THREADBARE WOMAN

Tera Johnson-Swartz

Old woman in the mirror,

Did God forget about you? Or maybe intentionally passed you by? Your face, a smashed cake
that coulda-shoulda, but then got dropped halfway through the making. Your body, a deflated
drooped balloon no one wanted anyway. Your mind, a box of unwrapped presents, every
thought, a gift you cannot bear to give. And your spirit is just a sad fading candlelight you just
assume put out of its misery. Yet, old woman, some things you can’t control, some things you
can and must. You were still invited to the party. Your presence, the honor of the hour. Your
gifts have purpose and deeper meaning. Don’t snuff your light just yet.

Tera Johnson-Swartz is a passionate writer, dedicated educator, and ambitious graduate student at Eastern Illinois University; she and her family reside in the suburbs of Denver. Through power of verse, she invites readers on a poetic journey through the beauty and complexity of life.