I don’t know what I can sayIf you tell me I have sad eyesIt’s because I am sadIf you say I look tiredIt’s because I amIf you comment I’m short temperedI would cock my eyebrowBecause that’s not newsSo this afternoonI have lain my t-shirt quilt Underneath my stunted redbudI have sat upon itAnd tried to find some tranquility It’s not workingBut I don’t have anything elseI really want to doI am thankfulMy allergy pills seem to be workingAnd there has not been an invasion Of Boxelder bugsFor a few years nowI admire my ColumbinePink and yellowIt’s the little things, you seeDo I deserve to write of a battered heartOr restless nightsWhat are appropriate topicsYou reckonIf I could write of trite happinessWould my intentions shine through?So yesLush cloverInches from my faceBut still no four leaf-ers YetI wonder if you foundWhat you were looking for“You normally have to be bashed about a bit by life to see the point of daffodils, sunsets and uneventful nice days.” Alain de BottonLove from Appalachia,~Amy…

TuesdayOn ThursdayBecause TuesdayI was a jumbleAnd the last thing I wantedWas to sit in front of a keyboard and bleedBecause that is what I doIf we’re being honest about itBut TuesdayI had a horse to seeAnd I wanted softer edgesSo I blurred the lineWith Colorado Kool AidI’m no cowardBut sometimes I need a breakFrom facing life straight onI still didn’t sleepNot in the bedOr on the couchOr in the floorOr on the porchEven though I tried them allDid you knowThere are birds that sing all night?I do nowI’ve heard themBecause I saw 1:15And 3:30And seventeen other times I was awakeI was awakeBut I didn’t lookTo see if they had a bad eyeOr a wounded heartSo I didn’t mean to give you hopeThat I had given upOr that I would stop BleedingI’m sorry if you thinkI could quit that easyThank you to the friends who Know me well enoughTo know if I don’t have something to say I have lots to sayWho aren’t scaredOf my caustic tongueWho scoop and cup my spirit in their handsAs you would a hummingbirdGently, gingerly, delicatelyAnd ask, “How’s your heart today?”So I send them a poem And they say “I hate you had it in you to write it”I do too, I do tooBut I didAnd I’m still hereLove from Appalachia,~Amy…