a woman watching her man fall by caitlin connolly
hold me.
catch me.
where is your hand?
i
am
f
a
l
l
i
n
g
can you not see
the way
i
lean
as i walk?
not straight like you
not like her
not like him.
you walk past me
blind
to my
pull against gravity
i am
upright,
but
just,
barely.
catch me
catch me
i'm falling.
i see you
i see you
we see you
we see you
you do not see us
but we always see you.
not from above
but from under
a support
a push
superhuman
superpower
unseen
hands push
up
restoring me.
then
someone
here
notices my struggle
to right myself
and stops
to reach
a hand
to steady
to help
to right
me.
i'm straight now
but my walk
and balance
feel unfamiliar
this way.
i wobble
but hear
don't worry
i'll walk next to you
until you are
steady.
i could see
you were
falling.
i could see,
because i once
fell too.
i leaned too far
and fell
until someone
reached out a hand.
so, now hold mine
until you are ready.
and i walk again
without falling.
this poem is in response to the questions i asked in my last post. i felt a bit burdened by the amount of church activities i had last week. i wondered if it was the right balance. i whined a little. i prayed a little. i contemplated a lot. and then this picture came to me. and it was clear. i was walking straight, my family was walking straight, because of these very things. they had each been strengthened, i had been strengthened because of my service. this was a blessing, not a burden in our lives. and it was clear to me i needed to reach out a hand to any who might need it, as so many had done for me, so that i would not fall.