This is the Chapbook I prepared from selected poetry I wrote for the November 2013 Poem-A-Day challenge at Poetic Asides.

2. Places In Between
by
Susan Schoeffield

3. Table of Contents
The Destination
Hiding Courage
Return To Black Rock Springs
Flying High And Falling Fast
The Place In Between
A Mid-Autumn Night’s Dream
Always Is Forever
Two Of A Kind
Should I Be In This Place?
Elemental Exposure
Recycled

4. THE DESTINATION
Drifting
on a snowflake
gracefully spinning downward
unprepared for the finale
melting into nothing
Sailing
on a seashell
tossed in self-absorbing waves
clinging to notions preconceived
swallowing misplaced pride
Resting
in your comfort
the purpose of my journey
to territories unexplored
revealed in perfect love
© Susan Schoeffield

5. HIDING COURAGE
Hiding
in the safety
of limited boundaries
enables fear of the unknown
to leave roads unexplored.
Courage
cannot be found
behind closed doors or drawn blinds.
To disable apprehension,
it must first be engaged.
© Susan Schoeffield

6. RETURN TO BLACK ROCK SPRINGS
A trail
I’ve walked before
seems different in this light.
The passage of time dismantles
dubious memories.
A wall,
behind which stood
a hotel spa for town folk,
has no reminders save decay
of ruined majesty.
Blinded
eyes discover
all which nature has reclaimed
is given back a hundred-fold
in images unseen.
Footsteps
recall laughter,
silence supplies the music.
Contemplation heals the ailments
of all who venture here.
© Susan Schoeffield

7. FLYING HIGH AND FALLING FAST
For me,
camping is the
best way I know to unwind,
to prepare for what comes next
and be ready for it.
This trip
would not fail me.
A night of a thousand stars.
A campfire’s flames brushed heaven
and heaven touched my heart.
Back home,
a ringing phone
greeted me on my return.
Daddy suffered a massive stroke
and would not recover.
Two weeks
later, I thought
there were no more tears to cry.
When I felt the worst was over,
my mother passed away.
© Susan Schoeffield

8. THE PLACE IN BETWEEN
Half-way
‘tween there and here,
one heart’s muffled orchestra
echoed in an empty chamber
a song no one could hear.
Half-way
‘tween then and now,
one heart sang a capella
to melodies not yet written,
a song it would not share.
Half-way
‘tween you and me,
two hearts created music,
a chorus blending together,
a song only love sings.
© Susan Schoeffield

9. A MID-AUTUMN NIGHT’S DREAM
Travel
destinations
to warm, tropical places.
Palm trees and white, sandy beaches
in seductive locales.
Bathing
suits and flip-flops,
umbrella drinks, fresh seafood.
Temptations too strong to resist
on cold November days.
Exchange
snow plows and scarves
for jet skis and scuba gear,
woolen gloves for suntan lotion.
The islands are calling.
© Susan Schoeffield

10. ALWAYS IS FOREVER
Always
is a long time
to hold on to resentment
for real or imagined anguish
brought about by others.
Always
is all you have
when you can’t take back the words
you have spoken from the anger
controlling who you are.
Always
is forever
when a wrong can’t be righted
because death chose to intervene
and anger becomes guilt.
© Susan Schoeffield

11. TWO OF A KIND
This house,
once filled with love,
crumbles on a foundation
of crippling indifference,
empty and forgotten.
This heart,
once filled with hope,
bleeds from the wounds inflicted
through too many years of neglect,
abandoned and unloved.
Both this
house and this heart
remember days of promise
before they were left to decay
alone and forsaken.
© Susan Schoeffield

12. SHOULD I BE IN THIS PLACE?
Should I
quietly hide
in the clouds to gaze upon
the stars dancing in moonlit skies
to songs only they know?
Should I
try to capture
the soft and graceful steps of
this waltz in evening’s ballroom,
my words will sound hollow.
I should,
instead, enjoy
the scene in silent awe as
those involved in this astral dance
ignore my intrusion.
© Susan Schoeffield

13. ELEMENTAL EXPOSURE
Raindrops
lightly cascade
in soft, shimmering splashes
off the shoulders of a mountain
to shallow pools below.
As clouds
obscure the sun,
temperatures quickly drop,
the wet shoulders of a mountain
wearing an icy shawl.
© Susan Schoeffield

14. RECYCLED
Time is
disappearing.
Pages on the calendar
fly into the recycle bin
faster than I can blink.
Sixty
is closer now.
I’m not certain I’m prepared
to meet it with a smiling face
when it knocks on my door.
And yet,
in it will come.
What’s a few more pains and aches?
I’ve known plenty in my fifties
and I’m friends with Aleve.
Time is
disappearing.
While grateful for yesterdays,
I look forward to tomorrows
before I’m recycled.
© Susan Schoeffield