Hidden Rose... Poem by Betty Jo Hilger

His soul, a churning maelstrom of emotion
A swirling storm of hurricane strength winds
Thoughts existing, twisted, knotted cords of pain
He drowns in the beginning, at the end

Time is undefined, a tempest of his mind
Where memory has painted all he views
With swirling rainbow colors, bleeding life and love
Blurring bands of reason, multihued

Distorted and awry, he’s scertain he will die
If he cannot rise above the gale
Yet, crippled by his past, in fire his heart was cast
He cannot tell the difference should he win, or should he fail

Love and pain, all feel the same,
Confused, he cannot clarify his mind
Shades of muddied color shining brightly in the night
He wonders if he ever will be able to define

Golden love from midnight hate
Crimson pain from pink delight
Chartreuse hope from blue despair
Violet joy from emerald care

Eddies spin out of control as he is sinking ‘neath the flow
Roiling mix, just seems to blend in painted lines which do not end
He struggles ever to the rim, a constant conflict just to swim
He cannot know his only hope is to surrender, just to float

For at the center of his storm, within his unseen eye
There is a treasure within reach, hovering beneath his sight

A pristine bloom, a bud of peace, serenity far off, yet close
To find asylum from turmoil, he has to become vulnerable
For only then will he be near the blossom of affection
Where he can love, where he can breathe…
accepting his reflection…

to smell the rose