L- Anguish – A Poem

Lying in bed

Legs and arms splayed like

A discarded puppet on the stage floor

This is not the pleasant languor

Of a race run hard

Or Saturday morning sex

No, it’s the unwanted lassitude

Of Friday night overtime working third shift

Or of single parenting

This listlessness is protective

The need for a moment

Or two

Or one thousand four hundred forty

To rest

Before returning to limpidity

This is my first contribution to the Ragtag Daily Prompt – the Saturday edition was hosted by Punam at Paeansunplugged with the prompt “languor“.

I had to look up the word and was fascinated and surprised by the subtle nuisances of these L words – languor, lassitude, listlessness, languish while limpidity actually meant something quite different. This prompt spoke to me now that the stress of the start of school has lessened and I am able to regain some time to write and recharge. I had a good “lie about” this weekend – made possible by a visit to the in-laws who helped entertain the kids.

Now you might be thinking that lying about goes against the photo I took of the advertisement (I still don’t know what it’s trying to sell but I liked what it said). But it truly doesn’t – life needs movement and it needs stillness. There is something healing about resting your body and your mind especially with the daily stress that is so prevalent these days. This article illustrates it well. But after a certain time, you do have get up and start moving again.

Life intervals, anyone?

©️ iido 2019