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This week’s contributor writes: “My name is Debbie Sue Toner and I am a Poet. I have won 3 separate poetry contests wherein my poems were officially published. I have been writing poems since grade school. I truly love writing poems for any reason. Besides writing poetry, I enjoy spending time with my husband, my 5 children, and my granddaughter. I sincerely hope you enjoy reading one of my many poems!”

A glimpse of my day

Debbie Sue Toner

The nonstop childhood trauma lives deep within my veins
It travels everywhere inside with no decisive lanes
As it goes, it carries all my pain my agony and fears
It circles round and round again; there is no shifting gears
Some days it quiets down a bit, much to my relief
But then it rears its ugly head so that relief is brief
It only takes a little stress to activate this beast
The torture’s unbelievable; this cycle can’t be ceased
To look at me you’d never know this turmoil’s going on
I have learned to mask my panic because it’s never gone
So, every day I get dressed up do my makeup and my hair
Accordingly, it seems as though I haven’t got a care
Then I look into the mirror… and question… do I dare
To do what normal people do; my confidence is rare
This takes a lot of energy, but then I start to smile
I look ok, my mask is on, to fight this day in style
I push myself to go about a normal day’s routine
I beg, I plead and pray to God, that on Him, I can lean
Contemplating what I must do brings utter fear and pain
It takes the innermost of me ‘til it devours my brain
So, now I must begin my day before it’s passed me by
I’ve accepted that I’ll be this way until the day I die

— Debbie Sue Toner

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To have your work considered for the Lyrical send it to:
Doug Holder, 25 School St.; Somerville, MA 02143
dougholder@post.harvard.edu