Yep, I traveled while I was away! And it was interesting, to say the least. :) My first trip was to Charleston, SC, on a house sit where I got to spend time with a… More
Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld
Release the Grip
Her footprints covered quickly.
Paths well-known need no map.
Cold nor heat have no regard.
Breathe in and out.
It’s all the same to her.
Level the ground to relate—
better yet to comfort.
To offer help, to understand
many such as her.
Tomorrow is uncertain.
Today, the stomach wants
not food nor drink
but to know
retch is safe
within the house of love.
Her Grief
She kept a grip
on the trash can, lined with a Piggly Wiggly bag.
Her insides were out.
Her outside was blue.
Breathe; breathe hard—
hold on for the best life.
It was not a simple event
One brought by a virus or disease.
It was the internal release
Of grief
Of loss
Of pain.
Why she had to go this far
was a question she asked, daily.
When her head ached,
her spine seized,
her skin broke out.
Her heart broke.
Love of self,
of her brother,
of her mother,
then her father.
It was too hard to breathe
When they were all released.
Her world would never be the same.
Life beckoned to her.
One last chance to tell herself—
no more she could lose.
Then her sister left.
And she fell once again.
The lies we tell ourselves.
This time will be different.
Simply the Best
His eyes of sky blue
glisten with each day’s dawn.
Butterfly wings
flicker with the sun’s gentle kiss.
His hands are so small
as his thumb finds his mouth
she speaks his name.
Giggles emanate from his throat.
His yawn leads to a bottle
She holds him close.
Nurture comes naturally.
Burps and bliss release.
His eyes shutter
As she sings a lullaby
he sleeps and she watches
as her best friend rests.
Sandcastles
sought by mighty seas
sandcastles wither to sludge
new days build new lives
~~~
Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld is the founder and manager of Prolific Pulse Press LLC, and a widely published poet and writer. She is the editor of numerous anthologies and is an editor for Fine Lines Journal. Tomey-Zonneveld is Poet Laureate Emeritus of Garden of Neuro Institute and resides in North Carolina. Lisa has been with The Short of It since the beginning. You can find more of her work HERE.
If you’d like to be featured on The Short of It in the future,
click here for the submission guidelines.
#TheShortofIt– Vol 1 The Sound of Brilliance, Vol 2 Reflections & Revelations,
and Vol 3 Natures Discovered, all on Amazon
Goutam Dutta
Life’s Battle for Survival
The scars that I bear;
Of blows and strikes
Over the years
Reminds me,
Of battles fought,
Some won and some lost!
The scars that I bear.
An ache, limp, or a tear.
Each has a story to cite;
Of the pride,
Of not giving in,
To some superior might!
The scars I bear;
Of life’s long working years,
Has slowed me down,
Impeded my movement.
Yet, it fails to
Cow, bow, or push
In my heart, I continue to be resilient.
The scars that I bear.
I hold them very dear.
Acquired due to struggle through the years.
Each has a story of its own.
In my memory, etched.
In life’s waning years,
To be replayed.
At the Campsite
Winter’s chill at night
Every lip joins in chorus
Glow of the campfire.
Bliss
Away from the cacophony of city life.
On a clear night,
When the moon shines bright,
And the barmy breeze
Caresses like the touch of a child.
When fragrances of night flowers
Come floating from afar.
When the cloak of silence
Wraps around me snugly.
I know it is time-
For the words to come forth,
For a poem to be birthed.
Motherhood
Arms locked in embrace.
Cuddling him close to her chest
A lullaby wafts.
Friendship
A few moments of togetherness.
Gifted by impartial time.
We live it in pure bliss
Submerged in waves of reminisce.
~~~
Goutam is passionate about poetry and likes to write about all that touches his heart. He has two self-published books on poetry along with a few anthologies, where his writing has been selected. His blog gdutta17.wordpress.com, is where he shares his works with the world. Based in Kolkata, India, he can be reached at his email gdutta17@gmail.com. Goutam has been a part of The Short of It since its inception. You can find more of his work HERE.
If you’d like to be featured on The Short of It in the future,
click here for the submission guidelines.
#TheShortofIt– Vol 1 The Sound of Brilliance, Vol 2 Reflections & Revelations,
and Vol 3 Natures Discovered, all on Amazon
Pegah Rahmati Nezhad
Back into self
ba(c)k into self
the stream
and i
Lonely imaginary friend
sitting on a black bench
of piano key
child’s made-up friend
My wish
cotton candy sky
i wish
the sweetness
of your smile
never melts away
~~~
Pegah Rahmati Nezhad (@rahmati_pegah on Twitter) is a physician, scientist, artist, and poet from Tehran, Iran. She loves micropoetry, and believes in the power of words. Many of her poems have been published on international platforms, and several more are forthcoming. This is Pegah’s first feature with The Short of It.
If you’d like to be featured on The Short of It in the future,
click here for the submission guidelines.
#TheShortofIt– Vol 1 The Sound of Brilliance, Vol 2 Reflections & Revelations,
and Vol 3 Natures Discovered, all on Amazon
SenHai #71 Wrap-up & Taking A Well-Deserved Break!
I almost forgot to schedule my month off this year with everything that’s happened! lol But with things finally settled, most of the shittiness behind me, and having relocated to a special spot, I Write Her is on its annual hiatus. The Short of It will continue to be featured on Fridays, but I won’t participate in any challenges or prompts or post any poetry during October. SenHai Saturday will also be on hiatus! I will be back on November 1!
Aptivi’s Joyful Corner is generously allowing me to showcase their creation and to use it as
the featured banner image for this weekly challenge! Thank you so much!!
