Two Words: Slice of Life 30/31 #sol16

slice of life

Bad news

I knew

He didn’t

Dr’s recommendation

Two words

No contact

Concussion risk

It means

No football

He’s done

He hears

Dream destroyed

He hears

Life over

To me

Thin dream

Thinking small

To him

The world

His future

Fame, fortune

Making it

Being somebody

Now quiet

So quiet

Too quiet

No words

For hours

Two hours

Now five

And counting

Thick silence

Tense silence

I brace

For explosion

For running

Fight flight

Old friends

Only silence

No anger

No blame

Only this

His face

Empty. Still.

His eyes

Vacant. Cold.

I wait

I know

This waiting

I know

This silence

I wonder

How long

I remember

One week

Without words

Endless week

I break

Always do

Two words

I’m sorry

Two words

Shut up!

Don’t even!

Go away!

For now

He’s home

Nothing’s broken

Nobody hurt

I wait

I’m silent

I know

This waiting.


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Comments

18 responses to “Two Words: Slice of Life 30/31 #sol16”

  1. elsie Avatar

    It only takes a few words to tell this heartbreak and disappointment for your son and your heartbreak to watch him struggle through this period. So hard.

  2. maribethbatcho Avatar

    Excellent piece. Each line packed with emotion. I felt every pair of the pain.

  3. Lisa R Avatar

    Great poem. I think the 2 word lines really condense it down to the essentials.

  4. sallydonnelly11 Avatar

    I am amazed of all you conveyed, two words at a time.
    Powerful writing!!

  5. margaretsmn Avatar
    margaretsmn

    This poem
    two words
    pack punch
    leave me
    in sadness
    I sense
    your love
    his love
    this relationship
    keeps going
    keeps growing

  6. Glenda Funk Avatar

    One brain
    One concussion
    Damage done
    Lasts forever

  7. Linda Baie Avatar

    And my words are you showed it in all its terseness, no doubt the deep hurt for his dreams gone, and your hurt for your son, too. What a world we live in when so many young boys want to be an NFL star, and will be disappointed because they didn’t, or couldn’t, make it. Hugs for this time, Elisabeth.

  8. Kathleen Neagle Sokolowski Avatar
    Kathleen Neagle Sokolowski

    Absolutely powerful. I feel like each slice you write is another layer being peeled away. Your son has come so far with your love.

  9. djvichos Avatar

    I really like the build up in this poem and the repeated words:
    Now quiet
    So quiet
    Too quiet
    No words
    For hours
    Two hours
    I could only think mother’s heartbeat in all that silence and waiting.

  10. Sonja Schulz Avatar

    heartbreaking. telling this in 2-word increments helps me to feel it in all its raw pain. powerful stuff here.

  11. carriegelson Avatar

    Two words at a time and you have told us so much. this is one of my all time favourites from you

  12. Wilcox Carol Avatar

    I am so, so sorry. This has been my guy, for the last 18 months. My hear breaks for both of them.

  13. SOL16: #31 Bold | Reflections on the Teche Avatar

    […] I draw inspiration from other brave writers like Elisabeth Ellington.  She wrote a two word poem about her son yesterday.  Read the post here. […]

  14. Akilah Avatar

    Oh, that’s heartbreaking. I know he’s not ready now, but one day (probably during unschooling?), he can explore careers that still let him be a part of football.

  15. Dalila Eckstein Avatar

    Your poem packs so much in this sparse format. I am impressed by your careful selection of words in order to create a mood and communicate events. So much said with so few words. Beautiful. You have left me both awed and sad.

  16. Kellee from Unleashing Readers (@kelleemoye) Avatar

    I am feeling for you and him so much. So heartbreaking. Beautifully written.

  17. cvarsalona Avatar

    I know
    this waiting
    painful part
    of life
    too hard
    to bear
    another day.

    Thanks for being the modeler of this form of poetry. Two words pack a punch. I hope all evens out but losing your dream is difficult to understand in the adolescent years.

  18. […] slice about my son learning he can’t play football […]

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