PAD Challenge - Day 22 - Optimistic Distance and Tried On

Today was a Two for Tuesday on the WD 2014 April PAD Challenge. The prompts were to write an optimistic poem and a pessimistic poem. I thought about tackling my feeling that optimism and pessimism are rarely as cut and dry as seeing a glass as either half-full or half-empty, but in the end I decided to go another direction. I've also decided to share both poems this time rather than just one.


Here is my optimistic poem...


Optimistic Distance

In my fantasies
The distance between us
Enhances the possibility of our love
Seduces me into seeing you through
A mesmerizing lens
Where your future and mine intertwine
 When we meet where we once stood
Under the falling Autumn leaves
As we now stand under distant blooming trees
My dreams coerce optimism into
A heart where doubt resides

Since we walked in different directions


Here is my pessimistic poem...

Tried On

I tried on pessimism once
It never quite fit
The short hemline exposed vulnerability
The tight waistline squeezed out hope
The baggy shirt dropped faith
The uneven heels left behind love
The neckline strangled possibility
The jewels manacled happiness
So I stripped down to nothing
Stood bare before myself
Took a deep breath
And tried on optimism
Ah, a perfect fit
T. L. Cooper is an author and poet whose work aims to empower and inspire through an exploration of the human condition. Her poems, short stories, articles, and essays have appeared online, in books, and in magazines. Her published books include a collection of short stories, Soaring Betrayal, her Silhouette Poetry Series, and a novel, All She Ever Wanted. She grew up on a farm in Tollesboro, Kentucky. She currently lives in Albany, Oregon with her husband and three cats.

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