Poetry

The sniffle comes.

The tissue is out of reach.

Moving is difficult.

The skin is already red and patchy

from the previous wipes.

Dread fills up

like your nose as you hope that ignoring it

means it won’t happen.

Then it breaches

and you are forced to take action.

Snuffling and blowing

and wiping

it feels like nothing can correct the problem.

Sight line of Earth.

The difference between

where the sky is endless.

Heaven falls away

as the sun roams the view.

I have acknowledged the trauma.

My own

and those I gave to others.

I have regrets.

Yet I am finding fewer of them these days.

The confidence needed to survive

has never wavered.

It has merely be side tracked

….

many times.

I do not feel entitled.

Just angry

that the world is not doing what I think it should be.

Politics and religions be damned!

Today’s world

we see inflation

and poverty

rising up

like an unfathomable phoenix.

Yet, reality

says you must work

if you want to be successful.

So I am wondering

when will I be thrown

into the new world

debtor’s prison?

One

by one.

We all

fall

under the

bug.

Household

invaded.

It is easier

to slide

down

than it is

to crawl upwards.

Most days I can crawl

but these days

I find myself

allowing

the slide

to take place.

Tomorrow.

I hope tomorrow

I have the strength

to stop this slide.

Crawling may just have to wait.

I walk

along

meandering,

shivering in the cold.

Demanding

a wind free day

I wander

instead of heading home.

Praise for my actions.

Kindness I brought to a friend.

Joy and laughter to a neighbour.

Comfort as I cuddle my cats.

Happiness eating a rare treat.

Why do I think I am not worthy?

Whether I deserve them or not, I earned them.

Learned to live with no regrets.

Not feel guilty for all my past mistakes.

Loved myself for who I am.

Not caring about what others thought of me.

Stop wishing things would miraculously get better if I just ignored it.

Be the person who knows how to keep boundaries.

Told others what was on my mind, instead of seething silently to myself.

Made this list a long time ago.

Why does this affect me.

It is not my country.

Yet, the election was lost

and now fear and dread will reign supreme

for those who have to live under the dictator’s rule.

I am sorry my friends.

Pain and loss maybe all that we will have in common from now on.