Tag: grief

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

Not Untouchable

My first published poem
Titled, ‘Untouchable Rose’
Created for the life you led
And here I am today
Looking at beautiful roses
Dying & wilting
You’ve been untouchable
For almost 5 years now
I can’t see you
I miss you
I need you
Everyone needs their Mom
Regardless of age
And time
Ugly cried
All the way home
Hard workout
Triggered repressed
Grief
Grief in missing you
Grief in my now
Grief for a future
That feels fuzzy
I’m sorry for judging
For not understanding
I get that you did
The best you could
I wish I could hear
Your voice
Listen to that laugh
That was so uniquely
Yours
I heard your voice today
So clearly
“Honey…you will when you’re ready”
You always believed in me
My dreams
My hopes
My writing
My forever champion
How I miss you
You were never
An untouchable rose
I just didn’t get it
Like I get it now
I see your beauty
Everywhere
I smell the wilting roses
And cry

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