Keep Your Footing

Taken by my son in Colorado

Sometimes,
the road is

unrecognizable –
life turns slippery,
a little messy,
at times,

a bit menacing,
but whatever happens,
keep your footing.
The intuition

that springs
from your gut
will know
when you should
accelerate or break.
Trust is key,
most importantly,
believe in yourself.
The road will continue,
but the daunting will cease.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I hope this poem provides consolation
to you who are struggling this holiday season.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for stopping by! ❤️

We miss Copper this holiday season, but
we’ll find comfort in the photos of him by the tree
,
wearing a Santa hat, or snoozing by the fire.
If you’d like to order a copy, or know someone
who would find comfort in this special collection,
please click on the link. Thank you. xo

© Lauren Scott, Baydreamerwrites.com
Author and poet, Lauren Scott, enjoys small-town living in the Bay Area with her husband, Matt, of thirty-seven years. Their adult son and daughter live out of state, and with frequent visits and technology, the family of four remains close. Lauren has published four poetry collections, a memoir, and her first children’s book. Her latest poetry collection is a tribute to her family’s Chocolate Labrador who crossed over the Rainbow Bridge in spring 2025. Lauren is a recent Pushcart Nominee and has been a guest on several podcasts. Her writing is featured on Spillwords Press where she was voted Author of the Month and garnered Publication of the Month awards. She is a contributing author in several anthologies, and her work is also shared on Gobblers and Masticadores. Her muse discovers inspiration from her family, spending time outdoors, reveling in simple things, and marveling at the mysteries of life.

Spider on a Hand

Trust doesn’t come easily.
She can’t be bought
like dropping quarters
in a gumball machine,
and she doesn’t hand out trust
as if distributing flyers
for an open house.
It takes time and discernment,
the emotion that comes
with falling in love,
you just feel it.
You know it’s been earned –
the intuition,
a tattoo on your heart.
What happened then?
Conversations sharing pure joy,
utter anguish spilled
like oil in the sea.
Suddenly,
she’s a spider on a hand
that gets brushed off
hoping never to be seen again.
The drop, nosediving
into a state of confusion,
the impact shooting pain
through every vein and cell.
She tosses questions
into the universe,
they spiral through
the perplexity
because kindness
comes in soft tones,
gentle melodies
only to be shunned.
A decade wiped clean
from the wall calendar.
A friendship washed up
like a soda can on the shore.
Rude actions can crush
a caring heart
at any age.
At any age a caring heart
can become crushed.
She hears chatter
of wishing
to be young again.
She understands
the growing-older trials.
The aches catch her too,
but although good
memories stay vivid,
she doesn’t miss the games,
starting point in youth,
and yet, the games continue.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

© Lauren Scott, Baydreamerwrites.com
This blog content cannot be used to train AI.

Photo: Photo by chivozol on Pexels.com

Click on the image to order your copy! 🧡

Rings

One foot first
then the other,
he stepped inside,

warm ambience
enfolded him,

greetings from
arms open wide…

friendly faces,
smiles seemingly
sincere,
but for only
seconds

before those arms
turned on him,

pushing him out
with smiles
vanishing into
murky atmosphere

he stumbled backwards
over the darkened line
not to be missed

(it was there
for their purpose)

a tug
from the welcome
being extracted
out of his trusting heart
gave him pause

How many rings?

How far
from the inner circle
did he land?

And does it really matter?

© Lauren Scott, Baydreamerwrites.com – All rights reserved.
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Belonging

Do you trust me? Will you
take my hand and let me
lead the way to a place
transcending the boundaries
of our reality? Let us get
lost in the tranquility –
dancing to the majesty of
the surroundings, feeling the
rhythm vibrate through our
bones. For as long as our
hearts desire, this is our
destination. For time is
but a memory. Its existence
leaves no trace on the path
where we tread. There is
only you, me, and the
intensity of our belonging
to each other.

Lauren Scott © 2018

Friend Acrostic ♥

use-this-one1

For who wants to be alone?
Reveling in life’s joy or weeping
In between those moments; I’ll be your
Everlasting support, a listening heart,
Never will I take you for granted, for you are a
Dear soul who I can grow with, without growing apart

© LScott 2013

Photo: LScott