Unleashed with salty tread,
My tears fall silently,
Enough to drown in added together,
Sorrow piled up by the roadside outside my house,

As it can’t contain the amount sent,
I use all my strength,
Batten the doors,

Try to keep out,
Howling black phantoms,
Worries and doubt,

But they slip in through the keyhole,
Take me by surprise with their power towering over me,

I try to kick them out,
But they are too much for me,
I can hear their laughter,
At my pain, self-doubt.

Wringing wet I lie in my salty bath,
Thieves robbed me of all that I love,
I am stranded on my island,
Cut off from the mainland,
Unable to swim,
Do I stay here and starve?
Or strike out and drown?

I can feel their vice-like grip pulling me down,
Into the pit they inhabit,
My hands clawing at the sides of a deep crevasse,
As they mock me through mirrored glass.

(c) Copyright 2016 Joy S. J. Edwards

“I started writing poetry three years ago and I don’t really have one theme as a favourite. Inspiration can strike me from many sources, sometimes just a couple of words spoken by a friend is enough to create a verse or two. I have been shortlisted a couple of times in poetry competitions.” – Joy