POEM 1

I offer a new poem

One more poem

That tries to say

What this feeling is

Inside my throat

A tight, small space

A straitjacket

And inside my gut

Heavy and bottomless

Is it emptiness

Or is it bursting with

Uncertainty and pain

Love unexpressed

Caged panic

Creativity deadened

If I open my mouth

What will come out

Anguish and loss

Pleas for forgiveness

Promises I can’t keep

Echoing questions

My tight lipped smile

Is the seam that seals in

Everything I don’t have time for

And tomorrow and tomorrow

I plod on toward your sorrow

Knowing it comes

And the loss is the gift

The sign that everything is

Alright

Which is what I hope for

Everyday

~AKS 12/12/23