In Any Case

In any case,

The golden leaves will tumble

Off of their sturdy branches.

They will be carried away by the

Crisp autumn winds.

In any case,

The white waves will

fade away from the shore,

Cleansing the sand of any

Memory it had,

Yet restoring a sense of

Familiarity.

In any case,

We are there for you.

We always have been,

Sitting among the masses

Or hiding in whatever cold, bronzed corner

Would welcome us.

In any case,

We stayed.

The shiny metal rings of

‘Til death do us part

Were not long enough.

In the amiable gates of heaven,

We wait for the unfortunate

Delight of an eternal reunion.

In any case,

We stood there watching.

We watched lead stars

Shoot into the bodies

Of those like us,

Those like who we once were.

In any case,

We try to scream

But our voices are lost

And wrong

And meaningless.

In any case,

We stood while others threw us,

Wanting us to break but

Watching as we persevered

Untouched, while we bruised and

Were scarred internally.

In any case,

we’ve been shoved

And beaten

And dragged

And killed

And hurt.

In any case,

We remained.

Not perfect,

Not ideal,

But we stayed and showed

That every life is made of energy-

Something that cannot be destroyed.

In any case,

We prayed it would end

But continued to endure,

No matter how much it hurt,

How little we thought we were worth.

We stood and acted like

We understood

Why people hated our

Bright and gleaming selves.

In any case,

We tossed our pride back

On the shelves and

Remained strong and

Stood nearly unscathed as though

The worst of the hurricane had hit

When it hadn’t even arrived yet.

The luster of our smooth surface

dulls and chips and

doesn’t.

After all we have withstood

We manage to throw mercy

Like rice.

And under every scratch

Lies strength.

The untapped strength of

The golden people.

Author's Note

What do you think the message of this work is?

Reviews

[Brett Hernan]

'And under every scratch
Lies strength.
The untapped strength of
The golden people.'

As for message, that summation just says it all.

[EKlein]

So beautiful and moving. I love the play of language and the juxtaposition of words. I also love the repetition. Mournful and lovely!

[Schatzi]

Hello Yael Asofsky,

Such a surreal poem. I think it is about wedding rings or the commitment to one another they represent. For the wedding rings, the commitment is eternal and no matter what separates them, they wait to be reunited with their other half.

Thank you for sharing!

Kind regards,

Schatzi