Comfort, Be Damned
Poetic response to Wednesday’s prompt
I’d always felt the discomfort
of doing anything
outside my comfort zone —
too much pain
too little gain
— or so I was told
And yet, I was never very good
at sitting still
being all holed-up in a bubble
I had this desire
a burning need to explore
to challenge my own paradigms
I wanted so much more
than what I saw around me —
like understanding others’ cultures
their religious or spiritual beliefs
their family and community dynamics
their struggles and fears
And I knew in order to do that
I, a white privileged woman
would need to feel uncomfortable
And I knew I couldn’t just walk
in someone else’s shoes —
I needed to feel the rawness of feet
bloodied and bruised by injustice
I needed to feel scrapes upon my knees
from crawling to reach new heights
I needed to feel broken fingernails
from clawing out of darkness to light
I needed to feel
I needed to feel
I still need to feel…
and be damned the comfort of apathy
© 2021 Lori Carlson. All Rights Reserved.
For 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘊.’s 20.01.21 Wednesday’s Prompt — Discomfort
Lori Carlson writes Poetry, Fiction, Articles, Creative Non-Fiction and Personal Essays. Most of her topics are centered around Relationships, Spirituality, Life Lessons, Mental Health, Nature, Loss, Death, and the LGBTQ+ community. Check out her personal Medium blog here.
