Showing posts with label Burdens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Burdens. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

The word of the day is…. by Ken Tomaro


Yan Krukao

The word of the day is…
From Ken’s Gratitude Journal


I revisit my childhood as if we are lifelong friends, saying it’s because so many years ago was a simpler time. And it was, but the reality is I revisit the memories so often because I am fond of those times I held an excitement for anything.

 

And there were many things. Christmas morning. The entire month leading up to it. A backyard full of snow. Riding my bike through the neighborhood on a quiet summer day. Going out to eat on a rare occasion after church on Sunday. Homemade pizza on Saturday night. Inviting Mrs. D. from across the street to the flea market with us on a Saturday afternoon. Swimming at Pleasant Valley Lake. Digging holes in the empty flower bed along the patio. Drinking water from a cheap plastic canteen or the garden hose that had been baking in the sun all afternoon.

 

Now I pay bills and taxes. Somewhere, I convinced myself that getting drunk on many Friday nights was somehow exciting. I had forgotten what excitement was, and a hangover wasn’t it.

 

I can’t say waking up in the morning brings any form of excitement, but it’s still better than the alternative. Feeding the birds on my balcony and making sure the plants don’t die make me feel something, although I’m not sure it’s excitement. Contentment, maybe. Exhilaration, no. Enthusiasm, no. Elation, thrill, fervor, none of these is the right word, but whatever this feeling is, is a start.


© Ken Tomaro


Enjoy other posts by Ken Tomaro HERE.


Ken Tomaro


Ken Tomaro is a writer living in Cleveland, Ohio, whose work reflects everyday life with depression. His poetry has appeared in several online and print journals, exploring the common themes we all experience in life. Sometimes blunt, often dark, but always grounded in reality.

Saturday, November 16, 2024

Secret Strength by Nolcha Fox

 

Cottonbro Studio


Secret Strength

I may have the strength to carry 

the burdens you refuse to bear,

but I am much stronger when I walk away.


© Nolcha Fox


Enjoy more posts by Nolcha Fox HERE.


Nolcha Fox


Nolcha Fox’s poems have been curated in print and online journals. Her poetry books are available on Amazon and Dancing Girl Press. Nominee for 2023 and 2025 Best of The Net, 2024 Best of the Net Anthology. Nominee for the 2023 and 2024 Pushcart Prize. Editor of Chewers by Masticadores.

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