Scars
Your scars never need repair,
A steady hand in your hair.
Fear doesn’t live within walls,
Demons buffed within its halls.
We both have our own storm,
Power gains, controls form.
Light in the starry twilight sky,
Protection woven in albeit shy.
Twilight begins with love’s dew,
This will start something new.
Shadows loosening their grip,
Soft kiss against tender hip.
Strength comes without force,
Space to be free within course.
Tracing circles on tender backs,
Drying tears on faded cracks.
Carried courage without tracks,
Burdens drop, shoulders relax.
In the weight of secure love,
It fits on you just like a glove.
I’ll protect you, in fire and flame,
Your heart never is the same.
I’ll be the shield to your soul,
Scars once present, they roll.
© Dereck Pritchard, 2025. All Rights Reserved. Okay to share in full with clear credit to the author. Partial excerpts require written permission.
Darkness Failed
Darkness comes at night and day now,
Thief of Joy, crept during daylight’s vow.
Helpless sorrows in thoughts of my mind,
Can I toe the line, glow through fire in kind.
Pain as Armor, scars as a shield, unshaken,
Late night tears, dark hues of blue, awaken.
Years blind gone by, without a sound,
Music turns blood into dust in the ground.
Pick up the jagged pieces where I fell apart,
Life grants not always linear, just be smart.
Where would you be without life so numb,
Not time to throw the towel, for a crumb.
Darkness failed to break me, at my lowest,
Light still off, beginning I not yet knowest.
Just hold this pain wrapped in final form,
Don’t you start to listen when it is the norm.
Succumbing to Darkness, Not an Option,
Guard heart from Pain, Need the Caution.
Fuck this sorry feeling, fuck this loud drain,
You will rise through ash, with scars of pain.
Maybe a Phoenix, scorched but still rising,
Worth not broken, no need disguising.
This cycle shall pass, a brief dove in flight,
Promise flickers, then fades into night.
Perhaps black tortoise won’t hide his shell,
Dragging through silence, its own hell.
Healing pain is rarely linear, leaving pain,
Without wounds, deepening clarity slain.
© Dereck Pritchard, 2025. All Rights Reserved. Okay to share in full with clear credit to the author. Partial excerpts require written permission.
Crimson Roses, Hues of Blue
Crimson roses, gentle hues of blue,
Each moment with you feels refreshingly new.
Your smile brightens my life, your touch soothes my nights.
In your embrace, I’ve discovered love’s delights.
Your eyes, like stars, sparkle in the dark,
Guiding me through, even without a spark.
Your voice, a sweet melody, pure and true,
Expressing your love in all that you do.
Our hearts beat together, in perfect time,
In this dance of love, forever you’re mine.
With every new day, my love for you grew,
Crimson roses, gentle hues of blue, I’ll cherish forever, just being with you.
© Dereck Pritchard, 2024. All Rights Reserved. Okay to share in full with clear credit to the author. Partial excerpts require written permission.
Perchance to Dream
Shadow figures from depths below,
Clawing at me with blades so slow.
Teeth grinding, whispers of fear,
Echoes in shade, drawing near.
Lost in a maze, no escape,
Bound by horrors draped shape.
Lush gardens where hopes renew,
Bright with moss, this my view.
River flows with unbridled call,
Hoping to take, hoping to stall.
Guiding through dreams reprieve,
This place creates for us to believe.
Soft shade drift in tranquil haze,
Some matte gray in this place.
In this space, no fear or cheer,
Just the still calm, nothing clear.
This void where time is still,
A chance to dream, without frill.
With each dawn echoes stay,
Sunlight waking, this is the day.
Reality bends to shapes anew,
By the dream we once knew.
Memories bend to dreams cast,
In dream lights grasp, hold fast.
Portrait of the mind takes shape,
Bewitched promise with escape.
Dusk with dawn begins to entwine,
Weaving through soul’s design.
Fragments of the world unseen,
Creating truths, perchance to dream.
© Dereck Pritchard, 2024. All Rights Reserved.
Okay to share in full with clear credit to the author. Partial excerpts require written permission.
Beneath the Pale Moon
Dark skies swell with restless crows,
the pale moon rests like a coin on velvet,
stars lean close, murmuring in cold light.
Shadows stretch thin across the earth,
under the moon’s steady, unblinking eye.
I walk the road, chasing something unnamed.
Reflections rise from half-lost years,
voices tangled in the midnight wind.
Thoughts drift like brittle leaves down an empty street.
Dreams catch on threads of faint silver,
the air grown heavy with a quiet glow,
guided by constellations I can’t name.
In the dark sky, the moon keeps vigil,
casting light on the things I still dare to want.
By night’s end, my chest loosens,
the moon caught in the branches, keeping still.
© Dereck Pritchard, 2024. All Rights Reserved.
Okay to share in full with clear credit to the author.
Partial excerpts require written permission.