My Mind's Temple

My Mind’s Temple

  Spiritual Poetry

  By Kimberly LaRocca

  Copyright 2011 Kimberly LaRocca

  https://klarocca2010.wordpress.com/

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publishers.

  Cover Art by Tatiana Villa

  In my mind’s eye a Temple, like a cloud

  Slowly surmounting some invidious hill,

  Rose out of darkness: the bright Work stood still:

  And might of its own beauty have been proud,

  But it was fashioned and to God was vowed

  By Virtues that diffused, in every part,

  Spirit divine through forms of human art:

  Faith had her arch—her arch, when winds blow loud,

  Into the consciousness of safety thrilled;

  And Love her towers of dread foundation laid

  Under the grave of things; Hope had her spire

  Star-high, and pointing still to something higher

  Trembling I gazed, but heard a voice—it said,

  “Hell-gates are powerless Phantoms when ‘we’ build.”

  —William Wordsworth1827.

  Table of Contents

  My Spirit

  It’s Time for the Lord

  What Evil Does

  At Peace

  Wide Open

  The Meaning

  Staying Afloat

  Hope

  Where God Lives

  What I Pray For

  New Beginnings

  Fear No Longer

  Weathering the Storm

  Letting Go

  I’ve Been Changed

  Lost and Found

  Forgiving Me

  A Better Place

  Afterlife

  Faces of the Devil

  Remembering My Name

  Being Happy

  My Own Downfall

  Giving it to the Lord

  For Him

  About the Author

  Praise for Kimberly LaRocca

  My Spirit

  My spirit cannot be broken

  no matter how hard you try.

  I hold it tight

  deep down inside

  until the day I die.

  My spirit cannot be broken;

  without it I’m incomplete.

  It makes me whole,

  deepens my soul.

  It helps me to be free.

  My spirit cannot be broken

  although the world does try.

  But I survive low and lonely times

  keeping my eyes on the prize.

  My spirit cannot be broken—

  a feat I deem impossible.

  And in the end it will remain

  Even after I’m gone.

  It’s Time for the Lord

  I know that it’s time for the lord.

  When all else seems to fail;

  when things start looking mighty bad

  I have to turn to prayer.

  And sometimes I tend to forget

  that everything is in his hands.

  Surely if he will let me fall

  he will allow me to stand.

  This is why I am at peace

  with everything in my life.

  Even when things are going wrong

  I know that they are just right.

  What Evil Does

  Even when I’m doing good

  and everything’s on track,

  evil tries to keep me down,

  to knock me on my back.

  Because of faith I know that I

  will always pull right through.

  No matter what others may say

  or what evil tries to do.

  At Peace

  Oh how I wish

  that you could feel

  the peace I have inside;

  peace with everything

  that I’ve done—

  the wrong and the right.

  Peace with why

  I was put here,

  peace with what I do,

  peace with how I treat others,

  with how they treat me, too.

  Peace because I am happy

  with who I am inside,

  peace with where I am in life,

  knowing all will be just fine.

  Peace because I believe

  in the lord above,

  peace because he loves me so,

  even if no one else does

  Wide Open

  Walking with my head held high

  is the only way to be—

  being proud of who I am

  and what God made in me.

  Taking prideful steps forth

  looking forward to what’s to come;

  knowing that the past is done

  the future, wide open.

  The Meaning

  Although things may be bad today

  remember not to fret.

  There are many things you haven’t seen

  haven’t experienced yet.

  Sometimes the bad is what you need

  to get you to the good.

  And the lessons that you’re learning now

  will one day be understood.

  I have learned to not to sweat

  all of the awful stuff.

  I know that things may get bad,

  maybe even tough.

  Having faith gets me through

  any and everything.

  Believing I’m where I’m meant to be

  even when I don’t know the meaning.

  Staying Afloat

  The motion in the ocean

  can be

  tolerated

  braved

  conquered,

  but what happens on the boat

  decides if it stays afloat.

  Hope

  Hope is on the way.

  I just received the call.

  I packed my bags,

  no longer sad,

  I think I’ll tag along.

