Breaking Ground 100 - Poetry by April Meredith

Tennessee Partners in Policymaking graduate April Meredith has had numerous poems and feature articles published in Breaking Ground. Besides being an avid writer and reader, April works at Empower Tennessee, where she teaches youth and adults about using their voices and developing their independent living skills.
 

How Long Does It Take to Say Goodbye? 

A tribute to Tabitha Paige West (2003-2019) and her mother Karen. May we never say goodbye to Tabby’s legacy.

How long does it take to say goodbye

When everyday her beauty

Is painted in the sky

When I feel her breath

Carried on the wings of butterflies

When I see her sweet face

As I close my eyes

When I stand lost

At her bedroom door

When I sense her presence now

As much as I did before

When I have waves of emotions

Like those on ocean shores

When I continue to hear

Her keyboard music sounds

Resonating in the hallway,

Echoing all around

When everywhere I go

Parts of her legacy can be found

When glimpses of her spirit

Are on happy children’s faces

As they play with friends

In accessible places

When my heart aches

In its empty spaces

When I miss fixing

Her gorgeous curls

When her colorful art

Still decorates my world

When I yearn to hold

My precious girl

How long

Does

It take

To say…

A Beautiful, Anxious Mind

Sometimes I feel like

I am barely clinging on

To a glimpse of hope

Like the last brown leaf

On a dying tree

In fall

Sometimes I feel like

Endless space

Speckled with starry spots

Of brilliance

But tortured with

Infinite choices

Sometimes I feel

Powerful and purposeful

As crucial as the air we breathe

But just the same

Taken for granted and unseen

As if not there at all

Sometimes I am

As motivated and determined

As the hungry lioness

Prowling for prey

While other times completely immobilized

By my internal voices