POEM: Being Alive.

When life has dealt you lemons
and you are drowning in the rain
and when the branch you cling to,
splinters, and you land on rough terrain

When the weight upon your shoulders
bows your beaten heart in dread,
and sorrow comes into your world
taking the last breath that you had

There is no way around it
the thorny path lies through
and with gritted resignation
you do what you have to do

The moment of relief becomes
a dark pit where survival cries
for something new to challenge,
something else for which to strive

We need to face the bad stuff
polish the good stuff 'til it shines
if life were that bowl of cherries
we would shrivel up and die.