By: Lesley H.

Through this poem, I show how life can knock you down, but you have options on getting back up and not to stop trying.

Honorable Mention · Adult Writing (2025)

I step out onto the ice
It’s not that bad
One foot in front of the other
But then it changes

I fall hard
I realize I was sent out not ready
No skates just socks
I try to move

Slipping and sliding
Till bam I fall
I try to get up
There is urgency in my attempt

But I fall again and again
Feeling embarrassed
Others watching
Laughing at the fool I am

I finally get up and begin to move
But bam I fall again
This time through the ice
I fight to get out

I fight to survive
But I can’t on my own
A hand reaches out
Pulls me up to the surface

This  friend cheering me on
I try again to get up
I even get close to the edge to get off
But bam I fall again

Will I ever make it to the other side?
Will my feet know secure land again?
This skating is not working when not equipped
Should I just give up

Should I just lie where I fall
Should I just crawl
Yes that is it
I will crawl till I get to the other side

Those that laughed now cheer
I make it back to land
I know now how to get back up
I will recover though bruised now

Life is knowing when to crawl
Life is knowing when to stand
I may not be walking tall
But I am not giving up

There are days I am drowning
Yet there is support that gets me up
There are days I am thriving
And that same support cheers me on

I may be skating in life
I may not have all the equipment
Yet I am moving forward
I am crawling till I can walk

This is recovery
Taking it one day at a time
Learning and equipping for the next
Crawling till can stand.