They walk
Some fast
Some slow
Some confused
Angry faces
Perplexed faces
Not too many
Smiling
Not too much
Joy
Rushing
Feeling the grind
The get there now
No patience
Time ticks
Loudly
Life is passing
Us by
Risky?
Play it safe?
What
Brings
You peace?
What
Brings
You hope?
Lonely?
Keep moving
Find your self
In the jostling
In the hum
The drum
The heartbeat
Of the
Zombies in life
That push
And shove
Through the
Sea of others doing
The
Same
Thing
Just getting by
The happy
One day when
Not for me
No thanks
Observing
The sludge
The pounding
Of my heart
Of a life truly lived
I don’t regret
My courage
My candor
My truth
My shoulders back
I meet gazes
Directly
Not ashamed
Of who I am
Rocking purple lipstick
Shoulders back
A grin
I see you
I really see
The good
The bad
The ugly
The beauty
The colors
That push by
In a flurry and a scurry
Am I different?
Thank God I am
Hand to chest
I feel my
Own heartbeat
And I smile
Grateful
To be alive
To be
Here
Now
This
Very moment
In an airport
Jostling around
Eyes meeting
I see you
In the jostling
In the hum
The drum
The heartbeat
Of the
Zombies in life
Passing by
Too quickly
Missing
Everything
Tag: family
REGRET
REGRET
Perspective
Intention
Momentum
Is everything
Mixed with a dash
Of courage
Joy
Peace
In your
Core
Balls-to-bones
Your truth
That resonates
And vibrates
Like an audible
Hum
Do you love
Out loud?
Are kind to others?
Offer hope?
Encouragement?
Embrace?
Or does
Your past
Cloud
Your
Everything?
Living in
Remorse?
In regret?
When Death
Comes
Oh it’s coming….
How will you
Be remembered?
How will you
Remember them?
In regret?
With regret?
Should have?
Could have?
Didn’t?
What will you do
When regret
Gets ahold
Of you?
Will you change?
Will you cry?
Will you beat yourself up?
Or will you grow?
Want?
Long?
Morph?
Into a better human?
Will you
Live in the past?
Too much in the future?
Or the now?
No regrets
Perspective
Intention
Momentum
Is everything
Mixed with a dash
Of courage
Joy
Peace
In your
Core
Regret nothing
If
You
Can
Step
I see you
I know you
Every piece and part
I’m tired
Of always being the strong one
Hives
Everywhere
I have to get out
Of my head
You need to try
If
You
Can
Hope whispers
And goes
Like a vapor
We’re both left
Disappointed
I step
I’m tired
Of being the only one stepping
So
Now what
You here
Me there
I see you
Stepping
If I stop
I’m afraid of my own
Thoughts
Step
Stepping
Ironic
That my feet
Literally
Keep breaking
New beginnings
Step
Choices
Good
Bad
Let’s do this
The merry go round
Of life
Stepping
How long can we keep repeating
This same stepping?
Our past
Predicts
Our future
Is this
What our future
Looks like?
Step
JJ McCreary
6/25/17
Who Told You To Be Strong?
Born a fighter
A survivor
A stranger, head tilted
Eyes perplexed asked,
“Who told you
Since you were little
You had to be strong?”
Everyone
Seven brothers
Tackle football, concussions
Shake-it off, be strong
Twelve years old…decided to leave home
For a boarding school
Early decisions, strong decisions
Graduated high school at sixteen
Wonder woman?
Super girl?
Dedicated, focused
Enough was never enough
Stay strong
Be self-sufficient
Rely on yourself
Be strong, live strong
Here I am
Breakable
Back burner…everything
Must keep stepping
Stepping shows strength
No tears, shake it off
But some days I wilt
Tired of the grind
Of the stepping
I’m different
Unique
Purposeful
When do I stop being strong?
I can’t breathe
I just want to breathe…
A loner? A fighter? A survivor?
I use to view life as ‘One day when’, ‘I’ll be good when’…
Not anymore
In my now
Right here
So let’s stop stepping
And deal with the mess
Embrace the now & all it comes with
Cry, write, discuss, pray, breathe
Repeat
Now
Not one day when
He asked the question… a stranger
“Who told you since
you were little you
had to be strong?”
Everyone
But not
Right NOW
A Thousand Scrolling Faces
I sat and watched thousands of faces
Scroll in memory of them
They were young
They were old
They held their babies in their arms
They held each other
We watched and I wondered
What brought you to this place?
What heartache?
What pain?
What tragedy?
The smiling faces staring back at me don’t help me understand.
We gather, standing, holding our breath
Waiting for our loved ones face to come on the screen.
They’re gone
They are not coming back to us
To hold
To cherish in our arms
To watch their children grow
We are the ones left waiting
Wanting more for those smiling in the scrolling pictures than they wanted for themselves
I’m broken
I want to know their story
I want to know why
And then I see her
Holding her breath
Camera poised
To catch a glimpse of her son
Anxious
He can’t be missed
Never forgotten
None of them ever will be
The tears come for what we wish could have been
What should have been
Heroin destroys families
Hold on to hope
Get help
We love you
We miss you
“All I wanna do is make a difference, some way, somehow….maybe create a few smiles in the process.”
Christopher Holland 10/16/85- 3/7/2016
Hibiscus Girl
Hibiscus Girl
Radiant sunlight
Strawberry blonde hair glowing in the sun
Hot pink cheeks in the Florida sun
Humid, sticky
Run & run, play & run
Laughing
Aussies nipping
Birds chirping
Beautiful hibiscus flowers
Yellow
Hot Pink
Red
Dainty fingers choose hot pink
Huge grin
Proud moment
Outstretched hand
Hot pink hibiscus, plucked before me
Sparkling eyes, love brimming
Memories created & flash
Off again
There she goes
Aussies barking
Poop on shoes
Hibiscus flower tucked in
Strawberry blonde hair glowing in the sun
Jeni McCreary
strengthdefined 