Rainbow
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.