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Kimberly Foulger Poetry Collection

Kimberly Foulger Poetry Collection

– Poetry by Kimberly Foulger –

Who is the tree without the earth?

Trauma

These memories live in my lizard brain
The space without words
Washing my body in a cortisol bath
And I don’t know why I can’t relax
No matter how many bubbles I add
Or candles I light.
I watch the door, I watch the window
And flinch at every noise
Dream every nightmare
Until I coax those memories out of the dark
Out of their primal hiding spot
And give them words
Pull the plug, blow out the candles
And I stand wrapped in stories.

Nightmares in Pockets

I am found, confused
Fetal in a closet
Under dresses and slacks
Worn when I act my age
After the sun rises
After I tuck nightmares into pockets

I watch that scene on TV
With an unconscious toddler surrounded by a lullaby of beeping
Wires and cords like extra limbs
They are confused sitting next to me on the couch
And ask why I am crying
Why am I shaking
It’s just a show
It’s not real
There were no babies hurt in the making of this program

Tell that to the ponding in my chest
The lungs that can’t get air
The hands that vibrate like hummingbird wings
Because I am not present but past
Standing at her bedside

And when the sun sets
When nightmares wiggle out of pockets
I am a child
Shivering but vigilant
Creating safety in a closet until I am found

Ageless

I am 80
You lift my heavy legs
One stair
By one stair
One more
We are 7, and I, your marionette,
Tears turn to giggles as you march
Me gently up
Until I swing from your chest onto the bed
That was yesterday
I fell headlong into 80
Like I keep falling down the stairs
Past 30
Not 60
Your arms are not yet 50, they catch me
Their strength, mine
And they lift
They lift my burdens
Night after every day
Your hands are 20
My skin young and thirsty
You caressing, seeking
Oh!! Passion
We are young!
We are young after
You lift my aching, heavy
Arms, over my head
To slip my shirt off
My head spinning like a top
Like a toy and
We are ageless
Spinning together
Towards 80
Towards 60
Still 20


About the Author – Kimberly Foulger
Kimberly Foulger

Kimberly Foulger had a long career caring for vulnerable children and families in crisis, she is a professional parent, and parent educator, a wife, mother of four and a Meechen (Grandma). Changing life circumstances have given her the opportunity to pursue her master’s degree and reignite her passion for writing and exploring themes of trauma and healing in her poetry and fiction from her home in Vancouver, BC.


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