Magdalena Ingram

Writing Fiction and Poetry

Busy Living

Life was once so simple,

Full of laughter and tears,

Packed to overflowing

With sorrow and triumph

And in life there are

Hardships one must face,

Things that you must

Overcome to become strong

Some must overcome more,

They must fight harder,

Stick together and

Believe they can pull through

I overcame.

I struggled through

All the abuse, and

All the loneliness

I made it through

All the moving around,

And all the drugs that wormed

There way into my life

I sat through all the custody trials

And felt like I was being

Pulled limb from limb

By a pack of starving dogs

I sat and watched

All the dates that meant something,

All the dates that burrowed into my head

Pass like birds flying south for the winter

Thanksgiving, Christmas,

Easter, and anniversaries

The birthdays of my

Brothers, my mother

The funeral of my two

Best friends

And as I watched these days

Go by I felt myself die inside.

Little by little,

I felt myself wilt

Like a rose cut from the bush

And stuffed inside a cheep plastic vase

And then like a rose

That had been replanted

I began to lay down

Roots and live

No more fighting,

No more worrying if

I would have a home,

A family when I woke up

I struggled and believed,

Believed things would

Get better and they

Did

I have a family,

Friends, a home

That I will always

Be welcome in

No longer do I have

To sit idle and

Wait while the world

Around me turns to dust.

I can bask in the sun,

And feel the rain on my skin

I no longer have to hide

Now, I am busy living