I cancelled my day
Said goodbye to what’s next
Let go of my striving.
I crumple under the weight
Of impossible expectation
Realizing that I am both essential
And completely meaningless
When it comes to the world’s turning.
Tag: poetry
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Your presence
Is here yet so subtle
So far away
Like grasping at vapor
My love, my heart, my all
You are not near now
I question- what I have done?
Or perhaps not done.
But without Your imminence
I do not have the energy
To find you.
You promised to never leave
To meet me where I am
So I plead with you now
Give me the guidance I seek
The joy and peace I long for
I know it can only come from You
Don’t withhold
Your precious gifts from me.
You said to come to You as a child
Here I am
Like when my babies ask me to kiss their scrapes
In all my vulnerability
Heal my heart, fill my soul
As you have so many times before.
Without it I cannot survive
Here in this beautiful, vicious world.
-
I see you
Thin, muscular arms
Shaggy, dirty blond hair
Unruly cowlicks like mine
Now swept to the side
Finally tamed by years of experimenting
You’re here
In this foreign land
You chose to come
For your special time
Your 32nd birthday
To spend with me & my new family
You chase my kids around the yard
Trip says, “Uncle, J.D.! Can you be the monster?”
Blake says “Yes- chase us, chase us!”
You do. Over and over.
I smile. Watching you.
Your gentle heart.
You aren’t married.
You are figuring out you.
You are the best uncle.
Time has finally taught me
To show you grace.
To let go of my
Severe, stupid, silly
Expectations.
You show me the same grace.
We sit outside in the pleasant May evening
Sipping Old Fashioneds
Laughing about how we could have never imagined it as kids.
Time has taught me
And has also stolen so much
I wish you could hear my plea
My apologies.
How I wish my imagination
Could conjure this picture into reality.
-
A gust of wind rushes in
Unexpected, chilling
A sunny day transforms
To an eerie mix
Of cool gusts over a humid blanket
Gray, ominous clouds loom over head
Children playing
Parents crane their necks
Will this spoil the evening fun?
Bolt of lightning embosses the warning
Move to shelter
Say your goodbyes
Thunder claps to solidify
This is not a sky
To play with.
…
She exhales deeply
Reciting an affirmation
More breaths
In and out.
The anxiety becomes a distant rumble
The frustration lessens.
Opening her eyes
She returns to the present.
Kacie B. Sharpe 