Two cats on a bed
Two cats on a bed Content An empty tea cup Sighing I try to slow time Being present But the cats are present Without trying. C. LJ 2019
Posts
Brave
Though she feels surrounded, Lost in light-scattered haze She steels her heart against the storm, Her mind against the rain Until the clouds pour flower petals And courage colours her face, Hailed luminous with the rising moon, Reminded she is brave. C. LJ Ireton 2019
Company
I'm not alone. My cat is next to me. And her eyes hold Lion prides, Dragon treasure and Tiger stripes - The whole animal kingdom Is curled at my feet Choosing me for company. C. LJ Ireton 2019
Sanctuary
Sanctuary Small, smiling sleepers Worn out from chasing apples Sleep in safety, resting on their mother. My heart is in that straw That the piglets snuggle into A blanket of peace Unlike the others. I’m so happy for a moment But it shouldn’t be momentary Peace should not be isolated, Should not be secondary To suffering as standard, Substandard living – Please give the others Sanctuary. Copyright LJ Ireton 2018
Mermaid
I'm lost on land And breathe in the tide To fill rock pools with light For like calls to like And my stars are the sparks of the Sun, As they strike The surface of my water sky - Constellations I can fly to, Surge and shimmer down through Under water the outside combines Without it I thirst - An island of dust Isolated by the dry divides. Copyright LJ Ireton 2018
Dairy
Dairy What makes humans do these things to cows to get their milk? Some say dairy’s ok because at least There’s no blood spilt - But impregnation by a hand is not the way of the earth To feed humans their babies’ milk Is not why cows give birth Naturally no newborn should be taken from its mother, Tube forced down its throat and its milk given to another Us! Who do not need it Cause a mother cow to cry I don’t know how society Has had this normalized. LJ Ireton 2018
Elsewhere
Elsewhere I sit in Silence But I'm always aware Of the sound of suffering Elsewhere I feel useless I pray for us to Show kindness To the Smallest In our care. Copyright LJ Ireton 2018
Beings
Beings They're frightened. Little hearts beat in alarm Little lives form a death drum - One after one after one They drop off the spectrum Of beings who feel Because humans don't feel It's a problem. So the animals fear, Understand, While humans become numb. Copyright LJ Ireton 2018
OCD (4)
OCD (4) Every thought Followed by Every single footstep Followed by Every thought Is a Slow Concentrated Balance Along a tightrope Belonging To a spiderweb of destruction That could Break With Any single footstep. Copyright LJ Ireton 2018
Species
Species In your eyes I see all eyes Held in different shapes Who feel the same As you do Destined for other fates For what reason? There is no reason To distinguish heart from heart To share a home With one Should pardon The whole And not the part. Copyright LJ Ireton 2018
Reading
Reading I am stuck inside I look out the window and feel worse. Then I look to my side And see my reading book That will transport me beyond this city, Still covered in blankets And I am grateful. Copyright LJ Ireton 2018
Butterfly
Butterfly I peek out of a tiny hole In my cocoon Wondering how they do it - Like they've never known This blanket of doubt Or ugly wings. They fly, They inspire Why does it feel like I have to work Harder? I've glimpsed my colours I know they're there. For this time in the dark, I'm going to make them shine So bright they seem effortless. Perhaps that's what the others Are doing. Copyright LJ Ireton 2018
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve I won't wait for the Midnight turn My Christmas candle still burns And the cats tuck their heads in to curl Into shapes of sleep framed by fur. This is the moment I take Into next year of noise and mistakes These halycon minutes, now made By creatures, contented and safe. I am one of them too So I pray with silent gratitude The night crowds will shout loudly soon But my candle lights up the whole room. Copyright LJ Ireton 2017.
Hatchlings
Hatchlings They do no wrong. They hatch, they cheep And start to look around At scattered egg shells And matching eyes, set In hatchling soft, soft, down That we replicate as fluffy toys And put their image on sale As they are killed and thrown as trash Because they were born male. Copyright LJ Ireton 2018
Fireworks Haiku
Man-made shooting stars Bend their sparkling willow leaves Bow before the Moon Copyright LJ 2017
OCD (3)
OCD (3) You stare Your eyes say done Your brain says not So you stay From the fear that you failed You must undo the knot In your brain To breathe easy You repeat And repeat And you do it again. Copyright LJ 2017