She told us last night, over sushi,

how she’s losing a job, a 25-year friendship.

The table was quiet, sobered.

I thought of my own lost friendships,

some that faded slowly,

others, one-sided, that I weeded from my friendship garden

after painful deliberation.

Still others where I, apparently, was deemed the weed,

left to wither, then finally yanked out by the roots.

Losses, all of them.

Yet I gained from them too, even if only

in self-awareness and cautionary tales.

[scs_alt]

PS — Pssst! Know someone who might benefit from seeing this today? Pass it on!

What they don’t tell you is that chaos is necessary,

that creation requires destruction,

that before you can build up, you must tear down.

The Greeks knew this. Our bones know it,

our sore-after-exercising muscles.

The big mess? The “I have no idea what do do next” panic?

They’re all part of the process.

Just cozy up to the discomfort and push on through.

What birth was ever pain-free?

[scs_alt]

PS — Pssst! Know someone who might benefit from seeing this today? Pass it on!

Eventually I will master the art of sleep,

turning off my spinning mind at will,

dropping into dreamworld the minute my head

hits the pillow, and staying there until a full

eight hours have passed, waking refreshed,

rested, recharged.

Or if not, eventually, at least, this streak

of insomnia will break,

and I’ll enjoy one morning without grit in my

skull and acid behind my eye sockets.

It may not be tomorrow, but I have faith

that it will happen eventually.

[scs_alt]

PS — Pssst! Know someone who might benefit from seeing this today? Pass it on!

They never tell you that

what feels like happiness

when you’re young and foolish

is a pale imitation of the kind

you find later,

when you’ve grown into yourself,

when you’ve sloughed off cool

and cozied up with vulnerable,

when you’ve accepted that your life

will never look like TV

and that this, surprisingly,

is not just ok, but good,

when you’ve finally wrapped your arms

around the you that is

and waved goodbye

to the you you’d expected

[scs_alt]

PS — Pssst! Know someone who might benefit from seeing this today? Pass it on!

The way you make me lose track of time,

loose from any attachment point,

like an astronaut floating in a capsule.

The way you swell my heart,

so it floats, pounding like a balloon,

up past the atmosphere,

perhaps on date for tea with the astronaut.

The way you widen my eyes and quicken my breath,

put me on the verge of a smile,

like a child at the edge of a high dive,

the thrilling moment before the leap.

It is this.

It is this.

It is this.

[scs_alt]

PS — Pssst! Know someone who might benefit from seeing this today? Pass it on!