Friday, June 23, 2017

Taking Back the Knack


©2017 Susan Noyes Anderson

I think I may have lost the knack
that surely was my stock in trade
in days gone by. The years have made
me less adept. I've gone off track.

Relationships: I had a gift
of sensing need, meeting it well.
But lately, I am empty shell,
and every comer gets short shrift.

Oh granted, things are crazy here.
A drooping sun. A spinning moon.
Wheels of (mis)fortune turn too soon.
No respite. Toxic atmosphere.

Machine gun miseries from all.
A clip of trouble raining down.
Can't keep my people off the ground.
Can't always see them when they fall.

It rankles when I fail to see.
Not used to it. Don't like it much.
I'm fading, dropping balls and such.
Not quite the force that once was me.

Used up. Burned out. Like melted wax.
Point taken. I'm no northern star.
But they're my heart. Straight up, they are.
And I'll not drop them through the cracks.

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10 comments:

Anonymous said...

A light still shines. Marvelous poem.

LeAnn said...

Your ability to put your thoughts into poetic verse is incredible. I have felt this way more than once. I often think I have dropped the ball and last my knack.
Sending loving thoughts and hugs your way!

Sumana Roy said...

I love the note of 'all is not lost' that keeps us going in spite of odds...Lovely lines...

C.C. said...

This part is such vivd imagery: "Machine gun miseries from all.
A clip of trouble raining down.
Can't keep my people off the ground.
Can't always see them when they fall."

Burnout is sometimes inevitable when the hits keep coming like this, but it's not the end of the story. You can get your 'knack' back :-)

Julian said...

Words straight from the artists pallette.

indybev said...


Written like a good little caretaker with a huge skill for rhyming! I think life sometimes causes our "knack" to wax and wane. Sounds like no one will fall through the cracksm though. I love a good rhyme, and this is so skillfully done it makes me want to applaud!

Mary said...

Open and honest - meaningful words. I like a poem that speaks from the heart, that is crafted beautifully, that says something real. I empathize with your words.

Karen Sue said...

I've missed reading your writing and writing my own words..perhaps it will come back to me. Thanks for this

Rosemary Nissen-Wade said...

I like that it ends on that note of defiance.

Momza said...

It rains on the just and the unjust...in looking around, it appears to be raining on everyone lately. Blessings to you and your lovelies, Sue!