"Too Much"

 

Loss
Sorrow
Hopelessness
Pain
 
Unfairness
Frustration
Rage
 
Passivity
Rigidity
Conflict
 
Loss
 
Suppression
Restraint
Tyranny
 
Harassment
Rationalizing
Torment
 
Deceit
Defamation
Extermination
 
Loss
 

 Copyright 2020 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman

"Indulged or Spoiled"

A coin flip—

            Indulged

                        with

                                    nourishment

                                                attention

                                                            opportunity

                                                                        freedom

OR

            Spoiled

                        by

                                    coddling

                                                yielding

                                                            pandering

                                                                        capitulating

            Indulged

                        with

                                    comfort

                                                ease

                                                            safety

                                                                        certainty

OR

            Spoiled

                        by

                                    luxury

                                                indifference

                                                            idleness

                                                                        privilege

Copyright 2019 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman

                                                                       

"Lost Child"

 

Little boy with bright mischievous eyes
And no control over his actions
In kindergarten he remains friendless
No other child walks with him—arm flung around his shoulders—sharing secrets
In first grade he cannot read
His wildness presses against school’s restraints
As he fights conformity
No other child walks with him—arm flung around his shoulders—sharing secrets
Second grade demands attention
But numbers whirl by in him
Until he becomes senseless and numbed by Adderall
No other child walks with him—arm flung around his shoulders—sharing secrets
He slows down and gives up
Submitting to rules and regulations
Molding himself into submission
Still—
No other child walks with him—arm flung around his shoulders—sharing secrets

Copyright 2019 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman

"The Harpy"

 

 

Above all, she soars
Her vicious talons sharp
She swoops
Her wicked claws rip and tear
Into her own children
Cruelly she slices her prey
Ignores their anguished cries
Her evil hunger feeds upon the flesh of her babies
She devours their adoration
Her soul-eating cravings insatiable

Copyright 2019 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman    

"Your Silence"

I have no excuse for hurting you
Saying
“I didn’t understand”
doesn’t erase your pain
When you stripped bare
our differences,
I built a defensive wall
to shelter our friendship
to protect us from the World’s invasive
discord and discontent
I begged for less
Your silence honors me

Copyright 2018 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman