Redesign

Cleft from the mainstream,
I turned into The Other,
not quite a good fit.

Forced to reinvent
my roles and relationships,
I sought a new me.

Prompted to value
the transformation life brought,
I release the past.

A Broken Support System

I cling for support
to a broken link about
to snap off cleanly.

Rusty and flimsy,
my link still enables me
to think I am fine.

I look around me.
Are there other links to grasp?
None seem stress worthy.

A Resilient Spirit

It may well feel like
the ultimate betrayal
when your body fails.

Out the window goes
all the motivational
facile self-help spin.

A point will then come
when finding no sure way out,
you get creative.

If I Feel Low

gentle guitar chords
sing through the air of my grief
seeking to lift me

bell-like the notes ring
though cannot deny the truth
that tears can take wing

would that the music
helped me find the fulfillment
of early promise

Nonstop Rain

It keeps raining here
dismal and unrelenting
tiresome and taxing.

I should be grateful.
Nonstop drought could be much worse.
I miss the sun though.

I suspect I might
complain about too much heat
if no rain showed up.

There Somewhere



It does not take much

to remind me of losses

suffered and to come.

As an antidote,

I sift through layers of ash

for the uncharred gift.

Life’s light, joy, and hope

surely must be there somewhere.

I keep on searching.

Always Transforming

The icicles drip
steadily as the air warms.
Do they know their end?

With the sun rising,
icicles break off and fall,
a steady clatter.

Remnants on the ground
turn into ice or water,
always transforming.

Unable to Choose

 

Do I tell myself

disaster fast approaches

I must hunker down?

Do I cling instead

to searching for solutions

that might buy me time?

Hoping for the best,

I stiffen my back and hope.

I hide and fight both.

Walking

I stagger and fall.
Impaired equilibrium
makes me look tipsy.

Walking aides help me,
cane, rollator, and wheelchair.
I prefer walking.

I may resemble
a bumbling drunken sailor.
At least I can walk.