patience is all
patience. plainly. (for the ‘say it plainly’ challenge).
patience
pushing through provocation and pain
with poise passively plastered
on unperturbed faces
papering over the cracks formed
from the slow realisation of injustice
sent pulsating to the surface
an undoing of non-complaint
an awakening of non-compliance
and also
patience is all we have
- sometimes -
and it’s all we can grasp
all we can call upon
when life leaves us lying in limbo
in the liminal
suspended in the in-between
she doesn’t care about our rush -
always finds a way to
slow
us
down
patience is a virtue
they say
but i don’t know
sometimes
- it seems -
patience vies for power
mocking us
laughing wildly
as she thwarts
throws spanners
while holding the thing we're reaching for
just in sight
just out of reach
dangling dreams
weighty with wants
dripping with desire
frustration flipped
turned inside-out
and repackaged as
growth
still, maybe patience is this
and that
maybe she knows something
that we don’t
that i don’t
maybe she remembers something
i seem to forget
perhaps patience holds the key
to contradiction
the key that opens
space for multiple truths
embracing patience
- not fighting her -
is
stopping
slowing
waiting
trusting her
because maybe she knows that
all is unknown
and all is out of our control
and that the limbo
- the liminal -
is a place of rest
and a place of perspective
a connector
not a divider
so perhaps patience is all
perhaps
it is everything
and
it is not the only thing
About the Creator
ali
a tangled mess of thoughts. occasionally a clear one bursts through. how about writing things in a public forum? seems wise.
she / her
unceded Wurundjeri & Boon Wurrung Lands
substack: aliwriteswords
insta / upscrolled: @aliwriteswords
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TUS NUA - ch 53
TUS NUA – ch 53 New Beginnings – Mia and Midnight (*)(*)(*) Finola knew Ali’s brother-in-law needed to put his mind at rest. She fed her arm through his and led him outside. “We’ll sit here. If you like, I can put a block around us so our conversation will be private.”
By Margaret Brennan4 days ago in Fiction
Comments (4)
I am a jumbled mess when it comes to engagement (two years on Medium engaging with 50+ writers per day, every day, burnt me out), and I meant to comment on this when I liked it earlier. Firstly, holy alliterative smoke balls. You’re on fire!! Love the feminist approach, but you already knew I’d gush as I’m a blazingly obvious feminist. The poetic narrative is intriguing here - “she” begins in a societal quandary, and then there’s flashes of hope as you slow the rhythm toward the last ten or so pars. Brill work ❤️💚💛🖤🙃
Very nice! And congrats on Top Story
I really enjoyed the alliteration and rhythm! Patience is that uncomfortable in-between in a lot of things - uncertainty without action isn't easy. It's definitely not often welcome in societies where productivity=value. I love how you come back to the concept of 'liminal' - often referred to as a quiet purgatory where something isn't quite right. Perhaps that's a projection of an urgent, burnt out world who needs to relearn the stillness, reflection and uncertainty found in patience. Sometimes patience is what begets momentum. Just like, sometimes a false sense of urgency can stifle momentum.
Your use of percussive alliteration, such as patience and poise, mimics a slow, intentional step towards endurance. The pause at -sometimes- creates a powerful periodic sentence because it forces the reader to sit with the truth before the thought is finished. This theme of forced waiting resonated with me recently when a truck and a neighbor washing a car delayed my path, only to have the obstacles vanish later as if they were just in my imagination. Fantastic insightful work as always, ali. 🤗🌼