Awkward Moments (a poem)
This is one of those
awkward
moments,
we all have them
and yet in the midst of it
I feel so foolish,
exposed,
helpless,
and alone.
This is one of those
awkward
moments,
we all have them
and yet in the midst of it
I feel so foolish,
exposed,
helpless,
and alone.
Give thanks. Give attention, acceptance, kindness. Give of your heart. Give comfort. Give peace, joy, happiness. Give of your soul.
It’s winter again, it’s snowing outside, and my soul is as dry as my hands. A frozen wasteland, no less of a desert. My heart is parched like the sands.
I hope you will join me in this act of solidarity as I stand up for those who are being forced to assimilate with a societal construct that does not fit them or reflect their lived experience.
(377 words)
They have seen it all and stood strong despite the pushback. They have the scars to show for it, but they also have resilience.
The tilt of your head, the lilt in your voice, the look in your eyes, I don’t have a choice. The words that you say, the ones that you don’t, the volumes unspoken, it’s clear that you won’t.
Some of my ancestors crossed an ocean to live in a land they had never seen. Some lived out their entire lives in one place, never venturing outside of their village, never seeing an ocean.
© 2009-2026 E.L. Redwine