Empty Hands

Sunlight gleams through my tattered blinds

Adorning the room with shadowed lines

Light my hands with the warm sun’s touch

My empty hands that once held so much

 

The hands that tried to heal our world

When anger rose and the feelings swirled

Round and round, sucked through the darkness

They held on tight, they fought the madness

 

They reached to pull you through the days

When things were bad and you were afraid

They nourished your body as well as your soul

To lift you up, to make you whole

 

They built on the foundation laid

When you grew tired, they did not fade

They worked until the break of dawn

Then kept on moving all day long

 

When they reached out, you pushed them back

For all you saw was what they lacked

You slapped them down and turned away

Yet you took what they had at the end of the day

 

These hands held warmth, held love and joy

They had so much to give, never aimed to destroy

But now they lay barren, open palmed on my lap   

Confused at the outcome, their energy sapped

 

They’re reaching for something, for someone to hold

But nothing is there and they can’t stand the cold

Yet as soon as you realize that they’ve finally gone

You want to reach out, you try to hold on

 

But all I can say is it’s done now, my friend

There is nothing left, there is nothing to mend

Nothing to give that could meet your demands

All I have left is my own empty hands

Reviews

[Ama May Cooper]

A poem from the heart deep and emotional, filled with a certain power that takes true skill to weave.
I love the last phrase, a true sense of loss felt by both the reader and author.

[Amber "Victoriomantic" ..]

Lovely poem. Although slightly uneven at times, the pace and rhyme are quiet wonderful, and don't feel forced (as rhyming poems have a penchant to do). I think this would make a great performance poem, because of the emotion, style, passion and the pace/rhyme which I've already mentioned.

[HorrorMaster]

pretty good poem

[Angela]

Lovely, lovely, lovely. Such sorrow and bereftness. Having giving all you have to give. some are givers and some are takers. We givers need to be sure we aren't run barren. So touching. No critique. This is obviously from the heart1

[MissWordSmith]

I'm just going to go ahead and add this to my favorites. There's nothing else to say :)

[akapr17other]

I LOVE the first and third to last stanzas. For some reason they stood out to me. I enjoyed this a lot. Thanks for sharing :)

[Chantel]

This was really, really good...like REALLY good...I don't know what to say besides that...nothing that hasn't been said...but it's REALLY good!!

[Tina Kline]

Desperate and terrible sadness here. Someone emotionally broken. Outstanding write.

[Haifa]

Ohh.. :( but powerful poem.. it makes me sad for some reasons.. but well written. Keep writing.

[Shalini Dinesh]

Very sad poem, but yet beautifully written, the flow of words is well done....