Enlightenment

My mom and her two grandsons; my nephews.

I have just spent a little over three weeks with my mom and my younger sister in a town where I know no one but the two of them. I have been trying to be someone that I sincerely thought I wanted to be for years now, but it always left me taking for granted the people closest to me: my family. When I found out that what I thought was only going to be a one to two-week visit was actually my staying there for the remainder of my summer, I was annoyed that I would have to leave my friends and plans behind. In arriving, though, I figured that I could make the best out of it. After only a few days, the relationship between my sister and me began to mend itself, and my mom and I began again a new relationship. One that had been delayed because of me. We proceeded to have fun doing simple things like watching movies from my mom's gargantuan collection, playing Sorry!, and shooting each other with sarcastic insults, as any good blood relative in my family would do. During the day, while my mom was working, my sister and I would blast music and be silly, take pictures, clean up, and make dinner. Throughout the day we would talk about things that we never got the chance to do together, once again because I took her, my family, for granted. While those two were asleep, I spent late nights on the phone with either of the two

My beautiful sister.

people outside my blood line who have proven they love me for who I am. Amongst all of this, I finally came to the realization of what I have done wrong in my life so far. I no longer need the people I thought I had before, as I had been proven wrong. I know now the ones who have always been there are still there, even when I didn't seen them before. I have been enlightened this summer; I know who I want to be not only physically, but personally, mentally, and emotionally, as well. I can't ignore what is in front of me anymore, but instead I will appreciate it before I lose it. At 20 years old, I feel more whole than I ever have before. You're never too young or too old to see and appreciate with sincerity what you have.


I know this isn't exactly a "creative splurge," but my last day with my mom and my sister, Rachel, is tomorrow, and these passed few days have hit me hard with overwhelming emotions and realizations. I love my family more than my words could hope to express. I hope this touches someone out there and helps their heart to feel the love that already surrounds them.

Audrey Lynn

Electricity

 

Soft to the touch are the hands I stroke,
My fingers curling and intertwining with his,
Caressing every inch, memorizing each
Curve, crevice, and movement.

Beneath such gentle skin lies the calluses
Formed from pressure and consequence,
Broken blisters of past regret, scars
Visible only to the mind that brushes them.

Still my fingertips kiss the skin with a
Passion that hardly words can speak of,
A stroke so rich, when our hands meet,
The sensation could only be electricity.

Audrey Lynn

Hold on to Your Radiance

Unhappiness, discontentment, dissatisfaction, disappointment: all will make contact with one's heart. None will make an appearance without the company of another. In those moments of indefinite vulnerability, all will strike in one blow in an attempt to seize any light and smother it. Falling into this sense of darkness will only augment the difficulty to see a sliver of light in such a thick-walled prison. One must push away the fear of loss and inability and let the radiance of his heart lead the way back to a brilliant dawn. Don't lose grip of a positive scope.

The Race

Running along the edge.
Pebbles tearing naked feet.
Bricks flying in pursuit.
Closing on their target.

Legs pumping rapidly.
Oxygen hastily circulating.
Adrenaline cascading within.

Knees buckle.
Race lost.

Defeat?

Audrey Lynn

Corruption Lingers

Innocence is brought into the world at birth, but at some point, corruption begins to singe each nerve. Soon, a fire burns, hidden behind a broken compass. Over time, the compass is either mended or left to deteriorate. If left to rust, the stagnant corruption will break free, creating a monster of agony. This creature is in every one of us, waiting to be exposed. But we can teach ourselves and each other how to mend the compass inside each of us. We all have a choice; we can choose what kind of person we want to be. You can choose to conquer corruption.

This picture is of my gorgeous, now one year old, nephew.

Tent City

I was out one day, and someone very dear to me was showing me around the parts in downtown St. Louis where the homeless live. We ended up walking along the river, as he intended to show me Tent City. And it is just that, a little city made of varying tents. These can be camping tents, or a makeshift house made from what's around, and people reside there. The thing about inner St. Louis is that it used to be gorgeous. Classic architecture, booming businesses, simply a wonderful place. Now it is left to ruins; the place is crawling with abandoned buildings, factories, and railroads, and covered in graffiti. Despite this, it was a memorable adventure. I was given a chance to glimpse how people survive when they have little to nothing. As we were walking back, we both saw a simple message graffitied onto a wall, "Everything was beautiful...." Needless to say, we had to photograph it. It says so much in those three words. Just imagine what could have been. How much hope is left in that little city that things could once again be beautiful? What are you willing to do to feed that hope?

Shadow of the Moon

My fingers remain unmoved,
the pen runs dry,
the pencil crumbles away;
my silent words empty.

The sweet composition
of conception settles gently
underneath a white light
and clear shadows.

Within the depths
lies a buried purity
between each heart and soul;
from here poetic reflections fall.

Such words speak of age,
questioning growth in wisdom, fear.
Enigmas hidden behind guilty
shadows of the subconscious, revealed.

Forgotten secrets, lost in nightfall,
uncovered each evening by pure
light as my words descend
from the shadow of the moon.

Audrey Lynn

Master Flame, Teach Me to Burn

The water burns,
   but the fire does not cool.
Instead they work together,
   carving streaks of third
      degree burns into my skin.
They shorten my match
   yet feed my flame;
      they teach me to strike,
         quickly and unsuspecting.
My scarred face learns to show
   no emotion as I make you fall,
      engulfed in flame and
         suffocating in water.

Audrey Lynn

Bloody Opaque Sky

A poem to start this off...

The trail ahead is a

trend of gray scale,
a smokey sky spattered
with drops of blood.

Beneath traveling feet
are jagged fragments,
never leaving a smooth
surface to step upon.

A pawn is forced forward
despite its better judgment.
Footsteps later debris is flying,
blood gushing into the smoke.

No other option but to be
pushed along a broken gray
road awaiting further
destruction of the body.

The light, any light, is gone.
Eyes venture, trying to see past
the opaque sky but succeeding
only in ceaseless despair.

The sound of soaring metal
whizzes past sensitive ears.
Drums explode internally, blood
cascading down a neck, bare chest.

The pawn travels onward,
finally stopping in a stupor.
A single ray of brilliance
reflects off a red body.

The first light such pale skin
has seen in surrounding gray,
it shines off floating waste
and engulfs the beaten pawn.

The red spattered smoke wipes
clean the soaking skin,
reviving the wounds and
deepening the crimson sky.

Restriction looming overhead,
feet moving as summoned,
legs become more secure
to veer off to their own path.

The sharpness beneath the feet
clears away and the smoke
fades to a translucent curtain
in front of resolved eyes.

The wind picks up heavily,
wrapping around and around,
shielding the body as it
takes the first fearless side-step.

Audrey Lynn

Hi guys! I'm new at this, but I hope you enjoy what you see!