A Mixing Pot of Poems for Thought

By Lauren Stikeleather

A Mixing Pot of Poems for Thought includes stories and insights from Lauren Stikeleather's life as she navigates and draws on the many things she observes to be true in the world and in the people around her. Her poems show how we are all more similar than

• Language: English
• Publisher: New Degree Press
• Release date: Dec 8, 2020
• ISBN: 9781636762548

Book preview

PART I:

THE INGREDIENTS

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Chapter 1

Discovering the Sweet

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Illustration - Chapter 1

Out of Place

In a world that’s made

of souls that’re new,

I find I see things

from a strange point of view,

for my body is new

and fits with the rest,

but my soul is so old

I can’t quite express

the emotions I feel

towards things that I see,

for some things new souls do

just simply aren’t me.

Old souls: we’re loyal—

a bit like a kite:

we belong to one person

and fly at high heights

while knowing we’re anchored

and won’t drift away

despite any wind

that might tear us away.

But new souls have evolved,

to be more like balloons,

not grounded at all

as they float to the moon

with no ties to earth

or the ground that they left—

they travel alone

at a speed that is deft.

It’s peculiar, this difference,

but so very true—

it’s contrasts like this

that divide old and new.

Take the question of love:

does it really exist?

New souls would say no

then give you a list:

-Why love doesn’t work

- Why love is unsound

- How love’s just a word,

not something that’s found.

But I quite disagree

with what they might think,

for in terms of our love,

I believe there’s a link

between all the souls

who trust in the old—

on new and improved

they’re not always sold—

for discounting what brings

such magic to all

makes me think that new souls

live in worlds far too small.

The tragic thing is

new souls are the norm.

The world as a whole

is shrunk to their form—

many modernized minds

that see only skin deep,

who don’t express feelings,

and won’t take a leap

to discover what lies

on the side of the old—

in worlds of the