"Victories," A Poetry Post

Not all victories look like
Sister Maybelle
running cross the church
on Sunday mornings.

Some victory is as
deep and thorough
as a slow heartbeat.

Some victory looks like
a body slumped down
and sprawled out on a carpet
taking "finally I can breathe"
deep breaths.

Some victory looks
beaten, battered and bandaged,
bleeding and limping
but wincing in a smile.

Some victory looks like death,
set faced, silent and stiff,
just hanging in there.

Some victory sits
staring off into space
sorting out the foolishness
and choosing wisdom.

Don't mind you looking and seeing
sprawling bodies or
bleeding bodies or
silent bodies or
stark bodies
walking around you in a
time of trouble.

Out here,
you just see the
physical aftermath
of the
struggle.

On the inside of some folks,
Sister Maybelle is
gearing up
for her second lap praise run,
and she is already
coming out of her shoes.

-T. D. James-Moss