Here are the lovely contributions from last Saturday! If you didn’t get yours in before the usual posting, I will make sure to get it in this post. Sorry for any inconvenience I’ve caused.
Aptivi – SenHai Saturday [Sept. 26th, 2026, #71]
Ange – SenHai…
Jules – Red-faced Monkey
Nancy – Pondering Primate
Carolyn – SenHai Saturday #71
Selma – SenHai Saturday #71
Eugenia – SenHai Saturday – 9/26/26
Nancy – SenHai Saturday #71
Sadje – Looking for hope
Intercontinental Affair – True Story
john lies to his wife
a sex worker fills his need
both are now in love
“I didn’t talk badly about you, I talked about what you did to me. If telling the truth makes a person look bad, that’s between them and their behavior. I’m not responsible for protecting someone’s image when they had no problem damaging my peace. Sometimes the truth only sounds harsh because that someone benefited from the silence.” – Miley Cyrus
OWN IT.
Oh, and a final word on the “only person who was innocent in all of this”: Watch this.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=1045997945038710
You two deserve each other.
Once Upon A Time…
… there was a happy, married couple for a few years. No more. He’s found another, but that’s for a later post.
As we’ve all experienced, life can change on a dime with incessant and unexpected plot twists. The most recent seismic wave hit me on March 31st of this year, about three weeks before my 30th wedding anniversary. I found out my husband had been having an affair for the previous two months.
After discovering their affair, I was informed that he understood how devastating this was with this small, simple handwritten message he left for me. Yes, he expected me to stay AND be allowed to continue in his relationship with the other woman. But the only respectable thing for me to do was leave. I eventually did once I had my bearings.
Despite this impropriety, their relationship continues to this day. Statistically, the odds of it lasting are low, though. In case you’re curious, this newfound relationship has a 3%-5% chance of making it. Good luck, you two!
Some of you figured something was up because of my recent content; most did not. Welcome to my private little hell. I will share more in the future. Please know that while it has been one of the most difficult things I’ve gone through in my life, I am okay, and eventually, I will thrive despite it.
On August 31st, a scheduled plot twist, a judge signed the order that we would no longer be married. That moment bulged with so many different feelings; it’s hard to imagine I wouldn’t burst. But I didn’t. I reminded myself this was a new beginning for me, offering possibly a better and brighter future of my own making.
Throughout this ordeal, I’m most thankful for the strong support network that helped me process the lows I endured these past few months. Grief, anger, rage, sadness, disappointment, just to name a few. My two sons have been amazing; opening their homes to me gave me the time I needed to gain perspective on the situation and what my future would require. My close friends not only allowed me to navigate my feelings freely, but also supported me while I made the necessary changes that came with my decision to leave and divorce what had been my life for the previous 30+ years. I am a lucky woman to know such good people.
I won’t lie, this is still difficult for me to digest at times. Therapy should help with the betrayal trauma and all the emotions it produced. So far, so good. Writing furiously throughout the last six months has also helped put a lot of things in perspective, not to mention allowing me to purge some of the more harmful emotions I was experiencing.
During this upheaval, I have been reaching deep inside, grappling with all my emotions, and writing what felt front and center 24/7. During this time, I’ve produced so much more content than usual as I tried to process what happened. Unburdening my experience on this platform has not only helped me put the pain and the hurt in the past but hopefully touch others with whom it resonates. I will keep putting out a variety of content throughout the rest of this year, not so much about this situation, but it may feel emotionally heavier than usual. There was a lot to get through. I would say I have mostly moved on from letting this situation dominate my life. I’m concentrating on upcoming changes, but hopefully, from now on, most will be of my own making. I will keep you posted.
Below are a few memes I found that succinctly described how I felt during that time. I’ve seen a ton more over the last few months, but these feel pretty relevant right now. I wish I could credit everyone who made the images below, but I’m not sure where I got some of them. All the random memes on social media helped me through the darkest points I’ve experienced recently. They validated what I was often thinking and dealing with at the time. My ex certainly didn’t, and doesn’t, want to hear it directly from me anymore since he’s solidly moved on with the new “love of his life” and musical aspirations. The aspirations that he says were “only possible because of the support” he received from me and our family. Oh yay! So happy I gave him the strength to gut my life while he got to pursue his more fully. How gracious of me!
My goals now are to put my feelings out into the Universe and let it go. I may never receive the remorse or the real apology I deserve, but at least this is my way of healing from the worst of the betrayal.
It’s Time
Redux
I wish I knew when
death chose to take me away
I’d prepare for it
Originally posted 6/14/2019 on I Write Her.
In addition…
I wish I knew when
death chose to take some others
let’s celebrate it
Sounds cruel, doesn’t it? But yet, when someone has done you wrong, there isn’t much love left for empathy, is there?
Gradiations
blackened by trauma
slow return towards the light
grace and love returns
Still Nature
a pristine hush blankets my outlook
there is harmony all around me
aah, a perfect morning has presented itself
the fresh air invites my presence
as nature shares with me its calmness
and much-needed comfort
i can feel the quiet
as it envelops me like a cloak
silently, i breathe in the peace
a slower start
but a beneficial beginning
may this be every morning from now on
… thank you, gaia
Hard
*NSFW – some sexual content
i want to be used up
physically
a memorable workout leaving me spent
i want to be replenished
emotionally
a sane connection for us both
the dick felt good
shame it was attached to an asshole
next…
… what i need may not exist. definitely not with the dude who showed me what assholery he got up to.
Yeah. You. Fuck off.
