Overcoming

It feels exhilarating
To move past what I
Once might have
Misconstrued as
Insurmountable,
And achieve something.
Even if that something
Is viewed by others
As insignificant -
To me, it can remain
Significant,
And even if that
Achievement
Is one small step
In a much bigger
Picture.

Indecision

I don’t know
If I have
The ability
To go where I need to
To convey what I want to.
What I thought of as depth
Was really just scratching
The surface of what all
Was really there,
Waiting to be detected.
I want to go there,
Yet I don’t as well,
Because what story I weave
Is also a truth
Buried deep in me.
And times like this
I wish
It would just stay buried.

Falling Back

Regardless
Of knowing
Everything is fine,
A part of me
Still waits,
Still expects,
Still fears
That everything I know
Will no longer
Be.

In Anticipation Of November

Thoughts roam within me.
Opportunity looms before me.
I can’t wait to commit
Every word to paper.
This is a challenge
That I have faced -
An obstacle
That I have already
Overcome.
And if it’s possible
To taste victory twice,
I will.
I’m ready.

Autumn Vigil

When I breathe
There is
Awareness -
That of living.
When I listen
There is
Bereavement
In leaves blowing.
When I think
There is
Nothing -
So I won’t have to face
Everything.
But
As long as I live
There is
Hope.

Building Bridges

Love extends
Beyond distance
To bridge any gap
Between those who
Wish they were
Together.

Necessity

Thoughts
Bleed together.
Clarity
Is nonexistent.
Thoughts of loss.
Thoughts of joy.
Thoughts of
Purposelessness,
As I put my pen
To paper and
Write with no
Objective.
I write only
With the certainty
Of someone
Who needs to commit
Something to paper
Before
This day ends
And another
Begins.

Release

Healing and falling
Deserving and longing
Can't hold on to let go
Nothing left for me to show.
Don't know what I'm trying to say
But I'm grateful for the chance
To release this at the last
No pain left to hold me back
Understanding others lack
Found in unexpected form.
Shown what no one else could feel
Could this possibly be real
That someone else can feel my pain
That this can somehow break the chains
I've laid around my teenage years
Held them captive in my fear
Finally they are breaking.

Outside Of Peacetime

My life is a constantly
Changing, yet similar
Venture
In a constantly
Changing and degenerating
World.
I don’t feel safe,
And yet I am numb
To news of soldiers
From my country
Losing their lives to war.
Three years ago, I had
No idea what it was
Like to live in wartime.
Now I am all-too-familiar.
War numbs everyone.
Attack makes people
React without thought
To the loss.
And the chaos that has
Come upon us
Makes us want to hold
The children in our lives
Close -
For fear that we might
Lose them in a fight
They should have never
Had to fight.

Reality

Understanding fades
As I realize
I always reach
For the familiar
Instead of facing
What’s within.
Realization comes
Because I know
That what I reach for
Is not enough.
Reality creeps
Slowly over me
And I fall because
I can’t take this on.
And suddenly
The peace that passes
Is here, enduring.
So, in reality
I’m okay after all.