Poetry by Lisa Mary Armstrong

               Paul Sableman CC



Time

It’s the proverbial bad penny 
Sneaking up on you 
You feel like you’ve checked out
Taken a sabbatical from life
but still need to go through the motions

You can’t deal with the monotony
of another damn day
Someone has flicked the on switch
Filled you with their dirty laundry
Still, there’s your children
to consider and you
promised that you’d take them
to the caravan 
when you felt well again

But today you smiled for real
Caught up in your daughter’s 
excitement of passing exams,
and university acceptances
Then you breathe a sigh of relief
when your old friend time
takes a seat at the table,
holds your hand for awhile
and promises to
wait while you heal 
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Lisa Mary Armstrong lives in Scotland with her children.  She tutors law and researches women and children's experiences of the criminal justice system.  In what's left of her spare time she likes to read and write poetry and fiction and play the piano. You can find her on twitter @earlgrey79_lisa.

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