How was I supposed to move on? — “Tomorrow you can all go back to school,” Dad said, handing my siblings and I a short note explaining our absence. Was he kidding? How were we supposed to face our friends, our teachers? I wasn’t ready. I just wanted to stay home. To sit on the black and gold…

The Pandemic Word Challenge Each morning, like you, I wake up to find we’re still in this pandemic. Taking a walk in the cemetery, I try to clear my troubled mind and reflect. I was asked to join this challenge by Jordin James sharing what one word keeps me afloat…

A poem about grief — I remember the day you slipped away, the day that wouldn’t end. It changed my life, changed my world. Not because you died, but because everything stopped. Life as I knew it, life as I wanted it, your life. And I moved to a place without you, an empty place. …

People from physically abusive homes can heal — I remember the time my husband and I sought counseling, going through some struggles. Honestly, I thought our problems were his. It really surprised me when the counselor said, “I’d really like to see you again, Anne.” Week after week, I went to counseling and learned things I had never…

A poem about abuse — You never know what someone’s gone through, you never know where they have been. And yet, we often make our judgments, outwardly, or deep within. I’ve made mistakes with lots of people, I’ve even judged, without a clue. …

A poem about God’s presence The silence is so deafening, I see no one around. There‘s no one I can talk to, and my loneliness abounds. And yet, inside my spirit, I know this cannot be. For God has always promised, he would stay right next to me. Could it…

A poem about grief Our walls can no longer hold laughter, like they always have done before. But instead, it’s like sadness decides to move in, and then quietly closes the door. Grief is a quiet intruder, who will show up whenever he will. And the silence that’s left, when their eyes close…