Lost

By Miriam Riad

---

I almost feel a little relieved.
I am lost, and I must
Slow down,
The excuse I’ve been hoping for
To take my time.

Oh well, it feels like,
I am going to be late, anyway.
Why the rush?

I try to retrace
The steps
That led me here.
To no-idea-how,
To didn’t-expect-this–
My compass has broken,
And it is a mystery.

Life can be dizzying.

My unknowing echoes loudly
As it strikes every wall
Of this maze.

There are a million ways out
And, at the same time,
Not one.

I have craved permission
To be lost, like a child
In need of a nap.

To not be on my way! somewhere,
To not be in a hurry,
Where there is nothing to do
Except be where I am

Get my bearings,
Feel these feet
On the firmness of the earth,
And remember what is real.

Perhaps
This bewilderment
Is necessary.

Maybe the compass
Hasn’t broken,
But led me here
Where I must be still
And know.
Be swallowed
By truth.

What mercy.

Sometimes,
A good day’s work
Is sitting where you are
And finding what is
Worthwhile,
The glimmer hidden
Inside the rough rocks,
​
In this strange place
Where you never
Meant to be.

---

Miriam Riad is a public school teacher, writer and former book editor. Her work has appeared in Ekstasis Magazine, Ruminate Magazine and elsewhere. She is the author of 28 by 29: A Year of Writing, a short collection of essays and poetry.

Miriam's other work on Foreshadow:
Distance (Poetry, March 2023)