Restitution

Don’t open another bottle tonight,
you have not eaten, stay your hand,
the shadows cast long, but there is still light

and ours is to suffer the gruelling plight
between wanting and forgetting demands.
Don’t open another bottle tonight.

Never underestimate the might
required or strength of reserves to stand
the shadows cast long – but there is still light.

I will be here in spirit, if not sight.
Be at peace with your truth, you are not damned,
don’t open another bottle tonight.

Resist the ever-fevered impulse for flight
into the drink that enfolds like quicksand;
the shadows cast long, but there is still light.

Agonies are easier from a height
I know, as we scrabble upon the land.
Don’t open another bottle tonight –
the shadows cast long, but there is still light.

karen andrews

Karen Andrews is the creator of this website, one of the most established and well-respected parenting blogs in the country. She is also an author, award-winning writer, poet, editor and publisher at Miscellaneous Press. Her latest book is Trust the Process: 101 Tips on Writing and Creativity