In response to: This Ends Here
knowing
a line in the sand over which there is no crossing; when you know you know and not a minute before; and you stick to your guns finally; there are no other options; you hold your ground against the pleading; because you are done; there is no going back; and you walk away; along your new path
©Karen Casady 2021
Los Angeles, California
In response to: One Day More
done
there was a time when one day more or one day less did not matter; minutes and hours could be thrown over your shoulder with no consequence; when you never needed to look back or glance forward; when only the moment had significance and you lived it with vigor and vitality; until one day you didn’t; you threw all meaning away; you swept substance out the door; you relegated importance to the back burner; and then you lived happily ever after
© Karen Casady 2021
Los Angeles, California
In response to: Child of War
powerless
no palpable war existed between them; only hints of dissatisfaction that surfaced occasionally; but it was the ongoing tension that was most paralyzing; the silent litany of anger; the ever present hunger for change; he took a shot of schnapps before dawn each morning and she plied herself with mind altering pills; Mrs. Glazer doesn’t get up to help Gary off to school in the mornings your mother said so I’m not getting up and helping you either; eight year olds have no power; and that was that
© Karen Casady 2021
Los Angeles, California
In response to: Lighthouse on the Hill
thursday
a sense of Saturday permeates your Thursday; you assure yourself over and over; Thursday not Saturday; but Saturday prevails; you do your Thursday things but wonder why; your calendar says Thursday but Saturday drowns it out; finally Thursday sends out a beacon; fires a rescue flare; Saturday fades and you return to the mundane quietness of Thursday
© Karen Casady 2021
Los Angeles, California
In response to: A Living Nightmare
trying to find the words where none exist; each day the same as the last; errors pile upon errors; drive you mad; you fall down an endless rabbit hole; soaring past hands offering help; you reach out but cannot grab on; you land with a loud thud; the hands fall upon you; you vanish
© Karen Casady 2021
Los Angeles, California
In response to: Wine and Chocolate
forgetting
he plies you with wine when only chocolate will do; you drink; you nestle in; but you pine for sweetness; a joyous burst of soothing confection rolling across your tongue; the dryness of the wine confounds you; you want to recoil but the taste of plush grape lingers; it dallies between kisses; you forget chocolate and fall into wine’s delicious clutches
©Karen Casady 2021
Los Angeles, California
In response to: Running Out of Time
pathway
it shloshes; it gurgles; it plays tricks; steady as she goes is a myth; an irregular rhythm smothers its beat; rendering it ineffectual and unreliable but still it bounds forward; giving no quarter; stopping at nothing
© Karen Casady 2021
Los Angeles, California
