Captive

Captive

Karen Rettig

Sometimes I’m stoic, Lord,
controlled and perfect,
even, calm and moderate.
A captured smile sits on my face;
my voice is caged in kindly tones;
no harsh or jagged word escapes.

But I have forgotten to laugh.

It is the twinkle in Your eye that frees me.
It pokes me in my priggishness and laughter bubbles forth.
My fractured perfect smile sits wry on my face
and I ponder the joy that should not be forgotten
and once remembered
cannot be contained.

---

Karen Rettig
Poet & Writer

Karen is the author of Finding God: Our Quest for a Deity and the Dragons We Meet On the Way.

Photography by Michael Melber