Knowing

I’ve known horrible.

Disaster hailstorms on the heart,

break-your-soul months,

tears trapped in well-meaning jars,

landslides of secret wishes into the abyss.

I’ve known tragic.

Families who’ve tripped over

love - their every move forward

cracked the surface of good intentions,

plunged into ice-cold regret.

I’ve known sorrow.

I could tell you of a life 

I spent walking on eggshells,

the weight of my every step

too heavy to keep the peace.

But - and this is the secret

to waking up with the dawn 

and knowing you’re ready 

to live 

another day -

I’ve known beautiful.

I’ve seen that sometimes, 

if you remember to look,

the moon summons her smile 

through a perfect tree-branch frame.

I’ve known luck;

I’ve loved people with more depth than a skydive.

poem - June 2012