Words and More Words

Many of the phone calls, e-mails, or in-person conversations I've experienced lately are filled with news of job loss, or pending job cuts. Tough talks. Somber realities. Cautious optimism. I listen closely, and pay careful attention, to the many different phrases, lines and terms revealed in these communications. Minus the expletives, many of the words I've heard spoken in recent weeks sound something like this:

Overwhelmed. Scared. Angry. Tired. Transitions. Get a plan. Create. Anxious. Eager. Ready. Sobering. Squeezed. Optimistic. Getting by. Holding on. Action. Movement. Stressed. Resilience. Gratitude. Grim. Reinvent. Drained. Depressed. Devastated. Options. Stuck. Opportunities. Stay Positive. Freaked. Focused. Relieved. Endings. Starting over. Jaded. Joyful. Can't look back. Cutting back. Hopeful. Gotta' do what I gotta' do. Revived. Roll on. Prepared. Could be worse. Survival. Grateful. Make do. Move on. One day at a time. We'll make it work. Whatever it takes.

Below is something I wrote last week, expressing more job-seeker sentiments I've encountered in recent days. While the angst is obvious, so too is the anticipation apparent; the writing is titled On Breathing and Tomorrow...

Just yesterday I thought about breathing

and matters of air and such

in unprecedented times of change and challenge

and the economy pained so much.

Don't you hear the silent screams

that fall short of ever a sound?

Can you hear the child's heart racing

as her parents go 'round and 'round?

Everywhere you turn,

and every corner that you take,

there's signs of woe and trouble

oh where is the good to make?

So what then do we do

to make this go away?

Where are the sunny days?

Will I ever find my way?

Who can lend some help?

And where can you find a job?

When you are but one of the millions

amongst the evolving corporate blob?

They always say things get better

and that I do believe.

How long, though, and how much

until we see a tiny reprieve?

Just a flicker of hope,

a glimmer, a glance, a peek,

a spark to get things moving

to get on with what we seek.

I am waiting, I am worried.

I am hopeful and I am strong.

Please take action to help us.

And right the many wrongs.

Back to air and breathing,

I will touch my heart and say,

Keep on, Keep on, Keep on

for Tomorrow is on its way.

posted by: billiesucher