In the great maw of space, where the dead now belong

Lies the wreck of a world premature in its fall

It's wrapped up in the stories that turned into song

From the people who answered the great siren's call

The faces of lost ones stand out in our minds

In the great maw of space, where the dead now belong

With the ashes spread out, blending all different kinds

And the people left mourning all strive to be strong

We have traveled to right what we know are our wrongs

And have lost so much more in what we left behind

In the great maw of space, where the dead now belong

We are hoping redemption is what we will find

The remains of a species lost out in vast night

We now call to the dead with our sharp, keening song

But - even here in our journey, we're lost to our plight

In the great maw of space, where the dead now belong

(c) 2018 Miriam Ruff

I wonder what I'll do alone

My world has turned away from me

I feel like I'm a senseless drone

In times of grief our hearts bleed tears

Where have you gone that I can't come

A place that I can't even see

Inside, a stirring like a hum

In times of grief our hearts bleed tears

Ashamed I am my eyes are dry

I can't release my deepest fears

In solitude I wonder why

In times of grief our hearts bleed tears

Please tell me how I find my way

Release the sorrow inside me

The darkest moments seize the day

In times of grief our hearts bleed tears

(c) 2018 Miriam Ruff

I didn't know that I was looking

My heart found you without me

An instant warmth and connection

A rose's full blush

Please be mine

I'm yours

Always

Within the wind there blows a seed of life

It looks for fertile soil to set down

Though nature's forces always bring it strife

It first skirts out the edges of a town

A ploy to find the safest place to land

It looks for fertile soil to set down

With one quick puff it heads off to a strand

Of purple flowers nestled 'round a hill

A ploy to find the safest place to land

Yet - the air is never quiet, never still

The seed shoots o'er its target, hitting rock

Not purple flowers nestled 'round a hill

The hardened surface seems to be a block

To where the seed must go to take its root

New life shot o'er its target, hitting rock

Yet 'tween the crack in rocks there sprouts a shoot

And with the wind there grows a seed of life

It's gone to where the seed must take its root

Though nature's forces always bring it strife

(c) 2018 Miriam Ruff

A terzanelle for today's contemplation, with certain liberties taken with the form.

There be dragons out here beyond the hills

Some as old as time but with us still

Giant wings, outstretched, do beat the air

Moving whole, great herds from here to there

Taking flight as if by force of will

Flames shoot out from each large, wide nostril

Roaring fire that stretches beyond the rills

While the creatures retreat to their safe lairs

There be dragons

Once the keening begins, it can oft be shrill

With the ruffling of dragons' shaking frills

It's a sound that would cause anyone to be scared

No one moves any closer, as if they would dare

Learning how to maneuver around them takes skill

There be dragons

(c) 2017 Miriam Ruff

Drowned in silence, accusations slide

Thwarted hopes and futures now belied

Tell me what I feel and I'll say naught

Through screaming shame and anger it has brought

None can see the dark I feel inside

Once my life seemed bright and open wide

Since attacked I've tossed each night and cried

I will not feel safe until he's caught

Drowned in silence

Asking me to tell has made me lie

I can't find the strength deep down inside

Into stigma I have truly bought

But look at all the turmoil it has wrought

Tell me when will end this hellish ride

Drowned in silence

(c) 2017 Miriam Ruff

[Inspired by the third season of "Broadchurch".]

The metal that surrounds us is so thin

It's all we hope that it will shield us well

The winds of space have stories left to tell

We must ride out if they are to begin

The gravity we've left is absent in

This cold, dark space where fears we can't quite quell

What mysteries will wrap us like a shell

We move to greet them like they were our kin

A hundred years from now it all will change

Such travel will become quite commonplace

The metal shells we'll live in won't seem strange

The frozen air we'll bring will give us range

And in the darkness we'll carve out our space

Our life of wandering we won't exchange

(c) 2017 Miriam Ruff