{"id":5996,"date":"2018-03-14T03:03:55","date_gmt":"2018-03-14T08:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/?p=5996"},"modified":"2020-09-04T05:16:41","modified_gmt":"2020-09-04T10:16:41","slug":"walls-temptations-hold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/walls-temptations-hold\/","title":{"rendered":"Walls and Temptation’s Hold"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Caroline Bardwell<\/a><\/h2>\n

Two Poems<\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

Walls<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Everywhere I look there are walls
\nreal – and imagined
\nThey serve a purpose
\nWe cannot survive without them
\nDefining lines of ownership
\nBearing loads
\nHolding up roofs
\nEstablishing structure, groups, order
\nto the chaos and sprawl
\nAllowing growth
\nBuilding up and out
\nAscending to new heights
\nCreating new vantage points
\nProtecting the inside from the outside
\n–and vice versa
\nWhich is the safer place to occupy?
\nInside or outside?
\nYour side
\nMy side<\/p>\n

Who decides their placement?
\nWhat materials to use?
\nWhat if a mistake was made?
\nWill someone admit it?
\nIs there a right way and wrong way?
\nYour way
\nMy way
\nLeft way
\nRight way
\nHis way
\nHer way
\nBlack way
\nWhite way
\nIs there room for failure?
\nHow about improvement?
\nIs the first choice permanent?
\nOr can they be changed?
\nAre they made of straw or sticks or brick?
\nAre they lined with barbed wire?
\nCan you see through them
\nto the other side?
\nCan they withstand the elements?
\nEarth, Wind, Fire, Water
\nAre they built on sand or stone?
\nA house divided cannot stand<\/p>\n

I scan the horizon for doors
\nWindows
\nCracks
\nCan we pass through freely?
\nWhat about our thoughts?
\nOur words?
\nThose of others?
\nCan they?
\nShould they?
\nIs there a toll?
\nDo we know the purpose of the walls?
\nOr who built them?
\nDid I erect them?
\nDid you?
\nDo we say, well they\u2019ve always been there\u2026?
\nDo I even notice them?
\nDo you?
\nAm I passing judgment?
\nAre you?
\nIs the wall in my mind?
\nIs it a prison?
\nAm I free?
\nAm I taking care of my property?
\nAm I keeping the sunlight out
\nto protect myself from darkness?<\/p>\n

When it\u2019s too much for me —
\nto keep them from falling down
\nor to scale them —
\ndo I ask for help?
\nDo I know where to start?
\nDo I help ease my neighbor\u2019s load
\nWhen they stumble?
\nOr when their walls are crumbling?
\nOr am I too busy defending my territory?
\nAm I inflicting pain in the process?
\nDistractedly unaware,
\nI ask the builder
\nNot my job, he says
\nI ask the mason
\nNot my job, he says
\nI ask the plumber, the electrician, the banker
\nNot my job, they say
\nI look at the blueprints more closely
\nI see the fine print
\nMy house, my life, my car, my keys
\nMy choices
\nYour choices
\nGod\u2019s hands
\nGod\u2019s grace
\nHis people
\nEvery single human being
\nDry bones breathed full of life
\nSouls from the same source
\nBleeding the same color
\nCrying the same tears<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Temptation's<\/p>\n

Temptation’s Hold<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Nobody’s a stranger
\nto the intoxicating pull,
\nthe magnetic attraction
\nthat originates
\nfrom one whiff of the scent
\nfrom that poisonous siren
\ncalled Temptation.<\/p>\n

It starts off slowly,
\nbuilding up from a low hum
\ndown in my toes,
\nwarming each muscle
\nas it climbs upward,
\nbuzzing louder
\nas time ticks by –
\nstroking the hips,
\ngrasping the heart,
\ncaressing the shoulders…<\/p>\n

Distracted,
\nthe decibels in my mind
\nincreasing in volume
\nwith each passing minute,
\nthe heat radiating outward
\ngenerated from my internal battle.
\nSheer will against the sensuous grip
\nof her searching fingertips,
\nclosing around my neck right
\nbefore she wears down
\nmy last defense.<\/p>\n

How many years had to pass
\nof failing to resist
\nbefore I could see
\nwhat was there all along?
\nThat the secret to winning
\nthe wrestling match
\ncould not be found within myself.<\/p>\n

Relying upon a power
\nmuch higher than I
\nwas my only chance.
\nI had to slow down, step
\nback, broaden
\nmy view to take in
\nthe entire battlefield
\nnot partial glimpses,
\nno longer only considering
\nwhat is plainly seen
\nbut also sensing
\nthe forces that are not.<\/p>\n

Knowing with all certainty
\nthat nothing is conquerable
\non my strength alone
\nand that fierce flame
\ncalled Temptation
\ndoes not stand a chance
\nonce I put on the armor
\nlaid out before me
\nbefore I was placed
\nin my mother’s womb.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

Caroline Bardwell<\/strong> writes poetry to explore and express her faith. Her work ranges from longer forms of free verse to traditional forms (sonnets, villanelles, haiku\/tanka). She also writes about nature and emotional experiences.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Caroline Bardwell Two Poems<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"quote","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[142,180,97,16],"class_list":["post-5996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-quote","hentry","category-poetry","category-uncategorized","tag-contemplative","tag-introspection","tag-poem","tag-romance","post_format-post-format-quote"],"yoast_head":"\nWalls and Temptation's Hold | Faith Hope & Fiction<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Walls and Temptation's Hold \u2013 two works of poetry from Caroline Bardwell explore many insightful aspects of walls, whether real or imagined, and the ongoing battle against temptation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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