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Poetry by Sharon Toner

Sharon Toner | Tuesday, 14 January 2025 | Print

A Moment of Comfort

It was an accident for sure

I thought I’d wash up the cup

Thinking I’d be a good girl

But I was only six then

Climbing up on a chair

At the kitchen sink

Oh my! What a calamity!

I slipped and as I stumbled

I let go of mum’s cup

It smashed with a bang

Right there on the floor

Now I was feeling so forlorn

I gathered up all the pieces

Putting them on the table

Not really knowing what to do

As I sat there looking at them

Kitty came and joined me too

So we both sat there looking

Her snuggled up against me

She knew I was feeling sad

As she showed me some empathy

Then it didn’t feel quite so bad

A moment of comfort helped

So maybe it really wasn’t

Such a calamity after all

For even though it was still broken

All the pieces were there

So perhaps she could glue them

And I could pass her each piece

With all my love and care

It would be my way to help

To show how sorry I really was

And that I was still a good girl

In spite of my accidental fall.

The Lion’s Table

I watch the ice melt in the glass
Reflecting love dying in my heart
For your words repeat over again
Dispersing with unrelenting tears
The sorrow shown in every line
With my eyes still screwed up tight
For I don’t want to miss a moment
It’s like I need to feel this torment
Is it an attempt to self-destruct
Like throwing the contents of a cup
High into the air, to rain down on me
Whilst I’m here, in this endless misery
But I shall be true to myself
True to love, as it drowns itself
With no time to look back to when
My life became isolated from
The crowded towns and crowded streets
Filled with air that’s bittersweet
Unrelenting as it moves through
With every pore and sinew, now uniting
Putting hostile words into writing
But I’ll ask you now to step away
From the lion’s table
Just for today
So you can feel what it is to be without
All your dignity as you shout
Help me now to stem this flow
As love’s bleeding blood just goes
Draining you until you’re numb
Heaven help us
For the time has come
Then still, I watch the ice melt
Like a deck of cards that’s been dealt
Passing each one to the next
Till full circle it engulfs
So be aware, that time just disappears
In the blink of the eye that fears
So allow yourself time to sit and reflect
As the years offer a different kind of intellect
Just be sure you take time out, to pause
For this world we live in, often has a hidden clause
But sometimes all you need to do, is feel
Allowing all life’s natural flow to heal
Reshaping you now from deep inside
Like you’re finally, taking off your disguise
So, lift your head enough to see
As you dig deep now, to keep your dignity
Then allow that smile to light your face
For when beauty is deep within
It’s always full of a delicate grace
Just don’t give your energy to all the doubt
For that’s what grinds you down, day in day out
But I’ll ask you now to step away
From the lion’s table
Just for today
So you can feel what it is to be without
All your dignity as you shout
Help me now to stem this flow
As love’s bleeding blood just goes
Draining you until you’re numb
Heaven help us
For the time has come.