Is Hope Always Viable?

What accounts for hope,
for one's faith in renewal
though gloom may prevail?

History may say
the odds favor sorrow's wail,
not joy's healing hand.

Those who struggle with
an incurable disease
may question hope's worth.

Is hope logical?
The facts may point us elsewhere.
Why insist on hope?

When odds are awful,
does hope no longer make sense?
I resist that thought.

I may be foolish,
perhaps tilting at windmills,
yet I affirm hope.

Possibilities
for creating new meaning
will always exist.

What MS Happily Wrought - Finding My Passion

Wrest from normalcy,
unchained from the world's demands,
my heart found its voice.

With a new passion
for poetry and fiction,
I let my heart sing.

Transformed happily,
I quench my sorrow at loss,
welcoming new joys.

What MS Also Wrought - Finding Inner Strength

Through acceptance of
failings, fears, angers and hurts,
I find compassion.

I don't force fit life
into a tight straightjacket
of sheer perfection.

I will acknowledge
humanity's shortcomings.
They come regardless.

While recognizing
life's misfortunes and trials,
I seek solutions.

If I feel despair,
I do not deny its truth,
but find a way out.

For within me lies
finding my own source of strength,
a powerful gift.

What MS Wrought ... The Up and Down Cycle

Sadly compromised
physical capacity
renders life quite hard.

I flounder about
in some rather dark moments,
not my hopeful self.

My family hopes
badly wrenched, stretched, and pummeled
had to be reshaped.

Compared to my goals,
my career accomplishments
turned out to fall short.

Where am I going?
My objectives were thwarted.
What is my purpose?

... still ...

Possibilities
remaining within my reach
are there to be tapped.

New ways of being
may manifest before me
if I am willing.

I remind myself
I can find joy and meaning.
This is no small thing.

... however, maybe ...

I accommodate
to my new circumstances
much too easily.

Is it possible
I am not angry enough
for what was stolen?

Maybe I should be
rip roaring mad and screaming,
this is so unfair!

... stay tuned ... 

You See Me …

Emerge from the fog
seemingly capable of
resuming my life.

With my game face on,
I stumble forward across
the vanishing mist.

Unbeknown to me,
another front approaches.
And so it goes on.

Finding Balance

When does misfortune
become crutch or excuse for
low expectations?

How does one balance
a stark assessment of loss
with inspiring hope?

Where does it begin ̶
one's responsibility
for life's wellbeing?

Same Journey, Different Approach

How does one survive
a predicament bereft
of clear solutions?

It shows true valor
to keep moving on despite
unrelenting loss.

We all demonstrate
through smiles or at times with tears
uncommon courage.

Some prove determined
to find cheer despite harsh odds.
Some just feel sadness.

Yet at times courage
may signify admitting
enough is enough.

Answers may elude
easy evaluation
of what might work well.

Admission of fear
may turn out to be
survival's best tool.

Can we just agree
that this rigorous challenge
is formidable?

I Ponder…

Is this really me
hobbling about and lurching,
rushing to bathrooms?

What happened to skills
at managing complex tasks,
a once fine mind asks.

How do I value
the me who remains despite
being diminished?

I Want to Believe

Friends, I am going away for a while. In my absence, I leave you with this poem, the first in my book Peace on the Journey. For, despite unremitting life challenges, I still want to believe ...

Life is a blessing.
Joy reigns as a birthright gift.
Gentleness is mine.

Discord and sorrow
oppressive and enduring
can be overcome.

Love will seek a way
to salve even the deepest
open wounds of loss.

Kicked Out in the Cold

Oh, the safety net
beneath the infirm, the poor,
leaves some in the cold.

When those most in need
find protection deficient,
we all become poor.

Kicked out on the street,
the promise of liberty
falls short of ideal.


"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
- Emma Lazarus

for Diane and Karen Lee

Nature's Portent

Calm breezes pass through.
Leaves drift down from tall branches.
A lazy descent.

This cozy moment
fools one into believing
one can rest at ease.

Heavy rain clouds loom.
Darkness on the horizon
augurs force unleashed?

It Happened at the Mall

A clerk ran to get
the busy floor manager
so I could stay put.

A customer said,
my wife has bad knees as well.
Let me help you please.

Another mentioned
his many back surgeries
yet opened my door.

The smiling bagger
foretold one day I'd walk free.
He was sure of it.

They opened my heart
as I accepted kindness
I had not asked for.

None knew what ailed me,
only that I needed help
they gave joyfully.

Successful Crossing?

A smile ferries me
across storms, rocks, and eddies
which might capsize me.

Will I reach the shore?
A jagged course line impedes
my being certain.

Caught in the pretense
my life will turn out okay,
I smile at the world.

Questions

I can never know
how my life would have turned out
if not for MS.

Life has many ifs.
Family, era, and luck
all impress their mark.

All things work for good?
I wonder if that is true.
But I can pretend.

Who Is Exceptional?

Who really becomes
the exceptional person?
One who always wins?

S/he who though broken
speaks of yearning for wholeness,
is that true healing?

Could our best come from
acknowledging our losses
to those who grieve too?

Post Traumatic Growth

Some people bounce back
when trauma upends their lives.
Struggle inspires growth.

Finding the new good
facilitates growth despite
distress remaining.

In how one reacts,
existing character traits

may be the real key.

Inspired by  "Surviving the Jolt"

Stumped

It was Wednesday eve.
I had no poem to post
to share with readers.

So here I am now
telling you I have nothing
on offer today.

I will just say, hi!
Thank you for sticking around
and reading my stuff.

The Great Pretender

The Great Pretender
Marc portrays powerfully
describes you and me.

Acknowledging loss,
the occasional envy,
Marc honors raw truths.

His unbowed spirit
even in peril affirms
life still has value.

Even I Don't Know

I both laugh and cry,
embracing life's full spectrum.
I learn as I go.

How can I select
a single ordinary
defining moment?

This work in progress
life in its full unfolding
defies clarity.

A Different Perspective

So I venture out.
Lo, the air is breathable.
The sun shines brightly.

Reminders abound,
if I will open myself,
that good stuff exists.

For yet one more day,
I cajole myself forward
expecting blessings.