Truth
This stuff is my truth.
It might not be your truth.
That’s okay.
Sanctuary
Here
We are proud to accept
The square pegs, the unwanted guests
The fifth wheels
The last choices for the teams
We reserve the right to approve
The desperate, the inadequate
The uncomfortable, the socially inept
Those who grope for the right words
We welcome without prejudice
The stutterers, the blushers
The shut-ins and the elective mutes
And the ones who can’t stop crying
All of you, everyone who finds it
Nigh-on impossible to fit in
We have a place, a safe space
Just for you
Here.
The Only Sound
If space
Were not a vacuum
The sun would be
The only sound
We could hear
Humanity
Would have invented
The earplugs
Before the wheel
To Hell With Modesty
What if
Your light was so incandescent
So magnesium flaring
It set the bushel hiding you
Into bright beautiful burning flame
Begone
With the firedamping false modesty
The ember extinguishing
Humility tramping down the
Ashes into silent, judging clay
Let your
Brilliance illuminate us
Banishing shade and shadow
Cast your starbeams over us
Let us revel in your effulgence
Burn, beautiful, burn bright
Work Dread
She hated her job
So much so that she would howl
Like a wounded wolf
While gripping the steering wheel
As she drove to the office
High Point
Some days
You could reach out to
The top of the world
And touch it
Some days
You just want to
Kick over somebody’s
Stack of stones
Some days
You are torn
Between the two
And fail
At both
Spent
A spent match, rubbing
Against a sandless matchbox
No ignition there
And the kindling is too damp
Won’t catch fire, no matter what
They Never Really Leave
They sit in familiar chairs
Potter in the kitchen
Stand in the porch like salesmen
Faces upturned, eyes shining
Patient, expectant, waiting
For you to remember them
Only then can they leave
But they’ll be back quick as
When you’d least expect
They never really leave.
You can also find this in In Our Own Words Vol. 4 - an anthology of writings by The Stepping Stone Scribblers, a writing group created by Stepping Stone Theatre at the beginning of the pandemic.