This poem by Vickie Walker was an entry in The Good Oil Writers’ Award, which has the dual purpose of supporting and encouraging the development of aspiring and published writers.

Finding My Voice

I look into the distance of my past
to seek the answers that I need,
to seek some clue from where I’ve been
for who I am and where I’m going.

I see moonbeams rising –
filtered light on waters deep;
Dark shadows, coloured streaks,
patches of warm sun, friendships lost and won.

Love’s golden chords filled my heart
Memories etched in my mind;
Shadows fell – sorrow, grief, loss
Tears at times rivered and flowed.

Calm days on blue waters, silent, still
Treacherous falls to deep, dark troughs of despair
Climbed to far horizons, met the joyous sun
Lived, laughed and was happy.

Explorations of unfound ground
Unearthed treasures of the imaginings,
Sought the world and it sought me
Adventures, excitement, shed my shell.

I see my highs and my lows
in the distance of my past.
I see the errors and the faults
And the times my mind retreated.

Yet – there is a sense of rightness,
of all things working out.
There’s the sense of a loving, helping hand
reaching out and enfolding me.

I’ve found my past, I’ve found my now
Found the answers that I sought,
And know that over the distance of my future,
All will be as it should be.