This spiteful world abated,
Its jagged cruelty and harsh laughter,
The icy stares and sullen silences,
Its hardness and hate
All that once tormented
Overcome, replaced
With your soft touch
That pierces and pleads.
Say goodbye to your hard walls
And memories of the torment
When you were young.
The tricks and blows and dirty names,
The last to be chosen on the playground,
Tears bitterly wept in those sleepless nights,
The good night kisses that ended when you were small.
For you did not know
The joy of a gentle voice,
Your life
Lived for so many years
In a wilderness
Of hate.
But then I met you,
The two of us battered and broken,
Hope, even distant, beckoning where pain once ruled,
The feel of your skin beneath my tender hands,
The soft touch of your lips upon mine.
Say hello to hope and the fastness of love,
Embracing the alternative to lonely and alone.
For we have known the hard and heartless
And discovered in one another’s arms what
Many rarely do.
About the Creator
John Cox
Family man, grandfather, retired soldier and story teller with an edge.
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
Comments (13)
This brought tears to my eyes...how utterly lovely :) You did this challenge justice. Wonderful work!
Truly beautiful and raw. Full of healing and hope 👌
Hi John - I've been wanting to say. You so impress me how you can hop from Poignant to Scarry with a little wrist action of your pen; I admire that. I've been co-writing a 'Children's' story with one of our VillageBucket Authors - Way out of my Wheelhouse - as I'm certain you've noticed about my 'Goof Writing' and Comic sketches. I'm just having fun with it all, as I see that you are, too at this stage. Best, j.in.l.a.
This is beautiful, John. A tribute to true love, despite the scars brought. Wonderful piece.
A beautiful take & such a blessing.
Awww John, this was so sweet, emotional and extremely touching! So SO wonderful! I loved it!
This is a really beautiful entry, John 👌🙏🤍✨
Wow! I'm so glad you found each other!😊
You're right, in reply to your other comment, that I shall reply to in due time - I did ask for it and boy, am I glad I did. I love how you soothed out all the roughness and turned it into an inspirational love piece about your wife. I do hope you read this to her. It is so genuinely lovely...no annoying half-baked emotions...just pure, lived, real, felt. Loved it, thank you for taking part John and thank for you putting forward such a stunning piece of poetry. I am very humbled so far by the entries and the quality.
I need to go back and read Paul's to see what you've done properly! I also need to have a go at this myself at some point ...
For the remix inspiration visit Paul's poem A Farewell to Smooth https://vocal.media/poets/a-farewell-to-smooth
Oh, John, I know this is dedicated to your wife, and it is so so good. It's beyond good. Just beautiful. I'm tearing up just reading it! (In a good way, though!)
"The goodnight kisses that ended when you were small" gets me where I live. Great line, John!