Morning Goddesses

Photo by Beth Macdonald on Unsplash

One of my favorite challenges about poetry is to tell the story of a person with just a few words. I feel like poetry can capture that feeling of knowing something important about a person, even if we’ve just seen them go through the self checkout at the grocery store. I feel drawn to each one of these women.

The new mother --

Under eye circles the same blue as her eyes,

shoulders rounded inward for the constant presence of her infant.

She just needs to open up her back,

to move again

in unconscious freedom.

The injured lady --

Fell backward in her bathtub,

broke her fall with a shelf,

counts herself lucky

as she struggles to breathe through the pain in her ribs.

Tries not to think of the way her body moves --

like an old woman.

The fit trainer --

Weeks out from surgery,

she recovered with an eight mile walk

and a five day fast.

Confused by a body that keeps sending her the message:

Stop. Allow yourself to grieve.

Part of you is gone forever.