable Mention Free Verse Poetry Kansas Authors' Contest

                                         joseph and his coat of many colors

maybe if the coat had been

just a little more

low-key ....

you know what I'm saying?

maybe then they woulda

left you alone

i mean, hell, joseph

in L.A., they'll kill you

for a pair of Nikes ....

so what did you expect ?

© ingrid havens-trinka 1995

 

                                                            

8-29-78

..... she died in her sleep

without warning last night

the note wasn't found

until Tuesday ... so right

was her timing

it spared her the pain

of all my excuses

for leaving again .....

                                      © ingrid havens-trinka
                       Second Place Free Verse Poetry Kansas Authors' Contest 1985
                                 

                     

                                                            Codeword: Jesus

the coffin that I shared alone

encased just me .. the only one

there was no room for others there

just me, my hate, fear and despair

the silence echoed wall to wall

down each lonely darkened hall

but no one ever stopped to stare

and no one ever came to care ......

until one night in Hell's own pain

I cried 'my God'

the name I said

was Jesus

in that instant, shackles broke

He touched my heart, and I awoke

to find my coffin rearranged

into an altar ... I was changed !

in that moment, time stood still

the codeword: Jesus

brought His will



                                                      © ingrid havens-trinka

                                                       First Place Rhymed Verse Poetry Kansas Authors' Contest 1985

                                                   

                         friends


the man
and the house
were both so old
nobody was sure anymore
which one
was holding the other one
up/
time
and disease
had eaten both to the bone
one bleeding paint
the other spirit/
nonetheless
they stood for a time
against time


what bothers 
me
is the man's death/
he died
in his sleep
very peaceful they said
just closed his eyes
and went to sleep
and never knew
what hit him/
but how could they
know
what happens
between friends


I think
death
was no stranger
there/
not welcome
but a frequent caller
perhaps put up
in a spare room
on occasion/
and when it came
for him
i think
the man cried out
and the house
rattled down dust
in protest


© ingrid havens-trinka
First Place Free Verse Poetry Kansas Authors' Contest 1991

at the clinic

the keeper

of the blood and white colored sheets

quickly exchanges one for another;

life and death are on the line

those present are required

to write an essay

in twenty five words or less

justifying

all this dying

saline laps at the mouths

of those yet unborn

unsuspecting, they open wide

embryo memories churn through

the spin cycle and on out the drain

and the keeper

of the blood and white colored sheets

simply says 'next'.

© ingrid havens-trinka
First Place Free Verse Poetry Kansas Authors' Contest 1989