Failure Too
Failure is more than shame’s
hot tar and feathers.
It’s cancer cells
destroyed daily
in the body’s
relentless furnace.
The unseen mugger
turning away
as a friend’s greeting
crosses the street, bright
streamers through the dark.
The beads of a broken necklace
rolling in his mother’s
dresser drawer, evidence
of that long gone afternoon
he scooped blue stones and dust
from the floorboards,
weeping till she soothed
with words softer
than her disappointment.
Finding them the week she died
he’s glad the necklace broke,
carries those stones
in his pocket to this day,
as ruins remind
us of splendor
in civilizations that spawned us.
Laura Grace Weldon
Originally published in Mom Egg Review. Find more poems in my collection, Tending.
Laura Grace Weldon 
Beautiful Laura. I love the idea that near misses can be blessings and things we view as negative, and ask “why did this happen to me?” are often hints of grace, although they might not be revealed to us at the time. Thank you.
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Thank you Ellen. Means a lot coming from a fellow poet.
(I urge others to zip over to read some of Ellen’s poetry. Here’s the most recent:
senegalease.wordpress.com/2016/06/25/sleeping-beneath-the-bees)
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I have the blue beads of one of my Mother’s necklaces in a box. she was always going to restring them. maybe I will. I love the visuals evoked by your poetry and the way you think.
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I love to think of you restringing her beads. Or simply carrying one in your pocket. And thank you for your kind words!
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Love the poem! Thanks for sharing
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Thank you so much.
Inside out conversations is a great name for a blog. Next post please!
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Thanks! Glad you like it I’ll definitely keep them coming. You do the same!
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One of my favorite things about writing online is stumbling across other folks whose writing touches me. Glad you went on that evening run, sir.
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Well thank you, I sincerely appreciate that. I love your “We Could All Use a Good Laugh” post, such a fun read! Keep it up and I’ll keep admiring!
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