Hardware Shop

By Liz Thomas Pattara

I stopped by the hardware shop in my mind

Hoping to find a sledgehammer, to

Bring down the walls my ego created,

I found humility.

I reached again for a drill,

To probe into and undermine

My uncertainty and dubiety,

I found confidence.

I searched for a trowel, to

Enhance and fortify

This newfound confidence of mine,

I found boldness.

I found my life and experience

Intertwined and plaited into a rope,

This I weaved into a mesh

To hold back the negative inflow.

I drove in a nail

Into the brightest corner of my mind,

There I hung, ignoring the transitory pain,

My name, my identity, and my aim.

By Liz Thomas Pattara