Eileen Ward Eileen Ward

I wish you were a rock

I wish you were a rock,

Steady and true.

That when push came to shove,

You just wouldn’t move…

I wish you were a rock,

Steady and true.

That when push came to shove,

You just wouldn’t move.

I wish you were a rock,

Constant and sure.

When I would question life,

You’d have an answer.

I wish you were a rock,

Solid and strong.

When I need defending,

You’d stand against wrong.

But you were not a rock,

You were sand on the shore.

Tossed about by things,

In life that allure. 

You were not a rock,

You were a cloud in the sky.

I wanted you to stay,

But you moved swiftly by.

You were not a rock,

You were a wave in the sea.

You didn’t hold me up,

Instead you let me sink.

I thought you’d be my rock,

So I tried to lean on you.

But you were a broken cliff,

Now I lie broken too.

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Eileen Ward Eileen Ward

under the trees

In a forest all alone,

She weeps under the trees.

She tried to walk the path,

But she can’t get off her knees…

In a forest all alone,

She weeps under the trees.

She tried to walk the path,

But she can’t get off her knees.

They’ve buckled under weight,

Invisible to the eyes,

But the pain shows on her face,

Made audible in her cries.

The tears from betrayal,

Are the bitterest to weep.

The wound from one trusted,

Is the deepest cut to bleed.

The most vulnerable of places,

Where a wound would matter most,

Can only be exploited,

By one who was kept close.

On the dark forest floor,

With leaves brown and dead.

Her past and future fall,

With each bitter tear that’s shed.

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Eileen Ward Eileen Ward

falling

My blood rushes out,

But where does it go?

I’m terrified and faint,

My face white as snow…

My blood rushes out,

But where does it go?

I’m terrified and faint,

My face white as snow.

I was standing on a cliff,

That started crumbling.

It caused my feet to slip,

And now I’m stumbling. 

My stomach is dropping,

As I’m falling through the air.

Afraid I will shatter,

It’s the landing I fear.

This feeling that I feel,

It takes over me.

From my face and my fingers,

To my fumbling feet.

My mind cannot think,

My mind was not ready.

Simultaneously I’m,

Too light and too heavy.

This feeling’s so familiar,

I feel it every time.

Like my life’s spilling out,

And leaving me behind.

It’s just like a nightmare,

That I wish wasn’t real.

I’m completely paralyzed,

By this feeling I feel.

I know what it is,

I have felt it before.

This pain in my chest,

That chills to my core.

Something’s been broken,

That cannot be mended.

Something too final,

A life that has ended.

Like a shot to my heart,

The things that I thought,

Could only be one way,

But really they’re not. 

It’s a shock in my bones,

It’s a rip in my soul.

Where the life leaves my body,

Draining through a hole.

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Eileen Ward Eileen Ward

buried alive

With my hands on my face, 

My breath can’t escape,

As I wait for the truth in his words.

I hope they’ll wake me up,

From this sick nightmare but,

They only make the nightmare worse…

With my hands on my face, 

My breath can’t escape,

As I wait for the truth in his words.

I hope they’ll wake me up,

From this sick nightmare but,

They only make the nightmare worse.

My whole world is in question,

“Real” hangs in the tension,

Then drops to the ground like a weight.

In desperation I hold on,

But my reality is gone,

Exchanged for one that I hate.

I’m unable to move,

With new images of you,

Paralyzed from what doesn’t make sense.

You’ve taken my life,

Stabbed it with a knife,

As I undo and redo past events.

My mind spins around,

Every lie tumbles down,

Lifeless memories collapse with my body.

I writhe on the floor,

Agony of the unsure,

This anguish further pounding on me.

With each question I ask,

I hope he takes his words back,

But answers drive the nails in the coffin.

I am buried alive.

Through my bloodshot eyes,

I see only darkness I’m now lost in. 

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Eileen Ward Eileen Ward

instead

Long are the days,

Even longer still the nights.

As I think of all the ways,

You have left me in my fright…

Long are the days,

Even longer still the nights.

As I think of all the ways,

You have left me in my fright.

Abandonment, rejection,

The things you’ve given me,

So that you wouldn’t feel,

Their weight or their sting.

Afraid to face your pain,

You let me bear it instead,

You escaped with your life,

As you left me here for dead. 

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Eileen Ward Eileen Ward

in a tree

On the edge of the woods,

She sits in a tree.

A perspective the house,

Isn’t tall enough to see…

On the edge of the woods,

She sits in a tree.

A perspective the house,

Isn’t tall enough to see. 

Her knife cuts the trunk,

Where she carves out a name.

The tree holds the letters,

And doesn’t complain.

Branches like arms,

Are holding her high.

She stares at the bark,

Through watery eyes.

No one’s below,

It’s quiet up there.

So she sings a little song,

To the wind in the air.

She waits for the sun,

To fade underneath.

Then makes the descent,

She can’t live in a tree.

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Eileen Ward Eileen Ward

do not speak

Do not speak to me of joy,

Do not utter words of peace.

Let my heart lament,

Let me enter into grief…

Do not speak to me of joy,

Do not utter words of peace.

Let my heart lament,

Let me enter into grief.

Do not point now to the good,

Do not tell me to be strong.

The tears that blur my eyes,

Only filter what went wrong.

You live above the clouds,

Encouraged by the light.

But dark surrounds me now,

I know only of the night.

Do not speak of courage,

Do not utter words of hope.

My ears refuse to listen,

Those words were lies you spoke.

