by Christina Petrides

Pressure

To be silenced
is to be discouraged.
Stifled dreams seep away
to poison air, earth,
and people.
Unrealized ambitions,
thwarted hopes,
and muted prayers seethe
until they burst
into enraged action—
blind, fierce, and embittered.

Pep Talk

Knock it back to good old times square one.
Show them what you’re made of—
not jelly donuts & egg-dipped toast,
but vinegar and spit.
Lift up the bristled chin
that greets your morning makeup mirror,
and don’t give into a deceitful broken heart.
Take peace into your troubled mind
(spare a thought for fools and little children in harm’s way),
and for the rest—easy does it.
Put your shoulder to the grindstone,
but don’t hurt yourself.
That’s what I would do, if I were you.

Christina E. Petrides

Christina E. Petrides is an expatriate American living and working on Jeju Island, South Korea. She has blogged for more than 15 years, and is soon to celebrate two years and a score of publications in poetry. Her first children’s book, Blueberry Man, is forthcoming from Tchaikovsky Family Books.

^{Artist: Mia Ohki}