A writer friend once said, “If I’d known I was going to live
this long, I’d have taken better care of myself." At the time I laughed. But
as the years have gone by, her statement has come back to me many times.
Now that I’m in the last few days of celebrating my 75th
“Birthday Season,” I’ve thought even more about maintaining self-care. The
central, recurring thought: strength.
Physical strength is good and necessary so we can keep going.
Equally important is having strong convictions and passions.
I recently met up with a childhood friend who’s about my
age. During our conversation, I often heard, "I'm too old." and "I don't care about..." She seemed to have given up on life, even though she has a track record of
being a strong woman in her younger days. This is a woman who gathered the
strength to flee an oppressive relationship in a foreign country and get her
five-year-old son back to the United States. She worked hard and made a
comfortable life for them.
We’ve all had to muster strength to get through life’s
challenges, small and large. Think back years, or even days, to when you had to be strong and
resilient. Write your “strength poem.”
Word Bank
Fragile
Intense
Powerful
Tough
Weak
Photo Prompt
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| Washington, D.C. Photo by Annis Cassells |
Quote Prompt
"It doesn't take a lot of strength to hang on. It takes a lot of strength to let go." J. C. Watts
We'd love to read your work. Please share your poem in the comments below, or provide a link to your website.
Annis Cassells is a writer, poet, life coach, and teacher. She divides her time between Bakersfield, California and Coos Bay, Oregon, where she conducts memoir writing classes for senior adults. She is a member of Writers of Kern, a branch of the California Writers Club. See Annis’s blogs at www.thedaymaker.blogspot.com and www.poemsbyannis.blogspot.com and her website at www.connectionsandconversations.com