Member-only story
The Emptied Cup — a poem
The Emptied Cup
By Jane Tawel
July 18, 2020
I felt a great need to share something,
Encouraging, hopeful, or good.
And I racked my mind and rummaged my heart,
And kept telling myself that I should
Find a quote or a saying that would lift people up,
But I found when I looked: there was naught in my cup.
***
You know that cup? — the one we all drink from,
That carries our feelings and all that we think of
The world and the people and what might be “out there”;
The cup of our hopes, and our dreams, and our doubts here.
But my cup was plain empty — not a sludge or a dross,
And I asked myself, “Why should I give a darn toss?
No one needs me to rise to this challenge.
No one needs me to weigh into the balance,
Between good and evil, or fear and hope;
I’m obviously empty. I’m one big dumb dope!”
So, I took my cup into my closet and moped.
***
