Light
A poem by Shaun R. Pankoski

Light

When I think of myself as strong,
I think of hauling huge rocks
in a wheelbarrow,
or jugs of water in big blue containers.

I think of being the smallest recruit
on the obstacle course at Lackland,
or my tiny self, crossing a four lane road
to walk to kindergarten, alone.

Of leaving abuse behind
so it didn’t break me
and two bouts of breast cancer
that almost did.

But mostly,
of sitting very still,
listening very deeply,
to someone else’s pain.

Like the lighthouse
that withstands the rocky shore,
the wind, the weather-
to bring someone safely home.

About the Author:

Shaun R. Pankoski (she/her) is a poet most recently from Volcano, Hawaii. A retired county worker and two time breast cancer survivor, she has lived on both coasts as well as the Midwest as an artist’s model, modern dancer, massage therapist and honorably discharged Air Force veteran. Her poems have appeared in The Ekphrastic Review, Storyteller Poetry Review, Verse Virtual, Writing in a Woman’s Voice and ONE ART.

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