Trust Issues
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TRUST ISSUES
Trust is a tough thing to come by these days–
a currency printed on paper hearts
that smudge when handled by sweaty intentions.
It is a handshake pretending to be a fortress
even though every finger knows the weak spots.
Trust prefers clarity
yet lives in the same apartment building as hope,
with thin walls so rumors leak through the radiators.
People keep it in jars, on high shelves labeling them “do not open”
while peeking every other minute to be sure nothing escaped.
Sometimes trust is a tightrope
stretched above yesterday’s broken ladders,
we tiptoe, balancing our better selves
over the wreckage of misremembered kindnesses.
It asks you to believe
that a locked door is about safety, not exclusion,
that a promise is a tool, instead of a souvenir.
Trust grows slowly,
like the roots of an overly polite tree searching for solid ground
beneath every sideways glance.
If it arrives seat it near the window,
give it light,
offer it time,
tell it that fear has the night off,
and let it breathe without proof.
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This poem begins with a line from one of my favorite horror movies, "The Thing" and it just took off from there, trust me, DVerse Poets. “Trust is a tough thing to come by these days” – The Thing (1982)
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Trust is such an important currency... if we woulld look at it as an economic asset we would be more careful and let it grow slowly and handle it much better than we do.
ReplyDeleteLuv the careful nurturing of the last verse
ReplyDeleteMuch♡love
Very effective imagery that dives deeper into the aspects of trust. I especially like the visual of a "tightrope stretched above yesterday’s broken ladders". Wonderful stuff.
ReplyDeleteNicely done, Chris! I like the thought of trust as ‘a currency printed on paper hearts /that smudge when handled by sweaty intentions’, and as a ‘tightrope stretched above yesterday’s broken ladders’.
ReplyDeleteGreat imagery
ReplyDeleteExquisite articulation, Chris. I especially love the last stanza.
ReplyDeleteFantastic poem.
ReplyDeleteArcadia Maria
You have captured the fragility of trust!
ReplyDeleteSuch powerful metaphors. Trust is at the core of my growth and understanding. It is a much bruised and cautious commodity, yet ever hopeful.
ReplyDeleteSuch a fabulous write with great analogies and the concluding stanza is so heartwarming.
ReplyDeleteNicely written and I especially like the second line. The quote you used reminds me of one I often used to repeat - 'If you lend someone 20 dollars and never see them again then it was probably worth it.'
ReplyDelete“Trust prefers clarity yet lives in the same apartment building as hope” — that line hits me, Chris. So gently wise.
ReplyDeleteMuch love,
David
SkepticsKaddish.com