The Walls

By Helen O'Hare

PROMPT—No one noticed ...

I watched the walls being built

I watched full of shame and guilt

And brick by brick the vista darkened

Familiar voices faded as the mortar hardened

And when I stepped outside

The glare was stark and confidence waned

So I retreated fast to a prison of blame

I didn’t stop the walls get higher

I didn’t stop my space get tighter

I didn’t open the door and let loved ones see

I couldn’t plan my escape my life to set free

Until one day I did.

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Helen O'Hare resides in Dublin and works in the Pharmacy department at the National Maternity Hospital. She started writing poetry during a challenging marriage as a way to express feelings of loneliness, fear, and despair. Now divorced, Helen reflects on this period with appreciation. Despite its hardships, it taught her to value simple joys and treasure happy childhood memories. Her work has appeared in The Poetry Catalog, including the poems ‘Colours’ and ‘Till Death Us Do Part’.