Talisman by Daniel Casey

It was hard enough, so

I thought today I would

try being beautiful.

Scrounging through boxes

of long ago nonsense

I found keepsakes. I wore them.

It felt good. I felt like

I did when I had them—

happy, fun—before I 

became so worried, hurt.

For a moment, healed.

I keep them now, give them

energy, memory, hold it

there, draw on it keeping

myself sane, balanced. Closer

to being beautiful,

because it’s been too long,

it has been hard enough

lost and feeling ugly.

Daniel Casey has a MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Notre Dame. His debut poetry collection,” It’s Not About You,” is available from Atmosphere Press. He lives in Baltimore, MD and can be found on Twitter as @OnceMoreDaniel.