In the Blink of an Eye, Risk Taking, Afterfall
– Poetry by Lori Ulrich –
In the Blink of an Eye
in a split second
life shifts
you fall
not sure if
you heard it correctly
sprawled on the ground
truth has you pinned
writing about death
placing it on paper
gives you something to read
over, and over again
words inked in permanency
they hit the paper
with such anger
there are bruises
on the lines
Risk Taking
saying the unsayable
writing truths is risky
blunt, graphic details
stain the page
hearts break
some things we
never get over
I write undisturbed
without comment
safely, until private words
are housed
buried, beneath sorrow
sadness moans
Afterfall
I lay on the cold ground
arms spread wide
tomorrow means
nothing
in this place
it’s getting dark
I can’t see the stars
plans to save you were
lost in the whispers
of night
the weight in your eyes
I couldn’t turn away from
torn open
nothing inside
but silent screams
watching cancer take you
until there was nothing left
to take
but bones
and skin
afterfall
I lay in the snow
hold on
for another day
About the Author – Lori Ulrich
Lori Ulrich is an elementary school teacher at a K-12 rural school in Saskatchewan. She lives on a farm. She has been writing poetry most of her life. She feels a poem lurking around all corners, ready to be written. Lori believes the meaning of life is to experience connection. Lori has published poems in magazines, journals and chapbooks. Lori has a story published with Chicken Soup for the Caregivers Soul.
Did you like this poem by Lori Ulrich? Then you might also like:
Metaplasia and other poems
This is What Death Does
Things I’ve Learned on the Road
Dog Men (A Prison Story)
We grew up on fear and became heroes
Mud Season, Graceless & Violet Abandon
The damsel in distress was not for me
Or, consider the following:
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