Talks of takeovers
and takedowns –
deliberate misdirection
My mind is a tangle
my heart stripped raw
Us vs them a mantra
Choking on my own bile
darkness closing in –
I turn to so called heaven
Accusations on iced tongue
desperation pointing fingers
the sullen clouds an echo
Even in this stormy state
light, like fire challenges
Wake up! Wake up!
There in the twilight
beneath lambent skies
my resolve melts
How, from this perspective
can I contemplate hatred?
Love a more noble alternative
Upgrading –
setting new standards
learning anew
Kin/ heritage
pursues me –
influence
and legacy
Timid concerning
the unspoken
the understated
Seduction courts
a response –
I am flush with possibility
basking in attention
But God is calling me home –
reminds me of mortality
humbles me in situ
I am already engaged
passion in the moment
dalliances redundant
(Self portrait created blind with acrylic paint and palette knife)
Freezing drizzle
and aching joints
elevate doubt
We are forging
into unknowns,
claiming change
His motivation
drive for both –
I quiet objections
Faith, I have in him
Trust, I have in process,
Hope as my beacon
Many a storm
has passed our way –
the choice is easy
Stay and rot
or risk and thrive –
hand in hand, we leap.
(Four years ago, Ric and I sold our house and all our possessions and headed south in a motor home.  Both of us had experienced life-altering medical crises, and the alternative – staying put and waiting for the next health challenge – was not appealing, so we took the leap. After two years, we returned and settled in a small community not far from family. Health continues to be an issue, but armed with the memories of our travels, we face each day grateful for our choices.)
Image my own.
Ingredients for despair –
illness, COVID, loss –
all meted…
Never did follow recipes
I see only openings
potential for enrichment
how the lens has power
to ruminate or celebrate
(Art my own)
What if we could proofread
our life – edit it in the moment –
patch over the rough spots –
change the dragon lady
into a polished princess?
Don’t know about you,
but I prefer fire to ice…
(Image mine.)
Soldier through!
Father preached,
as if life is linear
and all falls behind.
I left the straight path
refuse to march
choose to circle dance
seek empowerment
in soft rhythms
Less stoicism
more love.
(Tuesdays I borrow from my Twitter account @Vjknutson. Image my own.)
Can’t take responsibility
for what gets laundered here
my vehicle has no steering wheel
I am merely seeking understanding –
comfort, like support shoes –
and I get flack, indifference
slapping me in the face.
Why did I put myself in this position –
revert back to old ways, think
I was destined for anything
but penniless devotion –
should have been a nun.
(Image from personal collection.)
Set me on a lonely road
and I will shine –
solitude a strength
And yet, I have an inner pull,
a need for connection,
a longing for depths of love.
But what of these dreams –
do relationships deter direction,
and must I always wait on another?
Intimacy is complicated,
the route undefined,
I am chilled, fatigued
How does the heart decide
when love challenges
arrogance, and fear takes hold?
(Connecting to Eugi’s Weekly prompt: complicated, and Reena’s Exploration Challenge – featured image.)
Analysis freezes heart,
I leap with reservations,
engage in familiar pacts,
motivations logical,
observe patriarchal parlay –
seduced by original sin –
settle into compromise.
Life is a smorgasbord –
so many delicious options;
experience teaches us
to choose wisely.
(#Ragtag’s daily prompt is smorgasbord.)
One Woman's Quest 