Poetry by Nancy Machlis Rechtman

               RG in TLV CC



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Echoes

Dread creeps in like smoke
Through cracks in the window
And aging vents.
From under the door
A snake
Deadly
Rises up to strike.

The heart is the target
So vulnerable
And still so unprepared
Because words are heat-seeking missiles
Zeroing in with so little warning
An unrelenting barrage fills the echo chambers
Of the mind.

The knees buckle
Unable to withstand the assault
Shredding the psyche, now so vulnerable
With memories flooding the senses
And doubt annihilating any possible defenses
That might have a chance of safeguarding
The essence of what makes it possible to go on.

Any attempts to stop the assault
Are useless
As the shields have shattered
And the walls, so carefully constructed
Have turned to dust
As the heat of the incursion
Circles round and round through the synapses
All that can be heard
Are the flashbacks
That lash out
And tear down
Any hope of regrouping
Or salvation. 

But from the deepest, darkest depths of despair
Strength arises
And bursts of fire roar forth thundering
That this is the final match
And most unexpectedly, there will be no concession.
In the face of this unexpected fury, the onslaught eases
Retreating back to the gaping abyss from whence it arose
And the heart continues to beat
Triumphant.
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Nancy Machlis Rechtman has had poetry published in Literary Yard, in Paper Dragon, and in Page & Spine, a short story published in Academy of the Heart and Mind, short stories published in Highlights Magazine for Children, along with stories published in several other children's magazines. Nancy has also had several children's plays and a musical both produced and published. Nancy wrote freelance Lifestyle stories for a local newspaper, and she was the copy editor for another local paper. Nancy writes a humorous blog called Inanities at https://nancywriteon.wordpress.com/ .

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