After the divorce, my life sat in my hands like a snow globe violently shaken.
Desolation swirled inside, then leaked beyond the glass—
a hoary cloud engulfing me, twisting my view of the world.
Where do I begin?
What do I do with my life?
The questions rose like smoke, hung heavy, refused to clear.
Years later, I stand on a plateau.
The storms no longer own me.
I lift the globe, steady now, its power declawed.
I turn it gently—
respecting the lessons, the hidden truths, the weight of what was.
As trees fall, sunlight spills onto the forest floor,
rings of growth holding knowledge pressed deep.
So it is with me: one life fallen, another rising.
The globe rests, settled.
Not a prison—
a relic, a teacher,
a reminder of the clarity I live in now.
-Michelle L. Chaney
Michelle Chaney is a psychotherapist and graphite artist whose work explores resilience, memory, and the quiet conversation between self and nature. Living on the Eastern Shore, she draws inspiration from its light, water, and shifting skies. Her poetry reflects restoration through stillness and the beauty of renewal.
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