Silent aftermath
sanctity violated
nuance exploded –
Will democracy endure?
What grows beneath the ashes?
(Tuesdays I borrow from Twitter @Vjknuston. Image my own.)
Category: adversity
In 2021, I Woke Up
This year the plague came
and I blamed the wind
for carrying destruction
and I blamed the sun
for its ineptitude
and the rain,
no friend of mine,
only served to drown
my expectations.
Lockdown
and social distance
masks and antiseptics
how was a soul
to survive?
Pushing 2020
out the door
certain relief
would follow
but change is not
a date on the calendar
a release of circumstance
I turned inward
faced the gloom
and found a spark
forgave the weather
the virus, the news
In 2021, I woke up…
(For Reena’s Exploration challenge: I woke up in 2021… Image my ow
Unexpected
Spring-loaded
the lever
that releases us
from reality
One minute
set on a path
the next, victim
course uncharted
Survivors
question –
existential
questers.
Snakes at My Door
A preacher dominates
six o’clock news
megaphone voice
commanding protest
mask-less hordes roar
A young repairman
offs his mask with distaste
claims it’s all a hoax,
the cure is withheld
a ploy to control –
read it on the internet.
A friend whose wisdom
and words have inspired
confesses she’ll not accept
vaccination, as her life
is in God’s hands.
And from behind a curtain
of despair, I observe
as words, like snakes
gather on my front step
nest in a writhing menace
The virus’ venom
a poison I’m not sure
I can defeat
And what am I to do
when abstinence from public life
makes me conveniently invisible
and fear that if I speak up
will reveal a truth I cannot bear
that the devout, the young, the compassionate
care not a wink for the likes of me.
Stop the Words
These thought processes…
I am inside out, shredded…
on so many levels
out of sync…
hear my own words
nothing but hot air
making me so dizzy
that I’m becoming afraid
of heights….
phobic, actually
Breathe,
I remember somewhere
between gulps of helium
and the hammering
in my head…
breathe…
Platitudes have no place
in this moment
in the inside out
emotionally raw now
So, I’ll quit the words
breathe until I find ground
again….
then repeat.
(Inspired by the prompt of Reena’s Exploration challenge which can found here. Image my own.)
Indomitable
Fickle, I am –
life cycles catching me
unaware, unstable –
Lessons I appreciate
opportunities to expand
heart…mind…
But this isolation
this carrel-based living
limits perspective
Still, I try.
Equality
Two mothers were we
frozen in disbelief
as smoke rose
Cried for the losses
for our children
for a future devoid
of peace
Two mothers
hand-in-hand
shattered
A Christian
and a Muslim
War destroys all dreams.
(Image my own.)
Mighty
In isolation, I am rock
solid, fearless, present
Memories moon-bows
miracle of love, whispers
of what might have been
Will not let current fear
shape me; I am tethered
to faith, gently gliding
(Submitted for Eugi’s Causerie Weekly prompt: mighty. Image my own.)
Roar!
Situational –
term used to describe
this current state –
illness a thief
perpetuates the crime –
loss cavernous
depression real
and still,
Spirit roars.
Survival of an Artist
He had lost everything of value to him. There was an empty canvas on the easel, his colors and tools. What would he paint? *
Eyes reddened from tears
he bears his soul, like a wolf
howls into the emptiness
No response
Life shrinks at the sight of him
wounded creatures fearing
his motivations, advances
Entrapped
Escape alludes – walls
structures of his fear
he is his own obstacle
Alone
He will find his bearing
claw his way through faithlessness
Solitude, after all, an ally to his breed.
(For Reena’s Exploration challenge: *quotation captioned. Image my own.)
One Woman's Quest 