In Search Of
by J. Joy "Sistah Joy" Matthews Alford

I pour through fading memories

And swirls of tangled images in my mind

Seeking to glean another moment

of true inspiration

If ever I were in need of you it is now

Validation must come from within I am told

So I hold tight with all that I hold sacred

To this thing that pulls me from

my pillow at night

That calls me even from

connections with loved ones

And bids me write

Yes, it with this degree of desperation

That I seek to discover your secret hiding place

Following trails of meter and symmetry

That cunningly grow cold as I approach the point

That would allow me to triangulate

your whereabouts

I hangout with riddles and limericks

That snicker at my faltered footsteps

Mocking my lack of rhythm

My misplaced cadence and feeble attempts

at mastering metaphor

They laugh as I misstep my way

To yet another empty page of pathos and rhyme

Feverishly seeking to find and undo your mystery

Imploring patterns to appear within my verse

despite my ineptness

I ignore the countless times they taunt and

tease me

Calling me from just beyond the pages I strive

to embellish with my pen

Somewhere between title and closing line

I pray I shall some day find

That place where the perfect poem resides