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Eileen Ward Eileen Ward

keep my heart alive

Keep my heart alive,

It’d be easier if it died.

But what good can come, from going numb?

My heart’s already tried…

Keep my heart alive,

It’d be easier if it died.

But what good can come, from going numb?

My heart’s already tried.

Keep my heart bleeding,

Even if I’m barely breathing.

Though I’d rather sit, and call it quits,

Keep my heart beating.

Keep my heart awake,

Even if it’s just to break.

A little farther, help me father,

I fear it is too late. 

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Eileen Ward Eileen Ward

sleep

It’s time for me to rest,

It’s time for some relief.

The time when my mind,

Can finally sleep…

It’s time for me to rest,

It’s time for some relief.

The time when my mind,

Can finally sleep.

But that’s all changed now,

That’s no longer the case.

If I’m looking for rest,

That’s no longer the place.

It should be my solace,

Where one can find peace.

But that gift was taken,

And stolen from me.

Now it’s full of things,

Like unknowns and “what if”s,

Like memories and pains,

Questions, and guesses. 

I long for my rest,

I long for release.

Now it’s just a bed,

Where I once used to sleep.

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Eileen Ward Eileen Ward

void

Restore unto me,

That which was lost.

The gift that was mine,

That was stolen and tossed…

Restore unto me,

That which was lost.

The gift that was mine,

That was stolen and tossed.

How can I recover?

Who can renew?

Who can repair?

It has to be you.

The cavern inside,

My bottomless pit,

I fall down forever,

I’ll never reach the end of it.

How can there be light,

In a void, in a hole?

There is only night,

In my heart, in my soul. 

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Eileen Ward Eileen Ward

scraps

Father, I’m hungry,

I’m desperate to eat.

If the food on the table,

Is not meant for me,

Please give me the scraps,

That fall underneath…

Father, I’m hungry,

I’m desperate to eat.

If the food on the table,

Is not meant for me,

Please give me the scraps,

That fall underneath.

For I struggle to feel,

As though I deserve,

The rights to heal,

When others are worse.

So please, by all means,

Heal them, they need it.

When the table is clean,

I’ll take what’s beneath it.

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Eileen Ward Eileen Ward

river grief

This river of grief,

So wide and so deep.

Rushing, overwhelming,

Waves pound and they beat…

This river of grief,

So wide and so deep.

Rushing, overwhelming,

Waves pound and they beat.

I drown in this water,

Completely consumed.

Underneath these rapids,

I plummet, entombed.

I can’t rise above,

The pull is too great.

Lungs without air,

Yet my life it won’t take.

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Eileen Ward Eileen Ward

mirror

No one is as cruel,

As the girl in the mirror.

She says the rudest things,

As she looks on in horror…

No one is as cruel,

As the girl in the mirror.

She says the rudest things,

As she looks on in horror.


Her words full of scorn,

She’s vicious and she’s vile.

She won’t even hesitate,

To ridicule my smile.


It’s hard to imagine,

Anyone so mean.

But she points and she says,

That she hates everything.


I’ve known her for so long,

I’m used to her by now.

But it seems as of late,

She’s become rather loud.


She makes new discoveries,

She finds things to hate.

Her eyes that search me,

Are filled with disdain.


She’s harsh to my face,

Like she doesn’t even care.

She knows I can hear her,

She sees me standing there.


Sometimes it’s a whisper,

Sometimes she will scream.

But no matter how she says it,

It’s only ever mean.


I’ve tried to find a different girl,

To look back at me.

But no matter the mirror,

The same girl I always see.

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Eileen Ward Eileen Ward

think less

Please catch all my sorrows,

Please gather my tears.

I’m afraid if you don’t,

I’ll be forever stuck here…

Please catch all my sorrows,

Please gather my tears.

I’m afraid if you don’t,

I’ll be forever stuck here.


This place is too sad,

And I’m all by myself.

Grab hold of my memories,

And quiet my doubts.


I’m surrounded by hurts,

My heart is so troubled.

I’ve tried to escape,

But you know how I’ve struggled.


Where do I go now?

I’m lost on this journey.

Come find me, my love,

I’m broken and hurting.


Come save me from,

Myself and my mind.

The thoughts that I think,

Are cruel and unkind.


Please set me straight,

On a path with your light.

I’ve been trapped in the dark,

And I’ve lost all my sight,


Of your hope and your joy,

They feel so far off.

Can you bring me these things,

Can you make them my thoughts?


Come be with me here,

You’re all that I need.

Help me think about you,

And think less about me.

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Eileen Ward Eileen Ward

rock hard

Hard as a rock,

I’m cold and I’m tough.

My insides are just like my outsides,

They’re rough...

Hard as a rock,

I’m cold and I’m tough.

My insides are just like my outsides,

They’re rough.

Solid and stoic,

You can’t make me move.

Set here for good,

I don’t budge, I refuse. 

Sharp to the touch,

I cannot be shifted.

Weighing too much,

Too much to be lifted.

Just leave me alone,

Get going, get gone.

You can’t get to me,

You need to move on.

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Eileen Ward Eileen Ward

tears

You say you collect,

Every tear that is cried,

But what about the ones,

Still stuck down inside?

You say you collect,

Every tear that is cried,

But what about the ones,

Still stuck down inside?

My sadness is broken,

The tears just won’t come,

Swallowed long ago,

When my sadness went numb.

What if my tears,

Turned themselves into smiles?

Both now are lost,

To incessant denials. 

Neither will come forth,

They no longer trust,

Me or my emotions,

So they both stay stuck.

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