One might say life served her
sunny side up, bright smile
as perennial and perky
as spring blooms.
"Go to your room and don't come out
till you have a smile on your face,"
and the sad child kept that obsequious smile
through heartbreak, abuse, the con man
who burned down her store, that was also
her home. She kept bobbing up from disaster
like an apple in a Halloween tub. How did she do it,
one might well ask. She'll tell you the blue sky
kept her Looking Up. She'll say nature's beauty
got her through, that she walked in wonder
even through the littered wasteland
of broken dreams.
And what of her heart? She'll tell you there was once
a big black dog, who showed her how love
was always meant to be.
For Brendan at Desperate Poets
One of your finest, Ms. Sherry! We need those folks and livestock in our lives who show us how love is meant to be.
ReplyDeleteThis is so beautiful, touching, and perfect.
ReplyDeleteYep. You had Pup, I had Sundance. <3
ReplyDeleteAw. Weathering those broken shoelaces does take a sunny disposition, but I suspect that it's a choice and not genetic. A cruel choice, sometimes, other times a naked one. Well done, Sherry. Happy to see you at Desperate Poets. Open link Friday afternoon, earthweal time.
ReplyDeleteThe steps through that littered wasteland of broken dreams were maybe lightened by the Blue Sky and the presence of that big black dog. Heart rending stuff Sherry. Good to see you with the Desperate crowd.
ReplyDeleteThis breaks my heart with its simple truth and honesty...
ReplyDeleteThe sadness in this seems like a film over life, yet one that can be wiped clean, at least for a time, when the right cloth of the heart comes to hand. This resonates with me. Good to read you again, dear Sherry.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poem, Sherrie. You really showed a resilience despite all the difficulties that could have battered you down. But then there was the dog........
ReplyDeleteIt takes a lot of strength, courage and preserved innocence to always look up into the blue sky, even when it is not baby blue, even when it shows too much of the Sun. Thank you for sharing your wonderful poem so I can read it. Likewise, if interested, the looking up reminded me of a poem I read recently, which is the opposite, by Hanif Abdurraqib and titled 'Re: Your Submission 12:40 AM Editor to Me'
ReplyDelete(((empathy)))
ReplyDelete