Thursday, September 28, 2023

Open Wound

 


The sun rises 

with its murder of crows, 

and I fight the spoon 

that feeds me another

hour of prayers unanswered. 


Is there a god who doesn’t 

bind me to a hymn that

sings only heaven will

bring freedom? 


The gravel beneath my feet

never grows softer. 

My spirit is too raw to 

even form a scar. 


I’ve bled my heart into

journal pages, carried matches

to light candles that never stay lit. 


I’m so weary I’ve grown deaf

to my bones begging me to rest. 


I fear I’m becoming as silent

as those I thought would speak. 


Susie Clevenger 2023

 

 


Sunday, September 10, 2023

I've Never Lost My Shoes



Is this tomorrow
or am I still on
today’s treadmill?

I’m beginning to wonder
where I fit in other than
on trauma’s fist.

In my everything’s coming up roses
I am making bouquets out of dry petals.
Questions flower on my tongue
only to be met by the drought of no answers.

Lately I’ve been screaming in empty rooms
where my voice disappears into nail holes
I’ve hammered in my gallery of goodbyes.

There is weakness in strength, fear in being brave.
I’m tired of having to cross another valley,
but grateful I’ve never lost my shoes. 

©Susie Clevenger 2023