Overwhelmed, Gently
Sometimes I feel lost in the waves
I fight and kick for the air I crave
But just before I’m overwhelmed
A gentle hand takes hold of me
Sometimes I feel I’m burning bright
Searing hot and enraged in fight
But just before I’m overwhelmed
A gentle voice speaks to me
Sometimes I feel the cold of doom
Thoughts of leaving for that tomb
But just before I’m overwhelmed
A gentle mind there distracting me
Sometimes I feel I talk to the storm
No one hears the words I form
But just before I’m overwhelmed
A gentle ear is lent to me
Sometimes I feel I’m in the dark
Moving unseen is very stark
But just before I’m overwhelmed
A gentle eye is spared for me
Sometimes I feel so very down
I hang my head, blue all around
But just before I’m overwhelmed
A gentle soul embraces me
Sometimes I feel overwhelmed
But gently, always, I’m returned
8 thoughts on "Overwhelmed, Gently"
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I love how the structure of your poem leads “gently” to the last stanza and the reminder that we can be restored.
I read your bio also and I hope to be that teacher for someone! I hope that your teacher sees the shout out.
I’m sure after twenty-six years of teaching the craft you’ve made a massive difference!
Thank you for the kind words and being supportive.
I love the interplay of ‘Sometimes’ and ‘But’
May it be so for all of us: “Sometimes I feel overwhelmed
But gently, always, I’m returned.”
May it be so. Thanks for the encouragement, Pam.
I love how this poem builds on the tension and lets us feel the peace, the resistance, the calm. A sense of community in between the lines. Hope lives.
Thank you, Virginia! I’m glad you took so much from ti.
Thankful for the gentleness in our lives, for the kindnesses, for those who help. Lovely poem.
Well said. Thank you, Sylvia.