Poems That Celebrate Resilience, Joy, and Introspection
In the “The Choices We Make” Carol Ostrow urges readers to embrace joy and live in the moment despite life’s troubles, by focusing on laughter and gratitude. “Day 495 Million”by Nicole Freezer Rubens reflects on the pain and hope of awaiting the return of the missing. Madlyn Epstein Steinhart’s “Boundaries” underscores the importance of setting personal boundaries to prioritize self-care. And Marjorie Levine’s “My Celadon Chemise” captures the quiet contentment of a Saturday morning. Collectively, these poems celebrate the resilience, joy, and introspection that shape our lives.
The Choices We Make
We all agree we will not live forever,
So, let’s choose to have some real fun together,
Forget your troubles for a single moment,
And receive the good vibes to you I’ve sent,
Troubles appear on dark cloudy days,
Forget them now in all their ways,
That did upset and sent you in a whirl,
Come on now, be a strong boy and girl,
All that pain that life has to give,
Put aside for the moment in order to live,
In laughter with your family and best friends,
And be grateful that feeling eventually ends,
Give yourself a break
Get ready to take,
The joy you so richly deserve,
Cause it’s up to you to serve,
That dish of choice to yourself!
~Carol Ostrow, “Poems from My Pandemic Pen” and “Poetry in Motion with Much Devotion”
Day 495 Million
I don’t know who that is
but he is mine.
The bulk of the hostage sticker
is scraped away
and I can no longer see
whose face this is,
but he belongs to me.
We gather.
We scream.
We sign.
We hope.
We pray.
We sing loud enough for our voices to reach
the depths of the far-off tunnels,
and lift the spirits
of the stolen souls.
We wait
for the tenuous return
of the remaining 76.
The world continues
to rotate backwards
as never again
has never left.
~Nicole Freezer Rubens, author “The Long Pause and the Short Breath”
Boundaries
Families and friends need to step to your tune
Demanding not permitted
How about asking?
Their expectations of your time and availability don’t come first
Some will bid you farewell, so be it
Some will accept this despite their need to always get their way
Family comes first for some
Set the boundaries
Say no
There are all kinds of families
FIlled with narcisstists and troublemakers
Way past time to make it about you first if need be
Boundaries
Set then and adapt with yourself in mind
MY CELADON CHEMISE
It’s 7 A.M.
and he whispers as
I bring him a cup of brewed decaf and
one warm croissant with
mint jelly (his favorite).
I cannot hear what he is saying but
I think it must be complimentary and
I slip back between the pale green sheets.
I am cozy now;
I am glad it is a Saturday
in June and that
“Upstate” is just a short distance away.
What’s the weather like?
I need a haircut,
he needs a shave,
the dog needs a bath. . .
But on this Saturday morning,
(I smile as I realize)
I’m wearing a celadon chemise
that matches
the wallpaper, the carpet, the vase, the . . .
— Marjorie J. Levine. author “Road Trips” and “Becoming Until”
Poetry is back in vogue and through The Three Tomatoes Book Publishing we have the honor of publishing books by four poets—Madlyn Epstein Steinhart, Stephanie Sloane, Nicole Freezer Rubens, and Carol Ostrow. Check out their poetry submissions each month.
