Kristin S.
Photography by Lydia Troupe
If you’re reading this, remember that resilience and hope can carry you through life’s toughest moments.
Meaning of Spirit
By Kristin Shurney
This journey in life is an unforgiving one.
When you reach a certain age,
Nobody will hand you a map;
You must carve out your own path.
All alone, with no help, at that.
This is what I have done,
Or tried to do, to tell the truth.
Over and over again, I strayed away
Like a lost dog longing for its mother.
I walked so much that I became
Tired enough to fall to my knees.
Under the weight of the world,
I found it harder to breathe.
I looked to God and wanted to plead.
If I am so strong, why do I bleed?
And to make things worse than they seem,
My heart ached even more than my feet.
Honestly, I wanted to throw in the towel.
I wanted to just lie there and rest
Or maybe I just did not want to wake up.
“Make it go away,” to myself I would say.
But each time I sat on the cliff’s edge,
And thought about letting go,
I felt a small tug at my sleeve
Trying to pull me back in,
Like the waves came over my senses.
I turn around and see a child,
A little girl that resembled me.
She has dreams of what she could be,
And for that, she counts on me.
She asks me why do I sit down
With big eyes full of undying light.
So I carry her on my shoulders,
And walk a bit further than before.
At the end, I will see someone waiting-
An older woman similar to myself.
She bears the same smile as the little girl.
With wisdom, she strides with grace.
This is the image of who I wish to be.
She embraces me because I am still here
And fills my soul with the water it needs.
And as long as I can step on,
She will not cease to exist.
With that being said, I could not give up,
no matter how hard I tried.
Or how close I have gotten.
I always fail at it, and I am glad that I do.
I choose to not worry about the things for which I have no control over.
Soon I will find what I seek.
My efforts shall not go to waste.
I keep fighting in spite of the pain
Because a rainbow will prevail after the rain.
Kristin S. (she/her), Georgia Tech
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