2 Pieces by Lynne Schmidt

The Next Storm

You were a tornado
and I was the village in the path.
You brought down trees,
fences,
the house I grew up in,
but you left me standing.

In the weeks after you swept in
and leveled everything in your path
I tried to reset.

I took hammers and nails,
placed them into beams that promised me they were sturdy.
I built until my hands bled
until my heart shed what was left of you.

I spent so much time with my hands in the dirt
I forgot to watch the sky for the next storm.

---

 

The Tragedy of Hope

You taste like sunlight,
The first wave that capsizes in the ocean,
Tree bark in the spring,
Seeped in sap,
Energy
Light.
You taste like the will to get out of bed,
Shower, move.
The light that cut through clouds
Like knives on skin.
You taste like how good stories begin.

Lynne Schmidt (she/her) is a mental health professional in Maine. Her memoir, The Right to Live: A Memoir of Abortion was the Maine Nonfiction Award Winner and a PNWA finalist. Her poetry received the Honorable Mention from Joy of the Pen. Her work has appeared in Sixty-Four Best Poets of 2018, 2018 Emerging Poets, Frost Meadow Review, Poets of Maine, Poets of New England, Maine Dog Magazine, Alyss Literary, UNE Magazine, Her Kind Vida, and others. Lynne is the founder of AbortionChat. She has been and continues to be a featured poet at events throughout Maine. She prefers the company of her three dogs and one cat to humans.
Twitter: @LynneSchmidt
Facebook: Lynn(e) Schmidt

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