Wheel of Fortune Turns

It's always moving, might as well learn some sea-legs

Welcome, and a warm first hello to the newcomers. Thank you all for joining!

This week, ten poems revolve around the Wheel of Fortune.

The Wheel calls us to consider our fragility, as well as how changeable our situation can be if we look for the soft places.

Background music: “The Joy of Being Alive” by The Lizzy Co Show. We’re dancing this one out.

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Intellectual

Curiosity saved me,

I thought, “What could be?”

Thought that all was dark.

Eyes had not been taught the light.

I sought a mentor.

The page is turning,

Watch as the spine of the book

Bends wide, and then breaks.

The water ran dry.

Had to seek new ground to dig,

Had to go real deep.

Exhale, little girl.

Let your long-tensed shoulders drop,

Let your knees buckle.

Scrape, scrape, knife on stone.

Scrape, scrape. How will you atone?

Scrape, scrape. Can’t go home.

No inheritance,

No trust fund, just student loans,

And my calluses.

The way is so clear.

I am no longer stumbling

Through jungles of fear.

The die has been cast,

But it can be thrown again.

In fact, it will be.

Raised by an angry momager,

Taught that everything I do

Belonged to her too,

Heard I had to pay my dues,

To be a full human.

She hated to lose,

Chose to flip the board instead.

I wished I was dead,

In that little yellow house,

Tippy-toe on eggshells, 

Quiet brown mouse.

Extremes, loud shouting,

Wooden spoons,

No belt,

Still bruised.

Why bother telling?

It’s done, over now.

I’m not telling you this shit

Just to bum you out,

But to show that not everyone is fine,

And if you find

That somebody’s giving you a hard time,

Set a boundary,

Nobody is owed your pain,

Sometimes you love someone

And never see them again. 

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All my best,