BY MIKE KEENAN
Copyright is held by the author.
If I could pry loose
this iron bolt
of being right,
unclench
the white-knuckled grip
on winning,
outmaneuvering, proving —
I might finally breathe.
A strange paradox,
this leap into softness.
It feels like dying
to admit I don’t know,
can’t fix, need help.
As if surrender was weakness,
instead of the doorway
to something real.
For years
I polished my armor,
mistaking shine
for strength —
a shell of certainty
and sharp edges
that only kept the world
at arm’s length.
To be vulnerable
is to step naked
into the void,
with nothing but
my trembling self —
no shield, no sword,
just the raw truth
of what I feel.
And in that rawness,
others come into focus:
the cracked voice,
the faltering eye,
the outstretched hand
offered not in dominance,
but in need.
And I reach back.
Because vulnerability
isn’t exposure alone,
but invitation —
the quiet, tender space
where help can land,
healing begins,
love has room
to root and rise.
So if I fall,
let it not be from failing,
but from loosening
my grip on the illusion
that I must never fall.
And may I rise
not harder,
but more human.
***
Moving here four years ago, Mike joined the Ottawa Independent Writers. His poems are printed in each anthology. Recently, he was awarded second prize in the OIW humour short story contest. He has had other poems printed on CommuterLit. Mike has been writing humour columns for Metroland newspapers for 25 years after retiring from teaching. He experiments with writing and technology, leading to podcasts and YouTube videos. Mike’s book Don’t Ever Quit: A Journal of Coping with Crisis & Nurturing Spirit is available at Kindle. Podcast: The Retirement Coach. YouTube: Make Aging Great Again; Dealing With Dementia (Where’s Mike). Poems & Poetry. Facebook.
