Poetry: When the Sky Is Falling

by Jane Seskin, LCSW

I must first take

a breath, then visualize someone

who loves me, inhaling hope yet

knowing there are things I won’t

be able to control. 

I can still eat books, music and art 

and have conversations with my

community, where I tell them I 

am grateful for their presence in 

my life and then lift up my arms 

to  sing and dance and laugh, to 

make the noises that affirm my 

stable presence in this world that 

has become so perilous.

I see silence now as a welcome 

friend as I look for and notate a 

daily moment of joy, yet continue

to push back and thru emotional 

discomfort, knowing I will not die 

from allowing the feelings of anger,

sadness and loss to wash over my 

skin.

I will welcome the dreams where I

step on a rainbow, extend my hand,

open my heart and give away flowers 

and kindness - for I know that even 

though the sky is falling, my body 

vibrates 

with this gift of being alive. 

Jane Seskin (www.janeseskin.com) is a licensed clinical social worker and the author of numerous nonfiction and poetry books. Her essays and poems have appeared in national magazines and journals. Her latest book is Older, Wiser, Shorter (www.olderwisershorter.com) available on Amazon. You can follow her therapeutic sound-bites (Emotional Band-Aid. Small Steps For Change) on Twitter @jsauthorshrink.