discarded

Dusty drawl in southern slander

Quiet strained to understand her

Tired eyes let free her story

Stripped bare of their childhood glory

Heavy eyes, dull grey reflections

Amplified stained imperfections

Hidden between beaten hands

Scrubbed, bleached, scarred and tender hands

Tearful in her struggle, she

Clasps the wisps of cherished strands

and bows          shamelessly

Finally.

To life itself

Breathed into lungs

Revived her health

A tiny fleck of spirited stealth

Behind the scars, beyond the fears

A dusty drawl in southern slander

Dazed I strained to understand her

spoke seven words...

“...it’s like I seen my momma again”

My heart shattered like the life within her

I embraced that child and never left her
~Chelsea

Sidewalk

Balancing on the edge of the sidewalk is tricky business.
One hearty gust of wind, and no matter how much arm-flailing,
falling from that ledge is inevitable.
A slight heart-skip and a step up later,
I find myself on the ledge once again.
I close my eyes and imagine i am on top of the tallest building.
Twilight has set upon the city, and a storm is rolling in.
I feel the first kisses of baby raindrops on my face.
The mist snaps at my senses, and my ankles start to wobble and strain.
It suddenly feels much higher up.
But I can’t step away from the ledge.
The fear of falling is hidden behind a veil of wonders.
The sun is flickering like a child’s heavy eyes,
upon the tops of cars lining roads like veins through the city.
The wild has come to reclaim their forest.
I see raccoons, and skunks, and possums,
and squirrels running feverishly free.
I wonder what falling would feel like.
I know my ankles and knees are in favour,
but my heart is hiding in my throat.
The wind is much stronger up here.
The baby drops have grown up into rain now.
I was once told that God is in the rain.
I wonder if He’ll give me wings.
I step forwards, heart swelling in my throat!
And it sinks back down as I land on cement.
Beside my sidewalk.
What limitations.