This Sunday's writing prompt: in light of the current climate - political, economic, social - make a list of synonyms for worry. Then make a list of antonyms. From that let a poem arise. The results are below.
synonyms for worry
fret
agonize
dwelling on the negative
stew
brood
distress
anxiety
unease
concern
tension
stress
perplexity
misgiving
thoughts of impending trouble
presentiment
synonyms for the opposite of that –
contentment
certainty
confidence
trust
peace
comfort
A Kind of Prayer
In the dead of night,
encompassed, enfolded
in lightless dark,
I can switch on a lamp,
set a match to a candle,
illuminate the shadows,
send them scurrying into corners,
ease my anxious mind
with the familiar –
See? All is recognizable,
all is well.
In the daylight,
when dark shadows crowd
the light into corners,
I must find another means of comfort,
Another way to tame the dark,
and so I name things -
there’s a tree, a wall, a sink, a pen,
on and on, until I begin to notice
the leaves are green,
the wall is brick,
the sink is clean,
the pen is blue;
and further still,
the leaves rustle, whisper, dance
the bricks are sun-warmed,
the wall is meant to protect,
the sink is lustrous, gleaming, useful,
the pen, in hand, can set thoughts down,
free them up,
and so the world rights itself
and becomes comfortable again.
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| Photo by Jean |
