April is National Poetry Month.  This year, I will be posting raw, unedited pieces throughout the month.  Here is today’s piece (which happens to be an oldie that popped up just when I needed to see it).

Each day more outrageous than the last

I hold my tongue, but not my breath

as I learn to wait for more information

before coming to a conclusion…

only because I have had to learn

to wait for more information

before coming to conclusions

about my own experience.

When one is constantly forced to question one’s own perception,

silence, time, acceptance, and reflection

reveal more than bureaucratic investigations

or seductive conspiracies colored with partial truths

or co-opted definitions which project one’s shortcomings on others.

It’s ok to question perception.

It’s ok to not know the answers.

It’s ok to be angry and scared.

And it’s ok to grieve our unmet expectations in life.

Because we cannot stand up or speak out effectively

until we address and accept these parts of ourselves,

and transform them into the courage that we need

to face what is coming…

©2017 hadelawilcox