THE POEM FAILS
to explain why it matters
is impossible, is why
I need the poem to allow
for the shatter
I tell my therapist
not for the first time: I want to honor
what’s broke
no: silver linings, phoenix rising from ashes, lemons turned lemonade
no: recovery narrative
the poem fails
to make understandable
what isn’t—
I don’t want to fix it
I just want to hold it
This poem was published in Issue 5 of Old Pal, summer solstice 2022. Cover photograph by Darla Mottram.