  I’ve finally got my bearings.

  I’m positioned for my ride.

  I’ll hold on tight, conquer the fight.

  I’m ready for my life.

  So many things I had to learn

  like

  hope lives eternally.

  So I open up,

  ready,

  willing

  for it to set me free.

  Where God Lives

  One of the greatest lies ever told

  is that God does not exist—

  a phenomenon

  we cannot hold,

  lying outside our grips,

  to hope and pray

  every day

  for something that may

  not come our way.

  But I believe,

  though I can’t see,

  because

  God lives in me.

  What I Pray For

  I pray for happiness inside

  and not just for myself.

  I pray for friends and family

  and also everyone else.

  I pray for peace and to feel whole,

  to know that I am complete;

  that I will be ok alone

  and not let life defeat me.

  I pray to always know my worth,

  to have happiness inside,

  to always remain positive

  and enjoy every moment of my life.

  New Beginnings

  You ask me if I fear the end.

  That question makes me smile.

  Thing is, I have never been afraid

  of what comes after this life.

  God knows who I am inside and out,

&nbs
p; that my heart is good.

  He knows the peace I feel inside;

  that I’ve lived just as I should.

  So my reply would be that I

  do not fear the end.

  It will allow me another chance

  to begin again.

  Fear No Longer

  After the fall

  you lifted me

  so that I could sing.

  After the fall:

  such an awful thing.

  After the fall

  you brought me through

  and I am still here.

  After it all

  I still can smile,

  the worst no longer feared.

  Weathering the Storm

  The sun doesn’t shine

  all the time

  as sad as it may sound.

  Sometimes the dark

  swallows the light

  where nothing can be found.

  We feel our way

  through the night,

  attempting to hold on.

  Getting a grip

  so we can rise

  and weather the storm.

  Letting Go

  I open my arms wide.

  I take a step,

  ready to fly.

  Letting go

  of all of my fears.

  Trusting that

  I will be

  suspended in air.

  Ready

  to float away

  to a better place.

  I’ve Been Changed

  Thought that I was gone away

  but he brought me back to say

  I’ve been changed.

  He delivered me from hell,

  restored my faith so I can tell you

  I’ve been changed.

  My belief in him is so strong

  it’s allowed me to carry on.

  I’ve been changed.

  Because of him I now believe

  that with him I can do anything.

  I’ve been changed.

  So I praise his name,

  give thanks to him,

  welcoming the fact that

  I’ve been changed.

  Lost and Found

  I heard a voice today.

  It said

  Don’t get lost in the meaning.

  Don’t upset yourself

  wondering why,

  how come, maybe if,

  probably should have,

  could have, would have,

  if things hadn’t turned out this way

  I would be different.

  Getting lost in the meaning

  prevents us from living the life

  we should be living—

  the life we were given.

  And now

  I am no longer lost.

  I have been found.

  Forgiving Me

  God spoke to me today.

  He told me that he had forgiven me.

  I had been down

  because of a choice that I had made,

  one that I was sure had displeased him.

  The choice had already eaten away at me

  the way sickness eats away at the dying

  and those who have lost hope,

  given up.

  God told me to let go.

  I had asked for his forgiveness

  many times before

  and he had forgiven me.

  But I needed to forgive myself.

  So today

  I forgive me.

  A Better Place

  I lay

  Staring up at the sky,

  tears pooling by the wayside,

  thinking

  how lovely it would be

  to be a bird.

  Up high,

  flying free,

  having no worries ever again.

  Looking down

  at what we’ve done,

  at our own devastation,

  longing

  to be above it all,

  soaring

  to a better place.

  Afterlife

  I lie awake

  in the place

  where the sidewalk ends,

  suspended in time,

  neither here nor there.

  Memories are all I have

  of my previous life.

  They are married to

  desperation,

  which overrides anticipation

  of what’s to come.

  Words begin to flow,

  happy now

  because they are free to roam,

  no longer locked inside,

  waiting to be free.

  Refusing to go back

  to an earlier time

  before the sidewalk ended.

