Before National Poetry Month slips away, in celebration of poetry and all things poetic, I’d like to share a poem I recently stumbled upon in an old journal.

This poem is 10 years old, and the essence of it captures a moment in my life when I was feeling uninspired and stagnant.

I love that I can read it now 10 years later, and take comfort in the fact that I got through what was that was ailing me at the time. As I reflect on what I’ve overcome the past 10 years, these words serve as a reminder that the feelings won’t last forever.

Despair… Lack of inspiration… Sadness… Listlessness…. Depression… Whatever dark shroud may be enveloping us at the moment, nothing lasts forever.

The sun will continue to rise and set. Seasons will change. The years will progress.

And we keep breathing.

As long as we keep breathing, this too shall pass…

lack of challenge 
lack of change
lack of different
lack of strange
inspiration in the wings
heart that cries, heart that sings
living every day the same
go through the motions
displace the blame
brain is tired
longs to sleep
soul feels empty
longs to weep
hand is heavy
and cannot move
and if it tries
will you approve?
soul is screaming
silently
body is shaking
violently
feet are running
yet i stay
wings are stretched to fly away
world is crashing
how absurd
world is static
in a word
familiarity
somehow strange
lack of challenge
lack of change 

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Editor: Renée Picard

Photo: Courtesy of author’s hubby