when
the
r a p i d s
r u s h
around
you
and you're
c o n t e n d i n g
for your
l i f e
when the
c u r r e n t s
take you
over
t h r e a t e n i n g
to
s u b m e r g e
you
in your
s t r i f e
you can
p u s h
against
the
t o r r e n t
e x h a u s t
yourself
in the
f i g h t
try to
b e n d
the river
to your
will
and
d r o w n
in your
own
b l i g h t
–or–
p l a c e
your
e a r s
into the
s t r e a m
and
lay down
your
d e f e n s e
allow
b r e a t h
to
e c h o
in your
s p i r i t
and
h e a l i n g
to
c o m m e n c e
for
when we
l e a r n
to
f l o a t
the river
t e a c h e s
us to
b e n d
S U R R E N D E R I N G
to the
process
o p e n
hearts
begin to
m e n d
About the Creator
Kristen Balyeat
Words fly to me on the wind, bump into me as I'm strolling the city, splash me in the face while I rest by the river, and shake me awake in the middle of the night—I’m humbly one of the vessels they use to come to life.
Also, i love you:)
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Expert insights and opinions
Arguments were carefully researched and presented
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
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Comments (17)
Ooohhh. Love this one, that I don’t seem to have read before! Excellent. Do you think you will self publish or something ? You have enough poetry to by now! 😊👏
Truly amazing and extremely powerful. ✨❤️ Well Done!
This is just amazing. ❤️ i’ll be honest, i often struggle to find the truth/voice behind some artsy poetry formatting–not sure if that’s my failing or what– but this feels so incredibly authentic. You really gave life to such a universal experience. Thank you for sharing with us 👏🏼
Lovely and very good advice! Any idea where that image is?
So beautiful 💗
🤦🏻♂️ This is just... 🎯
This was truly beautiful!! It's thought-provoking and inspiring and worthy of several re-readings! Keep up the wonderful work, Kristen!
Beautiful work as always, Kristen. Thank you for sharing those links and advice in the comments. You are so kind to respond like that, and with the way you write prolifically, I hope you’ll publish more advice here.
Absolutely beautiful! A credo by which to live & marvelous counsel to all. One of these days I'm sure that I will fail to be amazed by the things you write, Kristen. But today is not that day. I loved & resonated with every bit of it.
Such a wonderful piece, Kristen! I love the hopefulness of it all and love the formatting. Well done! Another awesome piece!
Whoaaa, this was so uplifting and sooooo beautifully written!
nice wordplay to explain things...
Lovely, can you give me any tips about writing a story like the two ships contest?
Oh wow! There is so much that can be gathered from this poem. What a great metaphor for life. So impressive.
Beautiful!
Wow, had to read this one twice. Beautiful.
This is the Difference!!! Cool writing