  Instead

  residing where the road begins.

  Faces of the Devil

  Do you recognize the face in front of you?

  What looks good aint always so.

  Do you recognize the smile in those eyes?

  Maybe their intentions are unknown.

  The devil has many faces,

  and they’re not always known.

  Yet they are all still the devil,

  even if their faces aren’t shown

  Remembering My Name

  What was that you called me?

  I didn’t answer, though.

  Whatever word you chose to use didn’t sound too cool.

  It didn’t sound like my name.

  The way your face twisted when you said it, so mean.

  I know that I’m not what you say,

  though you say it anyway.

  Maybe it’s not really about me.

  You could be mad at your own reflection you see.

  In me you see what you could be—

  happy and at peace.

  In me you see what God has made—

  a child who’s not afraid.

  See

  if I was taken away today

  I would still be proud

  because I have lived in such a way

  that makes my God smile.

  Being Happy

  I prayed today

  that I would no longer feel

  love for you.

  It hurts too much

  to bear.

  My aching heart

  is killing

  what’s left of me,

  the person

  I used to be.

  Enthralled in

  a never-ending

  whirlwind

  of sorrow and grief.

  My mind wants to be

  devoid of love.

  Disintegrate the chains

  tying your heart to mine.

  My heart says otherwise.

  You say

  we are better together.

  Better to eat

  your poisoned fruit

  than to gorge myself on solitude.

  I disagree.

  My father says

  Child

  you have learned your lesson.

  Move on.

  Take what you were given and

  Move on.

  Free yourself.

  Be happy.

  My Own Downfall

  I am my own worst enemy;

  more dangerous than the rest,

  seeing the flaws others cannot.

  Failure at its best.

  Do I change what they can’t see?

  Become a more perfect me?

  Let vanity shape who I am

  simply because I can.

  I choose to love what God has made.

  Accept my flaws and all.

  Cherish the woman I have become.

  I am no longer my own downfall.

  Giving it to the Lord

  I wish I could

  open your eyes,

  show you all I’ve seen.

  But

  I’ve learned

  that I cannot change

  or interrupt

  your journey.

  See,

>   I’ve been where

  you want to go;

  learned so much

  along the way.

  I could show you

  so many things,

  save you so much pain.

  It hurts to watch

  you make mistakes—

  ones you could avoid

  if you’d only listen

  to what I have to say,

  though I know you’ll just

  ignore me.

  So

  I say my piece,

  tell you what’s right,

  always doing my motherly chore.

  Then I close my mouth,

  take a step back,

  and give it to the lord.

  For Him

  I am beautiful

  bathing in the light

  of his glory.

  Unashamed

  boastful even,

  proud to declare

  his love for me

  has elevated my being

  to a higher state.

  Doubt,

  desperation,

  and depression

  are no longer

  within reach,

  light years away

  from my realm of

  possibilities.

  Thankful I am

  that he continues

  to show me

  the way to be,

  despite my humanity.

  I glow

  in a world that purposely

  attempts to dim my light,

  extinguish my internal flame

  which burns brightly.

  For I reside

  where love for self is king,

  because

  I was made

  in the image of

  by

  and for

  him

  About the Author

  My Mind’s Temple is Kimberly LaRocca’s second collection of poetry. Her first collection, A Black Girls Poetry for the World, poetry on love and life, can be purchased on CreateSpace, Amazon.com, BN.com, and a host of other online retailers. Visit https://www.kimberlylarocca.com to enjoy more of her work. Thank you.

  What others are saying about Kimberly LaRocca’s work

  “When the world comes at you hard, your only option is to learn quick. A Black Girl’s Poetry for the World is a collection of poetry from Kimberly LaRocca as she reflects on the world coming after her and her harsh realization of becoming an adult. Through motherhood, womanhood and everything it entails, A Black Girl’s Poetry For the World is moving and unique reading, highly recommended.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  “A Black Girl’s Poetry for the World by Kimberly LaRocca reflects on times of love, friendship, bitterness, desire, anger, joy, loss, forgiveness and determination.