Artwork By Kimberly Jo Smith
I have always been someone who believes that no matter how much adversity you’re surrounded by, there is a way to endure it and come out strong if you have a sound faith base and are true to yourself. I am also a firm believer that if one processes anger and pain that comes from trauma of any kind, there is a way to come to a place where one can forgive. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to have a relationship with a person who did you harm, but forgiveness is a healing process for you. It takes the weight off of you, the weight that comes with hatred and bearing grudges. It is freeing to be able to walk through life without that weight. So whatever process that is for you, be it therapy, Music, Scripture study and prayer, Family and friends, or meditation… Whatever works for you, find that road and take it so that you can be everything you came here to be and find joy.
I wrote these two poems while I was listening to Chris’s Gallery on TikTok. He gets on several times a week and plays his piano compositions as well as taking requests from listeners. On one particular evening, I was listening to a song and it moved me to write the following two poems. This is for anyone who suffered abuse.
A Thousand Yesterdays
A thousand yesterdays
Then dark clouds gathered unexpectedly
Ominous
Descending
Encircling
Consuming
I fell into their depths
Lost in a seasonal storm
I neither lived nor did I die
Breathing
Rapidly
Fearfully
Quietly
A prisoner of despair
I tried reasoning how
This ill wind descended
Violently
Storming
Thundering
Lightening
Entrenched by flooding water I cried out, “why?”
My ravaged heart answered, “it matters not
Process it, let it go, walk on
Crying
Venting
Relieving
Breathing
A thousand yesterdays will not be undone
If the pause for reason is too long
Continue with your journey
Confidently
Happily
Joyfully
Expanding
©KJS2024
Invasive Species
Through the gate
Trespass on her soul
The flower’s purity dissipates
Like a mist ushered out unwillingly
The spirit, heart, and mind crushed
Petals drooping, sloping stem
She weathers every season
Not so brightly as she should
Adapting through time
She was schooled by the light in her heart
Until she learned the value of forgiveness
As such, the wilted flower stood taller
No longer bent by heavy residue
She flourished, expanded, and beautified
©KJS2024