Guest Poet of the Month – Maureen Turner

Guest Poet:  March

Every month I shall be posting a poem/article from a guest blogger.  If you are interested in becoming a guest blogger on this blog, please note your interest on the comments section below or email me at claire@murraypeople.com

May I introduce you to a wonderful and talented poet, Maureen Turner.  I know you will love Maureen’s work, she is such a beautiful and heartfelt writer.

Maureen Turner

Maureen Turner
Maureen Turner

Having had tragic circumstances to deal with in my life with the sudden loss of my twin brother, husband and father all within a close space of time, I felt I had to write down some of my thoughts in the form of a poem to try and give me strength to get through such sad times, I feel that poetry helped me express my emotions and hopefully will encourage others to read them and take strength from them to carry on each day and look at every day as a blessing, I now try and look at life in a more positive way and have realised that through time we all get stronger.

Happiness

In our lives the sun may shine, some days I wonder why not in mine. with a spring in your step, you go about your day, but what about those who are not made that way. 

Sharing your laugh and sharing your smile, means a lot to those who haven’t felt that in a while, they say try to be bubbly, try to be fun, but that’s really hard when you live a life where there is no sun. 

Look in the mirror say what you see, tell yourself is that really me,the frown on my face those unlit eyes, what happened to that smile that could light up the skies.

 Pick yourself up get back on track, watch out my girl or you’ll take a step back.  So here I am smiling today and I have to tell myself ‘there is no other way’.

Copyright:  Maureen Turner 

Maureen has created a beautiful ebook of her own poems and if you would like to know more about Maureen’s work, please email me at claire@murraypeople.com and I will certainly put you in touch with her.

Best Friend

I got some really good news in the post today, one of my poems ‘Best Friend’, has been selected to appear in a new poetry book ‘Painting with Words’, soon to be published. The book will be available in all good bookshops worldwide and will be kept in the British Library and in other libraries across the UK.  I am even more so delighted because of what the poem is about and its heartfelt significance.  My mum’s dog, Ben, sadly lost its life to cancer this year, mum had Ben for over 14 years and she got him immediately after my dad had died of cancer.  When my siblings and I flew the nest, Ben was the greatest comfort to my mum, both of them went everywhere together.  The passing of Ben was extremely painful for my mum and she asked me if I would write a poem about him – this poem ‘Best Friend’, is the poem that will be published in the book and I have dedicated it to my mum and Ben.  This is the poem ‘Best Friend’ below:

Best Friend

My life filled with sadness, when you had to go

I held off and held off, but the pain was starting to show.

I loved you so much, you were my best friend

The best of companions, until the very end.

I look at your photos, from the early days

I remember your vitality, your boisterous ways.

Full of energy, you gave life everything

A gentle giant and protection you did bring.

I’m no longer sad, I’m happy it’s true

I know you are safe and the angels have you.

I still feel your presence, in a strange kind of way

Like you’re watching over me, every single day.

Our bond was so rare, you gave me comfort when I was low

Your eyes had such a sparkle, a special kind of glow.

And when we were together, everyone could see

This was a partnership, that was always meant to be.

I will always love you, nothing will take your place

In my heart is your spirit, and in my mind your loving face.

This experience has made me stronger, and good things will come from this

But one thing is for sure, I’m not replacing you with a goldfish.

Specially dedicated to my wonderful Mum and Ben, I love you.  

poemsbyclarabelle, 25 February 2012

If you enjoy what you read here on this blog, you may be interested in borrowing for FREE and/or purchasing one of Clarabelle’s self-published inspirational poetry ebooks available to download now on Amazon Kindle, please refer to the Author page on this blog or click HERE