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.