This month’s poems explore resilience, absurdity, escape, and determination.  “LENOX, MASSACHUSETTS” by Carol Ostrow, finds each day a blessing.  “FIRE DRILL” by Nicole Freezer Rubens finds serenity after escaping. “NO ROOM FOR IT” by Madlyn Epstein Steinhart, rejects “I can’t” as a belief.

LENOX, MASSACHUSETTS

I must begin by confessing,

To me, lately, each day is a blessing,

You may inquire why do I say,

These words on this particular day,

Why do I even feel this way?

Well, the sun is bright and deliciously warm,

I just exercised in particularly great form,

Have absolutely no aches or a pain,

That alone is a welcome refrain,

I’m breathing in the fresh clean air,

And, to be completely honest and very fair,

I will just blurt it out, if I do dare,

I’m on vacation and my phone doesn’t work!!!

~Carol Ostrow, author “Poems from My Pandemic Pen,” and “Poetry in Motion with Much Emotion, a Life Well Lived.”

FIRE DRILL

Sometimes I need a fire escape,

a metal mechanism of support

available outside my window,

for me to drop down

and leave unnoticed

by a door frame or a lock,

an invisible getaway.

My dominant right arm

would push open

the fragile glass panes,

and I’d fold myself up

like an origami swan

and squeeze through

to the chute and ladder

that will cave to my weight

and drop me onto the concrete sidewalk

to escape.

Landing with me knee to the ground

I would propose to serenity.

I would leave my phone at home

so eventually I’d have to return,

but I’d be refreshed

as I clicked on the mail icon,

ready to receive

more bad news.

~Nicole Freezer Rubens, author “The Long Pause and the Short Breath”

NO ROOM FOR IT

 Grew up avoiding “I can’t”
My father told me never to say or believe this contraction
Despite and in spite of hiccups and wrong turns
What one puts into matters is as much as what one gets out of the effort
There are situations and outcomes
Does one gamble?
Does one give up?
Choices and Options
The words “I can’t” just don’t compute or connect
You must keep trying to make things happen
There is no room for excuses or “I can’t” in anyone’s life
No room for it

~Madlyn Epstein Steinhart, author “Put Your Boots on and Dance in the Rain,” and “Beautiful Heart”